Official BenQ FP241W Thread !!! Info, Pictures, Reviews

Has anyone else tried running their computer DVI output into the HDMI input on this monitor through an DVI to HDMI adapter, or similar cable? Mine crops the top and bottom when I try it in 1 to 1 mode, and stretches it of proportion in full mode. What am I doing wrong?

I guess this is the crux of the problem that everyone has been talking about. Sorry about my thick skull!
 
higgy said:
Has anyone else tried running their computer DVI output into the HDMI input on this monitor through an DVI to HDMI adapter, or similar cable? Mine crops the top and bottom when I try it in 1 to 1 mode, and stretches it of proportion in full mode. What am I doing wrong?

I guess this is the crux of the problem that everyone has been talking about. Sorry about my thick skull!
Click to expand...

Are you sure that you are outputting 1920x1200 from your PC and not 1920x1080? You can check this on the monitor using the OSD.

Personally, I find that the HDMI input crops my HD-E1 output but not my PC output.
 
ChakkaSol said:
Did anyone verify that the regular and Z version of the Benq was the same panel type?
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They are similar AUO panels but may not be the same exact panel. Apparently the WZ uses an A-MVA panel, vs the P-MVA in the W but from impressions they are really close in picture quality. For all I know it may just be a nomenclature thing.
 
I have yet play Stalker on this monitor........

So far everything is fine, except a little dead pixel near the time display on the taskbar. Picture to follow.
 
So, if I understand this correctly, anything that is widescreen anamorphic (i.e. 720x480 with non-square pixels) like a Wii or a dvd player set to 16:9, will never display at proper aspect ratio on this monitor because

1. 1:1 would think the 720x480 are square pixels and display it incorrectly
2. Aspect would also think that 720x480 are square pixels and display it incorrectly
3. Stretch would stretch to 16:10

Is that right?
 
I got a new DVI-D to DVI-D cable today and it fixed the video signal, but once I switched to VGA (connected to my Apple) and then switched back, it no longer received a signal from my DVI-D to DVI-D connection. Any help troubleshooting guys?

I also tried unplugging the power cord to the BenQ, let it sit for awhile, and then reconnected, still no signal from DVI-D. The DVI still works with the powerbook though.
 
CouchPotato said:
So, if I understand this correctly, anything that is widescreen anamorphic (i.e. 720x480 with non-square pixels) like a Wii or a dvd player set to 16:9, will never display at proper aspect ratio on this monitor because

1. 1:1 would think the 720x480 are square pixels and display it incorrectly
2. Aspect would also think that 720x480 are square pixels and display it incorrectly
3. Stretch would stretch to 16:10

Is that right?
Click to expand...

That seems to be the problem, yes. Why they can't just include a function to manually select the aspect ratio as seen on just about all consumer TV sets, even really cheap ones, is beyond me.
 
been in contact with BenQ via email and have confirmation on the development on a new firmware, though no timeline for completion just that its currently in development.

Thank you for your email, the firmware upgrade will address the issues with Overscan and will solve both the problem you are experiencing when displaying 1080i/p in 1:1 mode and the problem displaying 480p in widescreen aspect mode. The upgrade will give better performance for the Wii in the sense that this console outputs a 480p widescreen signal which is currently not displayed correctly and the upgrade will resolve this issue.
Click to expand...
 
I don't understand...to have this second firmware update we have to send our monitor to benq or can we download the update from benq official site?
 
After reading this thread you would think having the capability to user bois reflash like on mother boards would make some sense . And save some shipping money.
 
Thanks djphatic - looks like the wait is drawing to a close.

Another question - will it take 480i YPbPr via the component input? How about interlaced RGB (thinking SCART) via any input? I'd guess not as the minimum Hfreq listed is 30Khz, but 480i does seem to be supported given what I've read online.
 
Has anyone bought the little Benq Web Cam that you can get to mount on the top of the screen?

I've seen some for sale but they say they are only for the 22" and smaller models - and they specifically say "Not for use on other model of Benq monitor."

But to me it looks identical. How do I find the right one?
 
(I restarted my computer with the new DVI cable after it intermittently stopped working and the DVI connection between my PC and FP241W is now running fine even after many mode/input switches and reboots).

Also from my understanding, I read up on the usb webcams made specific for our BenQ monitors (I believe the ones that come with the smaller BenQ screens are the same webcam) and the quality you get from the webcam is not really great. I'd just get a third-party webcam and plug it in. I'm going to test out my Xbox 360 Vision Webcam later this week.

Some of my exams are coming up so I don't have time to create the review yet. Though, send me any questions you'd like to know and I'll be happy to address them in the review (I'm going ot have a compiled FAQ section for this monitor).
 
Just curious, what retailers say BestBuy, Circuit City etc has this monitor actually available at a brick and mortar to look at? Thanks for the information.
 
Erma said:
I don't understand...to have this second firmware update we have to send our monitor to benq or can we download the update from benq official site?
Click to expand...

I have mentioned the possibility of the user being able to update the firmware themselves via USB of some sort to BenQ as the service I received the first time round when sending the monitor away was appauling and would not like to experience it again.

Ive been told my comments have been passed on, but more than likely it would need to be sent away again :(
 
Hi, I'm the proud owner of one of these BenQ 24" LCDs, after giving up the ghost on my ol' crt. I've found that I dont care for the appearance of DVD's very much on this LCD - what settings are you folks using out there to optimise viewing? I've turned down the brightness to 60 and the contrast is now set to 60, as well. Any color settings I should use?
Thanks
 
I'm using these settings at the moment on my FP241WZ...

Brightness = 50 (or a bit less)
Contrast = 47

Colour settings in USER MODE are...

Red = 52
Green = 51
Blue = 48 or 46


Of course, you'll need to adjust for your own lighting conditions.
You could also enable one of the colour modes while watcing a movie. "MOVIE" mode is an option to select from.
 
Jeffr0 said:
Hi, I'm the proud owner of one of these BenQ 24" LCDs, after giving up the ghost on my ol' crt. I've found that I dont care for the appearance of DVD's very much on this LCD - what settings are you folks using out there to optimise viewing? I've turned down the brightness to 60 and the contrast is now set to 60, as well. Any color settings I should use?
Thanks
Click to expand...

Don't forget, DVD's are 720*480, so it's going to be stretched. ;)
 
Hi,

New to the forum. I've been trolling this forum for about three days now and I am ready to purchase through Buy.com (due to their pricepoint), but I am concerned regarding the rev of firmware. I have contacted both BenQ directly and Buy.com but cannot get a solid answer about the Manufacture date of the product in stock. According to the BenQ tech I spoke with, the manufacture date is the key (January 07 or better).

Can anyone on this thread who's purchased through Buy.com recently tell me what their Manufacture Date is?
The issue of 1:1 pixel is not a big deal for my need so, I'm not concerned about the current issue with a new rev in firmware.

Thanks in advance for your help.:)
 
jamiee said:
I'm using these settings at the moment on my FP241WZ...

Brightness = 50 (or a bit less)
Contrast = 47

Colour settings in USER MODE are...

Red = 52
Green = 51
Blue = 48 or 46


Of course, you'll need to adjust for your own lighting conditions.
You could also enable one of the colour modes while watcing a movie. "MOVIE" mode is an option to select from.
Click to expand...

Do you have any slight humming/buzzing from the monitor when using these settings?

On mine there is a slight humming/buzzing when the brightness is below 70. I havent tried it at different resolutions only on 1920x1200.

It might be difficult to notice at first, its most noticeable at night when its totally silent and you switch the monitor off you will notice a change of noise.
 
djphatic said:
Do you have any slight humming/buzzing from the monitor when using these settings?

On mine there is a slight humming/buzzing when the brightness is below 70. I havent tried it at different resolutions only on 1920x1200.

It might be difficult to notice at first, its most noticeable at night when its totally silent and you switch the monitor off you will notice a change of noise.
Click to expand...

My picture's best at 30 brightness and there's no humming/buzzing of any kind.
 
hmmm, maybe its my unit then. Which is annoying seeing as this is a replacement unit which over a month to get.

At present ive got the brightness and contrast on 70 and have altered the settings in the nvidia control panel and everything looks ok in windows, though I think when I go to play on my 360 everything will be messed up.
 
What do you mean by everything will mess up? I just know that D-sub and component have two different set of brightness/contrast/etc controls.
 
No buzzing that I can hear coming from my unit.

My Gateway 24" had a bit of a buzz at times when I was running it, but the BenQ is as silent as can be.
 
After reading a bunch of glowing reviews, I recently bought an FP241W to use with both a pc and PS3, but I was then disappointed to find that the monitor can't even display a 1080p image from my PS3 properly.

Not only is there the cropping issue, but there's something weird going on with the sharpness setting too. When I first switch my PS3 on and have the monitor in aspect mode, the text in the menus has a lot of jagged edges. Altering the sharpness setting on the monitor will smooth out the edges, but as soon as you load a game and the monitor does its handshaking thing, the image seems to return to it's more jagged look and you have to alter the sharpness setting again. It doesn't seem to matter what the setting is already at or what you change it to, just as long as you're changing it, it will smooth things out. There's no way I'm going to keep changing the setting everytime I load a game though!

I tried buying a HDMI to DVI cable to see how the PS3 works through DVI, and this fixes the cropping and sharpness issues, but I noticed a new problem - an annoying frame skip every 5 seconds or so. This was especially noticeable on Ridge Racer 7 where you have text scrolling across the screen in the menus :(

I took the cable back for a refund, but I'm wondering whether the cable was at fault, or if this is an issue when going from HDMI to DVI, and all other cables and adaptors would have the same problem? If it wasn't for this skipping, I'd be happy to keep the PS3 hooked up to the DVI port and get the proper image that I should be getting through HDMI.
 
All i can say is PC gaming, 360 @1080P and PS3 @ 1080P are all superb.

And i am really fussy!!
 
I'd agree 360@1080P and PS3@1080P is superb, it's just a shame the FP241W cannot support this resolution yet.
 
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