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

Dakeyras said:
Hi All,
this post concerns all UK members only. Does anyone definitively know which UK internet suppliers are selling the FP241W with updated firmware. Has anyone recently bought an FP241W recently? If so, from whom, and does it contain the updated firmware?

www.shiroi.co.uk told me their stock had just arrived recently but could not check the manufacture date as it was located in a warehouse some distance from their offices. www.ebuyer.com have also recently added the FP241W to their website but i have not heard anything back from them yet about manufacture date or firmware status. www.overclockers.co.uk has also recently updated their stock status.

Thanks in advance to anyone who can tell me where to find this excellent peice of kit with the vital firmware update;)
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I have an order with ebuyer at the moment and will be receiving it tomorrow so will post back regarding whether the firmware fix is inplace or not; the item has only recently come up on ebuyer and received there first stock just before the weekend.

I have contacted many uk internet suppliers regarding this monitor and the availability of it with the firmware fix and all have replied saying they are unable to find out which firmware version the monitors are and they would only consider that it does include the firmware fix due to them being out of stock and a number of weeks and have received new stock of them recently. Though most of them will allow you to return the monitor within 7-10 days if it isnt the firmware version you are looking for.

Check back tomorrow afternoon and you will have an answer regarding ebuyer stock
 
djphatic said:
I have an order with ebuyer at the moment and will be receiving it tomorrow so will post back regarding whether the firmware fix is inplace or not; the item has only recently come up on ebuyer and received there first stock just before the weekend.

I have contacted many uk internet suppliers regarding this monitor and the availability of it with the firmware fix and all have replied saying they are unable to find out which firmware version the monitors are and they would only consider that it does include the firmware fix due to them being out of stock and a number of weeks and have received new stock of them recently. Though most of them will allow you to return the monitor within 7-10 days if it isnt the firmware version you are looking for.

Check back tomorrow afternoon and you will have an answer regarding ebuyer stock
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In an earlier post one was bought from Morecomputers and it did not have the firmware update. Infact it was a model from October which i find unbelievable.
Why have BenQ not stopped supplying the older version and recalled them for updating, and then supplied all the UK retailers with the updated version.
Alot of the UK retailers only started to receive stock last week.

I was told by BenQ all monitors from January onwards would have the firmware upgrade!!
 
dazzbo said:
I was told by BenQ all monitors from January onwards would have the firmware upgrade!!
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The thing is they just don't know. They don't know what serial number the updates started with.... they just know that their factory started applying them in December. I'm guessing it might not be Dec. 1 or anything either. Add in stock at dealers, how distribution happens, etc.... and you might get a non-fixed one in July... who knows.

Plus, it doesn't seem they think this is a big deal... so I doubt they will do any kind of recalling of stock to fix. Their strategy seems to be to keep it quiet, and fix the ones who will bring / ship them in.

I guess they get some points for addressing it. Many lower quality companies would have just said 'too bad'. But, in my book, they get low customer support ratings for how they have gone about it. It has kind of turned me off on this display. It was my #1 pick, now it's near the bottom of my list.
 
djphatic, i forgot to mention. Could you tell me whether the monitor you receive from Ebuyer is the silver/black model or the all black model (the best i think). I know some suppliers have that "image for illustration purposes only" policy on product descriptions.

Cheers in advance.
 
For the record, I sent email to BenQ on Dec. 26th asking about the 1:1 fix. They sent me email back on Jan 10th saying they can't help me via email and that I should call 866-600-2367. I would advise other people to just start there (call the number).
 
Seemore said:
For the record, I sent email to BenQ on Dec. 26th asking about the 1:1 fix. They sent me email back on Jan 10th saying they can't help me via email and that I should call 866-600-2367. I would advise other people to just start there (call the number).
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i called the number... a few time before.. they cannot do sh*t, worst customer service i've seen in a while!
 
cguilmian said:
I was reading thought Neweggs site on the reviews and someone there recieved their monitor on the January 12th and it did have the 1:1 fix preinstalled.

New Egg Review
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That's what I've been waiting to see. But then again, it could just be someone yanking our chains. Would be nice if the next Newegger here could confirm that the Newegg stock has the fix once they get their monitor.
 
dazzbo said:
Infact it was a model from October which i find unbelievable.
Why have BenQ not stopped supplying the older version and recalled them for updating, and then supplied all the UK retailers with the updated version.
Alot of the UK retailers only started to receive stock last week.
Click to expand...


Dakeyras said:
djphatic, i forgot to mention. Could you tell me whether the monitor you receive from Ebuyer is the silver/black model or the all black model (the best i think). I know some suppliers have that "image for illustration purposes only" policy on product descriptions.

Cheers in advance.
Click to expand...

Just received my monitor, although it says black on ebuyer website, it is actually silver and the stand is black.

Manufacturer date is October, and surprise surprise it doesnt include the firmware fix.

Im not really too fussed about it being silver, mainly the firmware fix. Gonna have to give BenQ a call, see what they say.
 
ok, so just got off the phone from BenQ, the person i spoke to was very helpful and seemed to know what I was after even though she had very little information regarding what is going off

basically, all the firmware fix is available in the US, the status of it being released in europe is a question of when. After speaking to a product specialist she told me that id have to send it back to the service centre in the UK and that the item would be fixed under warranty; though she did mention something about them ordering parts from taiwan, ive no idea why they would need new parts if its a firmware upgrade?

So basically she took details from me and said they would contact me when they have further information regarding the firmware fix and it may be a case of sending the monitor back and getting the firmware fix or a replacement for it with the fix.

Just a case of waiting now.....though rather disappointed from the reports that monitors shipped in january would have the fix and there has been a sudden influx of stock lately with 2 online suppliers not having it.

If anyone planning on buying the monitor soon, give shiroi.co.uk ago, they will price match ebuyer price, maybe they will have the fix? But i can only imagine that most places are exactly the same with monitors manufactured in Oct 2005 with no fix.
 
just having a look around at other online stores, it looks as if ebuyer, lambdatek and morecomputers are all stored and shipped from the same place.

Seems too much of a coincedence that there 30 items in stock on each site yesterday and all of them now showing 16 items in stock. This could also be the case with shiroi.co.uk
 
Hi All,

Again this post concerns all UK members of this forum.

I've just got off the phone to BenQ technical support in the UK and they were able to confirm for me that no monitors from any UK internet (or high street) supplier being sold at the moment include the firmware update. Their "technical line manager" said that no stock has left any BenQ depot with any updates - hence no stores could have it.

They told me that they are unable to say when the updated versions will be rolled out in the UK. They advised me to phone back every 10 days to check on the progress of this situation.

They also told me (as they told djphatic) that the US has the update (and the procedures) to install it but calls from their (the UK) "technical line manager" for information have, as yet, gone unanswered. So, in a nut shell - we all know more about the update than they do!

So anyone who really wants this monitor (without having to return it for updates) is going to have to wait.
 
As far as the NewEgg report, I'm going to have to wait and get some verification... With NewEggs various warehouses, the rumored 1:1 fixed FP241W could have been shipped from a different warehouse from where my monitor would be shipped from...

My PSU is dead in my new system anyway, so I can bide my time until we get some verification...
 
havent had a play around with it, ive hooked up the xbox 360 via VGA and set it to 1920x1080, the image does fill the screen, but havent just played burnout revenge for the last hour or so, i cant really tell that any stretching is going on and it simply looks amazing.

The only fault, which isnt really a fault, is that the screen is so damn bright! its ok looking on this forum, but if i load up a new page and its totally white its absolutely blinding.

It would be excellent if people with this screen could post up suggested settings used for brightness/contrast etc... and in which mode.
 
Just dropped mine off for the firmware upgrade, 3-5 days and I'll have it back.

I'm now on a 13" (yes 13), and it's curved like a magnifying glass.

My eyes really hate me right now.
 
appear to be having a fault with dvi signal when i switch the monitor off and back on.

When booted into windows if i turn the monitor off my the button the monitor and then return later and turn it back on it says no signal detected and I have to reboot the PC via power button. I have tried both my original dvi cable and the dvi cable which came supplied with the monitor.

Im using windows xp pro sp2, ATI radeon x800 xt with latest radeon drivers and I have the monitor driver installed from the website.

Is there some option I need to enable/disable in windows to prevent this from happening, its rather annoying.
 
I'm in Ontario so the nearest one to me was a Gentronics (authorized repair facility I suppose), on Middlefield Rd.

When you call to set up an RMA just ask!
 
WindowsKey -> u -> u

to shutdown blind...

Why not just setup lowpower mode in your screensaver so the monitor powers down automatically. It will be like turning it off but less obtrusive.

djphatic said:
appear to be having a fault with dvi signal when i switch the monitor off and back on.

When booted into windows if i turn the monitor off my the button the monitor and then return later and turn it back on it says no signal detected and I have to reboot the PC via power button. I have tried both my original dvi cable and the dvi cable which came supplied with the monitor.

Im using windows xp pro sp2, ATI radeon x800 xt with latest radeon drivers and I have the monitor driver installed from the website.

Is there some option I need to enable/disable in windows to prevent this from happening, its rather annoying.
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i use something similar to that via my ATI remote which turns the monitor off; but its rather poor considering the cost of the monitor that I cant actually switch it off and back on manually and have to rely on software to do it

there must be some way around it
 
I read all nearly 2000 posts now and the BenQ (with firmware update) seam the best bet for my needs after the 244T unfortunatly having the lag problem and lacking HDMI.

Thanks for all who have given your very valueable experiences! :)

I called the Germany BenQ Support Line (0800 11 46 588) and they told me that ALL monitors in Germany will be shipped with the firmware update.
Can anyone who bought the monitor in Germany confirm this?

So two questions left I like to ask those who have the FP241W yet:

1) No one wrote about non-native interpolation quality so far (or I missed it):
How well (in quality) does the BenQ non-native interpolation via Nvdia aspect correction for example 800:600 to 1600:1200?
Even better would be if anyone who has the firmware update yet could tell me how well it does with the new update?

2) For those who think the monitor is too bright:
Did you had a CRT before you swithed to the BenQ and thus wasn't used to TFT so far?
Or is that brightness sensitivness also given for you who had switched from another old TFT?
Did you have found a bearingable setup not to be blinded in a room with few lightning?

After the apect fix interpolation & the brightness are my last concerns.

Thanks for your help! :cool:
 
great... right after i order the sceptre 22" in desperation the firmware starts to show up.

guess i'll return the sceptre and order this once more confirmations come in. back to my 14" crt for now.
 
Whee, :D so some shipping from newegg with firmware update in the US, finally.
Ordering now... and done. Perhaps a bit premature since they have multiple warehouses, but I feel lucky.
Hopefully they can improve upon my last dismal 3-day shipping which took from Dec 29th until January 9th for my new pc parts.
Any bets on whether I get it Friday or next week? ;)
 
I'm one of the many that have been waiting for confirmation of the 1:1 firmware update on newegg. Finally, someone posted a review on newegg the 12th confirming they received one with the update installed. I know I may be jumping the gun since my monitor may ship from a different warehouse but I just can't wait...I have an xbox 360 with the hd vga cable that supports 1080p so I will be able to test the 1:1 on component and vga (since we already know the dvi works fine). Anyway, wish me luck! I'll let you know as soon as it comes in.
 
tyen and balz,

I hope you'll keep us posted regarding the following:

1. Your state.
2. The wherehouse that ships your order.
3. Whether you got a "good one" with the new firmware.

:confused:
 
I don't think your state matters so much. That order for my new PC parts I mentioned consisted of 4 different shipments from 3 different warehouses: California, Memphis, and New Jersey.
The shipment from New Jersey came last, even though I am in Miami.
I'll certainly keep the thread informed when I have any useful info, though. Looks like they didn't get a chance to look at my order today (after 5pm now in California) since it's still at step 1 where they haven't charged my card.
 
Well, after a year and a half of looking for a new monitor I finally went out and bought this beast yesterday. My initial feelings are very positive, albeit not without negatives.

The good parts are easy: it's big and it appears to be just as good as everyone else have stated already (I'm no expert when it comes to these things, so I'll stay away from the technobabble).

One part I feel neutral about is the firmware status. This monitor, manufactured in November 2006, was not equipped with the new firmware. As expected, I'd say. I'll call today and ask for the upgrade. If BenQ does not deliver well on that part I will be disappointed, though.

And then the negatives.

1. It's silver. I'm in Sweden, and apparently the monitor is not, and never has been, available in black here. This was really disappointing at first. My dealer called someone at BenQ while I waited and they confirmed to him that the monitor was not available in black anywhere in Europe. They had taken a couple of black ones here to show the press, but in Sweden today there was only one (1!) black 241W, and that one was at the BenQ office. I find this really confusing. Why deny an entire continent the choice if it is available? Can it really be that expensive to keep double stock?

2. It's bright. In response to unpulse's second question, I have been using 17 inch TFTs for several years now, and this one just blew me away when I fired it up. I honestly can't tell you if it is down to the bigger physical size or if it actually is brighter than what I'm used to, though. After adjusting the brightness down and calibrating the monitor I found it much more pleasing to the eye, though.

3. The intermittent "half second of screen death" happens to me, too. I won't do anything about this until I have the updated firmwar installed, on the off chance that it contains some tweak to fix this, too.


Well, that's what I feel. I hope I will be a happy 241W owner for several years too come, now! Now, about that March PS3 launch...

Oh, not to forget the worst thing of all: now I have to get a new graphics card to drive this monster. And a new camera, since all my old photographs look embarrasingly blurry when blown up to this monstrous size. Not to mention an HD video camera. And probably a new computer. My TV is starting to look old, too, all of a sudden... Oh, the problems of the post-industrial life!
 
@ tyen

Not every item exists at every warehouse, but some items do exist at multiple warehouses.

Meaning, if you bought a sprocket, it might only exist in the New Jersey warehouse, so it gets shipped from there even though you live in CA. But you also ordered a Super Sprocket, which is more popular, so it exists in all warehouses and they can send it from CA.
 
Oscar Tiberg said:
1. It's silver. I'm in Sweden, and apparently the monitor is not, and never has been, available in black here. This was really disappointing at first. My dealer called someone at BenQ while I waited and they confirmed to him that the monitor was not available in black anywhere in Europe. They had taken a couple of black ones here to show the press, but in Sweden today there was only one (1!) black 241W, and that one was at the BenQ office. I find this really confusing. Why deny an entire continent the choice if it is available? Can it really be that expensive to keep double stock?

2. It's bright. In response to unpulse's second question, I have been using 17 inch TFTs for several years now, and this one just blew me away when I fired it up. I honestly can't tell you if it is down to the bigger physical size or if it actually is brighter than what I'm used to, though. After adjusting the brightness down and calibrating the monitor I found it much more pleasing to the eye, though.

3. The intermittent "half second of screen death" happens to me, too. I won't do anything about this until I have the updated firmwar installed, on the off chance that it contains some tweak to fix this, too.
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1. I also received a silver one which was advertised as black, looking around many UK online stores they all seem to be reported as silver, apart from shiroi.co.uk which states black and has a black picture on the listing. I had have a suspicion that they were only available in silver within europe, thanks for posting the info you had on this


2. Previous to this I had been using a Dell 20" monitor and switching to this i find it extremely bright and need to do something about it. How did u calibrate your monitor? I am considering getting my hands on a spyder to calibrate it, in the hope of getting good colours at less brightness.

3. I dont seem to have this problem, but have the problem of when I switch the screen off and turn it back on, it will no longer receive a signal from DVI and i have to reboot. Does this happen on your monitor? Maybe this is fixed in the firmware?


Also, does anyone know what the different modes do and what the differences are eg. standard, dynamic.
Are they just presets for colour, brightness, contrast, or is there something hidden behind them which you normally cant adjust via the OSD.
 
unpulse said:
I called the Germany BenQ Support Line (0800 11 46 588) and they told me that ALL monitors in Germany will be shipped with the firmware update.
Can anyone who bought the monitor in Germany confirm this?
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Hi!

I can't confirm this. My dealer told my the same ("BenQ confirmed that all monitors in Germany are with the new firmware"), but the monitor I received was from "Nov. 2006" and didn't has the new firmware! I'm waiting for a replacement monitor now - delivery date unknown... :(

Best regards,
Michael
 
anyone in europe having the issue with DVI and it wont detect a signal once the monitor is switched off and back on?
 
APMichael said:
Hi!

I can't confirm this. My dealer told my the same ("BenQ confirmed that all monitors in Germany are with the new firmware"), but the monitor I received was from "Nov. 2006" and didn't has the new firmware! I'm waiting for a replacement monitor now - delivery date unknown... :(

Best regards,
Michael
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Thanks for the info Michael. That's bad.
I did order because of the double confirnment form BenQ as well as from my supplier. If the monitor hasn't the firmware update I hope the replacement will be quick & free of costs at least. Otherwise it will returned.

:mad:
 
I'm always so impressed with neweggs processing and shipping speed. I didn't order the monitor until 4pm GMT yesterday and it still shipped the same day! They shipped it at 7pm (3 hours after order was made) and issued me a tracking number via e-mail at 11pm! Anyway, it shipped from La Puente, CA (I live in Phoenix, AZ). I will have it tommorow and will keep you updated on the manufacture date and firmware status. *Keeping my fingers crossed* :)
 
balz said:
I'm always so impressed with neweggs processing and shipping speed. I didn't order the monitor until 4pm GMT yesterday and it still shipped the same day! They shipped it at 7pm (3 hours after order was made) and issued me a tracking number via e-mail at 11pm! Anyway, it shipped from La Puente, CA (I live in Phoenix, AZ). I will have it tommorow and will keep you updated on the manufacture date and firmware status. *Keeping my fingers crossed* :)
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newegg must not like my address for some reason. I ordered shortly before you but all I get today is an e-mail saying, "This email is to inform you that upon further verification, your bill-to and ship-to addresses have been approved." and the status is "GOOD - Your Ship To address has been successfully confirmed. Your Order will be shipped in 1-2 business days."

You'd think the fact that I had over $1000 in pc parts shipped to me 8 days ago (at home address same as billing) would have been enough verification... :rolleyes:
But the status page does show that my monitor will be coming from the New Jersey warehouse, so at least we now know they have them in stock at multiple warehouses. (which increases my chances of getting a bad one. :(
oh, and it says "step 5, your order has shipped" but has no tracking number. So maybe they are shipping it today and just haven't finished the paperwork/notification.
That still probably means I won't get it until next week, though. :(
 
djphatic said:
2. Previous to this I had been using a Dell 20" monitor and switching to this i find it extremely bright and need to do something about it. How did u calibrate your monitor? I am considering getting my hands on a spyder to calibrate it, in the hope of getting good colours at less brightness.

3. I dont seem to have this problem, but have the problem of when I switch the screen off and turn it back on, it will no longer receive a signal from DVI and i have to reboot. Does this happen on your monitor? Maybe this is fixed in the firmware?
Click to expand...

2. I'm using OSX, and it has built-in colour calibration software. I wouldn't be surprised if Windows has the same functionality, or maybe you can find the same sort of thing somewhere in the software bundle that came with your graphics card.

3. Again, it might be that the DVI connection is handled differently with the Mac. I have no problem with turning the monitor off and on again during operation.
 
I agree with the NewEgg warehouse assertion... I mean it's almost impossible (granted the monitors aren't all shipped from the same warehouse) for you to order from NewEgg and gaurantee that you get a 1:1 fixed monitor... I need to order one, but I haven't because of this fact...

If only the guy who posted the review on NewEgg paid attention to [H]...
 
unpulse said:
Thanks for the info Michael. That's bad.
I did order because of the double confirnment form BenQ as well as from my supplier. If the monitor hasn't the firmware update I hope the replacement will be quick & free of costs at least. Otherwise it will returned.
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It is free of costs! Digitest, the service partner of BenQ Germany, will send me a new one as soon as possible. They are waiting for a new shipment from BenQ. Sadly they still don't no the delivery date. I hope you have more luck and you get a monitor with the new firmware.
 
#1. Is there a way through the OSD to know which firmware you have?

#2. I thought people had fixed the intermittent screen blanking with a new dvi cable?

#3. For people who calibrated their lcd, what settings did you settle on?
 
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