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

I'm having a problem displaying the 1920x1080 resolution from my 360 using VGA.

When I first set the display to 1920x1080, the image is significantly stretched horizontally but correctly scaled vertically, regardless of which scaling option I choose. But if I restart the 360 (or change to a different input and then back to VGA), the image is now correctly scaled horizontally but stretched vertically to 16:10. Again, this is the case regardless of the scaling option I choose - while I don't have the overscan fix so I get the "black bars" using 1:1, the image displayed with 1:1 is still vertically stretched.

Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, can it be fixed? I guess it's not that important - I can use 1280x720 and it looks okay - but I had hoped that image quality would be improved by using a resolution closer to the monitor's native resolution.
 
satecooner said:
Does anyone know weather theres going to be any price drops soon, seems a bit steep ATM, about £434 was the lowest i could find the Benq fp241w for.
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No. no. Not steep at all. It's a collectible now. Expect higher prices. Many bought shares in bio-tech, I bought a 241W. So we have to keep this thread alive even tho the product isn't. This is the FW900 of LCDs. We have to create a mystique. An eBay bidding frenzy. My children's education depends on it.:D
 
clockdogg said:
No. no. Not steep at all. It's a collectible now. Expect higher prices. Many bought shares in bio-tech, I bought a 241W. So we have to keep this thread alive even tho the product isn't. This is the FW900 of LCDs. We have to create a mystique. An eBay bidding frenzy. My children's education depends on it.:D
Click to expand...

heh, well said. :D

Cant wait now :(
 
cassper1,

what manufacturing date was your one shipped from Aria (assuming you've received it today)?

Add yet another order from Aria from their specials as of today :).

I'll report back when I get it tomorrow, hoping for a May07 onwards screen.......
 
Logical Disconnect said:
I'm having a problem displaying the 1920x1080 resolution from my 360 using VGA.

When I first set the display to 1920x1080, the image is significantly stretched horizontally but correctly scaled vertically, regardless of which scaling option I choose. But if I restart the 360 (or change to a different input and then back to VGA), the image is now correctly scaled horizontally but stretched vertically to 16:10. Again, this is the case regardless of the scaling option I choose - while I don't have the overscan fix so I get the "black bars" using 1:1, the image displayed with 1:1 is still vertically stretched.

Has anyone else had this problem, and if so, can it be fixed? I guess it's not that important - I can use 1280x720 and it looks okay - but I had hoped that image quality would be improved by using a resolution closer to the monitor's native resolution.
Click to expand...

Use auto-adjust or manually adjust the timings. You can do this for VGA.
 
branana said:
Use auto-adjust or manually adjust the timings. You can do this for VGA.
Click to expand...

I've tried this and it doesn't work. Auto adjust doesn't fix the problem, and changing the timings manually just "shifts" the image, rather than fixing the stretching, as far as I can tell. Am I doing it incorrectly?
 
trashin said:
cassper1,

what manufacturing date was your one shipped from Aria (assuming you've received it today)?

Add yet another order from Aria from their specials as of today :).

I'll report back when I get it tomorrow, hoping for a May07 onwards screen.......
Click to expand...

I'm afraid it is April 2007:( DVI seems to be working fine, but I'm having problem with my xbox 360 over VGA - no chance to get 1920/1080 working properly, it is stretched to a full screen either on 'aspect' and 'full' option. On '1:1' there are black bars around a picture. I'm disappointed:( Do you reckon the firmware update would sort this out?
 
Uh-oh :(

A manufacturing date of April will cause annoyances with HDMI sources (no overscan) as is well documented in this thread.
May07+ (UK/European) builds do not include any enhancements to the VGA workings as far as I know.

Maybe some of the veterans here can correct me if I'm wrong?
 
trashin said:
Uh-oh :(

A manufacturing date of April will cause annoyances with HDMI sources (no overscan) as is well documented in this thread.
May07+ (UK/European) builds do not include any enhancements to the VGA workings as far as I know.

Maybe some of the veterans here can correct me if I'm wrong?
Click to expand...

I have asked veteran Branana who has his xbox working over VGA on 1920*1080 correctly with black bars top/bottom. He says the September firmware fix addresses also my issue. I seem to have an option in the menu for 1:1/Full/Aspect scaling, but it doesn't work correctly. If I choose 1:1 for 1920*1080 for xbox over VGA, I have black bars on all 4 sides of the picture, the picture is sort of shrunk. For the other 2 modes, Aspect and Full, the picture is stretched to a full area of the display, but it doesn't look good, and the display gives me a message, something like 'unregistered mode' - I'll have a proper look tonight, possibly take some pictures and post it here. The image is looking like some lower resolution stretched to a full screen. I hope he is right and after the firmware update it'll work correctly...
 
Good luck with the xbox360 cassper1,

there seems to be different responses to the firmware/module upgrade from Benq (in the UK).
One negative experience can be found here:
http://forums.hexus.net/general-discussion/101922-benq-fp241w-customer-service-help.html
Others on this forum seem to have been luckier with fast turn-around times :rolleyes:.

I don't have an xbox360 so I can't check this for you I'm afraid, somebody else in the UK might do surely (to check the European version)?

Update: just took delivery of mine this very minute; Mfg. Date: June 2007 :)
I didn't choose the Pixel Perfect policy that rokin did, further update tomorrow when I've had a time to check mine over.

The firmware lottery in the UK continues :(
 
trashin said:
Good luck with the xbox360 cassper1,

there seems to be different responses to the firmware/module upgrade from Benq (in the UK).
One negative experience can be found here:
http://forums.hexus.net/general-discussion/101922-benq-fp241w-customer-service-help.html
Others on this forum seem to have been luckier with fast turn-around times :rolleyes:.

I don't have an xbox360 so I can't check this for you I'm afraid, somebody else in the UK might do surely (to check the European version)?

Update: just took delivery of mine this very minute; Mfg. Date: June 2007 :)
I didn't choose the Pixel Perfect policy that rokin did, further update tomorrow when I've had a time to check mine over.

The firmware lottery in the UK continues :(
Click to expand...

So I guess it is worth asking: Guys, has anyone had the firmware update done in the uk? If so, what's the experience and mainly - is the xbox over VGA working correctly on 1920*1080 (with black bars top/bottom) after the update?
 
cassper1 said:
I have asked veteran Branana who has his xbox working over VGA on 1920*1080 correctly with black bars top/bottom. He says the September firmware fix addresses also my issue. I seem to have an option in the menu for 1:1/Full/Aspect scaling, but it doesn't work correctly. If I choose 1:1 for 1920*1080 for xbox over VGA, I have black bars on all 4 sides of the picture, the picture is sort of shrunk. For the other 2 modes, Aspect and Full, the picture is stretched to a full area of the display, but it doesn't look good, and the display gives me a message, something like 'unregistered mode' - I'll have a proper look tonight, possibly take some pictures and post it here. The image is looking like some lower resolution stretched to a full screen. I hope he is right and after the firmware update it'll work correctly...
Click to expand...

I had that exact problem on the first FP241W I picked up. Which was so old it didn't even have 1:1/aspect or any of that stuff lol. Also a dead pixel. Took that one back to store.

Since I'm guessing you don't have the Overscan on/off options either, your last option is getting one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Component-Video-...yZ149974QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

AND a HDMI to DVI cable.

That worked for me on my old FP241W the brief time I had it.



EDIT: that's the cheapest solution to get 1080p for 360 in your situation I think. Might not be the wisest choice though. Still quite expensive at $70 shipped. If you can still return/swap/get benq to update firmware for free, do that.
 
branana said:
I had that exact problem on the first FP241W I picked up. Which was so old it didn't even have 1:1/aspect or any of that stuff lol. Also a dead pixel. Took that one back to store.

Since I'm guessing you don't have the Overscan on/off options either, your last option is getting one of these:

http://cgi.ebay.ca/Component-Video-...yZ149974QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

AND a HDMI to DVI cable.

That worked for me on my old FP241W the brief time I had it.



EDIT: that's the cheapest solution to get 1080p for 360 in your situation I think. Might not be the wisest choice though. Still quite expensive at $70 shipped. If you can still return/swap/get benq to update firmware for free, do that.
Click to expand...

Benq are picking up the display on a Monday for a firmware update, with a free shipping both ways. I rung them up this morning, everything was arranged within an hour or so. They even wanted to pick it up tomorrow… I just hope this update will fix the problem – as I wrote earlier I’m getting some weird message when I switch to 1920*1080 over VGA and the picture mode is ‘aspect’. I’ll hopefully have some time and take & post pictures of it tonight (which carries a risk of divorce considering today’s date – when she saw the BenQ box yesterday all she said was ‘That’s where my new sofa has gone…’:)
 
cassper1 said:
Benq are picking up the display on a Monday for a firmware update, with a free shipping both ways. I rung them up this morning, everything was arranged within an hour or so. They even wanted to pick it up tomorrow… I just hope this update will fix the problem – as I wrote earlier I’m getting some weird message when I switch to 1920*1080 over VGA and the picture mode is ‘aspect’. I’ll hopefully have some time and take & post pictures of it tonight (which carries a risk of divorce considering today’s date – when she saw the BenQ box yesterday all she said was ‘That’s where my new sofa has gone…’:)
Click to expand...

This is the same problem I've been having. I also don't have the overscan update.

I'm pretty annoyed because I had the aspect ratio update applied to my older model 241W literally 3-4 weeks ago. I had assumed that BenQ would apply the latest update with all available fixes when I asked them to fix the aspect ratio problem, but I guess that would be too sensible.

Can someone confirm that the overscan update definitely fixes the 1080p VGA problem? And if it does, can you tell me (a) whether 1920x1080 looks sufficiently better than 1280x720 upscaled for me to even bother trying to have it fixed (I had to wait about 2 weeks for them to get their act together last time), and (b) whether there's perhaps another solution to the problem. I've tried the component cables but the quality is pretty horrible - dark colours are shown as black and jaggies are much more visible. I also don't have a HDMI-enabled 360.
 
Somewhat ironic that this would have to happen.

Benq returned my monitor today. I was pleased to find that the firmware is now the latest version, but I was very disappointed to find that the monitor now has two dead pixels (dead rather than stuck) adjacent to each other in the top left corner of the screen. It was previously completely free of dead pixels.

Strangely, the monitor has the exact same serial number. So same monitor it seems, as it should be.

I'm going to contact Benq to see what can be done, but it seems like a lose-lose situation.

They probably won't let me exchange it for a new one, and who knows, even if they did, that would probably either have outdated firmware or dead pixels too!

Well, a lesson to be learned. Be warned: unfortunately, it seems transit can cause dead pixels too.
 
branana said:
Just tried 1920x1080 over VGA for 360, using the MS VGA cable.

Auto adjust would not align the picture properly, I had to manually shift the picture vertically. Otherwise it's great.

6jydgev.jpg
Click to expand...

See my earlier post.
 
Doom-Minder said:
Monitor returns with the latest firmware, but also dead pixels
Somewhat ironic that this would have to happen.

Benq returned my monitor today. I was pleased to find that the firmware is now the latest version, but I was very disappointed to find that the monitor now has two dead pixels (dead rather than stuck) adjacent to each other in the top left corner of the screen. It was previously completely free of dead pixels.

Strangely, the monitor has the exact same serial number. So same monitor it seems, as it should be.

I'm going to contact Benq to see what can be done, but it seems like a lose-lose situation.

They probably won't let me exchange it for a new one, and who knows, even if they did, that would probably either have outdated firmware or dead pixels too!

Well, a lesson to be learned. Be warned: unfortunately, it seems transit can cause dead pixels too.
Click to expand...

im not sure if this is true but thats i once heard this from the delivery guy for my sony tv

i bought like a 50" sony lcd tv like 3 year ago around x-max time. i live in canada so it was pretty cold the time a got it

i went through about 3 tv exchange because of dead pixel. b/c every time when they delivery the tv they usually plug it in right away to show that is working and they leave.

the last delivery i told the guy like we went throught few tv already then he said you should wait a bit since the cold weather??

Not sure if this is really true
 
branana said:
See my earlier post.
Click to expand...

And how about the picture quality from xbox over VGA on 1920*1080? Does it have jagged lines? I've tried component input yesterday and I was horrified to see how bad jagged lines really are on 1080p in some games. I tried Half Life 2 and it was bad...
 
cassper1 said:
Benq are picking up the display on a Monday for a firmware update, with a free shipping both ways. I rung them up this morning, everything was arranged within an hour or so. They even wanted to pick it up tomorrow… I just hope this update will fix the problem – as I wrote earlier I’m getting some weird message when I switch to 1920*1080 over VGA and the picture mode is ‘aspect’. I’ll hopefully have some time and take & post pictures of it tonight (which carries a risk of divorce considering today’s date – when she saw the BenQ box yesterday all she said was ‘That’s where my new sofa has gone…’:)
Click to expand...

Wait, what?

They are acknowledging the firmware update now?

B. They are willing to actually PERFORM updates to Sept 07 firmware?

C. They're doing this for FREE?

Who did you speak to? What # did you call?
 
Deusfaux said:
Wait, what?

They are acknowledging the firmware update now?

B. They are willing to actually PERFORM updates to Sept 07 firmware?

C. They're doing this for FREE?

Who did you speak to? What # did you call?
Click to expand...
cassper1 is in the UK, where the latest firmware is May or June 07 with everything fixed and BenQ seem to be more helpful than their US counterparts.

Sorry to hear about the dead pixels Doomer-Mind - that was my only concern that it might get damaged in transit or during the firmware upgrade (since they have to pull the PCB out and it's a delicate process). Guess i'll stick with my April firmware for the time being. Hopefully when i get the courage to send it in, they'll still be able to upgrade it!
 
Deusfaux said:
Wait, what?

They are acknowledging the firmware update now?

B. They are willing to actually PERFORM updates to Sept 07 firmware?

C. They're doing this for FREE?

Who did you speak to? What # did you call?
Click to expand...

I rung 02072160039. Surprisingly girl on the phone was well aware and well informed about the problem. She told me straightaway there were 2 firmware updates - one for 1:1 pixel mapping and 2nd for the overscan fix, and that they update everything to the latest one.
 
cassper1 said:
And how about the picture quality from xbox over VGA on 1920*1080? Does it have jagged lines? I've tried component input yesterday and I was horrified to see how bad jagged lines really are on 1080p in some games. I tried Half Life 2 and it was bad...
Click to expand...

.....

Try to understand that "jaggies" will exist in any pixel-based display. What I think you are trying to describe is "jaggier than normal". This occurs on FP241W with older firmware such as yours. It is considered a bug in the firmware.

If you are seeing jaggies on component it is because you have the weird firmware that downscales component to 1680x1050 and then back up to 1920x1080.

No matter if you are using hdmi, component or vga, the only difference on a fixed FP241W (read: the one with Sept 07 firmware in NA) should be saturation levels for the different cables. Differences are minor.
 
cassper1 said:
And how about the picture quality from xbox over VGA on 1920*1080? Does it have jagged lines? I've tried component input yesterday and I was horrified to see how bad jagged lines really are on 1080p in some games. I tried Half Life 2 and it was bad...
Click to expand...

Xbox 360 and PS3 games do not run natively in 1080p. 98% of games only run natively in 720p. You only see 720p upscaled to 1080p...which is really just 720p. And in 1280*720 you are going to see some jaggies with a monitor this size. That's the way it is on any big-sized screen.

It needs to be said, however, that running Xbox 360 over VGA instead of component makes jaggies a lot less noticeable and smoothes out text in games as well. Normally there shouldn't be such a big difference between VGA and component but on 360 there is. You should use try VGA (although colors are a bit less vibrant over VGA).
 
Many thanks, Branana, Daniel, I'll let you know the results once I have my display back form Benq. Actually, just now I had a look at my housemate's LG-245WP.. xbox over component supports only 1080i, jaggies are also there and it stretches the picture to a full screen, no way to get aspect or 1:1. Tomorrow we'll try our other housemate's Dell 2707wfp, xbox via VGA and component, I'm really curious how it's going to be looking, I'll post the results.
 
cassper1 said:
I rung 02072160039. Surprisingly girl on the phone was well aware and well informed about the problem. She told me straightaway there were 2 firmware updates - one for 1:1 pixel mapping and 2nd for the overscan fix, and that they update everything to the latest one.
Click to expand...

So do you have an older version FP241W without either firmware update? Because I was told yesterday by BenQ that my older version does not have enough internal memory to take both firmware upgrades - so because I got the aspect ratio update, I couldn't get the overscan update.
 
Logical Disconnect said:
So do you have an older version FP241W without either firmware update? Because I was told yesterday by BenQ that my older version does not have enough internal memory to take both firmware upgrades - so because I got the aspect ratio update, I couldn't get the overscan update.
Click to expand...

My display was made in April 2007, I'm not sure which firmware I need. How do see I don't have the aspect ratio update? In the menu I can choose between Full, Aspect and 1:1 options...
 
cassper1 said:
My display was made in April 2007, I'm not sure which firmware I need. How do see I don't have the aspect ratio update? In the menu I can choose between Full, Aspect and 1:1 options...
Click to expand...

Yeah, I guess you already had the aspect ratio options there when you got it. I've had my LCD since November '06, so I guess I'll just have to put up with using 1280x720 over VGA.

I'm not sure that being able to properly display 1080p would make much difference anyway, at least with the Xbox.
 
Senza said:
cassper1 is in the UK, where the latest firmware is May or June 07 with everything fixed and BenQ seem to be more helpful than their US counterparts.
Click to expand...

That's 10x more helpful! Has the US done ANY of those 3 things?
 
balance101 said:
im not sure if this is true but thats i once heard this from the delivery guy for my sony tv

i bought like a 50" sony lcd tv like 3 year ago around x-max time. i live in canada so it was pretty cold the time a got it

i went through about 3 tv exchange because of dead pixel. b/c every time when they delivery the tv they usually plug it in right away to show that is working and they leave.

the last delivery i told the guy like we went throught few tv already then he said you should wait a bit since the cold weather??

Not sure if this is really true
Click to expand...

I do believe transit can cause dead or stuck pixel because yesterday I returned a FP241VW due to stuck pixel to the store, and the service guy and I opened up a new one in the store to check for stuck or dead pixel. We only found a dead green pixel near the left border, which is acceptable because normally won't see it. We both looked at it a few times and there were no other dead/stuck pixel. So I left the store a took my wife to Valentine dinner and left the new monitor in the car and few hours later we got home and I plug in and immediately found a stuck pixel near the center right of the screen. I don't believe both of us would miss such an obvious stuck pixel in the store.
 
Hi everybody,

Is FP241W discontinued?? Newegg has it marked as deactivated. Where can I buy it from in the US?

Thanks!
 
I just bought the BenQ 241W but text seems blurred (especially small fonts). And with black text on white background it seems like there is a faint red outline to the left and a green outline to the right of the letters. The text is not clear.

ClearType is enabled but text should be clear anyway.

Have you this problem too? How can I get rid of this? What to do?

Running vista 64bit, the newest driver, dvi


Thanks
 
mnemonik23 said:
Is FP241W discontinued?? Newegg has it marked as deactivated. Where can I buy it from in the US?
Click to expand...
Yes, discontinued, but this thread will go on forever.

These guys claim to have it in stock: http://www.infinity-micro.com/ProdDisplay.asp
At a price so hideous, it's makes sense they would have hundreds in stock. I'd mention the price, but you'd faint. Have a look yourself, after you've bought it somewhere else.

You could consider looking for a FP241VW which has the same panel and better availability and pricing, plus a very unique stand. Sort of a billboard tribute to LCD industrial design. Some people find it appealing. Perhaps, you're one. Unlikely, but this screen is a standing testament to the phrase about not accounting for taste.

Happy Hunting!
 
SamMiller said:
I just bought the BenQ 241W but text seems blurred (especially small fonts). And with black text on white background it seems like there is a faint red outline to the left and a green outline to the right of the letters. The text is not clear.
ClearType is enabled but text should be clear anyway.
Click to expand...
Not seen this with my 241, except once when I went nutzo with ClearTweak. And only with a few programs.
Things to try:
Turn off ClearType. Don't use small fonts. Bump up your dpi, Vista manages better with non-standard dpi than XP.

Check to see if it is just a font thing. Make some black on white graphics. A few thin black lines, horizontal, vertical and diagonal. Or visit a test image site like: http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

Try the monitor on another computer, just in case you tripped over some ugly compatibility issue.

Only use this forum. LCD friendly color theme.

Still, you may have a defective panel and that sucks.
 
SamMiller said:
I just bought the BenQ 241W but text seems blurred (especially small fonts). And with black text on white background it seems like there is a faint red outline to the left and a green outline to the right of the letters.
Click to expand...

I get this problem, with the faint red outline around text, only with certain preset color schemes. There is a button to allow you to cycle through various preset color options. Try that.
 
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