[renugaid]

BenQ intros 21.5-inch Full HD E2200HDA LCD monitor - Engadget

Now this (along with the Auzentech X-fi Home Theater) has now made me a bit torn about my next computer upgrades.

I was going to go with a 24" Dell 2408WFP. But this looks very enticing. The connections are more plentiful on the Dell but the steep price tag will hurt my wallet as much as some high end cans. If this new Benq E2200HDA monitor comes at a good price I may just pass on the Dell.

Damn technology for developing so fast! "Sorry about your wallet" indeed!

The main advantage of this benq is that its 16:9 ratio. Meaning you dont get the black bars framing your image when u watch HD content. Yet I am wondering if you really gain anything from that. I've yet to work out the pixel to inch ratio to verify if it will be crisper than the 24". But that is the main concern here as most computer apps and games can scale to 16:9.

What do you think?

 

[Oxyjin]

Depends on what you want to use the monitor for. I'd try to stay clear from monitors if you want to do gaming (360/PS3) or watching blu-ray since pc monitors don't really do them justice. But since your tight on cash I wouldn't stop you from picking one up although I do recommend getting a 24" with better than HD capability (1920X1200)

(*Note* not all blu-ray movies are displayed in true 1080p D:

 

[marvin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by renugaid /img/forum/go_quote.gif The main advantage of this benq is that its 16:9 ratio. Meaning you dont get the black bars framing your image when u watch HD content. Yet I am wondering if you really gain anything from that. I've yet to work out the pixel to inch ratio to verify if it will be crisper than the 24". But that is the main concern here as most computer apps and games can scale to 16:9. What do you think?

The black bars are really going to be minimal in size. At 60 pixels/bar, each bar is going to be a little over half an inch in width. That effectively turns your 24" monitor into a 23.3" monitor when playing 16:9 material. Also, most modern widescreen compatible games will scale to 1920*1200, so nothing is lost there.

Course, you're likely going to still end up with black bars for a lot of HD content even on a 1920*1080 screen. There are a whole lot of movies that don't exactly have a 1.77 aspect ratio. Many go up into the 2.xx range, meaning you'll have horizontal black bars either way.

The Benq will have somewhat better pixel density, but it's going to be close enough that moving your monitor a couple of inches will make it a moot point. Unless you're using a PS3 or Xbox 360 and don't want the 11% vertical scaling you're going to get in a 16:10 monitor, there's no advantage to the Benq as far as resolution goes.