Expert's Rating
Pros
- Sharp text
Cons
- Noticeable jittering with motion graphics
- Dull colors at times
Our Verdict
ViewSonic’s VG2427wm, a 24-inch widescreen LCD monitor, performed well in our image-quality tests. Text on a page of fonts of different sizes looked sharp, even when at a very small (6-point) size.
The VG2427wm also did a fairly good job of rendering color, though in one photo–a picnic scene with various red, green, and blue hues–we found the color to be slightly dull in comparison to other displays we’ve tested.
In our motion tests, the VG2427wm stumbled a bit, displaying some just-detectable jittering of our test image. Although the jittering was slight, it was noticeable enough that active gamers might find it distracting.
The VG2427wm’s 1920-by-1080-pixel native resolution theoretically makes it 1080p-ready and well-suited for HD content. Unfortunately, the display lacks an HDMI input, offering only DVI and VGA ports for connecting to a Mac. If you have a Mac that has only a Mini DisplayPort, you’ll need a Mini DisplayPort to DVI Adapter ($29). ViewSonic says that the monitor is intended for corporate and office use; but to take full advantage of its resolution, an HDMI input would seem to be a necessary feature. The VG2427wm does include three USB ports at the rear.
Jury tests
| Text | Very Good |
|---|---|
| Color Fidelity | Good |
| Uniformity | Very Good |
| Motion | Fair |
Scale = Superior, Very Good, Good, Fair, Poor
How we tested: We connected the display to a 2GHz Mac mini with 1GB of RAM running Mac OS X 10.5.6 to make sure that it was properly recognized by Mac OS. We then used a series of screens to look for light leakage as well as dead and stuck pixels. Next, we connected the display to a Windows XP PC with an EVGA 7950GX2 1GB PCIX Quad SLI graphics adapter. We noted the performance of the display with its default, out-of-the-box settings and then calibrated it to 6500 Kelvin with a gamma of 2.2, using a Gretag Macbeth Eye-One Display 2 colorimeter. A group of jurors rated each display as Superior, Very Good, Good, Fair, or Poor while evaluating a number of on-screen images for color, text, motion and screen uniformity compared with a sampling of similar displays.—Testing by Kalpana Ettenson, James Galbraith, and Jeff Kuta
Four buttons on the bottom of the front bezel control the on-screen display (OSD). The power button lies at the center of the cluster of buttons, which, unfortunately, increases the likelihood that you’ll press it by accident while aiming for the button for cycling through the OSD’s menus.
The display tilts and swivels with ease. It also has a height adjustment, which works smoothly as well. Its bezel has a pleasant, charcoal-black finish.
Macworld’s buying advice
The VG2427wm is a good choice for users who need a big screen for text-intensive work, but the less-than-totally-smooth video playback and the lack of an HDMI-in port may disappoint gamers and movie watchers.
[Kalpana Ettenson is a senior editor for PC World.]
Specifications
| Size | 24 inches |
|---|---|
| Native Resolution | 1920 x 1080 |
| Connections | 1 DVI, 1 VGA |
| Viewing Angle | 170 degrees |
| Brightness | 300 cd/m2 |
| Response Time | 5ms |
| Contrast Ratio | 1000:1 |
| Dimensions (height x depth x width in inches) | 22.2 x 9.8 x 17.4 |
| Special Features | speakers |
| Warranty | 3-year limited warranty on parts, labor, and backlight |