Best black level among 24"+ (non-TN) gaming monitors?

[NYHoustonman]

Tax returns are coming soon, and I'm thinking about upgrading from my Dell 2209WA. It's been great, but I really want something with deeper black levels - the bleed is terrible in darker games.

I'd like to stay away from TN panels if possible.

I've done some searching, and apparently the LP2475 is good, but getting a bit old... Then there's the ZR24W, which some say is the replacement but from reviews doesn't have black levels quite as low.

The Eizo FORIS FS2331 sounds great, but I can't find much availability, and it's pretty expensive for a 23" monitor - unsure as to whether or not it's worth that cost, especially considering potential input lag/response time issues (given that it's a PVA panel, apparently).

Has anyone else made a monitor purchase recently with black level / color quality / gaming performance in mind? Looking for input, as I doubt I'll be able to see any of these in person before buying.

 

[Grooveriding]

If black level is your priority you want a PVA panel. IPS black levels are not as good as what you'll find in a PVA.

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

I'm no expert in display pannels, but I'd suggest you remember to take uniformity and bleed into account. I have an Ultrasharp 2408 IPS and it's black levels are not super dark, but I find them more comfortable than my side display (a shitty 22" TN) which has great black levels but has some backlight bleed at the edges that totally negates the dark black level. I don't know anything about PVA. Just know IPS and TN.

 

[postmortemIA]

One SPVA panel that I have has very dark black, but has crushed blacks, as in lots of dark colors appear completely black. TNs are far worst, due to color shift with angle you can get blacks to illuminate as gray. SPVA panels are probably not available in that size anymore.

Looks like samsung is making 'new' type of panels labeled as 'PLS', so you might get something in upcoming months:
http://www.samsung.com/global/busine...t/monitor.html

 

[wahdangun]

why not oled monitor? Currently sony selling 27 inc oled monitor, but it will really expensive tough

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

OLED? Really? Can you say El Stupido price? For that price I'd rather a 3x30" IPS Ultrasharp setup!

 

[taltamir]

why not oled monitor? Currently sony selling 27 inc oled monitor, but it will really expensive tough

no, sony will be selling it "soon"... right now they are selling an 11" oled for 3000$.

@OP if you want best black levels then consider a plasma TV... its like CRT on steroids. It also has no ghosting issues.

But you will have to deal with burn in.
see:
http://forum.beyond3d.com/showthread.php?t=48795
http://dvice.com/archives/2008/05/shift_image_ret.php

I don't think its for me though, I am sticking with LCD for now.

 

[wahdangun]

OLED? Really? Can you say El Stupido price? For that price I'd rather a 3x30" IPS Ultrasharp setup!

yeah the price is stupid, but if you want best for 27 inc monitor than you don't have any choice,

shame plasma don't have size below 30 inc, i realy want 24 inc plasma display tough,

 

[NYHoustonman]

OLED's are definitely the next step (I have a Samsung Galaxy S, so I get a small taste )... But not yet. And I'd like something in the next month or two.

I've thought about Plasmas as well, but the burn-in thing scares me, with the amount of my screen that is static most of the time.

My previous monitor was an Acer AL2051W, which IIRC was M-PVA - which is close. It definitely had better backlight uniformity (less bleeding) than my 2209WA. So I can see going in that direction... But a quick search doesn't show me much along the lines of 'modern' panels outside of the extremely expensive Eizo Foris (23/24").

FWIW, I'm looking at spending $500-600.

 

[RavenSEAL]

wow...oled...3k for 11"!

*cries himself to sleep*

 

[taltamir]

wow...oled...3k for 11"!

*cries himself to sleep*

remember when a plasma TV cost 20,000$?

 

[RavenSEAL]

remember when a plasma TV cost 20,000$?

No i do not xD

Didn't really pay that much attention to this stuff back then.

 

[CurseTheSky]

Dell 2408WFP.

The white and black levels are really good, but the input lag sucks if you plan on gaming on that thing.

Other than that, 42" Plasma or deal with the less stellar blacks of a good IPS panel.

 

[Blitz KriegeR]

Dell 2408WFP.

The white and black levels are really good, but the input lag sucks if you plan on gaming on that thing.

As a three year owner, I have to disagree. While the black levels are not super amazing the whites are really uniformly bright so the contrast is still great. I've never once had a complaint about input lag.

The only complaint I do have is one dead pixel! :'(