Opinions on Acer 22" widescreen LCD?

[WobbleWobble]

Futureshop (a Canadian chain store) has the Acer 22" widescreen AL2216WBD LCD monitor for $450. They're having a Family and Friend's sale this weekend so 10% brings it down to $405 (Canadian Dollars).

To me, it seems too good to be true with 5ms response time and 700:1 contrast ratio.

The gotchas from what I can think of is the resolution is the same as a 20" wide screen and it doesn't look like this model supports HDCP.

Reviews are sparse and it's not listed on Acer's website. Does anyone have anymore information about this monitor? Any reviews?

 

[hans007]

ive seen the monitor at costco down in socal.

it seems pretty nice, though there isnt a huge benefit to it over a normal 20" 1680x1050.

i suppose the argument is the same as getting a 17 or 19" monitor.

acer monitors are usually decent but not spectacular in the value line (which this is part of).

if you want a really good monitor get something in the gaming line, lik ethe al2051w

 

[Redox]

I'm very pleased with the Acer AL2416W 24" widescreen - the 22" model looks similar in construction but has lower contrast ratio and brightness than the model I have.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: hans007
ive seen the monitor at costco down in socal.

it seems pretty nice, though there isnt a huge benefit to it over a normal 20" 1680x1050.

i suppose the argument is the same as getting a 17 or 19" monitor.

acer monitors are usually decent but not spectacular in the value line (which this is part of).

if you want a really good monitor get something in the gaming line, lik ethe al2051w

Exactly the same rationale for me. I've owned the whole gamut of LCD's - several 17" models, the Dell 20" widescreen and I currently own a 19" 1907fp (great screen). I always found the text to be a tad small on the 20" and 17" screens -- of course you can increase the size, but I also like a nice big screen, and uber high res isn't that important to me.

I'm going to be buying the 22" Acer widescreen tomorrow from Canada Computers (it seems to be available all over here in Ontario, as of maybe a few days ago), and I'll post my impressions here.

 

[JACKHAMMER]

Bump for Views. @$350 via Costco, this is mightty tempting.

 

[jiffylube1024]

OK so I bought the screen today. Games (Warcraft 3 and Far Cry are the first ones I tested) look great. The font size is so much more comfortable to me than on my old 20" Dell widescreen. It's just like a 19" screen in terms of font size - text is a tad smaller (which isn't bad).

By default, the brightness and contrast are set (too) high - right now I'm at Contrast 50, Brightness 72. Windows looks great, videos look terrible. You need to either go into the screen and lower the brightness and contrast for movies (Brightness and Contrast in the 20's look good to me) or adjust your Overlay controls in the video driver (which I'll do later).

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The stand is crap -- a no frills basic stand with no adjustment, no tilt, nothing. It's too short (about 4" off the table!) also. My old 19" Dell 1907 is laughing at it as we speak.

However, the panel is very good once you get it adjusted out of the box. For the price, it's absolutely unbeatable. Obviously the 24" Dell is better, but (here in Canada), it's 2-3 times the money, which IMO is not worth it for the vast majority of people. Looks like 22" is the new 19" - the sweetspot for the mainstream consumer with big enough font size to be readable at default resolution/DPI.

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Complaints of bad viewing angles are highly overrated. Horizontal viewing angle is very good; vertical viewing angle is acceptable. Response time in games is good. Slight dithering is noticeable in videos, like many 6-bit panels. Colour accuracy (subjectively) is passable. Unacceptable for professional photo/video editing, like all 6-bit panels (which is most screens these days).

All-in-all, it's a good but not great panel with zero bonus features at an absolutely steal of a price. 20" models right next to it were priced above this screen at the store~!

Edit: By the way, it's $379.99 CDN at Canada Computers and PC Canada .

 

[ptjoshua]

I just bought this monitor today and I'm also very happy with it. I also bought the Princeton 20" ws LCD from costco and was less than trilled but for the price of 250 you can't complain much about that one either. I'd really like to know what you ACER 22" owners end up doing with the color contrast and brightness stuff as I seem to be unable to find the perfect settings for mine. Please post what methods and settings you are using for both video, games, browsing etc. Much appreciated, and I agree for the $350 I paid at costco its almost impossible to beat this thing on price/performance ratio.

 

[n7]

We have this one at werk, & it does indeed seem to be a very good LCD for the money.

I too like the fact that you get slightly larger pixels, as it elimates the need for customized text sizes like i presently have to fiddle with on my 20" LCDs.

If i didn't already have a couple 20" displays, i'd consider this one.

As mentioned, it's not a fancy display.
Very basic bezel/base with no height adjust or pivot.
Just a relatively good LCD that's great bang-for-buck.

 

[ptjoshua]

Anybody have good color and contrast/brightness settings for this monster yet?
I love everything about it but the slight blur/ghosting. I'm relly picky though.

 

[NicColt]

How come Acer doesn't seem to have a Link to the AL2216WB

 

[hans007]

i think theres linkson their taiwan site.

 

[TheNewGuy]

My first LCD, and to be honest, not sure if I'll keep it or not...I have a 9" stand which the monitor sits on and I still don't seem to think it's high enough...I've played around with both contrast and brightness and it doesn't seem as if my viewing angle is ideal (seems too high, with a whitening effect on the screen)....any tips would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks...

Dave

 

[kmmatney]

Sounds like a great LCD. Pixel size should be 0.282 mm, which is still smaller than a 19" LCD, but easier to see than a 20". Its good to see some large LCD monitors that a mainstream video card can power.

I purchased the LCD in my sig also for larger pixels and text (its a 20" 4:3 monitor). I also own 19" and 20" widescreens, but always felt like the hieghts were too short. The extra inch in height that is gained by going to 22" would make the LCD much more immersive, IMO.

As for the best contrast ratios, my advice is to adjust the gamma setting on all channels down a few notches. This setting will be somewhere in your video card drivers.

 

[sinse7en]

Originally posted by: TheNewGuy
My first LCD, and to be honest, not sure if I'll keep it or not...I have a 9" stand which the monitor sits on and I still don't seem to think it's high enough...I've played around with both contrast and brightness and it doesn't seem as if my viewing angle is ideal (seems too high, with a whitening effect on the screen)....any tips would be greatly appreciated...

Thanks...

Dave

You should be looking down at the monitor, just slightly... with the monitor slightly angled up for proper posture and minimized eye strain.

http://www.healthycomputing.com/office/setup/monitor/#Setup

 

[Krakn3Dfx]

I picked up one of the 22" Acers at Microcenter Friday for $330, then got back $30 on Sunday when it fell to $300. I had a budget line Dell 19" before, and this is a pretty substantial upgrade for me. I think the colors are great, I adjusted it to my liking for games and pictures, still working on the video settings, but getting there. Overall, I can't imagine a current 22" LCD monitor that touches this one for $300. I'm very happy with it, especially for gaming, WoW and Guild Wars look great one it, as do Flatout 2 and Lego Star Wars II.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
The stand is crap -- a no frills basic stand with no adjustment, no tilt, nothing.

My understanding was that there is tilt, just no swivel or height. If so it would be similar to my Acer AL1912. I've been reasonably pleased with it and have the brightness and contrast at 85 each in a usually well lit room.

I ordered the 22" from Micro Center for $317US shipped cost just today and am looking forward to getting it. For everyone complaining that the resolution is too low, after all the internet pr0n^H^H^H^H I mean, after you get old the bigger text is much nicer on the eyes.

Originally posted by: sinse7en
You should be looking down at the monitor, just slightly... with the monitor slightly angled up for proper posture and minimized eye strain.

QFT. Not just eye strain, but after a whole day at it your neck will thank you.

Another thing (as already mentioned) is that I don't need some uber video card to push more pixels.

Krakn3Dfx, does Flatout 2 natively support widescreen?

 

[kmmatney]

I live near the Denver Microcenter, so I checked this LCD out on Saturday. Colors looked great, viewing angle was decent, and overall it looks like a great LCD for the money. Pixel size is actually a little smaller than a 19" LCD, still but much nicer on the eyes than the 20" screens. I can see this size being very popular. I wish this would have come out 2 months earlier.

 

[xtknight]

Anyone had a chance to see both this and the Samsung 225BW in person? How did they compare?

 

[jiffylube1024]

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
The stand is crap -- a no frills basic stand with no adjustment, no tilt, nothing.

My understanding was that there is tilt, just no swivel or height. If so it would be similar to my Acer AL1912. I've been reasonably pleased with it and have the brightness and contrast at 85 each in a usually well lit room.

[/quote]

No tilt, nothing. It just sits there, 4" up from the desk. Reminds me of an old BenQ 17" I used to own. Good think my desk is the perfect height for this monitor .

I ordered the 22" from Micro Center for $317US shipped cost just today and am looking forward to getting it. For everyone complaining that the resolution is too low, after all the internet pr0n^H^H^H^H I mean, after you get old the bigger text is much nicer on the eyes.

Welcome to the club! Yeah the resolution thing - some people like tiny pixels, others don't. I really couldn't stand a 20" widescreen - pixels were too small for my liking. This is just right .

 

[TheNewGuy]

After a month of use, I really like this thing...of course, it's my first LCD and I don't have anything to compare it to....as for the resolution, I like it with the larger pixels and I built a stand to raise it off my desk.

Dave

 

[Zap]

Well, I'll have plenty to compare with... will be the fourth LCD in the household.

 

[Zap]

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024

Originally posted by: Zap

Originally posted by: jiffylube1024
The stand is crap -- a no frills basic stand with no adjustment, no tilt, nothing.

My understanding was that there is tilt, just no swivel or height.

No tilt, nothing. It just sits there, 4" up from the desk.[/quote]

Just got my monitor in today and guess what? It has tilt. Perhaps you're confusing tilt with being ablt to raise the monitor higher?

 

[kmmatney]

I picked on up today. I was able to sell my old LCD for what I paid, so I upgraded to athis 22" LCD from my old 20" 4:3 LCD for $60. I have 4 LCDs around the house, and several I use at work.

It has tilt, but no other adjustments.

Here is my mini review:

Just went to Microcenter and picked one up - $299. I'm very pleased with it. I have one dead sub-pixel (green subpixel) off to the side, but I have to search hard to find it, and it usually not visible, especially in darker scenes. Its about the equivalent of having a tiny piece of dust on the screen. I'm going to run a pixel exercise program to see if it will go away, but it really no big deal.

This LCD is incredibly light-weight and thin. It almost like somebody took a 22" laptop panel and slapped a power transformer on the back. The first impression of the base is that it's cheap and flimsy, but in reality its adequate for the job, especially considering how lightweight it is. The base is also very thin height-wise, so my keyboard can go right over the top of it. This is nice, as my old LCD had a tall base, and the keyboard would wobble if it went over it.

I ran XTKnight's color gradient programs, and they look excellent. Minimal or no banding, and colors look very good. I'm using DVI (it comes with both DVI and VGA cables).

The horizontal viewing angle is pretty good, so really no issues there. The vertical viewing angle is not as good, and if I stand above the LCD and look down, a lot of the colors are washed out. No issues with the vertical viewing angles under normal use.

I have a few 8 ms display at home, and this one does feel "quicker", as you would expect for a 5 ms display.

On my LCD, there is a small amount of backlight bleeding near the top, but not in the corners. It's cinfined to a narrow 1/4" strip covering about half the screen width. Not too bad. Movies look great.

I guess that's about it, its an inexpensive, large display with good image quality, and a pixel size that doesn't hurt my eyes. I'm very happy with it.

 

[jiffylube1024]

Oh snap it does tilt a bit! I get a hard cracking sound when I first tried to break it in, but after that wouldn't you know it, it does tilt a bit. My bad!

 

[kreidel]

Originally posted by: xtknight
Anyone had a chance to see both this and the Samsung 225BW in person? How did they compare?

I actually saw this monitor today a CompUSA. I think it looks good, I might pick it up tomorrow. I was sold on the NEC 20WMGX2 but my monitor would have terrible glare from the window right behind me so I had to forgot about it. I really wanted a 24" but that might be alittle overkill for me. My next option was a Dell 2007fpw but I went to pickup some cables today and came across the 225BW and I came home and did some reviews. CompUSA says it is a 6-bit panel but Samsung and other sites I have seen states it is a 8-bit. I am not 100% sure but this might be my next monitor.