BenQ FP241W 24in Widescreen Monitor

Ok Its 2008 now... Is this still the best 24" monitor around? Really?? I read the review about the Dell 2408WFP, it seems to have some small (?) afflictions. I can not find this monitor on Benq´s homepage. Is the FP241WZ an update of this one, with the same excellent performance? Please answer this question pleeeeeeeeeeeaaase!!!!

Yes, it's the same model but with the improved 'black frame insertion' motion smear reducing model. so technically better. LCD tech suffers from persistence in pixel switching - ie - they can't quite change colour fast enough and so there's a faint ghosting left behind. Inserting a black frame (faster than the human eye can really detect) is meant to kill this light residue off a fair bit so fast moving action doesn't display ghost artifacts. I'm using the original but am a lot less than 100% impressed with it. It does however have very good colour reproduction, contrast, black level support and is mighty bright. I personally don't have any problem with the above ghosting described though it does affect some more than others, however for standard definition material (I view tv on the monitor at times too) it can suck big time, especially for sports. Watching the football is not do-able which is pretty disappointing for a 'perfect' monitor really.

I don't think BenQ's technical support division is up to much though. The first monitor I had had significant banding and in attempting to sort this (relatively minor) issue out, they sent me two duds (DOAs) and then a screen that's even worse than the one I started out with. On top of the colour banding I now have a nice under-the-screen dirt mark permanently smeared so it can't be cleaned off plus regular intermittent monitor black outs, which is a very disconcerting effect when you're busy playing an online game and people are trying their best to kill you.

The 10/10 score needs to be taken into context by the offerings of more recent models, and particularly by other manufacturers as I don't think BenQ have even matched this level of performance let alone beaten it. The new Dell's with a very wide colour gamut range look good (the higher price usually signifies greater specification).

I'm not completely unhappy about this monitor (who could be?) but BenQ really need to sort their technical repair sub-contractors out to get the credibility of a reliable company. I've fallen into melancholy since I'm aghast and now apathetic with their defective support department. Giving up is easier.

Thanks Azro!

"The 10/10 score needs to be taken into context by the offerings of more recent models, and particularly by other manufacturers as I don't think BenQ have even matched this level of performance let alone beaten it."

But I don't understand why the reviewers of this site keep referring back to this display as the one the other brands can not beat (see the recent review of the Dell 2408 for example)? Does not the newer offerings bring more to the table (wide gamut, new technology..) that puts this Benq display in the shade? I would like the reviewers comment on this as well. Two years in technology development is like normal millennium

Best place to ask is in the TR forum, Jesper G. You can read through the (long) BenQ FP241W thread and weight the pros and cons yourself. I doubt you'd be unhappy with the monitor if you bought it, but that would rather depend on the price you paid.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/dell_2408wfp.htm TFT Central is a good place to go if you wish to get updated info on any popular TFT (LCD) monitor. Here I've linked you the Dell TR reviewed and note Dell have since issued two or more firmware revisions, updating the monitor's internal software and thus dealing with some of the issues the monitor was purported to display (pun slightly intended). The BenQ FP241W series were NOT problem free and pretty much had a million people griping about some issue (however significant) or other. There's a magnum opus of a thread over at the http://www.hardocp.com/ forums all about this monitor. I've recounted my own problems with it and you should not expect absolute perfection from a monitor unless you really go very high end indeed with an Eizo or similar with proper colour calibration built in.

It all depends on what you want your monitor for, a general do it all monitor like the Dell or BenQ or absolute colour accuracy as with NEC, Eizo et al's professional range. Scout about.