Up for review today I’ve got another monitor that was provided by Geeks.com for review. I love my monitors, as of now I’ve got four of them and I think I’m happy, think being the keyword there of course. The monitor is from LG, it’s 23” in size and it features a glossy surface instead of the normal flat like you see on most monitors. The picture quality is gorgeous really, I’m happy, very happy with it and I think you will be as well.

Specifications:

23" LG Flatron W2340VG DVI/HDMI Blu-ray 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor w/HDCP Support (Gloss Black)

-P/N: W2340VG-PN
-Model: Flatron W2340VG

Enjoy widescreen viewing with this 23-inch LG Flatron W2340VG LCD Monitor!

The W2340VG-PN features a 23-inch TFT Active Matrix LCD display with a full high definition 1920 x 1080 resolution and a 70,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio for razor sharp and clear viewing of applications, movies and games! Get a great view of everything thanks to the 170° horizontal and 160° vertical viewing angles!

Connectivity is a snap thanks to the HDMI, DVI and VGA inputs. For maximum viewing comfort, the W2340VG-PN offers a -5° to 15° tilt range! Work and play in widescreen mode with this 23-inch LG Flatron W2340VG LCD Monitor!

General Features:
- Glossy black color
- 23-inch TFT Active Matrix LCD display
- 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz maximum resolution
- 1080p Full High Definition video format
- 16:9 aspect ratio
- 0.265 x 0.265 mm pixel pitch
- 70,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio (1000:1 contrast ratio)
- 300 cd/m2 brightness
- 5 ms response time
- 170° horizontal viewing angle
- 160° vertical viewing angle
- 16.7 million color support
- HDCP support
- On Screen Display (OSD) menu
- Supports sRGB color management, f-ENGINE technology, Digital Fine Contrast (DFC), Photo Effect, SuperBright Non-Gloss
- Tilt: -5° to 15°
- 30 kHz to 83 kHz (Automatic) Horizontal Frequency
- 56 Hz to 75 Hz (Automatic) Vertical Frequency (Analog, Digital)
- HDMI: 56 Hz to 61 Hz (Automatic)
- Image Color Temperature: 9300K, 6500K, 7500K, 8500K

Connectors:
- One (1) HDMI
- One (1) DVI-D
- One (1) 15-pin VGA
- One (1) 3.5 mm headphone/earphone input

Power Specifications:
- AC 100 – 240V, 50/60Hz, 1.0A
- On Mode: 44W (Typ.)
- Sleep Mode:≤ 1W
- Off Mode: ≤ 1W

Dimensions:
- With stand: 16.99 x 22.19 x 8.26-inches (H x W x D,approximate)
- Without stand: 14.07 x 22.19 x 2.38-inches (H x W x D,approximate)

Package Includes:
-23-inch LG Flatron W2340VG Widescreen LCD Monitor
-Manual on CD
-VGA cable
-Power cord
-Stand

Price: $159.99

Unboxing:
The monitor comes packaged as new in a nice looking LG box.

Inside you’ll find the monitor, stand, VGA and power cable and the manual on a CD.

Here’s the monitor without the base. It’s a glossy style monitor, the first I’ve ever owned actually so this is a new experience for me. The bezel looks large, but it has that’s because it extends about 1/4” out with a semi-transparent some colored border.

On the bottom right corner of the monitor you’ll find the control buttons.

Flipping it over to the back is where you’ll see the power connection, HDMI, VGA and DVI connections and an audio port as well.

Installation, Performance, Comparison
The first thing you’ll need to do is put it together and that is just attaching the base, but you’ll need to lock it into place.

So here’s my setup with now three 23” monitors and one 22” at the top right. The LG is in the middle as my main monitor.

Here’s a couple other pictures of it, I have my center speaker on the top of it.

This LG Monitor has a glossy surface as opposed to most other monitors that are flat finished. I don’t like netbooks and laptops with glossy surface so I wasn’t sure about this one, but once I got it set up I was surprised at the real differences I saw. The glossy surface actually makes things look clearer and more crisp, especially movies.

There are some adjustments you can make via the control panel but not much really. For my uses I turned it on and it worked perfectly well, I didn’t have to make any adjustments at all. I’m impressed truly.

So I played games and watched blu-rays on it and everything was just beautiful really.

I like the monitor, but I do have a couple issues with it. The first being the stand, it’s higher than others and there’s no up and down movements and the forward and back movements are very limited.

Conclusion:
If you’re looking for a great inexpensive monitor then this is the one you want for sure.

The picture quality is excellent on this monitor, more than what I could have ever hoped for really. It’s one of the nicest monitors I’ve ever owned.

Pros:
+Lightweight
+Beautiful picture
+Monitor itself looks great
+Easy access to buttons and controls

Cons:
-Wide bezel
-Not much adjustment, no up or down

Ratings
Overall: 4 out of 5
Performance: 5 out of 5
Aesthetic: 5 out of 5
Build Quality: 4 out of 5

Disclosure: http://www.bonafidereviews.com/disclosure-policy/

It’s Monday and I figured why not start the week off with a review. Today for review Geeks.com has sent me over a 21.5” LCD monitor from Compaq, specifically it’s the model Q2159 and it can do 1080P and it even has built-in speakers. The monitor itself is nicely made, and the picture quality is very good, I didn’t even have to make any adjustments to it, right out of the box it was picture perfect! So read on…

Specifications:

21.5" Compaq Q2159 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor w/Speakers (Black)

Things look a whole lot better with this Compaq Q2159 LCD monitor. It features a 21.5-inch widescreen display  with 1920 x 1080 maximum resolution (1080p) and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The fast 5 ms response time provides a better experience for casual gaming and graphics.

General Features:
- Color: Black
- Screen Size: 21.5-inches
- Maximum Resolution: 1920 x 1080 @ 60 Hz
- Response Time: 5 ms
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
- Dot Pitch: 0.2480 x 0.2480 mm
- Horizontal Frequency (analog mode): 24 to 94 kHz
- Vertical Frequency (analog mode): 50 to 76 Hz
- Built-in stereo speakers
- On Screen Display (OSD)
- Security lock slot
- Tilt adjustment

Connectors:
- 15-pin VGA
- 3.5 mm audio jack

Unit Dimensions:
- 16.3 x 22.2 x 7.6-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

Price: $154.99

Unboxing:
The monitor I got for review is brand new and comes in the retail packaging. It’s packaged well for protection.

Inside the box you’ll find the monitor, stand, user manual, CD, power cable and audio cable. You’ll find the VGA cable attached to the monitor already.

The monitor is black in color and has a glossy finish to it. There’s plenty of ventilation on the back to keep things cool.

On the back of the monitor you’ll find only connection for VGA, audio and power. There’s no DVI or HDMI connections to be found sadly.

On the side of the monitor are near the bottom are three buttons for Menu, audio and navigation in the menus. At the very top of the monitor is a clear button that is for power.

Installation, Performance, Comparison
So to test it I replaced my main 23” monitor with it and hooked it up to my ATI 4890 video card. My monitor was hooked up via HDMI so I had to find a DVI to VGA adapter. This Compaq monitor only comes with VGA connections which really limits you. You’ll need to install the base of course, it just pops on easily.

I did some browsing of course, played some games and popped in a Blu-ray to check it out.

Colors during regular use seem very good.

When I was watching a Blu-ray though blacks weren’t like they should be, they seemed almost gray. Specifically the black bars at the top and bottom of the picture, and even the black in the movie. I use PowerDVD to watch Blu-rays and I never noticed it before on my other monitor though. This only happened when watching videos though. You can go into the menu and adjust it to make it look right, but then when you’re done you’d have to change it back, kind of annoying to do that every time you want to watch a movie.

Speaking of menus here they are:

Overall, during regular use the monitor is fine. The whites and blacks are spot on, and colors are great. There’s no light bleeding in from around the edges at all, so you won’t have that to worry about.

Gaming is decent, no shadows or ghosting and videos seem good except for what I mentioned about that Blu-ray and PowerDVD.

The speakers are what you might expect from a monitor, they’re tinny and just not that good. They’re fine for basic stuff like Windows sounds but I wouldn’t want to use them for gaming, movies of music. If you really needed to you could of course, but the sound isn’t the best.

The only adjustments to be made physically are titling forward and back, there is no up and down adjustment.

Physically the monitor is nice looking and it seems well made, and it’s actually rather lightweight.

Conclusion:
For the price this Compaq monitor is well worth it really. It’s 1080P HD, and the picture quality is very good overall. The build quality seems to be good as well.

The lack of connection options may put off some, especially since it doesn’t even come with an adapter for DVI to VGA.

The speakers aren’t that good at all, but I don’t think that will matter much to many as I’m not sure many people actually use the built-in speakers on monitors.

Sure there are some small issues but they can be overlooked because of the price.

Pros:
+Very good picture
+Simple to setup and use
+Lots of options

Cons:
-No DVI or HDMI connections
-Speakers aren’t that great
-Not much adjustment

Ratings
Overall: 4 out of 5
Performance: 5 out of 5
Aesthetic: 5 out of 5
Build Quality: 4 out of 5

Disclosure: http://www.bonafidereviews.com/disclosure-policy/

Most people that know me know that I like my monitors, right now with the one that I’m reviewing today I’ve got dual 23”, a 22” and a 21.5” one. The two 23” one are 1920×1080 and so is the 21.5″ and the 22” is 1680×1050 resolution, so I’ve got a lot of screen real estate to work with, and you know what? I still don’t have enough…

Today for review I’ve got another products from our friends over at Geeks.com. It’s the ASUS VH232H 23” LCD Monitor and it’s attractively priced at only $149.99 It features full HD 1080P resolution and what Asus calls Splendid Video Intelligence Technology that supposedly will give you the best picture of the right situation. The VH232H has several connection on it, including HDMI, DVI,  and VGA along with audio in and audio out and a SPIF connection as well. So read on to learn more..

Specifications:

23″ ASUS VH232H DVI/HDMI Blu-ray 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor w/Speakers & HDCP Support (Black)

Enjoy high definition 1080p viewing on the 23-inch ASUS VH232H Widescreen LCD Monitor! It’s ideal for DVD movie playback, video gaming and work-related widescreen viewing!

This 23-inch 16:9 widescreen LCD monitor features a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 300 cd/m2 brightness and a 20,000:1 ASCR (ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio). The speedy 5 ms response time eliminates any blurring, making it ideal for fast action games. Get a great view of everything thanks to the 160° horizontal and vertical viewing angles!

General Features:
- 23-inch widescreen LCD display
- 16:9 aspect ratio
- 1920 x 1080 resolution
- 0.266 mm pixel pitch
- 300 cd/m2 brightness
- 20,000:1 ASCR (ASUS Smart Contrast Ratio) Technology
- 160° horizontal and vertical viewing angles
- 5 ms response time
- Supports 16.7 million colors
- 25° tilt angle (forward 5°, backwards 20°)
- Built-in hidden 2W x 2 stereo speakers (RMS)
- Analog Signal Frequency: 30 ~ 83 KHz(H) / 50 ~ 75 Hz(V)
- Digital Signal Frequency: 30 ~ 83 KHz(H) / 50 ~ 75 Hz(V)
- Kensington security lock
- Wall mountable: 100 x 100 mm / 3.93 x 3.93-inches
- Stylish and user-friendly design
- Lead-free

Video Features:
- SPLENDID Video Intelligence Technology
- SPLENDID Video Preset Modes (5 modes)
- Skin-Tone Selection (3 mode)
- HDCP support
- Color Temperature Selection (5 modes)

Convenient Hot-Keys:
- SPLENDID Video Preset Mode Selection
- Auto Adjustment
- Brightness Adjustment
- Volume Adjustment
- Input Selection

Connectors:
- One (1) HDMI
- One (1) DVI-D
- One (1) 15-pin VGA
- One (1) 3.5 mm PC audio in
- One (1) 3.5 mm headphone out
- One (1) SPDIF

Power Specifications:
- 100 – 240V, 50/60Hz, 1.5A
- Power Consumption: < 55-watts
- Power Saving Mode: < 1-watt

Unit Dimensions:
- With stand: 16 x 21.6 x 8.5-inches (H x W x D, approximate)
- Without stand: 13.5 x 21.6 x 2.75-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

Price: $149.99

Unboxing:
The Asus VH232H comes package very well with lots of styrofoam packing material.

Inside you’ll find the monitor itself, the base, VGA and DVI cables and of course the power cord, you’ll have to supply your own HDMI and audio cables sadly.

The monitor is basically all black, it has a glossy black bezel around it with the control button located at the bottom right corner. There’s a small blue LED next to the power button that comes on when you turn it on.

On the back you’ll find all of the connections as you might expect to.

Here it is with the stand attached:

Sadly there’s not much room for adjustments with this monitor, it only have front to back tilting and only for a total of 20 degrees, 5 forward and 20 back. So you can’t raise of lower it at all, but you can always stick a phone book under it if need be right? What else are you going to use it for?!

Installation, Performance, Comparison
Here’s the monitor, I’m using Windows 7 and I use a NASA space theme actually for my desktop. If you look closely you can see the little blue light at the bottom right of the monitor for power. One thing I can say is I like the LED, it’s there, but it’s not bright at all. On some of my monitors I had to put black electrical tape over the power LEDs as they lit up the room at night they were so bright.

Here’s the monitor next to my Hannspree HF237 23” monitor and under my 22” Envision monitor. My fourth monitor is to the left of the Hannspree one, and really didn’t need to be in the picture.

I found that when I turned it on the colors seemed fine, if a bit too white or too bright actually, I only had to lower the brightness a bit and it matched my other monitors fine.

There looks to be a lot of menu choices, but there really isn’t.

I found that navigating them was rather difficult, I’ve got several monitors obviously and the buttons just seems rather unintuitive. It’s hard to explain really unless you’re actually there pressing the buttons, let’s just say it’s not the best navigation system I’ve seen…

You can change the modes via the menu or by pressing the first button on the left to cycle through Standard, Theater, Game, Night View and Scenery Modes. None seem any good except for standard honestly, they all just seem to bright and with the contrast set to high even for Night View mode which you would think might be set lower. Some of the modes seems to make things too washed out, while others are just too bright with off contrast settings. I’ll stick with the standard mode and adjust it myself. I guess to use it as a single monitor you would be fine with changing modes etc, but when you’ve got several monitors you won’t them to be as close to the same as you can get.

Colors are excellent, blacks are nice and dark black and the whites are very bright, as I said I had to tone down the brightness because it was so bright.

There’s no backlight bleeding at all, the backgrounds I like to use are dark so that’s important to me, and I do like to watch quite a bit of Netflix. I have the Asus monitor on the right side of my main one, and I like to play a movie or watch some Netflix on that monitor while I’m working (…one of the benefits of working from home). I played both DVDs and Blu-Rays on the monitor and of course Netflix, everything looked beautiful. Before the Asus I was using the Samsung 21.5” 1080P in that spot, and there’s  noticeable difference between them, the Asus is much better looking overall for movies especially.

I don’t do much in the way of gaming on this computer at all, but I loaded up a couple and switched to that monitor to play them. I’ve got an ATI 4890 video card in there, and games were fine, it is a 5ms response time monitor so it should be fine for any gaming. I saw no ghosting or anything like that, it was smooth and looked great really.

The audio isn’t the greatest, but that’s expected really with a monitor that has built-in speakers. I’ve yet to come across a speakers in a monitor that are decent sounding.

Overall it’s a great monitor and I’m very happy with it.

It would be nice if there were more adjustments to the base and the monitor itself, and it would have been nice had it comes with an HDMI cable and audio cables.

Conclusion:
So, for about $150 you can get a very nice 23” HD resolution monitor that is more than capable of playing games and watching movies and of course getting some work done.

Colors are great, nice and sharp and crisp there’s no backlight bleeding at all so movies look very good.

It’s not a bad monitor truly, yes the speakers aren’t very good, but I don’t many people that actually use the built-in speakers anyway…

Pros:
+Beautiful picture
+No adjustments really needed for coloring
+Inexpensive
+Lightweight

Cons:
-Not much in the way of adjustments with base
-Menus are tricky at best to navigate
-Speakers aren’t the greatest
-Doesn’t come with HDMI or audio cables

Ratings
Overall:4 out of 5
Performance: 5 out of 5
Aesthetic: 5 out of 5
Build Quality: 5 out of 5

Disclosure: http://www.bonafidereviews.com/disclosure-policy/

Monitors are something that most of us stare at for many hours per day, myself included and having  a good monitor can make a big difference in how you view things. Yes that pun was intended. A good monitor will have a high resolution, good color reproduction and a low refresh rate, these things combined will make your viewing experience much more enjoyable for all things that you do. Personally I run four monitors, why, well they seem to have multiplied and it seems like I still don’t have enough desktop real estate.

Today for review I’ve got the Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW. It’s a relatively low priced monitor from Geeks.com. It features a nice high contrast ratio, HD 1080 resolution and a relatively low refresh rate at 5ms. These things combine for a very nice viewing experience overall.

Specifications:

21.5-inch Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW DVI Widescreen LCD Monitor

General Features:
-High Gloss Black cabinet color
-Screen Size: 21.5-inch wide viewable display
-Pixel Pitch: 0.248 mm
-Brightness: 300 cd/m²
-Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
-Dynamic Contrast Ratio: 15000:1
-Vertical Viewing Angle: 160°
-Horizontal Viewing Angle: 160°
-Response Time: 5 ms
-Number of Colors: 16.7 million
-Resolution: 1920 x 1080
-Horizontal Scanning Frequency: 30 – 81 KHz
-Vertical Scanning Frequency: 56 – 75 Hz
-Aspect Ratio: 16:9
-MagicBright 3
-MagicTune
-Custom key
-OSD Menu
-Integrated rear cable housing
-Wall Mountable: 100 mm x 100 mm VESA
-CCFL backlight

Connectors:
-15-pin VGA
-DVI-D with HDCP

Power Specifications:
-100 – 240V, 50/60Hz, 0.8A
-Power Consumption: 40-watts

Dimensions:
-With Stand: 15.44 x 20.43 x 8.22-inches (H x W x D, approximate)
-Without Stand: 13.6 x 20.44 x 2.8-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

Price: $139.99

Unboxing:
As you might be able to tell by the picture of the box below, this is a refurbished product. The monitor inside though is packaged as one might expect to receive when new.

The monitor comes packaged with both DVI and VGA cables which is something you don’t often see. There’s also the stand and power cable as well.

The Monitor does have a black glossy bezel, with a clear part at the bottom.

On the back we find funky but refreshing flower pattern, on the back is also where you’ll find the audio, power, DVI and VGA connectors.

On the right hand side of the monitor, out of view, are the buttons for controls. menu, up, down, select, auto and power.

Installation, Performance, Comparison
When I opened up the menu to check things out I was surprised by something I’ve never saw before on a monitor, the button line up with the icons on the display menu. This is very nice as you don’t have to feel for the buttons or look for them like you would on other monitors.

The first option is Picture:

Next would be Color:

Then we have Size and Position:

Then Setup and Reset:

Then lastly the Information:

There are quite a few options for adjusting things but some selections are inactive as you may have noticed.

I’ve actually been using the monitor for quite a while now and I like it. The colors are very good, the blacks are nice and dark. The whites however do have a slight blue tint to them that I just could not make go away no matter how I changed the settings. After using the monitor for  while though you don’t even notice it, it’s very, very slightly off-white, nothing that would even bother most people.

The response rate is fine, no ghosting or anything like that.

I’ve got this Samsung in a multi-monitor setup, four monitors actually, and I use this one for watching movies and TV while I’m doing other thing on the other monitors.

The picture is nice for pretty much everything really. Text and graphics look very sharp and clear overall.

This monitor does features dynamic contrast up to 50,000:1, but I id not use it as I do not like how it changes the settings all of the time automatically.

The standard contrast ratio though is 15,000:1 and that’s just fine.

It is an HD display at 1920×1080 resolution, but there’s not HDMI input only DVI and VGA. I have a blu-ray drive in my computer and popped a disc in and it look great in hi-def.

As far as adjusting the monitor, you can only tilt it forward and back, there is no vertical adjustment.

I mentioned in the very beginning that this was a refurbished product, well to me it looks new. I examined it very closely and found no marks, scuffs or scratches at all. It looks brand new really.

Conclusion:
This monitor from Geeks is worth the cost really as it seems to be brand new. I checked the price over at Amazon and the cheapest I found it is $189.99 for new, so for $50 less you can get the same monitor that you’ll never know isn’t new.

This monitor works well and I found no real issues with it. Yes there’s no HDMI and the stand doesn’t allow for much adjustment, but as a computer monitor I can live with that.

The colors are nice and vibrant, and everything from movies to games look very good.

Whites aren’t exactly white though, but I can live with it as it’s not that bad.

All in all I’m very happy with it.

Pros:
+Crisp and clear picture
+Bright
+Seems well made

Cons:
-No HDMI
-Limited stand adjustments
-Whites are slightly off

Ratings
Overall: 4 out of 5
Performance: 4 out of 5
Aesthetic: 5 out of 5
Build Quality: 5 out of 5

Disclosure: http://www.bonafidereviews.com/disclosure-policy/

Today for review I’ve got another product from our friends are Geeks.com. It’s a portable 7” LCD TV from Dynex, and it’s not a bad little gadget especially if you want to watch TV on the go. Included with the TV is two power adapters, one for the home and one for the car so you’re sure to always have power. There’s also an A/V input cable included so you can hook up a DVD player to it or even a gaming console. It’s not a bad little TV overall..

Specifications:

7″ Dynex DX-7HTV-09 Portable Handheld Widescreen LCD Digital TV – 16:9 ATSC/NTSC Tuners w/Car Adapter (Black)

This DX-7HTV-09 portable, handheld digital TV features a 7-inch widescreen display with a 16:9 aspect ratio that lets you enjoy your favorite TV programs anywhere you go. With built-in ATSC and NTSC tuners you can enjoy both digital and analog TV so you won’t miss a big play in the big game!

An A/V input as well as an A/V cable is included so you can add external audio and video sources. For late night or quiet time viewing there’s a headphone jack so you can plug in some headphones. The DX-7HTV-09 has a built-in rechargeable Li-polymer battery and includes a car power adapter so you can view TV in your automobile, RV, or boat!

General Features:
-Color: Black/Silver
-Screen size: 7-inch
-Aspect Ratio: 16:9 widescreen
-Built-in ATSC/NTSC tuners
-A/V input for external audio/video sources
-Built-in antenna
-Built-in rechargeable Li-polymer battery
-Portable
-Back kick stand for desktop use
-Built-in speakers
-Includes card style remote control

Unit Dimensions:
-5.75 x 7.25 x 1.1-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

Price:       $69.99

Unboxing:
So we’ll start off with a video unboxing:

Then we’ve got several still pictures for you:

The TV comes with remote control, power supply, cable adapter, A/V cable, user manual and car power adapter.

THe TV itself is small and black, it does have a stand built into it, along with a telescopic antenna.

On the sides you’ll find controls for brightness and volume and connections for the antenna, power and input.

On the front at the main controls for menu, power, navigation, input selection, and enter key and a wide screen button to change aspect.

Installation, Performance, Comparison
Most of the controls are through the on-screen menus, at least for the set up of things. It’s broken into three sections:

In the menus you’ll find the option to scan for channels automatically, select it and let it do it’s thing.

This TV also features on-screen display that gives you the channel information:

Picture quality is of course dependant on the strength of the signal, most pictures though are nice and crisp and clear. Here are several examples:

If you’re accustomed to over that air channels then you’ll know that if you have a bad signal things can stop, be broken up and look rather pixellated.

I had no problems using this product, it was easy to setup and it does have a nice high volume to it so you can use it outdoors with ease.

As far as channels, I’m in Pittsburgh PA and I got 15 channels found, but only 13 of them were actually viewable. Two of them were just blue screens basically. That was indoors, depending where I am in my house of I may get another channel or two and going outside is about the same.

As far as battery life is concerned, I got almost three hours out of it, which isn’t that great. It does though come with both a car charger and regular AC adapter so you really shouldn’t be without power. If you’re going camping or something or some where you might be away from a power source then you’ll have an issue with the battery life.

The looks of this TV are something that I don’t quite care for, especially that rainbow stripe going across the front. The buttons are silver in color and just seem a bit too bright for my tastes, maybe if they were just gray and not metallic it would be better.

The overall quality isn’t too bad, but it’s plastic and I wouldn’t want to drop it so it’s not exactly a rugged device.

I do like the built-in stand quite a bit, I had it sitting on my desk while I was working and I got to watch some TV.

The remote works fine, it’s basic but that’s all you really need.

The sound is actually decent, and it gets nice and loud. It has two speakers so you do get stereo sound.

Conclusion:
So for about $70 you can get a decent little portable LCD TV that comes with some nice extras like two power options and the ability to receive A/V input too.

Overall the TV isn’t too bad, the sound is decent and the picture is pretty good as well.

The channels you receive will vary on your area of course, but I got quite a few and I’m happy with that.

The battery life however isn’t that great, especially if you plan on taking it away from civilization for an extended period of time. It does though come with a car power adapter so you can take it on the road with you and the battery life won’t be an issue there.

Pros:
+Easy to use and set up
+Includes remote control
+Includes dual power for both home and car
+Decent picture and sound
+Includes A/V input
+Lightweight and portable

Cons:
-Limited battery life
-Amount of channels depends where you are

Ratings
Overall: 4 out of 5
Performance:4  out of 5
Aesthetic: 4 out of 5
Build Quality: 4 out of 5

Disclosure: http://www.bonafidereviews.com/disclosure-policy/

Today for review our friends at Geeks.com have sent me over a ‘De-branded’ 23” LCD monitor. It’s originally from HP, but you won’t find any markings unless you really look. For about $160 you can get a very nice 23” LCD monitor that runs at 1080P and has a response time of 5ms. Overall this is a great monitor really, it’s well worth the cost.

Specifications:

23" HP De-Branded HDMI 1080p Widescreen LCD Monitor w/Speakers

This 23-inch HP De-Branded Widescreen LCD Monitor features a stylish glossy, black bezel and silver stand. It displays brilliant images with a 1920 x 1080 optimum resolution and features full HD 1080p performance for unsurpassed HD viewing. Hook it up to your high definition entertainment devices and game consoles via its HDMI  port.

Enjoy blur-free motion graphics and crisp, illuminated images thanks to the 5 ms response time and 300 cd/m2 brightness. With built-in speakers, you won’t even have to worry about connecting an external set. Place it on your desktop, or free up some space and mount it on the wall.

General Features:
-Casing Color: Black/Silver
-Screen Size: 23-inch TFT LCD active matrix display
-Pixel Pitch: 0.265 mm
-Brightness: 300 cd/m2
-Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
-Response Time: 5 ms
-Aspect Ratio: 16:9
-Resolution 1920 x 1080 Full HD @ 60 Hz analog mode
-Horizontal Frequency (analog mode): 24 to 83 kHz
-Vertical Refresh Rate (analog mode): 48 to 76 Hz
-BrightView technology
-Tiltable screen
-Integrated speakers
-Text mode: 720 x 400
-Comes with base
-Wall mountable (100 mm x 100 mm / 3.93 x 3.93-inches
-Controls: Power, Menu, Volume, Auto/Select

Connectors:
-HDMI
-15-pin VGA
-Audio in

Dimensions:
-With stand: 16.5 x 22 x 7.5-inches (H x W x D, approximate)
-Without stand: 13.75 x 22 x 3-inches (H x W x D, approximate)

Price: $159.99

Unboxing:
The monitor is packaged very well and includes power cable, VGA cable and an audio cable… no HDMI cable though, you’ll have to get your own.

When I first got everything unpacked I couldn’t figure out exactly what I was looking at, but then I figured it out. The stand bends or twists all the way around to the front of the monitor so you’re looking at the bottom of the stand. It’s got rubber feet!

Here it is from the back view:

While we’re here we can also see the HDMI, audio, VGA and power connections. There’s no DVI there though which I felt was a bit odd..

While I was on the back I also noticed a big black sticker and I couldn’t resist pulling it off just a bit to see what was under it. As you already know it’s an HP monitor, under the sticker we find the HP logo.

Now here’s the monitor on the stand. it’s an attractive monitor, but personally I prefer solid black.

The power button is placed oddly as well, it’s on the top of the monitor, I’ve never seen that before.

On the bottom right edge of the bezel are the control buttons as well:

Installation, Performance, Comparison
So I hooked the monitor up via HDMI attached to my ATI 4870 video card. it’s temporarily replacing my 23” Hannspree monitor that also uses HDMI, so I was prepared.

When I first turned it on there was a big purple line going down the left side of the screen and I thought I got a bad monitor. I went to grab my camera to take a picture of it but it disappeared and never appeared again. Not sure what was up with that, but I felt it needed a mention.

I have a Spyder3Express monitor calibration tool that I ran on this HP monitor and there really was no difference with the before and after running the program and hardware. So the colors are actually very good.

Here’s a couple pictures of my desktop, though you really can’t tell from a picture, but the colors are very good.

The whites are very bright and the blacks are dark black, overall I’m very happy with it. I sit here for hours per day looking at my monitors and I like the colors to be good, if they weren’t I’d be the first to complain!

There’s no ghosting or anything like that either, response time is very good for everything.

Here’s a few pictures of the on-screen menus, there’s plenty of options to play around with.

There are a few pre-sets that you can access and apply, most are pretty good and look good for the situation except for the Text one, I found it way too bright. For example I was reading my Gmail, the lines between my emails were all but invisible.

Yes this monitor does have built-in speakers, and they’re as you might expect not the best quality. I’ve yet to run across a monitor with decent built-in speakers.  Sure you could use them for basic stuff, but I wouldn’t want to listen to music on them. They would be ok for movies and games, but personally I wouldn’t use them.

I’m curious as to why there is no DVI port on this monitor, HDMI is popular yes, but not that popular with PC users really, unless you’re an enthusiast. I’ve run across many people who didn’t know monitor could have an HDMI connection on them.

$160 for a 23” monitor isn’t too bad really…

Conclusion:
For the price this ‘de-branded’  monitor is a good one truly. It works great and the colors are near perfect.

Sure the speakers aren’t the greatest but I don’t know many people that actually use the built-in speakers on their monitors anyway.

It would be nice if an HDMI cable was included.

Pros:
+Very good picture, great colors
+Easy setup, no issues
+Seems well made
+Fairly lightweight

Cons:
-No DVI
-Speakers aren’t the best sounding
-NO HDMI cable included

Ratings
Overall: 4.5 out of 5
Performance: 4 out of 5
Aesthetic: 5 out of 5
Build Quality: 5 out of 5

Disclosure: http://www.bonafidereviews.com/disclosure-policy/