HP W2408H 24-Inch Monitor

September 18th, 2008 -- by default
Source: Playback

HP’s latest 24-inch monitor, the W2408H, stands out from the crowd with a versatile stand that allows both height and swivel adjustments, and the monitor screen can be rotated 90 degrees to switch between landscape (widescreen) and portrait (tallscreen) modes. It’s also equipped with speakers, although they are installed behind the monitor’s rear panel and fire rearward, which muffles and obscures the sound somewhat.

The HP’s color quality is best described as vivid, as the W2408H sports an expanded color gamut that extends well beyond the specifications set forth in the DTV standard. Whilethe HP does provide numerous picture adjustments, unfortunately, a color saturation control isn’t one of them— calling up the COLOR item from the menu brings forth instead a choice of color temperatures. And, with actual program material, the HP’s overly vivid color characteristics prevent naturallooking skin tones.

As with other sets, the HP offers a 1:1 pixel mode, which, with 1080i and 1080p HD sources, should provide the sharpest possible picture. Curiously though, when that mode is activated on the HP, the resulting picture is smaller on the screen on all four edges—ordinarily, a 1080p image played in 1:1 pixel mode on a 1920x1200 monitor should extend the picture to the monitor’s screen edge on both sides, with only a small amount of vertical letterboxing.

FEATURES

• Rotates 90° for portrait mode viewing

• Adjustable height and tilt

• HDMI input

• VGA input

• Ambient light sensor

USER INTERFACE

The menu system is well organized, and various adjustments are provided (but not for color saturation). The menu’s BRIGHTNESS control doesn’t actually adjust the monitor’s black level, but instead adjusts the screen’s variable backlighting.

RECOMMENDED PICTURE SETTINGS

Note: The following recommended settings were obtained using a Samsung BD-P1500 Blu-ray player, set to 1080p output, and connected to the set via HDMI, using the recently released Digital Video Essentials HD Basics Bluray test and set-up disc. Having a test DVD and/or HD disc on hand is really the only way to ensure that your source components and the display are properly adjusted, especially with respect to the brightness and contrast controls.

Color Temperature 6500°

Backlight 90

(adjusted via the monitor’s Brightness control)

DVD	Detail	Color	Blacks	Shadow Detail	Artifacts /Noise
(Blu-Ray) Spider-Man 3	Very good fine detail, as the HP easily shows the intricate detailing in Spidey’s costume	Lots of it—too much in fact, which prevents naturallooking skin tones and can’t be tamed via the monitor’s picture adjustments.	The set’s adjustable backlighting (via the mis-named BRIGHTNESS control) allows good deep blacks in any lighting situation.	Reasonably good, although the HP stumbles when certain characters are backlit in nighttime scenes, a common LCD trait.	None noted.
(HDTV) The Departed MAX	Equally good, as the HP easily shows the fine details of Matt Damon’s police uniform during close-up shots early in the film.	Same problem as with Bluray— overly saturated colors that can’t be tamed by the HP’s controls.	One actress’s business suit shows dark gray pinstriped jacket, and darker near-black pinstriped vest.	A little hard to see some of the action in the movie’s climactic nighttime shoot-out, which cuts quickly between well lit and dimly lit scenes.	None noted.

Ambient Light Tolerance: The HP has an ambient light sensor that automatically adjusts the screen’s backlighting based on current viewing conditions.