BenQ E2200HD review

£141
Price when reviewed

While it may be tempting to buy the largest screen size you can afford, you’ll often get a better deal in the more mainstream 22in sector, and this BenQ monitor is a fine example of that. Like its rivals from Iiyama and ViewSonic, the E2200HD crams a Full HD 1,920 x 1,080 resolution into that 22in frame, and combines some impressive visuals with an attractive price.

BenQ E2200HD review

The design is certainly a cut above most BenQ monitors we’ve seen, taking inspiration from last year’s Samsung range with a black body/silver control bar two-tone combination. Samsung has stepped forward from there with its gorgeous red range and the BenQ doesn’t compare, but this won’t look out of place in a bedroom or study. It comes with a pair of basic 1W speakers, but offers DVI, D-SUB and HDMI ports for connection to PCs and consumer devices alike.

The right-side buttons are clearly labelled on the front of the frame, making adjustments simple. We lowered the contrast slightly and raised the brightness, and the default colour settings gave us a tone just on the warm side of neutral – perfect for producing a vibrant entertainment image.

The black level was deep, with just a hint of backlight bleed at the bottom edge, while our gradient ramps showed up the strong contrast with a very even distribution across the spectrum. Our tinting test images showed the neutral tone of the greys, making this one of the more accurate budget TFTs in the group. Crysis flew by with no motion problems and tremendous vitality, while our video clips and test photos showed just how sharp a picture you get from such a low pixel pitch – the 1,680 x 1,050 rivals fall behind in that respect.

Opinions vary as to whether the move to 1080p in PC monitors actually makes sense – if you don’t watch video, you’re essentially losing 120 lines of pixels to pander to the consumer crowd – but for better or worse it’s a shift that’s occurring, and since 22in models haven’t really made the leap to 1,920 x 1,200, it’s a trade-off we’ll take. The BenQ E2200HD is simply the best all-round example we’ve yet seen: impressive picture quality, decent ergonomics, a range of connections and a very attractive price make it this month’s deserving Labs Winner.

Details

Image quality 5

Main specifications

Screen size 21.5in
Aspect ratio 16:9
Resolution 1920 x 1080
Screen brightness 300cd/m2
Pixel response time 5ms
Contrast ratio 1,000:1
Dynamic contrast ratio 10,000:1
Pixel pitch 0.248mm
Horizontal viewing angle 170 degrees
Vertical viewing angle 160 degrees
Speaker type Stereo
Speaker power ouput 1W
TV tuner no
TV tuner type N/A

Connections

DVI inputs 1
VGA inputs 1
HDMI inputs 1
DisplayPort inputs 0
Scart inputs 0
HDCP support yes
Upstream USB ports 0
USB ports (downstream) 0
3.5mm audio input jacks 1
Headphone output yes
Other audio connectors None

Accessories supplied

Other cables supplied VGA, 3.5mm audio
Internal power supply yes

Power consumption

Peak power consumption 45W

Image adjustments

Brightness control? yes
Contrast control? yes
Colour temperature settings Bluish, reddish, normal, user
Extra adjustments Picture modes, sharpness, aspect, volume, mute, OSD settings, info, reset, input select, HDMI auto-switch

Ergonomics

Forward tilt angle 5 degrees
Backward tilt angle 20 degrees
Swivel angle 0 degrees
Height adjustment 0mm
Pivot (portrait) mode? no
Bezel width 20mm

Dimensions

Dimensions 523 x 187 x 408mm (WDH)
Weight 4.800kg

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