HP w2408h

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/monitors/0,39030121,49296452,00.htm

Reviewed 18 April 2008

Reviewed by Rory Reid

HP has had its fingers in the display pie for a long time now, not that many of you will have noticed. It's difficult to remember any of its displays really setting the world alight. Things might, however, start to change with the w2408h. It's designed for the growing 24-inch market and has a couple of important aces up its proverbial sleeve. It's gorgeous to look at, the picture quality is impressive and with a £300 price tag, it's not particularly expensive given what it's capable of.

Strengths
The w2408h is an imposing sight. If you're upgrading from anything smaller -- even a 22-inch model -- you'll be mightily impressed with the difference size can make. Most users will also be very fond of the design. We love the glossy black inner bezel and the matte silver outer bezel that's just about visible at the top and bottom. The power button is inventively positioned between the inner and outer bezels and radiates an attractive aquamarine aura that makes a nice change from traditional blue or red LEDs.

The base of the monitor is cleverly designed. Firstly, there's a handy section that can be used to house a keyboard when not in use, which lets you reclaim some of your desktop space. HP has also put a lot of thought into the hinge of the monitor. It's a sideways-oriented V-shape that allows users to adjust the height and vertical tilt of the display with ease.

It's also possible to rotate the monitor on its axis into a portrait orientation, which can make it easier to work on text documents or surf the Internet. While we're on the subject, some users might want to know that it's possible to pivot and tilt the screen until it's facing directly upwards at the ceiling. We've yet to find a use for this orientation, but it's very reminiscent of a Microsoft Surface computer -- minus the touch sensitivity.

The w2408h's on-screen display is exceptionally easy to use. In fact, it might just be the most logically designed OSD we've seen on a monitor. Just hit the menu button to bring it up, then cycle up or down between menu items with the minus and plus buttons, then select an option by hitting the select key. Exiting the menu can be done by hitting the menu button again. This may not sound particularly groundbreaking, but you'll be surprised at just how many monitor manufacturers get it wrong.

Last but certainly not least is the display itself. We found the image quality on the w2408h to be of a very high standard -- despite the fact it uses a relatively cheap TN panel -- and not one of more expensive S-PVA variety. It flew through our DisplayMate test, ably showing that it can cope with all manner of hues -- hardly a surprise given the fact it has a 92 per cent NTSC colour gamut. Contrast was also good, and we couldn't see any sign of light bleed from the top and bottom edges of the display.

The whole thing runs at a resolution of 1,920x1,200 pixels so it's very good for watching 1080p HD movies. The 1:1 pixel mapping mode means Blu-ray movies show up at their native resolution, instead of being stretched to fit the monitor's larger display, although you do get some borders at the top and bottom of the screen.

Other interesting features include an ambient light sensor nestled at the right side of the screen. This senses the light levels in the room and either dims or brightens the display accordingly. It comes in handy when you're using the monitor at night and don't want the entire neighbourhood to see the eerie blue glow of whatever movie you're enjoying. It also means you don't get blinded by an overly bright backlight the first time you switch the screen on in the dark.

Inputs on the w2408h include HDMI and D-Sub, which is fine for most purposes. The HDMI port is capable of routing sound through the monitor's integrated speakers, but we personally wouldn't bother with these since they sound absolutely atrocious.

Weaknesses
Despite all its strengths, the w2408h has a few weak areas. Notably, the screen is covered in a glossy reflective coating -- a feature that's fast becoming the bain of our lives. The reasons for having it are plain -- the gloss makes the screen look like it has improved contrast and more vivid colours, but there's a big tradeoff: if you use it in the daytime, all you end up seeing is your own reflection, not what's happening on the display.

Our next beef concerns the monitor's vertical viewing angles. We're probably being harsh here, but the picture does deteriorate if you're not looking at the screen from a dead central position. This doesn't cause that much of an issue when the monitor is in its horizontal orientation, but rotate it into portrait mode and you'll start to notice this phenomenon a lot more.

Earlier, we heaped praised on the design of the w2408h. Fashion-conscious users will love it, but it's worth noting that the glossy inner bezel is very prone to picking up fingerprint smudges. Whatever you do, don't eat greasy food then adjust the monitor -- it'll hoover up traces of your KFC like you wouldn't believe.

Perhaps we're being greedy -- it's all that talk of KFC -- but we would have liked a few more input options on the w2408h. There's only one HDMI, meaning you can only connect one HD source at a time unless you buy a separate switch. It also lacks a DVI port, so you'll need to buy an adaptor if you want to connect it to your DVI-equipped graphics card.

Conclusion
We'd be very happy to spend our money on an HP w2408h. We're slightly put off by the glossy screen coating, but it more than makes up for this with exceptional physical adjustability and image quality that is pleasing to the eye. If money is no option then we'd go for the more expensive Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP, but for those on a lower budget, the w2408h is absolutely fantastic.

Edited by Jason Jenkins
Additional editing by Shannon Doubleday