Lenovo ThinkVision L1940p

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/monitors/0,39030121,49301151,00.htm

Reviewed 20 February 2009

Reviewed by Eric Franklin

The 19-inch Lenovo ThinkVision L1940p LCD monitor offers great performance when handling movies, and a practical yet elegant design. Its 1,440x900-pixel screen resolution is lower than the 1,680x1,050-pixel resolution of the rival ViewSonic VX1962wm, but, overall, we think the L1940p has the edge.

The L1940p is available for around £135, roughly the same price as the VX1962wm.

Design
Although on a smaller scale, the L1940p shares the same basic design as its two big brothers, the L2440p and the L2440x, retaining their elegant black matte appearance.

The bezel is less than an inch thick on the sides, and the width of the panel measures 17.25 inches -- a quarter of an inch less than the VX1916wm.

The flat, half-moon-shaped stand is 11 inches wide and 8 inches deep. Although this is a wide footstand, we found that, if the height of the screen is adjusted to its maximum 4.5 inches, the display wobbles slightly when knocked from the sides. With the panel is at its lowest height, however, there is minimal wobbling.

The screen pivots 90° vertically -- a rare feature for a 19-inch monitor -- and rotates about 50° to the left and right. It tilts back about 20°.

On the back, the connection options -- including DVI and VGA -- have been placed towards the left side, a couple inches away from the neck, making reaching them and connecting cables a simple and quick process. Missing are the three USB ports that are found on the side of the L2440p and L2440x.

The on-screen display (OSD) array is located in the lower right-hand corner of the bezel and comprises four buttons. Brightness and contrast controls are included, as are colour options. You can change the colour temperature based on the four presets -- 'reddish', 'bluish', 'neutral' and sRGB. The OSD also allows you to access and change the values for red, blue and green directly.

The features we really appreciate are the specific controls that allow you to customise the OSD directly. Being able to set the menu position and how long it stays on screen before disappearing can be useful tools when calibrating.

Each OSD button is thin, but wide enough so that, if calibrating in a dark room, you'll be able to run your fingers over the buttons without missing the one you're looking for. You'll have to memorise the button placement though, since the only illumination you'd have in a dark room is the single green LED to the right of the power button.

Performance
The L1940p received an 87 in our DisplayMate-based performance tests -- well ahead of the VX1962wm's score of 81. Where the L1940p excelled the most was in our colour and greyscale tests. The L1940p was able to display more shades of the same colour than the VX1962wm. This indicates that -- colour-wise at least -- the L1940p is able to display a more detailed image when watching movies.

The L1940p scored a maximum brightness rating of 273cd/m2, compared with the VX1962wm's score of 290cd/m2.

We noticed with the L2440p that, when viewing the screen for more than a few seconds, our eyes would feel strained. It's worth noting that we didn't experience this with the L1940p.

While the VX1962wm has a resolution of 1,680x1,050, the L1940p tops out at 1,440x900. This lower resolution doesn't make any discernable difference to picture quality when handling office apps. We noticed a small drop in picture quality when running World of Warcraft, however, thanks to the lower resolution. There was slightly more aliasing than we're used to on the edges of the characters.

Nevertheless, World of Warcraft looked great on the L1940p, with vivid and accurate colours that were not saturated and had no signs of streaking.

In our monitor-testing room, our lab benches sit higher than a normal desk. As a result, the lower viewing angle of a monitor is immediately noticeable, especially when playing a game. While playing World of Warcraft, unless we were at the optimal level to the screen, there would be visible shadows at the top of the screen, making details difficult to discern. If you slouch while surfing the Web or gaming, be prepared for a difficult time seeing details. You could always sit straight up but, in our opinion, you shouldn't have to.

As for movie playback, we watched a few choice scenes from Kill Bill, Volume 1. While the blacks could have been deeper, the L1940p delivered good picture quality, displaying accurate colours.

Conclusion
The Lenovo ThinkVision L1940p is elegantly styled and has a practical design. Movies look great on it and, while picture quality could be better when running games, overall performance is excellent, making this a better choice than most other 19-inch LCD monitors.

Additional editing by Charles Kloet