HP ZR2440w

HP's latest business , the ZR2440w ($425 list), uses a 24-inch IPS (In Plane Switching) panel with LED backlighting to deliver excellent color quality and wide viewing angles. What's more, it comes equipped with a highly adjustable stand, three digital video inputs, and a 4-port USB hub. I expected better grayscale performance from an IPS panel though, and I noticed a bit of motion blur during my gaming tests.

Design and Features
The ZR2440w's matte black cabinet is understated yet elegant. A strip of brushed aluminum trim runs along the outside edge of the relatively thin ¾-inch bezels, and there's a small HP logo affixed to the upper bezel. Five clearly labeled buttons reside along the right side of the bottom bezel and include a power switch, a menu button, an input selector, +/- navigation keys, and an OK (select) button. Picture controls include brightness, contrast, sharpness color temperature, and aspect ratio/scaling settings. You can also enable/disable the Dynamic Contrast Ratio feature, set a sleep timer, and select an input source.

The cabinet is fairly thick for an LED backlit monitor, measuring 2.4 inches at its thickest point. At the rear of the cabinet is a carrying handle, and below that is a mounting plate that attaches to the stand. The plate has a quick release button that makes it easy to remove the panel for wall mounting. The rear of the cabinet is also home to a variety of I/O ports, including DisplayPort, HDMI, and DVI connectors. There's also an upstream (to the PC) USB port, two downstream USB ports, and two audio outputs (digital and analog) for connecting to external speakers or an audio receiver. A cable routing slot at the base of the stand helps organize multiple cables and keeps them from spilling out onto your desktop.

The stand has a rectangular base with a cutout in the front that can be used to corral small peripherals such as thumb drives and iPods. A telescoping arm that attaches to the plate on the cabinet offers close to 4-inches of height adjustability, has tilt and swivel capabilities, and can be pivoted 90-degrees for portrait mode viewing. However, you'll have to change the screen orientation manually as the ZR2440w does not support auto-rotation. You can rotate the image in your graphics control panel or use the HP Display Assistant Software (included) to change the orientation. Another minor gripe; you have to reach around the back of the monitor to release the height adjustment lock, which I found inconvenient. Additionally, the swivel and height movements are quite stiff and require two hands. HP covers the ZR2440w with a three year warranty that includes parts, labor, backlighting, and on-site service.

Performance
As with the ($259.99 list, 4 stars) the ZR2440w uses IPS (In Plane Switching) technology rather than the more cost effective TN+ (Twisted Nematic) technology used on most mainstream monitors. And as with the IPS236V , the ZR2440w delivers the rich, bold colors and excellent viewing angles that IPS panels are known for. The panel has a matte coating, so reflection is not an issue, and it has a 1920 x 1600 resolution and a 16:10 aspect ratio. However, you can set the panel to do one-to-one scaling which allows you to view 1080p content (movies, for example) in a letterbox without distorting the picture. Swatches from the DisplayMate Color Scales test were well saturated and appeared uniform and crisp. Despite the matte coating image quality was bright and colors popped from the screen. There was no evidence of tinting whatsoever.

Grayscale accuracy was better than what you get with most TN+ panels but I expected more from an IPS panel, even a moderately priced one. The brightest two shades of gray were whitewashed and indistinguishable from one another. The panel did a much better job of handling dark grays, however, displaying all swatches, including the very darkest, without a problem. The panel has a 6-millisecond (g-g) pixel response that is more than adequate for watching blu-ray movies or streaming content from Netflix but I noticed a hint of motion blur while playing the PC-based Assassin's Creed II game and the PS3 version of Need For Speed Carbon. Small text was clear and legible down to 5.3 points (the smallest font on the DisplayMate Scaled Fonts test).

The ZR2440w isn't as energy efficient as some of its LED backlit TN+ counterparts but it won't put your utility bill over the top either. It averaged 36-watts of power during my testing, which is right in line with the 34-watt LG IPS236V but considerably more than the 16-watts of the ($219.99 direct, 4 stars) .

If you require the rich color quality and wide viewing angles of an IPS monitor but have limited funds, the HP ZR2440w is a good choice. It provides all three of the most widely used digital inputs and has a 4-port USB hub as well. Granted, the stand could be a little more user-friendly but it does offer every ergonomic adjustment you could want. I'd prefer a more accurate grayscale, but unless the monitor is being used for photo editing or any task that requires a high degree of grayscale accuracy, chances are the grayscale hiccup will go unnoticed. As an alternative, the LG IPS236V will save you around $160 but the screen is a bit smaller and you don't get nearly as many features as you do with the ZR2440w.

COMPARISON TABLE

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