Hannspree JW-199DPB 19 inch LCD Monitor
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- Response Time: Fast (5 - 8.9 ms)
- Contrast Ratio: 700:1
- Screen Size: 19 inch
- Display Max. Resolution: 1440 x 900
- Monitor Type: Flat Panel LCD TFT (Active Matrix)
- Native (Recommended) Resolution: 1440 x 900
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Transition to the World of LCD
Pros
Flat panel, VESA mounts, Widescreen, Size, DVI input, and more
Cons
No dedicated button to switch input, flush buttons, that's it
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
This is a great monitor for those wanting to replace their large CRT monitors. It as a good balance of quality, features, and price.
Fears and Mis-Beliefs
The realization of needing to move to the world of LCD was a scary to me. I had an NEC SuperScan 751 for over eight years which has been so wonderful for one thing, it was a hog. I wanted a lot of my desk real estate all for itself. Even through I loved it so, I realized that it needed to be replaced, but kept as a back up when needed. To reclaim the most space out there, I realized I needed to go with LCD. However, with the horror stories of ghost images when fast moving video occurs, dead pixels/sub-pixels, and blocky images, I feared moving into this world
What to Look At in an LCD Monitor
Well, that may all be exaggerated a bit, but I did have concerns about those matters. However, I knew I eventually wanted to make the move and saw the benefit in doing so. Therefore, I went to my favorite online computer retailer and started browsing their section of LCD monitors. Below are things I realized while doing my research and shopping for the monitor.
First of, do not rule out no-name brands. The LCD panels are only made by four companies; LG, Phillips, Samsung, and Sharp. All other companies that make LCD monitors buy the panels from these four companies. Therefore, since the heart of the product is coming from a name brand, there is no need to rule out the no-names.
Second, look for a monitor with a 12ms response time or less. Response time is the time it takes a pixel to go from black, to white, to black again. The longer the response time, the more you will notice ghosting when there is motion on the screen (i.e. video playback moving the mouse fast across the screen, etc.). 12ms is sufficient for most people, but people into fast moving games, may want to consider purchasing a monitor with an even lower response time.
Third, read the store return policy and warranty about dead pixels/sub pixels. Dead pixels/sub-pixels can be very annoying depending where the pixel lies on the screen. What they are is a pixel that is always black or a certain color all the time. If they are near the edge, they are not as much of an issue, but if they are in the middle of the screen where a person tends to be looking at most of the time and they can be very distracting. The policy with the retailer I purchase most of my computer hardware from is that there must be a minimum of eight dead pixels before you can return the monitor as defective.
The Choice I made and the Specs
After finding this out and I came to a decision, I purchased the Hanns-G HW-191DPB. This monitor is a 19 inch, widescreen, LCD monitor. The size of the screen is perfect for me. It was replacing a 19 inch CRT monitor, thus I actually gain visible screen space since LCD uses the entire screen while CRTs have a slight coverage of the bezel to reduce the actual visible portion of the tube and that typically adds up to 1 inch of the diagonal. Also went with the wide screen (16:10 aspect ratio) since I have read that it would be better to have a wide screen then a typical 4:3 aspect ratio. I don't know the exact reason why, but I believe it may have something to do with the side bar that you go Microsoft's equivalent of Widgets/Gadgets on.
The native resolution of the monitor is 1440 (width) by 900 (height) in pixels. This is a decent resolution for me since I was using a resolution of 1152 by 864 on my CRT. This means it adds a few pixels to the height and significantly adds to the pixel width. If you expect to use the monitor to view High Definition video through, it may not be ideal since either your computer or monitor will need to scale the image. If you need that, you may want to consider monitors that have a native resolution of 1280 by 768 or 1920 by 1200. However, if you decide that is important to you, expect to look at larger displays and to have the cost go up at least three fold.
The monitor also has built in speakers in the bottom portion of the monitor bezel. I personally haven't used them since I would like a full rage of sound my 5.1 speaker system provides. However, the business user that only needs to be able to hear simple sounds will find them as a plus since it allows them to remove speakers from their desk also. You may then ask why I purchased this model since I knew that I wasn't going to be using the speakers. Simply put, I prefer my controls on the front of the monitor instead of the side so I can see what I am pressing (more on the reason that is important for me later).
Inputs are not extravagant on this monitor. It has the typical D-sub and DVI video inputs for a computer at this price point. It also of course has an 1/8" mini stereo jack for audio. The monitor does come with cables for all inputs, but again, that is expected if not normal practice.
My Experience So Far
I've had the monitor for about a month now and really haven't noticed anything that would confirm my fears. I've noticed no dead pixels/sub-pixels on the unit, No ghosting effects even when watching fast action movies on my computer, and not as bad blockiness as I expected (I notice some pixelization in the face cards when playing solitaire that I didn't on a CRT monitor). Brightness and contrast are sufficient for the lighting in my home office, which are incandescent bulb lights. Glare is minimal and I only notice it at certain times of the day if I have my blinds open then. Problem could be resolved by changing the monitor position or leaving the blinds close.
As for the controls, they are nicely situated on the front of the monitor, easy to see which one you need to press. However, the issue I have with them are that they are flush with the bezel, thus I need to us my finger tips to press them. I prefer buttons that are slightly raised or rounded, but I still can deal with them as they are. The buttons are important to me since I use them often to switch between inputs. I have my main workstation connected to the DVI input for the best image quality I can get from the setup. The D-sub is connected to a KVM switch that I can have up to four computers connected to. Therefore, I need to switch between DVI to D-sub and vice versa quite a bit.
This also means I am familiar with the OSD for configuring the monitor settings. It is by no means the prettiest OSD in the world, but it does the job just fine. The control switching between inputs is in a sub menu, which is expected since most people will only be using the one input. All the basic controls expected are there. There is no need of pin cushioning, trapezoidal adjustments, etc. since this is an LCD, thus are not effected in those ways like a CRT can be.
Now the really important part is what you see on the screen. Well, that is beautiful in my opinion. As mentioned earlier, I do notice a little bit of pixelization here and there, but that is rare. Colors are brilliant, maybe a little to much so since I did compare it to my old CRT and certain colors were not quite a vivid on the CRT as they were on the LCD. I'm assuming the colors are more accurate on the LCD since I was using a digital connection instead of an analog input which most if not all CRT monitors use.
Concerning scaling of the desktop (i.e. when displaying resolution that is not the native resolution of the LCD panel) I don't have much experience with since I have been using only the native resolution for my desktop. However, I do play games occasionally other then windows ones and they tend to be once a few years old. Currently I'm playing Warcraft III, which will only display in certain resolutions. Of course none of the supported resolutions in the game is 1440 by 900, since I use the closes one I can. Game seems to look fine to me, but due to that it is a fantasy game, I cannot determine if the images of the game are noticeably stretched. I know some people sometimes have issues using the native resolution of LCD monitors since items and text on the desktop becomes to small for them to read. For those people, I would encourage them to state at the native resolutions and use the display settings in the control panel to change the dots per inch (DPI) setting. This will make the items and text on the windows desktop to appear bigger, thus easier to see and read.
Conclusion
All in all I am very pleased with this purchase. None of my concerns were confirmed, at least overly so. My biggest concern was getting a monitor with dead pixels, but again, there were none on my unit. Image quality is great and I getting use to the more vivid colors now. Also, it definitely freed up quite a bit of desk space, not I just need to figure out what to do with it.
The realization of needing to move to the world of LCD was a scary to me. I had an NEC SuperScan 751 for over eight years which has been so wonderful for one thing, it was a hog. I wanted a lot of my desk real estate all for itself. Even through I loved it so, I realized that it needed to be replaced, but kept as a back up when needed. To reclaim the most space out there, I realized I needed to go with LCD. However, with the horror stories of ghost images when fast moving video occurs, dead pixels/sub-pixels, and blocky images, I feared moving into this world
What to Look At in an LCD Monitor
Well, that may all be exaggerated a bit, but I did have concerns about those matters. However, I knew I eventually wanted to make the move and saw the benefit in doing so. Therefore, I went to my favorite online computer retailer and started browsing their section of LCD monitors. Below are things I realized while doing my research and shopping for the monitor.
First of, do not rule out no-name brands. The LCD panels are only made by four companies; LG, Phillips, Samsung, and Sharp. All other companies that make LCD monitors buy the panels from these four companies. Therefore, since the heart of the product is coming from a name brand, there is no need to rule out the no-names.
Second, look for a monitor with a 12ms response time or less. Response time is the time it takes a pixel to go from black, to white, to black again. The longer the response time, the more you will notice ghosting when there is motion on the screen (i.e. video playback moving the mouse fast across the screen, etc.). 12ms is sufficient for most people, but people into fast moving games, may want to consider purchasing a monitor with an even lower response time.
Third, read the store return policy and warranty about dead pixels/sub pixels. Dead pixels/sub-pixels can be very annoying depending where the pixel lies on the screen. What they are is a pixel that is always black or a certain color all the time. If they are near the edge, they are not as much of an issue, but if they are in the middle of the screen where a person tends to be looking at most of the time and they can be very distracting. The policy with the retailer I purchase most of my computer hardware from is that there must be a minimum of eight dead pixels before you can return the monitor as defective.
The Choice I made and the Specs
After finding this out and I came to a decision, I purchased the Hanns-G HW-191DPB. This monitor is a 19 inch, widescreen, LCD monitor. The size of the screen is perfect for me. It was replacing a 19 inch CRT monitor, thus I actually gain visible screen space since LCD uses the entire screen while CRTs have a slight coverage of the bezel to reduce the actual visible portion of the tube and that typically adds up to 1 inch of the diagonal. Also went with the wide screen (16:10 aspect ratio) since I have read that it would be better to have a wide screen then a typical 4:3 aspect ratio. I don't know the exact reason why, but I believe it may have something to do with the side bar that you go Microsoft's equivalent of Widgets/Gadgets on.
The native resolution of the monitor is 1440 (width) by 900 (height) in pixels. This is a decent resolution for me since I was using a resolution of 1152 by 864 on my CRT. This means it adds a few pixels to the height and significantly adds to the pixel width. If you expect to use the monitor to view High Definition video through, it may not be ideal since either your computer or monitor will need to scale the image. If you need that, you may want to consider monitors that have a native resolution of 1280 by 768 or 1920 by 1200. However, if you decide that is important to you, expect to look at larger displays and to have the cost go up at least three fold.
The monitor also has built in speakers in the bottom portion of the monitor bezel. I personally haven't used them since I would like a full rage of sound my 5.1 speaker system provides. However, the business user that only needs to be able to hear simple sounds will find them as a plus since it allows them to remove speakers from their desk also. You may then ask why I purchased this model since I knew that I wasn't going to be using the speakers. Simply put, I prefer my controls on the front of the monitor instead of the side so I can see what I am pressing (more on the reason that is important for me later).
Inputs are not extravagant on this monitor. It has the typical D-sub and DVI video inputs for a computer at this price point. It also of course has an 1/8" mini stereo jack for audio. The monitor does come with cables for all inputs, but again, that is expected if not normal practice.
My Experience So Far
I've had the monitor for about a month now and really haven't noticed anything that would confirm my fears. I've noticed no dead pixels/sub-pixels on the unit, No ghosting effects even when watching fast action movies on my computer, and not as bad blockiness as I expected (I notice some pixelization in the face cards when playing solitaire that I didn't on a CRT monitor). Brightness and contrast are sufficient for the lighting in my home office, which are incandescent bulb lights. Glare is minimal and I only notice it at certain times of the day if I have my blinds open then. Problem could be resolved by changing the monitor position or leaving the blinds close.
As for the controls, they are nicely situated on the front of the monitor, easy to see which one you need to press. However, the issue I have with them are that they are flush with the bezel, thus I need to us my finger tips to press them. I prefer buttons that are slightly raised or rounded, but I still can deal with them as they are. The buttons are important to me since I use them often to switch between inputs. I have my main workstation connected to the DVI input for the best image quality I can get from the setup. The D-sub is connected to a KVM switch that I can have up to four computers connected to. Therefore, I need to switch between DVI to D-sub and vice versa quite a bit.
This also means I am familiar with the OSD for configuring the monitor settings. It is by no means the prettiest OSD in the world, but it does the job just fine. The control switching between inputs is in a sub menu, which is expected since most people will only be using the one input. All the basic controls expected are there. There is no need of pin cushioning, trapezoidal adjustments, etc. since this is an LCD, thus are not effected in those ways like a CRT can be.
Now the really important part is what you see on the screen. Well, that is beautiful in my opinion. As mentioned earlier, I do notice a little bit of pixelization here and there, but that is rare. Colors are brilliant, maybe a little to much so since I did compare it to my old CRT and certain colors were not quite a vivid on the CRT as they were on the LCD. I'm assuming the colors are more accurate on the LCD since I was using a digital connection instead of an analog input which most if not all CRT monitors use.
Concerning scaling of the desktop (i.e. when displaying resolution that is not the native resolution of the LCD panel) I don't have much experience with since I have been using only the native resolution for my desktop. However, I do play games occasionally other then windows ones and they tend to be once a few years old. Currently I'm playing Warcraft III, which will only display in certain resolutions. Of course none of the supported resolutions in the game is 1440 by 900, since I use the closes one I can. Game seems to look fine to me, but due to that it is a fantasy game, I cannot determine if the images of the game are noticeably stretched. I know some people sometimes have issues using the native resolution of LCD monitors since items and text on the desktop becomes to small for them to read. For those people, I would encourage them to state at the native resolutions and use the display settings in the control panel to change the dots per inch (DPI) setting. This will make the items and text on the windows desktop to appear bigger, thus easier to see and read.
Conclusion
All in all I am very pleased with this purchase. None of my concerns were confirmed, at least overly so. My biggest concern was getting a monitor with dead pixels, but again, there were none on my unit. Image quality is great and I getting use to the more vivid colors now. Also, it definitely freed up quite a bit of desk space, not I just need to figure out what to do with it.
