Review: LG Flatron W2486L LED Monitor

Overview:

In this review, I will be looking at the LG W2486L. A wide screen LED monitor. The LED backlight is more energy efficient, and another advantage is that the monitor can be thinner than your bob-a-job TFT, a mere 2 CM give or take. So, does this monitor deserve a spot on your desk, or should it be left on the shelf, all thin, and unused, like an old Kate Moss?

Review:

Lets first take a look at the specs first, and see what there is to get excited about:

• Screen size (inches) 24
• Aspect Ratio16:9
• Resolution1920 x 1080
• Brightness (cd/m2)250
• Contrast Ratio2000000:1
• Response Time (ms)2
• Viewing Angle (°)170/160 (CR≥10)

The design of the monitor reminds me of the Samsungs, and is sheer black, with a red tinge on the stand. As I have mentioned before, the LED backlight allows the monitor to be super slim, which is nice, but you will only really appriciate it if you look at it sideways, which you never really do. Another benifit of the LED backlight is that it generates little heat, and is more energy effiicent, a true plus. The base is an oval, and takes up only as much space as is needed to makea stable base. The front is simple and has a glossy black bezil arround the screen. There is a silver trim along the bottom, only bulging out of its contour hugging line to incorporate a power on light. No buttons on the front, as all the controls are touch sensative, which I will come to later.

On the back of the monitor, again we see the glossy black that stretches, unbroken accross the entire length. The only spot where it is broken is where the various ports connectors are grouped. If you are looking for a monitor with a vesa mount, then this monitor is not for you, as any such mount is missing. Indeed, the design of the monitor does not lend itself to a vesa mount as the stand is part of the moulded design, so taking the base off, would still leave the stand sticking  out. Focusing in on the ports, the W2486L is pretty generous. You get the DVI, and VGA, and you also get two HDMI ports. Basically, this monitor will take anything you care to plug in from a PC.

So, back round to the front, and to the bottom right corner, the absence of buttons implies touch sensitivity. Touch the power symbol, and the lights glow on then off from the inside out, very posh. The touch sensative controls are slightly temperamental in my opinion, not always registering a touch, or a little slow to respond. It doesn’t help that the areas of touch sensitivity are not clearly deliniated, however, after a period of adjustment, and a bit of practice, the controls posed no real problems.

Delving into the controls a bit, we have, Smart, Fun, Menu, f-Engine, Source, and Auto/Set. The Smart setting allows you to adjust one of the features of the monitor, a light sensative brightness setting. A small sensor on the fornt of the monitor senses the brightness in the room, and adjusts the brightness of the screen accordingly. I thought this worked pretty well, although I did have one issue with it. In my office, I have a window direcly behind me, and at one point in the day, the sun streams straight through the window. When it does, the light makes the picture look washed out, and at this stage, the sensor should initiate the brightening of the screen. However, if my carcase is in the way of the sensor, the brightness does not go up. It’s only any good for the ambient light levels, not direct sunlight if I am in the way. You can also control a time setting here that allows you to have the monitor switch off after one or two hours. A fairly standard feature, but nice to have.

The Fun settings are not, as the name might allude to, that fantasic, rather I think, as do you, it allows you control over what is displayed, and how, with fun in mind. So get set to hold on to your seat, and get ready for the time of your life with EZ Zooming, 4:3 IN Wide, and Photo Effect. All facilitating the best fun you ever had. Well, OK, but useful features none the less. The first two are fairly self explanitory, and being able to change the aspect ratio of the monitor is useful. The photo effect allows you to apply effects through the monitor like monochrome, or sipeia. Not sure how often you would use it, but it’s there if you want it.

The Menu button gives you acccess to tracking, picture settings, brightness, contrast and so forth, you can also get to the colour settings here, allowing you to manually adjust the RGB levels. The f-Engine gives you some presets to play with. These are set up to give you the best viewing for web pages, games or film, and pictures. Again, this is all very well, but I don’t think I used it the entire time I was using the monitor. Next up it the input, and unserprisingly enough, this allows you to choose from the many input options that there are.

I tested the monitor with the Firefox web browser, the VLC media player with The Matrix, and more than enough Assassins Creed II. For web browsing the screen provides more than enough real estate, and reproduces colours and websites with vigour. Colours look sharp and vivid. The Matrix looked good, and well defined, with crisp images. Assassins Creed II worked nicely in widescreen, and was as sharp as the film and web browsing had been, and as you might expect in a monitor with a 2ms response time, the monitor suffered no ghosting or blur. Infact, I was very pleased with the way that the monitor handled all the media thrown at it. It certainly appears to be a superior panel.

The Gaj-It Verdict:

Design: 7/10
Usability: 9/10
Features: 7/10
Value: 8/10

We Say:

A good monitor, perhaps a bit lacking in features, but more than made up for by a good quality picture. In this price bracket, there is some stiff competition, but if you are looking for a quality 24″ TFT, this might just be the one.