≥ 24" TFT Selection

[sleepyhead]

I been going round and round and round in circles reading and reading and reading all about the differing models available in the market. Originally was thinking of the Dell 2408 but then that has been noted for "high input lag". Then there was the thought of the Hazro HZ30W, being "only" £850 (or £700 when it was on sale) a relatively cheap 30" 2560x1600 monitor. Biggest downside is how on earth do I game with something like that as a 4870X2 won't fit in my case (and brings the budget upto over £1100 for new GPU and Monitor).

I've used TFTcentral as best I can and good old google.

Budget isn't a main concern but what is a major factor is value for money and that means selections like Eizo are not an option.

So what am I looking for:

1) Low input lag (for gaming, once more getting into online FPS)
2) Wide viewing angles (both vertically and horizontally)
3) Good reproduction of HD content (such as 1080i/p blu-ray movies)
4) HDCP (is that the correct term?) (so we can hook up either the xbo360 and PS3 when my mate visits)
5) No need to speakers/USB etc. but needs fairly good connectivity (ie abit more than just VGA and DVI)
6) min of 24" diagonal, the greater the better (means I can set the monitor further back and keep things nice and tidy)

What I have been viewing:

Hanns-G HG281DJ 28 Inch TFT Monitor
Hazro HZ24Wi
Hazro HZ26Wi
HP LP2475W
Dell 2408
Dell 2709
Digimate L2442WD (I think this is also the Yuraku that was talked about awhile ago here)

The key point here is value for money and not overall budget.

My own conclusion is the the Hazro HZ26Wi seems to tick all the right boxes but at £500 is alot to swallow vs the cheap Digimate L2442WD (circa £200).

[Webby]

With the 30" monitor you could always alter the resolution to 1920*1200 when you wanted to play games that were to much for the full resolution, as long as you use 1:1 pixel mapping you will not get any distortion and the visible screen area will still be 22.4" diagonal. Just a thought.

[ears1991]

if you can put up with not so brilliant vertical viewing angle, check out the dell s2409w i got one for £200 and cant flaw it aprt from that, its a steal at that price, hdcp compliant, has a hdmi input for consoles etc, and plays blu ray movies at 1080p without black bars beatifully

[SiM]

I would stick with the dell 2407/8, imo the lag is barely noticeable...

[CAT-THE-FIFTH]

Another vote for the Dell 2408. I use one at work.Excellent monitor. I also have used an Apple 30" Studio Display(2008 model) at work too and it is great for image editing purposes. Have not compared it directly to the 2408 though. Both seem to have excellent vertical and horizontal viewing angles. I know that the 2408 has HDCP and newer versions seem to have solved the supposed issues with ghosting;I have not noticed this on the one I use.

I have watched some HD trailers on the Mac display and it looked fantastic. I am uncertain whether the Apple display has HDCP though.

[Pegasus123]

I'd get the dell s2409w, it's a native 1080P monitor which is useful if you want to plug your PS3/360 into it, also when your watching 1080p movies it won't have black bars.

[sleepyhead]

With the 30" monitor you could always alter the resolution to 1920*1200 when you wanted to play games that were to much for the full resolution, as long as you use 1:1 pixel mapping you will not get any distortion and the visible screen area will still be 22.4" diagonal. Just a thought.

That is a nice idea But then we are looking at £850+ for a monitor. I have no idea how well monitors hold or lose their value or how long one would really last me. (If you not guessed I've always had freebies with exception to my LG which is my first proper purchase.)

if you can put up with not so brilliant vertical viewing angle, check out the dell s2409w i got one for £200 and cant flaw it aprt from that, its a steal at that price, hdcp compliant, has a hdmi input for consoles etc, and plays blu ray movies at 1080p without black bars beatifully

Black bars are not an issue for me/I've checked out the S2409W and it doesn't tick all the boxes I'd like.

I would stick with the dell 2407/8, imo the lag is barely noticeable...

Maybe you have a point SiM..which would put the 2709 into contention too.

The biggest issue I have is I can't just to go any show to see what these monitors are like so have to rely on reviews etc. a nd of course user end input

I'll still mull things over for awhile...