HP w2207 LCD Monitor Review

The brand new 22-inch LCD monitor from HP named w2207 it’s a major evolution in design and functionality in the computer LCDs area of expertise. Its slick, its black, it has a wide screen, what more would you want in your room on your desktop. Related with the TouchSmart PC and Pavilion desktops, with good performance and nice features, at a price of only 380$, it should seem a perfect deal compared with other 22-inch LCDs, even a little cheaper but not even near in performance. The battle is lost when we talk about high-definition movies, the traditional TVs are still in the lead. Despite some minor software issues, this HP, with its balanced proprieties, seems the best in its class.

Not only it has a attractive black color, you can adjust the range of tilt and height from the sturdy base of the display. Maybe you can’t swivel the monitor, but the 90 degrees rotation to portrait mode will sore come in handy. The design of the stand helps you slide your keyboard underneath the monitor, saving a lot of space you may need sometimes. The power and signal cable make their way on each side of the monitor, but you should know when the monitor is rotated 90 degrees the cables might slip off their sockets.

Most of the options that appear on a modern LCD you will find in the w2270’s onscreen display too. A cool thing we noticed was found in the menu, two dedicated buttons who will help you scroll through four presets: gaming, watching movies, viewing photos, and typing, all appearing on the display itself. The annoying thing is getting out of an menu option all the way back to the main menu exit button, and from there you will have to make your way back every time you will need to change an option.

Manufacturer’s specs
Resolution: 1,680×1050
Dot pitch: .28mm
Pixel-response rate: 5ms
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1
Viewing angle: 160 degrees horizontal, 160 degrees vertical
Connectivity: Analog, digital, USB
HDCP-compliant
Included VGA, USB, and audio cables (no DVI)
Integrated, two-watt speakers

When we tried the speakers, there was a very big disappointment, not even close to loud, there were barely audible, bringing them in the dark world of monitor speakers. The software of the display seems to bring a bigger problem. HP’s My Display software should make your way through Windows interface more easy when adjusting, the software should also change the setting to portrait mode when you flip the monitor 90 degrees. Too bad, because that never happened, not even on its friendly HP Pavilion SlimLine s3020n PC, designed in conjunction with the display.

When we tested the monitor on Windows Vista and an Nvidia GeForce graphics chip there was a bad feeling that the display software had some conflicts with the drivers of the two mentioned above. The HP company assured us they are working to solve this problem, and they hope to have the repair available to download very soon. But don’t despair, you can manually change the screen to portrait mode from the Nvidia’s software, even the auto-pivot from HP doesn’t work.

When you talk about a display device like a monitor, the performance should be the first thing to check, and the HP w2207 is the best in this area. On all the lab test we had it had the biggest scores of all the 22-inch monitors in its category. The contrast ratio and brightness rating were off the scale and beyond any other screen. When we tested the text, it showed that Times New Roman was legible at a 7.5 point font and hard to see when we went down 6.8 points, replicating the end limit we found on HP’s last 22-inch LCD. Trying the movie Aeon Flux in HD (live action version) we realized the image was decent, even there could have been some finer tunings, that being our only major grip, the w2207’s HD video performance. Making a comparaison between a high definition television and the HDCP compliant display that the w2207 have, we would better watch a movie HD on the TV.

The overall performance of this monitor looks great from our point of view, the HD attributes, very low comparing with the other displays makes it weak. The warranty coverage is only one year for parts and labor, when ASUS, ViewSonic, and others all provide three years of protection. Still, you can find a variety of support resources on HP’s Web site, including drivers, documentation, and the ability to chat with an HP tech.