TesTed. Reviewed. veRdicTized reviews
V
iewSonic’s VLED221wm 22-inch LCD is the first LED-backlit display to grace
our Lab, and we were anxious to put the technology to the test. LCD moni-
tors typically sport cold cathode fluorescent backlighting, which can be less
than uniform, and because it’s always on in the background, it can impair a
screen’s ability to produce a true black. With LEDs, the screen is backlit with
a grid of lights that can be turned on and off as needed. Sure enough, the
1680x1050 VLED221wm was capable of a black that exceeded that of any other
LCD we’ve tested—but the result was actually overkill.
Even after we cranked the brightness to the max, we were unable to
elicit an acceptable separation of values at the dark end of the spectrum
in our DisplayMate ( http://www.displaymate.com ) tests. This lack of separation
resulted in a noticeable loss of detail in games and movies.
The VLED221wm also notably boasts a 118 percent color gamut—based on
NTSE broadcast standards—whereas LCDs have traditionally achieved a 72 per-
cent color gamut, and more recently 92 percent. The expanded color gamut allows
the VLED221wm to display extraordinarily saturated colors; the word “vibrant”
doesn’t do justice to the eye-punishing reds, greens, and blues this monitor spits
out. In our tests, it made photos appear unnatural and game graphics looked over-
processed; however, we appreciated the added vibrancy in movies.
By default, the monitor comes with its Dynamic Contrast feature on,
which adjusts the backlighting on the screen according to the content being
displayed to achieve the darkest black and brightest white whenever pos-
sible. But the implementation here is pretty poor—during our movie test,
the light faded in and out during different scenes. Fortunately, the featurecan be disabled, although we had to dig through the manual to find out
how—hold the monitor’s up-arrow button for a few seconds.
Given its spendy price point compared to fellow 22-inch monitors, ViewSonic’s
VLED221wm just isn’t a wise choice. The concept of “true black” is a
strong selling point, but not when it
results in perceptible quality loss.
—DAVID MURPHYViewSonic VLED221wm
It’s dark in here!
5
viewsonic vled221wm
$800, http://www.viewsonic.comConcealed at the bottom of the VLED221wm are two tiny speak-
ers; behind them are a VGA and DVI port.