HP ZR22W - first IPS LCD Display for under $300

[Guest Stan Starinski]

Fantastic product.

 

It's an IPS HD Display for under $300 - if I were in charge of a

 

graphic-related company on tight budget, I'd buy these monitors in high

 

volume. Upto this Summer2010, IPS monitor would rack up close to $1000,

 

those from Eizo cost several $THOUSANDS.

 

 

 

People with professional background in Engineering, CAD/CAM, Photography, or

 

other Graphic Art/Design need no further explanation.

 

For those who have no professional knowledge - here's a brief intro:

 

Majority of cheap monitors today are still TN-type (Twisted Nematic),

 

they've fast response times (dynamics) suitable for gaming, but not for

 

serious Graphic work b/c they're destroying colors, have awful backlight

 

artifacts and if you look from a side (at over 170* degrees) it can be seen

 

as awful white blemishes, color bleeding/blending, etc. - unsuitable for

 

professional work, but since they're very cheap consumers think they're

 

"OK".

 

 

 

But this Monitor is one of the few, early crops of IPS (not TN) displays

 

that emerged in the year 2010 at reasonable prices. Looks like IPS-panel

 

manufacturers have finally reduced costs. This HP monitor is not really HP,

 

and many others are not what the label/box says, read this fact:

 

 

 

Despite myriad of LCD Display manufacturers, there're only a HANDFUL of

 

actual LCD panel manufacturers, they just get repackaged/distributed under

 

other names. Most of the panels come from Japanese-rooted co's, and

 

manufactured in Korea, increasingly in China, some high-end in Japan and

 

(USA - for really high end, medical & military use).

 

So this HP is not really HP - the panel is "LG Electronics". It is a great

 

panel under $300, we're talking ISP (not TN) type!.

 

However do NOT use this monitor for very fast, video intensive Gaming if

 

your demands are extreme, it's OK for gaming, don't get me wrong response

 

time is under 8ms so it's OK, but you have to understand that IPS is meant

 

for professional Graphic work, and while improvement in response time in IPS

 

within past several years has been amazing, some TN panels are still faster.

 

I still recommend this Monitor for EVERYTHING, including heavy gaming - I

 

just proved it at home, and read other people's reviews in terms of gaming.

 

I bought it however for other work (CAD Design & Photography).

 

 

 

Of course Eizo or other highend IPS are still out of reach for this monitor,

 

but look - $300. An Eizo can set your wallet off by $1500 at least!

 

 

 

AND OTHER POINT - HP HAD FORESIGHT TO INCLUDE "DISPLAY PORT"!

 

For those who don't know what it means, it's the successor of HDMI, it's the

 

newest/hottest port for professional Monitors, HDMI will probably remain

 

default choice for entertainment/TV's for awhile, but DisplayPort is

 

superior and is taking computer industry by storm, and slowly encroaching

 

into TV's also, DisplayPort allows multiple monitors hooked to the same

 

serial chain, unlike HDMI's obsolete interface, DisplayPort has better

 

bandwidth, etc. - you can educate yourself.

 

Don't complain too much, b/c this Monitor offers other ports as well, I know

 

some will complain on lack of HDMI, but me - I don't miss obsolete HDMI, my

 

nVidia card has DisplayPort and it's amazing.

 

 

 

BACKLIGHT IS CFL, NOT LED! Ohh please don't be shocked! Rage about LED

 

displays is directed at clueless customers who only care for brightness, low

 

cost and thin profile I know you're reading this & are getting shocked. CFL

 

backlight in a "professional display"? Here's a clue for nonprofessionals:

 

LED's are unable to be flicker-free at brightness below 100%, because they

 

cannot be dimmed by simply reducing voltage - they must drop certain voltage

 

across junction, it's a more or less fixed value. The way dimming is

 

achieved is by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). I don't have time to explain,

 

this is not an Engineering forum. Just take my word for it - LED backlight

 

displays, although being the staple/default choice for currently produced

 

laptop & thin models, are bad for professional's eyes, and so is CFL of low

 

quality, This HP is using high-quality CFL (I saw somewhere, they use

 

50Khour bulb?), you can Google/AltaVista for yourself and discover what

 

other people are discovering recently - there's a group of people whose eyes

 

& heads develop severe fatigue from LED bright lit monitors that industry is

 

pushing down our throats, b/c it's costs them less to produce & recycle, and

 

consumes little energy in laptops/netbooks. This display is CFL and

 

believe me you will like it.

 

 

 

TAKE THIS ADVICE SERIOUSLY:

 

NEVER ALLOW HP TO SET ITS DEFAULT BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST - LIKE MOST

 

MANUFACTURERS THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL OUR EYES.

 

If you spend 10-12 hours/day looking into computer monitors, and been doing

 

it for decade(s) and care about your health, you know what I mean. Don't let

 

this thing to rise above 30-40% brightness, contrast should be higher -

 

50-60-70% than brightness.

 

Default setting is almost 90% brightness or something which really destroys

 

quality, but Hp just did what everyone else is forced todo - bright monitors

 

sell better in stores, once you bring home and work in the evening in

 

properly dimmed room, you know it's bad for the eyes, so reduce brightness,

 

most important - excess brightness destroys quality in terms of COLOR GAMUT.

 

 

 

Excellent price for this product. LG panel repackaged/rebadged as HP, with

 

HP custom Firmware & Enclosure.

 

Looks like an eye candy, also, though most important thing is performance.

 

not looks, the monitor is always "in your face" so it matters. Comes wit

 

more cables than I even need.

 

Dell introduced its own model following same "cheap IPS" philosophy, weeks

 

after HP, but I still prefer HP. I used to swear by ViewSonic, and not

 

shortly but for many YEARS I would only go with ViewSonic. But for that

 

matter, I also used to be fixated on IBM Thinkpads. Things change, no more

 

Thinkpads for me & no more ViewSonics - perhaps some companies get so

 

accustomed to highlevel status, that eventually they lose the "edge".

 

I actually wonder how is it possible to manufacture this thing for under

 

$280, unless they make in 100,000+ quantities.