Benchmarks and Test Patterns
Leaving everything at their default settings, I proceeded to run a series of test patterns from DisplayMate. These included benchmarks allow us to test for contrast, brightness, color clarity, color fading, and the transitions between different sections on the screen. As far as I could tell, nothing stood out as being exceptionally good or exceptionally bad with this monitor.
I took photos of several test screens and several of these are available to view in the gallery for this article (next page). The color saturation and reproduction appeared to be quite good. The reds were vibrant and the greens were crisp. The animated test patterns, which are meant to check for ghosting and contrast effects, did not result in any glaring problems. If anything, they gave me a minor seizure. And yes, I’m fine.
As the ASUS VH242H lacks LED backlighting and selective pixel shutdown, the dynamic contrast ratio is a little deceiving. I was still reasonably satisfied with the darkness of the blacks and the brightness of the whites, but you can’t really compare a solution like this with the ones that have selective LED backlighting. I would have wished for darker blacks, especially for moody horror movies and brooding first-person shooters, but this is simply the nature of the beast when it comes to a conventional LCD panel.
Final Thoughts and Conclusions
The ASUS VH242H boasts a 23.6-inch display with a 16:9 aspect ratio, making it a fantastic for dorm-bound students, as well as work-at-home professionals with cramped quarters. It’s far from being the largest screen in the world and it won’t be able to compete with the 50+ inch behemoths, but it’s perfectly suitable to work as both your computer monitor and a screen for your gaming console, DVD player, or other similar equipment. There is no internal TV tuner, so you’ll need some sort of external solution for that.
The quick access buttons on the lower frame of the LCD make it very easy to switch between the three primary video inputs, so you never have to worry about connecting and disconnecting all of your cables. The contrast ratio, brightness, and color purity are not class-leading by any stretch, but they’re far from being the worst of the bunch either. The discerning aficionado may appreciate darker blacks, but most consumers will be very happy with what this clean and simple LCD has to offer.
The ASUS VH242H 24-inch LCD monitor has a very understated and elegant manner about it, but it also comes with a more than adequate feature set. If you’re looking for a computer monitor that does the 16:9 thing for gaming and movies, the VH242H is a solid choice.
Pros
- Very attractive design, including cable management
- Ghosting and motion blur are minimal
- Color reproduction is quite good
- All cables (except HDMI) included in the box
- 16:9 aspect ratio great for games and movies
Cons
- Can appear washed out at times; darks could be darker
- Possible power supply issue
- No additional extras like webcam and mic
Overall Rating: 8.5/10
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