As more people continue to move into smaller spaces, they are starting to require more from their electronics and computer equipment. It’s no longer enough for a product to serve a single purpose, because convergence has very much become the name of the game. We simply do not have the space to accommodate separate printers, scanners, and copiers; it’s just so much more efficient to get a multifunction printer. The same can almost be said for the LCD monitor market. They’re not just there to show you the Internet. We want more.
The new ASUS VH242H 24-inch LCD monitor falls into this kind of philosophy. Instead of the conventional 16:10 widescreen aspect ratio that we see with most computer monitors, this screen has a 16:9 aspect ratio, the same that you’d find with the HDTV in your living room. In this way, it’s a perfect fit for multimedia and gaming applications. You can actually watch your DVDs in a full-screen format and play your Xbox 360 games without a stretched image or that annoying letterbox effect. As expected, the specifications are able to run the gamut for most consumers as well, while maintaining a sleek and simple appearance that will fit in with any decor.
Features At a Glance
The ASUS VH242H LCD monitor is not meant to hit the top of the range, but it’s not a budget-minded offering either. The specs place it somewhere in the middle and the main draw is that it is able to offer a native 16:9 aspect ratio and full 1080p video support. You’ll also notice that it’s got an HDMI port in there, so connecting your PlayStation 3 or HD cable box should be a piece of cake. The stereo speakers won’t floor you, but they are suitable for modest applications. For more boom, you’ll need external speakers.
In terms of the rest of the specs and features, here are a few of the noted highlights from the product page:
- Panel Size: 23.6″ Wide Screen
- True Resolution: 1920×1080 pixels
- Pixel Pitch: 0.272mm
- Brightness (Max): 300 cd/m2
- Dynamic Contrast Ratio (Max): 20000:1 (ASCR)
- Display Color: 16.7 million
- Viewing Angle: 170°(H)/160°(V)
- Response Time: 5 ms
- SPLENDID Video Preset Modes (5 modes)
- Skin-Tone Selection (3 mode)
- HDCP support
- Color Temperature Selection (5 modes)
- Stereo Speakers 2Wx2 stereo RMS
- Input/Output: DVD-D, D-Sub/VGA, 3.5mm audio mini-jack, HDMI, SPDIF (audio)
- Power Consumption < 55 W
- Power Saving Mode < 2 W
Because it takes on a 16:9 aspect ratio with a TV-like 1920×1080 resolution, the Asus VH242H doesn’t really have a 24-inch screen. It’s a 23.6-inch widescreen. You can expect similar oddball numbers when it comes to some of the 16:9 gaming laptops from Asus too. This unit will set you back about $279 US and is available at most popular retailers like NCIX and NewEgg.
What’s In the Box?
When it comes to a lot of LCD monitors that you find on the market today, many of them ship with a rather barebones selection of accessories. The assumption is that you are upgrading from a previous unit and the added accessories do not provide any extra value. For the new buyer, however, it can be a real pain the rear end when they get home only to discover that they have to return to the store to buy the appropriate cables. Thankfully, that is not the situation with this Asus monitor. Everything you need is included.
In addition to the monitor and stand, you get both a DVI and a VGA cable. This way, you have no trouble getting started with either a digital or an analog video connection. If you want to make use of the integrated stereo speakers, the included 3.5mm audio cable is certainly appreciated. There is no HDMI cable in the box, unfortunately, but having both the DVI and VGA in there is a nice surprise. Rounding out the contents are the power cord, installation CD (not really necessary), quick start guide, and warranty card.
Some Assembly Required
Not surprisingly, the monitor is packaged semi-separately from its base, so you will have to put the two pieces together. This is a very straightforward process and you shouldn’t have any trouble with it. Separating it is a little more difficult, but if you’re careful, it can be just as easy.
16:9 Aspect Ratio Perfect for Games and Movies
No, this probably won’t be quite as satisfying as playing on a 50+ inch HDTV, but it still outshines most typical monitor configurations when it comes to console gaming. The PC gaming crew has long since grown accustomed to 16:10 aspect ratios, but when it comes to conventional multimedia content (like movies) and console video games (like the Xbox 360), you need to have a screen that does 16:9. To put this “secondary” feature to the test, I connected the Asus VH242H to my Xbox 360 (via HDMI) for some Street Fighter IV action.
In terms of video quality, it was about on par with my main Samsung HDTV. I achieved a similar level of detail and framerate, getting minimal motion blur. I did find that the ASUS was quite a bit brighter and it was almost “washed out” with the level of whiteness, but this was easily rectified with a little work using the Splendid video presets. I also did some manual tweaking of the color, contrast, and brightness to better suit my gaming preferences.
The one strange thing that I did encounter is that while the video content was perfectly up to par, the audio side of the equation wasn’t quite as cheerful. As you know, an HDMI connection is used for both video and audio. I found that the sound would cut out at times through the integrated stereo speakers. This wouldn’t happen in the heat of the action, but there was a noticeable lag for the sound to “start up” following a period of silence. For example, the loading screens are silent. When the match was about to begin, it would take a second or so before the sound would kick in. This was not the case with my regular TV.
Horizontal and Vertical Viewing Angles
If you’re going to be staring directly at your LCD monitor all the time, viewing angles are not that much of a concern. However, since the ASUS VH242H has that 16:9 aspect ratio for a compact home theatre effect, there is a distinct possibility that you will be watching movies or playing games with someone else. When you are sharing content, viewing angles become more important.
In this kind of context, horizontal viewing angles hold greater weight than vertical viewing angles. Presumably, you will all be at approximately the same height when watching the screen, but you may not having the same horizontal angle. In this way, I am glad to report that horizontal viewing angles were well within the realm of reason. The screen would start to lose its legibility as you neared the edge, of course, but this was already a pretty extreme angle.
The claimed 170-degree horizontal viewing angle is perhaps a little generous, but if you’re watching the screen at that sharp of an angle, you aren’t going to see much anyway.
The vertical viewing angle, however, was a fair bit more limited. When you get to about 50 degrees above the horizon, you start to see some of the details start to fade away. The issue is nowhere near as pronounced as what we saw on the debranded HP monitor and there weren’t any strange color effects at more extreme angles, but the vertical angle wasn’t exactly the most impressive thing in the world. That said, this is a very minor issue, because when would you be staring down at your screen at such a sharp angle?
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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