Key Specs
22 inches1,680x1,050
16-to-10
4,000-to1 (dynamic)
300cd/m2
2 milliseconds (gray to gray)
None
One
One
None
None
Review | |
| Reviewed by: Matt Safford Review Date: November 2008 | |
| The Asus LS221H is a 22-inch (1,680x1,050) monitor with stunning design elements, including a slim profile, leather-adorned bezel, and hardened glass screen that strikes the perfect balance between glossy and glare. In our tests, however, the LS221H didn’t quite perform at a level that matches its outstanding good looks—or its price: At $349, the LS221H costs about $100 more than many other 22-inch monitors, like HP’s W2207H or the Samsung 2253BW. For the most part, it’s hard to argue with the display’s design. Its button controls are simple but serviceable and smartly incorporated into the silver trim that surrounds the black part of the bezel. A brown leather panel sits below the buttons, adding some visual contrast. A silver metal ring and Asus’s logo adorn the rear of the monitor, making the back almost as visually interesting as the front. (That’s especially handy if your desk doesn’t face the wall.) The hardened glass screen, meanwhile, is bright (300 cd/m2) without being too glossy to impede office productivity. Beyond that, though, the monitor’s features come with caveats. The stand, for instance, is as solid and sturdy as any we’ve recently reviewed, but unfortunately, tilt adjustment is all it offers; you might need an additional base to get it to the right height for your eye line. The LS221H’s stand also features a ring of LEDs that change color depending on which preset video mode you have enabled. Unless you like purple lights emanating from below the screen while you’re trying to watch a movie, however, this is more of a gimmick than a useful feature. Then there are the power and video connectors. We’re glad the LS221H comes with VGA and HDMI, but to connect to DVI, we had to use the included HDMI-to-DVI adapter. The layout isn’t perfect, either. The connectors are in the back of the stand’s base, which keeps cable clutter under control—but doesn’t let you push the base up against a wall. On our DisplayMate tests, the LS221H didn’t perform poorly, but it wasn’t overly impressive, either. In the white-level saturation test, the brightest few shades showed up as white, indicating oversaturation. Turning down the brightness helped a bit, but it didn’t eliminate the issue. The darkest levels of gray weren’t easily distinguishable from black, which has been an issue in recent monitor-test results; some similarly priced screens, however, offer better gray-scale performance. Text was readable down to 5.3 points, which is on par with nearly all recent monitors, but there was some backlight bleeding (light escaping from behind the screen in the corners), which caused the brightness to be uneven. This was most noticeable on a gray screen. During our game and video tests, the Asus LS221H produced no visible streaking, thanks to its speedy (but standard) 2-milliscond gray-to-gray pixel-response time. Dark areas in both Doom 3 and The Bourne Identity were slightly better than average, though there was a slight loss of detail in the darkest scenes. LG’s Flatron L227WTG fared a bit better with dark scenes, but its glossy screen was far more reflection-prone than Asus’s LS221H. All in all, the Asus LS221H delivers more high-end class than optimum performance. But if you don’t mind paying a $100 premium for style, there’s no reason not to choose the LS221H. Office workers who like to watch movies and play a few games after hours (or when no one’s watching) will find the monitor a striking addition to their desk. Price (at time of review): $349 (list price) | |
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