Wed, 16 May 2012 ViewSonic VX2336s-LED review

The scramble to bring out affordable high-quality 23in IPS monitors continues apace. This latest model from ViewSonic is one of the most affordable yet. The ViewSonic VX2336s-LED brings wide viewing angles and top-quality graphics to the masses.

IPS panel technology, once the preserve of design or photography professionals, is becoming ever more affordable. Apple uses the technology’s superior colour rendition and wider viewing angles to great effect in the company’s iMac, Thunderbolt Display, iPhone and iPad products which can make the dull, inconsistent image quality from a typical Windows PC display appear unappealing by comparison. See also: Group test: What's the best flat-panel display?

Few PC users are willing to shell out the kind of money required to buy a professional quality display. Many opt instead for a higher PC specification and the cheapest monitor available.

However, the latest crop of IPS-based monitors is changing all that; and if you’re more interested in editing photos and video than playing games or typing away at text documents, you should seriously consider a display such as the ViewSonic VX2336s-LED – especially at a price as low as £129. Visit Group test: What's the best 19 to 24-inch LCD monitor?

ViewSonic VX2336s-LED: Features

Housed in an inexpensive-looking yet still moderately stylish enclosure, the 23.6in IPS panel at the heart of the ViewSonic VX2336s-LED is capable of delivering superb colour. This colour quality doesn’t shift or dim as your eyes scan the surface of the screen or when you move your head. This makes for not only the much more accurate rendition of images but also for reduced eye strain.

ViewSonic has pared down the features to the basics. It’s all about delivering the best image quality, and to get it at this price you’ll be going without speakers, HDMI ports or USB hubs. With the ViewSonic VX2336s-LED you do however get a pair of inputs: one each of VGA and DVI-D.

A simple tilting stand is fitted which can be removed if you want to make use of the VESA 100 mount at the rear of the ViewSonic VX2336s-LED for wall-mounting or use on a monitor arm.

Being a basic monitor, you won’t need to make much use of the on-screen menus. Nevertheless, these employ a somewhat improved version of the control interface ViewSonic has until now left unchanged for many years. This revised OSD does make the ViewSonic VX2336s-LED easier and more pleasant to set up.

ViewSonic VX2336s-LED: Performance results

Our calibration results revealed the VX2336s-LED to deliver accurate colour. While not the very best we’ve seen from a budget IPS display, it stands head and shoulders above any TN-based panel – which is a success in our book.

Rated at 250cd/m2, the white LED backlight in this monitor isn’t as bright as the most powerful we’ve seen, but for a non-multimedia display not much more is needed – presuming you’re working quite close to the monitor.
 
We found some minor, but measurable, colour uniformity issues and slightly more noticeable brightness uniformity issues where the top of the screen tended to be slightly dimmer than the bottom. This isn’t something you’ll notice by casual observation, but it is there.

Colour accuracy was however very good indeed. A matching test of 48 differently coloured swatches produced errors well below the threshold of human vision – it’s pretty much spot on.

Contrast ratio was measured at 710:1 in the black/white checkerboard test. It could reproduce 97% of the sRGB and  75% of the Adobe RGB gamut. Average colour error was 0.55 deltaE.

Power consumption at maximum brightness (measured at 233cd/m2 calibrated) was 31W, falling to 17W at our benchmark 120cd/m2 setting.

Overall, the performance of this monitor leaves TN displays standing. But it isn’t quite up to the standard of some of the competing IPS panels we’ve tested. However, for the price it’s really quite amazing.

The rated response time of 14ms is a little slow for hard-core gamers, but the vast majority won’t even notice.

ViewSonic VX2336s-LED: lab results

Measured Black point luminance (calibrated):    0.33 cd/ m2
Maximum measured brightness (calibrated):  232.6 cd/ m2
Maximum checkerboard contrast:     710 :1   
Percentage of Adobe gamut:           75%
Percentage of sRGB gamut:           97%
Measured native white point:            6500K
Colour error (min/avg/max)            0.1/0.55/4.84 deltaE
Power consumption at maximum brightness:   31W
Power consumption at 120 cd/ m2 :        17W