The HP L1906 adds yet another option to the 19in LCD monitor category. However, considering the fact that most 19in versions are widescreen, the standard 4:3 HP L1906 19in has limited appeal.

The HP L1906 is less than ideal for watching movies, gaming or even working with multiple documents. The monitor specifications (500:1 contrast ratio, 250 nits brightness level) are comparable to other offerings in the market, while the response time and viewing angles are slightly lower.

The HP L1906 19in's 12ms rated response time and 140/130 (H/V) viewing angles are not very suitable for gaming or movies. To judge the display's colour performance, we used the Konica Minolta CS-200 colourimeter.

We found that the default factory settings were set too high. After tweaking the brightness and contrast settings, and colour calibrating the display we brought the HP L1906 19in to its best possible state.

The HP L1906 19in did a good job with colour accuracy, particularly with the blues and reds; the greens were average at best. In our DisplayMate colour gradation tests, the monitor did a fair job with colour scale gradients. On our custom response time tests, the L1906 performed well with movie clips but exhibited ghosting with high-frame rate gaming.

To sum it up, the HP L1906's performance veers towards a product aimed at office use. On the design and usability front, the monitor can only be adjusted vertically. It also lacks a DVI input and has no built-in speaker. The OSD controls are pretty straightforward, and tweaking the settings is simple.