With CRTs going the way of the dinosaurs it is no longer a case of 'do you use an LCD' but 'how big is it'? Many consumers will be looking to purchase their second or third screen by now and with prices dropping all the time it looks like 22 inches is now the size to have. LG's latest Flatron the W2252TQ is a perfect example of this, offering a widescreen 22in display for just under $500. It produces a fairly impressive image with only some minor flaws and will suit general desktop users and gamers alike.
With a native resolution of 1650x1080, the W2252TQ comes in a standard widescreen monitor aspect ratio of 16:10. However, it has the advantage of having 1:1 pixel mapping which means if you do watch video content that is authored in 4:3 or play games that only have 4:3 resolutions you will see them at their native size with black bars down the side, rather than the stretched and slightly distorted image you'd get on some other widescreen displays.
Image quality was pretty good in our tests. We started off with some high-definition video footage, which came out crisp and sharp. Colours were rich although the overall cast had a slightly blue tone. Thanks to the 2ms response time there was no noticeable ghosting or blurring at all. Contrast was also well handled with reasonable levels of detail in dark areas, although it wasn't the best we've seen in this regard.
Our DisplayMate Video Edition tests were a little more revealing. The same slightly blue cast was evident although we minimised it by calibrating the display a little. There was some very minor noise visible in some of the moire pattern tests, but it wasn't particularly problematic and didn't rear its head in any of our real world tests.
Contrast charts were well rendered at the low end with perfect differentiation between blocks; however, a little detail was lost at the bright end of the spectrum. We also spotted a little banding in some of the colour graduation charts (that evenly move from light to dark). Yet uniformity was pretty even across the screen with only very slight backlight bleeding noticeable towards the corners.
Our only other complaint is with the viewing angles. While they are quoted at 170 degrees a shift of more than half a foot or so vertically results in a dramatic dimming of the picture. You really have to be careful to situate this unit exactly in line with your chair. Horizontal angles are marginally better, but there is still some degradation when viewing from the side.
Aesthetically the W2252TQ is pretty smooth with a gloss black bezel that curves outwards at the bottom and a silver rim which runs along the bass holding the various controls. It is one of the better looking monitors we've seen in recent months and will look the part in any modern PC setup.
Aside from the aforementioned 4:3 playback mode there is also a zoom option as well as the ability to apply a photo style effect such as black and white or sepia. All of these are conveniently located under the rather aptly named 'fun' button. Regular calibration options are also present including colour temperature, the ability to adjust red/green/blue levels and both contrast and brightness. The unit comes with both a D-Sub and a DVI port for connectivity.
