Digital Trends

HP w2408

October 3rd, 2007 | by Jason Tomczak

Setup and Use

Setting up the w2408 is easy, but you'll need a space with some elbow room. When opening the w2408's box, you'll notice that the LCD screen is already attached to the base and simply needs to be removed from the box and the foam braces. Heft the w2408 onto a desk or table (careful - it's a bit heavy) and connect the power cord into the bottom of the bezel. Connect the included DVI or VGA cable, depending on the type of video adapter your computer uses. Connect the video cable to your computer and press the power button on the w2408. That's the quick and simple way to set it up.

For those that want to use the speakers built into the w2408, connect the green audio cable to the input jack under the LCD screen (next to the DVI port) and run the cable to your computer's audio-out/headphones jack. The volume can be controlled directly on the w2408 using the two center control buttons on the bottom right of the bezel. Volume can also be controlled on the LCD screen in the setup menu, however this is more complex and requires more effort.

You may or may not already know this, but the DVI and VGA inputs built into the w2408 allow you to connect two different computers to the same monitor. To switch between the two systems, just tap the little "Select" button on the front of the screen. This switches between DVI input and VGA input and gives you two working systems with the footprint of one screen.

As for customizing the w2408 to fit your viewing pleasure, peruse the on-screen menu for brightness, contrast, color levels, etc. There are plenty of options, so feel free to mess around with it. If you think you've gone too far, you can always select "Factory Reset" and put everything back the way it was when the w2408 first came out of the box

DVDs & More

Once you get the w2408 set up, there are a few really fun ways to test it out. Pop in a DVD movie (better yet a High Def DVD) and see how beautiful the picture is. When in 1:1 screen mode (not enlarged or expanded to full screen), the DVD picture is going to look fabulous. Colors are rich, beautiful and vibrant. Night scenes are appropriately black, like a void in deep space. If you're using a high-quality source for video, you'll probably notice the distinct absence of pixilation, ghosting or other unwanted anomalies. The w2408 handles still images and video with class. 

Photoshop, iPhoto, Picasa, etc.

Viewing and editing photos on the w2408 is a very pleasing experience. With the BrightView glossy screen, the w2408 can have a profound effect on how you view colors and how you feel about your own (or others') photography. Images look intense and deep, almost life-like. You may find that you end up spending more time browsing and enjoying your photo collection than before. 

TN LCD Panel & Viewing Angles

As mentioned earlier in this review, the HP w2408 monitor uses a consumer-level TN LCD panel. The TN panel is not as high-end as some other professional HP (and pro- competitive) LCD panels, but it is certainly high quality and very nice in its own right. The TN panel carries one notable limitation; the source of the only functional weakness we discovered with the w2408.

When using the w2408 in the most common and ergonomically correct style (the monitor straight in front of you and slightly lower than a horizontal plane) the images, colors and tones look amazing. Changing viewing angles - far left or right - has a diminishing effect on saturation and contrast.

Lowering one's point of view to the lower edge of the screen (as if you were sitting on the floor in front of your desk, looking up at the w2408) reveals that the top half's colors, brightness and tone darken. Increasing the angle increases the effect. This can be seen on countless LCD screens, however it seems to be most prominent and exaggerated on glossy LCD screens like that of the w2408. (If you work with your desk surface at eye level, there might be more issues to discuss than a darkening LCD screen.)

The TN panel and slightly limited viewing angles may be an instant turn-off to professional users, most of whom would never use a glossy screen to begin with. Others may be able to deal with the anomaly, especially if their viewing angle is relatively constant and conventional.

We've found that most users and industry experts have been very pleased with the w2408, while one or two have made rather harsh critiques. As with any technology, the most important opinion is your own. Find a w2408 in a retail store and spend some time with it. There's a good chance you'll make the purchase.

Conclusion

The w2408 is a gorgeous LCD screen that has impressive specs, an attractive design and very pleasing performance for most users. Despite the anomalies visible at unusual viewing angles, the w2408 gave us crisp, lifelike colors, deep rich blacks and nice clean motion.

For most common uses, the w2408 is a very nice choice. Professional users may want to look at one of HP's pro-line LCD screens however. Even HP makes this clear in their product documentation.

The $600 USD price is on the lower side of average - perfect for the budget conscious techie who wants a great display. Even better, a dual w2408 setup will cost only $300 USD more than a single 23" Apple LCD.

Pros:

• Very fair price
• BrightView screen for rich colors
• Ambient Light Sensor
• 5ms response time
• 1000:1 contrast ratio
• 1920x1200 screen res 


Cons:

• So-so speakers
• Viewing angles can affect on-screen colors
• Footprint gobbles up desk space