The Well Recognized Asus Vw246h review - Is it all that it's caught up to be?

By Jack Tenzis


Whereas 24in displays were at one time a preserve of well heeled enthusiasts, cheap 24 inch, 16:9 aspect TN based panels have enabled them lower priced and available to regular consumers. Asus' VW246h monitor is the one other addition for this category, let's quickly see how it holds up.

Like other budget displays lately, the VW246H will come in two parts, the beds base and monitor-plus-stand, which simply click together. The look is basically similar to that of the Asus VW223B we reviewed recently. Which means that (as usual) you receive a glossy black bezel, though the display's back and base are matte, together with the latter sporting a ripple texture surface.

Within a mere 16 mm thick, the bezel around the VW246H's is practically as thin as that of its smaller sibling - except towards the bottom where it is 25 mm to include the monitor's controls. Small icons above the controls make sure they are a breeze to recognize while the tiny blue LED around the power button can not be switched off, it's very discreet enough not to ever matter.

Overall, the VW246H is often a functional but largely unimaginative component of styling that won't offend but won't excite either. Should it be a little panache you're going after, likes on the Samsung monitor range, or perhaps the BenQ V2400W, is going to be of more interest.

Triple video inputs are just about par-for-the-course nowadays and also the VW246H doesn't disappoint, offering HDMI, DVI and VGA. There's a rudimentary clip at the back of the stand for cable management. Not as much of any given is really a 3.5mm stereo output on top of the usual input, assisting you to attach external speakers instead of making use of the monitor's ones. Asus also gets points for including both VGA and DVI cables, where a few other manufacturers still only supply VGA.

Getting on the OSD, it's rather small and slightly morose, lacking visual flair. Eventhough it feels a touch cramped, it is rather usable thanks to one of the better layouts we've come across. There are few sub-menus, so nothing is buried, tags are readable and layout logical. Just the slightly awkward directional controls, which can be placed each side on the 'menu' button, hinder navigation. Continuing up with the OSD, Asus' 'Splendid' technology is actually merely a couple of presets - albeit very adaptable ones - and skin-tone adjustments. The presets, which comprise Scenery, Standard, Theater, Game and Night View modes, are individually configurable, therefore you might actually lead to using some of them. Certain constraints do apply, however. In Theater mode, for instance, you cannot adjust brightness, while Standard mode doesn't permit you to play around with the sharpness, saturation or dynamic contrast (which Asus calls ASCR) settings. Scenery and Game modes give a chance to access every adjustment, though.




About the Author: