Hewlett Packard w2408 24 inch LCD Monitor

I love this monitor. My initial exposure to HP's bright view monitors was at work. I had a Samsung 19" monitor that was considered one of the best but decided to get a bigger one. Rather then argue with our purchasing people, who always want to buy HP brand, I just told them to get me a 24". I was stunned when I saw the picture on the monitor. It was the business model and cost around $800. That was a year ago.

At home I had a Viewsonic 19" that was considered a good monitor in various reviews. Having the 24" at work made me want one at home. Fry's electronics ran an ad for some very low cost 22" monitors and I thought I would buy one but when I looked at all the various brands of flat panel monitors side by side in the store the HP brightview ones just blew the rest away. The only ones that came close were some Samsungs (not quite as good to my eye and about the same price) and some MAC monitors. So I ditched the idea of replacing my Viewsonic for a while.

Fast forward to Dec 07 and I was able to get the HP 2408 at a price I couldn't resist as part of a computer package. Initially I had my old system and new system running side by side and could compare the monitors. The 2408 just blew the viewsonic out of the water for brightness, clarity, color vibrancy, and everything else. It's not a criticism of the viewsonic, it was 2 or 3 years old and a midline LCD monitor but it's hard to overstate how good the 2408 looks compared to anything else, even other new monitors for the same price.

One of the reasons is that unlike most LCD monitors, HP does not make the screen with an antiglare layer of "frosted" plastic. One of the few complaints some people make about these HP Brightview(TM) monitors is glare. For the two of them I have (one at work, one at home) glare has not been a problem, in fact, I have not noticed any glare when the monitor is on. When it is off it is a shiney surface and you do see reflections in it just like you would in anything else that is shiney. HP does supposedly do something to mimimize glare but the screen looks crystal clear, like a pane of glass. It has the most vibrant colors of any Computer LCD I've seen. I see colors of fonts on web pages that are shades I never noticed on other monitors. For example, on my Viewsonic I thought all the red letters and green letters on Ebay pages were all the same red, or green. On the HP they are clearly different shades of green and red. Plus, on the veiwsonic/samsung I never noticed any colors being particularly "vibrant". On the HP things just jump off the screen.

It has a built in USB hub as well as built in speakers (not mentioned in the literature). The stand adjusts for tilt, height, and pivot. It has an ambient light sensor to dim the display in darker rooms. The ambient light sensor can be turned off and you can adjust brightness manually if you want. Some people have said the ambient sensor doesn't work. It does, it just has a delay so a bright flash of light from curtains fluttering doesn't make the screen change brightness needlessly.

Some reviews I've read have complained of the backlight spilling thru and that the panel has a narrow viewing angle. I have not found either of those to be an issue but as with any purchase, you should look at one before you buy if you think it might be a problem for you. Having used two of these monitors, one at work and one at home, I have not found any problems with either of them, they are hands down the best LCD monitors I've seen or used. They sell the same BrightView(TM) panels in smaller sizes if 24" is too big. If you are looking for a new LCD monitor don't buy anything till you have at least looked at these first.