ViewSonic VG2230wm

ViewSonic's VG2230wm posted admirable scores on our text and graphics tests. Our panel of testers particularly praised the monitor for its excellent balancing of color and for its accurate rendering of text documents.

Images of fruit slices looked sumptuous, thanks to the screen's brightness and natural-looking colors. Text on Web pages showed no signs of edge blur, so the VG2230wm should be good for people who spend hours reading Word documents or scanning long spreadsheets. Icons on these Office applications were well defined, and text (as on Web pages) was razor sharp.

ViewSonic's monitor lets you adjust its tilt, swivel, and height. The true swiveling base can rotate 360 degrees, and the height-adjustable stand extends the monitor across an unusually large range, making it ideal for a setup with multiple users. A small steel wire clip inserts on the side of the stand to secure the monitor to its minimum height; I would have preferred a built-in button to lock down the stand, so I wouldn't have to worry about losing the wire.

Integrated speakers are another of the monitor's extras. Not surprisingly, they seemed underpowered, producing muddled dialogue in our test DVD movies, though they handled the soundtrack and general background music better. The monitor's circular base is decorated with a raised wave pattern--a pattern that recurs on the sides of the black panel in the form of simple silver lines that slope at the bottom.

Four pill-size buttons and a small round button--aligned vertically on the right side of the monitor--provide access to the monitor's on-screen display (OSD) and its power, respectively. Unhelpfully labeled '1' and '2', the OSD buttons don't aid you in navigating the OSD menu, so you may want to fire up the CD manual if you plan to adjust to the monitor's settings significantly.

In displaying Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl, the monitor tended to render scenes a bit the light side, infusing many backgrounds and foregrounds with a washed-out sheen. Colors in general were nicely saturated, though reds were on the pink side. Lighter skin tones also seemed too pink or too light, while the pirate Jack Sparrow's skin didn't have a dark enough tone.

Nonetheless, this monitor is a serious contender for a workplace or home setup. It's reasonably priced ($319 as of October 9, 2007), has a thoughtfully designed cabinet, and provides eye-pleasing performance.

Roy Santos