AG Neovo H-W22

AG Neovo enters the 22-inch wide-screen fray with the inexpensive H-W22 ($269 as of October 9, 2007). Its low price reflects, in part, the fact that this monitor lacks the protective hardened optical glass of the company's NeoV Technology, which appears on such other AG Neovo products as the 22-inch wide-screen X-W22. Nevertheless, the H-W22 sailed past many pricier rivals to achieve very strong scores for text and graphics.

The H-W22 excelled at rendering Word documents and Excel spreadsheets with a consistent sharpness throughout. Whether the text background was white or black, jury members rated readability as very high overall. The monitor also produced pleasing graphics. Close-up pictures of fruit showed good texture, with natural-looking colors on blueberries and strawberries, and well-balanced saturation on reds, yellows, and blues.

A screening of Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl showed the AG Neovo H-W22 to be a capable movie display. Blues and greens in scenes with water looked refreshing, and characters' skin tones were warm and natural, though at times a bit powdery, as if some faces had too much makeup on them. Light skin tones looked realistic, without the pinkish tones produced by some displays. The pirate Jack Sparrow's dark skin tones contrasted nicely with the soldiers' lighter skin tones. Uniforms in various reds and blues seemed well saturated, and the monitor revealed good background detail even in darker clothes and scenery.

The H-W22's design is very simple, with clean, uncomplicated lines. Its nicely integrated speakers avoid adding visual bulk to the thin-looking cabinet, but they sound tinny even at maximum loudness. Voices and dialogue often were so low that the characters were virtually inaudible.

Five simple, tactile buttons let you navigate the on-screen display (OSD) menu. Situating the power button in the middle of this otherwise useful group of buttons seems like a mistake, because it makes accidentally turning the monitor off when you're fiddling with the settings too easy.

With its simple lines, the H-W22 will fit nicely on the desk of anyone who prefers an understated monitor that offers consistently robust performance.

Roy Santos