Acer - 19.5" LED HD Monitor

I bought this monitor to replace an older lcd monitor with a dead CCFL backlight. Setup was easy plug and play. After that, my first impression was that the LED backlighting, at default, was ridiculously bright, and whites had a bright but harsh and artificial blue-white LED characteristic to them (even set to warm). It actually looked fairly good when playing games/movies where everything was colored (the actual LCD screen had vibrant colors and great sharpness), and text and images were both sharp, but general tasks like web browsing and word processing (any tasks with a prominent white background, really) were VERY uncomfortable with this monitor's backlight. My next impression was that, when dimmed, the PWM (pulse width modulation, which basically adjusts the brightness of the screen by pulsing the LEDs on and off quickly) was very visible and quickly led to headaches, eye strain, and nausea. My digital camera could actually pick it up as soon as I turned it down to 99% brightness, and I could see it in the form of strobe-like trails of background image edges when reading text quickly. This was visible even at higher brightness settings (I could definitely see the strobe trails when I tried to use the monitor at 80% brightness), and it only got worse as the screen was dimmed further. I am, admittedly, sensitive to flicker, but I haven't had this problem with other LED backlit screens (including the one I got as a replacement for this Acer), and I suspect this monitor uses a lower PWM frequency that made the flicker more visible. So, basically, I was stuck with retina-burning artificial LED lighting at 100% brightness or headaches, nausea, and visual annoyances at anything below that. I tried to control it with contrast and my video card's brightness settings, but, obviously, dropping the contrast or changing video card settings (which can also effect contrast/color) isn't a long-term solution, especially if you do any kind of graphic design. My other annoyance with the monitor is that the menu system is really non-user friendly. The buttons are on the bottom edge of the monitor, and the menu basically points arrows toward the buttons you're supposed to hit, but it's hard to tell which buttons they're pointing at and which buttons do what as you're fumbling around with non-visible buttons on the bottom edge of the monitor. So, in short, it seemed to be a decent LCD monitor made barely usable for me by cheap LED backlighting. I returned it and bought a Samsung in the same price range (with about the same specs) that had backlighting that was more natural and didn't have the harshness or PWM flickering issues I experienced with this Acer model.

My trusty old LCD monitor suddenly gave up the ghost, so I needed an emergency replacement and LED is the most popular sell now. So far (only a few hours into using it), I'm pleased with my choice. I bought it on sale for $90, it was very simple to attach the base and plug and play. The contrast ratio isn't as good as my old monitor, but the picture is still very nice, crisp and clean in both general usage and in the couple of games I've tried, and the viewing angles are even better. The controls are a little awkward to get the hang of; they'd be more comfortable on the side rather than on the bottom of the monitor, but that's a minor quibble. I really appreciate how thin and light it is; no lugging every time I want to rearrange things. The base is not as tall and sturdy as I would like, nor does it tilt very far, and the width of the monitor combined with the narrowness of the base makes for an occasional wobble. But I suppose that's a fair trade off for how lightweight it is. Overall, I'm happy so far, and I hope this monitor gives me as many reliable years as my LCD did.

Had to get a monitor for a stopgap. At my local BB the1st try was the bottom line AOC which was just too Bright, couldn't turn it down enough at all. Returned it. 2nd try was a Samsung that cost more but when I opened it up, no DVI input. Returned that one too. Looked on the back of this ACER, cheapest one in the store that I was avoiding and it had the DVI input. So I grabbed the last one on the shelf. Set it up in a few minutes and I'm up and running again. Screen quality looks good, still a little bright at 50% but looks good. Downside is that for the Advertised 20" class, it's a tad smaller than my old Samsung SyncMaster 206 whose screen measured 20.5" diagonally. This one measures 19.75". It's Wider at 1600x900 but I lost about an inch in Height. My desktop pretty much looks about the same just a tad smaller, It's noticeable but I'll get used to it. I'll get a Bigger one when I replace my rig sometime later this year.

I convinced my boss to upgrade the office PC, including the monitor. We're a small office and while he said I could get whatever was adequate I didn't want to overspend. I was originally going to go with an HP monitor, purely for aesthetics so it could match the new PC, but this was on sale (about $60 cheaper). So I went with this one after most reviewers said it was adequate for office use. I'm no videophile, but the color on this monitor is terrible. No matter what I do to adjust it the yellows never look right. I have the brightness set at only 30 and the picture still looks extremely washed out. It also feels extremely cheap. If you can live with it and it's on sale again, go for it. But at regular price (currently $130) I'd say spend a little more and get something better.

Currently, at least, the Best Buy product description and specifications all indicate 20". It is 19.5 inch monitor, per both Acer and the box! A half inch doesn't sound like much - unless you are trying to pair it with an existing true 20 for dual display setup. Haven't used these for any lenght of time, but I have bought many Acer monitors and I'm very happy with them for general use monitors. This monitor has VGA and DVI, but no HDMI #standard config for this level of monitor#. If you don't care that it is 19.5, and with the current sale price, I'd recommend it.

Brilliant widescreen HD display. One caution, when I first started using it, I kept getting headaches for a week. After positively determining it was the display causing it, I got into the display settings and found the brightness setting was set at 100%. I turned that down to 20% and although I really cannot tell any difference in the picture the headaches stopped and have not returned. To change the settings is not that easy. I had to install the user manual to see how, and the combinations of buttons below the frame are difficult to figure out. I also could not figure out how to adjust the screen angle because the base seemed fixed to the screen, but the manual showed it adjustable so finally I had to hold the base and push at the top to get it to rotate.

Not sure if Best Buy has an error on their spec page, or if a salesman tried a "bait & switch". I went there to buy an Acer 20" monitor, had seen BB's spec page which said the monitor has a 20" diagonal screen, but the salesperson at the store handed me a box with a monitor that measured 19.5". I wouldn't buy it due to the discrepancy. Best Buy, can you check to see which is right , 19.5" or 20"? One half inch probably does not make a significant difference, but one should get what is advertised, or there should be a correction posted. Disappointed that the product was not as advertised. I may go back and buy, but not until I am satisfied that the product is as advertised.

Do not purchase this unless you have $90 to lose. This monitor is cheap, lacks VESA mounting and will fail on you in about 6 weeks. It will not fail on you all at once. Mine started to go in and out and I took it back to the Bluffton, SC Store after about 3 weeks. They tested it and said it looks ok. I used it sparingly since and today it has flat out died. It was like it was almost designed to fail just after my return window with Best Buy expired. I have been an elite rewards member for almost 5 years and never wrote an review until today. Do NOT purchase this monitor, you will be very disappointed. This is the last time I will purchase anything from ACER.