Why You Can Trust CNET AOC Verfino V22 LCD Monitor review: AOC Verfino V22 LCD Monitor
AOC's tasteful Verfino LCD monitor suits both the working desk and more style-conscious locations.
Design
We can't swear to it, but we're pretty sure we know how AOC prepares its Verfino monitors. First, take one LG Scarlet TV of suitable size, and chuck it in the wash until it shrinks a bit. It's tough not to look at the V22 and think of it as a mini-Scarlet, with a very prominent red lower frame and floating glass bezel around a very thin monitor body. AOC proclaims it the "world's slimmest" at 18.5mm, although like a lot of supermodels, there's a bit of fat hidden out of view of the camera. In the V22's case, it's to accommodate the input ports at the back, and by the time you've got the base on and the cables running out of the back of it, the aesthetic is somewhat spoilt. It is nice and light, however, which does give it a small amount of utility as a secondary entertainment panel, given it's HDMI-capable.
AOC Verfino V22 LCD Monitor
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
The V22 features an in-built webcam, speakers and microphone, and a surprising lack of buttons. To be specific, there's one button, and it doubles for both power and basic functionality, with differing directions controlling primary functions of the monitor itself.
Features
The V22's 22-inch panel has a quoted response time of 2ms, brightness of 2800cd/m² and dynamic contrast ratio of 100,000:1. Top resolution is 1680x1050, so it's not quite full HD compatible for those drooling over the HDMI connection possibilities. Then again, at 22 inches, the differences in higher resolutions become ever harder to accurately spot.
Visual connections are limited to D-Sub and HDMI only, and unlike many monitors that ship with an HDMI to DVI connector cable to ensure maximum compatibility, AOC makes you jump through a few hoops. AOC representatives told CNET.com.au that customers could request an HDMI to DVI cable be sent to them on request. We're left wondering why it's not in the box as standard, but presumably AOC figures that some customers won't bother, and there's a saving there for them.
Performance
The V22's one button approach worried us. Often gimmicky control schemes sound cool but are impractical for actual use, although the V22 manages to work quite well with its five-way selection method. The up direction flicks between preset screen modes, left controls the in-built speaker volume, right the image ratio and down the switching between D-Sub and HDMI. Pressing in brings up the Navi-Ring menu (which AOC optimistically refers to "as sexy as the iPhone" in its marketing material). After only a short bit of use, we found it easy to remember the correct direction for each function, at which point it became really functional and easy to quickly use.
The in-built speakers are a nice but not entirely necessary inclusion, and like most in-built speakers on monitors, tinny sound is the name of the game. Combined with the in-built webcam, you could make a nice little video-conferencing unit out of the V22, but it's not really up to entertainment purposes.
Visual screen quality was decent over HMDI, and predictably less so with D-Sub connections. Testing with DisplayMate showed good screen geometry with a slight tendency towards ever so slightly dim colours, although that's something you could play with via the easy controls.
As a stylish package, the V22's got a lot going for it for general computing use, and the inclusion of HDMI also means it'd be suitable for a style-conscious teenager looking for something to share screen time between a PC and Xbox 360 or PlayStation 3.