Why You Can Trust CNET Dell IN1910N - LCD monitor - 18.5 - with 1-Year Advanced Exchange Warranty review: Dell IN1910N - LCD monitor - 18.5 - with 1-Year Advanced Exchange Warranty
Dell IN1910N - LCD monitor - 18.5 - with 1-Year Advanced Exchange Warranty
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The Dell IN1910N is a 19-inch monitor available online from Dell for $129. At that price it's not too surprising that it lacks connection options or any noteworthy features other than VESA mount support. This is a bare-bones economy class monitor. It has a wide-screen resolution of 1,366x768 pixels, and games and movies both return disappointing performance on it. We'd recommend instead shelling out a few more bucks for the 20-inch
Dell IN1910N - LCD monitor - 18.5 - with 1-Year Advanced Exchange Warranty
The Good
The Bad
The Bottom Line
Design and features
The 18.5-inch Dell IN1910N has a glossy black bezel and the surface of the screen itself is a slightly frosted and smooth matte. The panel is 0.8 inch deep; however, the back of the display--which houses the backlight, connection options, and ventilation system--extends another 1.25 inches, bringing the full monitor depth to about 2.05 inches. The panel width measures 17.8 inches long and the bezel measures 0.75 inch long on all sides. The circular footstand measures about 7.9 inches in diameter. Wobbling was not an issue when we knocked the monitor from the sides; the foot stand is flat and can withstand being knocked around.
There is no screen height adjustment, swivel, or pivot included on the monitor. A 20-degree tilt is the only ergonomic option available. The distance from the bottom of the bezel to the desktop is 2.75 inches. The foot stand can be removed and the panel mounted (VESA-style) on the wall. It offers as few connection options as possible: VGA is the sole video or data option.
The onscreen display (OSD) follows Dell's label-free design seen in many recent Dell monitors. Four buttons line the lower-right-hand edge of the bezel. Pressing any of the buttons brings up the OSD, which pops up parallel to the button array, and each option corresponds to one of the four buttons. Once a new menu comes up, the function of the buttons changes dynamically, as the top two buttons become the up-and-down arrow buttons used to navigate through the newly seen menu. Since any button labels for the OSD are actually on the screen--rather than on the bezel, as seen with other monitors--calibrating the display in a dark room proved painless.
OSD options include the standard brightness, contrast, and various color options. The presets are separated into two categories: Graphics and Video. There are six Graphics presets to choose from: Standard, Multimedia, Game, Warm, Cool, and Custom. The Video presets are: Movie, Game, Sports, and Nature. The presets don't change anything other than the red, green, and blue color balance; therefore, how well each setting works is subjective. There are options to adjust the hue, sharpness, and color saturation as well as additional options for setting the OSD to stay onscreen up to a minute (useful for anyone who will spend a good amount of time calibrating).
The Dell IN1910N's 16:9 aspect ratio has a 1,366x768-pixel native resolution. The 16:9 monitor trend currently sweeping the market has given many smaller monitors higher resolutions than they were capable of at 16:10. A 22-incher with a 16:9 aspect ratio now has a potential high-def native resolution of 1,920x1,080 (1080p) pixels as opposed to 1,680x1,050 pixels.
Manufacturer's specs:
Resolution: 1,366x768
Pixel-response rate: 5ms
Contrast ratio: 1,000:1
Brightness: 250cd/m2
Connectivity: VGA
HDCP compliant? No
Included video cables? VGA
Backlight type: CCFL
Panel type: TN
Aspect Ratio: 16:9
Performance
We tested the Dell IN1910N with its VGA connection in the Standard (default) preset. The display posted a composite score of 79 on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based performance tests. Though the IN1910N's color is decent, fonts on the display are noticeably blurry. Also, the display had trouble displaying dark--and even not so dark--gray. The Dell IN1910N achieved a brightness score of 174 candelas per square meter (cd/M2), a lot less than Dell's claimed 250 cd/M2 maximum.
We looked at "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" on DVD and a number of 720p movie files from Microsoft's WMV HD Showcase. Movies on the Dell looked good, but the colors were oversaturated and there was noticeable dithering when watching in the Movie preset.
Unreal Tournament 3 and World of Warcraft both looked decent running at 1,366x768 pixels and showed no signs of ghosting or input lag. When displaying text in the games, however, it looked noticeably blurry.
The optimal viewing angle for a monitor is usually directly in front, about a quarter of the screen's distance down from the top. At this angle, you're viewing the colors and gamma correction as they were intended. Most monitors are made to be viewed only at that angle. Depending on its panel type, picture quality at nonoptimal angles varies. The Dell IN1910N was made with a TN panel, which usually shows dramatic color shifts with angle changes. Not surprisingly, the IN1910N's screen got noticeably dark when viewed from below and too light when viewed from above. Viewing images from any angle other than the aforementioned optimal one is not recommended.
In the power consumption tests, the Dell IN1910N drew 16.1 watts in its Default/On mode; that's less than other 19-inchers like the Gateway HD1900 and the Samsung SyncMaster 953bw, which drew 30.86 and 31.47, respectively. Based on our formula, the IN1910N would cost $5.01 per year to run. This is significantly cheaper than Gateway HD1900's $9.62 per year and the SyncMaster 953bw's $9.91 per year.
 Juice box | |
| Dell IN1910N | Average watts per hour |
| On (default luminance) | 16.1 |
| On (max luminance) | 17.9 |
| On (min luminance) | 8.6 |
| Sleep | 0.3 |
| Calibrated (200 cd/m2) | 17.9 |
| Annual power consumption cost | $5.01 |
| Score | Good |
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Find out more about how we test LCD monitors
Service and support
Dell backs the IN1910N with a solid three-year parts and labor warranty that covers the backlight. It also offers support 24-7 with a toll-free number and 24-7 Web chat. Dell has a fast 24- to 48-hour e-mail turnaround time--a better package than most monitor vendors, which don't offer weekend support. Navigating Dell's Web site and finding the drivers, product manuals, and quick guides was simple and easy.