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LG Flatron M237WD review: LG Flatron M237WD

LG Flatron M237WD

Eric Franklin Former Editorial Director
Eric Franklin led the CNET Tech team as Editorial Director. A 20-plus-year industry veteran, Eric began his tech journey testing computers in the CNET Labs. When not at work he can usually be found at the gym, chauffeuring his kids around town, or absorbing every motivational book he can get his hands on.
Expertise Graphics and display technology. Credentials
  • Once wrote 50 articles in one month.
Eric Franklin
6 min read

The 23-inch LG Flatron M237WD is essentially a small HDTV that can double as a monitor. It has all the TV connections you'd expect, including two HDMI ports and comes with a fully functioning remote control. It can be bought at major online stores for about $290, which is about $25 less than the comparable Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD that has many of the same connections. While both monitors are great buys, we believe your choice will depend on what's most important to you. If features are paramount, get the LG for its extra HDMI port and S-Video connection; however, the Samsung has better overall performance in movies and HDTV.

7.2

LG Flatron M237WD

The Good

The LG Flatron M237WD has a ton of connection options, built-in speakers, and great overall performance.

The Bad

The LG Flatron M237WD has somewhat muted whites in movies, and its image reproduction is a little darker than we would have liked.

The Bottom Line

The LG Flatron M237WD is a great choice for those looking for a 23-inch monitor-HDTV combo.

Design and features
The LG Flatron M237WD sports a slightly convex and highly reflective, black, glossy bezel that measures just less than an inch on the left and right sides. The panel measures about 3 inches in depth and comes in at just larger than 22 inches in full length, compared with the Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD's slightly thinner depth of 2.75 inches and width of 22.5 inches. Along the bottom of the LG's bezel are many small holes for the built-in speakers. Underneath the speakers is a maroon edge highlight that runs along the bottom of the panel. The oval-shaped footstand is 11 inches wide and 7.5 inches deep, but even with such a wide footstand, the display wobbles considerably when shoved from the sides. However, thanks to its balanced weight, the M237WD never felt in danger of toppling.

In the lower right-hand corner of the bezel is a soft blue LED signifying that the monitor is powered on.

The bottom of the bezel sits nearly 3 inches from the desktop, but unfortunately, the screen height isn't adjustable, and there are neither screen rotation nor pivot options for portrait mode. The capability to tilt the screen back 20 degrees is the only included ergonomic feature. The P2370HD goes back slightly farther at 25 degrees.

Connection options for the LG include two HDMI ports (one more than the P2370HD), VGA, DVI, Component, Composite, S-Video, and a coaxial connection for an antenna or cable. Also, there's a port for normal audio and a digital audio out option. On the lower right hand edge of the display is a headphone jack. All connections sit on the back in the lower right-hand side of the panel and face backward, as most TVs do. This style of placement makes each connection easy to access. Above the connection options are four screw holes for mounting the display to the wall, VESA-style, though you'll have to supply your own mount.

The onscreen display button array is located on the lower right hand side of the panel on the edge, above the headphone jack. It consists of seven buttons including a power button, Input, Menu, Enter, Volume Up and Down, and channel Up and Down. Pressing the menu button brings up six category options. Two rows with three options in each row. The options include Channel, Picture, Audio, Time, Option, and Lock. You can use the Volume and Channel buttons to scroll to the desired selection or use the included remote control that makes navigating a lot easier.

The options function very much like a typical HDTV and some, like Channel, only apply to actual TV watching. The Picture option, however, includes controls for brightness, contrast, backlight, and the capability to change from 16:9 to 4:3 aspect ratios. There's also an option to change the color temperature.

Audio options for the built-in speakers include TruSurround--which simulates having a 5.1 or more sound system--and a number of presets for movies, music, and so on.

We found navigating the LG's menu--with and without the remote--a simpler and more succinct experience than on the Samsung. While changing the audio to SRS, TruSurround took four steps on the Samsung; doing the same on the LG only took three steps.

The LG Flatron M237WD's 16:9 aspect ratio supports a "Full HD" 1,920x1,080-pixel native resolution. This continues the trend of more and more monitor vendors moving toward 16:9 from 16:10 because high-definition content--in particular 1080p movies--can fit onto a 1,920x1,080-pixel screen in full-screen mode without stretching the image.

Manufacturer's specifications:
Resolution: 1,920x1,080 pixels
Pixel-response rate: 5ms
Contrast ratio: 20,000:1 (Dynamic)
Connectivity: HDMI, DVI-D, VGA, Component, Composite, S-Video
HDCP compliant? Yes
Included video cables? DVI, DVI to VGA
Brightness: 300 cd/m2
Backlight: CCFL
Panel Type: TN

Performance
We tested the LG Flatron M237WD with its DVI connection. The display posted a composite score of 90 on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based performance tests, coming in just less than the Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD's score of 93. The LG faltered in our color ramping tests, which examines an LCD's capability to display gradations of the same color smoothly. The LG, unfortunately, couldn't match the Samsung's capability to show gradations smoothly, suggesting that the LG could have color banding problems. We saw no evidence of color banding on our real world test, however. However, the LG demonstrated its capability to distinguish black from dark gray, something the Samsung had trouble with. In our Dark Screen test, clouding, or backlight bleed through, was noticeable on the top and especially the bottom middle edge of the screen. Meanwhile, the Samsung had noticeably more clouding, specifically in the lower middle edge.

The M237WD achieved a brightness score of 232 candelas per square meter (cd/m2)--lower than the P2370HD's 264 cd/m2. Like the XL2370, the P2370HD's whites had brightness to them that the LG couldn't quite match. The LG had whites that looked somewhat muted in movies when directly compared with the same image on the Samsung.

We used the M237WD's Cinema preset to check out "Kill Bill Vol. 1" on DVD and a number of 1080p movie files from Microsoft's WMV HD Showcase. In both Kill Bill and the 1080p movies, we found that while the LG had consistently deeper blacks than the Samsung, Samsung's image looked more natural and brighter, without being too bright. Sometimes, the LG's picture was too dark and made seeing dark detail difficult.

We looked at World of Warcraft and Unreal Tournament 3 and noticed no signs of input lag or any streaking or ghosting during fast movement. Games on both screens looked bright with colors that popped.

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 not made to be viewed at any other angle. Depending on its panel type, picture quality at nonoptimal angles varies. Most monitors use TN panels that get overly bright or overly dark in parts of the screen when viewed from nonoptimal angles. The LG Flatron M237WD and the Samsung SyncMaster HD2370 use TN panels, and when they are viewed from the sides or bottom, we perceived the screens to darken about six inches off from center. Of course, when viewed from the optimal angle, we had no problems.

We turned the built-in speakers to their highest volume without hearing any distortion in the sound. At max volume, the speakers were loud but not quite as loud as the P2370HD's max.

Juice box
LG Flatron M237WD Average watts per hour
On (default luminance) 49.12
On (max luminance) 49.12
On (min luminance) 23.7
Sleep 2.39
Calibrated (200 cd/m2) 42.22
Annual energy cost $16.31
Score Fair

In our power consumption tests, the LG Flatron M237WD had a fairly high On/Default power draw of 49.12 watts, compared with the Samsung's 47.22 watts. The LG's standby power is a fairly low 2.39 watts. The Samsung's was a low 0.72 watts. Based on our formula, the M237WD would cost $16.31 per year to run, compared with the P2370HD's $14.59 per year.

Brightness (in cd/m2)
(Smaller bars indicate better performance)
Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD
264 
LG Flatron M237WD
232 

Contrast ratio
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
LG Flatron M237WD
958:1 
Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD
953:1 
Dell G2410
948:1 
Asus VH236H
905:1 

DisplayMate tests
(Longer bars indicate better performance)
Samsung SyncMaster P2370HD
93 
LG Flatron M237WD
90 

Find out more about how we test LCD monitors

Service and support
LG backs the Flatron M237WD with a three-year parts and labor warranty that covers the backlight for only one year. That's a bit less than other vendors, such as Dell, that usually offers backlight coverage for three years. The company offers repair service in two working days and pays freight shipping both ways for one year. During the second and third year, the customer pays one way and LG pays the return freight. Live Web and e-mail chat are also supported, as is toll-free phone support.

7.2

LG Flatron M237WD

Score Breakdown

Design 7Features 8Performance 7Support 7Setup 0