ViewSonic VP2365wb review: ViewSonic VP2365wb

The ViewSonic VP2365wb can be found online for about $350. For that price, you get a 23-inch E-IPS monitor with plenty of ergonomic options, five USB ports, and good performance. The performance would be better if it wasn't hampered by low brightness, unfortunately. Also, the display has a chintzy-feeling chassis, lacks an HDMI connection, and although its colors are accurate, they shift when viewing the monitor from the left or right. If you're looking for a 23-inch, 16:9 monitor, we'd recommend the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 or Dell SP2309W instead. Both are better-performing 16:9 monitors, with more valuable features.

7.0

ViewSonic VP2365wb

The Good

The ViewSonic VP2365wb has plenty of ergonomic options, a great lower-viewing angle, and accurate colors.

The Bad

The ViewSonic VP2365wb has a fragile-feeling chassis and a panel that shifts colors at off angles. Also, it has a low brightness and no HDMI connection.

The Bottom Line

The ViewSonic VP2365wb has solid performance, but its low brightness gives images an overall dull look.

Design and Features
The 23-inch ViewSonic VP2365wb has a matte, black, thin bezel that measures 0.7-inch on all sides. The black chassis feels hollow and fragile compared with similar monitors from Dell and Samsung, like the U2410 and XL2370. The panel is 1.1-inches deep; however, the back of the display--which houses the backlight, connection options, and ventilation system--extends another 1.4 inches, bringing the full monitor depth to about 2.5 inches. The screen has a slightly frosty matte finish with an antiglare coating. The back of the monitor is a smooth, black, matte plastic with a ViewSonic logo etched into the top.

The circular footstand measures about 9 inches in diameter. With the screen height adjusted to its maximum, the display wobbles considerably when knocked from the sides and could easily topple if hit hard enough. It wobbles less at its lowest height and showed no real signs of toppling.

The panel swivels 360 degrees and tilts back about 20 degrees. The panel can be unscrewed from the stand and mounted (VESA-style) on the wall. Also, the panel pivots 90 degrees to the left for portrait mode.

The monitor's video connection options are limited to VGA, and DVI; however, ViewSonic also includes USB downstream ports and one upstream. All connections are on the back on the lower right-hand side of the panel and face downward. While the video connections are easy to access, the best way to get to the USB ports is to pivot the panel first.

The onscreen display button array is located in the middle of the bottom of the bezel and consists of four light gray buttons, not including the power button in the middle. The buttons are aligned horizontally with enough space between each to keep your fingers comfortable while navigating it. Pressing the 1 button brings up the OSD, and the up- and down-arrow buttons let you navigate the menu. The 2 button doubles as the enter button and source select.

The OSD options include the standard brightness, contrast, and various color options. In lieu of preset options, the ViewSonic provides four color temperature selections: 5,000K; 6,500K; 7,500K; and 9,300K; as well as a sRGB option and a user color option that lets you change its red, green, and blue values individually. Other OSD options include memory recall, which resets the monitor to its factory settings, and a Dynamic Contrast option. ViewSonic also includes eco-mode on the monitor with three options: Standard, Optimize, and Conserve.

Selecting each mode adjusts the brightness level, which, in turn, lowers the monitor's energy consumption. Finally, there's an OSD specific option for setting the OSD to stay onscreen up to a minute (useful for anyone who will spend a good amount of time calibrating the display).

The ViewSonic VP2365wb 16:9 aspect ratio supports a "Full HD" native resolution of 1,920x1,080 pixels. This continues the trend of 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 the image stretching.

Performance
We tested the ViewSonic VP2365wb with its DVI connection in the 7,500K color mode. The display posted a composite score of 95 on CNET Labs' DisplayMate-based performance tests. The VP2365wb scored well in nearly all of our color and uniformity tests, but we found that the vibrancy of its colors were lacking compared with the XL2370. This has more to do with the display's relatively low brightness, however. The ViewSonic VP2365wb achieved a brightness score of 203 candelas per square meter (cd/m2)--much lower than ViewSonic's claimed 300 cd/m2 max. We found that this low brightness adversely affected the colors in movies and games. Instead of exhibiting the kind of pop we saw on the XL2370, the colors looked dull.

We looked at "Kill Bill: Vol. 1" on DVD and a number of 1080p movie files from Microsoft's WMV HD Showcase. Movies on the Viewsonic displayed accurate colors, but missing was the vibrancy or pop the XL2370 had.

Unreal Tournament 3 and World of Warcraft both looked great running at 1,920x1,200 and showed no signs of ghosting or input lag. Compared with the XL2370, the VB2365wb exhibited duller colors--not conducive to gaming.

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 to be seen. Most monitors are made to be viewed at only that angle. Depending on its panel type, picture quality at nonoptimal angles varies. The ViewSonic was made with an E-IPS panel. IPS panels usually show only minimal color shifts with angle changes. On the VP2365wb, we noticed that the colors shifted at about 45 degrees to the left or right. The screen doesn't darken, like TN panels do, when viewed from below.

We tested the ViewSonic VP2365wb's input lag by connecting it and the Samsung XL2370 in extend mode to the same graphics card, then opening a window, and placing the window so that half of it was on one monitor and half on the other. We then dragged the window up and down, keeping the two halves even. We didn't notice lag from either monitor and the window moved at the same rate.

In the power consumption tests, the ViewSonic VP2365wb drew 40.14 watts in its Default/On mod--more than the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370's 30.09 watts. Based on our formula, the VP2365wb would cost $12.32 per year to run. Compare that with the XL2370's $9.96 per year.

Juice box
ViewSonic VP2365wb	Average watts per hour
On (default luminance)	40.14
On (max luminance)	40.14
On (min luminance)	17.69
Sleep	0.5
Calibrated (200 cd/m2)	37.5
Annual power consumption cost	$12.32
Score	Fair

Find out more about how we test LCD monitors.

Service and support
The ViewSonic VP2365wb comes with solid coverage, including a three-year warranty that covers parts, labor, and the backlight. The company offers 24-7 toll-free technical support phone number and e-mail-based help. However, there is no Web-chat support like some other vendors offer. Navigating ViewSonic's Web site and finding drivers and the monitor's user manual was easy.