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>>Eric Franklin: Hi everyone this is Eric Franklin with CNET.com and every time I say dot com, like that, I'm sure it sounds like I'm going to say something really, really important. But no, not really, no. Sorry to disappoint.
Now today we're taking a look at the 24 inch Acer S243HL. The Acer is a 16.9 LED base monitor with a pretty uniquely designed foot stand. Which, thanks to its l-shaped nature, makes the monitor fairly wobbly when knocked from the sides. Unfortunately, the screen height isn't adjustable and there isn't a screen rotation or pivot option for portrait mode. It's capability to tilt back 15 degrees is the only included ergonomic feature. Not surprising, this is usually the case with these fancy pants, pseudo, post-modern looking monitors like this -- I'm looking at you Samsung SyncMaster XL2370 -- you.
The Acer has two HDMI ports and one VGA port. However, dozens report a DVI port. Meaning most will need to buy an HDMI cable to DVI cable to connect the monitor to their desktop. The OSD array is aligned to the left side and to the left of the array of the built-in speakers. The OSD includes several presets and also includes controls for brightness, contrast and color temperature and has the option to change the red, green and blue value separately. In movies we notice some color tracking errors in the form of a slight green tint that cover the screen. We also notice that the display has a difficult time displaying close to true black. Its black looks more like a medium grey, especially when compared side by side with the XL2370. This adversely affects the grey scale and colors that should look full and have pop to them, instead look drab and dismal. In games, we saw no signs of input lag, streaking or ghosting during fast movement. But again, the Acer's colors look drab and lifeless in comparison to the XL2370's vibrant colors. In power consumption the Acer would cost about $7.50 per year to run compared to the XL2370's cost of $10 per year.
If you're looking for a thin, LED based display with a pension for the glamorous, you'll want to go with the Samsung SyncMaster XL2370. While the Acer shares many of the same attributes as the Samsung, its ultra thin panel, LED backlight and $300 price, the Acer unfortunately falters in performance. The Acer has a nice aesthetic, it's just too bad it doesn't have the performance to match. Once again, this is Eric Franklin, it's been the first look at the Acer S243HL.
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