Improving on excellence is never easy, but that’s the task for ViewSonic’s latest 23in Full HD monitor. Building on the success of the VP2365wb, the VP2365-LED keeps the superb e-IPS panel but swaps out the CCFL lamp for an LED backlight. Visually, it’s tough to tell the two apart. The adjustable stand rises by 135mm, pivots into portrait orientation and swivels left and right. The four-port USB 2 hub is a nice touch, even if the ports are concealed at the rear.
The understated exterior belies its capabilities, however. Out of the box, the e-IPS panel rewarded with solid, punchy image quality. Colours were rich and even, and good contrast and natural skintones helped make the most of our test photos. It’s an enviable out-of-box performance.
Testing with our colorimeter revealed a solid set of results. Brightness peaked at an ample 271cd/ m2, and while the contrast ratio of 906:1 is a little down on the previous model, it’s perfectly acceptable. Installing ViewSonic’s monitor driver improved the colour accuracy too, resulting in an impressive average Delta E of only 2.7 and a maximum of 4.1. Images tend to look a shade too warm, no doubt due to the colour temperature of 6227k, but we’d happily use it for photo editing.
Since it’s an IPS panel, you have to move far from head-on to cause any noticeable contrast or colour shift. There’s the usual IPS glow as you move off-axis, though, and we noted a reddish tone at more extreme angles.
Static images see the ViewSonic shine, and in movies and games it’s equally solid. Motion isn’t as smooth and blur-free as the best TN panels, but only elite gamers need be concerned.
It isn’t all plain sailing. In darker scenes during games and movies, there’s obvious backlight leakage, with a glow along the top of the screen and a large patch at the left edge.
The dodgy backlighting disappoints, but anyone who wants fine image quality on the cheap should cut the VP2365-LED some slack. Despite its flaws, it offers superb colour accuracy and a fine e-IPS panel, which in the budget space isn’t to be sniffed at.
