Gigantic screens are something that most people would love to have, but rarely get around to buying due to their sheer size, and the M2700HD is no different. It's a 1080p-capable 27in panel with a decent 400cd/m2 brightness, that also packs in three digital HD inputs alongside two analogue HD, two analogue SD and a four-port USB hub. There's even a nifty little remote, though it's sadly limited to changing basic settings like inputs and brightness (and really, this is supposed to be a monitor, not TV).
Unfortunately, or perhaps as a result of, the gigantic screen looks quite small when framed by such a huge bezel. It also takes up much more real estate on a desk than really is practicable, relegating this further and further into TVland than we'd like. However, it's still not amazing as a TV either, with a very poor vertical viewing range.
Adding to this poor range is a standard colour configuration that blows out colours immensely; while the 'eco' mode gives it a sterile feel. We threw it under a custom mode and tweaked the panel a little, finally settling on an image that looked okay-ish, with nice colours but a terrible black level.
We fired up the official Avatar 1080p trailer, which looked quite vibrant once configured, though it was distractingly grainy from a typical desk-viewing distance. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs looked amazing, with the brightness of the screen giving weight to the colours, though the slow 5ms refresh rate did produce some tearing. The TRON VFX concept trailer looked terrible, and it's usually moody blacks looked muddied and gray with significant backlight bleed - though the colours were impressive.
For the price and input flexibility, the M2700HD is a decent budget choice if you're after a dual-purpose monitor and television, but for hardcore gaming or movie watching we'd suggest you steer clear.
