LG W2252TQ
David Bayon, Alex Bradner
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Sep 9, 2008 12:44 PM
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LG | http://www.megabuy.com.au
RRP: $283 (time of review)
Image Quality: 
Features & Design: 
Value for Money:
Overall Rating: 
User Rating:  (from 1 reviews)
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Great performance at an entry-level price and stylish to boot
In keeping with the LCD market’s move towards living-room looks, the W2252TQ’s rounded corners and base make it a good-looking choice for a room not dedicated to IT equipment. Being one of the cheaper models on test, though, the only outputs on show are standard DVI and VGA ports: there are no extras such as a USB hub or integrated speakers. Even the stand, while good-looking and sturdy, allows you only to alter the tilt of the monitor: there’s no height or swivel adjustment.
Any misgivings we had were quickly cut short in our technical tests, where the W2252TQ excelled. The colour and greyscale ramps were perfectly smooth and didn’t drop to black or blow out to white too early, and the lack of a colour caste is particularly pleasing at this price. Overall, light areas of the screen appeared as detailed as mid-tones, and our high dynamic range images were vibrant, with plenty of detail visible in the shadows.
Out of the box the blue is set a little low, but using the menu system to bump it by 10 points fixed it. Otherwise, everything was set correctly and we had no other complaints. The dynamic contrast – rated at an astonishing 10,000:1 – is good enough to leave on during normal use, but we found that it occasionally oversaturated. The other presets available are nothing particularly exciting, but even left at its default settings, the 700:1 static contrast mode still looked absolutely superb.
The menu system is a minor bugbear, proving occasionally cumbersome and difficult to navigate. It amends by providing plenty of options, but these have to be navigated via rather unintuitive menus. Luckily, LG provides Fortemanager, a Windows application that allows you to control the W2252TQ without the OSD. It’s convenient, but of course, not for anyone using an OS other than Windows.
Another unusual inclusion is LG’s Fun menu, which includes options for lowering the resolution, squeezing the display into 4:3 mode, applying photo effects and playing an odd jingle every time you push a button. The 4:3 setting is particularly useful – with the panel set to 1280 x 1024 we attained a good image, and the benefit is that non-widescreen games appear undistorted.
The W2252TQ is fantastic. Its quality is second to none, and it distinguishes itself from every other monitor in its class not just with a great picture, but with its superb value for money. The Samsung 2232bw is fantastic to look at as well, but it’s a full $60 more expensive. For budget-conscious users this month, there can be no other choice.