What's the Big Difference Between My 24" Acer and Hanns-G Monitors?

**andrewanimation** · #1 29th Sep 2009, 09:47

I have a nice Acer AL2423W 24" monitor. I bought a new Hanns-G HH251 24.6" monitor just recently off newegg, http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...82E16824254040.

The Acer's visual seems so crisp and perfect, and is completely "consistent" (not sure how to describe it) no matter what angle you look at it from, it always looks like the same flat perfect image. There are no areas or sections that ever look like they're more dim or bright than any other sections. 100% consistent.

The Hanns-G, however, is much worse. It has obvious "inconsistencies," with some areas/sections seeming dimmer and others brighter. And, when viewed from a side, the screen appears almost completely black, as if it's off. Unlike the Acer, which looks the same no matter what angle you view it from.

It seems apparent to me that these LCDs have something different about their build, but is there a term for this difference? Something that I can search for in product Specifications, such as the one you can read of the Hanns-G at the link I provided? I only looked at screen size and customer ratings when looking for a second monitor. I had no idea there was something else I needed to look at. What is it called, to want a visual like the Acer, and not like the Hanns-G?

**Carbon** · #2 29th Sep 2009, 15:51

Reason is, the Acer's a P-MVA panel whereas the Hanns-G is a TN panel. Most people don't care that much, but the difference is pretty obvious as far as viewing angles.

MVA panels typically are slower than TN panels as far as input lag, but unless you're gaming it's not that big of deal.

One consumer non-TN panel that's recommended a lot is the Dell 2209WA which is IPS, but your budget may allow for some better ones.

**andrewanimation** · #3 29th Sep 2009, 19:47

Wow, that's interesting. What does P-MVA stand for, versus TN? It looks like I'm going to have to wait for newegg's response to see if I can't send this TN back for an MVA. Their policy seems to be for replacements of the same product only, which would be bad, as the panel type makes a big difference to me, now that I know about it. And it looks like the panel type wasn't even mentioned on their Specifications, is that right? I don't see MVA or TN mentioned anywhere there, even after using the 'Find' feature of my Firefox. I think something like this ought to be mentioned along with things like screen size. If I can send this monitor back, I would want to look for a highly-rated 24" MVA monitor for around the same price of $200 and preferably 1920x1200, like my Acer, instead of 1920x1080, though the first seems to be rare for whatever reason. But how would I go about knowing which monitors are MVA? Is it somehow hidden in the Specs?

**Carbon** · #4 29th Sep 2009, 20:58

It's not likely to be in Specifications. http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1039222 is a decent breakdown.

With that said you're not going to get a 1080p MVA or IPS panel for $200. They start around $350. The Dell I mentioned is $290 at Dell Small Business but it's 1680x1050.

**andrewanimation** · #5 1st Oct 2009, 13:48

Nice, that was a useful breakdown! I'm definitely a fan of IPS's and VA's. But I recently started using my TN monitor as a HDMI TV for my PlayStation 3, and, oddly enough, it doesn't get the back-light bleeds that caused the "inconsistencies" when I used it for my PC!

Ie-ie-ie, so 24" VA's and IPS's aren't nearly as cheap as TN's? I knew they were better. :( So then I suppose this list of newegg monitors of 24" sorted by Lowest Price first are all TN's at least until we get to the $300 mark.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Produc...ue&Order=PRICE
But without that info being in Specs, I guess I wouldn't know either way!:(
That's fine for me for now, since my TN makes a good HDMI TV for whatever reason, when it didn't satisfy as a PC monitor, but I really think the type of Panel deserves to be mentioned in Specs, if not main descriptions.

Thanks for all the info!:)

**Carbon** · #6 2nd Oct 2009, 00:47

Correct. Some TN monitors are fine as far as viewing angle too, check the reviews or look at 'em in person and that helps. Still, nothing beats one of those panel types, and color reproduction is a lot better (you'll never find a graphics artist using a TN panel). I think you just got one that's worse than the normal TN.

And yes, it really should be listed, but most people use TN and really don't have use for anything else - i.e. it's good enough and cheap so it doesn't quite matter if viewing angles aren't so great. Still, it never hurts to have more information.