Viewsonic has been off the LCD monitor radar for some time now and seemed to have given up hope of breaking the market which is now hogged by Dell, Samsung and BenQ. The last impressive monitor that we reviewed was the VP2655wb, which was a bit expensive since it had an IPS panel and all but it was good nonetheless. Viewsonic has sent across their budget 24-incher for review and we take a look at what's hot and what's not. The bundle includes the power cable, VGA cable and audio cable along with some manuals and drivers. Design and Build
The VA2431wm is built well and comes in a full glossy finish. Although this is a nightmare for neat freaks, it makes the monitor attractive and appealing to buyers when placed in a store. The design hasn't really changed much from their previous lineup. The VA2431wm has got nice curved edges all around including a matching oval stand. There's a single LED light in the center followed by the OSD buttons below.
The monitor isn't exactly slim since it's not LED based, but it's quite lightweight and doesn't have a very large footprint on your desk. Connectivity includes VGA and DVI only, but no HDMI, which is quite disappointing. Also, all the ports face downwards, so hooking it up to the PC is quite painful. The monitor also has built in speakers that you can connect using the bundled 3.5mm cable.
The stand is very easy to fix, simply slide the monitor in and it snaps in place. It's not very large but still manages to easily support the weight of the monitor.
Performance
We ran Display Mate v1.25 first to check for abnormalities in the panel. This being a TN panel, we encountered some of the traditional problems that plague it, like the HCR color mismatch and quite a bit of banding in the color spectrum tests. We played around with the brightness and contrast and found 60% contrast and 70% brightness to be ideal. We also noticed a bit of backlight bleeding towards the bottom edge of the screen.
The OSD hasn't really changed much from the nineties; it still has the same 8-bit color palette and really tiny icons which Viewsonic needs to do away with. We have the standard color modes, brightness, contrast and also Eco mode, which dims the brightness depending on the mode you select. The second button on the monitor allows you to quickly switch between the two sources. The VA2431wm has a good level of brightness, which you'll have to turn down unless you want to go blind.
HD movies look good on the screen and the color banding is not really visible, especially in animated flicks. There's no semblance of any ghosting or anything during playback. SD movies look good even though a bit pixilated when seen up close.
Pricing and Verdict
The VA2431wm is priced at Rs. 11,500 and comes with a three-year warranty. This is the MRP of course, so the actual street price should be a bit lower. Overall, the Viewsonic is a decent monitor in terms of build quality and style. It even performs well with a good level of contrast and brightness and no ghosting, thanks to the low response time. The pricing seems a bit steep though given that you can find a Dell LED based monitor for about 10.5K. There's also no HDMI port, which is something we expect these days. It's a good buy as long as it's available for less than 9K.
The VA2431wm is built well and comes in a full glossy finish. Although this is a nightmare for neat freaks, it makes the monitor attractive and appealing to buyers when placed in a store. The design hasn't really changed much from their previous lineup. The VA2431wm has got nice curved edges all around including a matching oval stand. There's a single LED light in the center followed by the OSD buttons below.
The monitor isn't exactly slim since it's not LED based, but it's quite lightweight and doesn't have a very large footprint on your desk. Connectivity includes VGA and DVI only, but no HDMI, which is quite disappointing. Also, all the ports face downwards, so hooking it up to the PC is quite painful. The monitor also has built in speakers that you can connect using the bundled 3.5mm cable.
The stand is very easy to fix, simply slide the monitor in and it snaps in place. It's not very large but still manages to easily support the weight of the monitor.
Performance
We ran Display Mate v1.25 first to check for abnormalities in the panel. This being a TN panel, we encountered some of the traditional problems that plague it, like the HCR color mismatch and quite a bit of banding in the color spectrum tests. We played around with the brightness and contrast and found 60% contrast and 70% brightness to be ideal. We also noticed a bit of backlight bleeding towards the bottom edge of the screen.
The OSD hasn't really changed much from the nineties; it still has the same 8-bit color palette and really tiny icons which Viewsonic needs to do away with. We have the standard color modes, brightness, contrast and also Eco mode, which dims the brightness depending on the mode you select. The second button on the monitor allows you to quickly switch between the two sources. The VA2431wm has a good level of brightness, which you'll have to turn down unless you want to go blind.
HD movies look good on the screen and the color banding is not really visible, especially in animated flicks. There's no semblance of any ghosting or anything during playback. SD movies look good even though a bit pixilated when seen up close.
Pricing and Verdict
The VA2431wm is priced at Rs. 11,500 and comes with a three-year warranty. This is the MRP of course, so the actual street price should be a bit lower. Overall, the Viewsonic is a decent monitor in terms of build quality and style. It even performs well with a good level of contrast and brightness and no ghosting, thanks to the low response time. The pricing seems a bit steep though given that you can find a Dell LED based monitor for about 10.5K. There's also no HDMI port, which is something we expect these days. It's a good buy as long as it's available for less than 9K.
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