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Asus’s full HD, 22in VH22H is the only monitor we’ve seen with an S/PDIF audio output. The thinking is that you can run HDMI to the monitor and then send the audio to a surround sound system. It’s an interesting idea, but is ultimately flawed: S/PDIF can’t carry full HD audio as HDMI can, and your monitor is unlikely to be closer to your amplifier than the device producing the sound. Image quality on the 1,920×1,080 full HD screen is good, with vibrant colours and high contrast. The bright backlight certainly helps to produce better colours. We had to turn off Asus’s dynamic contrast to avoid the sudden changes in backlight intensity it caused when scenes changed, as it was very distracting when watching movies or playing games. Standard multi-function buttons under the screen operate the menu system. This is a bit complicated, as each preset mode can be adjusted using controls for brightness, contrast and colour, although some controls are unavailable for certain modes – you can’t change contrast in Dynamic mode, for example. Uniquely, the VH222H offers a saturation control and a colour control for flesh tones, but we found that these made adjusting the presets complicated and resulted in an over-processed picture. In terms of looks, there’s not much to talk about. A glossy, black bezel slopes back from the top and bottom of the screen, and the base of the stand is a simple, glossy black circle. Asus’s idea of cable management is a hole through the neck of the stand. The VH222H has a pair of 4W speakers built in, but we found the volume inadequate to fill a small room, and as the speakers are set in the rear of the case, the sound is distorted.
£149 isn’t much to spend on a full HD monitor, and the VH222H’s picture quality is decent, despite Asus’s heavy-handed image processing options. The VH222H’s problem is that the competition is so tough. BenQ’s cheaper G2220HD has superior image quality and is a better choice.
