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This 24in 16:9 widescreen display from BenQ is finished in matt white. Its asymmetrical stand makes it look distinctive, along with the bizarre knick-knack pot, which BenQ says is ideal for plants. While we disagree, we can’t help but be impressed by the V2400’s green credentials. First, it uses LED backlighting rather than the traditional cold cathodes. These consume less power so that, in Standard mode, the display consumes just 22W. This falls to just 15W in Eco mode, although the reduction in brightness means it’s really only suitable for use in darkened rooms. A side benefit of LEDs is that there’s no mercury in the monitor. The case is made from 28 per cent recycled plastic and has no chemical coating or printing, so it’s easier to recycle. Even the packaging is made from 80 per cent recycled paper, and has 70 per cent less ink on it. BenQ also saves paper by printing its quick setup guide on the outside of the box. That’s all well and good, but the features list is rather short given the price. It has VGA and HDMI inputs, but no DVI. There’s a headphone socket but no built-in speakers or 3.5mm audio input. Audio is routed through HDMI, but the box contains only a VGA cable. Finally, the stand tilts, but there’s no height adjustment or portrait mode. None of this will concern most people, and the HDMI input may even be a benefit if you want to connect a games console or Blu-ray player. What’s more, the display makes up for these niggles with excellent image quality. LEDs require no warm-up time, unlike cold-cathode lamps, so you don’t have to wait to get the optimal image quality. In sRGB mode, colours look natural, especially sky, grass and skin tones. Although only rated at 250cd/m2, the image is bright and contrast is excellent. Looking at our test photo images, it was obvious that the V2400 Eco was a cut above the average 24in LCD, and viewing angles were also slightly wider. Videos played fluidly and we saw no unwanted lag when playing games. For those who like to switch modes when watching videos, playing games or viewing photos, a menu button provides direct access to the presets, although we preferred Standard or sRGB. There’s also gamma adjustment and individual red, green and blue controls for the best colour accuracy.
Given the excellent quality and low power consumption, the only real criticism we can level at the V2400 Eco is that it’s unlikely to match your PC and input devices. However, if you’d prefer a monitor with a height-adjustable stand, Iiyama’s 24in ProLite B2409 is a similar price and almost matches the V2400 Eco for image quality.
