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Hanton may not be a familiar name, but its 19in H-341WDB LCD monitor is the cheapest display here by some way. It has a large bezel, with a glossy black stripe etched into the otherwise plain matt-black plastic, and the base of the stand matches this pattern. It’s not as classy as some designs we’ve seen, but it’s not ugly and doesn’t look cheap. The stand only tilts a few degrees backwards, so you can’t place the monitor above your line of sight. The power and menu buttons are located along the bottom edge of the screen. They feel a bit loose, but are responsive. The onscreen menu is basic and the controls aren’t logically laid out, so it’s a little fiddly to operate. There are only settings for contrast, brightness and colour, and no preset modes, such as for watching films or playing games. However, you can adjust the picture settings using the onscreen menus. We were surprised to find a DVI port on the back of the H-341WDB. This means that you can plug in your PC without the need for the monitor to auto-adjust to get the correct settings. However, the DVI port is located quite close to the top of the stand, which makes it a little fiddly to plug the cable in correctly. We were surprised to find that colours in our tests were more vibrant on the H-341WDB than they were on the other 19in models, although the contrast wasn’t quite as good as that on Samsung’s 933HD. The H-341WDB’s resolution of 1,440×900 is entry-level for a 19in monitor and feels a little cramped compared to monitors with higher resolutions. The glossy finish on the screen will reflect any nearby light sources, so it’s not really suitable for office use.
If you need a higher resolution, Iiyama’s ProLite E1908WSV is a good choice. That said, we’d prefer the H-341WDB’s excellent image quality. At well under £100 it’s also incredible value, and a great choice for anyone on a tight budget. It wins our Budget Buy award.
