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Thanks to the increasing number of budget monitors with fancy IPS panels, such as the award-winning AOC i2352Vh, you may wonder if there’s any point in buying a screen with the older TN panel technology. This is especially the case when the screen in question, the 24in Iiyama E2473HDS, is around £10 more expensive than the IPS-equipped i2352Vh.
However, you shouldn’t judge a monitor by its panel technology alone, and the E2473HDS shows itself to be a capable screen. Our initial calibration tests with the open-source dispcalGUI application and Spyder4Express colorimeter showed the screen to be pretty much bang-on out of the box, with red, green, blue and brightness levels all very close to the software’s recommended starting points. Pre-calibration tests also showed the screen’s colour gamut to come within 97% of the sRGB standard – similar to the IPS-equipped AOC i2352Vh’s 96.9%.
After calibration the image was very slightly colder, and the gamut had risen to within 97.6% of sRGB – as good or better than any monitor we’ve seen for less than around £800, and again almost identical to the AOC screen’s 97.4% sRGB gamut.
During our subjective tests, things were again very close. When using solid colours the Iiyama screen showed punchy colours and deep blacks; the screen’s matt finish means colours aren’t quite as vibrant as on monitors with gloss screens, but there’s very little reflection from overhead light sources. We at first thought the monitor was lacking in contrast, leading to blacks looking slightly grey and reds having a slight orange tinge. However, tweaking the brightness and contrast settings improved matters, and meant there was very little to choose between the Iiyama screen and AOC’s rival. The Iiyama monitor showed a very slight yellow tinge to whites, but we only noticed this when comparing it side-by-side with the AOC i2352Vh’s pure whites.
This yellow tinge was more apparent during photo tests, lending skies a slight hazy feel. We had no complaints about the Iiyama screen’s viewing angles, though; they’re impressively wide for a TN monitor, and almost a match for the AOC screen’s IPS panel – wide viewing angles are one of the chief advantages of IPS.
Along with image quality, the E2473HDS’s build quality and specification help to explain its relatively high price. The monitor may only have tilt adjustment, but it sits securely on its large base, without the horrid wobble of many cheap screens. You also get DVI, VGA and HDMI inputs, and a second HDMI port on the side of the monitor. The screen also has built-in 2W speakers, which sound as poor as you’d expect but are fine for Skype calls and news broadcasts.
The Iiyama E2473HDS is evidence that panel technology is not the alpha and omega of image quality. Its colour accuracy is very nearly spot-on out of the box, and with a few tweaks it can match the very best monitors we’ve seen at this price. However, the Iiyama screen’s very slight yellow cast on whites means the AOC i2352Vh is still a superior display, and is currently just £131 from Amazon.
