Testing

Aiding us during testing was familiar software by the name of Nokia Monitor Test. This program although by no means revolutionary in terms of eye candy has over the years become a standard for monitor image evaluation offering the results one looks for while judging the ability of a certain model. To conduct tests we used a PNY Geforce4 Ti4800 graphics adapter connected via as stated above a BNC connection. Philips has done their homework as the P202P40 leaps ahead scoring excellent results in color vibrancy, brightness, text readability on both white and black backgrounds, and most important even geometry in all areas but one. The last did require a healthy number of manual tweaks via the OSD but the end result is almost perfect. An only complaint is that the lower right corner of the screen is somewhat slightly skewed upwards thus being higher by around 2-3mm than the left. Despite many attempts there is no way to overcome this error however hard we tried. To fix such a short coming it would require opening up the monitor and fine tuning its electronics, something far beyond an end users reach and something that should not even be considered nor attempted due to safety reasons. The good news is that while this erratum exists it only ever does show its signs at higher resolutions. Running at 1024x768 and below almost entirely removes this issue from the end user's sight. One aspect this monitor is somewhat commendable at is high refresh rates, running at 1600x1200 at 100Hz proves to be a very worthy option as the hardware is certainly able to deliver at this level. Gaming on such big screens is always a joy and as in the case of the 202P40 delivered color richness second to none, one of the most profound capabilities of this monitor. Throughout all usage and indeed testing we never observed visibility of the aperture grill, this certainly is positive feedback given that some large CRT monitors work the opposite at variant intervals. Overall tests showed excellent results all round and the slight geometry mishap can almost be forgiven for an otherwise grand achievement.

Conclusion

Every monitor company tries to deliver a product destined for its respective market and however hard they attempt this various models will forever deliver various performances. Screens such as our reviewed here Philips 202P40 are classified as top of the range within its class thus are designed to deliver that little bit more than the average consumer product. A screen of this caliber is required to support high resolutions and top refresh rates with a sense of panache throughout. Philips has managed to deliver just this and at around $600 retail it also falls within a price range lower than most of its competitors within this class. The lack of in-built USB hub does mean it lacks something most others include as standard but to fight back Philips markets its product as fully capable of 1600x1200 at 104Hz, not something every monitor can deliver. The included software is helpful if not extraordinary in content; it has a purpose and fulfills it well. With the sheer image quality the 202P40 carries with it there is no other option but to safely recommend it to you, the reader. It provides the performance expected at this price and class with minimum distortion making it definitely one of the best 22 inch monitor available on the market today.

Pros:
- 22 inch aperture grill tube, 20 inch visible
- Resolutions up to 2048x1536 and 1600x1200 at 104Hz NI
- 320MHz Video bandwidth
- Super image quality with right setup
- Great geometry with only 1 minor error noted
- Extensive options within OSD Cons:
- Time consuming OSD adjustments to get best results
- No bundled with BNC cable for optimum performance
- No in-built USB hub implementations

Overall Rating: 93%

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