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Page 3 of 3 Installation
To evaulate the P232W we connected it up to the same graphics card used in our previous 22 inch Philips CRT review, a PNY Geforce4 Ti 4800. To gain access to the unit's maximum electrical performance we opted to use DVI to reduce digital to analog to digital signal loss. Installation in its own right is very simple; once the monitor is positioned foremost the rear plastic cover must be pulled off. Having performed this step we are left with entrance to analog, digital and power sockets. Pushing in the necessary cables then placing the back cover back on by pushing it in four rubber holes completes the process. An optional step is to enclose the cables in the monitor's stand; this endeavour’s to apply some tidiness so they are teamed together. Prior to testing we used the OSD to manipulate and tune the display's contrast, brightness and color settings.
Testing To perform screen quality benchmarks Nokia Monitor test was used with the video signal courtesy of a PNY Geforce4 Ti 4800 graphics card using DVI, an adaptor also used recently in our Philips 22 inch CRT review. Sony's P232W LCD display scored very high on our ranks failing only one test where very faint shades of gray did not appear to show truthully despite adjustments to contrast and brightness. Color reproduction normally a hard pill to swallow for current LCD technology excelled with our sample producing rich natural colors vibrant over the full display area. Another region set for ovation is the backlight being equally strong making for a very bright panel and also one that shares its backlight consistently across its entire locale. This becomes more so impressive considering the claimed luminance of 200cd/m2, a value not neccessary at the top of what others such as Samsung reflect on some of their LCD offerings. Rich colors and even backlighting would not surface without one more vital aspect that otherwise could discourage a consumer from purchasing this or other LCD's, namely viewing angles. With Sony's 23 inch professional series monster one pins high hopes expecting viewing angles far greater than satisfactory and so is the case here in our minds also outstripping Sony's own claims. Sony rates horizontal/vertical viewing angles at 170/170 but looking upon the screen there is no image distortion even when viewing at 180/180, more than pleasing to the mind and wallet no doubt having paid the retail price of around $2500. Pixel response times remain until recently a prime reason why many have not yet jumped to exchange their mature CRT for an LCD. The response time is the period taken for any given pixel (1900x1200 = 2.28 million) to turn from one color to off then to the newly selected color, the faster this occurs the less ghosting can be observed in fast movement scenes such as that in most games or rapid paced DVD movies. The P232W is stated as 40ms which isn't low for someone wishing to use this screen for gaming but during testing and long periods of use this value seems higher than the true capability held within the monitor's electronics. The housed 200MHz RISC processor together with the TFT LCD manage to output screen updates that reflect a response time of at most 25ms. In practise this indicates that ghosting does occur albeit less frequent than one might expect with only very fast games scenes opting to put this in the viewers perspective. As a gaming display this pleasure to use 23 inch widescreen LCD while not the best for not ghosting copes well with games as our extensive test using Codemasters latest Colin McRae Rally 3 proved. The last element destined for critique if any is geometry however due to LCD's nature boasting always perfect geometry it was little surprise to conclude Sony's offering scoring any different. In the end Sony's P232W is a near perfect example of what image performance should be with only slight shading errata and good but not very good pixel response times scoring against its high potential value. It is a hard task to pull out anything else that can be said to spoil what is a fine monitor and there is little to suggest those who grasp its talent sooner or later could do any better.     Conclusion
Having completed our inspection of Sony's P232W 23 inch widescreen LCD panel we are left with many reasons why to recommend this monitor. At first appearance this model features impressive looks and high build quality not to mention electrical performance that carries only a minor fault from an otherwise near perfect example of LCD technology. Connectivity is well taken care of with dual HD-15 analog and dual DVI digital options but sadly there is no in-built USB hub. An ECO mode easily activated with a simple press of a button is a welcome attribute saving energy on the already low 70W maximum energy usage when compared to a CRT equivalent of the same size consuming around 170W. The large 23 inch widescreen screen estate is a joy to use making easy work of writing or viewing multiple windows open at the same time. The latter is enhanced by the default panel resolution of 1920x1200 much higher than many CRT's and as for text size at this resolution it is in fact normal and not small as many might think. The claimed 40ms pixel response time seems far fetched with our testing revealing non excessive ghosting even when gaming, something that only really was made evident upon very fast action scenes. The worst part making up this monitor is sadly its cost, with a retail price of around $2500 US it cannot land on everyone's desktop but there is ground to be satisfied for those who can stretch their wallets to such expenses and then again this is a professional LCD where performance comes before cost. Sony already a brand name in electronics producing many well engineered products has brought to the market a desirable LCD that delivers on many fronts bound to satisfy many hardcore users the world over. The underperformance this model embraces comes in the form of minor flaws making this a high end LCD impossible not to recommend to professionals and enthusiasts alike. For peace of mind this is backed up by a 3 year manufacture warranty. Pros: - 23 inch widescreen LCD
- Rich colors that really stand out
- Default 1920x1200 resolution
- Maximum 70W energy consumption
- 2x analog, 2x digital connectors
- Stylish looks matching aluminium PC cases
- Kengsinton security lock
- 3 year manufacture warranty Cons: - Difficulty displaying some shades of gray
- Not the fastest pixel response time possible
- Sadly no height adjustment unless wall mounted on arm
- Expensive but this can be expected Overall score: 95%
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