There are distinct periods in computer purchasing when most, if not all savvy buyers bought one particular size / configuration due to its best compromise of price and performance. A decade ago it was the 19” Sony (or Mitsubishi) CRT aperture grill behemoth. Five years ago you were king of the hill when you had any kind of affordable LCD. These were the display of their times. But today’s equivalents are the 22” 1680x1050 LCDs, of which the Hanns-G is a perfect example.

                                             I was taking pictures of the mounting bracket, but the logo got in the way.
 

The Hanns-G HG216 assumedly gets its name from the actual diagonal area of the screen, at 21.6 inches viewable. It is described basically as a 22” widescreen LCD and is a dual input (VGA and HDMI) PC monitor, although we foresee this screen to get a large following of non-PC users due to its HDMI connector. Let us delve further into this new monitor from a relative newcomer in the LCD market.

                                             The Hanns-G HG216 prepping for its magazine appearance.

A contrast ratio of 1000:1 combined with an average brightness rating (for LCDs) of 300 cd/m2 (candelas per square meter) gives a balanced picture in our Displaymate testing, showing a good progression of increasingly black boxes before the monitor displays black-on-black at the 255 level. In other words, ever-so-slightly- less black boxes were still discernable from a totally black background, courtesy of the higher contrast ratio.

                                             Controls avoid fuss and leave a clean line.

As with most non-premium LCDs, this 22” jobbie uses a TN-film display that is actually capable of an adjusted 16.2 million colors, contrary to the 16.7 million colors listed on the box and in most online reviews. This 16.7m colors is technically correct, and is reached after this 6-bit panel uses dithering (combining two pixels to simulate a color) and FRC (Frame Rate Control) – where the pixel is rapidly changed between colors over time to the same effect. No worries though, none except the sharp-eyed graphic artist or similar will notice the small loss of color reproduction.

Response time of 5ms is not the lowest, but that’s simply splitting hairs compared to a 2ms screen – it’s simply not noticeable. No ghosting or smearing occurred at all in our testing. The star of this show though is undoubtedly the HDMI connector. This one connector instantly doubles the potential number of people who will find this display the most affordable and good-performing display they can purchase.

                                              The old and the new, side-by-side.

Connecting an Xbox360 is a simple affair; and this is simply the most basic use we could think of doing – this HDMI connector will enable you to preview HDMI video from your brand new camcorder, play content from a next-gen video player, and generally stand by as the High-Definition age washes over us. In other words, this affordable purchase made now will stand you in good stead with all the new HDMI – equipped hardware coming out these days.

                                             Hanns-G is making an impact with products like the HG216.

This monitor is physically impressive, especially if you are upgrading from a 17” or even a 19” LCD or CRT. While not massive, the stand is stable and the build quality adequately solid, contributing to the pleasant surprise you feel when you take in the P14,200 (SRP) price. Sealing the deal was the fact that we got the unit with no stuck pixels or light gaps around the edges (that are too noticeable at least). All in all, this package satisfies with its great balance of forward looking connectors and price, plus good build quality and above average performance. This model will most probably become a mainstay in many a desk of the enthusiast and the home user alike.

                                              Goodbye CRT! Only those who love big hunks of plastic will miss you!

Watch out for an in-depth review of this unit in the December issue or later of HWM. More pics after the break.

                                             The HG-216 stand.

                                              Look for this box when you start buying.