A Close Look at the BenQ FP241W
Simon Baker, 30 Sept 2006 (updated 19 Jan 2007)

Click for larger images

Introduction and Specs
Features
    TCO 06 Certification
    HDMI Interface
    Picture In Picture (PiP)
    Senseye

Performance
    Response Time
    Backlight Leakage and Panel Uniformity
    Colour Gradients
    Viewing Angles

Functionality
    1:1 Pixel Mapping (updated 19/1/06)
    HD Support and HDCP
    Split Screen Working

Reviews
User and Review Comments

Advanced Look at BFI and the FP241WZ  (updated 19/1/06)

The FP241W has yet to hit the UK shores but should be on sale at the beginning of October. BenQ are releasing two versions of this screen, the first being the FP241W, sometimes referred to as the FP241VW, which is set to retail in the UK for ~ £650. Later in the year, the FP241WZ will follow which includes BenQ's new AMA-Z and BFI technologies (Advanced Motion Accelerator with BFI / Black Frame Insertion). The FP241WZ is expected to be available towards the end of November and should retail for about £100 more than the FP241W. Both models offer the same panel and features, but the Z edition has the new BFI technology as well. More on this later. The specs for both models are based on AU Optronics' 24"WS P-MVA M240UW01 V0 panel.

Features

• TCO 06 Certification: The FP241W is one of the first models in the market to carry TCO's new 2006 certification offering a respected standard in the world of displays, particularly LCD. The certification offers some certified improvements over TCO 03 displays including more strict grey scale linearity and standards for response time and black levels. More info available here about TCO 06.
   

• HDMI Interface: Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the FP241W (and certainly one of the most marketed points) is the presence of an HDMI (High Definition Multimedia Interface) connection, as standard on LCD TV's today. This will allow easy connection of HD enabled equipment including the new wave of HD-DVD players and the Playstation 3. This interface is capable of carrying both a digital video signal and digital audio, and is a popular connector for modern multimedia devices. HDCP encryption is supported over HDMI as well for full HD support and future-proofing (note: DVI port is also HDCP compliant).
   

• Picture In Picture (PiP): This feature is already found in other large models including Dell's latest 2xx7WFP range. This allows the screen to display two sources at once, for instance showing the PC connection over DVI, while also showing a TV connected via an alternate connection like composite.
   

• Senseye: BenQ's proprietary sensor technology is featured in the FP241W and allows the user to choose from various preset modes for different applications. More details available here. The FP241W comes with the following preset modes: Standard, Movie, Dynamic and Photo.

Performance

The following were provided by IT.com.cn. Please click for larger sizes:

• Backlight Leakage and Panel Uniformity: The build quality is of a high standard and there is minimal backlight bleed reported from the early sample models reviewed at sites like IT.com.cn. There is some slight leakage as you might expect from TFT technology but this is only really slightly noticeable in low light conditions and is very minimal (see picture above).
   

• Colour Gradients: IT.com.cn have conducted some DisplayMate tests on the screen and report impressive colour and greyscale gradients across the screen. The Dell 2407WFP seems to have been plagued by some bad press in this area, and it is bound to be an area of focus as potential buyers comparing the new FP241W with Dell's existing 24" offering. There is consistently smooth gradients across the FP241W with no sign of colour banding or inability to display certain shades (see pictures above).

	Images show varying colour hue and contrast at different viewing angles, both horizontally and vertically

• Viewing Angles: Viewing angles are what you would expect from a P-MVA panel. They remain perfectly usable even at extreme angles, but there is some  colour hue degradation, contrast loss when you move past about 75°.

Functionality

The FP241W comes with an impressive range of functions. The stand is surprisingly sturdy but somewhat basic in design. The stand offers tilt and height adjustments which are common on most models in today's market. The screen can also be pivoted right to left, and offers rotation from landscape to portrait if required. The sheer size of the screen makes this last function a little unusable in real terms, but might be handy to some users.

The thin bezel is attractive, but the buttons might be considered a little inconvenient on the right hand edge tucked out of the way. For aesthetic purposes the button location is justified, but when you're wanting to use any of the controls it might be a little tricky. Once you've got the monitor set up as you like it, there's probably very little need to use them anyway.

The screen offers a wide range of connections as well including DVI and VGA as you would expect. There is also the previously mentioned HDMI interface which at the time of launch is exclusive to the FP241W in the world of desktop LCD displays. Component inputs are also available and are particularly useful for games consoles like the X-Box 360 and forthcoming Playstation 3. The screen has 3x USB 2.0 ports as well, two of which are on the side, and the third which is cleverly hidden on the top of the monitor, and nicely positioned for those wanting to integrate a webcam into the screen.

• Lack of 1:1 Pixel Mapping: The absence of this feature from the FP241W is strange, and might well be an issue to potential buyers. Without it, the image from external devices or non native resolutions from a PC are always stretched and scaled to fill the screen, rather than offering options to maintain the aspect ratio or map the pixels 1:1 via the hardware itself. It has been confirmed in the FP241W manual that this option is not available, and also by BenQ support.

   

  Update (19/11/06): there has recently been word across the internet that there would be a firmware update for the FP241W to fix the main gripe everyone seemed to have with the screen, the lack of aspect ratio options and 1:1 pixel mapping. We can confirm that UK management at BenQ have confirmed that this WILL be happening, and while there is limited detail at this time, BenQ have stated that the "24W series will have new firmware to phase in new functions, such as display mode//Windows Vista-DDC/CI". This confirmation only came on Friday, and more details will follow soon. This upgrade will not be possible by the user directly, and I would imagine screens would need to be sent to service centres for the update to be applied. New stock after a certain point (expected December) will have this updated firmware in place. Update (7/12/06): BenQ have confirmed that on it's release (in the UK at least), the FP241WZ stock will feature the new firmware which as reported, will feature options for aspect ratio control and 1:1 pixel mapping. The release date and price of the FP241WZ has not been officially announced as yet.   Update (12/1/07): After months of "coming soon" anticipation, it seems some users in the US have started to receive the FP241W with the new firmware included, allowing aspect ratio control and 1:1 pixel mapping. This has been confirmed with user pictures of the screen on Hardforum (a US based internet forum) showing the new OSD selections along with images of the screen running at the various settings. The OSD now lets you choose between "full", "aspect" and "1:1" (as shown above), and early reports suggest these function correctly when using external devices on the screen. It has been stated that all new models produced during January would have this fix in place, but it will probably be a little time before they are widely sent out from the suppliers stocks. It is unclear what existing users will need to do in order to update their screens, but it is expected that monitors would need returning to local service centres for this firmware upgrade to be applied.

  From a PC, sources with black borders will maintain them. For instance if you watched a 4:3 TV show on the screen, since the graphics card is still outputting 1920 x 1200 the screen will see that the borders down the right and left hand sides are part of the source and keep these. Likewise for a 16:9 movie played from a PC, the black borders at the top and bottom are part of the source and will be kept. It is when using external devices like XBox 360, HD-DVD players etc that the source resolution does not match the screens native resolution. If an XBox tries to output 1080i which is 1920 x 1080 resolution, the screen will stretch the image to fill the screen, meaning the image is stretched vertically somewhat.
  
  It will be the same situation when playing games on the screen from a PC at aspect ratios outside of the 16:10 format (e.g. at 1280 x 1024). There may still be hope if you need to use such options, as some software (including NVIDIA display drivers) can achieve this instead and maintain 1:1 pixel mapping or aspect ratio retention as shown below:

Above: NVIDIA display options for fixed aspect ratio scaling

Above: NVIDIA display options used to maintain 4:3 aspect and stretch (left) and to centre the output as 1:1 mapping (right)

• HD Support and HDCP: The monitor can support HD signals up to and including 1080p over both DVI and HDMI. The Dell 2407WFP was another popular 24" model, but was let down in its support of true HD resolutions. While the Dell stumbled with interlaced signals and reportedly progressive scan at 1080 lines, the BenQ can support both 1080i and 1080p making it a truly compliant HD monitor. Both digital interfaces (DVI and HDMI) support the HDCP encryption algorithm which will be widely used in future HD sources and hardware. HDCP support by its nature requires a digital connectivity and so this is not used or required over the component input.
   

• Split Screen Working: The FP241W is marketed as being able to display two A4 sized documents side by side for office use. This is obviously something that other 24" models can do, but is certainly useful for those wanting to multi task. As I write this I have a similar split screen set up on the Dell 2405FPW and it really brings a useful function for those using the screen for Windows and office work. I don't personally think the smaller 20"WS monitors are as suited to this purpose. While it might still be achievable, the extra horizontal resolution (1920 compared to 1680) really comes into play here. You can use software including NVIDIA graphics driver software to automatically map grids and snap windows to certain screen areas.
   

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Much of this content is derived from the various reviews already available, mostly internationally. My thanks to those sites for some of the content and pictures featured here. Thanks to BenQ for some pre-release Whitepaper information about the FP241WZ and BFI technology.