For $2,999 you can give your desktop a makeover unlike any other. Running at a stunning 1920 x 1200-pixel resolution, LG Electronics’ FLATRON LCD L2320A monitor is bold, black, and bodacious.
The L2320A is one of the few high-resolution displays on the market, which means you’ll need a high-end video card if you want to get the most from it (we used ATI’s RADEON 8500 for testing). The L2320A measures 23-inches diagonally, but the high resolution makes it seem much, much bigger. You can spread Photoshop palettes and Excel toolbars across all that screen real estate, and still have space left over for MSN Messenger. Once you’ve seen Microsoft Word and Outlook running side by side on the same screen, there’s no going back to 1024 x 768.
The L2320A is built to work exceptionally well as both a computer display and a powerhouse movie machine. An external box LG calls a Media Station can be hidden away in a cabinet, so you can plug in all your S-Video, HD component, and VGA cables without ever seeing them in your living room. There are two USB 1.1 ports on the back of the display where you can plug in a keyboard and mouse. It’s a similar design concept to the Sharp AQUOS line, although the L2320A ’s external box is much smaller.
Because the L2320A is an LCD, it provides more clarity than a plasma display but doesn’t look as good for movies. The contrast ratio is the most important specification when it comes to color quality, but the L2320A ’s 300:1 doesn’t compare favorably to, say, the Panasonic PT-50PHD4-P plasma which has a 3,000:1 contrast ratio. For movies, the L2320A is more like an LCD projector: crisp and clear, but sometimes a little washed out. It’s surprising, because the monitor is incredibly bright displaying Windows XP. Games look dull, mostly because games shift colors constantly.
The display supports full 1080i high-definition video, though. In this mode, with the red, green, and blue component connections, the display looks colorful. The monitor supports picture-in-picture and picture-by-picture (for side-by-side viewing). So, you can watch a DVD using S-Video and play an Xbox high-definition video game at the same time. It would be cooler if we could have Outlook running in a window while watching TV.
The L2320A cannot be used for receiving standard or digital cable, since the external box does not provide a coaxial input, and the device does not include an internal HD tuner. You can receive HD broadcast using a satellite receiver such as the Toshiba DST-3100 and run a component video cable to the L2320A . Not offering a coaxial input is a bigger problem, although that can be easily remedied by adding a TV tuner card to your PC. LG has promised an updated version of the L2320A that does provide a cable input.
For your audio connections, there’s a headphone jack next to the USB cables that automatically reads audio from the video source you are using, as long as you have audio cables plugged in for that device. The L2320A lets you connect separate audio cables for HD, DVD, and your computer. LG provides a nice set of speakers with the L2320A that sound similar to the thin-but-booming set provided with AQUOS televisions, thanks to BBE high-definition sound capability. With all its home theater inputs, a crystal clear picture, and a reasonable price, the L2320A is a clear winner.
—by John Brandon
LG Electronics FLATRON LCD 2320A
Rating: 4 stars (out of five)
Price: $2,999
http://www.lgeus.com
Pros :
High resolution
Media station hides cables
HD capability
Cons:
Low contrast ratio
No coaxial connection for cable TV
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