AOC 23.6″ LCD Monitor, eyes on
I’ve recently had the pleasure of upgrading to one nifty new LCD screen. The screen is the 2436Vw by AOC. In a nutshell it has a aspect ratio of 16:9, 5ms response time, a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 (1080p), a whopping Dynamic Contrast ratio of 60,000:1, a corner to corner measurement of 23.6” and even a USB Port.
Usually I’m quite the sceptic when it comes to PC parts and brands; there is good reason why well known brands are well known. It’s because they managed to enter the market with a good quality product which usually appeals to visual stimulation and the budget at the same time.
Considering this I was sceptical about AOC from the word go. Even more so when I saw the pricing.
I was in charge of setting up a demo unit as soon as we received the 18.5”, 21.5” and 23.6” 36-series LCDs. The 36-series is AOC’s Green series of monitors; they are made from fully recyclable and bio-degradable materials, and also hosts a 40% more energy efficient backlight. The 36-series LCDs also has advanced power saving standby modes.
When first opening the box I was very pleased to find that it’s equipped with a decent quality 3-point South African plug. There was also a DVI Cable, RGB cable and a Male-A to Male-B USB cable. After setting up the screen and pulling off the protective plastics, I must admit I was impressed. It has a brilliant ivory black finish; all the buttons are touch sensitive so there are no resenting buttons spoiling the overall feel. The screen is worked off brilliantly, unlike some other competitors’ screens which I have seen in the same class (size, features and price).
When switching on the PC I found that the OSD (On Screen Display) was of exceptional quality, I know with LCDs the OSD graphics tend to be very low res and block like. Even the settings menu is quite aesthetically pleasing.
The next big thing I realised was that this screen is huge. I had it setup next to a 22” LCD and the 23.6” seemed to be way bigger than just it’s 1.6” difference.
The screen is fully HD Ready. The sheer resolution of the screen amounts for a crystal clear image; this backed up by the 60,000:1 Contrast Ratio makes your overall experience a pleasure! I work with a lot of graphic programs while at the same time enjoying movies and series on my PC. After working on this screen I struggle to come to terms regarding how bad the display is on older, smaller resolution and less Contrast LCDs.
It also has a handy USB port at the bottom left corner. For this to work you need to plug in the supplied USB cable, but I can imagine there are plenty situations where this feature will be more than handy. A bit of a Apple monitor gimmic, but it is still very cool.
Something I was quite (and still am) excited about is that this screen is fully HD compatible. This means you can connect your Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 or even a multi media device directly to this screen (via HDMI with a DVI converter). You can set the device to maximum resolution (1080p) and the result will be the same as connecting your device to a high end LCD TV. That is brilliant! You can now have a gaming console solution with the best visual quality possible for a lot less money than a proper LCD TV.
Conclusion:
The 36-series LCD screens from AOC are truly worth looking at when in the market for a LCD screen. It has a brilliant finish and superb features like the USB port, DVI and RGB inputs and touch sensitive buttons. The specs runs alongside any competitors’ specs, with the exception of the 60,000:1 Contrast Ratio, which I haven’t seen on any LCD screen before.
This was posted by eben who has posted 7 items.
