Dell 2405FPW Review

[dang]

Checkout our latest review of the Dell 2405FPW (http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review3386.html)Dells' 2405FPW 24-in. LCD monitor may have come out last year, but its still king. And it feels good to be king!

[Ioman]

Why did you knock it for not having HDMI? I have never seen a PC monitor with HDMI.

Any idea when the newer version of this monitor is coming out? I think its cool that it comes with a card reader.

[neuroking]

I love this monitor, but you won't be able to watch HD-DVD and Blu ray content w/o the HDMI under Vista. This size monitor should have it, IMO. Also, considering that the 30 incher has it, the product line refresh will have it, and the timing of the release, I thought they should have included it.

Hey, I gave it a 9.5, whaddaya want from me?

[gonk]

I was very surprised to see a monitor get marked down for not having an HDMI input when it does have DVI. A DVI input gives you the same video capability as an HDMI input (HDMI lifted its video format from DVI, so the two are fully pin-compatible) - all you need is an HDMI-to-DVI cable. You'll lose the audio content, of course, but on a monitor that has no speakers that's hardly a loss. If you want to watch HD-DVD content through Vista, you'll probably be going through a DVI-equipped video card anyway - and even if you do end up with an HDMI card all you need is a different cable or an adapter to switch to DVI.

Edit: OK, now I see the issue. It's not the omission of HDMI that's the problem, it's the lack of HDCP support on the DVI input. That makes sense, although tying the omission to the absence of an HDMI input is a bit misleading.

[Ioman]

Yeah, Brandon probably should have made that clearer. To me this is just a monitor, not an LCD TV/Monitor combo so I wouldn't expect HDMI to be on there or HDCP support either.

[Ioman]

Ok I edited the article for you to make this issue clearer to the readers.

[neuroking]

Thanks, and yes, without HDCP (which you can get over DVI) you can't watch hidef content in Vista. No biggie, since you still get 480p, but in a perfect world....

[slava7]

With this LCD you`ll have a big problems playing games because very few games have an option for widescreen LCD. I know it because I have the laptop with the same aspect ratio.
And from other sight, this monitor still not such big if compare to TV. I mean 27", 29" and of coarse others with biggest dimensions.
So what the point to have this LCD?

[gonk]

I've been looking into widescreen monitors for work - we use AutoCAD for engineering on buildings, and the widescreen could be handy for drafting.

[neuroking]

Not true. Any good modern system should be able to drive it fine. And most games DO support widescreen, at least most released in the last 2-3 years. There are some that you have to physically modify a .ini file, but they work fine. Most games, especially 3D ones, just read the available resolutions from the display control panel.

You can get a TV, but you 're stuck with crappy resolution. This monitor has a 1200 lines of resolution. Most HD sets go up to 1080, and no higher. If you get a 42" display, it still has 1080 lines. Oh , there are a few that will do 1366 (I think that's the number). 1200 lines on a comp display that will be relatively close gives a nice, non-grainy image. Get a TV and you will see blocks.

[Ioman]

With this LCD you`ll have a big problems playing games because very few games have an option for widescreen LCD. I know it because I have the laptop with the same aspect ratio.
And from other sight, this monitor still not such big if compare to TV. I mean 27", 29" and of coarse others with biggest dimensions.
So what the point to have this LCD?


http://reviews.designtechnica.com/review3383.html

The new Gateway 21-inch feature component video/HDTV inputs with HDCP compatibility on the DVI input. A lot of the newer monitors you are going to see cross the HDTV divide in some form or another.

[homer232]

I love this monitor, but you won't be able to watch HD-DVD and Blu ray content w/o the HDMI under Vista.

I am presently building a new PC and I WANT to love this monitor but am waffling between the gateway FPD2185 and this dell 2405FPW model. I am a bit confused by the above statement.

I am using Windows XP Pro SP2. When HD-DVD or Blu ray consumer drives become available I plan on getting one for my PC. In other words - I have an expectation to be able to watch HD movies on my PC (using XP Pro).

Are you saying that I will NOT be able to watch HD-DVD or Blu ray disks on my XP Pro PC ? and that I must get "Vista" in order to be able to watch HD-DVD or Blu ray content on my PC ?

next: What is "Vista" - really ?
Yes, I've tried to explored the microsoft site to learn more but I must have missed something. Is "Vista" a new, different Windows operating system ?
Or something one would load on top of XP Pro in order to get HD-DVD or Blu ray drivers ? Is Vista 32bit or 64bit windows product ?

If I am NOT able to view HD-DVD or Blu ray content with this Dell 24" model, I may just go with the Gateway21" model which apparently will be able to.

If I will be able to watch HD-DVD or Blu ray content in 480p mode as opposed to 1080p with this monitor - then it's no big deal and I'll go with the Dell.

And lastly - When is the newer, upgraded Dell 2407FPW with HDCP support available ?

-homer232

[seans]

next: What is "Vista" - really ?
Yes, I've tried to explored the microsoft site to learn more but I must have missed something. Is "Vista" a new, different Windows operating system ?
Or something one would load on top of XP Pro in order to get HD-DVD or Blu ray drivers ? Is Vista 32bit or 64bit windows product ?


Homer, I'm not going to answer some of your questions because I don't want to get it wrong we really won't know the answers for months yet, however I will address what is known, your question is quoted above.

Windows Vista is a complete new operating system from Microsoft they are going to deliver Vista in both 32bit and 64bit flavors. To confuse you more their will be seven different versions of Vista for the "desktop" AKA anything that is not a server. These different versions are much like the difference between Windows XP Home and Professional however their feature sets are much more granular and will be split between focused on home/media uses and the corporate setting. Microsoft is going to also have an "ultimate" edition that will give you all of the features of the "home" and "professional" versions.

For the first few months after the release of Vista we're going to be trying to figure out what gives consumers the best bang for the buck and it's going to make a huge mess of buying a new pc since OEMs are going to try to squeeze every penny out of their margins by shipping the lowest cost Windows Vista version to fulfill the "feature set" of the pc. In the long run I think consumers will be the winners with the different versions as you won't get what you don't need and have more choice in what you can do however it's going to be a while before anyone outside or Redmond or the big box OEMs understands this completely.

As to the rest of your questions? Well with the confusion over what version will supply what functionality I don't know what versions of the OS will even support advanced media playback. Some information says they all will but I've also read from quality sources that only the "home" versions that are aimed at media (the replacement(s) for MCE) will have this support built in.

To me, the most exciting parts of Vista are the new development tools and patterns/languages/methods to get software built. You're going to see many new applications out there that are very smart and Vista (all versions) will ship with a new windowing enviroment called "Aero" that if your PC hardware supports it, will make computing more enjoyable and easier to do things. To fully support Aero your PC must have a directx9c video card, so a ATi 9600 or better or a nVidia six series. However Aero will scale it's ablities with your hardware so you will be able to run Vista on just about anything, just not in all it's glory.

[neuroking]

To add to this...

The High Def formats will play on non-HDCP systems, but at 480P (no 720 or 1080 w/o scaling). I assume you need an HDCP compliant video card and an HDCP compliant monitor. The video card might be workable through driver (doubtful), but the monitor needs it built into the hardware.

So, I doubt Windows XP will play any high def formats at anything above 480P. No idea, though. I know Toshiba showed off a laptop with built in HD-DVD player, but no idea if it plays at hi def resolutions.

[homer232]

The High Def formats will play on non-HDCP systems, but at 480P (no 720 or 1080 w/o scaling). . . [snip] ... So, I doubt Windows XP will play any high def formats at anything above 480P. . .

Thanks to Neuroking and Seans for your replies . . .

I was zeroing in on purchasing this monitor, verses Gateway's FPD2185, and was about to lay my money down when I tripped up on this lack of HDCP support for the Dell.

But since my primary intent for my new PC is as multi-tasking burner, this 24" Dell monitor would suit most of my needs without HiDef or Vista support. But I would like to envision watching an occasional DVD comfortably in my office.

Although the gateway model was already providing a DVI with HDCP support interface, its consistent reviews of 7's with it's skimpy warrentee - always placed it 2nd on my Pro/Con List.

If it turns out that I CAN watch HiDef disks , but only up to 480p - that would be fine since my HiDef entertainment capabilities would most likely be my Entertainment room, not my home office.

After working with 17"' at home, and 19" at work, I'm ready for a 24" and based on your replies ... will be going with the Dell.

Thanks for helping me decide.

(PS: For the curious, System I'm building includes:
Case: Black NZXT TRINITY Series
CPU: AMD Athlon 64 X2 4800+
M/B: ASUS A8N-E H/W version: 2.0 ::
BIOS Version: 1010 ::
Chipset: nVidia nForce4 Ultra Version: 6.85
Mem: 2Gb Corsair Twin2048-3500LL Pro
Video: ATI All-In-Wonder X1900 PCIe 256 MB
RAID: None
HD: 1 WD SE Caviar 320GB SATA II
DVD: Plextor PX-716SA 16x DL DVD Burner (SATA)
Audio: Sound Blaster Audigy 4 Pro
PSU: Ultra X-Connect X2 550W )


-homer232

[Ioman]

If you have a Blu-Ray player/recorder for your PC you should be fine running it at the higher resolutions. If you plan on using your PC monitor as a TV AKA plugging a standalone Blu-Ray/HD-DVD into the monitor, it must use a DVI/HDMI input that supports the HDCP copy protection/Digital Rights Management standard.

The Gateway you listed supports an HDCP DVi input, the Dell doesn't. However you will most likely buy a Blu-Ray player that goes into your PC, so you should be fine.

[Ioman]

Another thing, if you have a Blu-Ray player in your PC and want to output it to a larger LCD monitor/TV or plasma, chances are you will need a video card that supports Blu-ray/HD-DVD decoding with an HDCP compatible DVI ouput.

http://www.ati.com/products/RadeonX1900/specs.html

Click on the technologies tab up top and then AVIVO and H.264

I guess there isn't an absolute answer to your question at this point, just best guesses. Home theater equipment and televisions will likely use the HDCP copy protection where you will probably see a mix on the PC side.

[neuroking]

I'm going to double post this link for teh benefit of anyone following this thread:
http://www.firingsquad.com/hardware/ati_nvidia_hdcp_support/

Looks like all custom PCs will NOT be able to play Blu-Ray or HD-DVD in high def.

(
adding more on this here:
http://forums.designtechnica.com/showthread.php?p=61010#post61010
)