Acer H213H bmid Black 21.5" 5ms HDMI Full HD 1080P Widescreen 16:9 LCD Monitor 300 cd/m2 ACM 20000:1 Built-in Speakers

Pros: No dead or stuck pixels in the one I received, higher resolution than other similarly sized monitors, good pixel pitch, excellent black levels for an LCD (better blacks than the CRT I switched to this from), attractive glossy case/bezel, 16:9 aspect ratio ideal for hooking up to a console and for watching any media formatted for a 16:9 display, OSD (On Screen Display) menus are well laid out and easy to navigate, sharp picture and vibrant colors, comes with cables for each of the displays inputs (they aren't fancy cables, but just the fact that they included all of them is nice). The monitor has one DVI, VGA, and HDMI input. Because of that it's possible to have three different devices hooked up at the same time, and thanks to input switch button on the monitors control panel you can change between inputs without having to fiddle with wires. HDCP support ensures that you'll be able to playback any HDCP protected content provided you have a video card that also supports it.

Cons: The monitor uses a 6-Bit TN Panel with Hi-FRC, so there are some color banding issues. Color banding is only really noticeable when a light color transitions to a dark color (such as a glowing effect that fades into a black background or into transparency), however transitions from one bright color to the next are pretty much seamless. Videophiles will want to look elsewhere, but the vast majority of users won't notice the banding under average viewing conditions. The 5ms response time is respectable and good enough for most situations, but it does introduce some visible ghosting during fast motion (quickly panning your view in an FPS game, or scrolling across the battlefield in an RTS game -- it can also be seen in movies from time to time but they are largely unaffected), but it's not a huge issue. Touch controls can occasionally be unresponsive.

Overall Review: The built-in 1W speakers are useless to 99% of users, but since it's a optional feature there's no harm in having them there. You can't even see them as they're hidden inside the monitors case so they don't detract from the aesthetics of the display. There is some minor backlight bleeding around the edges of the screen, but it's not bad enough for me to list it as a con. It's barely noticeable even when the screen mostly displaying black. Overall I'm happy with my purchase. This is my first LCD, and while there are some drawbacks to LCD technology compared to CRT's I'd say the pros outweigh the cons. CRT's still have the upper hand when it comes to color reproduction (even compared to 8-Bit LCD panels) and response times, but large CRT's are heavy and energy hungry (my 21" weighed 70lbs and ate 145W of juice -- compare that to this LCD and you see the problem). LCD's have a sharper picture overall and have the obvious size, weight, and energy advantages among other things.

Pros: good resolution

Cons: Heat sensitive buttons do not work well. I've have this monitor of about 5 months and the input button requires a good deal of force for it to work. That was just a nuisance but now I have to send the unit back because the display is turning on and off by itself.

Overall Review: I would not recommend this monitor to anyone. Customer service at Acer is not very friendly.