Acer H236HL bid 23-Inch Widescreen LCD Monitor,Black

This is an initial review, I will update later with a more thorough review of the picture quality. I'm an engineer, so I'm technologically savvy and very picky, but not well versed in monitor picture quality metrics, so I will run some tests on a later date. I think it's important to state that I am planning to use this monitor for a multiscreen solution, so a thin bezel was a factor in my purchase. If you plan to line up more than one of these side by side, you would have noticed this model and perhaps the ASUS VN247H-P for their relatively thinner bezels. There isn't a whole lot of information out for these two monitors, because they both came out just this year about a month ago, so maybe you can take advantage of the research I did. When I bought this monitor the ASUS model had free shipping and a discount making it $20 cheaper, but at the time of writing that discount is gone and the monitor is actually $10 more compared to this one. I'm guessing because that monitor is very popular as well.This monitor is amazingly sleek, imagine a 1.5 cm thick slice of glass and metal, and all the connectors barely protrude out the back. The packaging it came in was two slabs of styrofoam with seemingly not much space in between, where the monitor was sandwiched. I was surprised because this monitor is actually frameless, and that was not stated in the description, which is obviously great. A comparable model with a frameless design is the ASUS MX239H, also out recently, but that one retails for $230. I really think Acer outdid itself here, but their marketing is just not as ostentatious about their product as ASUS. Why do I say that? Besides the design of this monitor matching the $230 counterpart of ASUS, this monitor is IPS! while the earlier ASUS model I mentioned (now selling for $190) is only TN! AND the stand of that monitor has received complaints to be flimsy. Not here, this stand is solid and it is METAL, not plastic! A $700 monitor I bought a few years back from Samsung didn't even have this! I doubt the ASUS counterpart does either. This is in every way a $230+ product if I use ASUS as a benchmark, which of course is legitimate as ASUS is revered as the more reliable and quality brand. This is a steal.Part of why I leaned towards the Acer because there is another reviewer, much better informed than myself regarding picture quality that reviewed about half a dozen of these screens, and gave ASUS a fairly low rating in general and said the one bright spot was another Acer he got. Regarding the IPS, I can have this screen dead perpendicular to my face and still make out the picture, it's that ridiculous. Not that you ever need to watch movies that way but if that's your thing, your time has come. IPS sells at a premium to TN so this is a great feature over the ASUS. On arrival, there are no stuck or dead pixels that I can see yet, I will check again more throughly later. One word of caution, although frameless, the screen is not borderless. Like the $230 ASUS model, the border just sits under the glass, I will update with the exact width later, but I'm guessing it's 1.5 cm. I think the fact that Acer is sort of an underdog to ASUS and has less marketing forces it to price its products more aggressively so this is definitely great value for a beautiful piece of hardware.Another thing regarding Amazon, their customer service is phenomenal. The monitor was shipped to an old address of mine. My orders default to that address from 5 years ago, and presumably I did not click my new address or it did not register. Either way, when I called, Erin H from customer service did not give me any hassle, did not charge extra shipping, and actually shipped me another unit immediately! She even put in 2-day shipping! This is unreal. So they basically took the risk of losing or breaking that other monitor and just gave me a brand new different unit at no charge with faster shipping. The unit came the next day. I honestly cannot think of a way their service can be improved. I hope Erin gets a raise.All in all, I'm glad I went through Amazon. My alternative was newegg, and nothing against them, I'm just saying Amazon is great. The monitor is spectacular. I will update later with some picture tests and metrics. I have not tweaked anything not downloaded any color drivers/enhancers as some ASUS monitor reviewers suggest as crucial for their models.

This is an awesome monitor for the money. I cannot believe this monitor was only $130. I purchased 2 of them to run in dual monitor configuration. The monitor runs great right out of the box. Although the brightness is set to a blinding 100% at the factory, but that is an easy fix. The colors and contrast are amazing, and you can look at the monitor at almost 180 degree angles, and there is no color change or distortion what-so-ever. The monitors were also very easy to calibrate, and getting them to look identical only took about 10 minutes. Neither monitor has any dead pixels, and absolutely no bleed-through on the edges. The bezel on these monitors is quite unique. It is very thin, and is hidden behind the glass screen on the top and sides, so the monitor is smooth all the way to the top and side edges, with no ridges where the bezel meets the screen, like most monitors. The image also goes all the way to the inner edge of the Bezel. With 2 monitors sitting side-by-side there is very little gap between them. I have done some gaming, photo-editing, movie watching (Blu-ray) and casual web surfing so far, and have had nothing but great results in all aspects. There is absolutely no ghosting in games or movies, and the images are very sharp. I had no problem getting the monitor to detect with a DVI or HDMI connection (did not try VGA). The monitors come right to life at boot, and after moving the mouse when they go to sleep. Oh, and the monitor base is magnetic. The magnet is also very strong. There is a little paperclip symbol on the base, so I guess this is to signify that the magnetism is used to hold paperclips, and other small metal objects, in place. The only 2 negatives I would give this monitor, is the fact that the stand is not very tall, and rather limited in how it can be adjusted. The stand only adjust the monitor angle front to back. Also, the screen is glass, and VERY glossy. While this is great for color and contrast, it also makes the screen a fingerprint and dust magnet. There is also some reflection due to the gloss of the screen, but it is limited, and really not noticeable when the monitor is turned on. I did not deduct any stars for the stand or screen, as I did my research ahead of time, and knew what I was purchasing. I just wanted to mention those 2 caveats for the people that those issues might make them think twice about purchasing this monitor. Overall this is a great monitor, and for the price I paid I cannot complain one bit. I have always had good luck with ACER. They make some great products. Amazon also had these monitors at my door in 2 days, and that was with free standard shipping. I would definitely recommend this monitor for anyone looking for a good budget monitor, especially if you are looking for a great looking, and performing, multi-monitor setup. Buy this monitor. I guarantee you will not regret it.