Hannspree HF237HP

The Hannspree HF237HP impressive 23-inch widescreen monitor hasinputs for VGA and HDMI, and comes bundled with a HDMI-to-DVI cable:just the thing if you want to use the same display for computing,high-definition movies and video games.

The HF237HP boasts a sturdy base and a screen that can be tilted, but not vertically adjusted.

Ithas decent viewing angles too, with colours that begin to shift atabout 30 degrees to the screen on the horizontal plane, with thevertical angles being slightly weaker – this is very agreeable at theprice.

The lighting consistency is satisfying too, though itfalls short of perfection. There's an over-bright band at the top ofthe screen and a slightly wider one at the bottom, but neither are veryintense. Only the fussiest professionals would complain.

Screenquality is also impressive. Snow Leopard's Aurora desktop is wellrealised, with good detail and contrast, though maybe a little bitty inthe darker areas.

The colour ramps in our gradients test weresmooth and clear, and it did a great job of distinguishing between 95%and 100% black, a task that proves problematic for many budgetmonitors. It struggled a little with 5% and 0% black, but thedistinction was there.

Where the HF237 really falls down is inits integrated audio. The tinny, bass-free speakers pump out tunes thatsound like overspill from the room next door, making them intolerablefor anything other than basic computing.

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