True movie buffs know that its paramount to view flicks on a suitable display; color saturation, resolution, and contrast are vital elements to a pleasurable viewing experience. That’s why when it came time to replace my aging 24-inch tube, I decided to make a move to a quality flat screen – - but I didn’t purchase a television.
I decided to investigate the monitor space for the feature-set that I require, and while doing so discovered that it is a most compelling option for people on a budget that wish to go flat screen. So I reached out to Acer, the fine company behind the Aspire One netbook, for a loaner for me to determine if my hunch was correct. And it was. Lets take a look at this killer display.
Pros
Excellent price. The Acer H213H has a $199 MSRP, but you can find it for even less at online retailors like Newegg. For the price, you get a 21.5-inch display (which is spacious enough for watching video from a sofa), and plenty of bang for the buck over similarly-size LCD TV. For example, the 21.6-inch Samsung LN22B460 costs nearly $200 more, and has a lesser resolution (1680 x 1050 pixels). And speaking of resolution…
Full HD display. This display supports a Full HD (1920 x 1080 pixel) resolution, which is the gold standard in video quality. What does this mean to the average person and not just tech nerds like myself? You’ll be able to see every pock mark and wrinkle in your favorite celeb’s face when you pop in a Blu-ray flick, or stream HD content online (if your PC’s graphics card outputs that high). In addition, the H213H rocks a sweet a 16:9 cinematic aspect ratio that removes many of the black bars seen in widescreen video.
Impressive visuals. I was quite impressed with the visuals while watching episodes of 30 Rock streamed from Hulu; bright colors really popped, and flesh tones were nicely rendered. When I fired up a few Strikeforce bouts, the fast and furious mixed martial arts action produced no blur effects, something you’ll occasionally see in budget monitors. There’s also a very nice contrast between light and dark images.
Plenty of A/V Ports. The back of the monitor houses HDMI, VGA, and DVI ports, which means you can keep multiple boxes hooked up without wire-juggling. Even better, Acer kindly includes all of the necessary cables, so you don’t have to shell our extra bucks for ‘em. Also included is an audio jack.
Eye-catching design. Acer took no shorts in giving the H213H a premium look; nearly the entire surface is covered in a glossy piano-black finish that’s a welcome addition to any room. Illuminated touch controls on the front let you set tinker with options without physical buttons distracting from the super-slick aesthetic.
Cons
So-So speakers. Built into the body of the monitor are a pair of speakers, that are decent at best.
In short, the Acer H213H is an excellent television replacement if online video, Blu-ray, and DVD are your media of choice. In fact, the monitor is so good, that it has temporarily become a part of my entertainment set up which includes a Mac Mini (for playing DVDs and online video), and a 2.1 Logitech speaker system.
Next up: How to build your own home entertainment center on the cheap.
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The only drawback with ACER, of course, is that if you have problems (and problems do frequently occur with ACER), the customer support is terrible. ACER are basically a warehouse and a bunch of tech support people. Why so much tech support? From my experience it’s because things often go wrong. I’ve bought many acer products, computers, monitors – but won’t again. I’ve been bitten too many times. There are comparable and better quality monitors out there for the same price or less from more reputable companies than ACER.
@Mike - which monitors would you recommend?
Hey, nice post, really well written. You should blog more about this.
I have been looking looking around for this kind of information. Will you post some more in future? I’ll be grateful if you will.
THIS ACER H213H HI DEF MONITOR. YOU STATED THAT THIS WOULD MAKE A GREAT TV, AND HAS BUILT IN SPEAKERS. I AM OLD AND KNOW LITTLE ABOUT THIS. HOW WOULD YOU USE THIS AS A TV? CAN THIS BE DONE WITHOUT A COMPUTER AND A REMOTE? COULD YOU JUST CONNECT A HI DEF DVD PLAYER TO IT AND IT WORK AS A TV? I AM INTERESTED IF SO. THANKS, JD.
Hi John,
The monitor doesn’t have the standard red/white/yellow cable connections, but if you have a DVD player with a HDMI connection, you can connect it to the monitor in a snap–no need for a computer.