HP 2159M 21.5-Inch HD LCD Monitor

Comment: This is a great monitor. Very crisp and well worth the money. I was very pleased with the ease to set it up and begin enjoying it. Ordering from Amazon was fast and easy.

Comment: I'd love to go over all the technical specs for this amazing monitor, but there are already well written reviews that contain that information. I came from a 720p 19 inch HD monitor by Gateway, this is worlds better. Colors jump off the screen and DVD movies have never looked better on my PC. I highly recommend this over any others.

Comment: For most of you this short review will mean little, but I'm adding it for the few people like me. I can see a hazy sparkle (screen-door effect) on almost all LCD monitors, and it's so bad I can't use the monitors. My husband, standing right next to me, doesn't see it at all, and neither do most other people. Anyway, I was just at Fry's and looked at every 19-21" monitor in the place. The ONLY two with no sparkle at all were the HP2159m and the HP2009M. Clean, clear and easy to look at. Thank you, HP!

Comment: This is by far the best monitor I've ever had. The picture quality is crisp and sharp. You simply won't find a comparable quality monitor for the price this monitor is available at. Highly recommended.

Comment: Sorry to have to leave a negative review, but I was very disappointed in this monitor. While the external finish of the unit is great, and text is clear and sharp, and it's great to have a 1920x1080 monitor that doubles as a small HDTV for such a low price, there is one BIG problem: vertical viewing angle.

It's important to keep in mind that there are two types of LCD panels - one is much more expensive but it has a much wider viewing angle, especially in the vertical plane. I don't remember the names of they two different types of panels, but this HP unit is definitely the cheaper type with a VERY narrow vertical viewing angle. As mentioned in other reviews, out of the box brightness comes set to 'sear your eyeballs'. But the problem is that, even after adjustment using a true test disc like Video Essentials, the brightness level shifts greatly if you move your head up or down just a few inches. And the 'proper' brightness is with your eyes close to parallel to the bottom of the monitor, which of course can't be done for regular use. I use Adobe Premiere for HD video editing, and use the very darkest work background - which on a properly calibrated monitor appears dark charcoal gray, almost black. On this monitor, it was anywhere from medium gray to very light gray, depending on if you move your head up or down a few inches. Also, despite all possible adjustments, colors look slightly posterized on this display.

I was hoping to get lucky and get a great 1080p HD monitor for under $200, but as they say 'there's no free lunch'! To get a truly high-quality display at this size and resolution requires spending more for the better type of LCD panel. I wish I could recommend this display, I wanted to love it after reading the reviews, but the huge problem of viewing angle is simply unacceptable to me. Sadly, it's going back to Amazon.