Closer Look: Planar 26" LCD

So how does the display look? Amazing. Don't all LCD monitors look great? Not all LCD monitors have the same display quality. The major factor is what type of panel it has.

Each type of panel has different characteristics that are desirable and, as you get cheaper, undesirable. When you read the marketing specs or characteristics of an LCD panel, rarely will they divulge the panel type, which is arguably the most important thing to know.

The basic panel types are, from the cheaper to the more expensive:

TN - The cheap panel. 6 bits per color. Lesser viewing angle freedom. Most are unable to display a full 16.7 million colors. TN are often fast for gaming though. Seen a cheap LCD panel that seems too good to be true? It may be a using a TN panel.

MVA - a compromise between TN and IPS

PVA - very high contrast ratios such as 3000:1, better color, 8 bits per color

IPS / S-IPS - Widest viewing angles, 8 bits per color, superior color reproduction compared to PVA

There are variants of these types of panels, too.

Upon request of the polite and quickly answering Planar phone tech support, they told me the PX2611W is using an S-IPS panel. What they didn't say, but is talked about in online forums, is that it is using the same panel as the NEC 2690WUXi.

The NEC has many high-end features that the Planar doesn't, which professional imaging experts may require. Most people don't need or can't afford those extra features in the NEC. A color gamut spectrum test reveals an identical color spectrum range as the NEC, which supports the same panel claim.

Hands on report..

The monitor came via FedEx from an online retailer (my own money spent) in the Planar box. It was not double boxed, nor was it damaged.

Questions? Comments? Suggestions? Visit the Benchmark Reviews discussion forum for this article.

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