Customer Reviews

Acer AL2216Wbd 22" LCD Monitor - Black

5 star:		(201)
4 star:		(66)
3 star:		(19)
2 star:		(14)
1 star:		(15)

 

 

A 22" widescreen LCD monitor in the $300 - $350 range. Unbelieveable - you might skeptically think. Think again - this one is a great product at a great price. Mine was perfect right out of the box - no dead pixels, fast as lightning (5ms), took me more time to unpack the box then to set up the monitor. Takes almost no desk space at all - and comes with a 3 year warranty! This is most definitely one of the best deals I've found on anything anywhere. With a native resolution of 1680 x 1050, the picture, via a DVI connection is crystal clear and just plain beautiful!

I've been using a 12 inch laptop for school and it was fine for taking notes. When it came time to doing more intensive work, sitting behind the screen for 8-12 hours with documents overlapping was killing my eyes and driving me crazy. So I went out and picked up this monitor. It's like night and day. I can have two VERY large windows side by side for sifting through and combining information. Plus, I still have the laptop's screen as real estate.

There is a little bit of light leakage on the edges of the screen, but it's only slightly noticeable with a completely black background. My other gripe is that it cannot rotate, but when I have some time I'll see if there isn't an after-market solution I can utilize.

Altogether I'm very happy with the purchae.
-Viewing angle is good.
-Colors are bright.
-The option to set the focus is nice.
-The automatic adjustment works like a charm.
-22" of space is very useful.
-The price is right.
-No dead pixels that I can see.

I bought this monitor to be paired with a computer that I plan to use for AutoCAD and PhotoShop. The images come out great, sharp contrast, vibrant colors, I could not be happier with the picture quality. The wide screen format is nice, but it took a few minutes to get it properly configured with my system. The tilt function does not feel solid, it's like the screen (which is not small) is perched on this plastic pivot, but it seems to work fine, I just hope it doesn't break a year down the road. It does not have any integrated speakers which would be nice, but then who would want a nice big screen with some little speakers that sound like a tin can anyway?

When I upgraded from a 1280x1024 Dell, I expected to see a better picture. What I got instead looked washed out, and lacking in detail. The Dell had a few advantages. I can't fault this monitor for lacking USB ports, although it's a nice feature to have, but I can fault it for having a completely non adjustable base. After finding the right size software box, and a book of just the right thickness, I was able to prop it up to the maximum height allowed by my computer hutch. It still looked wrong. I then lowered my chair to the point that I have to reach up a few inches to use my keyboard, and things look perfect.

Unless you keep this monitor so that the center of the screen is exactly at eye level, you won't get a proper picture. It might not show a big difference, depending on the source, but if you look at something with a mostly white background, but a lot of subtle detail, such as a snow bank or a salt flat, you will lose all the details if you are even two inches above the preferred viewing height. If you are an average height male, and have your chair at the ergonomically correct position for the angle of your arms to your keyboard, then the monitor stand is almost a foot too low if you expect to sit it on your desktop.

You "swivel" by lifting the monitor and turning it sideways. I can't fault Acer for the limitation of my computer hutch's maximum height, but I can fault them for not working well in it, when every monitor I used in the past had enough of a viewing angle that things worked. My Dell's height adjustment was more for comfort than viewability, and it was very simple to do.

Aside from that, it worked great out of the box. Time will tell if it stays that way, but the warranty is good. Setup of the monitor itself was almost non-existent. I plugged in my existing DVI and power cables, and was up and running. I pressed the AUTO button, but saw no difference. That might mean that it was fine to begin with, though. That feature also gives you selectable settings, such as text, graphics, or movie, to further optimize for content.

I had to adjust some of my applications, which is no fault of the monitor, but you might have some setup as a result of moving to ANY wide screen monitor. For example, my ATI TV/media system needed to have a wide screen box checked, and these sorts of settings might be hard to find, expecially for software installed long ago. So if things look very wrong on some applications right out of the box, it's not the monitor's fault, but it does mean that it might take some work on your part anyway.

The bottom line is that it's an excellent monitor, especially considering its price, if your setup allows proper placement.

Originally this monitor seemed like a great buy, but it's proven to be nearly impossible to correctly calibrate. Quality as compared to my 19" Viewsonic is fairly poor; text doesn't render as well, the color temperature varies dramatically across the face of the monitor (blueish on the left and definitely pink on the right!), and text is a bit harder to read. There was also a stripe down the monitor which went away when I adjusted the angle - after turning bright blue! I'd keep looking and pay more for a better quality monitor. It's the thing you stare at all day, after all. For movies it might be OK as long as you don't mind a huge color shift from side to side.

I bought this for my gamer son. He really likes it and is very happy with it. So this isn't my personal review I'm passing along but that of a, uh, user with higher expectations than I could ever have and, likely, higher screen refresh needs than I would have. My son is very happy with this monitor and with his dad for getting it for him.

Don't be fooled by its price. This is a solid monitor. Picture quality is superb...very sharp and bright. I purchased two for my daughters to use with Mac Mini. They both work perfectly. I compare them side by side with the 20" Apple studio display and they simply outperform the Apple. I highly recommend the monitor to anyone who is looking for a good LCD monitor at a much more reasonable price!

After a few weeks with this monitor, I feel compelled to give my impressions...

The screen is exactly what it advertises itself as, that being a quality 22" widescreen monitor. Shipping was unexpectedly fast (the time from placing the order to setup was less than 50 hours for me) from Antonline. Setup was a breeze, taking no more than a few moments.

Using this screen with my 2.0 GHz Macbook running Mac OS X Leopard, all I had to do was connect one end of the DVI cord to the monitor, then connect the other end to the Mini DVI to DVI adapter I had purchased. After plugging in the power cord, the notebook automatically recognized the monitor, optimizing the resolution to 1680 x 1050 instantly. And I have to remark what a breath of fresh air it is to finally enjoy the kind of screen space I've sorely missed since ditching desktops 3 years ago (no offense to notebooks, but 13.3" inches of screen space just doesn't always cut it). A very easy and hassle free set-up experience, although this is clearly my specific account of proceedings.

The images are very crisp. No dead pixels, no light leakage, no noticeable problems whatsoever. The included 3 year warranty definitely goes a long way toward my feeling secure that I'll have a functioning monitor for the foreseeable future. And should also add that Acer includes both analog (VGA) and digital (DVI) output. Many comparable monitors sometimes exclude the digital option, so to see both ends of the spectrum covered is in this instance a pleasant surprise.

There are a few shortcomings worth mentioning, the most notable of which is the omission of any sort of speaker system. I bought it as a monitor, so this was not a major problem for me, although I suppose it would be convenient to consolidate the various PC peripherals in the name of conserving precious desk real estate.

However, at the end of the day there is very little to complain about here. The monitor offers a quality picture at a price point that is virtually unbeatable for a unit of this size. This definitely a product worth considering for anyone interested in upgrading to a unit with a little more screen space, or for anyone looking for an affordable second monitor.

I'm a professional web designer and this is the seventh LCD monitor I have purchased in the past ten years. My pickyness-level may be slightly higher than the average user, but I don't think by much.

I bought this product on the strength of many of the written reviews here at Amazon. I now wish I had read a little more deeply into the reviews, however, to see that many other customers had had problems with the contrast bleed, which I describe in more detail below.

It is certainly an outstanding price for a monitor of this size, but the overall quality is a touch lower than I can tolerate. Below are my comments after using the monitor for about three weeks now.

PROS

- PRICE. Good price for such a big monitor

- TRUE WHITE. The white is a "true" white -- not tinged with blue, etc.

- NO DEAD PIXELS. I have observed no dead pixels anywhere on the screen.

- CRISP. The picture quality is very crisp when the monitor is set to its native resolution. (You know to always set it to its native resolution, right?)

- FREE SHIPPING. With Amazon Prime, I got free, fast delivery.

- AMAZON RETURN POLICY. So far I've been very pleased with Amazon's return policies.

CONS

- SHORT, WOBBLY STAND. As several other reviewers have noted, the stand is short and somewhat wobbly. I'm a bit tall, which exacerbates the shortness problem, but I was able to address this by putting the stand on top of a thick book, raising the monitor to the ideal height, where the top of the monitor is even with my eyes.

- IFFY SUPPORT FROM MANUFACTURER. I contacted the manufacturer (more about this below) about some problems and their support was so-so. I'm not sure I'd relish having them provide warranty service on a monitor. I've grown accustomed to companies, like Dell, that normally send you a replacement BEFORE asking you to return a defective computer part.

- TOO MUCH BLEED. Light colors at the top of the screen appear rather dark, but are washed out (almost white) near the bottom of the screen. This is what is known as "bleed" and it's worse than I've experienced with any other LCD monitor.

Although the manufacturer touts a "160 degree viewing angle" this is completely untrue. There is a sweet spot (when the top of the monitor is even with my eyes) where the colors on the top 80% of the screen are acceptable. The bottom 20% of the screen is washed out, however, and the degradation is gradual, such that the contrast levels never look consistent from top to bottom. Only by moving my head lower does the content on the bottom of the screen stop appearing washed out. And by then, the top of the screen appears too dark.

I contacted the manufacturer, Acer, about this problem -- specifically, to find out whether this is a defect in my particular monitor (in which case I would exchange it for another of the same model from Amazon) or is normal for this monitor (in which case I would simply return it and purchase a different model).

When I called Acer, I got a gruff-sounding support representative who complained he couldn't hear me ... so I tried submitting a tech support request on their web site instead. I got a prompt response, telling me "Based on the information provided I suggest your Acer product be checked by our authorized repair depot" -- and providing a link on their web site to locate a technician, where I could presumably take in the monitor or mail it in to be checked out.

Uh, no thanks. I shouldn't have to send in a brand new monitor for inspection by a technician. My guess is that they get this question frequently, and it was a bit of a stock answer designed to help reduce their rate of returns, since most people don't have time to send in a monitor for evaluation, and the problem is ALMOST acceptable.

So I'm now returning the monitor to Amazon for a refund. I was able to find the same size monitor (22-inch widescreen) for about the same price from Dell, and so I've ordered my replacement there. I've had my share of frustrations with Dell, but at least they send me replacements before asking me to return a defective product, and that counts for a lot, in my book.

I upgraded from a 19 LCD regular to this monitor, and believe me you will love it!! I reviewed a lot of widescreens (online and in stores), and i was debating over the Samsung 22 versus this one. I chose this one, considering it was XXdollars cheaper than the Samsung.
--Ordered it Saturday, had it on Tuesday!!! The box looked smaller than i imagined it to be, but dont be fooled. The packaging is tight, and the monitor is HUGE!!! Ofcourse you lose some height (over the 4:3) but the width is totally worth it.
--Connecting it was a breeze, and i heaved a sigh of relief when i saw NO DEAD PIXELS
--My old monitor was a 8ms 600:1 contrast, versus this one which offers 5ms 700:1 - I have set my contrast at 61 and Brightness at 90 on the on screen setup and it hurts the eyes (love it)

--The gaming is FANTASTIC... FEAR, PREY, DOOM all work flawlessly, especially as they support 16:10 displays

--I can open and simultaenously view 2 A4 sheets in word without squinting

As other reviews mentioned, you cannot move the monitor sideways, with limited vertical movement. But my wall mount should fix that when it arrives.

If you are contemplating on upgrading to a widescreen, this is totally a bang for your buck. With 20.1 wides being 40-60 bucks cheaper and 24 being 400-500 more, get the extra real estate!! Its worth it

Oh did i mention ....... it is HUGE!!!