Customer Reviews

HP 2709m 27-Inch Diagonal Full HD LCD Monitor (Black)

5 star:		(26)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

My 24" Acer LCD died a few weeks ago, so I went to Fry's Electronics to browse the selection. It's been a few years since I researched LCD's, and I'm happy to report that the technology has come a long way! The HP 2709m exemplifies this beautifully. After owning and using this monitor daily for the last two weeks, I've decided to write a review for it. Here are my thoughts on the monitor:

* 27" - huge!

* Great contrast

* Great colors

* Reflective-coating (not sure what the technical name is) - turns the monitor into a bit of a mirror, but also sharpens the colors tremendously versus matte-finish LCD's so to me it's worth a bit of on-screen reflection

* Reasonable response time. Aside from working and web-surfing, I also play FPS games (e.g. Crysis) and watch movies on this monitor; I've been satisfied with the pixel response time. Ghosting is non-existent, though LCD monitors can't hold a candle to traditional CRT monitors when comparing image stability on fast-moving objects. For instance, when a camera pans the background in a movie, or when you spin your character around in a video game, just like all LCD's, there is some blurring (not ghosting, there is a difference).

* Built-in Speakers - I haven't used them, but they are there if I ever need them.

* No annoying LED's - you can turn off the power LED on the front of the monitor so that there is no annoying LED blasting you in the eyes like many LCD monitors seem to have. This is especially nice when watching a movie in a dark room - the only thing lit up on the monitor is the screen itself.

* Ambient Light Sensor - automatically adjusts the brightness of the monitor to the brightness of the ambient lighting in your room. For instance, if you are using the monitor in a dark room, the brightness is automatically decreased so that your eyes don't fry (likewise, in a bright room, the monitor brightens the back-light). This feature can be disabled; I have it turned off because I prefer a fairly dark monitor relative to what the monitor's designers must prefer, especially when reading onscreen text. The only thing I would change would be to add a user-selectable base-level for the ambient light sensor so that it can properly adjust to the environment using the viewer's personal preference as the base level.

* The stand is solid and has a small footprint.

* The look and finish is understated, glossy and bares few labels. Very nice.

Overall, I am impressed and give this monitor a full five stars.

The 2709m is a huge display ... but know what's it best suited for before you buy it. With a 1920x1080 resolution on a 27" screen, you need to be sitting back pretty far from this (ie: more than a typical desk offers in terms of real estate). So, if you are looking for a display to connect to a PC that you're using mainly for multimedia or gaming and can sit more than a couple of feet back, this is not a bad choice. If you intend to use this as your everyday monitor in the traditional sense (ie: sitting it on a desk a foot or two away from you, connected to a PC for editing word processing documents or emails), then this is not your monitor unless you have vision problems and really need that big of an image that close. If you want a traditional monitor, select a smaller version of the same monitor. 1920x1080 is fine up to about 24" sitting right in front of you. Beyond the 24" size, you really need to step up the resolution. Note that 30" monitors dish up 2560x1600 resolution which makes the 30" screen acceptable at close range. Think of it this way ... if you want a monitor that you'll use like a television, this is fine. If you want a traditional monitor, the resolution is too limited for a screen this enormous ... either make the leap to the 30" price range or save yourself some money and buy the 24" version of this.

Monitor is great, especially for the price. Excellent Size, Colors, Brightness, response time and Blacks. Some may say its too bright but its easily adjusted.
Glare may be an issue for Some, I prefer the glossy screen because it makes everything look better, The drawback is occasional glare.

The HDMI port supports audio and works well with my cable box - Built in Speakers are adequate, they do not get very loud.

Ambient light sensor is another plus, it automatically adjusts the brightness to your environment.

NOTE for People looking to wall mount the monitor with 100mm Vesa mount. My 2709 came with 200x100mm mounting holes, not the 100x100 that the specs detail, I got a adapter that worked with some modification. HP is investigating the error and sent me a $20 gift card for the mistake.

This is my first Amazon review, yet I have used my fellow Amazon user's reviews so frequently in the years past, I feel compelled to start contributing!

I have only had this monitor for 1 day, so feel a little premature writing this. However, I will certainly come back and edit it this if anything changes my perception. The monitor was purchased via Amazon, I'm an Amazon Prime member so used one day delivery for $4. For whatever reason, it took 2 days, but I'm not complaining...works for me (2 day shipping was projecting 3 days delivery). Delivery was via Fedex, and the box was in fine condition (a few nicks here and there, but nothing to get excited about).

Background:

I used to keep my computer on the absolute cutting edge of technology.....6 or 7 years ago that is. Life has changed, Marriage, 2 kids, time and $$$ traditionally used on my computer have since been re-allocated. I used to play some games on it, but like everything else, my uses have changed over the years. My current use is for internet / email type work, Word, big Excel documents, powerpoint presentations. Skype, DVD burning, simple video downloading / editing, and working from home occasionally. I'm getting into Photography a little bit, but it will never be anything I do professionally...I just like to take nice pictures of my family. I have a nice Canon Digital SLR camera, 15.1 megapixel = big picture files, so the computer does a LOT of picture management, and editing via Photoshop CS3

As mentioned above, my computer has been ignored a bit in regards to upgrades. But 6 or 7 years ago, this thing was as hot as hot could get. Pentium 4 3.2 Ghz, 3 Gig of RAM (this was upgraded for Windows Vista reasons), ATI Radeon X800 - 256 Mb, 1 TB Hard drive (recently upgraded for the amount of pictures I'm making).

My computer recently got a little make over...it is now running Windows 7 Professional. It runs it very well, very speedy, no issues.


OLD MONITOR:

My monitor is what I consider the best CRT computer monitor ever made (but maybe I'm just biased). NEC 22" (20.1" viewable) FP2141SB. Capable of resolutions far beyond everything except for maybe the high end 30" flat panels requiring the DVI Dual-link connections. But with a 20.1" viewable, those resolutions just don't make sense on it.

Recently (over last year), I've grown to love my flat panel at work, and wish my clunky 60 pound CRT monitor could reproduce the same crispness. But, it just can't...even as good as it is...its not an LCD monitor.



NEW MONITOR:

I went monitor shopping, ready to leave my CRT behind and step into the world of LCD. I searched everywhere on the internet, and visited stores as well to get a feel for how everything truly looked. I read reviews (both professional and from consumers like us. As my old monitor had a viewable size of 20.1 inches, I wanted something with a screen at least as tall as its screen....just wider. And, the bigger the better! I considered the Hanns-G 28", but read horror story after horror story, so it was dismissed. I looked at several 25 / 26" monitors from Samsung, LG, ASUS and others. In the end, I chose the HP 2709. In the stores, it absolutely jumped off the shelf full of monitors and screamed in your face "LOOK AT ME!". Its brightness, and vibrance really just seemed to be incredibly nice, and to me, better than the competition. I believe the glossy screen had a lot to do with this, if you compare one with (HP or LG or maybe others) to those without, it really does make a substantial difference...SUBSTANTIAL!

The monitor arrived from Amazon without any issues. No stuck pixels that I can find, no scratches or flaws. It is setup, connected via DVI (I bought a nice DVI cable...primarily because my computer isn't right next to the monitor and I was concerned about cable length). I have my computer running at the recommended resolution of 1920x1080

The picture is absolutely stunning! The colors are so incredibly vibrant, and this thing is very very bright (again, I'm coming from CRT...but I work with LCD every day at work). The aspect ratio - 16:9 - provides an amazing amount of room to work with on your computer's desktop. The glossy front is PERFECT, would choose it again and again and again. Initially I was a little concerned about reflections (despite the advertisement of anti-glare). Its setup on a desk in a room that is 20 ft x 20 ft, the monitor is in a corner, with an enormous window just 4 feet down the side wall to the monitor's right. The room also has a fan with light fixtures in the center of the ceiling. I have ZERO glare issues...both when used during the day yesterday (window possibility), and at night last night (lights possibility). No issues at all!

icons are crisp, with edges sharper than a razor! text could not be any more perfect, I'm certain of it. The resolution of 1920x1080 would suggest small icons and small text, but on this 27" screen, this is NOT the case. The nature of my desk puts this monitor probably about 2.5 to 3 feet away from my face, and the icons are very large, and text is perfect to my eyes. I've seen bad things happen when you force an LCD to do something below its native resolution, and I'm happy that 1920x1080 looks perfect to me.

Right out of the box, the colors blew me away. I've read people saying that lots of adjustments are needed for this monitor. I'm going to be a lone guy here and say that I haven't adjusted ANYTHING yet. I haven't even pushed any buttons (well, except for the power button obviously). I'm floored by the colors! My digital pictures from my Canon 50D DSLR look far more stunning than they did on my old CRT. But, I would never say I'm a videophile, despite having a videophile's taste (I have very large flat screen TV in one room and an HD home theater projector in a media room that cost me a considerable amount of money). I'm sure some adjustments are needed (I have calibration media I've used with the other previously mentioned products), but I have just been soaking in the absolute BRILLIANCE of this monitor since turning it on.

Viewing angles don't really apply to me. I sit in front of my computer...I'm thinking most do...right? Everything is very easy to see from the sides when viewed off center, though you can see a bit of a yellowing tint when considerably far off center.

I have experienced no "mosquito noise" that one reviewer had an issue with on his unit...its absolutely silent. Heat generation is about normal (when compared with what I felt on other LCDs in stores). I can easily rest my hands on the top vents without the sensation that my hand is melting. Some complain about the stand being insufficient. I don't know about you all...but I don't hit my monitor very often. I noticed no instability during constant use all day yesterday. In fact, I find the stand to be pretty beefy, small in size, but substantial in quality (if that makes any sense).

I played one of my OLD games from 6-7 years back. Unreal Tournament 2004. as its a little long in the tooth, it wouldn't allow me to play at 1920x1080 (that resolution didn't exist back then I think!). But, I played it at the highest available widescreen resolution, and the colors were fantastic, there was no ghosting or blur (and, this is a FPS game that is fast paced action), I saw no screen tearing that is mentioned on the CNET review. It was fantastic for me!

So, for such a long review, this monitor is WONDERFUL, it is GIANT, icons and text are SHARP & CRISP, colors are more VIVID than I could possibly imagine! My 60 pound CRT has been transitioned to my wife's computer (a nice upgrade for her too). However, if the HP2709 continues impressing me as it has so far, I will be getting her an HP monitor in the same line as this one. Very, very impressed! 5 stars!

I'll make updates as time goes along...but right now, I wish I had done this sooner!

Although the HP 27-inch widescreen monitor has a huge wow-factor when it comes to viewing movies, the screen may not be the best choice for those who work extensively with documents and text. Created expressly to fit the dimensions of a widescreen film, this LCD monitor, with its 16:9 aspect ratio, has a crisp, glossy display with excellent color that responds well to action; if you buy a special adapter, you can even hook it up to your cable service as an HDTV. Text, however, is subtly multi-colored instead of appearing as black lettering, and I find this annoying and somewhat tiring despite its crispness.

The monitor can be hooked up via HDMI, DVI, or VGA; as others have noted, there's only one HDMI connection (but no HDMI cable included), not a big deal unless you intend to hook-up multiple HD devices to the monitor. I have mine set up with a DVI connection to my computer, leaving the HDMI slot open for other devices. Buyers should be forewarned that the 27" diagonal gives you more width than height, as its unique viewing area is more like an HDTV than a traditional monitor. There's a small sensor in the upper left part of the frame that detects light conditions and adjusts the brightness accordingly, although the glossy screen has glare issues in intense, direct light. The brightness of the display is welcome (unless your eyes tire from that kind of light/dark contrast).

If you watch a lot of films and play video games on your computer monitor, then you've found your display. If your primary use is word processing and spreadsheets, however, you might want to consider another model.

-- Debbie Lee Wesselmann

Pros: Large screen size, nice picture, affordable price, power efficient, and it's an HP.

Cons: Limited viewing angle causes colors at the bottom to fade, lacks gamma correction option, small stand, and screen is too reflective.

This monitor comes with a DVI, VGA, and audio cable, but no HDMI cable, so you will need to buy one if you need it. It has a single HDMI port.

I decided to replace my 19" (non widescreen) Viewsonic LCD monitor with a larger screen. The HP is much bigger, the vertical height of the screen is 13.25" vs. less than 12" for the Viewsonic. Therefore, it's almost 1.5" taller (not to mention wider), and that makes a big difference. It allows me to place the monitor further back on the desk, yet still see every detail clearly without straining my eyes.

Turning it on for the first time, the screen is way too bright, it reminds me of the Magna Lamp in Get Smart. It actually hurt my eyes. I had to reduce the brightness down to 25. Also, the screen is reflective, so it might pose a problem if you work in a bright room with a lot of sunlight streaming in. Whenever the screen gets dark, I can see reflections, and it can be very annoying. I wish it had an anti-glare coating.

Luckily, I did not find any dead or stuck pixels. If you find any stuck pixels, don't fret, because it probably can be fixed. Do a search for ways to fix it. If you have a dead pixel (black on a white background) then it can't be fixed.

Now, we turn to picture quality. When I first fired up the monitor, the colors didn't look as good as the monitor it replaced. When you are standing in front of it, all the colors look washed out, but when you are seated in front of it, it looks decent. Obviously, the vertical viewing angle is poor, but this problem can be fixed...for the most part.

Although photos and text looked good at the default settings, I still wasn't happy with the image quality, so I decided to play around with the color adjustments. When I switched from 6500K (default) to the sRGB setting, the colors and picture quality improved.

The grayscale performance is very good, you can distinguish between subtle shades. Visit a monitor calibration site to fine tune your settings. I recommend that you visit http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/ for a comprehensive calibration test. One more tip: wait an hour for the monitor to warm up before calibrating.

This monitor does not have a gamma correction feature, so I had to open the Nvidia control panel to make the adjustment. It think this step greatly improves the image, so try not to skip it just because the monitor lacks this option.

After making all the tweaks and calibrations, the picture looks Awesome. I dare say that it looks almost as pretty as the Apple Cinema. The fading issue has improved significantly. It's not perfect, but it's way better than the orignial appearance. In fact, it looks like a completely different monitor. When standing, the screen looks very good with very little sign of fading or degradation.

Now, it's time to test our results using Photoshop. I painted a solid color at the top of the screen and another at the bottom. I tested red, green, blue and gray. The colors match very well now, but there is still a slight hint of fading at the bottom. The gray shows the greatest amount of fading. Grays are a shade or two lighter, but it's much better than before. Since all TN panels have this problem, I think this is as good as it's going to get. Some monitors get around this issue by varying the voltage of different sections of the screen, but they still exhibit some color shift. I don't think this panel uses such technology. This might be a problem if you are a graphic designer where consistency, or color matching is critical. Now, we move on to the color gradient test. I created several gradients with different colors. The banding was minor but noticeable. Again, the gray seems to show the worst banding. This is typical for a TN panel, because it displays in 6 bits per pixel, instead of 8.

Photos and videos look great on this monitor, colors are vibrant with good contrast. Text look sharp and are easy to read. No blur or ghosting here. If you use the preset Movie or Game settings, text can look ugly, so I have it set to Custom. Actually, I don't like any of the presets, so take the time to calibrate the monitor yourself, it's worth it. Speaking of games, this monitor is great for gaming too. The large screen makes it easier to see your enemies at a distance, and the excellent grayscale performance means that you can discern objects in the dark. I didn't notice any tearing like other reviews. It has an overdrive feature which is supposed to improve the pixel response time, but I didn't see any difference.

According to the technical specs, it uses less power than other 27" monitors. This may not seem important, but it could end up costing you a lot over the lifetime of the monitor. This one is spec'd at 50 watts vs 100 watts for the LG. According to my Kill A Watt meter, it uses over 70W straight out of the box. After reducing the brightness, it is now at 40W. In sleep mode, the meter reads 0W, so it's definitely drawing less than 1 watt. Heat is not an issue with this monitor, which is great, given it's size.

The ambient light sensor can be turned off, and the monitor keeps track of the number of hours the backlight has beeen burning...very cool.

The pedestal base is rather small, so I hope it doesn't fail me in an earthquake. The stand only tilts, and there is no height adjustment. It feels solid, not flimsy, though.

I couldn't check the sound quality since I have external speakers attached to my PC. The speakers are in the back, facing rearward.

As for price, the advantages speak for themselves. A 30" is way out of my budget range, and the luxurious screen size makes it worth the extra $150 over a 24" monitor. It's close to the price of 25.5" monitors, and much less than other 27" name brands. Since it's an HP, I expect that it won't fail one month after the warranty expires. This unit is made in China.

In conclusion, the HP 2709m doesn't make a good first impression, but after a little tweaking this turns out to be an impressive monitor. Adjust the brightness, and color temp to your liking, then visit a calibration site to make final corrections. If you intend to use this for graphics work, then the color fading issue may cause problems. Overall, you get a lot of bang for your buck, which really helps to sell this monitor. On the other hand, the viewing angle problem drops it down a notch, therefore I'm giving it a well deserved 4.5 stars.

When I first saw the price for this 27" monitor, I thought this is too good to be true. After reading the reviews, I decided to take a chance. My eyes aren't what they used to be, so the resolution that some claim isn't high enough for this size monitor wasn't an issue. As I'm using my Acer 22" as a second monitor, I am not in need of more onscreen real estate. I do a bit of day trading, so my trading platform is on the smaller monitor and the HP gets all my other projects. Additionally, I'm an avid flight simulator enthusiast and have a flight yoke and other paraphernalia on the desk between me and the monitor. Sitting about 32" from the monitor means the text and graphics are a perfect size for me.

Set up was a snap. Just plug it in and enjoy. According to both the Amazon and HP sites, it comes with only the power and audio cables. Not true. It came with DVI-D and VGA cables, as well. No dead or stuck pixels.

When I ordered it, Amazon was out of stock, but they had the best price and shipping was free. They got their stock in earlier than estimated and shipped it sooner than they projected. All in all, a pleasant surprise.

I have seen some small text with a tinge of color, but it is so slight I don't know why others have made such a big fuss about it.

The image is clear, crisp and the color is outstanding. I am very happy with this purchase and definitely recommend it.

My previous monitor was a 21' Sony Trinitron, aka The Beast. Rock solid performance, colors and resolution, unfortunately it WEIGHED about as much as a comparable size rock. My new monitor, the HP 2709 aka The Angel, is a lite and LIGHT bright monitor that spreads it wings to a glorious 27'! I was concerned that this monitor, though 27' diagonal, would be a SHORTER picture than my CRT 21'. My concerns were for not as this baby is HUGE, pretty much the same length if not longer and as wide as my desk. I can't tell you how happy I am with this monitor in front of me. Yes the CRT's beastly size DOES come with it's power advantages, higher resolutions and frankly sharper contrasts between white and black. Very few monitors can touch a Trintron CRT's contrast, even though you have to deal with those two little lines in your monitor (it's worth it). This new monitor, however, is from heaven. It's lite and not cumbersome and the picture is frankly beyond words. I'm finally able to watch all my "letterbox" movies and shows on a decent size screen! Now I'm no longer getting free X-rays whenever I get in front of my 21' CRT! My RAD count has gone down and I just fired my chiropractor! Thank you HP 2709!

I looked at many monitors when one of my 19" Viewsonics died. I was leaning toward a Samsung LED but got hooked on the size and picture quality of this monitor instead. I have it in a dual monitor configuration with the remaining Viewsonic and have them rack mounted below a 32" 1080p TV. the picture quality of the HP is at least as good as either of the other two. I have not hooked up the built in speakers so I cannot comment on their quality but assume them to be typical of small computer speakers. Setup was easy, it has standard mounting holes on the rear for wall (or rack) mounting. I'm very pleased with the monitor so far and would recommend it to anyone. Their may be better specs out there but I buy by what I see rather than what I'm told.

This full HD LCD quality is supreme and I think is the best monitor I have owned over six year. Thank to HP. Of course, all my computer equipment is HP brand and compatible with each othr from printer, CPU, printer, etc.