Customer Reviews

HP W2207 22-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor

5 star:		(114)
4 star:		(20)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(5)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

As an Apple devotee, I feel like a bit of a traitor writing a positive review of an HP product, but WOW this thing is great! I bought it as a second monitor to my MacBook. Apple MacBook MA701LL/A 13.3" Notebook PC (2.0 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo, 1 GB RAM, 120 GB Hard Drive, DVD/CD SuperDrive) - BlackThe color is brilliant, the contrast is impressive, the text pops and it's just plain beautiful to look at, even if you are working. I literally find myself working on things because I don't want to take my eyes off it.

While I love the look of Apple's cinema monitors, the price point is just so high. The HP w2207 represents a far more reasonable price point. Also, if you're a writer like me, HP makes a clip system for this series of monitors, so you can have a document holder off to the side without having to glue something to side of your monitor untiil the end of time.

If you're an art director, graphic designer, or similar artists thinking, "Ah-ha, this guy's a copywriter. What does he know about monitors?" Well I've been in advertising since 1996 and I've seen all kinds of monitors and this is one of the most impressive I've ever seen at any price.

Also, I took sometime to compare this model to others available for sale from a variety of manufacturers and no one matches the image quality in my opinion. This might seem strange for HP to come out on top in comparison to other companies that specialize in monitors, but the truth is people largely, buy their computers based on the quality and look of the monitor. Apple realized this early on and apparently someone told HP too. I wonder how many HP computer bundles are going to be sold based on the performance of this beauty?

Sure, it takes a little adjustment both on the monitor itself and on the display portion of the system preferences, but it's easy enough.

Plus, the built in speakers are much better than you'd expect from a monitor and the built in 2 USB hub is a nice little touch. More would have been better, but an extra usb port is always nice.

All of this said, there are some flaws with this monitor.

1. The rotating screen landscape-or-portrait function is great, but it doesn't work with the MacBook in Mac mode. What I'm talking about is the ability to physically turn the monitor and have the display go into a portrait arrangement. It's probably too much to ask for from a monitor made by a PC manufacturer, but it would have been nice if the software bundle would have included something for us, Mac people. It still works with the MacBook just fine in landscape mode, but it would have been nice to have this particular bell and whistle.

2. The monitor does have a DVI connection as well as an analog VGA connection, but it only comes with an analog VGA wire. Don't settle for VGA, when there's DVI to be had! Order a DVI wire with your order like this one.Cables To Go 2m DVI-D M/M Dual Link Digital Video Cable The response time is appreciably faster than with VGA. It's slight, but it's there.

3. Hopefully, this won't be an issue, but its warranty is for only one year, while others come with a three year warranty. This is a little disconcerting, but I'd rather have one year of looking at this screen than 3 years of looking at washed out or drab monitor.

4. The screen does pick up reflections more readily than other flat panels.

And even with these shortcomings, I've still got to give it 5 stars. It's just that beautiful!

UPDATE: Although mine did not, this monitor now does come with a DVI cable. So you won't need to buy one separately.

I noticed the price has gone up since I ordered and received my W2207. Doesn't matter, this is the best LCD Monitor available today. Mine came with no dead pixels and was delivered by Amazon early.

First, the color accuracy is far better than any of the others I looked at. I have adjusted the color temperature to match what I shoot at and editing my pics and videos is just a dream.

Second, the product design is the best I have seen to date. The overall look, the stand, the buttons, everything is just right. You have to make sure you don't rest your keyboard on the stand while you are typing or it will shake a little but that's not really an important nit.

Third, no bleed through at the top or bottom. Extremely uniform from edge to edge and the black is very black.

Finally, I can't believe I can rotate the screen to edit documents! The HP software doesn't work right, but my onscreen controls allow for rotation. I can have a legal size document up full size on the screen with nice large characters and just edit away. No other screen in this price class allows this feature.

This is the best LCD Monitor available under $600.

In summary, if you feel lucky, get the monitor. It has a good display and a reasonable price. But pray that you don't have to deal with HP customer service. (see follow up comments below- things didn't get better)

I purchased a w2207 about two months ago. I was very happy with the monitor (aside from the not-even-ready-for-beta buggy "HP My Display" software), until I had a problem: My monitor display became "washed out" and, despite every remedy feasible (all adjustments, re-installing drivers / software, resetting factory settings, etc.), I couldn't get it corrected.

After spending over an hour on a chat session with an overseas tech, he still didn't understand my problem (to the point where I would have to repeat things I had already typed. Now he has it in writing 3 times...). After giving up, he was going to email some articles which "might help". Well, the only email I got from HP was apologizing for "dropping our chat session", which I had terminated. No info, no log, no follow-on.
BUT, there was a link to email them with more questions! You just have to select your hardware first... hmm... I guess they don't recognize their own hardware, because w2207 came up as "not listed." So, I looked at the list... There were no monitors over 20", and no widescreen monitors. How old is this list? Now I can't send them an email through this channel (of course, I could pick another piece of hardware to get it to go through).

This has been a comedy of errors on HP's part. I've had equally frustrating dialogs (or monologues?) with them in the past. They should take their customer service model from companies like Canon or Verizon, both of which I've been very impressed with. (My new printer is a Canon, because of experiences I've had with HP customer service)

A side note for any HP employees reading... what happened to the old HP? The respected company who made the hardware (computers, printers, calculators, test equipment) everyone wanted? I'm afraid they've become just another poor quality mass produced commodity, no longer differentiated from the herd.

I just got this monitor at Best Buy. Normally I buy online, but while I was checking out monitors the salesperson at Best Buy said he had the HP and it was a floor model that he could sell me for one third off. Read all the reviews and bought it. I never thought to look at HPs. I was focusing on Acer, LG, and Samsung. This monitor was not plugged in at the store but what sold me on it (in addition to the price and reviews) is:
1) It looks stunning: the black piano frame is awesome; more importantly, the stand is the best of any manufacturer's stand I looked at; it is the only one I saw that had a substantial stand that did not look industrial yet swiveled, tilted, and had a great height adjustment
2) It has a glossy screen: I have one on my MacBook and and the reflections are sometimes annoying, but this screen's reflections are much less. I think that may be because I don't move the monitor around into brightly lit areas and I can control the lighting in the room where I have my computer. The monitors with glossy screens as opposed to matte screens looked far more lifelike with better color rendition.
3) The specs looked good, although I noticed that great specs don't always translate into a great image.
4) There were complaints about the power button on the Samsung monitors lighting up a room. Not the case here as the power button is on the top of the monitor with just a faint light indicating its location.

Then I got it home (no box; just a plastic bag over the screen to protect it from scratches). I plugged it in, attached my DVI cable, made a few easy adjustments, upgraded my GeForce nVIDIA 6800 video card's drivers (I had to do this; when I played movies the frame rate was very slow) and had the best looking image I have EVER seen on a monitor. STUNNING. Deep, rich, colors, black blacks, and white whites. It looks like I can step into my photos.

On the downside, I don't appreciate that the warranty is only 1 year and most other manufacturers offer 3 years. Since I bought it with my Master Card Platinum card, that extends the warranty by another year. I will decide if spending $50 for an extended warranty (4 years) from Best Buy is worth it.

I do notice that if I move my head vertically up and down relative to the screen (this is not something I would normally be doing), the contrast changes drastically (same thing if I am off to the side). I believe this is true for all large, widescreen monitors.

Bottom line, I am thrilled beyond belief to have this monitor on my desk. And, it takes up little more desk space than the 4:3 ratio 19 inch monitor that I previously used. Highly recommended!

Since I really love the X-Bright screen look vereses the traditional flat Matte look, this monitor is BEAUTIFUL.
I am very inpressed with the design and quality of this model. It truly stood out against other monitors. The whopping 22'' display is great since I am in grapihic arts. Nothing here to complain about. I looked for monitors for a few weeks before coming across the HP x2207 and when I saw this one, this monitors caght my eye. I am running it at the full resolution which is 1680 x 1050 for bright. No matter what your needs are this monitor will fit every area from Professionals to someone on a tight budget. This monitor sells for a very good price and I highly recommend it!

I had been running a dual-monitor setup with a 19" LCD as the primary and a 20.5" widescreen to the side. I was looking for something with the same resolution as my existing widescreen but with close to the pixel pitch of the 19" (my middle-aged eyes like a little bigger pixel). I looked at a lot of 22" widescreen monitors but kept coming back to the W2207. I loved the elegant look and the crisp image (made crisper because the screen does not have a non-glare surface, not a problem for my set up but if you sit with a window behind you it could be a drawback).

Most of all, though, I love the stand. It's the best stock stand of any monitor I've ever seen. It adjusts easily in the ways you want a stand to adjust and, by virtue of the unusual "deep hinge" design, gives you plenty of room under the monitor for stashing desk items, snacks, small animals, etc. (There is a depressed tray molded into it to keep pens and such from rolling away - nice attention to detail that.)

I saw a couple of reviews that commented on uneven illumination of the screen. That is, the screen appears darker toward the edges. However, I don't find that to be the case from a normal viewing distance and vertical angle. It is a big screen, though, and if you put your face six inches away from it, sure it will look darker at the edges - just a function of viewing angle. (It's amazing how much bigger 22" looks compared to the 20.5" sitting next to it.)

I'm currently running it from the analog output of my video card (it's an older card with one DVI and one VGA output and I was too lazy to change the cable on the other monitor - I plan to upgrade to a dual DVI soon anyway). Even with just an analog signal it looks great, with one caveat: it's more sensitive at the analog input than my old 19" and sometimes picks up some faint crosstalk from the other channel. (I paniced when I first saw it, thought I had a bad monitor, then I realized what I was looking at.) A better quality card, or just going all digital should avoid that.

To sum up: Text is clear and crisp, color rendition is good enough for photo work(calibrated it with a Pantone Huey), it's bright (too bright out of the box), looks good with good ergonomics (and that wonderful stand).

This is a beautiful monitor. The contrast ratio is high as well as the brightness (you'll need to turn the defalt contrast and brightness way down to get the sharpest, most accurate picture). The black level is very good with no backlight leak. Colors are rich, vibrant, beautiful and far more accurate than any other monitor this size even at almost twice price that I have seen. Compared to the Samsung 225BW, which I have owned and took back to get this unit, this is a better monitor in many respects with much better color, darker blacks, and a bit wider viewing angle. The only negatives are lack of a DVI cable, very buggy software as of this writing (I assume this will be fixed in the next year), and heavy reflection on the polished screen surface which can be very distracting in a brightly lit room. Even with these concerns, I am giving it a perfect rating because I don't think one could buy a better monitor for the price, and this is definitely the best of the current crop of 22" widescreen TN units.

This is my first flat panel screen, so I don't have much to compare it to besides the other monitors I've seen in the stores. Once I saw this one, though, that was it for me. It's absolutely gorgeous. I love how versatile the stand is - you can raise and lower the monitor, tilt it a bit, and also move it forwards and backwards. There's plenty of space underneath for placing documents that you might need to refer to while you're using it.

I'm discovering that the "pivot" feature of this monitor is worth every last penny that I paid for it. Until I started using the monitor this way, I never realized the percentage of time it was more convenient to see the screen in portrait view rather than landscape view. The monitor is a typical widescreen but if you turn it 90 degrees, the monitor software will AUTOMATICALLY readjust the display accordingly. Now you have a "portrait" view where the screen is short horizontally but quite long vertically. It's fantastic for designing portrait-oriented powerpoint presentations because now the slide can take up most the screen (ditto for word documents and PDF files). Your web browser will automatically adjust web pages within the browser to accommodate the long format as well. And whenever you need landscape view again, rotate the monitor back 90 degrees and its in landscape mode again. Sweet!!! You can even tilt the top of the monitor back just slightly when its in this "elongated" mode which makes for very easy reading.

My big pet peeve with the monitor is the layout of the menu and option buttons. As other reviews have noted, the manual and setup guide is pretty useless. So one would inevitably start by pressing the menu button on the monitor to see what it does. Problem is, if you hit the menu button twice, your screen will go black, because the very first option in the menu list is to output to another screen (I about had a heart attack the first time this happened). You have to cycle through several options with the menu button to get your screen back and to use the + and - keys to move to other options such as brightness and contrast. Don't rely on the 2 USB ports in the monitor for too much, either, because they aren't powered. They're just extensions of the USB port on the back of your PC. If you're putting a whole system together, whatever you do, get some decent external speakers, because the ones on the monitor sound like tin cans.

Imagewise, however, the monitor is a beauty. I have been very pleased with it. Some have noted that the monitor software is buggy and doesn't automatically handle the 90 degree adjustment of the monitor. I had a different problem and the support tech sent me to the HP website to get version 1.3 of the software, which so far has performed flawlessly. If your cd came with anything less, you might want to do the same.

Most monitors look great for movies and pictures.
What about for spreadsheets, word processing, and reading web pages?

Outside of native resolution, which I find too small for extended use, most monitors are unpelasant to use. The wide screens in particular tend to have distorted fonts, depending on the setting.

I tried several monitors at home, including the Smasung 226BW (comparable in price) and Samsung 832B (low end). The HP was so much better it was like comparing a professional piece of equipment with some 2nd rate crap.

1. In naive resolution, which I generally consider too small (for my tired old post 40 eyes), I was able to use this. No other monitor I tried can I use in native resolution.

2. Even outside of native resolution I found this easier on the eyes. I have it set to 1400 x 900 which is not quite crisp but still acceptable.

3. for spreadsheets and text its quite good.

4. the contrast was excellent, vastly superior to the Samsung monitors. I turned the brightness down a little, to 70, and its fine. Thats much better than the 0 setting on teh Samsung.

5. the stand is excellent, it pivots, raises up and down, and you can rotate the monitor into portrait mode from land scape and its ok.

6. It has 2 USB ports on the side, and a good cable management system to keep the cords off the desk. It also has a place to put the keyboard (under the monitor, on the stand, when the keyboard is not in use.
It contains speakers, but I didn't hook them up since I have better independent speakers.


The only minor negative is the viewing angle is limited when in portrait mode, from the left, the screen will rapidly darken. This is not a big deal as its fine if you look head on.

Maybe the anti-refelective screen would be a problem in some environments, but its ok in my office.


This is far and away the best monitor I've worked with. There is no 2nd choice in contention.

The HP W2207 22" Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor has been a great addition to our office. The color is sharp, crisp and very clean. Working with photographs has improved greatly as the color rendition is superb. Moving between programs on the screen is flawless and has made work flow easier on the monitor.

There are two USB ports on the side that were not discussed in the original description. These were welcome.

The built-in speakers are tinny but serviceable for listening to streaming audio (talk radio) but are not useful for music replication. This brings the monitor down to 4 stars rather than 5.

The literature on the monitor is disappointing. It provides no real insight into the use of the monitor or adjustments. Neither the online nor the hard copy literature is worth reading. Much of the setup is done by intuition.

Overall this is a great monitor. We are not disappointed in the purchase.