HP ZR22w 21.5-inch S-IPS LCD Monitor

by HP

• The 21.5-inch H-IPS panel is by LG Display (model number: LM215WF2) and sports a 1920 x 1080 pixel format, 8ms GTG response time
• The H-IPS panel was designed to improve energy efficiency
• The ZR22w is part of HP's Performance Monitors
• Input signal: DisplayPort; DVI-D; VGA
• I/O Ports: 5 USB 2.0

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 2.5 x 20 x 11.9 inches ; 21 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 19.8 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B003D1CFHY
• Item model number: VM626A8#ABA
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (32 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #8,775 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes
• Date first available at Amazon.com: March 18, 2010

Product Description

HP Performance ZR22W 21.50" LCD Monitor VM626A8#ABA LCD Flat Panel Displays

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

179 of 189 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars IPS Professional HD Display - under $260? July 10, 2010

By S. Starinski

Fantastic product.
An IPS HD Display for under $260 - if I were in charge of a Graphic-related company & on tight budget would buy these monitors in high volume. Upto Summer2010, IPS monitor would rack up close to $1000, those from Eizo cost several $THOUSANDS. However, I am writing this in Summer2010 so if reading much later. consider that progress never stops & things I say today may become obsolete in half-year.

People with professional background in Engineering, CAD/CAM, Photography, or other Graphic Art/Design need no further explanation.
For those who have no professional knowledge - here's a brief intro:
Majority of cheap monitors today are still TN-type (Twisted Nematic), they've fast response times (dynamics) suitable for gaming, but not for serious Graphic work b/c they're destroying colors, have awful backlight artifacts and if you look from a side (at over 170* degrees) it can be seen as awful white blemishes, color bleeding/blending, etc. - unsuitable for professional work, but since they're very cheap consumers think they're "OK".

But this Monitor is one of the few, early crops of IPS (not TN) displays that emerged in the year 2010 at reasonable prices. Looks like IPS-panel manufacturers have finally reduced costs. This HP monitor is not really HP, and many others are not what the label/box says, read this fact:

Despite myriad of LCD Display manufacturers, there're only a HANDFUL of actual LCD panel manufacturers, they just get repackaged/distributed under other names. Most of the panels come from Japanese-rooted co's, and manufactured in Korea, increasingly in China, some high-end in Japan and (USA - for really high end, medical & military use).
So this HP is not really HP - the panel is "LG Electronics".... It is a great panel under $300, we're talking ISP (not TN) type!.
However do NOT use this monitor for very fast, video intensive Gaming if your demands are extreme, it's OK for gaming, don't get me wrong; response time is under 8ms so it's OK, but you have to understand that IPS is meant for professional Graphic work, and while improvement in response time in IPS within past several years has been amazing, some TN panels are still faster.
I still recommend this Monitor for EVERYTHING, including heavy gaming - I just proved it at home, and read other people's reviews in terms of gaming. I bought it however for other work (CAD Design & Photography).

Of course Eizo or other highend IPS are still out of reach for this monitor, but look - $300. An Eizo can set your wallet off by $1500 at least!

AND OTHER POINT - HP HAD FORESIGHT TO INCLUDE "DISPLAY PORT"!
For those who don't know what it means, it's the successor of HDMI, it's the newest/hottest port for professional Monitors, HDMI will probably remain default choice for entertainment/TV's for awhile, but DisplayPort is superior and is taking computer industry by storm, and slowly encroaching into TV's also, DisplayPort allows multiple monitors hooked to the same serial chain, unlike HDMI's obsolete interface, DisplayPort has better bandwidth, etc. - you can educate yourself.
Don't complain too much, b/c this Monitor also offers other ports - DVI-D is one example, I know some will complain on lack of HDMI, but me - I don't miss obsolete HDMI, my nVidia card has DisplayPort and if your doesn't - just use DVI-D, if your computer only offers HDMI, then HDMI-to-DVID adapter is less than $10, at least that s whjat I paid on Ebay for an older monitor which has no DisplayPort.
of course there's also the venerable SVGA port, but avoid it.

BACKLIGHT IS CFL, NOT LED! Ohh please don't be shocked! Rage about LED displays is directed at clueless customers who only consider Brightness, low cost & thin profile; I know you're reading this & are getting shocked. CFL backlight in a "professional display"? Here's a clue for nonprofessionals:
LED's are unable to be flicker-free at brightness below 100%, because they cannot be dimmed by simply reducing voltage - they must drop certain voltage across junction, it's a more or less fixed value. The way dimming is achieved is by PWM (Pulse Width Modulation). I don't have time to explain, this is not an Engineering forum. Just take my word for it - LED backlight displays, although being the staple/default choice for currently produced laptop & thin models, are bad for professional's eyes, and so is CFL of low quality, This HP is using high-quality CFL (I saw somewhere, they use 50Khour bulb?), you can Google/AltaVista for yourself and discover what other people are discovering recently - there's a group of people whose eyes & heads develop severe fatigue from LED bright lit monitors that industry is pushing down our throats, b/c it's costs them less to produce & recycle, and consumes little energy in laptops/netbooks. This display is CFL and believe me you will like it.

TAKE THIS ADVICE SERIOUSLY:
NEVER ALLOW HP TO SET ITS DEFAULT BRIGHTNESS/CONTRAST - LIKE MOST MANUFACTURERS THEY ARE TRYING TO KILL OUR EYES.
If you spend 10-12 hours/day looking into computer monitors, and been doing it for decade(s) and care about your health, you know what I mean. Don't let this thing to rise above 30-40% brightness, contrast should be higher - 50-60-70% than brightness.
Default setting is almost 90% brightness or something which really destroys quality, but Hp just did what everyone else is forced todo - bright monitors sell better in stores, once you bring home and work in the evening in properly dimmed room, you know it's bad for the eyes, so reduce brightness, most important - excess brightness destroys quality in terms of COLOR GAMUT.

Excellent price for this product. LG panel repackaged/rebadged as HP, with HP custom Firmware & Enclosure.
Looks like an eye candy, also, though most important thing is performance. not looks, the monitor is always "in your face" so it matters. Comes wit more cables than I even need.
Dell introduced its own model following same "cheap IPS" philosophy, weeks after HP, but I still prefer HP. I used to swear by ViewSonic, and not shortly but for many YEARS I would only go with ViewSonic. But for that matter, I also used to be fixated on IBM Thinkpads. Things change, no more Thinkpads for me & no more ViewSonics - perhaps some companies get so accustomed to highlevel status, that eventually they lose the "edge".
I actually wonder how is it possible to manufacture this thing for under $260, unless they make in 100,000+ quantities.

Stan Starinski, MSEE
New York, NY Read more ›

39 of 43 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars hp zr22w June 30, 2010

By Franklin Chang

Amazon Verified Purchase

The monitor is easy to set up, and in my opinion looks better than the picture indicates (probably because from a normal sitting height, the cable hole isn't visible). The plastics could be of higher quality, but the build quality is still okay. The tilt and rotate on the display feel smooth, and not overly easy or difficult. I can't really comment on how image quality compares to other IPS panels, but as compared to the Samsung 223BW (TN), it has less backlight bleed (YMMV as this tends to vary between samples), and much greater viewing angles.

The monitor comes with 1 DVI cable, 1 Display Port cable, 1 VGA cable, 1 power cable, and 1 mini-USB to USB cable (it has 2 USB ports centered on the left edge of the monitor)

My calibration settings are
35 brightness
80 contrast
6500K sRGB
everything else default

36 of 40 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars May Be Best Monitor Under 24" On Market September 16, 2010

By RLouie

After researching 22" to 24" monitors on the market, the HP ZR22W may very well be the best monitor under 24". First, it is an IPS monitor which means it does not have the color shift problems and limited viewing angle of TN monitors. While there are other 22" & 23" IPS monitors on the market with "HD" resolution. None has the wide range of color gamut as the ZR22W. The ZR22W has a color gamut of 96% while the Dell U2211H, U2311H & 2209WA all top out at 82%. This means the ZR22W can produce colors that may be in photographs, videos & movies that the other monitors just are not capable of. You have go up to a 24" panel to get a comparable color gamut. But, you loose in sharpness as 24" panels have a 1920 x 1200 resolution & 0.27mm dot pitch whereas the ZR22W has a 1920 x 1080 resolution & 0.247mm dot pitch. All this makes the ZR22W perfect for professional users as well as the average user. Hard as it may be to believe. With hundreds of monitors from dozens of manufacturers, the HP ZR22W is the only monitor that boasts these specs under 24" and under $400.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Nice monitor for Photo Processing November 29, 2010

By RMPRO

Amazon Verified Purchase

I have this monitor next to my HP LP2475w and use the two on my setup. The 2475 is my main monitor. I
bought this ZR22w because I am a professional photographer and need a good panel that can be calibrated
for correct color.

This ZR22w calibrated very well, almost as good as the LP2475. I used the Eye-One Display2 puck and
BasICColor Display calibration software. The on screen controls are the same as my LP2475 which is great.
I was able to get excellent results-very close to the H-IPS panel in the 2475.

The actual panel in the ZR22w is an LG Electronics LM215WF2 which is an e-IPS panel (the e-IPS panels
just started showing up in the past year or so, they are a budget offshoot of S-IPS and H-IPS). This
panel is also used in the Dell U2211H.

I would certainly reccomend this monitor if you need one that must be calibrated for photo processing.

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Great monitor ... April 6, 2011

By Johannes Luijten

Amazon Verified Purchase

Let me first start with that I bought this monitor since I could not get my hands on the 24" Apple monitors (no longer in production and much more expensive and limited in connectivity). I'm using the monitors with a Mac Pro and they work just fine.

Connectivity of this monitor is great: DVI, VGA, Display port, and 4 USB ports (a fifth to feed the build in USB hub).

The stand is one of the nicest stands I have seen; the monitor clicks easy on and off the stand, allows full rotation, has a cable guide, allows tilting and raising/lowing the screen smoothly.

The screen itself feels very solid and well made, OSD controls are easy, and the look is stylish.

Now for the downside; I bought these because IPS is said to work great for designers/photographs ... specially when looking on different angles.
Well, that might be true and definitely better than most but it didn't impress me.

I compared with an Asus LED display, which was simply horrible for design purposes (and I agree with an earlier post: LED is hype and overrated).
I had a Samsung 225UW before and this HP is better (brighter) than those as well and less sensitive to viewing under different angles.
But when looking at a very mild color gradient, the angle does seem to matter none-the-less (not very bad though).

Bottom line:
For the price you get a really great monitor.
I'm impressed with this one and would recommend it any time (I actually ordered 3 more).
The exception would be for true professional designers/photographers; you'd probably be better of with the more expensive EIZO's or similar.