Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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20 of 20 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
27" of Bright, Colorful, 1080P Awesomeness!, October 2, 2009
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.
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9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Great Monitor - Wrong VESA wall mount Specs, September 21, 2009
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.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
HP 2709m....I LOVE IT!, November 5, 2009
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!
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