Despite its name, HP’s new 27in
monitor is no object of desire
There are now scores of 27in monitors,
which vary wildly in price. The Envy 27 is fairly pricy, costing $150 more than
many other 27in displays, but HP claims the price is justified by the screen’s
appearance, image quality and built-in speakers.
HP says the Envy 27 is “edge-to-edge” with
no border around the 1080p screen, but it does have a thin bezel frame
so the display area ends about 10mm from the edge. Still, it’s more attractive
than other screens with a thick bezel. The monitor is thin, with Beats Audio
speakers angled upwards from the bottom.
HP
Envy 27
While the Envy 27 lacks a USB hub, it does
have a headphone jack on one side. Many of the usual video ports are here,
including HDMI and DisplayPort. The older DVI interface is missing, but you
could use an HDMI-to-DVI adapter. The Envy 27 can be tilted but it lacks height
adjustment, which can be a problem since it sits barely 10cm off the desk. The
onscreen menu, which gives access to the image quality and volume controls, is
accessed via touch-sensitive buttons at the bottom of the monitor.
While
the Envy 27 lacks a USB hub, it does have a headphone jack on one side.
In our test, onscreen images lacked
contrast and had a noticeable red and green tint, but we quickly fixed these
using the image-quality controls. Although bright, the screen isn’t as vivid as
other monitors we’ve seen. It’s also not as sharp as 27in monitors with higher resolutions.
The speakers were the best we’ve heard on a monitor, but they don’t sound
as rich or have as much bass as even a budget set of external stereo speakers.
The Envy 27 has an inflexible stand and
lackluster image quality. Higher resolution 27in monitors are available for not
a lot more, while slightly smaller but better quality monitors cost less. The
Envy 27 is poor value.
The
Envy 27 has an inflexible stand and lackluster image quality.
Verdict
A large and attractive but overpriced
monitor
Ratings: 2/5
Key points
·
Attractive design
·
Image quality needed tweaking
·
More expensive than similarly sized monitors
·
Stand not very adjustable
·
Speakers are good for a monitor but still poor
Best price online
Price: $539
Website: www.snipca.com
Alternative
Dell UltraSharp U2412M
Dell
UltraSharp U2412M
Price: $297
Dell’s 24in U2412M may be a bit smaller,
but it has superb visuals, great adjustability and a slightly higher resolution
Ratings: 5/5
Website: www.computerative.com
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HP Envy 27
specs
§ Packaged
Quantity: 1
§ Display
Type: LED-backlit LCD monitor / TFT active matrix
§ Diagonal
Size: 27
in
§ Viewable
Size: 27 in
§ Panel
Type: IPS
§ Aspect
Ratio: Widescreen - 16:9
§ Native
Resolution: 1920 x 1080 at 60 Hz
§ Pixel
Pitch: 0.3114
mm
§ Brightness:
250
cd/m2
§ Image
Contrast Ratio: 1000:1 / 10000000:1 (dynamic)
§ Response
Time: 7 ms (gray-to-gray)
§ Vertical
Refresh Rate: 76 Hz
§ Horizontal
Refresh Rate: 94 kHz
§ Horizontal
Viewing Angle: 178
§ Vertical
Viewing Angle: 178
§ Backlight
Technology: LED backlight
§ Controls
& Adjustments: Brightness, Contrast
§ Features:
HDCP, Color Rich Technology, BrightView
§ Color:
Jack
black
§ Dimensions
(WxDxH): 24.5 in x 5.5 in x 17.9 in
§ Weight:
15.2 lbs
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