The Hewlett-Packard w2408 is an attractive 24-inch widescreen LCD display that uses a glossy screen to produce eye-popping images.

It has a native resolution of 1920X1200 pixels, which lets it show a good deal more than standard 20-22-inch displays. For example, you can easily view two Microsoft Word documents side by side, with a little space to spare. The w2408 also has an impressive contrast ratio of 1000:1, and a brightness rating of up to 400 nits. It also has a 5ms pixel response time, making it a good choice for viewing your favorite movies or playing fast-action games.

HP has chosen to outfit the w2408 with a glossy screen, which is both good and bad. Glossy screens are notable for producing vivid colors and deep blacks that are hard to achieve with the more common matte screens. Unfortunately, glossy screens are also prone to displaying reflections of background lights, furniture, and activities, which can be a real problem in an office setting.

The w2408 is dressed in a shiny silver stand with a thin black bezel surrounding the LCD panel. The stand is pleasingly versatile, as it provides swivel, height, tilt, and rotation adjustments. We notice that when we rotate the stand, the limited viewing angle causes the display to appear dimmer when we switched from landscape to portrait mode; this is a function of the type of LCD panel used in the w2408, and may be a concern for some users. On the other hand, if you use the display in its normal landscape mode, and you don't tend to have colleagues crowding around to view the display, the viewing angle quirk may not be an issue for you.

Viewing angle aside, the ability to switch to portrait mode means you can view long web pages or documents without doing a lot of scrolling. In landscape mode, you can easily view two documents side by side, or view a design spread or large spreadsheet without wasting time scrolling.

Connectivity includes USB, VGA and an HDCP-compliant DVI input. The HDCP-compliant DVI input is a plus, but we also like to see additional video inputs -- such as S-Video and Composite -- made available, particularly for a display that is targeted at the consumer and home office markets.

We find the HP w2408 to be a very good performer, displaying rich, detailed images with deep blacks. Text is crisp, even at small font sizes. A quick check of our favorite movies and 3D games show only minor ghosting with fast-moving images. Our only real complaint with this display is the somewhat restricted viewing angle, although this is mainly a concern if you view documents onscreen with colleagues.


Pros: Fast response time, vivid colors and rich blacks, fully adjustable stand
Cons: Glossy panel is subject to reflections, limited video inputs, limited viewing angle

Warranty
1 year, limited