Iiyama PLE2403WS-B1 review

There is a clear distinction between the three budget 24in models and the rest of the group, but the Iiyama PLE2403WS-B1 is the proof that spending less doesn't necessarily mean sacrificing quality.

Sure, you don't get a height-adjustable stand - the Philips is the budget model for that - and video inputs are limited to just VGA and HDMI (with a DVI-to-HDMI cable supplied), but the Iiyama has a reasonable set of 2W speakers and, more importantly, offers a decent picture to go with them.

It really isn't fair to compare it with the ultra-bright and vivid panels of the dearer TFTs here - the 300cd/m2 Iiyama isn't in the same league - but our tests showed it to be perfectly good for either work or entertainment purposes, with neutral colours and a clean, crisp desktop. Our black screen showed no backlight bleed, and it did a good job of distinguishing the final few shades of grey on both black and white backgrounds.

Our colour and greyscale gradient ramps showed no evidence of banding either, although at the lower end colours become a little murky. This translated to quite muddy shadows in our test videos. We also noticed very slight blurring during fast movement (despite a claimed 2ms response time), although not enough to put us off.

The 2,000:1 dynamic contrast mode isn't worth using, the design is plain and the OSD is a little old and clunky, but for just £231 we're not complaining. If you just want the real estate of a 24in desktop without breaking the bank, the Iiyama is the best option here.

Author: David Bayon