Acer S243HL review

With a striking design this could well be the future look for all monitors

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Acer S243HL
The striking design of the Acer will not suit all tastes, but we think it's smarter than most

TechRadar Verdict

The nice design and good picture quality mean you can't go far wrong with this LCD monitor

Pros

  • +

    Nice design

  • +

    Two HDMI ports

  • +

    Full HD resolution

Cons

  • -

    White balance a bit off

  • -

    No DVI

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One look at the Acer S243HL and you'll know that Acer isn't interested in a conventional design. This 24-inch LED monitor has a look and feel all of its own.

The super-slim panel sits on an integrated stand, to which you simply add the balancing arm. The monitor stand allows for a degree of tilt, but you won't find any height lifter on this screen. That said, the monitor is already quite high, so you may not need to budget for an additional monitor stand.

The menu controls and connection ports are mounted on the stand for easy access. There is a blue LED strip light behind the power switch and menu controls. Fortunately, in daily use the buttons largely obscure this, so all you'll notice is a slight banding of light.

Connected

The connections supplied suggest Acer is looking at a new market for this monitor, as you won't find a DVI port in sight. Instead, you'll find two HDMI ports for connecting with HD sources.

However, older laptop users have not been ignored, as you'll find an analogue VGA (or D-Sub) port for hooking up to your laptop.

We found the S243HL instantly synced with our test laptop and images looked sharp and bright. With a 1920 x 1080-pixel resolution and a claimed 2ms (millisecond) refresh rate, this screen is ideal for Full HD movies. We also didn't notice any pixelation when running video.

We did find that when using the S243HL to view documents, the white balance wasn't as sharp as we would have liked, with the screen having a slight tinge to it.

However, this was only really noticeable when comparing it to our test laptop or the other monitors here, so it shouldn't be an issue in daily use. However, if sharp whites are key, it's worth bearing in mind.

The Acer S243HL is a striking monitor that has a fresh look and feel to it. It may not have the whitest of screens, but for movies and everyday use we found it pleasing to use.

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Michael Browne