Gateway FPD2275W 22" Widescreen HD-LCD Flat-Panel Display

Discount Price: $279.95

Features:

• 22-inches viewable LCD Active Matrix TFT (diagonal)
• High Definition support for 720p through DVI-D connection with HDCP
• Enhanced Video Processing with DCDi byFaroudja
• Dynamic and Transparent Adjustable Picture-In-Picture (PIP) | Soft PIP
• 4 Port USB Hub Integrated in the Chassis

Customer Reviews:

One year and 2 months. Thats all. [Posted on 2008-02-21]
After one year and two months it died. Will only display a solid white screen. Gateway warranty is only one year. Gateway said "sorry it is out of warranty". They will not even repair it at my expense. I am out the money and the monitor. Look for a company with a better and longer warranty!

Dead after 15 Months [Posted on 2008-04-27]
Avoid this product! This monitor will die after 13-15 months of usage. The screen will turn solid white. Gateway tech support will try to charge you 59.99 to tell you how to temporarily fix it. What you have to do is unplug the monitor power cord while the monitor is on and it will reset from digital to analog.

Great Monitor for the Money [Posted on 2008-05-09]
I've used one of these at work for over a year, and just bought one on clearance for home. It may not be the latest and greatest, but it is the best monitor for the money. It's attached to a fairly high end system and I run a few games on it. Everything is razor sharp and clear. I always have the brightness turned down on my monitors (my eyes are sensitive to light) so I can't address the complaints about "not bright enough". Best monitor I've ever owned and I've been an IT Professional and hobbiest since before the PC.

Dont waste your money or time with Gateway [Posted on 2008-07-20]
My warrenty expired 1 month and 2 days ago, and Gateway says Tough Luck. It worked great, and then all of a sudden nothing. I have since found quite a few postings online that all sound like the same exact problem I am having, and with the same attitude from Gateway.

Go with another brand of computer. My old Dell lasted 7 years with no problems ever, and before that I had a Compaq that lasted about 9 years. Gateway was obviously a bad choice.

Great.... and NOT so great. [Posted on 2008-09-17]
Here's a few things that you should know before buying this monitor:

Many of you will buy this monitor because of the variety of ports offered, such as S-Video, Component, Composite, etc. Perhaps you're thinking about what a great alternative this will make to buying an HDTV. Well, I have good news and bad news for you....

It works great as a PC monitor. It's also an excellent choice to play DVD's through the DVI port from the PC. Playing standard resolution DVD's from a PC using a program such as Power DVD will "upscale" the output to 1680x1050 (if your graphics card supports that resolution). This is actually BETTER than most stand alone DVD players that "upscale".

The bad news (for those trying to send upscaled data to the monitor via a DVD source).

The DVI port can be connected to HDMI video equipment via a simple adapter or DVI-HDMI cable. One would think that you could simply connect your upscaling DVD player and get the highest quality output possible. Since 1080P is beyond the monitors range (1920×1080), you would think that the video would be downgraded to the monitors highest resolution (1680x1050) or at least to 720p (1280 x720). Wrong. At least not with MOST of my input equipment.

First, I tried a SONY DVP-NS75H 1080i upscaling DVD player. This allows you to select the HDMI output resolution. 1920x1080i, 1280x720p, 720x480p. No matter what resolution is selected, you will always find yourself at 480p.

Secondly, I tried a Panasonic DMR-EZ28k DVD recorder, which upscales via both Component and HDMI outputs. I was able to get 1080i output via component connectons, for a while. Then suddenly, I could only get 480p. I have no idea why the monitor decided to stop displaying the 1080i data. I tried EVERYTHING possible, but after setting the display resolution and hitting "play".. the monitor would ALWAYS shift down to 480p mode. The HDMI resolution from the recorder is also limited to 480p.

I also had a MAJOR problem with this monitor even realizing that the data being sent over HDMI/DVI (or even component) was actually "upscaled". When selecting to view the video signal 1:1 (at full resolution) the image was only about 1/4 the size of the entire screen, just a TINY square in the middle (720x480). This tells me that the data was not being received by the monitor as "upscaled", because the 1:1 setting SHOULD fill the majority of the screen. Instead, you have to select the "zoom" mode which does not scale the data correctly most of the time (and is blurry because it is "zoomed" data). This should NOT be the case.

Thirdly, I tried an external HDTV receiver via component connections. I was able to get 1080i. This worked fairly well.

Another problem that you may have on this monitor when connecting video equipment, is that this is a 16x10 monitor... not a 16x9 (the ratio most DVD's are formatted for). So, if you can actually get this monitor to dispay the 1080 data via the component or DVI, you may not be able to get it to scale properly (things will be slightly too squished or expanded). That is, unless the 1:1 function works and the data is recognized as "upscaled" or true HD. That should actually hold the correct aspect of the video being sent to the monitor.

The extra connectors are nice (s-video, component, etc.) but the quaility obtained through them isn't as high as you would think it should be. Be prepared to fiddle with the settings for quite some time.

Also, as with many LCD computer monitors, the picture quality (when displaying video, like from a DVD source) is NOT very good when viewed at a LOW angle. Go to any computer store and tilt an LCD back and you'll see what I mean. If you stand with the screen directly in front of you, things will look great. Even from side to side at a good angle is OK. Look from ABOVE and things start to get VERY bright. When you look from below, things get VERY, VERY dark.... quickly! So, if you plan on setting this on a stand and viewing it from the floor, or from a position where the eyes will be looking UP at the monitor, forget it!

To sum up....

If you plan on using this as a computer monitor or to play DVD's from your computer, it's outstanding. The upscaled resolution for standard DVD's will be better than what most upscaling players will give. But, if you plan to connect a video source via the DVI or one of the many inputs, be prepared for a lot of trial and error and probably dissapointment.

JM

Click here for more details and discount information...