ASUS VW222u
Curiously enough, the descriptions of the VW222u and the above-discussed MW221u at the official website coincide letter for letter.
Well, there is a difference in the specs, though. The VW222u has a dynamic contrast mode (the specified value of 2000:1 refers to it). Otherwise, it is yet another TN-based monitor with Response Time Compensation. I hope RTC will really work in this monitor.
The MW and VW series have different cases, yet it’s easily to confuse them at first sight. The above-discussed MW221u looks somewhat more expensive than the VW222u – the latter has a simpler design of the front panel as well as of the stand – but they are both rather similar: neat and demure black cases with dark-gray trimming.
The stand allows to adjust the tilt of the screen. It can be replaced with a standard VESA mount if necessary. The protruding part at the back of the stand is a ring the monitor’s cables can be put through so that they lay neatly on the table.
The monitor is equipped with analog and digital inputs.
The control buttons are placed in the bottom right of the front panel flush with the decorative silver band. Traditionally for ASUS, the button to switch between the preset modes (Splendid technology) is accompanied with a Try Me sticker. You’ll see below if you do want to use this button because Splendid technology didn’t work right in the MW221u, for example.
The monitor has ASUS’ standard menu which is not quite handy due to several reasons. First, the menu doesn’t remember the last changed option. It always opens up on the first tab. Second, this first tab is for choosing a Splendid mode but it is easier to select one with the appropriate quick button – without even entering the menu. Third, some of the extended settings (e.g. dynamic contrast mode – the ASCR option) is unavailable in Standard mode.
By default (in Standard mode), the monitor has 90% brightness and 80% contrast. To achieve a 100nit white I selected 50% brightness and 59% contrast. You shouldn’t set the contrast setting higher than 75% as it leads to a loss of light halftones in the image (in other words, the contrast is set rather too high even by default). The monitor regulates its brightness by means of backlight modulation at a frequency of 220Hz.
Color gradients are reproduced normally overall but with barely visible banding.
