News
Buyer's Guide: The Best Monitors 
Philips 221EL
| Caractéristiques | |||
| Screen size | 22 inches | ||
| Panel type | TN | ||
| Resolution | 1920 x 1080 pixels | ||
| Response time | 5 ms | ||
| Inputs (HDMI / DVI / VGA / Component) | 0 / 1 / 1 / 0 | ||
 Show all specifications
|
|||
| Other details | NC |
| Viewing angles (H/V) | 170 ° / 160 ° |
| 3D | no |
 Hide specifications | |
Alexandre Botella
Translator: Sam McGeever
Test date: August 23, 2010
Translator: Sam McGeever
Test date: August 23, 2010
Spot the mistake: Philips say contrast is 20000000:1, but we found 950:1
We've already seen manufacturers make ridiculous claims about contrast ratios, but Philips has clearly lost all sense of reality.
Contrast is measured by dividing the brightness of a white area (which should be as high as possible) by that of a black area (which should be as dark as possible).
With the 221EL, white areas reach a maximum of 235 cd/m². To get Philips' contrast, ratio, that would mean black areas couldn't produce any more than 0.00001175 cd/m² of light. In reality, black areas were brighter than 0.2 cd/m².
That leaves us a long way from twenty million to one—and closer to 950:1, which is, incidentally, a perfectly respectable result. Given that the average monitor peaks at 850:1, there's absolutely no need to invent such fantastically high figures.
Contrast is measured by dividing the brightness of a white area (which should be as high as possible) by that of a black area (which should be as dark as possible).
With the 221EL, white areas reach a maximum of 235 cd/m². To get Philips' contrast, ratio, that would mean black areas couldn't produce any more than 0.00001175 cd/m² of light. In reality, black areas were brighter than 0.2 cd/m².
That leaves us a long way from twenty million to one—and closer to 950:1, which is, incidentally, a perfectly respectable result. Given that the average monitor peaks at 850:1, there's absolutely no need to invent such fantastically high figures.
According to Philips' claims, its new 221EL 21.5'' monitor with a Full HD TN panel should meet everybody's needs. That left us fantasising about an excellent monitor—but the transition from fantasy to reality can often be somewhat disappointing.
Hardware: the bare minimumThis is often one of the main weaknesses with Philips monitors, and it's the case yet again here: the 221E doesn't have a height-adjustable stand any more than it has speakers or any other useful accessories—or even a HDMI port for that matter. All that's left is a thin frame and DVI and VGA inputs. Or, to put it another way, nothing that will score more than one star.
Responsiveness: not one for gamers Coloured  Transparent |
|
| Average ghosting over 10 frames |
 |
It's hard to win over avid gamers if your monitor uses a TN panel with a response time of 5 ms. The 221EL isn't very responsive, and fast-moving objects aren't displayed fluidly. This is especially noticeable when playing video games, so we suggest you restrict this monitor to office work.
Colours: a strong blue tinge| Measured Colours |
 |
| Ideal Colours Compare the Philips 221EL to other monitors in our Product Face-Off |
It's immediately obvious that's something wrong with the colours. Our hardware tests confirmed that this was the case: the 221EL has a very strong blue tinge, which pushes its deltaE—the average discrepancy between the colours shown on screen and those requested by the graphics card—up to 3.5. That's normally a problem that's easily fixed, but not in this case.
We took a quick look at the menu, and were stunned to discover that the colour temperature is already set to its lowest possible value, which should make red as visible as possible. We tried playing around with other settings, but were ultimately unsuccessful. The only way to get rid of the unfortunate blue tinge is to download one of our calibration profiles.
Pluses
-
Low energy consumption
-
Contrast ratio actually higher than average
-
Low input lag
Minuses
-
Colours aren't accurate by default, and can't be corrected without a profile
-
Not many hardware options
This is a monitor that promises a lot but in reality delivers very little, apart, perhaps, from low energy consumption.
