What do gamers want in a PC monitor? At the very least, we want something widescreen (as most modern games are designed for that format), a good size, good color accuracy and gamma curve, and easy connectivity for things like game consoles and stuff.
Vizio's VMM26 monitor is marketed at gamers and promises most of these features. It promises a good contrast ratio (2000:1 dynamic, 1000:1 "typical") and sports DVI and VGA connections for your PC as well as an HDMI port on the back and one on the side for plugging in game consoles like a PS3 or Xbox 360. It has a USB input with two output ports in the back to give you a couple extra USB connections up on your desk.
As we'll show here, a monitor with good features doesn't mean a whole heck of a lot if the color accuracy, contrast, and other image quality concerns don't pass muster. The VMM26 is based on a 26-inch TN (twisted nematic) panel. TN can offer good response times, but usually only offer 6-bit per pixel color and have limited viewing angles. That probably explains some of the issues we encountered with image quality.
How We Test
PC monitors are tested using a rigorous combination of lab tests, synthetic software testing, and subjective viewing of game and DVD content. Game testing primarily involves looking at content with dark scenes and fast motion, while movie viewing focuses on dark level detail and color fidelity.
We perform objective testing of our PC displays using the HDTV test lab for PC Magazine. We have recently updated our colorimeter to a more precise CS-200 chromameter from Konica Minolta. We use it together with the lab PC and software to measure brightness, contrast, color tracking, etc. Our lab PC uses a GeForce 8800 GTS, with test images either generated by ColorVision's ColorFacts Professional 6.0 or DisplayMate.
We also use a synthetic test developed for PC Magazine that moves a small box around the screen at high speed, allowing us to easily see potential ghosting with high speed content.
Subjective testing is done with a variety of PC games and DVD movies. In this case, we used several scenes in Batman Begins, Lord of the Rings: Return of the King, and Finding Nemo, checking for detail and color accuracy. We played a bit of F.E.A.R. 2, Left 4 Dead, World of Warcraft, and other games to get a feel for how the panel responds in games.
Tech specs and visual tour
Manufacturer specs for monitors are funny things. Sometimes they bear out in testing, sometimes they don't. There are no laws describing standards by which these specs must be measured by the manufacturer, so you don't always get what is claimed. Still, it's a useful starting point to compare what the manufacturers claim their displays can do.
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