ASUS VG278H
ERP: $699.99 | Website: http://www.asus.com/Display/LCD_Monitors/VG278H/
T
he last 3D Monitor we looked
at was the predecessor to this
very model, the VG236H. While that
monitor was amongst the better 3D
monitors on the market at the time,
that doesn’t really say much. After
all, 3D Vision certified monitors at
the time were generally bad when
compared to regular TN monitors
that sold for a significantly lower
price typically. So while I remained
a 3D Vision fan, I still believed one
needed two monitors for everyday
use so the VG236H would only be
used for 3D gaming and nothing else.
As a result I expected much of
the same with this model, however
to my surprise; it was nothing like
the 23”. Besides being larger, it’s
actually slimmer, and for its size it’s
relatively light which was a pleasant
surprise as I had always found
the VG236H (My personal gaming
monitor at the time) cumbersome.
As usual the first thing I did
with the monitor is connect all my
consoles to it, and this is when I
discovered that the display only had
Dual-Link DVI, HDMI 1.4a and the
standard D-Sub connector. Gone
was the component connection
on the previous unit. However this
really wasn’t an issue because
one could still connect all relevant
devices. As a result of the upgraded
HDMI specification, the VG278
monitor supports Blu-Ray 3D
movies and 3D games on the
PlayStation 3, a feature sorely
missing on several competing
monitors.
Best of all was the actual
display quality. In comparison, it’s
significantly better than any other 3D
Vision monitor I’ve used before. In
fact it was expressively better than
the SAMSUNG P2770H that I had
used for a long time and the colour
reproduction was almost identical
to that of the SAMSUNG XL2370. In
motion as well, it performed very
well and just to make the experience
a little sweeter, it features two 3W
stereo speakers.
These are not ideal for serious
gaming, but are more than
adequate for the quick game or
video clip that you want to share
with someone without committing
to your dedicated audio setup. What
is rather odd though is the absence
of a remote control which together
with the component video option
would have given this monitor a
perfect score. But other than those
two missed opportunities, this
monitor is really worth the price
tag. Unlike the VG236H this doesn’t
seem excessively expensive as you
arguably get one of the best gaming
TN screens around. Add to which,
the 3D Vision support makes it even
more appealing. When you throw
in the 3D over HDMI capability it
becomes pretty hard to beat.
Image quality as well is massively
improved courtesy of a better
substrate, a quicker response time,
and white LED backlighting which
gives the colours better richness.
A noteworthy features as this
was very hard to achieve with the
previous unit without producing a
very harsh image. The 23” model
boasts a better brightness on paper
but in practice, the VG278H is much
brighter.
Add NVIDIA’s 3D Lightboost
technology to the mix and you can
finally see what’s happening in
the stereoscopic games. Gone are
the days of excessive darkness,
and eye strain. If yo ^( ?&RF????p?&?WB4Bv??r?F??2?2v?W&R??P?6??V?B7F'B?B?b??R?v?VBF?P?&Wf??W2??FV???R?RvWB&?B?`??B?B'W?F??2??R??N( ?2FVf???FV??v?'F?F?R&?6R??V?6?&V????F?R66?&P???? ??77VR?#"F?R?fW$6??6?W"C`??