It’s a great feeling to finally be able to get a good deal on 22 inches, but until now, all those inches haven’t really been Full-HD, a failing that’s no longer an issue with the new generation of 24 inch PC monitors. It’s a pleasant surprise to see that prices have dropped, since a 24” now costs between €550 and €900, which would only have netted a 19” (with an aspect ratio of 4:3) just a year and a half ago.

24 inches, towards universal display

The much lauded, but practically unsellable, convergence is close to being completely forgotten. With that in mind, the search for a truly versatile screen has never been more interesting. Lately it’s been pretty difficult to find a PC monitor that can show DVDs properly, that’s good for gaming and is comfortable enough for office work.

Now we expect them to be HD compatible too; that is, they should be compatible with a PS3 in HDMI or an Xbox 360 in YUV without problems. At the same time we also expect the monitors to faithfully preserve the same qualities that make a monitor a good PC screen.

This is a tall order. These high hopes eliminate all non-HDCP monitors because they won’t allow you to display Blu-ray discs and HD-DVDs. This is true whether they’re being played from a games console or from a PC. It also eliminates the screens smaller than 23” as they don’t feature a resolution compatible with Full-HD (better than to 1920 x 1080).

Professional screens are eliminated by virtue of their price, which is close enough to the price of normal televisions, which are, quite simply, better and more comfortable for console gaming. So what’s left? Not much apart from a handful of 26”-27” monitors (which are all more or less affordable) and a few 24" monitors. It’s these monitors we’re going to focus on in this article.

The alternative to Full-HD televisions Imagine this- You’ve just ponied up for a PS3 or an Xbox 360 Elite. You’d appreciate not having to save up for ages before buying yourself a Full-HD TV to be able to admire the real quality of a high definition image in your living room. Of course, this won’t be a problem if you’re some sort of exorbitant millionaire, but so few of us are...

So we have to think of some ways around this problem. The easiest alternative consists of opting for a wide-screen monitor. With the prices around half those of HDTVs you can buy a good entry level 24” or even 26” monitor (which is, it should be noted, perfectly capable of displaying films in high definition without any drop in quality). Your avenue of possibilities widens a little.

An LCD screen is a great choice when it comes to enjoying video games without imposing the sounds of racecars, WWII battlefields, (or any of the unsavoury noises from the Grand Theft Auto series -Ed) on anyone else in your living room. If you’re a student puzzling out how to fit a 37” television in your 9m2 “living” room., the PC monitor is a particularly attractive alternative. The monitor’s compact size allows the player (or viewer) to sit relatively close to the screen. Their limited brightness means there’s less strain on the eyes too, which is something of a boon for the optically sensitive. All that’s left to do is pick up a small set of 5.1 speakers and you’re in business.