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21-inch LCD Monitors: Page 3 of 12

The monitor also offers S video, component, and composite video connections for multimedia use as a video monitor, and there is a good selection of adjustments you can access through the buttons on the bezel, such as Film Mode Detection; Video Scaling for setting the aspect ratio; and Auto Video Enhance, which corrects video signals with de-interlacing and color correction functions. There's also a PIP (picture in picture) button which you can use to view another video source while performing general computing tasks. You can customize the PIP (transparency, size, location, etc.) with the included EzTune software. The transparency feature is especially nice for obsessive news watchers.

Gateway bundles Portrait Displays EzTune to manage the monitor's settings; it's a powerful but simple piece of software. Unfortunately, using the automatic update to check for a new version on the Web crashed the software (probably because I had Firefox, rather than IE, set as the machine's default browser), but at least the Web page it pulled indicated that the installed version of EzTune was the most current.

Test Results

The Gateway's screen was flawless, with no frozen pixels. Setup and testing came off without a hitch. The grayscale and color gradation tests showed an incredibly smooth ramp from dark to light even at the darker end of the spectrum where most monitors have trouble. Text was fairly sharp and placed right in the middle of the pack for the roundup. Video bandwidth scores were close to perfect and the gamma only slightly off. Of course, real world tests make or break a product.

The 2185 gave Revenge of the Sith a stunning film-like quality with deep blacks and precise dark tones that were smoother than the other monitors. The video experience on the Gateway was easily the best of the bunch. Serious Sam also looked fantastic. Colors were well balanced and the monitor had no trouble keeping up with the action.

If you can live with the odd resolution, the FPD2185W is a very sweet screen. I was also impressed with the ergonomics, aside from a couple of minor points, and the excellent color and video performance. The middling text score was the only downside. Consider this unit especially if you plan on performing multimedia tasks such as video editing, presentations, or even staying abreast of news and stocks on cable TV.