Acer HN274H 27” 3D Monitor Review (Part II)

[PressBot]

By Andres Hernandez

Introduction
AMD HD3D
HDMI 1.4a
Stereoscopic 3D Drivers
3D Performance
Ghosting Revisited
3D Images
Additional Hardware Considerations & Discoveries
Conclusion


Introduction

In the first part of this review I covered the general 2D and 3D performance of the Acer HN274H monitor, with ghosting tests and a subjective opinion of the quality.  In this second part, I will be focusing on the HDMI 1.4a compatibility mode with the AMD HD3D specification.  I also made some new discoveries along the way!


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[Chiefwinston]

Its really to bad your just an amatuer display reviewer. The pro's say this thing is boat anchor material.


cheers everyone

And I enjoyed the show.

[cybereality]

Hahah! I try. It would actually make a good boat anchor because ITS FRIGGIN' HUGE!!!

[Neil]

Andres is hardly "amateur", and these so-called "professionals" are still comparing modern 3D to anaglyph.

Regards,
Neil

[kuma3d]

While not "amateur", it could have gone a little further.

- What kind of issues did you find with IZ3D?

- What ATI hardware did you use?

- Can you disable the scaler on the monitor and get a 1:1 pixel mapping with black bars around the image when running at 720p? Will 3D still work under those conditions?

- Can you do a frame-skipping test like this: http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1555530" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
(I know the users on hardforum weren't very nice to you, but that test is still valid...)

- input lag? Did you notice any?

And last, a very specific issue that I noticed on my own rig that I am not sure is a just an issue with my BenQ (which has some HDCP issues) or is a general issue with ATI cards:
Whenever I use windows key + P to switch monitor modes, the changes are instantaneous. I simply hold windows button, press p 3 time and release and in less than a second the second monitor comes up. That is using DVI to both monitors.

If I try and plug one monitor through DVI and the other through HDMI, whenever I do that, it takes about 5 seconds for BOTH screens to come back, which is pretty annoying. Can you tell if the same happens with that monitor?

And another little test that would be extremely useful for ATI users wanting to use 3D through HDMI without sacrificing the smoothness of 120hz in 2D:

Plug the HDMI AND DVI inputs in the monitor to the ATI card inputs at the same time, as if each monitor input was a different monitor.

Then try to set up each input as a different screen.

Does it work?
Does it take 5 seconds to switch between them, as I described above?
Can you set up the DVI input to 120HZ and the HDMI input as 3D?

I tried that on a BenQ (non 3d, just a monitor with HDMI and DVI) and it DOES work. I can switch between inputs as if they were different monitors BUT it takes 5 or more seconds each time I switch (which is quite annoying, I have to mention...).

Thanks!

[kuma3d]

And another question:

Do you have access to a Zalman display?

If yes, could you write a few words (maybe some pictures as well) about how good or bad is it in comparison to the Acer monitor? Specifically: how do you see the differences between playing in 720p in a 1080 monitor VS playing at half horizontal resolution?
I know it is usually hard to say which one is better, but a comparison would be interesting.

[Chiefwinston]

For what its worth I know the amatuer is a knowledgable Pro. I'm just kidding with him.

cheers everyone
And a big shout out MOO to all the cows reading out there.

[cybereality]

@kuma3d: Yes, you are right. I could have been more thorough with the review, and I will keep that in mind moving forward. Let me try to answer some of your questions.

IZ3D was simply not working with my hardware. For AMD I was using a Radeon 5570, which is not high-end but its more than enough to play some games in 3D (like HL2, L4D, etc.). It is also on AMD's compatibility list, and I found no issues using it with DDD TriDef or the Stereoscopic Player. Keep in mind I tried using both Vista 32-bit and Windows 7 64-bit, with 4 different AMD Catalyst drivers (up to the latest 11.5a hotfix). It just would not work. Basically the screen would remain black, although you could hear the game audio. Sometimes, after a moment, it would crash and give an error. Other IZ3D outputs worked fine like anaglyph, interlaced, etc. It was just the HD3D mode that was not functional. Other users on the IZ3D forums have encountered the same issues, so I am not alone on this.

Like mentioned before, I was using a 5570 1GB card. Other specs include 780i, E8400 @ 3.6GHz, 6GB DDR2.

Yes, you can set the monitor into 1:1 pixel mapping. There are 3 settings, "Full" (which stretches to fit), "1:1", which does perfect pixel mapping with letter/pillar boxes, and "Aspect" which scales to the biggest size, but maintaining aspect ratio. 1:1 mode seems to work fine in 3D mode (at least with Nvidia 3D Vision). I imagine AMD should also work like this, although I didn't test it. Keep in mind the scaler Acer used is top notch. Even 640x480 looks decent on this monitor. Granted, it will look blurred, but its somewhat usable.

There is no frame-skipping as far as I'm concerned. Everything is silky smooth:

Acer_Cursor.jpg

In terms of input lag, I don't know. There was certainly not enough for me to notice just playing games. So I wouldn't consider it a problem. Maybe there is some slight amount, but I doubt its a show-stopper.

I was able to get HDMI and DVI to work at the same time (as if they were multiple monitors) but I can't recall exactly what I used to do that (AMD or Nvidia, OS, etc.). But when I had it working, the switch was pretty fast. I don't remember the details, though. I can try again and let you know.

[cybereality]

@kuma3d: Yes, I also have a Zalman Trimon ZM-M220W (22" @ 1680x1050). Its a little unfair to compare them, a better comparison would be to the 24" 1080P Zalman (but I have not seen that one). I couldn't say one technology is automatically better than the other, they are different. First off, the passive glasses yield more light and thus have a slightly brighter image. I also think passive is more comfortable, even at 120Hz you do somewhat notice the flicker. In terms of ghosting, its hard to say. Some games are better on Acer, some better with Zalman. For example, Metro 2033 has a significant amount of ghosting with the Zalman, while with Acer I did not notice any ghosting. However with brighter games like Mirror's Edge or Resident Evil 5, the Acer ends up with some ghosting (mainly on the top of the screen) and this can be a little annoying. However on Zalman, your position effects ghosting also, so you may have additional ghosting on the top or bottom of the screen as well (depending on your viewing distance). Overall I prefer the Acer in terms of ghosting, but that is not because it is necessarily better. I also play a lot of dark games, so it just works better for my user cases (in terms of ghosting). Now, to get to your question about 720P vs 1080P interlaced. Well, the interlaced does look better (even with only 1680x1050). With the Zalman, the image still looks fairly high-resolution and pretty crisp (maybe too crispy, since you get all kinds of aliasing artifacts). With 720P upscaled, the image ends up being soft and somewhat blurry. Honestly, 720P mode does not look bad. It is still in 3D and the game is as fun to play as ever. But its not the same thing as a full 1080P signal (like you get with Nvidia 3D Vision). The Zalman interlaced would lay somewhere in-between. But interlacing comes with its own issues, like not being able to read text, having to stay in the "sweet spot", etc. So there are a lot of pros and cons to each solution. I am not sure there is a winner.

Also, here is a photo of ghosting on the Zalman. You can compare to the image from the Part I review. Notice how much white bleeds through over black, which is why Metro 2033 is hard to play:

Zalman_Ghosting.jpg

[kuma3d]

@cybereality:

That was fast!!

THanks a lot for answering my questions.


Color calibration issues aside, this monitor seems almost too good to be true.

I hope its smaller brother, the GN245HQ, has the same features. That is the one I am planning to buy.

[cybereality]

I hope its smaller brother, the GN245HQ, has the same features. That is the one I am planning to buy.

Well according to DigitalVersus, the smaller brother is actually supposed to be better.

[kuma3d]

Well according to DigitalVersus, the smaller brother is actually supposed to be better.

Yeah, according to their review, the panel itself is much better but they didn't do any useful testing on the other features like the scaler, compatibility and other details like in your review.

Any plans to review that monitor as well?

[cybereality]

Any plans to review that monitor as well?

I can't make any promises, but I certainly plan for there to be more reviews. There are already a few things in the pipeline.

[F0nt4n]

will you get your hands on Samsung S27A950? I really want to see some tests

[cybereality]

That Samsung does look pretty cool. Is it even out yet? Doesn't seem to be too much info on that one.

[folkew]

I got a bit scared when I started to read about color management on this monitor, but then I though thats not at all why I will buy it.. This is only to satisfy my interest for gaming and I will keep my Eizo screen for Photoshop.
I will however make calibrated color profiles on this monitor and come back here with my results.... as soon as everything is set up... Will unbox tomorrow
I dont think its fair to make a comparison Eizo Color Edge vs Acer HN274H.. Maybe a game "WOOW feeling" comparison