Asus ML248H Designo ML Series Review

1. Introduction2. Asus ML248H Designo Monitor3. Testing The Screen4. Closing Thoughts5. View All Pages

We tested the monitor with a Playstation 3 /1080p Bluray and a Intel Core i7 PC with an AMD reference HD6870 graphics card and Catalyst 10.10 driver running via Windows 7 Ultimate 64 bit. We also used a Macbook Pro 17 inch with HDMI adapter.

The Asus ML248H specifications are not groundbreaking, but they form the basis of a capable LED driven 1080p panel. With a dynamic contrast ratio of 10000000:1 we have high hopes for HD media viewing.

Firstly, we should point out that the view angles on this panel are rated at 170 degrees horizontal and 160 degrees vertical. Real world testing showed these figures to be fairly accurate and we found the offset viewing in a room to be quite good, even offset both horizontally and vertically. As this is a twisted nematic panel however you need to keep your expectations realistic. Mounting it high and looking up at it from below would prove an issue as there is a reasonable amount of colour shift, but I can't see this being a viable real world installation configuration.

We used Displaymate to test the monitor and it delivered a better image when compared with the MS236H which we found lacked in a few key areas. Firstly the gamut range in GamutVision was generally very impressive and fell right in line with a monitor in this class. Text was very sharp and colour reproduction was quite good, although not excellent. I recorded a slight green cast to the image, more apparent  at the edges of the screen, but this could be compensated for with a little colour adjustment. The gamut was wide enough however to deliver a focused and realistic image.

Bluray viewing on the panel is actually one of the ML248H's strengths. The depth of black is noticeably superior to the MS236H and our Avatar disc looked fantastic. Colours were well rendered and I noticed no unpleasant lagging or ghosting in fast paced action scenes.

Gaming via this screen was also a positive experience, and I noticed no input lag at all. I wouldn't say I have hyper sensitive eyes like some gamers, however I would rate the ASUS 2ms rating as accurate. Again, the black reproduction helped to create very realistic real world environments, especially when playing night time based action games.

There is a slight colour shift across the full length of the panel (between Red and Green) and therefore it wouldn't be my first choice if your main goals were colour sensitive reproduction. Obviously a professional designer or photographer would be spending more money, but it is a point worth making regardless.

There is a minimal amount of shift and bleeding when testing black definition, with only minor leaks on the sides of the panel. This is a significant improvement when compared directly to the MS236H which had significant leaking on all corners. The fast response time really helps raise the quality of image.

When testing white purity there was between 5% and 10% off shift balance at the outer edges of the panel, this is a very good result, especially considering the price point. Slight leaks were noted on the four corners, with the left side reporting slightly higher than the right.

At the wall, the Asus ML248H takes around 1 watt when in standby and around 30 watts when we maximised the settings via the onscreen menus. Lowering the settings to more realistic 24/7 levels generated around 25 watts of power drain. A benefit of the LED based technology.

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