Dell 2407WFP - finally! Part 1 - the unpacking · 2006-05-25 00:27 by Damian
Well, finally! After having waited two months rather than the promised two weeks, today I finally got the spanking new Dell 2407WFP, 24 inches of widescreen glory. Some Japanese sites got their hands on theirs a little earlier, but here’s a look that you won’t have to pass through the auto translators… :) After all the debate about banding, ghosting and other problems with Dell’s new batch of monitors, I was eager to unpack it. Initial tests show no problems whatsoever, but more conclusive testing is needed. Read on…
First of all, some unpacking pictures:
The 2407WFP comes in a fairly big box, you don’t want to take any longer walks carrying it.
The monitor is well packaged, it comes with the stand detached.
The contents of the box – the monitor, stand, AC cable, USB cable, VGA cable, DVI cable, Quick Setup sheet and a CD with the User Guide.
The stand is the same as used for the 2007WFP, I certainly prefer this new look over the old one used for the 2405FPW. The VGA cable comes attached from the factory.
As usual with Dell monitors, the display comes with a temporary plastic sheet that reminds you about the optimum resolution, in case you need to be reminded why you just spent JPY 100,000 on this puppy.
Closeup of the front panel buttons. From the left: input selection, PIP control, menu, menu selectors + and – and finally, obviously, the power button.
A look at the rear panel. Apart from all the inputs that are the major reason for getting this monitor, the label is interesting. Slightly unclear in this picture, but the model number is actually printed as 2407WFPb. I don’t know if that ‘b’ at the end has any specific meaning such as revision b, or if it’s simply Dell’s standard naming scheme.
Anyway, the label also says it was manufactured May 2006 in China, so it certainly comes straight off the assembly line. Were there ever manufacturing problems? Maybe. Were there DVI-related issues that had to be corrected? Perhaps. Dell has not commented on the reason for the delays, but it’s probably safe to assume that there were some issues…
Gradient problems?
Enough of that – is there any banding problems in gradients? I haven’t seen any so far after creating various gradients in Photoshop and looking at both DVI and VGA. Ghosting around characters? None of that either. More tests and closeup photos will follow in our in-depth look.
First impressions – summary
This is one nice beast of a monitor. Not as big as its 30 inch brethren, but with a lot more inputs, and more humane requirements for video hardware to drive it.
It has VGA, DVI with HDCP, composite, S-video and component inputs, what more could you ask for?
Stay tuned for part two where we look at how the monitor performs with games and other video sources.
commenting closed for this article