Prices of LCD monitors have been steadily crashing. Sizes such as 20" and 22" are rapidly approaching mass-market status and this has resulted in full-HD monitors (24" and above) becoming affordable. These 24" inch monitors are not only full-HD compliant but also offer significantly more working area. Another market that such monitors have found surprising success in is next-gen consoles. Full-HD monitors come at a fraction of the price of a comparable TV that would normally be required to enjoy these consoles' native resolution.
Keeping in mind that Blu-ray has now effectively won the HD war and that prices for these drives are already dropping below the 10K mark, we decided to shop around for three 24-inch monitors that can be had for a relatively low price. Here's what we found:
The brand name AOC may not ring any bells for most readers, since the company is virtually unknown in our part of the world. However, in Europe and many parts of Asia, the company has decent brand recognition since it's been in the PC business for a while.
AOC's monitor range has been available in India for some time though. The 416V is the flagship 24" model, with a native resolution of 1920x1200 p, 5ms response time (gray to gray), a dynamic contrast ratio of 3000:1, and 160/160 horizontal/vertical viewing angles. Though it lacks HDMI, it does have full support for HDCP via its DVI connectors and also has a D-Sub connector.
It is available for roughly Rs 23,000 (prices vary as per regional availability, so it could be anywhere between Rs 19,500 and Rs 24,200). For a detailed specification chart, please check this link. A list of companies that deal in the product can be found here.
