Hanns G HH191DPB review

Do smaller, non-widescreen monitors still have a use?

Hanns G HH191DPB
A low price and small form factor make the 19-inch Hanns.G HH191DPB an ideal second screen, but it's not for primary use

TechRadar Verdict

Not great as a regular display, but works very well as a second screen

Pros

  • +

    Great second screen

  • +

    Good colour reproduction

Cons

  • -

    Inconsistently lit

  • -

    Lousy speakers

Why you can trust TechRadar We spend hours testing every product or service we review, so you can be sure you’re buying the best. Find out more about how we test.

A 19-inch, 5:4-ratio budget display is not an ideal choice for a primary monitor, but it's a useful supplementary second screen.

The HH191DPB from Hanns.G puts in a surprisingly good performance for a budget display, and although it lacks the high-end reproduction necessary for pro-level graphic design or video editing, it's ideal for parking your tool windows or web browser to free up valuable space on your main screen.

The HH191DPB puts in a good performance for the gradients test. Colour ramps are smooth, and it does well to distinguish between near-black and near-white and pure black and white. Its photo reproduction is sharp and well defined, though the colours are a little strong out of the box.

Its text rendering is less strong, however, struggling to retain definition at low point sizes and lacking clarity throughout.

Displays at the cheaper end of the market rarely perform impeccably in single-screen tests, and this one doesn't buck the trend. The lower half of the viewing area is noticeably better lit than the upper half, giving an all-white screen a distinct blue hue at the bottom and a yellow tinge at the top.

As is the norm for less expensive monitors, its internal speakers are tinny, muted, woefully underpowered and virtually bass-free, but in a second-screen setup you probably wouldn't opt to use them except for emergencies.

The Hanns.G HH191DPB represents good value for money. Its low cost and small footprint make it an ideal second screen, a role in which its weaknesses are less relevant.

Follow TechRadar Reviews on Twitter: http://twitter.com/techradarreview