HannsG HG281 review

A bargain monitor, but have corners been cut to achieve its low price?

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HannsG HG281
What lets the HG281 down, and helps explain the shockingly low price, is cheap image processing electronics

TechRadar Verdict

For such a low price, this monitor manages to achieve great things, it's just not one for the gamers

Pros

  • +

    Bargain price

  • +

    Impressive connectivity

  • +

    Vibrant pictures

Cons

  • -

    Low quality image processing

  • -

    Limited viewing angles

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With 30-inch PC monitors commanding the thick-end of £1,000, a 28-inch panel retailing at £294 looks a little suspicious. How has Hanns.G pulled it off?

It's certainly quite well specified with both HDMI and DVI digital inputs, and a VGA analogue port. Likewise, the panel is a decent enough TN with a 1,920x1,200 resolution.

It's very bright and if you tweak the OSD menu settings, it offers up quite vibrant colours. Its viewing angles, however, are average. It also allows a little too much backlight leakage, which spoils it as an HD video device.

But what lets the HG281 down, and helps explain the shockingly low price, is cheap image processing electronics. For gamers this isn't an issue, but image freaks will scoff at the lower quality colour rendering.

Jeremy Laird
Contributor

Technology and cars. Increasingly the twain shall meet. Which is handy, because Jeremy (Twitter) is addicted to both. Long-time tech journalist, former editor of iCar magazine and incumbent car guru for T3 magazine, Jeremy reckons in-car technology is about to go thermonuclear. No, not exploding cars. That would be silly. And dangerous. But rather an explosive period of unprecedented innovation. Enjoy the ride.