Philips Blade 2 C-Line 239C4QHSB Monitor - Going Green

Affordable IPS for All

Not too long ago IPS monitors were the mainstay of professional user only. With their faithful color reproduction (in most cases) and unparalleled viewing angles, not to mention high price points, IPS monitors were primarily deployed to designers for critical, color sensitive work. However in recent times, we are beginning to see a new range of IPS monitors released by manufacturers for everyday consumers without the high price tag. Dell launched their S Series displays in the second half of 2012 and many others such as Viewsonic and AOC have followed suit.

The new monitors are not only affordable, but try to bring the same level of quality performance as their “professional” counterparts. Philips offers the Blade 2 239C4QHSB 23-inch IPS Monitor from their C-Line series, which illustrates the features and expectations of this new breed of displays. The monitor's visuals are rendered in 16:9 aspect ratio full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels) and the screen has a response time of 7ms.

Design and Hardware

For some reason display makers never really pay much attention to the appearance of their products. Philips seems to follow the industry standard of using black as the primary color for the Blade 2 C-Line 239C4QHSB, although a full white model is also available. A sliver trim at the bottom of the display panel breaks the monotony of the dark shade. For those wondering how the monitor series got its Blade 2 naming, apparently according to Philips, the design inspiration for it is the ice-skating blade. While we can't see much of a resemblance between them, we feel the Blade 2 C-line keeps the basic design ethos from the launch of the Phiilps Moda monitors from approximately a year and a half back.

The glossy finish of the monitor stops the aesthetics of the 239C4QHSB from being completely drab. The front face, the back panel and the base all reflect light. Unfortunately all surfaces of the monitor are prone to finger smudges, which appear as soon as you handle the product. Touch buttons to power on the monitor as well as controlling the OSD can be found on the base, but this further compounds the problem of unsightly smudges on the product.

One of the most pleasing design aspects of the Philips 239C4QHSB is the fact that the monitor requires no assembly whatsoever. Most of the displays we have come across require at least the base to be screwed on. But this particular model is ready and rearing to go right out of the box.

While the overall construction of the monitor is solid, it does have its faults, mainly with its tilt mechanism. Philips advertises the 239C4QHSB as having -3 degrees to +15 degrees of tilt. However since the neck swivels at its joint with the base, moving the display panel back or forth could result in some instability due to the change in the weight distribution profile.

In terms of ports, the Philips 239C4QHSB comes with a serving of two HDMI ports as well as a VGA port. A 3.5mm audio out port is also provided for those who want to plug their headphones or speakers to the monitor when using HDMI cabling for transmission of video and audio signals. All the connectivity options are located on the base of the monitor and are quite easy to access. It is important to note that no DVI or USB port is provided. While the former is not a big loss, it is always nice to have an easily accessible USB port on the monitor for plugging in thumb drives without reaching around to your desktop computer or notebook.

The Philips 239C4QHSB uses an Enhanced IPS (E-IPS) panel. The technology was first introduced back in 2009 and since then, most other competing products in the same category, such as the Dell S Series monitors, have switched over to using Advanced High Performance IPS (AH-IPS) panels which were released in 2011. We will definitely keep a close eye on how this design choice from Philips affects the performance of the monitor.

On a final note, Philips has retained its commitment to "green design" and the 239C4QHSB is manufactured from 100 percent recyclable materials. The LED lighting is also mercury free.

Features & OSD

The Philips Blade 2 C-Line 239C4QHSB is equipped with a range of "Smart Image" features which can be used to tailor the performance of the monitor to specific usage scenarios. Accessible through the OSD, there are a whole host of options for users to try out.

From our usage of the settings, Economy reduces screen brightness so as to conserve electricity. Both Game and Movie boost response time, while Photo enhances the contrast of the display. Both Office and Text enhance the ability of the monitor to reproduce text so that it is easier to read.

In addition, you can also access dedicated SmartKolor, SmartTxt, SmartContrast and SmartRespose features under "Picture" section from the OSD. Philips bills SmartKolor as a sophisticated color extension technology able to enrich the color range of the display. This is achieved by boosting the RGB gain of the monitor thus producing richer more vibrant images perfect for video and photos.

SmartTxt is described as an algorithm intended to enhance the viewing of PDF, ebooks and text documents. SmartContrast on the other hand aims to deliver better black levels and accurate rendition of dark shades. SmartResponse lets you adjust the response time of the monitor with the simple click of a button.

The rest of the OSD is quite standard and you can find the usual options to control picture settings and select the desired input.

Getting A Gauge

As with all monitor testing, we start off with our calibration process. While the Philips 239C4QHSB boasts a brightness of 250 cd/m2 and a dynamic contrast ratio of 20,000,000:1, we always prefer to measure these figures for ourselves to establish a better gauge of the capabilities of the device.

First up, the pertinent numbers which should give you a base line on what to expect from this particular Philips monitor when you plug it in.

These measurements were taken with the brightness set at the maximum level, standard out-of-the-box settings and all other enhancements and features turned off.

Calibration

Trying to get the monitor to the 120 cd/m2 brightness sweet spot with the help of our Spyder testing equipment, we found out that for properly calibrated picture, you should drop the brightness setting to 31 (out of a 100). The results of our calibration can be seen in the screenshot below.

Before calibration, the visuals of the monitor had a slightly green tinge to them. Calibration rectifies this problem to a great degree, but unfortunately it does not eliminate it completely.

Screen Uniformity

With the help of our Sypder test equipment, we were also able to determine the screen uniformity of the Philips monitor which can be seen in the graph below.

On average, the panel has a deviation of about 5 percent at 100% IRE which is not too shabby. If not for the Spyder calibrated report, when viewing regular content, we were unable to discern any serious uniformity discrepancies.

IRE is a unit of measurement for video signals. The numbers 100% denote the fact that the color ranges from black all the way to white. Using 100% IRE for screen uniformity allows us to gauge the performance of the screen across the entire spectrum of visible light.

Thorough Testing

Data Color Chart

With the Data Color Chart we can compare the color reproduction of the Philips 239C4QHSB against the industry standards of sRGB, Adobe RGB and NTSC.

It is easily evident that the monitor performs admirably well with the greens, going well above and beyond the sRGB levels. In fact, the monitor is capable of reproducing the warmer spectrum of colors well and even exceeds the requirement for maximum red levels demanded by sRGB slightly. However, it falls short of the sRGB levels when asked to handle blues and cooler hues.

Displaymate Tests

Using our Displaymate tests, we run through a few sequences to further ascertain the color properties of the Philips 239C4QHSB.

As you can see from the gradients for the different color bands, the performance in displaying the different shades of green is quite good. The shades are well differentiated and can be discerned with ease. This corroborates with our findings from the Data charts as well.

Response Times

In order to test response times, we use the free software PixPerAn. Using a camera with a high shutter speed, you can see how well the panel does with regards to reproducing moving objects. A trace free setting of 60 is an accurate gauge of approximating everyday use scenarios and the 239C4QHSB’s performance for this level can be seen below.

From the image, ghosting is very clearly apparent. The text is also duplicated. As mentioned earlier, this Philips monitor has a response time of 7ms which is slightly on the high end (lower response times are better). While the advertised response time is still below the 8ms response time required to handle DVD content, the level of ghosting observed should not be this extreme.

Viewing Tests

After getting a gauge of the Philips 239C4QHSB’s properties we tested it out with a range of DVD and full HD materials to see how it stands up to regular everyday usage. For the most part, we were not entirely disappointed.

The monitor did best when tasked to display content which required good reds and greens. Nature and landscape photography were especially well rendered. A particular high point was how the Navi home world in Avatar was reproduced with a particularly pleasing vibrancy to the foliage on the planet. In addition the warm colors of Vantage Point were reproduced with a certain degree of proficiency. However, the overall green tinge to visuals meant skin tones and yellows in general looked a bit off.

Similarly, the blacks had a slight aura of green to them and were not as dark as we would have liked them to be. When tasked with reproducing Corpse Bride, the monitor struggled with the animation's cooler color scheme as well as the interplay between light and shadow.

Some artifacts were also observed during our play through of X-Men: The Last Stand during high motion sequences. On the whole though, the Philips 239C4QHSB put up a respectable show.

Final Thoughts

At present, the Philips Blade 2 C-Line 239C4QHSB is priced at S$289. This is roughly the same price being asked for similar 23-inch offerings from Dell, AOC, Viewsonic and other monitor manufacturers. However, there is one main difference. The more recent introductions from the rest of the competitors all use the new AH-IPS panels while the offering from Philips is fitted with the older E-IPS panel.

When comparing with our previous experience with AH-IPS panels, the Philips 239C4QHSB does fall short in terms of performance. And the fact still remains, that you are paying for old technology when the same amount of outlay could get you the newer IPS versions. This factor counts heavily against the Blade 2 239C4QHSB.

The performance of this Philips product however is not completely lackluster. A white luminescence of 266.2 cd/m2 and a black luminescence of 0.38 cd/m2 are not the highest we have ever recorded, but are still decent. Un-calibrated, the monitor has a strong green tinge to visuals. While calibration helps rectify this problem, it does not give you a completely neutral tone. In our experience, the monitor performs well when tasked with handling the warmer hues and greens. However yellows and black, along with the cooler spectrum of colors were all slightly sub-par. A somewhat average response time also meant that the panel is not particularly suited for gaming or viewing content with high motion sequences.

With no assembly required the Philips 239C4QHSB is ready to go right out of the box. The monitor also comes with a host of presets and features which make it suited for a multitude of casual uses. In particular, the SmartTxt feature is particularly handy and actually does make text clearer and sharper. This would make this monitor excellent for students, teachers, office workers or anyone in general who deals with high levels of reading and writing on screen.

On the whole, the Philips Blade 2 239C4QHSB tries to meet all the expectations one could have had from a product of this class, but falls slightly short in the performance department. It is reasonably priced and offers a set of above average features. If performance was a notch higher, it would compare favorable to the higher end Philips Brilliance Moda 23.6-inch LED Monitor. At its present levels however the monitor is better suited for casual users who would like the simple but effective presets for handling dedicated usage modes, but we won't recommend it for gamers on a budget or users who often view video content with fast motion. Those who would like to "go green", you might also consider it seeing that the 239C4QHSB has great green color reproduction and an environmentally friendly design.

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