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Review: Belinea 10 20 30W 20in TFT monitor

A flat-screen monitor with great image quality at a good price

At £367 Belinea's 10 20 35W 20in TFT monitor, which we reviewed in January, was significantly cheaper than any of its competitors. Now you can have almost the same experience for £48 less.

The latest addition to the family, the 10 20 30W has an almost identical specification.

It features the same 20.1in 8ms MVA panel, two-tone black/silver housing and basic stand. The resolution also stays at 1,680 x 1,050. There is, however, one major difference - the omission of a DVI input.

A clip-on rear panel conceals all cables and connectors. Audio and power inputs sit alongside the single analogue VGA connector, and curiously there is also a four-port USB hub here.

It's so well hidden that once you close the panel you could very easily forget it was ever there. Good for neatness, but not so great for accessibility.

Five silver control buttons, including an auto setup switch, sit tightly against the lower edge of the bezel.

The largest of these is an illuminated power switch that glows with a soft blue - this light can't be turned off.

The buttons are a little tricky to press, but this is more of an annoyance than a genuine difficulty. Inside the menu, selectable colour temperatures include an sRGB mode for easy basic colour matching.

There are 20in widescreen monitors that cost less than the 10 20 30W, but they often have inferior specifications and are TN-based panels that offer narrower viewing angles with visible colour-shifts.

The 10 20 30W offers superior image quality and at a good price, especially in applications such as photo editing where smooth, accurate colour is required.

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Our verdict

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Pros: MVA panel; 8ms response time; good specifications; price Cons: No DVI input; tilt-only stand; location of USB ports Overall: The Belinea 10 20 30W is a high-quality MVA flat-screen monitor with great specifications at a £48 saving over the premium version, but it lacks a DVI port

Manufacturer

Belinea

Suggested retail price

£319.99

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