Chimei CMV-222H

The Chimei was the only monitor in the bunch to feature video inputs. Which is good. However, in order to squeeze the price down, some major sacrifices have been made. There’s no DVI input, for example: only a compatible (but annoying) HDMI input.

Out of the box, there is no way to connect to a computer digitally as there is no included digital cable. At all. There is a VGA cable though, which ghosted slightly, so you will want to buy a DVI to HDMI cable and will be up for another 20-odd bucks.

Additionally, the stand uses some kind of voodoo – it is completely assembled while flat packed, and uses a combination of death-defying hinges and a superfluous lock to hold it shut when packed. The lock and the second hinge are unused once fully extended, meaning that only the tilt is adjustable and provides no height or rotation options.

When we did get it plugged into a computer, we found that the colour reproduction wasn’t fantastic and there was some noticeable banding in the gradient test and indistinguishable grey levels. Unfortunately, this wasn’t the end of our woes.

Every part of the OSD was clunky. There is no quick way to change volume and input selection is done via yet another OSD which looks like it escaped from the '90s.

When it was displaying component video, the unit we were sent had an obvious purple tinge to everything. When we pursued this with Chimei, they weren’t able to provide us with a replacement so this issue could affect the entire line. Composite and S-video were acceptable, although the upscaling from our Wii and SD tuner sources were both average.

If you were hoping to hook up your console or set-top box then technically you’ll be able to -- but in light of the trouble we had and the screen’s resolutely fixed 16:10 aspect ratio which stretches your image every which way -- it’s not the best solution.

Overall, it meets expectations, but doesn't push any envelopes nor amaze anyone.