{"video_id":"hH-Q6siZs8M","title":"Acer S231HL 23IN Widescreen LED Backlit LCD Monitor Black Unboxing & First Look Linus Tech Tips","channel":"Linus Tech Tips","show":"Linus Tech Tips","published_at":"2011-05-08T14:53:29Z","duration_s":524,"segments":[{"start_s":0.44,"end_s":8.44,"text":"So today we're going to be having a look at the Acer s231","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":4.96,"end_s":10.92,"text":"hlb LED backlit LCD monitor this is part","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":8.44,"end_s":15.44,"text":"of their Olympic Edition monitor so um while the Olympics are over it is still","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":12.759,"end_s":22.32,"text":"an Olympian of sorts and that it is a unique well not completely unique these","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":17.72,"end_s":26.119,"text":"days but it is a very very unique","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":22.32,"end_s":28.0,"text":"product offering in that it has an LED","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":26.119,"end_s":32.599,"text":"backlight and there are maybe other monitors with LED backlights but I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":30.599,"end_s":36.559,"text":"haven't seen one yet so it's Unique to me see how I covered that up either way","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":35.079,"end_s":41.0,"text":"let's have a look at what's included with this particular Monitor and talk a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":38.76,"end_s":47.0,"text":"little bit about the benefits of an LED backlit LCD versus a conventional","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":44.44,"end_s":51.64,"text":"fluorescent back lit LCD so actually I want the cameraman to look up a","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":49.0,"end_s":56.76,"text":"miniaturized version of that is exactly what is behind most LCD panels so what","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":54.559,"end_s":61.96,"text":"happens is that you actually have you tend to get what's called hotpots so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":59.28,"end_s":66.52,"text":"those lights are actual tubes behind your panel and so it has to be diffused","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":64.6,"end_s":70.08,"text":"properly to get a nice even backlight so you get some hot spots where it's more","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":68.36,"end_s":75.04,"text":"washed out and some dark spots where it's a little bit darker with an LED","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":72.04,"end_s":77.52,"text":"back lit LCD the whole thing is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":75.04,"end_s":81.24,"text":"completely back lit with little Points of Light so you get a nice even","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":79.08,"end_s":87.92,"text":"backlight one of the other advantages is it's a pure white backlight so you don't","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":84.079,"end_s":91.88,"text":"have any of the uh disadvantages of an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":87.92,"end_s":94.0,"text":"offc colored Cath light behind the panel","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":91.88,"end_s":98.68,"text":"so you actually get better more accurate colors you get more consistent","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":96.399,"end_s":102.68,"text":"backlighting and you also get better power consumption because LEDs are much","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":101.159,"end_s":105.92,"text":"more efficient than those fluorescent tube blades so I've got all of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":104.479,"end_s":110.92,"text":"accessories unpacked let's have a quick look at them here oh the cameraman's probably looking at this what is this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":108.56,"end_s":114.479,"text":"okay oh yeah and they're thinner so because you have to have that tube light","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":112.84,"end_s":118.799,"text":"you have to have some way in front of it to diffuse it so that it is evenly","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":116.92,"end_s":123.52,"text":"distributed you end up with a thicker panel if you have a c CFL backlit LCD so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":121.88,"end_s":127.36,"text":"e-c color they're probably talking about more color oh yeah better contrast ratio","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":125.399,"end_s":132.64,"text":"yet another Advantage this is a 12 million to1 active contrast management","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":129.8,"end_s":136.68,"text":"contrast ratio LED maybe it's not quite that high it's um specs for contrast","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":135.04,"end_s":140.879,"text":"ratios have gotten a little bit ludicrous over the last few years but I","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":139.28,"end_s":145.12,"text":"can assure you that it's going to be better than a cathode backlit LCD so we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":143.519,"end_s":149.319,"text":"have a VGA cable just in case you're still using one of those with your fancy","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":146.76,"end_s":152.72,"text":"new monitor we have a DVI cable that is also including I highly recommend using","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":151.36,"end_s":156.8,"text":"this one cuz that's how you're going to get the best image quality out of it","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":154.56,"end_s":160.84,"text":"you've got a power cable I'll just take that out which plugs into a power brick","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":159.239,"end_s":165.44,"text":"see there that really speaks to the power efficiency of an LED backlit LCD","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":163.44,"end_s":169.72,"text":"that's the power brick you're using it's like there's like nothing to it then we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":168.04,"end_s":173.599,"text":"have the little stand that we're going to use to attach the monitor to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":171.519,"end_s":177.76,"text":"presumably some kind of a base so let's pull the monitor itself","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":177.76,"end_s":184.72,"text":"out okay there's a piece of foam that is not the monitor now I'm going to pull","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":182.08,"end_s":189.64,"text":"the monitor out no this is the limited warranty agreement as well as a quick","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":186.64,"end_s":192.519,"text":"start guide on a CD for the monitor next","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":189.64,"end_s":192.519,"text":"we're going to pull out the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":194.08,"end_s":199.92,"text":"Monitor and not drop the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":197.239,"end_s":204.879,"text":"monitor it's okay it dropped on the foam so it's all","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":201.08,"end_s":207.64,"text":"good the foam that won't come out there","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":204.879,"end_s":212.0,"text":"we go we finally got the monitor as well as the base so here is a oh yeah you get","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":210.48,"end_s":215.519,"text":"another cable included the way they've packed this is just ingenious I'm not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":214.0,"end_s":219.84,"text":"even going to try and get that off there H it's an HDMI cable there you go so I'm","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":217.92,"end_s":224.12,"text":"guessing that this monitor supports VGA DVI and HDMI based on the accessories","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":222.08,"end_s":232.04,"text":"that we've seen here next we've got the base so here is the one that here we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":228.4,"end_s":234.439,"text":"go there we are so a nice shiny plastic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":232.04,"end_s":238.239,"text":"base and then there's a uh screw on the bottom here for attaching that little","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":235.92,"end_s":242.04,"text":"ARM piece so I'm going to get this I'm going to get the display assembl as","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":240.079,"end_s":246.76,"text":"quickly as I can here so that we can have a look at the overall aesthetic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":243.68,"end_s":249.36,"text":"because that's something that you know","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":246.76,"end_s":253.519,"text":"while you might have specs on your side and there might be all of these sort of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":251.519,"end_s":257.359,"text":"U marketing bullet points one of the most important things about a monitor is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":255.36,"end_s":262.639,"text":"going to be how it looks to you on your desk because you have to stare at it an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":259.88,"end_s":266.12,"text":"awful lot and if it doesn't look nice then you're not going to like it no","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":264.0,"end_s":270.039,"text":"matter how good the image quality is for a lot of people anyway I mean not","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":268.32,"end_s":274.6,"text":"everybody's like that but for for me certainly I wouldn't want a monitor that","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":271.8,"end_s":278.0,"text":"I found ugly sitting on my desk for I mean I don't know how long most of our","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":276.44,"end_s":282.759,"text":"viewers will keep a monitor but I usually keep a monitor for at least 3 to","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":280.16,"end_s":288.32,"text":"5 years um I typically don't replace them unless I absolutely have to so here","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":285.44,"end_s":293.199,"text":"we go we've got uh oh this was full of marketing stuff okay so it's ultra thin","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":291.639,"end_s":298.08,"text":"there you can look at that while I'm taking off this uh cover on the monitor","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":296.4,"end_s":302.479,"text":"unless that's boring oh yeah this is the same stuff that was on the front of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":299.88,"end_s":308.759,"text":"box so it's Mercury free you know so not manufactured using","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":305.16,"end_s":313.6,"text":"mercury that's good all right making my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":308.759,"end_s":316.36,"text":"way around here with these tape which is","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":313.6,"end_s":318.88,"text":"quite difficult to remove cleanly sorry about this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":320.56,"end_s":326.28,"text":"everyone wow they are really serious","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":324.12,"end_s":330.319,"text":"about protecting the front of this panel it's like you got your tape you got your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":328.919,"end_s":337.24,"text":"plastic we got like more tape and more plastic","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":334.0,"end_s":339.96,"text":"there we go o That's nice okay so here","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":337.24,"end_s":344.72,"text":"for thinness you're looking at about the width of oh yeah sure cameraman wants me","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":342.0,"end_s":350.24,"text":"to use his iPhone for comparison so it's actually only","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":346.96,"end_s":352.52,"text":"about twice the thickness of an iPhone","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":350.24,"end_s":356.4,"text":"at the top of the monitor so that's very very cool and that's just the bezel so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":354.96,"end_s":360.479,"text":"when you actually look at the screen itself it's even quite a bit thinner","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":358.96,"end_s":364.84,"text":"than that because you've got a fair bound of the bezel up here in front of","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":362.639,"end_s":368.24,"text":"the monitor so if we just kind of hold the iPhone there for thickness","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":366.319,"end_s":372.96,"text":"comparison you can sort of see how thick the the bezel here is and how thick an","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":370.12,"end_s":376.039,"text":"iPhone is so it's incredibly slim now it's a little bit thicker down at the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":374.319,"end_s":381.319,"text":"bottom because that's where you have all of the electronics for your","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":378.44,"end_s":384.68,"text":"inputs as well as oh here here's how we attach the base so there's a little bit","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":383.52,"end_s":393.759,"text":"of uh spot right here where we can put this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":388.039,"end_s":393.759,"text":"in so it just slides in presumably like","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":393.96,"end_s":400.759,"text":"this yeah just like that and then if I had a screwdriver I'd be able to put","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":397.919,"end_s":405.08,"text":"this in more quickly but I don't so I'm going to have to drive the screw with my","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":402.72,"end_s":410.84,"text":"hand there we go hey hey","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":408.96,"end_s":414.0,"text":"Innovation all that's in there pretty good all right and then let's go ahead","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":412.199,"end_s":418.4,"text":"and stand it on the base so this particular model doesn't include any","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":416.039,"end_s":421.599,"text":"real tilt options or any of that kind of stuff but if you're looking for","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":420.08,"end_s":427.199,"text":"something that's just really power efficient","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":424.0,"end_s":429.96,"text":"and offers good color all that good LED","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":427.199,"end_s":433.599,"text":"backlit goodness good contrast ratio then this is probably the one for you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":432.0,"end_s":438.039,"text":"now we're going to actually be testing this monitor a little bit better when we","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":435.56,"end_s":443.36,"text":"do a full NC Tech tips episode comparing it against a conventional cathode","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":440.639,"end_s":449.12,"text":"backlit LCD and that's really the whole reason that I'm unboxing this thing but","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":446.879,"end_s":454.28,"text":"just for the sake of having a look at it but what we get the cameraman to do kind","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":450.879,"end_s":456.16,"text":"of some closeups and uh check out this","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":454.28,"end_s":461.8,"text":"particular LCD I you know what I don't think I even mentioned the resolution","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":458.44,"end_s":464.639,"text":"and the size of it this is a 23in model","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":461.8,"end_s":468.52,"text":"and it is a 1920x 1080 resolution so that means you can watch full HD video","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":466.639,"end_s":473.159,"text":"on here it's not going to be scaled in any way it has a 16x9 aspect ratio so","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":471.96,"end_s":478.44,"text":"that means that you're not going to see the black bars on your content that you","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":475.24,"end_s":480.0,"text":"would on a 16 by10 uh and that's a 1920","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":478.44,"end_s":483.52,"text":"x 1200 pound so let's have a look around at the back","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":481.479,"end_s":487.319,"text":"where we have our Vasa mounts so you got 1 2 3 four of those so you can mount","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":485.56,"end_s":491.12,"text":"this on a wall mount and it wouldn't even have to be a very strong one","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":488.879,"end_s":494.599,"text":"because this LCD monitor is incredibly light so that's one of the really cool","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":493.24,"end_s":501.0,"text":"things about it then we've also got our inputs here which as I guessed before","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":496.52,"end_s":504.08,"text":"are HDMI DVI and VGA in here is the DC","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":501.0,"end_s":506.039,"text":"in so as I've showed you before it does","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":504.08,"end_s":510.199,"text":"have an external power brick although it is quite small so you just plug that in","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":508.319,"end_s":514.8,"text":"like that it does have a Kensington lock here as well if you need any anti- theft","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":512.599,"end_s":518.479,"text":"security so thank you for checking out my unboxing of the","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0},{"start_s":516.76,"end_s":525.039,"text":"s231hl bid LED back lit LCD monitor from Acer","speaker":null,"is_sponsor":0}],"full_text":"So today we're going to be having a look at the Acer s231 hlb LED backlit LCD monitor this is part of their Olympic Edition monitor so um while the Olympics are over it is still an Olympian of sorts and that it is a unique well not completely unique these days but it is a very very unique product offering in that it has an LED backlight and there are maybe other monitors with LED backlights but I haven't seen one yet so it's Unique to me see how I covered that up either way let's have a look at what's included with this particular Monitor and talk a little bit about the benefits of an LED backlit LCD versus a conventional fluorescent back lit LCD so actually I want the cameraman to look up a miniaturized version of that is exactly what is behind most LCD panels so what happens is that you actually have you tend to get what's called hotpots so those lights are actual tubes behind your panel and so it has to be diffused properly to get a nice even backlight so you get some hot spots where it's more washed out and some dark spots where it's a little bit darker with an LED back lit LCD the whole thing is completely back lit with little Points of Light so you get a nice even backlight one of the other advantages is it's a pure white backlight so you don't have any of the uh disadvantages of an offc colored Cath light behind the panel so you actually get better more accurate colors you get more consistent backlighting and you also get better power consumption because LEDs are much more efficient than those fluorescent tube blades so I've got all of the accessories unpacked let's have a quick look at them here oh the cameraman's probably looking at this what is this okay oh yeah and they're thinner so because you have to have that tube light you have to have some way in front of it to diffuse it so that it is evenly distributed you end up with a thicker panel if you have a c CFL backlit LCD so e-c color they're probably talking about more color oh yeah better contrast ratio yet another Advantage this is a 12 million to1 active contrast management contrast ratio LED maybe it's not quite that high it's um specs for contrast ratios have gotten a little bit ludicrous over the last few years but I can assure you that it's going to be better than a cathode backlit LCD so we have a VGA cable just in case you're still using one of those with your fancy new monitor we have a DVI cable that is also including I highly recommend using this one cuz that's how you're going to get the best image quality out of it you've got a power cable I'll just take that out which plugs into a power brick see there that really speaks to the power efficiency of an LED backlit LCD that's the power brick you're using it's like there's like nothing to it then we have the little stand that we're going to use to attach the monitor to presumably some kind of a base so let's pull the monitor itself out okay there's a piece of foam that is not the monitor now I'm going to pull the monitor out no this is the limited warranty agreement as well as a quick start guide on a CD for the monitor next we're going to pull out the Monitor and not drop the monitor it's okay it dropped on the foam so it's all good the foam that won't come out there we go we finally got the monitor as well as the base so here is a oh yeah you get another cable included the way they've packed this is just ingenious I'm not even going to try and get that off there H it's an HDMI cable there you go so I'm guessing that this monitor supports VGA DVI and HDMI based on the accessories that we've seen here next we've got the base so here is the one that here we go there we are so a nice shiny plastic base and then there's a uh screw on the bottom here for attaching that little ARM piece so I'm going to get this I'm going to get the display assembl as quickly as I can here so that we can have a look at the overall aesthetic because that's something that you know while you might have specs on your side and there might be all of these sort of U marketing bullet points one of the most important things about a monitor is going to be how it looks to you on your desk because you have to stare at it an awful lot and if it doesn't look nice then you're not going to like it no matter how good the image quality is for a lot of people anyway I mean not everybody's like that but for for me certainly I wouldn't want a monitor that I found ugly sitting on my desk for I mean I don't know how long most of our viewers will keep a monitor but I usually keep a monitor for at least 3 to 5 years um I typically don't replace them unless I absolutely have to so here we go we've got uh oh this was full of marketing stuff okay so it's ultra thin there you can look at that while I'm taking off this uh cover on the monitor unless that's boring oh yeah this is the same stuff that was on the front of the box so it's Mercury free you know so not manufactured using mercury that's good all right making my way around here with these tape which is quite difficult to remove cleanly sorry about this everyone wow they are really serious about protecting the front of this panel it's like you got your tape you got your plastic we got like more tape and more plastic there we go o That's nice okay so here for thinness you're looking at about the width of oh yeah sure cameraman wants me to use his iPhone for comparison so it's actually only about twice the thickness of an iPhone at the top of the monitor so that's very very cool and that's just the bezel so when you actually look at the screen itself it's even quite a bit thinner than that because you've got a fair bound of the bezel up here in front of the monitor so if we just kind of hold the iPhone there for thickness comparison you can sort of see how thick the the bezel here is and how thick an iPhone is so it's incredibly slim now it's a little bit thicker down at the bottom because that's where you have all of the electronics for your inputs as well as oh here here's how we attach the base so there's a little bit of uh spot right here where we can put this in so it just slides in presumably like this yeah just like that and then if I had a screwdriver I'd be able to put this in more quickly but I don't so I'm going to have to drive the screw with my hand there we go hey hey Innovation all that's in there pretty good all right and then let's go ahead and stand it on the base so this particular model doesn't include any real tilt options or any of that kind of stuff but if you're looking for something that's just really power efficient and offers good color all that good LED backlit goodness good contrast ratio then this is probably the one for you now we're going to actually be testing this monitor a little bit better when we do a full NC Tech tips episode comparing it against a conventional cathode backlit LCD and that's really the whole reason that I'm unboxing this thing but just for the sake of having a look at it but what we get the cameraman to do kind of some closeups and uh check out this particular LCD I you know what I don't think I even mentioned the resolution and the size of it this is a 23in model and it is a 1920x 1080 resolution so that means you can watch full HD video on here it's not going to be scaled in any way it has a 16x9 aspect ratio so that means that you're not going to see the black bars on your content that you would on a 16 by10 uh and that's a 1920 x 1200 pound so let's have a look around at the back where we have our Vasa mounts so you got 1 2 3 four of those so you can mount this on a wall mount and it wouldn't even have to be a very strong one because this LCD monitor is incredibly light so that's one of the really cool things about it then we've also got our inputs here which as I guessed before are HDMI DVI and VGA in here is the DC in so as I've showed you before it does have an external power brick although it is quite small so you just plug that in like that it does have a Kensington lock here as well if you need any anti- theft security so thank you for checking out my unboxing of the s231hl bid LED back lit LCD monitor from Acer"}