ViewSonic VX2476-SMHD 24 Inch 1080p IPS Monitor with FreeSync, Ultra-Thin Bezels, HDMI and DisplayPort

I've been hunting for old LCDs that could go down to 15khz for retro computing but wasn't having much luck. The ones that are confirmed to do this are well known in the community and run on the expensive side when sold used.15khz is needed to use what we'd consider very low resolution screen modes today, like 320x200, 640x256, etc. If you have an 80s or 90s computer, you probably need this if you want to avoid pushing video through a middle device like a retrotink or an OSSC to essentially double the size of the video to make it compatible with modern monitors. They can be expensive devices, and prone to problems especially around switching screen modes. Debugging a broken computer when you're not even sure if it's broken or if it's your video feed box that's acting up is a layer of confusion you don't need.I then thought, maybe I can modify an older LCD in some way - but that's not getting very far. Maybe a future project I don't have time for right now.Plan C. Maybe there's some esoteric monitor used by some bespoke industrial platform that's still modern enough to be on sale but can handle 15khz. I expected to need to spend a lot but at least it would be on something new and generally available. I did spend a lot of time searching and digging through specs of dozens of candidate monitors, and found a bunch of false leads until I came across this monitor, which does indeed claim to go all the way down to 15khz screen modes in it's specs. Being fairly new (2016) and still readily available, and at a pretty cheap price ($139+tax in August 2023), I was skeptical. But hey, this is Amazon, if it didn't work I could just return it anyway.So while I've only had this a few days, I can absolutely confirm that the monitor I received does indeed handle 15hkz modes. I've attached pictures of using it at 720x240 (15.7khz at 60Hz, NTSC) and 720x288 (15.8khz at 50Hz PAL), and I've pushed it down to 320x200 and taken it up to interlaced modes, where it does work, but it still flickers too badly to be comfortable to use normally - this monitor will NOT act as a flicker fixer. I've used workbench, and I've played games. The built in speaker will pass to tell you audio is working, but you're not going to want to use it beyond that, it's pretty terrible, but audio quality is not why you'll buy this monitor.I plan to try it with 8 bit TTL systems next (like the BBC Micro), and I'll come back and edit this comment with success or failure.I got the 24 inch version (VX2476-SMHD), there are larger and smaller but I don't know if they'd work. I do know that the 15khz mode on this monitor ONLY works on the VGA port. I tried using multiple VGA to HDMI adapters to get my Amiga 1200 to talk to the monitor over HDMI and it never saw a signal. Maybe I was doing something wrong, but I wouldn't buy one of the larger versions of this that doesn't have a dedicated VGA port on it without being prepared to immediately return it after initial testing.This monitor also has HDMI and DisplayPort connections for 1080p display, so you can share it with other more modern systems and not feel like you bought a whole monitor just for a few hours of usage every few months, if your retro usage is light.(I think you can ignore the horizontal lines in my pictures, I'm pretty sure that's my A1200 and not the monitor. They don't show up on HDMI inputs from other systems, nor do they affect the on screen displays.)EDIT: I'm back to report that I was able to cable this monitor up to my BBC Master 128 and it works perfectly, I get a stable crystal clear image across all screen modes, and it holds the correct aspect ratio too. This monitor gives you a display that I consider to be BETTER than what RGBtoHDMI or the RetroTink 5 returns, and it just works. The cable was a simple RGB DIN to VGA, I made this by taking an RGB DIN to SCART cable and changing the SCART end to VGA female.I have the 27" version of this monitor on order now, I will write a separate review over there once I've verified it also performs similarly.Edit: 2024-11-20: It's been 14 months and I still love this monitor. I did indeed purchase the 27" version and it too handles 15Khz just the same. I came back to also add that this monitor was featured on a video on the Chris Edwards Restoration youtube channel, search for 'A 2024 Amiga Monitor' to see him put it through it's paces. The price is even $5 less now than I paid. I'm about to order another one :)

Awesome size and resolution.

excellent monitor, easy on the eyes, value for the money, works well with Mac or Windows.

I bought the 1080p version of this monitor. It is a great monitor with a few odd design choices I don't love.The Good: The color is crisp and vibrant and the tiny bezel looks really great (measures somewhere around 1/4 in or 1/2 cm.) I kind of wish I had bought two at the Prime Day price to see them side by side with that small of a bezel. This thing is also very thin. I saw the product images beforehand, but in real life it's just crazy how thin the panel is.The Bad: The silver accents are not great. I didn't think I would care, but that shiny silver strip along the bottom of the panel reflects my blue LED keyboard really brightly. Also, the power cord is non-standard. I thought I'd be able to just swap out my old monitor and plug in the previous HDMI and power cables, but this monitor has a power brick and special power cable. The stand is not able to be height adjusted, which I didn't actually expect at the price, but it is worth mentioning.All in all, I would still buy another one of these, and am very much considering paying full the price for a second (got mine $30 off on Prime Day).EDIT: The monitor was on sale for $20 off so I bought a second one. However, this one arrived with a shattered screen. Be aware that the shipping method is a little janky with this item. The original monitor box is inside a larger amazon box with a single piece of crumpled fill paper (that is protecting nothing). That means the outer box will likely be crushed if other items are stacked on it. Replacement was shipped for free and received 4 days later.EDIT 2: Four years later and I am still using both of the monitors. However, I just noticed an issue. The color on one has either changed or was always different. I generally work in my main program on one monitor and have folders and/or websites open on the other for reference. I happened to extend a white window across both screens and noticed a huge color difference. One monitor has a very bright white and one is very warm. I tried running color correction on both monitors and the warmer colored monitor just can't get a bright and accurate pure white no matter what I do. It almost looks like when you set it to reduce blue light (but I don't have that enabled). I am only using the brighter white monitor as my main work monitor now.