The Hanns-G HW191D is a silver and black plastic cased 19inch LCD flat-panel monitor, sold for around £90 to £110 from several on-line outlets. On the face of it, it looks like a pretty standard budget monitor with the usual DVI/DSUB-15(VGA) connections and some internal speakers, but it is solidly manufactured and sports a 1440x900 WXGA+ resolution where many of the alternatives in the price-band often only go as high as 1366x768 (WXGA).

As I build PC systems for friends and family, I've purchased several of these over the last few years and never had anything except good reports of them - no reports of 'dead pixels', misalignment etc. - so I've tended to go back to this product when it has been the cost-effective option. A few months ago I spotted a HW191D in my local second-hand electronics shop for £30 - Bargain! - and knowing that my current NEC was on its last legs I bought it. When I got it home, I found that there were no dead pixels and barring some cosmetic scuffs to the case it was as good as new.

So that is all a good testament to it's durabilty and cost-effectiveness, but just how feature-rich is it? Well, the screen itself is reasonably non-reflective and, as discussed, has a good resolution for the price. The viewing angle is more than acceptable at 150degrees in the lateral plane, and the tilt on the stand in the vertical plane is also good with approximately 30degrees of movement. There are also standard wall mountings on the back-plate of the case, and the stand is very easily disassembled.

The internal speakers are suitable for general desktop use, but if you make a habit of media use (films, music etc.) or aurally immersive games then I'd invest in some external ones, as these are typical of in-built speakers and lack a lot of range - particularly bass. The On-Screen Display (OSD) is available in an impressive number of languages and features the expected adjustment options too!

Synopsis
--------

The Hanns-G HW191D is a well manufactured, impressively spec'd unit with great durabilty. It is fully featured and with a 1440x900 WXGA+ resolution, it represents good value-for-money.