Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I just want to write this review for people who wants to register this monitor with Dell so that it will be covered by Dell 3 years dead pixel warranty. If you chat with Dell reps, they will say that the monitor is not covered under Dell bc it was a third party purchase and all warranty will be referred to the original place of purchase. If you chat with Amazon reps, they will say that the monitor will only have the standard Amazon 30 days refund/replace warranty. By searching the Dell forum, I've found out that it is possible to have this monitor purchased from Amazon and still be covered under Dell's warranty. I have done this and it does work, although it was a bit of a hassle from Dell reps. My recommendation is if it is the same to purchase from Dell and Amazon (i.e. same price after price match, plus tax and shipping), then do yourself a favor and buy it directly from Dell. I only bought it from Amazon bc I have gift cards. Here is what you have to do: First, do not call the number provided by Dell website as they would just transfer you all over the place or hang up on you. Instead, call this direct number: 1-800-624-9897. Once on the line, tell the rep that you need to create a unique Dell Order number for the monitor that you bought from Amazon. They will contact the "Tag Team", at which point you will need to provide the following information. Purchased Retailer name: Purchase Date: Monitor Model: 20 digit Serial Number (PPID): Your Information Email: Name: Shipping Address: Phone: Once everything is done, you will be provided with a Unique Dell Order Number to write down. Now that is over with, I can proceed to write about what I think of the monitor. So far, it has performed beautifully. The anti-glare coating is a bit intrusive for me but I like it better than having a reflective screen. Of course, having anti-glare means that the picture won't be as sharp, relatively speaking of course. Still very sharp compared to TN panel. As for the color and picture quality, it is excellent out of the box. However, I have chosen to use flatpanelsHD.com calibration number and it is much better. Made the color more accurate. Just make sure you have the right Revision as there are many different revision on this monitor out there and each one is calibrated differently at default. You can find your revision number on the label sticker with your serial number. I have revision 00, assembled in January 2013. As for connection, I have no problem with the lack of HDMI as the monitor does not have a speaker anyway. I use an HDMI to DVI cable and a regular 3.5mm audio output for sound from my laptop. It is a bit unfortunate that a DisplayPort cable was not provided as I could have used that for my laptop connection and have the DVI port for my PS3. For PS3, I use HDMI to DVI and a standard PS3 A/V output for the audio. You need to change audio output in the PS3 setting for this to work. For XBOX 360, I use the VGA output which also has L/R audio. Set up out of the box was a breeze. The range of movement for this monitor along with the stability of the base is excellent. I love that I can rotate it in portrait mode for web browsing as it gives me a lot of real estate or to play shmups in TATE mode. If you need to rotate it counterclockwise, then just unscrew the four screws in the back plate, rotate it 90 degrees clockwise, and screw it back. Playing game on this using the XBOX 360 or PS3, I have noticed no lag or blur images. However, I don't play any fast moving games like FPS or fighting games so it is not really a big test for the monitor. Watching Blu-ray movies on this monitor is not too bad. While the color is brilliant, the black is not that great. IPS monitors are not known for their great contrast or minimal lag time. If you bought this monitor, then you would have already known that. It is excellent for graphic/photo editing and pretty good for movie and games. Color reproduction of photo's taken by my camera are very detailed, very accurate. If you want to buy a monitor mainly for games or movies, then go with TN monitor. If you want accurate color reproduction and viewing angle, then go with IPS monitor. If you want something in between as a compromise, then go with VA monitor. It's been one week and it is still working great. I have not seen any dead or stuck pixel. I have also noticed that the monitor does not give off a lot of heat. The monitor control is very easy to use. Sure, there are a lot better monitors out there, but they are very expensive. For $200 plus tax (Texas resident), I think you can do a lot worse than this IPS monitor. Very happy with my purchase.