Home > Consumer Reviews > HP Pavilion F1903 19" LCD Monitor

I've had this monitor paired with a Sony Vaio computer for over a year now and have had NO problems with either one. The monitor is a marvel! It swivels, you can adjust its height, and you can tilt it. I have the XP Media edition and I must say, the quality picture this monitor puts out makes watching TV shows on my computer better than watching them on the television. It's nice to have a monitor that you don't have to fuss with to get it to change directions or even lift! A definite A+++++++!!!

This monitor only lasted me for 14 months and then the screen went blank (dead.) I called technical support and even tried to troubleshoot the problem myself but the bottom line was that once the warranty on HP products expire then (LOOK OUT!!) because you will soon need to purchase a new computer or monitor.

I have had nothing but problems with HP's products(I have gone through 2 new computer systems and monitors.) The products do not last for more than four years( that has been my experience.)My advice, DO NOT BUY HP PRODUCTS!!!

I have a graphics card with two plugs, so I was able to compare this monitor side-by-side with a 19" X-Brite Sony LCD (one monitor used DVI, the other analog, but I switched back and forth and it didn't seem to make any difference which one was on which for my observations).

The Sony was bright and brilliant, and made the HP look positively dull by comparison. One big advantage of the HP is that it can show a true black screen; the Sony's blacks are marred by the backlight "leaking" in from the side.

However, the deal breaker with the HP was the color cast--there was a slight yellow tint that I couldn't get rid of, even after updating the drivers, and using the OSD to adjust colors, etc. Also, if one raises the monitor's contrast to above 75%, this color cast becomes much more pronounced.

I really wanted to like this monitor, but after comparing it side by side with the other monitor displaying the same image, I decided I just couldn't live with the yellow color cast.

I compared to many other monitors including Samsung, NEC, Sony, etc. and was leaning toward a Sony based strictly on specs alone because of the higher brightness and contrast ratio. I decided it just wasn't worth the price difference since I really couldn't tell a difference staring at them side by side in a local store.

When I got this home I had to adjust the brightness down considerably. I can't imagine why I would need anything brighter. Anti glare surface works well. Picture clarity and colors are just awesome! I was really surprised at how much better it looks now then the display at the store. And compared to the 19" CRT I just replaced this with, WOW! I can't believe the difference.

Very well thought out design. Range of movement is excellent. There is no other monitor out there that compares to this in terms of adjustability. This was probably the thing that pushed me over the edge to buy the HP. Being able to adjust the monitor in any direction (tilt, height, side to side) with just one finger is very nice when I'm sharing with someone else. Only reason for the 4 rating for design is wire placement. I had problems fitting my fingers in the space provided on the back of the monitor to attach the cables and had to get my wife to help. But I can live with the initial annoying 5 minutes of setup considering everything else the monitor provides.

Having matching HK speakers is very nice for aesthetics. They are not the best, but are fine for my needs to hear when MS beeps at me, watch an occasional video or play CDs for some background music.

One recommedation - DEFINITELY follow the HP recommendations with installing the drivers!! It made a big difference in picture quality when I actually followed directions.

This is my first LCD monitor, and I'm so picky that I did a lot of research and in-store playing before making my selection.

Comparing models side-by-side in the store, I found that despite the f1903's reported contrast ratio of only 500:1, I found it consistently as bright if not brighter than others with higher reported contrast ratios. (I was sure to check all the brightness/contrast settings.) So I wonder what that number really means. The lesson here is to look at the screen for yourself.

The highest praise goes to the very adjustable base and stand. It will tilt and swivel and even raise up and down to find your comfortable viewing angle. I was surprised to find that the height adjustment actually acts like a spring tensioned to the weight of the monitor, so it only takes a simple lift or press of the frame to raise and lower it.

It ships with the brightness set to 100% and the contrast at only 50%, but actually that looks perfect for a dim environment. Raising the contrast to 75% will sufficiently blast your retinas, but beyond that I notice some color distortions at the bright end.

It also ships set to a color temperature of 6500K (warm/yellow), and also offers 9300K (cool/blue), but I found that a custom setting of RGB(50,50,55) looks best to me.

The on-screen control interface is very attractive, but still functional. Unlike some other models I tried, it doesn't take 2 minutes to adjust a value from 0 to 100%. It could benefit from some presets or memory settings though, so one could quickly adjust for viewing in bright areas, dark areas, movie viewing, etc. It offers a slick opacity setting that you can adjust to your liking, and you can also move the control area around the screen. I moved mine to the lower right corner so it's above the buttons on the bezel, which makes sense to me.

My model shows one stuck pixel that comes and goes. Not bad when the HP specs allow for up to 7 flaws. And this one's not even noticable except on a black screen.

The viewing angle is reported at 170 degrees horizontal, but that's hardly an exact property to be measured. I actually find that when I move more than 30 degrees off center, the image turns slightly yellow like an old newspaper and gets dimmer as the angle increases. I don't see any sort of cut-off around 170 degrees though.

Pixel response would have to be my biggest disappointment, but I should point out that I'm picky. When scrolling black text in a browser, it can turn slightly purple or blue. Certain color combinations are particular bad though, and I discovered this while playing Yahoo! Pool. A red or pink ball moving across a green background leaves a very noticeable trail. Upon seeing this, I tried viewing a DVD, and found that certain high-speed action such as the running of a horse's legs will get blurred and possibly change color. But I realize that LCD technology has yet to match the performance of a traditional CRT, and given that, this monitor doesn't do bad at all. I've seen much worse on laptop screens.

I also noticed that this particular LCD acts a little different than most when touched. Specifically, it leaves not just a dot where my finger pressed, but a dot with an X through it. This is neither good nor bad, but I just found it interesting. I'm curious what technology is at work behind that behavior.

I should note that I'm using the DVI connection and supplied DVI-D cable. (The box doesn't indicate that any DVI cable is included, but mine had one, so don't do like I did and buy one extra then have to return it.) However for analog connections, there are some very simple calibration tools to give you the best possible picture. And the "auto" button on the bezel is only for analog connections. (I tried to use the calibration and the auto button before I realized it wasn't necessary for digital connections.)

Overall I'm very satisfied, but it loses a star for the viewing angle and pixel response.