The home-oriented HP F1503 pales next to its more capable cousin, the HP L1530. The F1503's text score of Very good trumps the business-oriented L1530's score of Good, but the F1503's Fair graphics rating falls short not only of the L1530, but of most 15-inch monitors reviewed recently. Part of this difference can be attributed to the different default contrast settings and color temperatures of the two models; we test at default settings, but those settings can be adjusted. The difference may also be in part due to the different video inputs tested; we tested the dual-input L1530 with its digital input, but the F1503 offers analog input only.

Although most testers liked the F1503's saturated colors (one praised the "bright, vibrant" colors in our test photo of fruit), detail didn't hold up in lighter areas of our test photos, nor in the lighter bars of our grayscale test. Speaking of holding up: The F1503's small-footprint stand lets you tilt the screen, but it lacks the swivel, pivot, and height adjustments of the L1530. The detachable Harmon Kardon speakers produce better sound than most built-in speakers.

Since the F1503 and the L1530 are very close in price, we'd choose the L1530 for its superior physical adjustments and image quality.

Laura Blackwell