The Philips 248E9QHSB is a VA-based monitor designed for daily use, whether if it’s for movies or working at home, or even browsing the web.VA panels are popular for entertainment purposes since they have higher contrast ratios and punchier colors. Let’s check out if the Philips 248E9QHSB can provide a performance that makes it worth the money against its IPS counterparts.
Philips 248E9QHSB Specifications
- Screen Size: 24 Inches
- Resolution: 1920 x 1080 FHD
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Panel Technology: Vertical Alignment (VA)
- Refresh Rate: 75Hz
- Response Time: 4ms
- Contrast Ratio: 3000:1
- Brightness: 250 cd/m²
- Speakers: No
- Connectivity: HDMI 1.4 x 1, DVI-D x 1, VGA x 1, 3.5mm Jack x 1
- Stand: Height – No
- Stand: Tilt – Yes
- Stand: Swivel – No
- Stand: Pivot – No
- VESA Compatibility – No
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 21.14” x 16.22″ x 7.48”
- Weight: 6.77 lbs
Design and Features
The Philips 248E9QHSB is functionally just like any other monitor, but its curve and minor aesthetic upgrade says otherwise. The monitor has a glossy black chassis that’s accented by a metallic silver stand for a bit of contrast. The display is bezel-free on three sides, making this monitor even more suitable for double or triple monitor setups in addition to its shape.
The Philips 248E9QHSB isn’t as overbearing as other monitors with identical monitors with its modest dimensions and weight. The device only needs 7.48 inches of depth, so we reckon most users won’t have trouble even if there are a lot of peripherals lying around on the desk. The base is also hollow in the middle so you can use it as a holding area for small items such as phones or thumb drives.
Build quality for the Philips 248E9QHSB is decent, but there is some slight wobbling due to its low center of gravity. The plastics are durable enough to withstand some impact, although you can feel that the reinforcements built into the device are somewhat limited. Our main complaint is it’s easy to scratch the housing, so make sure you use a good feather duster or microfiber cloth to clean the device.
What we like about the Philips 248E9QHSB is it’s one of the few affordable monitors that have a joystick instead of pesky OSD buttons. The controller is located under the bottom bezel in the middle, so it is easy to reach and accessible. You don’t get a lot of calibration settings or presets with this model, but this feature makes mundane tasks such as adjusting the brightness easier for the user.
The stand on the Philips 248E9QHSB can only offer tilt, but that’s understandable for an economy monitor. The good news is it’s removable so you can opt for VESA mounts via the mounting holes that are readily exposed on the back of the chassis. However, we only recommend buying a VESA arm if you absolutely need the space or plan to have multiple screens since the added cost will put you in range of other ergonomic options.
One downside on the Philips 248E9QHSB is it doesn’t have DisplayPort which is widely used preferred by PC users. You do get HDMI 1.4, DVI-D, and VGA for video inputs, along with a 3.5mm jack for headphones. The screen’s resolution and refresh do not need anything more than that, but modern GPUs and motherboards are slowly switching over to DP from HDMI.
The Philips 248E9QHSB doesn’t have speakers, but those are rarely missed since most add-ins do not have sufficient power and clarity for entertainment. However, we think value monitors should have them since their intended audience will have a lot of use for it. Built-ins will allow you to hear conference calls and the like, plus it can be used to play some background noise or music to help set the working mood.
Display and Performance
The Philips 248E9QHSB sports a 24-inch curved VA panel with a 1920 x 1080 resolution, 75Hz maximum refresh rate, and 4ms response time. The backlight is limited to 250 cd/m2, while the contrast ratio is rated at 3000:1 like most VA panels. The display has a narrow 1500r curvature, but the immersive properties are better felt and appreciable on larger variants.
Full HD in 24-inch monitors is still the universally accepted standard for daily use such as office work and gaming. The screen doesn’t look as sharp as a 1440p or 4K variant, but it’s not yet noticeably pixelized at this size. Most GPUs won’t have trouble with it, while users won’t need to use scaling for tasks such as reading or document processing.
The Philips 248E9QHSB covers 100% of the sRGB gamut to produce full and vibrant colors in games, movies, and images. However, accuracy is slightly off with a delta E of 3.6, so some shades look oversaturated, particularly in blues and greens. Color temperature exceeds the 6500K by a small margin, but it doesn’t make the display look like it has a bluish tint.
You can get better results with a colorimeter to reduce the deltaE average to 2.7 for a more balanced look. Doing this will also put the temperature closer to the 6500K point, but the changes in this regard is less noticeable. We think that buying a colorimeter just to tune this monitor isn’t worth it, so tweaking it to your liking is a better alternative.
Gamma also needs some slight improvement at 2.1, but calibrating the monitor did not provide any tangible improvements in this regard. What’s fantastic about the display is its contrast ratio which reached a maximum of 2150:1 at 50% brightness, producing deeper blacks and more defined color separation.
Panel uniformity for the Philips 248E9QHSB could also be better since there are backlight leaks on the lower corner of the curved display. Some clouding becomes visible in dark images, but the overall output of the screen isn’t noticeably affected when a full-color image is on display. Take note that this varies between every unit, so you can get a better one or exchange yours if you have these issues.
The Philips 248E9QHSB’s extra refresh rate headroom helps in adding a certain level of smoothness compared to 60Hz variants. Cursor movements look like they are gliding, while some games get an added fluidity that isn’t a major improvement, but readily noticeable. We recommend using the Faster overdrive setting to help alleviate the blurs without adding overshoot.
The Philips 248E9QHSB is compatible with FreeSync, but G-Sync isn’t part of the spec list since it’s not tested and certified by Nvidia. You can force it via Nvidia Control Panel, but we cannot guarantee that there will be no issues when it is running. Input lag sits at 10ms, so there are no aggravating delays or “de-synced” instances during use.
Thoughts on the Philips 248E9QHSB
The Philips 248E9QHSB is a suitable choice if you want a high-contrast budget monitor with a curved screen. However, the latter benefit diminishes at this size, unless you plan on using this model in duos or triples. You also get vibrant colors with this monitor, but you have to live with some inaccuracies that cause oversaturation in some images.
The Philips 248E9QHSB is a very limited monitor, but its most atrocious downside is its poor calibration which doesn’t have a lot of room for improvement. We understand that budget pricing means some exclusions and cut corners, but decent image quality should at least be part of the package. The Philips 248E9QHSB isn’t particularly an excellent option, but it’s suitable for regular use, including movies and casual gaming.
Pros:
- High Contrast
- Affordable
- Attractive Design
- FreeSync Compatible
Cons:
- Poor Default Calibration
- Tilt Only Stand
- No USB Ports
About the Author:
Paolo is a gaming veteran since the golden days of Doom and Warcraft and has been building gaming systems for family, friends, and colleagues since his junior high years. High-performance monitors are one of his fixations and he believes that it’s every citizen’s right to enjoy one. He has gone through several pieces of hardware in pursuit of every bit of performance gain, much to the dismay of his wallet. He now works with Monitornerds to scrutinize the latest gear to create reviews that accentuate the seldom explained aspects of a PC monitor.
Leave a Reply