AOC's i2367fh: Thin, "Virtually Borderless", and IPS
by Jarred Walton on November 20, 2012 11:05 AM ESTWe've been waiting for affordable LCDs to start showing some clear improvements in performance, quality, features, and design for a while. AOC has potentially done exactly that with their new i2367fh monitor, delivering an IPS-based panel with virtually no left/right or top borders. The bezel measures 2mm thick, making it a potentially great option for multi-monitor users. It's currently available online starting at $189 (though it's also currently backordered).
Besides the thin bezel, the 23-inch i2367fh has WLED backlighting for the IPS panel, built-in speakers, VGA and two HDMI inputs to drive the 1080p display, and audio in/out ports. The stand doesn't appear to support any adjustments other than tilt, and there's no VESA mount, so this is definitely a niche product. However, it's a niche product that looks quite nice and should at least match what we've seen from TN panels for years at only a slight premium.
The display is so new AOC doesn't even list the i2367fh on their US/English sites yet, so the best information we can provide is via this ~7MB PDF, or if you prefer here's their Taiwan page. All we need now is for B&H to get more in stock (and for other resellers to show up). I don't know how others feel, but I'd love to see more displays ditch the 1" bezels—including on the bottom, please. There's nothing a thick bezel adds other than size, though obviously making a thin bezel does cost more.
Update: Some are questioning whether the content of the display goes to the edge (or 2mm from the edge), or if AOC is simply using glass over the main LCD to give a borderless appearance. I asked AOC for an answer, but all I had to go on initially is the press release stating it has a 2mm bezel. To me, the bezel means the area between the edge and the display content, so 2mm would be great. Unfortunately, this unboxing page indicates that AOC is mincing words and using the term bezel to mean the distance between the edge and the glass cover. I apologize for the confusion, though an 8-bit IPS panel for under $200 is still a nice change of pace.
Source: AOC PR
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UpSpin - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
As you said, the worst part is that reputable tech sites post false facts.AOC also never said that the panel is borderless. If you look closely they always say ' borderless appearance'.
But all in all, those marketing images are highly misleading (maybe because the person responisble for the advertising misunderstood the term 'borderless appearance', too) and probably worth a lawsuit.
AT should be ashamed of this article, cheap misleading advertising.
JarredWalton - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
If it is indeed false advertising and they just have edge-to-edge glass, then I really screwed up. Sadly, I can't find any real pictures of the display. What the press release says is: "The 23-inch IPS display has a 2mm bezel that gives the monitor a sleek, borderless appearance." 2mm is virtually borderless, but if it's 2mm to the glass and then and inch to the actual visible pixels... well, don't buy it! I'm just happy to see IPS and a nice looking industrial design in a display that costs under $200.jtemplin - Saturday, December 1, 2012 - link
I'm probably just late to the game (edits to the article), but I don't find the borderless claim from AT misleading as the headline has borderless in quote marks as if to lampoon. (as another poster mentioned but folks seemed to ignore)jackstar7 - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
If they figured out all this but could make it 120Hz, I'd be cheering.cosmotic - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
Higher resolution please!fnord123 - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
Yes, for the love of god, monitor manufacturers PLEASE GET US OUT OF THE 1080P GHETTO. Pixels get pretty big on a 23" with only 1080P, really big with 24", and stupidly ridiculously big on anything > 24" with only 1080P.Please make a monitor like this with at least 1200 vertical pixels and I will gladly pay $250 or $300 each and buy two.
BrazenRain - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
I would definitely buy it if they cut out the gray bar for the initial 'picture floating in space' effectmartyrant - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
I don't see any holes for mounting this thing in any of the pictures. Not worth snagging on that point alone, but the fact that it's only video ports are VGA (legacy, don't care) and 2xHDMI (great, but 1 is fine for a monitor). The complete lack of DVI makes this not appealing to the multi-monitor users of the world. I have run 3 monitors since Eyefinity's inception (am currently on team green, though) and have been doing so with 2xDVI + 1 Active DisplayPort to DVI adapter.You would have to buy DVI or DP to HDMI adapters for this to work...and you'd need at least 2 of them.
Great to see borderless IPS at a cheap price, but the designers here obviously have no clue what is going on when it comes to I/O or where people actually put their "multi monitor" setups.
aliasfox - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
- I like the aesthetics of this monitor, but why are the HDMI ports positioned horizontally? I'd prefer them facing down so it's easier to push the monitor up against a wall without putting extra stress on the cable (or getting right angle cables).- Is this an eIPS or an sIPS display? eIPS is much nicer than most TNs and sIPS isn't always noticeable over eIPS, but it would be nice to know. Related (I guess?) would be whether this is a 6 or 8bit panel.
- Missing DisplayPort or DVI.
I'm considering getting a NEC 23" 1080p display to mirror my HDTV when I'm not sitting in front of it, this would be a nice consideration as well. But as I'd want to use this for a little bit of photo work too, I think it would be great to have an accurate monitor, hence the NEC. Also, with DVI, DP, and VGA connections, I can at least natively plug all of my computers in (an old Power Mac, a Mac Pro, and an HP EliteBook). Too bad the NEC's $100 more and not friendly aesthetics-wise.
DanNeely - Tuesday, November 20, 2012 - link
The horizontal ports were probably engineers false optimizing by making swapping cables by reaching behind the screen as easy as possible. The panel itself is almost certainly eIPS; the price is too low for anything else.