Philips 244E5QHAD review

The Philips 244E5QHAD is a budget 24in 1080p screen with an IPS panel. While once the preserve of more expensive screens, IPS technology is finding its way into ever-cheaper monitors. This is one of the cheapest 24-inch IPS screens we’ve ever reviewed.

Although we were impressed by the overall quality of the screen, colour accuracy left a little to be desired. Out of the box, the Philips screen was able to display 88 per cent of the sRGB colour gamut, which is significantly lower than we’re used to seeing from IPS panels. These kinds of screen tend to cover around 95% of the sRGB gamut even without calibration, but the most we could get out of the 244E5QHAD after running through our calibration process was 91.5 per cent. The screen struggled to display some cooler greens and blues, with some reds and pinks also proving outside its range. In our subjective tests, this left some colours looking slightly muted when compared to those of more expensive IPS screens such as the Viewsonic VP2772. It should be kept in mind that this is very much a budget screen so image quality expectations should be tempered accordingly.

We measured low black levels of 0.27cd/m2, which translated in our test photos to deep blacks without a hint of grey. We measured contrast levels as a high 897:1, and we could see a reasonably high level of detail in the darker and lighter parts of our test photos. The screen is also very bright; we measured it at 250cd/m2, which is some way brighter than any of the other cheaper IPS screens we’ve reviewed.

Viewing angles are wide, as we would expect from this kind of panel, although we did notice a slight blue tinge when we weren’t sitting straight on to the panel, especially when viewing darker scenes and images.

On the rear of the monitor are a VGA port and a pair of HDMI connectors, one of which is MHL-compatible. This means you can connect an MHL-enabled mobile device to the monitor to show its content on a larger screen while simultaneously charging the handheld.

Having two HDMI ports will also be useful for people who want to use the monitor with a games console or a set-top box alongside a PC, although you’ll need a £2 DVI to HDMI adaptor if your PC doesn’t have an HDMI output. The screen also has a 3.5mm line in jack and a headphone output, so you can run an audio passthrough from your PC to the screen. Without headphones plugged in, you can use the pair of 5W speakers built into the rear of the screen, although they are fairly tinny and won’t ever replace even a cheap set of desktop speakers.

We found the Philips screen’s build quality to be fairly mixed; in particular we were a little concerned by the stand. With only a single thin arm keeping the screen attached to the base, there is a significant amount of wobble when the screen is touched. While we don’t think it would result in the screen toppling over, it’s still a clear sign of where some costs have been cut. We weren’t too keen on the monitor’s styling either; firms like AOC have demonstrated you can create attractive design on a budget, and we would have liked to have seen a little more flair than the glossy black bezel on offer here.

Overall, the Philips 244E5QHAD is an reasonable option for those looking for IPS performance on a budget. While colour accuracy isn’t brilliant, overall image quality met expectations. However, we’d rather sacrifice an inch of screen size and buy the Iiyama ProLite XU2390HS, which has significantly better colour accuracy for slightly less cash.