Features of the AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor
The AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor is full featured and includes the usual features such as Picture-in-picture, picture-over-picture and picture-by-picture. The contrast ratio is 600:1 and the AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor also boasts an excellent 170 degree viewing angle. The brightness is also good at 550 cd/m2 and the response time is a decent 16ms.
Inputs are available for VGA PC monitors, DVD and cable TV. The remote allows you to change between modes and input sources, as well as control where the PIP displays. The native resolution is 1280 x 720 and the TV is HDTV ready (720p/1080i). The speakers produce good sound quality and are rated at 10-watts total.
AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor in Use
Most of my testing revolved around the use of the AOC TV with my PC. However, I did use it to watch a few movies and some TV. The contrast is decent, you can get better transitions and shadows with other TVs and monitors, but the AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor performs well.
The 16ms response time is slow, but I was not bothered by overtly obvious ghosting during any movies, games or TV shows. The biggest issue with the AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor is the lack of a DVI input for PC use.
When I used the AOC TV for my PC monitor I had difficulty reading the names of my desktop icons and some of the text on web sites. It was almost like the image was out of focus. Interestingly, during games I noticed none of this issue. All the images in games, like Battlefield 2, were crisp and clean. Even during fast moving cut scenes and movies, ghosting was not really an issue.
The manufacturer also states that the AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor is good for digital signage as well. I suspect it would perform well at that task, so long as the test was large enough for the out of focus effect I noticed with my PC desktop to not come into play.
I have seen this AOC 27" LCD TV/Monitor online from a bit over $550. At that price and with the features the AOC has, I think it is a good bargain and many PC users will be happy with it. Having a PC monitor 27" in size is a great experience and it is hard to go back to a smaller, normal aspect ratio screen after gaming on the large wide aspect AOC.
