Planar PLN2200 review: input lag and response time tested using the piLagTesterPRO
This 1920x1080 PC monitor from 2021 uses a IPS panel for wide viewing angles, but still manages low lag and fast response time. It runs at up to 75z but only at 1440x900, and would be a fine (if somewhat small) gaming monitor.
Image quality and build
You can set the monitor to 4:3 or wide, but it's a global setting, ie if you make 480i 4:3 then when you go back to the native 1080p it will be squashed. Outside of that one option, there's no way to control the scaling. It always fills the screen top to bottom, left to right. It does a very good job upscaling lower resolutions like 640i or 720p, but of course has a harder time with near HD like 1400x1050p which has noticeable aliasing.
The display has VGA and HDMI inputs. I tested using HDMI only. It has a tilt stand and is VESA mountable. It features very narrow (almost invisible) bezels on the top and sides, perfect for a dual monitor setup.
Input lag
I used a piLagTesterPRO to measure input lag. This device sends a frame of video over HDMI and measures how long it takes to display it. This display does not have a game mode; just a game "color" mode which tweaks the color balance - lame! None of the other settings made any difference in lag either.
I report two kinds of values. 1st response measures how long it takes for the TV to start responding (I use a 5% change in display brightness). This overly optimistic value doesn't tell how long it takes to see anything useful, but matches what other reviewers call input lag. full response is a more realistic measure of lag, and requires the display to reach 80% of full brightness. This combines both input lag and response time, and is closer to what you would actually experience in a game.
The recommended resolution and refresh rate for this display is 1920x1080x60, but it also supports 75hz at the slightly lower resolution of 1400x1050 properly syncing with the vertical refresh to produce constant, steady input lag. Looking at the data at the bottom of the screen, you can see faster refresh rates really do help overall lag, reducing it by about 3ms in total. Unfortunately the lower resolutions do suffer a bit from aliasing, but in a FPS or any 3D twitch game I doubt you'd notice. It's interesting that the panel is able to do 75hz no problem, but the rendering unit can't keep up with that data rate (pixel clock) at native resolution. It's so close, with 75hz working at 1440x900 and 1400x1050. Makes you wish Planar had splurged just a tiny bit more on the rendering unit, making this a true 75hz display.
I also tried some unlisted 80hz modes but the monitor refused to sync to them.
It also handles interlaced modes with no problem, showing them using bob deinterlacing with no additional lag over progressive modes.
Response time was about 5ms, independent of the amount change between frames, and the change was smooth, without any overdrive artifacts. Very impressive.
Results compared to other displays
To allow quick comparison between many displays I've summarized the results
across all the displays I've personally tested with the piLagTester Pro. Min
lag is the time to the first response, measured where the screen starts
drawing (typically, the top); real lag is the time to the full response,
measured where drawing finishes (usually the screen bottom), i.e. input lag +
scan out + response time. Numbers in red denote average values that can vary by
up to 8ms between power cycles.
| Display | Year made (TV?) | Native Res | native min lag | native real lag | 480i real lag | 480p real lag | 720p real lag | 1080p real lag | native response time | native scan out |
| Dell E198FPb | 2008 | 1024p75 | 2.7 | 20.4 | 39.0 | 35.0 | 5.00 | 12.70 | ||
| Planar PLN2200 | 2021 | 1080p | 2.4 | 22.6 | 24.1 | 23.3 | 22.9 | 22.8 | 5.00 | 15.17 |
| Samsung 2494sw | 2011 | 1080p75 | 2.8 | 22.7 | 26.5 | 26.5 | 26.5 | 8.00 | 13.30 | |
| Vizio VO370M | 2010 | 1080p | 2.5 | 23.6 | 83.0 | 49.0 | 47.0 | 24.3 | 5.47 | 15.67 |
| Dell S199WFP | 2009 | 900p75 | 3.6 | 24.2 | 28.5 | 27.8 | 27.3 | 27.1 | 8.00 | 12.60 |
| Dell E228WFP | 2010 | 1050p | 3.0 | 24.2 | 26.5 | 26.7 | 5.00 | 16.90 | ||
| LG W1953T | 2010 | 768p75 | 2.6 | 25.6 | 28.7 | 28.7 | 10.00 | 13.00 | ||
| Dell U2410 (game) | 2010 | 1080p | 4.0 | 26.2 | 62.2 | 28.3 | 26.5 | 26.5 | 6.00 | 16.20 |
| TCL 40S325 | 2021 | 1080p | 6.5 | 27.3 | 60.6 | 29.0 | 27.9 | 27.7 | 6.00 | 14.83 |
| TCL 49s403 | 2018 | 4k | 6.1 | 30.2 | 76.8 | 30.9 | 30.3 | 30.7 | 8.00 | 16.13 |
| AOC/Envision G19LWK | 2010 | 900p75 | 3.1 | 31.2 | 39.5 | 38.7 | 38.4 | 37.8 | 15.50 | 12.60 |
| Dell E2211H | 2014 | 1080p | 3.0 | 33.6 | 34.7 | 34.5 | 34.1 | 33.8 | 15.00 | 15.57 |
| Panasonic TH-58PE75U | 2008 | 720p | 28.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 6.00 | 0.00 |
| Dell 1907FPc | 2008 | 1024p | 3.0 | 34.0 | 35.9 | 34.8 | 15.00 | 16.00 | ||
| Panasonic TH-42PX75U | 2008 | 720p | 28.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 6.00 | 0.00 |
| Panasonic TH-50PZ80U | 2008 | 720p | 28.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 34.0 | 6.00 | 0.00 |
| Corprit D157 (hdmi) | 2021 | 1080p | 3.1 | 34.5 | 34.9 | 34.8 | 34.6 | 33.9 | 16.25 | 15.13 |
| Samsung S27C230 | 2014 | 1080p | 2.9 | 36.0 | 36.6 | 36.1 | 36.1 | 18.10 | 14.97 | |
| Vizio E470VL (vga) | 2011 | 1080p | 22.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 | 39.0 | 9.00 | 8.00 | |
| Samsung LN32D403 | 2012 | 720p | 20.9 | 41.2 | 58.9 | 42.4 | 40.7 | 40.7 | 5.50 | 14.83 |
| TCL50s423 | 2021 | 4k | 14.0 | 42.0 | 75.0 | 42.0 | 42.0 | 42.0 | 13.00 | 15.00 |
| Dell U2410 (sRGB) | 2010 | 1080p | 20.5 | 42.8 | 62.4 | 45.0 | 43.1 | 43.1 | 6.13 | 16.13 |
| ACER AT3265 | 2012 | 1080p | 19.5 | 43.8 | 62.7 | 45.3 | 43.8 | 43.8 | 8.00 | 16.27 |
| sony XBR 43X800D | 2017 | 4k | 24.5 | 44.3 | 46.5 | 46.0 | 44.6 | 44.7 | 5.00 | 14.83 |
| Element elst5016s | 2017 | 1080p | 21.4 | 45.1 | 63.5 | 46.4 | 45.1 | 45.3 | 8.00 | 15.73 |
| RCA L40FHD41 | 2010 | 1080p | 20.3 | 46.6 | 65.0 | 48.0 | 47.0 | 46.0 | 9.68 | 16.63 |
| Sony 40VL130 (game) | 2008 | 1080p | 22.8 | 47.3 | 66.3 | 49.0 | 47.3 | 47.3 | 9.08 | 15.43 |
| Polaroid FLM-373B | 2007 | 720p | 28.0 | 49.0 | 82.0 | 49.0 | 49.0 | 49.0 | 7.00 | 14.00 |
| Philips 42PFL3603D/F7 | 2009 | 1080p | 29.0 | 50.0 | 84.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 50.0 | 5.00 | 16.00 |
| Sony KDL-40V3000 | 2008 | 1080p | 22.2 | 50.1 | 68.4 | 50.6 | 50.5 | 49.8 | 11.00 | 16.93 |
| LG 42LC2D | 2006 | 720p | 28.3 | 50.6 | 54.6 | 50.8 | 50.4 | 6.30 | 15.95 | |
| GPX TDE3245W | 2016 | 720p | 28.0 | 51.0 | 102.0 | 51.0 | 51.0 | 51.0 | 8.00 | 15.00 |
| Sony KDL-46EX400 | 2010 | 1080p | 28.0 | 52.0 | 87.0 | 52.0 | 52.0 | 52.0 | 8.00 | 16.00 |
This list is sorted by real lag for each display's native resolution and max
refresh rate. Since this display can only do 60hz at native resolution it
doesn't get any boost in this ranking from the fact that it can also do 75hz at
lower resolutions. I've cut the list off at 35 entries for space reasons, but the total list is 54 long, and all the removed TVs are even slower.
Even at 60hz it's the 2nd fastest monitor on my list, and the only one that's IPS. Very impressive. And it would be #1 if you put it into 75Hz mode. That is largely due to its very fast response time of 5ms. Keep in mind, that the numbers don't communicate how clean that 5ms response time is, either. It has zero overdrive artifacts, making motion look very, very good. It would be an excellent and affordable choice for a gamer (if somewhat small).
That said, almost all the PC monitors I've tested are within 4ms of the same total lag. Yes, this better, but any of them would be a fine choice.
Other comparable displays
Planar also sells a PLN2400 and PLN2700. No points for guessing what size those are ;-). They are from the same era, and have matching specs, so I would expect they would perform the same as the PLN2200.