We’ve seen a handful of new monitors recently with built-in webcams, such as the excellent Philips 243B9H (see our review, Issue 613) and the slightly less impressive Asus BE24EQK (see Issue 611) – both are 24in models. If you want a larger monitor with an integrated webcam that isn’t overloaded with features aimed at gamers, the 27in Dell S2722DZ is a good option.
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“It has one of the best built-in cameras we’ve seen”
For starters, the webcam is one of the best we’ve seen, and will provide your video calls with significantly sharper pictures (1920×1080 pixels) and and sound quality than similar models. When not in use the webcam can be hidden away behind the bezel at the top of the screen, so there’s no question of accidentally compromising your privacy as long as you remember to push it down once you’ve finished with it. There’s also a mute button on the front of it that prevents it from recording your voice.
It uses two noise-cancelling microphones, helping the calls we made sound loud and clear. You can hear what’s going on through two 5W speakers too. The camera can also be set to unlock your PC using Windows Hello face recognition, so you won’t need to type your password when you switch on your PC.
The 27in screen is impressive – it’s a 2560×1440-pixel IPS panel with a refresh rate of 75Hz. It achieved some pretty good results in our tests, proving itself to be a good all-rounder, with excellent 99 per cent sRGB colour coverage and wide viewing angles of 178 degrees in all directions. Serious gamers should look for something with a higher refresh rate, but it’s fine for casual games use.
It has narrow bezels at the top and sides, with a wider border at the bottom. You can raise the stand by 110mm from its lowest point. It can also tilt, swivel and pivot.
It offers a decent mix of connection options. At the rear of the monitor (pictured below left) you’ll find HDMI, DisplayPort and USB-C (the latter is capable of delivering 65W of power to a laptop). There’s also an audio jack socket, a power connector and a USB 3.0 port. There’s even a second USB 3.0 port on the bottom, for easier access.
SPECIFICATIONS
27in IPS screen • 2560×1440-pixel resolution • 75Hz refresh rate • 4ms response time • AMD FreeSync • 1x HDMI port • 1x DisplayPort • 1x USB-C port • 2x USB 3.0 ports • 400x612x174mm (HxWxD) • 5.18kg • Three-year warranty
VERDICT
ALTERNATIVE
Philips 276B9H
This monitor offers a similar specification but comes with an extra USB 3.0 port
I have returned 1 of these monitors believing that the sound quality was isolated to just that monitor to only find that after replacing the monitor the new one does the same. I will play a video for a few minutes or listen to music or video conference and the sound becomes garbled after a few seconds and I can no longer understand what I am listening to. It continues on for a few more moments. It happens 100% of the time.
Is anyone else having the same issue with this monitor? I’d rather not have to take it back and hope to be able to fix this issue. Monitor is used for business purposes and I def need to video conference and here what others are saying.