Philips 221V8LB Review: 1080p 100Hz VA Monitor

The Philips 221V8LB is an affordable 22″ 1080p monitor with a VA panel, a 100Hz refresh rate and a VESA mount-compatible design!

It’s essentially the 100Hz version of the Philips 221V8LN 75Hz model.

Image Quality

The monitor is based on a VA (Vertical Alignment) panel, which allows it to reach a high contrast ratio of around 3,000:1 for deep blacks. IPS panels usually have a contrast ratio of 1,000:1, making for almost grayish blacks in comparison.

Another advantage is that the VA panel of the Philips 221V8LB has true 8-bit color depth support for 16.7 million colors, whereas the 22″ IPS models use dithering (6-bit + 2-bit FRC) that can cause some flickering-like issues.

The downside is that VA monitors have minor saturation and gamma shifts at certain viewing angles, but this isn’t noticeable during everyday use and it’s only an issue when it comes to professional color-critical work.

Moving on, the Philips 221V8LB has a 21.5″ viewable screen and a screen resolution of 1920×1080, which results in a decent pixel density of 102.46 PPI (pixels per inch), meaning that you’ll get a decent amount of screen space with sharp text and details.

The resolution is also not very demanding on the GPU, allowing for higher frame rates in video games.

It has a peak brightness of 250-nits, which is the minimum as far as modern LED-backlit LCDs go. However, the screen can still get more than bright enough under normal lighting conditions.

If you plan on using the monitor in a particularly bright room with studio lighting or facing a big window without curtains, you may need a brighter display.

Next, the monitor has a full sRGB color space coverage, so the colors are vivid and accurate without any over-saturation. Some users might prefer a bit wider color gamut for extra vibrancy, but that’s only available in a bit more expensive monitors.

Performance

The Philips 221V8LB monitor has a maximum refresh rate of 100Hz, which provides you with a noticeable boost in motion clarity in comparison to the standard 60-75Hz displays.

In fact, we find that the jump to 100Hz is more noticeable than the difference between 100Hz and 144Hz.

Due to the VA panel’s weakness in some dark to bright pixel transitions, there may be noticeable ghosting behind fast-moving objects, though it’s only noticeable in some darker scenes and most users won’t mind it.

For competitive gaming, you should consider a faster display with a higher refresh rate.

There are four response time overdrive modes available under the SmartResponse setting: Off, Fast, Faster and Fastest. We recommend using the Fast mode since Faster and Fastest can introduce pixel overshoot.

Input lag is low at around 6ms, so there’s no perceptible delay between your actions and the result on the screen.

Features

Beneath the bottom bezel of the screen, there are five hotkeys for navigation through the OSD (On-Screen Display) menu.

Besides the standard image adjustment tools (brightness, contrast, color temperature, etc.), the Philips 221V8LB also has some advanced settings, including sharpness, gamma and aspect ratio control.

You’ll also find features such as SmartImage and SmartContrast. We recommend using the Standard SmartImage mode as other presets make the image less accurate. SmartContrast should be disabled for optimal image quality.

For the most accurate image quality, we recommend using the sRGB color temperature preset.

The monitor also supports variable refresh rate (VRR) via Adaptive-Sync, however, since it lacks a DisplayPort input, you can only use it if you have an AMD Radeon GPU.

VRR synchronizes the display’s refresh rate with the GPU’s frame rates in order to completely remove screen tearing. It has a range of 48-100Hz, but LFC (Low Framerate Compensation) is supported as well, which will display multiple frame rates to keep tearing at bay below 48FPS (47FPS = 94Hz, etc.).

Alternatively, you can use MBR (Motion Blur Reduction) by enabling the MPRT feature. This technology uses backlight strobing to reduce perceived motion blur, but it does so at the cost of picture brightness.

Moreover, you cannot use MPRT and VRR at the same time, and it introduces screen flickering that’s invisible to the human eye, but can cause headaches to sensitive users after prolonged use.

When MPRT is disabled, the backlight is completely flicker-free and there’s a dedicated low-blue light filter mode.

Design & Connectivity

The stand of the monitor is tilt-only by -5°/20°, but you can detach it and mount the screen on a third-party stand via the 100x100mm VESA pattern.

The screen has ultra-thin bezels at the top and the sides of the display, making it a good option for multi-monitor setups. It also has a low-haze (25%) matte anti-glare coating that prevents reflections without making the image grainy.

Connectivity options include one HDMI 1.4 port, one VGA (D-Sub) port and a headphone jack.

Price & Similar Monitors

The Philips 221V8LB can be found for $70, which makes it one of the most affordable 100Hz displays.

It’s also available as a 24″ and 27″ variant – the Philips 241V8LB and the Philips 271V8LB.

The 24″ and 27″ models are also available with 100Hz IPS panels as the Philips 24E2N1100B and the Philips 27E2N1100.

Acer also offers a lot of 22″ – 27″ 1080p 100Hz IPS and VA models, so make sure you visit our Acer KB272 EBI review for more details.

If you can afford something a bit pricier, you can actually find 24″ 1080p 144Hz+ displays for around $100, such as the KTC H24T09P.

Check out our best monitors under $100 and best monitors under $150 buyer’s guides for more options and information.

Conclusion

Overall, the Philips 221V8LB is a decent budget monitor thanks to its VA panel with a high contrast ratio, full sRGB color gamut, 100Hz refresh rate with VRR support for AMD GPUs and a VESA-mount compatible design.

However, unless you’re on a really limited budget, we recommend investing ~$30 more into a 24″ 1080p 144Hz+ gaming display.

Specifications

Screen Size	22-inch
Resolution	1920×1080 (Full HD)
Panel Type	VA
Aspect Ratio	16:9 (Widescreen)
Refresh Rate	100Hz
Response Time	Not specified
Response Time (MPRT)	1ms (MPRT)
Adaptive-Sync	FreeSync (48-100Hz)
Ports	HDMI 1.4, VGA
Other Ports	Headphone Jack
Brightness	250 cd/m²
Contrast Ratio	3000:1 (static)
Colors	16.7 million (true 8-bit)
HDR	VESA DisplayHDR 1000
VESA	Yes (100x100mm)