I just went on a monitor finding mission for my new Mini. In the bedroom we have an HP hooked up to a 37" Westinghouse 1080P Monitor (it is actually called a monitor because it doesn't have a tuner in it). So, when I got my Mini, I thought I would be a smart guy and get a nice 1080P 32" TV. I went and picked up a Vizio 32", hooked it up, and was not very happy. It was easy to see the pixels and I was getting a headache looking at the screen.
I also have a 22" inch monitor that I had hooked up to my iMac 24". It is a Hanns-G Hi22D - and it was spot on with the iMacs screen in color and clarity. I was using that as a benchmark for the 32", and it didn't come close.
After that I returned the Vizio and tried an LG 32" - same thing. I just couldn't get the colors right, and I was getting a headache looking at the screen, which never happens with our 37" Westinghouse in the bedroom.
I returned the LG 32" and was trying to decide what to get. I checked out a few stores and NewEgg.
Long story short (I know - too late for that), I ended up going to Staples and picking up a Hannspree 25" (HF255), which has dual HDMI ports. Hanns-G and Hannspree is the same company. I put in my color/contrast/brightness settings from my 22" Hanns-G, and it was dead on. Identical to my iMac 24", which is what I was hoping for. I paid $249 for the 25" and $149 for the 22" back when I got it.
I would recommend the Hannspree HF255 or the Hanns-G HH251HPB (they are both identical monitors, and both come with dual HDMI inputs). I think NewEgg carries the Hanns-G. I have had my 22" Hanns-G for a couple of years, and I am very pleased with it. It took a long time to get the settings right (I had it for a long time running the wrong settings, thinking it was a crappy monitor).
The way I have mine setup - which is identical to the way my iMac 24" looks is this (I think this would work for all Hanns-G and Hannspree monitors):
Brightness: 85
Contrast: 94
Color: R- 85 G- 81 B- 70
Sharpness: 0
After putting these settings in, fine tune it by running the calibration in system preferences. My results were a display that was as nice, if not better, than my 24" iMac.
If you don't want dual HDMI they also have identical monitors that have DVI in, but the ones that come with the HDMI ports also include a DVI to HDMI cable. I mention this because the model numbers are very similar and it would be easy to order the DVI version by accident, if you are really looking to get the HDMI version.
Anyway that is my recommendation for a cheap good monitor. The 25" at 1080P is perfect because my back is bad and it allows me to sit back and read, where with higher resolutions I would hunch forward...
