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monkeyxflash
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Huion GT-220 21.5" IPS Interactive Pen Display [REVIEW]

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huion_review.swf
Alright Guys, here's my review! You can use the Flash file to get view some images.

About 3 or so weeks ago, Huion, a drawing tablet manufacturer based in China sent me one of there Digital Pen Displays for review. I spent those weeks putting the display through some paces and the result was a very rewarding experience! So without wasting anymore time, let's get started!

                                                                    The Huion GT-220
                                                                21.5" Digital Pen Display

SPECS:

Tech - Electromagnetic Digitizer

Type - IPS Monitor

Screen Size - 21.5" (Diagonal)

Aspect Ratio - 16:9

Display Area (H x V) - 476.64 mm x 268.11 mm

Pen Pressure - 2048 Levels

Viewing Angle (Typical) - H : 178° V : 178°

Pixel Pitch (H x V) - 0.2485 mm x 0.2485 mm

Native Resolution - 1920x1080

Resolution - 5080 LPI (Lines per Inch)

Reading Height - 0.12mm 2048 PPI (Pixels per Inch)

Brightness - 250 cd/m2

Contrast Ratio (Typical) - 1000:1

Number of Colors - 16.7 M

Report Rate - 220 RPS (Revolutions per Second)

Response Time - 5 ms

Video Interface - VGA DVI HDMI

Data Communication Interface - USB 1.1

Power Supply Type - External Adapter

Power Supply (Adapter) - Input 100-240 VAC, 50/60 Hz, Output 12VDC, 3A

Operation Power Consumption - <36W

Standby Power Consumption - < 1W

Pen Power Consumption - 300uA (Max.)

Errors of Digital Pen Detecting (Parallax) - ±3mm (Tilted ±50°from Vertical)

OS Support - Win 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/Vista/XP/2000, Mac OS X10.8.0 and above

OSD Language - English, Traditional Chinese and Simplified Chinese, etc.

Operation Temperature - 5-+40°C (41-104°F)

Operation Humidity - 10-80% (Non-condensing)

Dimensions/piece - 520mmx40mmx320mm

Out Box Dimensions - 558mmx154mmx448mm

Net Weight/piece - Net 5.42kg

Gross Weight/piece - 9kg

Rechargeable Pen - Minimum 800 hours of continuous use


CONTENTS:

Huion GT-220 Digital Pen Display

Rechargeable Stylus Pen GT-80

Pen holder

8 pen tips

Pen Charging Cable

VGA Cable

Power Adapter

Power Cable

USB Cable (Bolted)

HDMI Cable

Instruction Manual

Software CD Driver

Philips Screwdriver

Display Stand (Removable)


REVIEW:

Lets start with the unboxing. The display was shipped to me from China. It arrived in about 1 week (would have been faster if it wasn't the holidays at the time. Average shipping time is usually four days). It was shipped in a large brown box, not too much larger than the box that held the display itself. It was taped up fairly secure, with no loose ends.
Inside this package was the actual box which held the display. It has a plastic handle on it, perfect for pulling it out of this very snug outer package. Opening it reveals a very thick and cushy foam container housing the display, the video interface cables (VGA,HDMI), the Software CD, the Instruction Manual, the Display Stand and a small box that contains the Power Supply, Screwdriver, the stylus, it's charge cable and Pen Holder with 8 replaceable nubs. Everything  is of course rapped or packaged in plastic.

Now this thing's packed in there but good, so it's going to take a teensy bit of elbow grease to get it out of there. I wanted to talk about this in the review because I'm certain many of you out there will have shipping concerns. Rest assured, it's packed tight and secure.
Now on to the set-up.

The first thing I noticed when I took the display out of the package, was how utterly massive it is. Yes, I was aware that it's a 21.5" display, but it's when you see it for the first time that you really appreciate the size of it. As a point of comparence, my monitor is 19". It's more than 2.5" larger than my PC monitor. That's a whole lot of space to draw on, especially if your moving from a 6 X 8 inch drawing tablet like myself. It also takes up a lot of space, not surprising considering how large it is. So if your working in a more cozy, confined area like I am and you don't have a lot of table space, you might either have to rearrange some things to make room or consider a smaller tablet. It might be a good idea to look up some monitor arms. Amazon has a pretty varied selection.

The stand does not come pre-mounted, so you'll have to install it yourself. No need to worry,  a  handy phillips screwdriver and four screws are included in your bundle. Also, while this should be a given, the display itself is quite hefty. Weighing in at 5.42kg (11lbs).
Once the stand was mounted, I moved on to the inputs. This brings the first of two cons I had with this unit. The input ports are all on the bottom of the display. It's not a detrimental issue, but it does make the initial set-up quite cumbersome. Especially if you need to move it around a lot. The stand itself was bare bones, but sturdy. It could go from in almost 180 degree angle to a 90 degree angle. I went with the simpler set-up using HDMI instead of VGA. I also downloaded Huion's brand new driver for this model rather than installing it off the software CD.
I've seen countless complaints about getting the drivers to work correctly. I had absolutely NO problem in this regard. As of this date, the display supports from Windows 2000 up to Windows 10 as well as Mac OS 10.8.0 and higher. This unit has been out for some years now, so I suppose by the time I acquired it, the drivers were far more capable.
The IPS display (In-plane Switching) puts my PC monitor to shame. Basically, an IPS monitor makes it so, that regardless of the viewing angle you still get a clean crisp picture. No color wash out or contrast shifting. So no matter the angle you draw at, you won't have to shift it around to correctly apply your colors. This is just a minor note, IPS displays were created in the 60's and used prominently in the 80's.

One area I did have problems with was setting up the dual screen attributes. Personally, this was an experience barrier on my part. I had never used a dual monitor set-up, so I mostly stumbled my way through it. The instruction manual provides general help in many areas, albeit the translation could stand to be a bit cleaner which oddly enough is my second con, but not  much in using the display in dual monitor mode. It seems as if it's mostly meant to be used in stand alone monitor mode. However, it may just be my inexperience.

With the initial set-up complete, it was time to put this thing through some paces.
First, before I attempt to use any of my art software, I made a pit stop inside the device driver. Once you download the driver, it gives you an option for adding a desktop icon during install for easy access. The driver is fairly sparse in terms of options. Some input choices for the stylus buttons, a toggle for pen pressure sensitivity, a test for pen pressure and pen calibration. That's it. To be honest, I never fiddled with those settings anyway, so the spareness wasn't a issue for me. The driver MUST BE ACTIVE in order for the display to funtion with the stylus. You will easily know whether or not it's active by looking in your notifications box on your taskbar. If it's crossed out, it's inactive.

The GT-220 seems to work with all of the art software I use:

Photoshop (CS6 is the version I use)

Clip Studio Paint (64bit)

Manga Studio

Adobe Flash Professional (CS5.5 is the version I use)

and probably most importantly... Easy Paint Tool Sai


So many artist use the old version of Clip Art Studio, Paint Tool Sai. I can happily tell you that it works absolutely fine with it. In fact, I've already produced a number of pieces of art using the display with this software.
Working with the software usually means being able to use the functions built into it. The stylus itself is comfortable enough, but for a big guy like me who tends to use more force than he should, I had a habit of accidentally pressing the button on the stylus that I toggled as the left trigger. More of a flaw as an artist myself than with the pen. I was able to make smooth broad strokes with little effort and the pressure sensitivity was to my liking. The stylus does not have an eraser on the back like the majority of Wacom tablets out there. I admit, I found myself flipping the pen over to use the non-existing eraser, but I quickly became accustomed to this. Some have complained about the slight squeaking noise the nubs produce when using it on the smooth surface of the display. I wasn't bothered at all by it.

The display does not have a roughed surface mimicking of the texture of paper. It's a smooth glass surface. I've heard some users have complained about this, but again, I had no issues with it.  You might want to pick up a drawing glove or have a microfiber cloth handy though.

As with all pen displays, there is some parallax on the screen while using it. Parallax, in this case, being the distance of the pen tip in relation to the display. Like with other displays, you can calibrate your pen until you feel comfortable with the desired setting. As time passed, I didn't even notice it anymore. I do calibrate the display each time I turn it on even when it looks and feels fine. Just me being obsessive I guess.
 
The display itself, DOES NOT have tilt functions or hotkeys. Again, these are amenities I've never had or needed in my works. I've never used hotkeys, I've always did every thing manually so the lack of hotkeys didn't effect me one bit (Those of you that live for them will have to keep your keyboard close by). By that same token, I've never needed tilt functions either. Tilt functionality is being able to tilt your stylus to produce a broader stroke, like with a paint brush. Not to say this wouldn't make a stellar product even better, but it wasn't a deal breaker for me.

It's also prudent to note, that the power supply as well as the bottom of the display gets warm after extended use. Never hot, it won't burn you. If you've ever used a cell phone or a tablet (iPad, Galaxy Tab) for extended use, usually when your playing a game, you know what your in for.

FINAL THOUGHTS:

I've been using an Intuos2 Platinum, for TEN years. Going from that to this? It's like being blind, then given the ability to see. I love this thing. It's helped my productivity and increased the accuracy and speed of my artwork. The Huion GT-220 ends at $799.

If that's still a bit to rich for your blood, they have smaller pen display offerings, down to the GT-185HD. An 18.4" unit that has since, rectified the issues some had with the GT-220. It has inputs on the side rather than the top. It also has the much hallowed hotkeys the people tend to clamor about and that one goes for $569.

The biggest determent Huion had with customers was with quality control and driver functionality. Customers complained about dead pixels and drivers not working. My unit, was pristine in box, it had no dead pixels or quality issues. The new driver I downloaded from the website launched without incident. My unit worked right out of the box with no issues.

Huion seemed intensely aware of these issues and have indeed been working on them. Even in customer complaints they remark how helpful and dutiful Huion has been through the entire process. I really hope more artists and consumers give Huion a chance. It's awesome to have another manufacturer out there with more affordable options to get drawing tablets from.

PROS:

The price

Massive work space

Sturdy

Fast shipping

Excellent Customer Service


CONS:

Location of inputs on bottom of unit

No Hotkeys

Instruction Manual needs better translating



Whew! Welp, there it is! Got questions? Throw em' in the comments!

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Type: Shockwave/Flash - Interactive
Published: 8 years, 1 month ago
Rating: General

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BlueBreed
8 years, 1 month ago
Very nice. One day I might be able to upgrade my rig xD but when I do so I think I'll try a standing workspace instead of a sitting one, I've heard good things about them.
monkeyxflash
8 years, 1 month ago
Really? Wow, I can't imagine drawing from a standing position like that.
BlueBreed
8 years, 1 month ago
I can't either really, but it sounds like something neat to try - I imagine the only hard part of the setup would be finding a way to mount the tablet device at easel-level height without tugging too much against it's tether to the tower
monkeyxflash
8 years, 1 month ago
In that case, there are no special cords ( at least for the model I got), so you'd just have to buy some longer cables.
CopyPasta
8 years, 1 month ago
I use http://www.hanvon.com/products/tablets/products_sentip...
XD (Finally I wait to buy Wacom)
CopyPasta
8 years, 1 month ago
(Wacom)
Product Type Creative pen and touch display

Size 770 x 465 x 54.5 mm

30.3 x 18.3 x 2.1 in

Weight 19.8 lbs. without stand (9 kg)

55.1 lbs. with stand (25.1 kg)

Screen Size (Measured Diagonally) 68.6 cm

27 inch

Technology AHVA LCD (proprietary IPS)

Displayable Colors (maximum) 1.07 billion (Requires DisplayPort and video card supporting 10 bit color)

Aspect Ratio 16:9

Viewing Angle 178° (89°/89°) H, (89°/89°) V

Contrast Ratio 970:1

Brightness 330 cd/m2

Response Rate 12ms

Active Area 596.7 x 335.6 mm

23.5 x 13.2 in

Color Gamut 97% Adobe RGB

Industry Standard Pre-sets Adobe RGB, 6500° K whitepoint default; DCI, REC 709, SRGB

Graphics Input DisplayPort (required for 2560x 1440 resolution), HDMI (depends on computer)

Multi-Touch Yes

Pen Pro Pen

Pressure Levels 2048, both pen tip and eraser

Tilt Range 40 degrees

Tilt Recognition ±60 levels

Type Pressure-sensitive, cordless, battery-free

Switches Tip switch, 2 side switches, eraser

Nibs 6 standard, 3 felt, 1 stroke

Pen Box No

Pen Stand Yes

Grip Latex-free silicone rubber

Model KP-503E

Technology Patented electromagnetic resonance method

Resolution 5080 lpi

ExpressKeys™ 17 customizable on ExpressKey Remote

Touch Ring Yes, on ExpressKey™ Remote

Touch Strips No

Radial Menu Yes

Precision Mode Yes

Display Toggle Yes

Dedicated Pan, Scroll, Zoom, Brush Size Yes

ExpressKey™ Remote Dimensions 135 x 52 x 10 mm

5.3 x 2.0 x .4 in

ExpressKey™ Remote Continuous Operation Up to 160 hours

ExpressKey™ Remote Charge Time Up to 2 hours

Stand Adjustability Built-in stand (5° w/o legs or 20° w/ legs); optional Cintiq Ergo stand sold as accessory

Orientation Right or left-handed use

Size 32.3” W x 20.1” H x 15.4” D

(820 x 510 x 390 mm)
Cables Included Cables: DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro USB (ExpressKey Remote); Adaptors: DVI-D TO HDMI, Mini
DisplayPort to DisplayPort

PC And Mac Connection USB

Display Connection DisplayPort and HDMI

Peripheral Connections Five USB 3.0 ports

Power Supply Input 100 to 240 VAC, 50/60Hz

Power Supply Output 24 VDC, 5.0A (max)

Power Consumption 80 W, .5 W in sleep mode, .5 W off mode

System Requirements PC: Windows®7 (32/64 bits), 8

Mac: Mac OS X 10.8 and above

What's Included Cintiq 27HD Touch Creative pen display

Pro Pen

Pen stand with 10 replacement nibs & nib removal tool

ExpressKey™ Remote

Cables: DisplayPort, HDMI, USB 3.0, Micro USB (ExpressKey Remote); Adaptors: DVI-D TO HDMI, Mini DisplayPort to
DisplayPort

AC power adaptor

Installation CD

Quick start guide

Certifications VCCI Class B, FCC Part 15 Subpart B (class B) and C, CE, IC ICES-003 and 210, RCM

Additional Accessories Airbrush, Art Pen, Classic Pen, Pro Pen

Model Number DTH-2700

Limited Warranty
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