Awesome Monitor

Author's Rating:

Pros: Bright, crisp picture. Fast pixel response rate. Games and DVD movies look great

Cons: A little pricey

The Bottom Line: 
A fast, beautiful monitor suitable for not only office productivity, but also for the latest PC games and for DVD movie playback

Author's Review
First let me tell you, Epinions introduces this as an LCD TV - its not really. Its primarily a computer monitor (although you can surely watch DVD's on it just fine). It does not have a built in tuner or any speakers. It does have an S-video connection - as well as DVI and Analog monitor connections (and a few external USB ports; another giveaway that its more meant to sit next to your PC). Its really made to shine as a computer monitor.

I have been on a mission from God to find a 24" wide format monitor for enhanced gaming and work productivity on my PC. My challenge has been finding a monitor with a decent pixel response rate (16 MS or less) because I like to play PC games - and with LCD's there can be a blurring of the picture during rapid action (called "ghosting"), if the pixel response rate on the LCD monitor is too slow. After having my finger on the mouse to click the "order" button for the Dell 2405FPW 24" display, on a whim I did a final search for Samsung displays. I have had a Samsung 213T 21" LCD for a couple of years, and I am partial to the quality, brightness, and sharpness of Samsung LCD's. However the 213T has a slow pixel response rate and was not ideal for fast action gaming. There is a new 21" Samsung with a faster pixel rate (the 214T), but if I am going to get a new one I am going for bigger size too. I am an electronics geek, what can I say. But I prefer Samsung displays - they are an industry leader. In fact, the reason my mouse-clicking-finger was poised to click on the Dell was the fact that the 24" LCD panel in the Dell monitor was supplied to Dell by Samsung. I will mention the Dell in comparison in this review, as the Dell is widely regarded as a great 24" LCD by many, and this begs the question as to why one would pay $4-500 more for the Samsung. Read on.

I was also looking for a monitor that would be HDCP compliant (this is a future standard for playing high definition DVD's on the upcoming new Windows "Vista" operating system, soon to replace XP some time in late 2006). Vista will have encoding that requires a HDCP compliant montitor (among other things) in order to play HD DVD movie content. Anyway, long story short, if I was going to shell out over $1000 for a new monitor, I wanted it to be as future proof as possible. I had all but given up hope for getting all I was looking for before I saw the Samsung 244T online at Buy.com.

It has HDCP compliance (hard to find right now), a 6MS pixel response (faster than the dell stated at 8MS), and a host of improved software features. For example, you can pivot the display on its stand to give taller view, and the software automatically senses the pivot and adjusts the display. I had also heard that the Dell 24" has had troubles with the power supply giving off a high pitched whine, and also a high rate of dead pixel monitors. Some have told me that the Dell is
"the same monitor as the Samsung, only its $500 cheaper". After further research I don't agree; there is more to the monitor than just the panel. The software and other electronics are part of the equation too; and the Samsung is superior. There is new software with the 244T (see listed below) that provides more flexibility, accurate color, pixel response, instant adjustment when you pivot the display, etc). HDCP alone is a big difference that the Dell does not have. I have also heard that while Samsung does supply LCD panels to Dell for their manufacturing into their monitors, Samsung saves the best quality LCDs for their own monitors and sends the rest to the OEM's for their manufacture.

There is some debate over whether or not HDCP really matters - here are some of the arguments to whether or not one should care about HDCP:

1. "Windows Vista is not coming out till the end of 2006, HDCP does not matter in your buying decision now, you can upgrade later". For those wanting/needing a new monitor now, you can just buy another monitor again in 12 months? I don't know about you but I don't have that kind of dough.

2. "Someone will figure out a "hack" to vista so you don't need a special monitor for viewing HD content". I would not want to rely on potentially illegal and unsupported "hacks" nor would I want to bother with them.

3. "Who needs to watch HD on their PC anyway", I for one, if I am going to shell out this kind of bucks, want the best chance possible for a monitor that is going to be compliant to all known standards that are coming. I don't plan on buying another one for a long time. Also I am not ready to buy a megabucks HD TV and all that needs to go with that. If I have a monitor that can let me watch some HD DVD's when I feel like it, and also serves as a high end PC monitor, I think thats a nice option.

4. "Microsoft will ultimately not enforce the Vista OS HD protections because users will not like it". I doubt that. The entertainment industry is pushing for this and Microsoft has not allowed user complaints to stop them in the past (ie. having to register all of your new MS software on the web before you can use it). However I would be happy to be proven wrong on this one.


As you can see I am not willing to discount HDCP in my decision; after learning more and more about the 244T, I ordered it on faith, from Buy.com, and was not disappointed. The picture is crisp, ultra clear and bright, and ZERO ghosting on the latest games (Half Life 2, Quake IV, Fear, Far Cry, etc). It arrived with zero dead pixels, perfect out of the box (and that says a lot for such a huge monitor).

There is some confusion about the pixel response rate on this monitor. Even the Samsung web site contradicts itself. There is mention that the pixel response is 25ms in one place, then stated 6ms in another place, and I have seen other articles saying it is 10 ms. Whatever! All I know is that there is ZERO ghosting on action games and DVD playback looks fantastic. This would spell a real response rate of 16MS or lower. The user manual says 6 MS in the specs, I would tend to believe that is the more accurate measure.

Other great things: the brightness on this monitor, and the contrast ratio (1000:1 !) are outstanding. Colors are rich and accurate, and blacks are deep and not washed out. With a high-res digital photo as a desktop background, the picture is stupendous! Great for digital photo or video work. You can't go wrong with this monitor - its worth the few hundred extra. Just a word of caution, to really get the most out of this monitor you need a pretty decent video card. 1920 x 1200 is the optimum screen resolution. I won't go into a primer on video cards in this review, but just be aware that you need to consider this. See below for more details on features and stats:

FEATURES

Super brightness at 500 cd/m2
1000:1 contrast ratio
178/178 horizontal/vertical viewing angles
6 ms (G to G) response time
PVA technology for wider viewing angles and
higher brightness and contrast
Exclusive MagicTune, MagicBright
and MagicColor Pro technologies
MagicRotation with auto pivot technology
PIP/PBP (with video)
Ergonomic four-way adjustable stand: height
(2.4"), pivot, tilt, swivel
Built-in USB ports
Analog RGB, DVI Digital, Component Video,
S-Video, CVBS inputs



EXTENDED SPECS

Panel Type: a-si TFT/PVA
Viewable Size: 24.0"
Pixel Pitch: 0.270 mm
Brightness (Typical): 500 cd/m2
Contrast Ratio (Typical): 1000:1
Response Time (Typical): 6 ms (G to G)
Viewing Angle (Horizontal/Vertical, Typical): 178/178
Native Resolution: 1920 x 1200
Aspect Ratio: 16:10
Maximum Color: 16.7M
Interface: Analog/Digital
Input Video Signal: Analog RGB, TMDS Digital Link, CVBS, S-Video, Component Sync Type Separate H/V, Composite H/V, SOG
Input Connectors 15-pin D-sub, DVI-D, CVBS, S-Video, Component
USB Ports: 2 downstreams, 1 upstream
Power Consumption: 100 watts (max.), 2 watts (DPMS mode)
VESA Wall Mount Compatibility 100 mm
Emission Standard TCO 03
Cabinet Color (Front/Back) Silver/Silver
Magic Technologies MagicTune with asset management, MagicBright,
MagicColor Pro, MagicRotation with auto pivot
Other Features PIP/PBP (with video only), Narrow bezel, Mechanical main power switch
Stand Type Four-way adjustable: height (2.4"), pivot, tilt, swivel
Dimensions (W x H x D) 22.1" x 19.9" x 10.0" (with stand)
Net Weight 21.1 lbs.
Warranty (P/L/B) 3/3/3