Print this article

Samsung T240 LCD Monitor


Date
: 10/10/08 – 06:34:28 AM

Author
:

Category
: Monitors

Page 1 : Introduction

Over the past few years, Samsung has been making more and more appearances here at Overclockers Online, bringing with them quite a number of printers, MP3 players, numerous monitors and even more recently, a LCD HDTV.

Samsung's newest lineup, the T series of monitors, or the Touch of Color series focuses on two things, performance and style. Combining the best LCD technology has to offer along with modern styling, the T series of monitors aren't your typical everyday monitors.

Today we will be taking a look at the T240, the 24′ variation of the T series. This unit boasts an impressive 20,000:1 contrast ratio, 5ms response time, HD support and an enormous 1920×1200 screen resolution.

Page 2 : Features and Specifications

Here is what Samsung has to say about the new T240 monitor:

On paper, or screen, these numbers say quite a bit. Now whether the monitor can deliver, we shall see!

Page 3 : Features and Content

We have become quite accustomed to Samsung's standard packaging, brown boxes with blue print. However, like how the T series monitor takes a step away from Samsung's traditional styling, the packaging gets a makeover too. The T240 is packed away in an enormous white gloss box and appropriately, accented with red.

Plastering almost all surfaces of the box are various profile pictures of the monitor along with a list of specifications, features and compatibility information.

Opening up the package, we have our usual spiel: monitor, stand, software, and a stack of documentation.

Assembly is exactly what we have come to expect from Samsung's basic stands: tool-less, quick setup, and well, fairly basic. On a monitor of this magnitude, I must admit, I am disappointed that Samsung has opted to use a basic stand rather than a height adjustable one.

But, a stand is just a stand, although a height adjustable one would have been an excellent addition and would have definitely adds to the overall package, what we are most concerned of is the display itself.

The overall look of the T240 is quite different from what we have become used to. Piano black, distinct lines and blue accent LED lighting has been the pinnacle of Samsung's image. That being said, the T240 doesn't necessarily throw Samsung's conventional styling out the window. The T series is distinguished by a dash of red towards the monitor.

Also, note that Samsung has relocated the On Screen Display (OSD) controls to the side of the monitor, and have opted to use conventional buttons rather than the touch sensitive ones we have been seeing lately. The main power button is still however, touch sensitive.

The T240 as a whole isn't an all-in-one desktop peripheral replacement, it doesn't come equipped with speakers, webcam or a microphone, and it is a unit with the sole purpose of displaying digital content. No frills. However, it is worth mentioning, there are higher end T series monitors with TV Tuners built in.

Towards the back, the connector heads are covered by a plastic cover.

Excuse the fingerprints, but from left to right we have: power, HDMI, DVI, VGA, audio out, digital audio out, two peripheral USB connectors, and another USB connector to attach to the computer.

Page 4 : Assembly

We are going to jump backwards a little bit and now have a look at the assembly procedure.

The monitor ships in three parts: monitor, hinge and base. Assembly isn't much more involved than snapping pieces together. First, we'll start with the hinge into the monitor.

Then into the base.

Easy wasn't it?

The T240 is by no means a small monitor – after all, it is a 24′ wide monitor. I would reckon to say, one would have a harder time finding space for the monitor than actually assembling it.

Page 5 : Installation

Before we actually begin playing with the monitor, in order to fully take advantage of what the T240 has to offer, we will begin with installing the drivers.

Included with the software bundle is MagicTune, Natural Color Pro, and the basic monitor drivers. Of course, only the bare minimum drivers need to be installed; however, the included applications allow fine tuning of features, if users choose to do so. While we will not be going through each and every piece of included software, we will be taking an in-depth look at Samsung's MagicTune software!

Page 6 : Installation: MagicTune

MagicTune is a nifty little application which takes the On Screen Display (OSD) controls a few steps further. This application offers all that the On Screen Display controls have to offer, and then some by allowing the user to quickly and conveniently tweak all imaginable settings, and not to mention without needing to fidget with monitor buttons!

Picture

This tab controls the absolute basics, brightness, and contrast along with a little feature Samsung likes to call MagicBright. MagicBright can conveniently be accessed through the On Screen Display controls allowing optimization for any environment. MagicBright includes optimized settings for text, internet browsing, games, sports, movies, a configurable custom setting, and lastly dynamic contrast, automatically adjusting the display according to one's usage.

Color

The Color tab allows users to further tweak color tone, RGB balance, gamma, color effects, color saturation through MagicColor, and calibration which we will discuss in the next section.

Image

This section allows the adjustment of the display's vertical and horizontal position along with sharpness.

Option

This final section is for tweaking MagicTune and the OSD itself allowing users to customize keys.

Page 7 : MagicTune Callibration

MagicTune: Calibration

Perhaps the most interesting feature included in MagicTune is the ability to calibrate the monitor. Of course, MagicTune is by no means a replacement for hardware calibration, but the ability to easily and fairly accurately calibrate a monitor through software is just about as good as it gets without emptying ones pocket for a hardware calibration tool.

The program itself is not as intimidating as it looks, although it does help for an explanation, and that's what we are going to cover right now!

Our main concern is the slider and patch in the middle of the square, our goal is to make the color patch and the grey patch disappear into the background. It helps to squint your eyes, but its simply easier to move backwards from your monitor a few meters, of course the aid of a wireless mouse is a god-send!

Calibration is a five step process, it does take a while, and it takes quite a bit of fiddling, so sit down and grab yourself a drink!

Here is where things get tricky. A slight hue can be detected in the color patch indicating that the screen is displaying the wrong hue. To correct this, simply grab the patch in the middle, and move it in accordance to the color wheel on the bottom. In this case, the color patch had a tint of blue, so move it slightly towards the direction of yellow.

The same goes for the final step, first use the slider on the bottom to best match the color patch to the background and then adjust for color.

Once all five steps are completed, hit the preview button!

Page 8 : Testing

Finally, we come to the part of the review where we actually get to play with the monitor!

The extra desktop space comes in handy, whether you use icons or not, who could say no to 1920×1200 desktop wallpapers?

For all uses, documents, e-mail, web pages, games and multimedia, the color representation is staggering.

Even with basic usage such as browsing the internet, the T240 shines with its massive size.

Page 9 : Conclusion

Unofficially, one of the ways I gauge a monitor's overall performance is how hard it is to part away with. We get a chance to play with a lot of top of the line hardware here at Overclockers Online, and over the years a whole bunch of monitors as well. Some products are easier to let go than others, and some one can't help but want to hold onto for a bit longer before sending away. The T240 is one of those products.

In terms of the display, the T240 is all around a great monitor – super bright, great contrast, and well, of course, how could I forget? It is a 24-inch display. That being said, the T240 does have a few shortcomings.

At the risk of sounding cliché, it is features and details which separate good monitors from great monitors. One thing that I have come to expect from Samsung is the overall package of a product. The T240, relative to units we have recently reviewed, felt a bit empty. Without mincing words, the choice to not use a height adjustable stand was disappointing. Not including speakers, microphone or webcam was understandable given that the T240 was not intended to fill the market as an all-in-one feature inclusive monitor, but from first removing the monitor from the box, to even now, at the end of the review, the lack of a height adjustable stand on this unit baffles me. For a monitor at this price point and with such a robust set of specifications, a basic swivel stand just does not cut it.

Now, for if I were to conclude in such a manner, more than a few e-mails would end up in my inbox wondering, how, with such scorn for the stand, did the T240 win me over? The screen itself produced brilliant colors, the lines are sharp, it is vibrant, it keeps ahead of fast paced action movies, games and the unit itself is beautifully sculpted. For what the T240 offers, I know I can live without a fancy stand.

Advantages

• Beautiful color reproduction

• Big screen
• Sharp display

Disadvantages

[list>

• Overclockers Online would like to thank Samsung for making this review possible.