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Samsung SyncMaster P2350 LCD Monitor


Date
: 08/17/09 – 05:09:55 PM

Author
:

Category
: Monitors

Page 1 : Introduction

Manufacturer
: Samsung

Today, Samsung is one of the world's leaders in the field of electronics. Founded in 1938, they have built quite a reputation and earned the trust of their followers, especially in the realms of mobile phones, displays, audio players and household appliances. We have taken a look at quite a number of Samsung products in the past, but today we get a firsthand experience with the new SyncMaster P2350.

Samsung has always been one of the main competitors in the LCD monitor and HDTV market, and the P2350 has a feature set geared towards high definition. With features like full 1920×1080 HD resolution and their Touch of Color styling, will the P2350 be worth the price tag?

Page 2 : Specifications and Features

Here are the full specifications listed on the Samsung website:

The monitor comes with some great features, such as 2ms response time, 50,000:1 dynamic contrast, and their Touch of Color (ToC) design. ToC strays away from the traditional glossy plastic build that most manufacturers tend to use, and adds a hint of amber to their injection-molded material. By using injection-molding, they avoid using spray paints that are harmful for the environment. Also, it just looks darn good. ToC was implemented into Samsung panels last year, and has been popular ever since.

Surprisingly, Samsung has opted against the inclusion of HDMI for this panel. With the native 1080p resolution, it would be natural to assume this panel was designed for high-def viewing from HDMI-based devices. Many panels today are starting to include HDMI support due to the increasing number of video cards that output in HDMI format.

Now that we've looked at the full specifications, let's take a look at the real thing.

Page 3 : Package and Contents

The monitor comes shipped in a standard cardboard box.

The box clearly outlines the key features of the monitor.

The fragile product is protected by two large Styrofoam guards,

as well as a cloth bag.

The edges are protected by a thin plastic film to keep finger prints off.

When removed, the true beauty of the P2350 shines. The edges look very high class and refined, and with the tint of red, this panel is stunning. With touch-screen controls and a clear border, it is obvious Samsung takes a lot of pride in their styling.

The clear border around the edge really gives the panel a smooth look.

At the bottom, there are air vents and the mount for the stand.

In a groove on the back, there are connectors for power, VGA, and DVI.

The P2350 also complies with Vesa 75mm mounting, which is great news for those who are keen on wall-mounting.

The package also includes the installation CD, manual, power cord, VGA cable, DVI cable, and the stand assembly.

Now that the monitor has been fully examined, let's take a look at the installation process.

Page 4 : Installation

First, we will take a look at the assembly of the stand.

The installation of the stand is tool-less, and is very straight-forward. The stem fits into the base, a screw holds it in, and the whole assembly just snaps right into the panel.

Included with the installation disc is the MagicTune software, which helps tune the monitor's properties to the desired output.

Installation is made simple with the InstallShield Wizard.

On the Picture tab, you can control the brightness and contrast.

On the Color tab, you can control the temperature, calibration, gamma, as well as other effects.

On the Image tab, you can adjust the sharpness as well as position.

And finally, the option tab allows you to customize the software to however you like.

Page 5 : Colour Calibration

Since color representation is a very important aspect of properly adjusting an LCD panel, we will now go through a complete run-through of the calibration process.

The calibration tool is accessed through the Color tab.

The point of this test is to adjust the color and contrast so the panel can accurately represent colors. The color wheel is adjusted so that the screen always remains grey. The contrast slider is to be adjusted until the square in the middle blends in with the background when standing a few meters away.

After a five step process, calibration is complete.

Before

After

The difference is subtle, but for photographers, color accuracy is very important so every difference counts.

Now that the monitor is fully set-up, let us move on to some testing.

Page 6 : Testing: Technical

Monitor testing is usually subjective and differs from person to person, but there are a few technical tests that can prove a monitors worth. In these tests, the resolution is set at 1920 x 1080 @ 60Hz, and photographed with an Olympus E-1 in a completely dark room.

This first test is just a screen of black, and shows the amount of backlight bleeding on the panel. Ideally, the whole panel would be completely black, but the bottom and top has a little backlight showing. This panel's blacks are very dark, which proves the 50,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio.

This is just a screen of white. This would show any dead pixels as well as how bright the panel can be.

These tests show the contrast of the monitor. Each shade of grey should be easily distinguishable from each other, which is true for this monitor. The picture does not do it justice because of the limited dynamic range of the camera sensor, but to the human eye, the contrast is perfect.

Samsung SyncMaster 2463UW (5ms response time)[/b]

Samsung SyncMaster 226BW (2ms response time)

Samsung SyncMaster P2350 (2ms response time)

To gamers especially, ghosting is a very important characteristic to LCD monitors. CRT monitors usually do not suffer from ghosting because each pixel refreshes very quickly, but in LCD monitors, the pixels turn on and off slower and if it is slow enough, ghosting appears. These images of a car moving from right to left were captured at 1/60th of a second. The monitor was outputting at 60 frames per second, so this is the equivalent of one frame. As you can see, the 226BW (an earlier gaming monitor) seems to have the least ghosting, with the 2463UW and P2350 trailing behind. The P2350 should look a lot better than the 2463UW because of the specifications (5ms vs 2ms) but they look very similar.

The viewing angle is listed as 160 degrees on both vertical and horizontal. This is an accurate measurement, I found that around 160-170 degrees the panel starts to darken.

Now that the panel is finally fully examined inside out, let's start having some fun!

Page 7 : Testing: Usage

With a native 1080p resolution at 16:9 ratio, this monitor was meant for HD video and gaming.

A laptop and a Playstation 3 are used with an HDMI to DVI adapter.

The touch panel is very unique, as the labels light up only if one of the buttons are touched. This keeps the monitor flat and free of buttons and text.

With such a large resolution, text can get pretty small, but it is still legible even from a few feet. With so much desktop space, people can be more productive by being able to see multiple programs without the help of dual-monitors.

Watching Blu-Ray is very enjoyable due to the native 1080p resolution, and with little ghosting. Colours and lines are sharp and accurate, and gaming with this monitor is no different.

Over the past month, this monitor has brightened up my room and has made the most out of my new console. With its sleek Touch of Color styling and injection-molded plastic, this monitor looked good even when it is not even on. Playing games and watching movies in full 1080p resolution looked amazing and really impressed any guests I had over. There was no apparent ghosting that I could see.

Page 8 : Conclusion

The P2350 is a great addition to any entertainment enthusiast. With current generation consoles being able to output 1080p video, Blu-ray and HD-DVD's, and HD cable, having a monitor of this resolution is perfect. This 23.6′ monitor is bound to be a good purchase.

With a tint of colored styling, 50 000:1 dynamic contrast, and 2ms response time, gamers and movie fiasco can be assured a great time. But the lack of HDMI input is a definite turn-off for many. With the many devices that output 1080p in HDMI format, it is surprising that Samsung decided against this. But the P2350 is a great panel with beautiful styling so it still deserves a good look for those in the market.

Advantages

• Touch of Color styling looks great
  
  
• 50 000:1 contrast ratio
• 16:9 ratio 1080p is perfect for games and movies
• Good overall panel image quality

Disadvantages

• Lack of HDMI input
  
  
• Limited availability since now replaced by P2370

I would like to thank Samsung for making this review possible.