Sleek, modern and sexy, but not for graphic designers
Written: May 27 '03
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Pros: Slimline and space saving; good for office work
Cons: Colors off and dark
The Bottom Line: This is definitely a space saving and a truly beautiful monitor,but if color is important to you -- don't give up your CRT right away.
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| nfatepinions's Full Review: Samsung SyncMaster 191 T 19 in. Flat Panel LCD Mon... |
While the Samsung Syncmaster 191 T is absolutely beautiful and coordinates perfectly with Dell and other charcoal computer systems, it had color problems.
I purchased the 191 T based on a variety of reviews which stated how bright and clear it was. This is very true when working with spreadsheets, word processing or email. If, however, you need to have colors that are anywhere in the ballpark, this is not a monitor for you. You may, in fact, need to keep to your CRT monitor despite the bulk and less than stylish look.
One thing that was NOT mentioned in any of the reviews I read is that while the monitors are rated for brightness, the companies in no way check or apparently even try to keep the brightness standard near their rating. There was, in fact, a disclaimer hidden on the very last page of the VERY minimal instruction pamphlet. So, I may have received a monitor that didn't measure up to "specs". Still, even with the controls turned to 100 percent brightness, general Internet surfing was difficult. Many graphics that looked perfect on my CRT monitor (set to conform to "correct" color standards as much as possible) were dark and lines and edges appeared jagged and broken even with the monitor set to the 1280 X 1024 native resolution.
The manual which came on the CD was very sketchy and there was no information about connecting with the digital cable. Both cables come connected to the monitor by the way and there is a somewhat cumbersome driver installation where you install BOTH analog and digital drivers in order to use the digital cable. Then you disconnect the analog cable and carefully hold the exit key when booting so that "B" lights up. Then after a bit of never-never-land dark screen, you actually get a nice, clear picture.
On the plus side, Samsung tech support was very friendly and helpful and with two calls and no queue I did get the monitor connected as I wanted. Some simple instructions included in the box would have made the job much simpler. I suspect they are not worrying too much about digital connections yet, but they should be (smile).
There is software included to let you use the monitor in vertical mode. I did not install it, so I cannot speak about the pluses and minuses of that.
The monitor controls such as "contrast" may not be available. I have a Ge Force 4 graphics card which is fairly new and many of the fine tuning options that appeared on the monitor menu (built into the monitor) were "not available". This included color shifting, which at best only gives you "shift towards blue" or "shirt towards red". I had to learn to love the default and I did not.
The monitor does have good energy saving features and it is easy to move around weighing about 19 pounds. According to specs, it can hang on the wall, but it appears that you need an adapter for that. You also need an adapter for a MAC (or so the instruction book says).
Also, you need to set the resolution at 16 bit or all sorts on "interesting" things can happen as the monitor attempts to do something it cannot -- that 32 bit resolution.
This is definitely a space saving and a truly beautiful monitor, and if you are doing office work or general email it may just be the monitor for you. If, however, you are in any kind of web design or graphic or video work, don't sell your CRT monitor right away. Remember also that the options available to you are somewhat dependent on your graphics card.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 645
Operating System: Windows
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Epinions.com ID:
nfatepinions
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Reviews written: 3
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