Customer Reviews

Samsung SyncMaster 220WM 22" LCD Monitor

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

If you're thinking about buying a Samsung because of their quality and 3 year warranty (that's what influenced me), read on. After about 12 hours of use, my 220WM developed a bad pixel - it was bright red all the time - in a key part of the viewing area. I first contacted Samsung for warranty replacement and it took me 5 minutes to convince the support person that this was a monitor and not a TV (guess the 22 inches caused the confusion). Then she explained that their "policy" was not to replace a monitor UNLESS IT HAS 17 OR MORE BAD PIXELS. Quite amazing really, considering this is a failure mode common to cheaper monitors and I've never had a bad pixel in many years of buying Samsung monitors and LCD TVs. You may find that policy reasonable, and if there were several bad pixels around the edge of the screen, I might agree. But - if you have just one near the central viewing area, I guarantee you'll focus on it every time. To their great credit, Amazon will replace a defective product (with ME deciding if it's a defect or not) withing 30 days, regardless of what Samsung thinks.

Now for other pros and cons: The screen is NOT glossy like some monitors of this size (like HP) and so you aren't plagued by reflections. However, Samsung mysteriously insists on putting a glossy black surround on all these monitors (and on their large screen TVs), so you'll get some minor reflections anyway, but at least not on the screen. The menu system is easy to use, with a one button adjustment to select different levels of brightness and contrast.

I can find no fault with the screen image when using the digital interface to the PC. Haven't tried the analogue interface. The speakers built into the monitor are TERRIBLE, however, they're more than adequate for the spoken word or the normal Windows XP sounds and they do save me a bit of desk space, so I'm neutral on them. The tilt forward/back is more than adequate for viewing from a normal height.

I use a PC for what you might consider traditional work - no games or movies. So, I find the wide screen design a bit lacking. The height of the viewing area isn't much more than my old 17" Samsung (4:3 aspect ratio) monitors. It would be nice to have a 22" with the 4:3 ratio as that results in more viewing area real estate. Whatever large screen monitor you buy, make sure you understand what the manufacturer's "policy" is regarding defective pixels. You won't find that in the printed warranty and you'll have to call them to learn about it. Had it not been for the pixel problem and their policy, I'd have rated this monitor a 4.5 (if possible).

I was torn between buying this monitor for $220, or spending $130 more on an HP monitor that looked stunning in the store. I chose this one, and I'm happy with it. The screen is bright and clear, with no dead pixels.. The specs online list the contrast ratio as 700:1, but mine says 1000:1. If it matters. The 5ms response time seems fine for everything I do. The speakers are fair at best, but I have no intention of using them anyway. Two other minor cons are: The stand stinks, and there is minor light bleeding around the edges, which is only really noticeable during boot-up. For the $220 I paid for it at Best Buy, I definitely give it 5 stars. There are better ones out there, but probably not at that price.

The monitor is great-the sharpness is incredible for the money. But Samsung is very picky about their rebate requirements. Apparently Amazon.com doesn't state the order date on their e-mail confirmations and the date the e-mail was sent by Amazon does not qualify. I had to re-submit the rebate with the packing slip from Amazon because that shows printed "order date." So, I am again waiting on my rebate check.

Purchased the ACER AL2216, but it arrived D.O.A.(I should have known better, after all it was an ACER). Then arrived this beautiful SAMSUNG!

Has everything needed analog/digital, speakers, 5ms....beautiful. Great price, and according to SAMSUNG just started manufacturing this model in 11/07.

Thanks AMAZON!!

We've used two of these monitors for workstations at my office and they seemed like fine monitors until they began to smolder. Both monitors succumbed to this and were dead afterwards. We don't leave the monitors running after work hours or during the weekends, and they burnt out during a normal day of work. They weren't brand new, but we still found this quite disturbing. It's a bit more frightening if you use this monitor for a home computer. The burnouts happened while someone was working at the workstation so luckily they were unplugged quickly before any serious amount of smoke was generated, but it even the small amount of fumes generated were enough to make us vacate and air out the office for a bit. Do beware when considering buying this monitor.

I purchased 4 of these at a Black Friday sale in 2007. Almost 4 years later (and TONS of use), and they all still work perfectly. Never had a single issue with any of them, not one dead pixel. I'm bad about setting my PC to shut off the monitor, so they have run 24x7 for weeks at a time with no issues at all. Very little glare in high-light situations, clear picture, and I am super happy with these monitors.

I loved this monitor - and then it started acting funny. Menu buttons wouldn't work and the picture adjust box would randomly pop up. I tried everything too fix it, but it kept getting worse. Now it is unusable, as the monitor randomly cycles through monitor settings with boxes popping up everywhere. I have used other monitors for YEARS, and I got just over a year out of this one. VERY dissapointed, Samsung.

I spend most of my waking life sitting in front of a monitor. As such it is really important to me that the monitor have superior visual quality to reduce eye strain. This monitor has the cleanest color profile of any LCD I have ever seen, it is nicely bright, has a fantastic contrast ratio (black looks BLACK), and fairs well against glare.

The best monitor I have ever owned, easily.

This is the second time I have bought this monitor. I bought the first one for my study and this second one to put in my bedroom. It is inexpensive yet very clear and durable. I have a sight problem so having a large monitor is what I needed. Some people have complained about the speakers but for everyday use I find them to be adequate. I don't play music on mine so they meet my needs perfectly. I find it easy to use since the buttons are all in the front. I would highly recommend this monitor to a person who needs or wants a large, easy to use monitor with a great price (I even got a rebate on it).

The SyncMaster 220WM is an excellent product (although no longer produced from what I understand). I use it as my second monitor. I highly recommend all of the Samsung SyncMaster products. They are outstanding in quality.