Samsung SyncMaster 245BW 24-inch LCD Monitor

by Samsung

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 9.8 x 22 x 17.5 inches ; 18.5 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 23 pounds
• Shipping: Currently, item can be shipped only within the U.S.
• ASIN: B000P6MOG2
• Item model number: 245BW
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (77 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,664 in Computers & Accessories (See Top 100 in Computers & Accessories)
• Date first available at Amazon.com: July 7, 2004

Product Description

245BW - Flat panel display - TFT active matrix - 24 Inch - 1920 x 1200 - 400 cd/m2 - 1000:1 - 5 Ms - 0.270 Mm - VGA DVI - High Glossy Black Primary InformationDisplay Type :  Flat panel display Display Technology :  TFT active matrix Display Diagonal Size :  24 Inch Display Response Time :  5 Ms Dot Pitch / Pixel Pitch :  0.270 Mm Display / Color Support :  16.7 million colors Color :  High Glossy Black Dimensions&MiscellaneousWidth :  22 Inch Depth :  9.8 Inch Height :  17.5 Inch Header / Model :  245BW DisplayInterfaces :  VGA DVI Image Contrast Ratio :  1000:1 Brightness :  400 cd/m2 Max Resolution :  1920 x 1200 VideoDigital Video Standard :  Digital Visual Interface PowerPower Consumption Operational :  100 Watt Service&SupportService & Support Type :  3 years (PartsLabor & Backlight) UNSPSC CodeUNSPSC Code :  43211902 Product IDUPC:  729507801032Manufacturer Part:  245BW

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

129 of 134 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars GREAT VALUE!!!, May 31, 2007

By 

Dsinned (Northern California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Samsung SyncMaster 245BW 24-inch LCD Monitor (Electronics)

**** UPDATED on June 11, 2007 ****

I made the decision to buy based on a direct side by side comparison (in a popular retail store) between this 24" LCD monitor vs. another same size, competing, (but much higher priced), Gateway model.

In the store both monitors were displaying an endless loop video demo via VGA inputs; there was no way at the time to test out the more purified digital DVI interfaces. Albeit, I would have preferred to see a demo of the full capability of 1920x1200 video resolution for assessing each LCDs overall quality, but at least their was a relatively equal playing field for this subjective comparison.

First and foremost, the biggest differentiator and why Samsung's monitor wins hands down, is based on the prices; after rebate, the difference is nearly $100. Plus, Samsung offers a 3 year factory warranty. Of course, as to be expected for such a substantially lower price, this monitor has fewer "extra" features - no PIP, USB ports, fancier stand, etc. But an LCD screen that rotates 90 degrees for profile mode text viewing may well be worth paying more.

Samsung's widescreen LCD is landscape only, but does have a nifty lazy-susan-like, base rotatable and height adjustable stand just like the Gateway. All LCD monitors generally have "tilt" adjustable stands as a standard feature, but lesser models often are NOT height adjusted.

Color contrast and sharpness of full color pictures, like photo images on Gateway's display, were somewhat natural looking and more pleasing to the eye. That might tend to explain the difference in price as well. Then again, maybe not, as Samsung's dynamic response time (spec'd 5ms typical) was immensely better than Dell's, spec'd only millisecond slower. This obvious difference, other than the many $$$ saved, really sold me on the Samsung 245BW!!!

I noticed this difference during a fast transient in the displayed image during the endless loop video demo. When an advertiser's large block white lettering on the displays quickly became superimposed with another, the Gateway image momentarily degraded becoming significantly blurred. Response times were SIGNIFICANTLY more noticeable than merely a one millisecond difference in the specs might otherwise suggest.

Dynamic response times are generally quite important certainly for digitally sourced video game applications, as well as viewing HD action movies on an LCD display screen. Larger HDTV LCDs costing far more than either of these monitors, have the same tendency to blur during fast moving image changes. However, less savvy consumers probably don't pay close enough attention to even notice the momentary degradation effects. This is the one characteristic of all LCD displays that vary widely, and usually the higher the price, the less degradation can be visually detected by the naked eye. No so, in the case of these two monitors, so let the buyer beware.

The smeared fast moving imagery on the Gateway LCD stood out like a sore thumb, and that was all I needed to declare the Samsung victorious in this apples to apples, or is it apples to oranges, comparison.

I initially set up my 245BW to display the output of an Xbox 360 Elite, through a six foot long, HDMI to DVI cable. I set the video resolution of the Xbox to its highest possible resolution (1920 x 1080) and started out going through the various dashboard panes, and played a few hi-res games. I could not detect any dead pixels anywhere on the LCD. Then, I watched a standard anamorphic widescreen DVD with 2.35:1 aspect ratio and of course, thin black bars showed up on the top and bottom of the screen. Unlike many HDTVs, unfortunately without any aspect ratio controls, nor any way to stretch or expand the picture, the black bars were my constant companion throughout the movie. However, in all truthfulness, after a while, I did not even notice them anymore.

There was (thankfully) no blurred images noticeable during the movie. On the downside, I noticed quite a bit of bleed-thru on a totally black (static) picture image, especially in a dimly lit room lighting situation. I tried adjusting down the brightness and contrast to make this effect slightly less noticeable, which did not really help. This is the 245BW LCD's only perceptible flaw, but for the price paid, I did not find objectionable.

The 245BW comes with a minimalist power cord, VGA and DVI interface cables, and installable PC drivers and full instruction manual provide on a CD-ROM. For initial user set up, a bare bones (foldout) Quick Setup Guide is included as well.

This monitor was easy to set up and go through the various OSD menus to personalize for individual preferences. I have not yet had a chance to load and try out the video drivers, but am planning to use the 245BW with Vista Ultimate on a new HP Pavilion, Duo Core, Multimedia TV PC with a good quality graphics card with DVI. According to Samsung, the 245BW is already Vista Home Premium "Certified".

This monitor really has all the "right stuff" where it counts, so perhaps deserves more kudos than given in this review.

Bottom line, the 245BW is a very high quality, 24" LCD monitor display. The 1920x1200 picture resolution looks fantastic and is surrounded by an elegant, glossy black bordered bessel, on an well designed, adjustable stand. At Amazon's current selling price (plus $14.95 for shipping), Samsung's 245BW is a terrific value and will meet most expectations.

53 of 55 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars This is the 24" you've been waiting for.., June 10, 2007

By 

tangent (Houston, TX United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Samsung SyncMaster 245BW 24-inch LCD Monitor (Electronics)

This is the first high quality 24" I have seen for under $500. Yes, this is one of the new 24" TN (twisted neumatic) panels, but don't let that dissuade you. The 22" TN panels have gotten a bad rap due to their poor performance, most of them have issues with bad color banding and lots of light bleeding at the edges. I should know as I have owned several 22" TN panels (mostly Viewsonic VX2235WM).

This 24" TN panel is far and away superior to any previous TN panels I have seen, it is almost laughable how bad my old 22" TN panel looks up next to this one. I would challenge you to put this 24" TN up against any of the more expensive 24" IPS or S-PVA panels and see the difference for yourself, I doubt you will be able to tell which is which unless you are using a specialized image for gamut testing or you are a graphic designer with an extremely keen eye.

The only downsides that some people may find with this monitor compared to other (usually more expensive) 24" panels are: less inputs, no portrait mode. This monitor only has VGA and DVI(+hdcp) inputs, no component or hdmi, this is not really an issue if you are using it as a computer monitor but may turn off some people who wish to hook up other media devices. Also there is no portrait mode like the other 24" samsung 244T series; however, the stand on this monitor is still extremely high quality and height adjustable.

I would very highly recommend this LCD, better yet, I'd recommend 2 or 3. Why buy a 30" when you could have 3 of these for the same price?!

120 of 133 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Not usable for serious or professional work. But I still love Samsung., November 7, 2007

By 

Coronet Blue (California) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Samsung SyncMaster 245BW 24-inch LCD Monitor (Electronics)

Samsung sent me one of these as a swap for my very nice 214T, which had developed a skipped line. I thought I was getting a great exchange, since the 214T is a conventional 21" whereas the 245BW is widescreen.

What I should have paid attention to is the viewing angle. Samsung's better monitors have a viewing angle of 178 degrees and the cheaper models, like the 245BW, 160 degrees. I don't know how they measure this. The problem with this monitor (and there are numerous posts to this effect) is that the type of cheap LCD they use in the 245BW results in uniform screen brightness of...zero.

In other words, looking at a solid block of gray (or any color, for that matter) with your head absolutely still, the gray is gets darker towards the top and the sides. If you tip your head, even 1/2 inch, the apparent brightness changes dramatically. So, tip your head down, 1/2 inch, the bottom gets much brighter, the top, much darker. Move your head up slightly and the reverse happens.

If you're doing anything where you need an idea of how the output will look, you have to tilt your head up and down, look for the "sweet spot" and pray.

I don't have to tell you how good Samsung monitors and TVs can be. Go into any store and you will see that Samsung is the new Sony. Even this monitor, with its one huge shortcomming, is very sharp and has no dead pixels. But shame on you, Samsung, for not telling people "This type of monitor is for entertainment or casual use only!"