Customer Reviews

Samsung SyncMaster 245BW 24-inch LCD Monitor

5 star:		(36)
4 star:		(19)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(8)

 

 

**** 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.

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?!

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!"

We've long used Samsung 21.3 monitors in our offices, with no complaints to date....but needed additional monitors for some new staff. Frankly, I expected an "okay" monitor given the price was simply far better than other 24" monitors. But, I was more than thrilled to find these monitors are nothing short of a "best buy".

The Lazy Susan-style monitor base wasn't something I was looking for specifically, but it has been a great bonus - to be able to EASILY swivel the HUGE monitor without a struggle or without pushing a barely reachable button has been a great benefit. Most of our users are now enjoying dual monitors...two of these wonderful monitors next to each other make for amazing display capabilities.

I'm running both monitors on an nVidia Gforce 7800 Dual DVI card and must confess I don't see much difference between running a digital and an analog side by side as the other staff are doing....but, this observation just illustrates how clear these monitors are, digital or analog mode!

Of the initial 8 monitors I ordered, I did have to return one due to a "plastic burning smell" and a rather hot-to-the-touch area atop the monitor, but the return process was fairly easy (still waiting on the replacement monitor though). I've just ordered another 10 monitors. Staff who only have one monitor are also thrilled with how many programs they can manipulate on a single monitor.

I'm pleased with my new SyncMaster 245BW. It certainly meets my expectations. I will only use it as a computer monitor, so I don't care about the lack of more than SVGA and DVI inputs. If you're looking for more input options, then the Dell 2407WFP is a good choice (although somewhat more expensive).

I personally think 24" is a little too big for 1920x1200, but as far as I know only Apple sells a 23" display at this resolution and it is $900.

Note that this monitor has a VESA 100 x 200 mm mount on the back, so if you buy a desk mount or wall mount for it, you might also need an adapter plate. I bought the Ergotron LX [part # 45-179-195] and then found that I needed to order the adapter plate [part # 97-197-200].

Got this 24" monitor as an upgrade from a 22" Gateway, hence the comparison is based on the same video card and PC. The decision to buy the Samsung 245BW was made purely due to price (under 350 after rebate) - I suppose I got what I paid for.

1. Similar to many LCD screens on laptops, the brightness of this monitor is not even, i.e. it is brighter on the bottom of the screen and gradually goes darker towards the top. No amount of tweaking the brightness/contrast controls would change that. My 22" Gateway did not exhibit this anomaly.

2. Text is not crisp and sharp, especially when set to higher resolution (1600x900 or above). This is more obvious when using a word processor or text editor, etc. Tweaking the fine/sharpness controls did not make significant difference. Again, my 22" Gateway did not exhibit this fuzziness with text editing.

For home use, I suppose this monitor may be adequate. However, this is not a monitor I would spend 8 hours a day looking at. If you're looking for a monitor for graphics/photo editing, or coding (if you're a programmer), you may want to consider other models.

I rely heavily on Amazon reviews to make purchasing decisions. I gave up my Consumer Reports subscription because they only review a smattering of products, and never ones that seem to be actually for sale, so you have to infer and hope and put a lot of faith into the brand. On Amazon, people review the thing you can then add to your cart. Except people seem to have lost track of the stars between one and five. There is a tendency from reviewers to give one star if the product in anyway fails to live up to expectations. Or five in what sometimes seems to be an effort to stave off buyers remorse. I always gravitate towards the negative reviews as they will find the pitfalls, and I can decide weather or not I can live with the shortcomings. This monitor is not perfect, but the price is right, and it works well for my purposes.

Many of the things mentioned in the one star reviews are indeed valid. Out of the box, the brightness is cranked up to 100%. The "color magic" features are about useless. It's taken me a couple hours to dial in an acceptable color profile, and it's still too saturated. The shiny black bezel is a problem. I'm using the monitor with a MacBook Pro. On a Mac, the menus are always at the very top of the screen, of course, and the menu titles get reflected in the shiny plastic! The shiny plastic picks up reflections from the window behind me. When my desk wiggles, the reflection in the monitor wiggles and the motion in my periphery has made me think it is one of the icons jumping in the Mac's dock. Note to Samsung: shiny black bezel = bad idea.

My monitor was made in Mexico. Some of the reviews seem to imply this is a bad thing, but I haven't had any of the problems described. Perhaps by 2008 any quality control issues coming out of the Mexico factory have been resolved?

The viewing angle is indeed very narrow, but that seems exacerbated in zero ambient light situations (i.e. a darkened room). In ordinary office lighting the color shift from side to side seems to recede to practically unnoticeable. The color shift has also diminished over time, so maybe burn-in is a factor, or I've just gotten used to it in a week and a half.

The manual, if you can call it that, that came with this is absolutely the worst I have ever seen. It's in about 10 different languages with one line in each section in given to a particular language. The images are shared and labeled with numbers. It gave me a headache trying to parse out just the English from the jumble. There is no documentation on the magic features, so my bad luck with them may be because I wasn't using them properly.

That said, I love this monitor. I love having 1920 x 1200 bright, sharp pixels to lay out multiple windows side by side by side in. It hooked up to my MacBook's DVI port without fuss and it was recognized immediately. It also works fine with the MacBook under Boot Camp running Windows XP. I bought this monitor because I needed a lot of affordable, decent quality screen real estate. It fits the bill.

For the price, this monitor is fantastic. It lacks extra inputs like an HDMI input, USB ports, or any kind of built in speakers or media card readers. Since I wasnt looking for any of those extras I didn't mind. The DVI port is HDCP complient so you will be able to watch protected movies well into the future over DVI. Of course it also has an Analog connection.

As far as picture quality I can't complain. I knew going in it has a TN panel which is at the bottom of the Panel Food Chain. It offers fast response time so its great for gaming and movies. The downside to a TN panel is the limited viewing angles. At first I thought, well who looks at their screen from a 170 angle?? Where this mostly comes into play is when you view the screen from a distance and are seated a bit below the screen. The panel will appear darker at the top then at the bottom. Also, depending how you sit or move your head, the screen can again to appear lighter or darker in areas. To me, it wasnt that bad, but I wouldnt recommend this monitor for any serious graphic artists who need true color throughout. The only other disadvantage is that the TN panels only use 6 bit color instead of 8 bit. They claim 8 bit but that uses dithering and its not the same as true 8 bit, so you get less colors.

I was comming from a 19" Samsung 930B and the picture quality looks about the same on this monitor. The extra real estate is very much welcomed though. I would suggest you have a good up to date graphic card that can display this monitors native resolution of 1920x1200. If your a gamer you will need a high end card to get good FPS. Im running an Evga 8800GTX.

The included software includes everything you need to calibrate your monitor and to get it how you like it, although its not necessary to use the monitor. You can just use the OSD to adjust settings without the software. As a matter of fact, if your using your graphics card software to adjust video settings I recommend not installing Samsungs MagicColor as it may cause conflicts.

The glossy finish I think adds a nice touch of class to the monitors overall look. I personally wish the screen itself was glossy, I just like that look. The monitor comes assembled and swivels very easily. When you remove the pin from the back you can raise and lower the panel very easily and smoothly. Also, if you want portrait mode, you can remove the 4 screws from the back of the monitor, then remove the locking pin inside. You can now rotate your screen 90 degrees and use your graphic cards software to switch between landscape and portrait modes. The reason Samsung didnt advertise this feature is because of the TN panel. In portrait mode, being that the screen is so long, you may notice dramatic color differances from the top and bottom of the screen. I personally didnt think it looked bad at all.

I certainly wouldnt hesitate to buy this monitor again. Its funny, I paid over $300 for my 19" 930B last year. Now you can get a 24" widescreen for $480 shipped! So only $180 for an extra 5" and a widescreen format. I know 5" dont sound big, but believe me, when you unpack this thing you will be pleasently suprised!

i had a little hesitation about this monitor after reading some negative comments about viewing angle in some reviews, based on the fact that it is a TN panel. but after using it for several days, i would say the viewing angle is pretty great for my needs, and the color seems fine (though i am no graphics professional). the adjustability of the stand is excellent (swivel, tilt, raise and lower). i also appreciated not having to pay extra for something i didn't need, like built-in speakers or USB ports.

curiously, though i'd rate the side-to-side viewing angle as excellent, and the picture also stays pretty true when viewed from an above angle, when i view looking up from below the colors shift rapidly and it becomes unwatchable. this is only an issue if i'm sitting on the floor looking up at a steep angle (from across the room it's fine), but would be problematic if you wanted to mount the display overhead somewhere. the monitor can be tilted downward slightly (like 5 degrees), but not as much as it can be tilted upward (close to 30 degrees). importantly, the vertical viewing angle limits do not cause noticeable differences between the upper and lower halves of the screen when viewed from a normal distance.

setup on my macbook pro was, as expected, effortless. just plugged it in and it worked, 1920x1200 (dual display). the monitor's own adjustment controls are a little cumbersome to operate, but once i got the brightness turned down and the color adjusted a bit, it has seemed fine for viewing photos and watching dvds as well as reading text with minimal eye-strain. there is a ventilation fan or something that makes a faint whirring sound, but i can only hear it if i put my head up close to the back of the monitor (i am pretty sensitive to ambient noise, and this doesn't bother me). the top of the display gets a little warm, but not bad. i'm not a huge fan of the glossy finish on the bezel (it distracts a little from the screen itself, and the inner edge reflects a tiny bit of the onscreen image), but that's a matter of personal preference.

all in all, i think it's a fine monitor for the price. i love having all that desktop real estate, it's a good picture with quite acceptable viewing angle, and it has a nicely adjustable stand that doesn't occupy too much space on my desk.

1. At 1900 X 1200 the resolution is supersharp for pictures or text. The colors are vibrant, and you can set them to whatever levels you desire. They stay pure and do not run together. Whites are very white, and blacks are black. The result is wordprocessing, pictures, and games that are crisp and unbelievably detailed. I was running oblivion at 1600 x 1200 on a 19 inch analog monitor. I am amazed at the detail and brilliant colors that this monitor produces that I was missing before.

2. As for the viewing angle, don't even worry about it. It's fine. Those people complaining about it are either a) people trying to drive a top end monitor at ultrahigh resolution with an underpowered video card (which includes most laptop video), or b) people using it as a TV and viewing it from the other side of the room, or c) people who don't know how to adjust the monitor. They should read the Samsung FAQ. Excellent viewing occurs from normal work angles, as well as off to the sides. Unless you sit under your desk, you won't have a problem.

3. Gaming is spectacular. 24 in size puts me right in the game, and the response time of 5 is fast enough not to cause problems with action scenes in Oblivion, FSX, racing games, or anything I've thrown at it. And that's with an 8800 GTX video card forcing 16X Antialiasing and 16 X anistophiic filtering -- throwing a lot of data at the screen. I almost bought a 22 inch with a response time of 2, but I'm really glad I did not get it. The extra 2 inches is well worth the money

4. I use my system all day, and all evening. I love working on this thing. You can fit two full wordprocessing pages side by side. There's plenty of space for multiple programs on the desktop. I used to use two monitors, and still have the second one available, but I never use it now. I love this thing! It has no glare -- zero. I had no bad pixels.

5. The Samsung FAQ has a mistake in it. The on-screen display works great with a digital connection. If you have digital, by all means use it. You can still access all of the Magic Bright, and Magic color controls.
As others have said, if you are thinking about this monitor, get it, you not only won't be disappointed, you will be blown away by it.