Customer Reviews

Samsung SyncMaster 710N-2 17" LCD Flat Panel Monitor (Black)

5 star:		(17)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I have had this monitor for several months now and I believe it to be the best computer investment I have made in years.

What I like:
- Saves your eyes (Definitely puts less strain on my eyes than my old 21" CRT after hours in front of the PC)
- Small footprint (huge space saving)
- Thin bezel (frame around screen)
- Sharp image
- Easy to install and use
- Generally sharp looking screen design
- Last but not least the 3yrs warranty (where else can you get that?)

Disadvantages:
- The stand does not have much swiveling adjustments
- The stand cannot be adjusted vertically
- Some screen designs out there look more appealing but the 710n-2 surpasses them technologically. (See below)

LCD monitors have obvious advantages over CRT monitors:
-LCD monitors consume less power
-Do not produce electromagnetic radiation as CRTs do
-Do not flicker like CRTs
-Produce a sharper image (especially with text)
-Are light and slim in size
-Have a full viewable size

LCD monitors also have disadvantages compared to CRT monitors:
-LCD monitors do not show consistent brightness and color shades as your viewing angle shifts
-Are slower in responding to image changes wich means movies or games visual quality is affected. Choosing an LCD with a low response time should correct this issue however.

The technical specs of this monitor make it one of the best -if not the best- ones out there.
Please compare its technical specs, line to line, with the competition and see for yourself.

Here are a few hints:
-Dot pitch is the size of the individual pixels that make up the screen, the smaller the dot pitch, the better the details' quality.
Samsung 710N-2 = 0.264 mm
Competition > 0.284mm

-Contrast ratio: This spec is really irrelevant; it measures the difference between the darkest and the lightest areas of a test screen. Above 300:1 is considered good.
Samsung 710N-2 = 600:1
Competition >450:1

-Viewing angle (Horizontal and Vertical): Not important, unless you intend to watch your monitor by sitting at an angle to it (i.e. presentations for a group). A bigger angle is a plus
Samsung 710N-2
Horizontal viewing angle: 160 degrees
Vertical viewing angle: 140 degrees

-Response time: A hidden but revealing spec. It measures the response time to image changes, the smaller the response time the better off you are watching movies and playing games.
Samsung 710N-2 = 12 ms
Competition > 16ms

-Brightness: A measure of screen luminance or brightness, it is an indication of a pleasing image under all ambient light conditions.
Samsung 710N-2 = 300 nits
Competition = 250-300 nits

I hope this review will help you decide which monitor to buy.

I did alot of comparative shopping and watched LCD prices drop over the last few months. I got an excellent price on this monitor. My friend has a slightly older Samsung LCD and the clearity of the display impressed me. This monitor is no acception. It's stylish looking and doesn't take up alot of deskspace, but more importantly it has features to make it a worthwhile purchase. It's got a 12 ms response time, a 600:1 contrast ratio and 1280 x 1024 max resolution. Comparing this to my economy priced philips 17 in CRT (107s) is not even possible. I havent done any gaming with this monitor yet, but with 12 ms response time their should be no ghosting. Most LCDs are 25ms or 16ms, but Samsung provices 12 ms with this model. More of an issue for gamers, but certainly not a bad thing for the rest of us. DVDs look sharp and crisp. The adjustment menu allows for diff color modes, entertainment, internet, custom and a couple others. A useful feature as for typing I like to tone down my monitor's brightness to save my eyes. The menu selection keys are sort of hidden in the right hand lower corner, which although some people say is inconvenient, takes little getting used to. The menu is intuitive and easy to use. You also get 3 year parts and labor coverage + 3 months for returning your product registration.

The only cons I can think of are fairly superficial. The power cord is only partially hidden by the back part of the stand, while older samsung models mask the entire cord. The model is not available in silver, but the black is still really sharp looking. The stand is limited to tilting the monitor up or down. Some monitors on the market allow you to adjust height and swivel, for me this is not a concern as I wouldnt use this feature.

This monitor is recommended to anyone looking to upgrade to an LCD. It saves deskpace and has excellent image quality.

What seems to be my monitor was dumped by Fed Ex on the lane leading to my house in a rainstorm and found by a neighbor next day. My contacts with Amazon have earned me nothing but scant promises to make amends.

My account doesn't even show that I ever ordered although I have a confirmed order number. As an old customer I should not have to hang on the phone or send e-mails that elicit canned responses.

My low rating was censored by Amazon and thus I assigned it five stars as a test to see if that would be aprroved by the censors.

Thank goodness for these reviews! If not, I'd be feeling a sucker.

For the first time I was looking to "upgrade" from a CRT to a LCD monitor. The upgrading rush had me thinking about getting one with a TV tuner incorporated. All this, of course, getting the best bang for my buck.

After going through dozens of reviews--SCARY if I may add-- I stayed clear from LCD with TV tuners, and decided to spend that equivalent amount on this monitor (after all, a brand name for only about $20 more than the closest to it).

Through different sites, I didn't come across ANY IMPORTANT complaints on it (except for Mac users -still, complained about the adapter, not the monitor--).

So, it now sits on my desk that just seems so much bigger thanks to its slimness
I can view it from any angle I roll my chair to, and basically anywhere I am in the office (except under the desk or the door frame behind the desk)
Even when the afternoon sun can comes through the window right over the screen, I can still see it thanks to its high brightness & contrast (wow, that 600:1 sure makes a difference over the general 300:1 monitors)

About the "nagging" complaints;

Only black available...well, the rest of my PC system is not black, but then the CPU isn't next to the monitor, and for some reason, a black frame seems to help me focus more on the screen than the frame.

Buttons really small...yes, almost camouflaged. I think it's a great concealment, and I like the look of a clean monitor...leave the shiny buttons for the keyboard; after all its not like I'm poking at them all the time.

Screen doesn't tilt in every direction...so what, as I just said, I can stand, sit and roll to the sides and still see everything clearly.

What more can I write? OH yes, have you lived with that after purchase uncertainty? Well, I've been taking close looks at every LCD monitor I come across, and every time I feel a winner.

It's been so easy on my eyes and has me so happy, I figured I'd prize myself, and ended up buying a separate TV box to plug to it. Now its ON all the time -for the PC or for the TV-and as if it couldn't get better, when in auto shut off mode, the thing only uses 1 watt of electricity!! ...beat that, CRT's!

OK, one complaint so you don't think I'm being paid off; the MagicRotation software that came with it froze my PC, so I went in on safe mode and deleted it.

4 computers at my house, when the other 3 CRT monitors die, guess which type and brand LCD I'll think of first?

Monitor arrived in only four days. Thank you Amazon for that.

Everything I needed was in the box and my MAC found and installed this monitor in the time it took to turn my machine on! Open box, plug in monitor and power cord, turn on machine and wah lah! Ready to go. Did not even need the installation CD that was included. Did not need to order additional cords or adaptors.

Why I gave this four instead of five stars: Scrolling thru the brightness/contrast/color/etc settings was the pits until I got the hang of it and it's still not ideal. The pic is nice once you get the settings adjusted, and you can even use the auto settings to reduce the minor headache of adjusting manually. This step could be improved but is not so bad that I wouldn't buy another monitor just like this for the price or recommend the monitor to "friends and family."

Great price, great monitor, great delivery time. No dead pixels. Buy one!

Although the colors and contrast of this monitor are really wonderful, the unit I received had somewhat uneven illumination across the screen, even when sitting directly in front of it. Additionally, the *useful* viewing angle is nowhere near the range that Samsung specifies, particularly in the vertical direction. I found myself having to continually adjust my viewing position to try and get an evenly-illuminated screen. Unfortunately, this is a problem shared by a lot of monitors in this price range, due to the particular LCD technology used. Also, right out of the box, my unit displayed a decided blue/purple color tint (which can be corrected with the monitor's MagicTune firmware and/or the computer's gamma adjustments.)

A more irritating "feature", at least to me, is the fact that this monitor's screen is NOT the usual 4:3 ratio that we're all familiar with from regular CRT monitors, but a 5:4 ratio. (A lot of low-priced LCD monitors are shaped like this.) What does this mean, and why is it important? Well, if you do a lot of image editing or CGI work, the ONLY screen resolution that produces true "round" circles (for example) is the native (high) resolution...which is a 5:4 ratio. Setting the resolution to any of the others included (like 800 X 600, etc.) results in "squashed and stretched" images. A circle becomes an ellipse! And the monitor's built-in, non-defeatable auto-adjustment feature will not let you modify this. (I didn't download Samsung's latest MagicTune sortware version, so I don't know if other 4:3 ratios have been implemented.) For graphics work, I recommend an LCD monitor with an actual 4:3 ratio screen size, such as Samsung's model 204-T (a 20" monitor at about twice the price...and which offers MUCH more even screen illumination, and from wider viewing angles.)

Strangely enough, Amazon offers this 710N monitor on two different pages, with two different prices! I ordered the 710N-2 and received the 710N. I have no idea if these are different.

I love my new monitor - beautiful display, easy to work with and connect. The software CD that came with it, however, for the Magic Tune Color program, for custom color tuning, was wrong and goofed things up until I uninstalled it. There was a note on the website that if the CD didn't function properly, to go to a certain link to download the Magic Tune. I just uninstalled it and didn't go further. Color is great - Recommend this nice unit!

So far, anyway.

The Samsung 710N arrived within three business days of purchase. Amazon was offering a "special" price (about $252)....add shipping, and the total would have been $262. HOWEVER, there was also some kind of one-day coupon code....so the actual price was just around $250 (including shipping costs)!

When it arrived, I immediately disconnected our old, Dell 17" CRT. WOW!!!! Never even had to use the CDrom. The monitor was instantly recognized and accepted.

I WILL admit it took several minutes to find the power button. (It's located on the extreme, right-side bottom. All six control buttons are located here, and they ARE hard to see and operate.)

But I can live with the "invisible" buttons! The monitor base went together in a second, and I was up and viewing. WHAT A DIFFERENCE!

I'd been contemplating a flat screen for a short while, but didn't want to spend big bucks. I was impressed with the technical comparisons/reviews (here) for the 710N. So I went with the positive majority. I feel pretty confident in recommending anyone else to do the same. There really IS a three-year warranty, AND you can register your monitor online! How easy is that?!

Amazing the quality of this low cost LCD flat panel monitor: color, contrast resolution, etc. So good that I've just bought a second one!

Like another reviewer I was sent the 710N, rather than the 710N-2 as described. I complained and was sent a replacement: it was a 710N again. Maybe there is very little difference between the two, I don't know, but I'm very disappointed in Amazon's procedures and policy of describing goods for sale. It's unfortunate that some buyers are getting taken advantage of in this way - be careful.