Customer Reviews

Samsung Syncmaster 170MP 17" LCD Monitor with TV Tuner

5 star:		(19)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I've owned one of these for about a week now and I really like it.

It is a no-compromise 17" monitor. It is bright and crisp with great contrast. It has built in speakers that are a bit weak on the lower frequencies but very adequate for TV viewing. All of the controls are easy to get to on the front and it comes with a remote. Response time on the remote sometimes seems a bit slower than I would expect.

This monitor consumes a mere 52 watts of power, compared to the 250 watts my Viewsonic 17" monitor consumed it is very power friendly. Because it is an LCD rather than a tube its very low radiation.

The monitor hooked right up to my PC, cable, and DVD player.

So why get this one instead of the Syncmaster 770TFT? One of my motivations was to replace two monitors in my home office (TV and PC) with a single low power solution. This monitor performs both jobs wonderfully.

Things I like about this monitor: Low power, crisp flicker-free, high resolution display, built in speakers, and TV and DVD viewing. I really like the way TV and DVD look on this thing, with 1280 by 1024 resolution its great.

Things I don't like about this monitor: High cost, the fact that it turns itself off if you press "source select", get to the PC and your PC is off, the way the cables push "up" to the back (I've kicked out the stereo cable twice) and the menu interface on the OSD is non-intuitive.

It also gets major techno-cool points, you almost feel like you're in Star Trek or something using it!

I bought this as an upgrade to the 150MP. I loved my 150MP, but I like this one even better.

Pros:
-Set up is very simple. From propping it up to making the connections..and it was plug-and-play...
-The integrated stand makes it very easy to set up can also be used as a handle to carry it.
-Composite and S-Video inputs let you hook up a VCR or DVD. Component would be nice, but I think the input connection isn't the weakest link to quality.
-It's a pretty good PC monitor. I can't use it at 1280 x 1024 because my PC doesn't support it, but at 1024 x 768, it's pretty good.
-On-screen menus are good and tailored to the input source.
-In PC mode, you can have a PIP (picture-in-picture) of any of the video sources (Composite, S-Video, or TV). There are 3 sizes and you can move it anywhere on the screen. The quality is really good (because it's a small screen).
-The TV Tuner eliminates yet another device on my desk or having to have to turn on my PC to watch TV.
-Good controls on the remote for TV...PIP, PIP size, previous channel, input source...
-Good controls on the monitor are helpful in case you can't find the remote.
-The size is good. I sit about 2.5' away. Even letterbox DVDs are pretty big.
-Overall, the TV quality is pretty good. It's not as clear or crisp as my 36" Sony Wega XBR, but it is as clear as a 25" Samsung that I have. I didn't expect it to be much better than the 150MP I had, but it is. One thing is my PC DVD is much better than with a DVD player using S-Video.
-The viewing angles are quite good with little degradation either vertical or horizontal
-There's no harsh sounds when changing channels (the only reason I say this is because my old 150MP had this harsh scratchy sound when you changed channels).
-If you keep your eyes open, you can get this for less than half the list price Also, look for rebates. Samsung almost always has something.

Cons:
-Transistions between the different inputs are a little slow.
-There's no manual! And the manual on the web site is for an earlier generation monitor and interface is very different.
-Connectors in back a little hard to get to. Screwing in the coax cable was tough.
-The headphone jack is in the back which makes it too much of a hassle to use.
-May be a little hard to get used to the controls, but after you do it makes alot of sense.
-Speakers are a little weak.
-The remote control sensor is on top and I guess because I'm so close sometimes it doesn't register.
-This monitor doesn't seem to be designed primarily for video (like other LCDs at 2x or 3x the price). So, don't expect extreme high quality video out of this monitor. But, I think you'll still be very happy with the quality you get. Alot of reviews say don't use it as a primary TV even in a small bedroom, but I would disagree. At 6', it's pretty good.

Conclusion: This is a pretty good PC monitor. As a TV, it's not as good as a tube TV, but still pretty good. The controls are flexible, but may take a little time getting used to. The on-screen menus are nice and easy to follow. One major drawback is there's no manual (not that you can't figure it out with trial and error...). I don't mean to make this review sound negative, because I really do love this monitor and I think if you shop around, you'll feel like you really got a good value....

I have owned this product for approxitmately 6 months now without any problems, only extreme enjoyment from the ease of use and picture quality I experience.
I also own a MAG 19" flat panel monitor which is fantastic; but I must say that this Samsung LCD provides a better picture and is only just under the viewable screen size when measured. When eyeballed the Samsmung gives the appearance of being larger than the MAG 19". For playing DVD's or watching TV the Monitor is excellant. If I use the S-video cable I get a quality picture when viewed on my 27" Sony TV. The picture out to the TV is easy to adjust through the software to suit the preferences of the viewer.
In addition games played on this monitor seem to come to life. The image displayed is a soft warm one; which makes you feel like you can crawl inside the screen and become part of the action.
Currently I have three computer systems one using a hi-quality 17" monitor. The 17" pales some much in comparison that I am soon to purchase another Samsung 17" LCD as a replacement.

You don't have to believe me; just go down to your local computer store that carries this product and be amazed when you compare it to other monitors in the store.

I did a lot of research on flat panel monitors when I finally decided to get back a hug piece of desk space. I had been using a 19" Mitsubishi CRT and was happy with it. The 170MP gives me nearly the same viewing area and great quaility.

I almost bought the Envision 17" TV/Monitir combo. But when I saw this one, it had better contrast ratio which has a big impact on the TV quality. I had not been planning on a TV feature, but the cost of this monitor is in the same ballpark as many monitor only 17" flat panels and the specs are better in some areas, plus you get a TV.

The TV features are good and the 2 size PIP options make using the TV while surfing or emailing easy.

Some of the reviews of this monitor mention the difficult angle for plugging cables into the back. I agree. It is a pain, but how many times do you have to plug something in.

Overall, totally happy with this monitor.

I am surprised no one has mentioned the other use for this monitor, your car...Samsung does not make a car adapter, and does not seem to promote it, but the DC input for this monitor is indeed 12 Volts. We go on trips and do not use the computer while we are gone, so this is a natural. The screen is MUCH larger than those flip down LCD screens for the car. I got a Blaupunkt ME1 car DVD player (AC/DC, I bring that into the hotel room for movies in there too.) I mount this on an upside down milk crate in our van in the center behind the front seats. I strap it down, but you can also spend money for an ergotron swivel mount to the VESA mount on back...The DC power plug is not a common one, I searched for 2 weeks until I found them at Radio Shack. This is a type "T" adapter plug. To make the power adapter, use Radio Shack parts 273-1723 and 270-1558. This is a right angle connection which I find cumbersome, but it is easy. A better straight adapter I built requires soldering. Use part 274-1535 plug with a 270-1590 or 270-031 cord. Everything works fine as long as you get the polarity correct (the tip polarity is indicated on the Samsung 12V supply that comes with your monitor. If you contact me, I could build one for you. On the road, this is a godsend, no more arguing kids. The only thing they argue about is what to watch. You can also connect the audio to your car stereo system, or a headphone system. The only cons: when bright sunlight hits the screen, the picture is washed out (use a blanket for shading)and the TV tuner is not great. This monitor uses much less battery power (52 watts-use at least a 5 amp fuse) than a regular AC/DC TV (9" or 13"). Samsung should thank me for helping to sell their product, as they don't seem to think this application is important. This would be great for camping. Some people might already use a 120 volt AC power inverter and the supplied power supply, but that is a waste of energy as you have to convert 12VDC to 120VAC and back to 12VDC again. This solution gives you the lowest power drain on your auto. We are very satisfied with this monitor and get maximum use out of it.

This piece of technology makes the top tier of all electronic equipment I've ever bought (assuming the ranks along with my Thinkpad 600E and my nokia phone) It fills a perfect niche for me and how I live: my apartment is modest size, primarily I wanted a replacement for my 17 inch tube monitor, but my 24 inch Sony Trinitron TV was also dying a horrible death, I don't watch much TV, don't even have cable.

In walks the 170MP. As a monitor it is great, huge compared to my standard 17 incher, the colors are bright and sharp and you can see things clearly even when off center. As a TV I wasn't expecting much especially since I just use the antenna from my TV but it's really very good. The strongest stations are extremely clear, there's no blur, shadows, or streaking, the weaker stations are acceptable especially at 7 feet or so. I haven't had any trouble with the remote, it works fine for me, even bouncing off the walls works no problem. No this isn't the best television out there, don't center your dvd home entertainment system around it. But, if you, like me, are looking to loose a clunky 50lb TV, the same for a 25lb clunky monitor, and win back about a small refridgerator's worth of space, all for something you can carry in one hand (and the price!!!), then this one is for you.

I have installed the 170MP and really like it's bright screen. My Macintosh G4 required no special install software but it does come with a CD for Windows users. I am using the 1280 x 1024 setting and it gives me as much screen real estate as my 19" Mitsubishi 900u.

DO NOT BUY this unit if TV is your prime use. While TV looks good on it in a small window in pip on your computer screen, full size cable TV is very poor. All my other TV's look great on the same cable but the 170MP picture is really grainy and hard to watch. Switch it to pip small on your computer screen as a secondary treat and it is fine. The nice thing about having TV on your computer screen with this unit is that it takes no processor power and has room for a video 1 and video 2 connection as well. The audio built into the monitor is great for TV or computer.

The connectors on the back are difficult to get to and mounting the unit on a wall requires the purchase of an additional part.

All in all for a computer montor it is a great view and while not a steal at ($$$) it is nice. If I did it again I would probably save ($$$) and get the unit without the TV function. You can buy a really good TV picture for ($$$) as a separate unit.

As a computer monitor, the 170MP is very easy on the eyes, with good (and adjustable) color rendition, contrast, and brightness. The viewing angle is about as wide as it gets-almost on par with Apple's overpriced 17 inch; not only does the brightness not fade, but there is little color shift. There really isn't much to say, as it performs as well as I would want it too.

As a video monitor, it is lacking. I have fed it with satellite and DVD signals, using both the S video and RCA inputs (no real difference in viewable quality). At default settings, the picture was grainy and had the same sort of problems I associate with over sharpening on digital images. The major tweaking I did was to turn down the sharpening, using the nicely designed menu system. This made the picture soft, but to me far more acceptable.

Please note, I have not tried the built in tuner, as I don't have a good antennae to hook it up to. I just tried satellite and DVD feeds. I use a Samsung HDTV 30 inch "TV" (which has an incredibly good picture-try this beffore you spend the extra money on Sony, Philips, Panasonic, et al...) so I am comparing it to a VERY good benchmark. However, I think that it should have the circuitry inside it to produce a video image that is as good as my last TV did. Compared to the HDTV (which is upconverting the feed), the 170MP was lacking in brightness, contrast, resolution, and blackness. This seems odd because it really does look great (wide contrast range, good blacks, etc.) as a computer monitor.

When seated and staring at a monitor for hours, why not be good to yourself. This is the best way to go. The 170mp has an incredible image, that is easy on the eyes. With the added advantage of a tv tuner, this is the one to have. Although the small speakers don't pack much punch, it is a simple task to connect to outboard pc system speakers. Overall, a really cool piece of equipment. Go ahead... Indulge yourself.

When connected to my home-theater system via S-video, it sent an unacceptably loud hum/buzz/hiss back thru the audio system when the LCD display was on. When I switched video inputs via the front-panel, the display would momentarily blank, the noise would disappear, and as soon as the display came back on it would start up again. I have no way of knowing if I had a defective unit, or this was a design-flaw.

Otherwise I found this unit fascinating and impressive. I ran it a lot using S-video from both DirecTV satellite and from DVD. Depending on the quality of the source, it could produce amazing images with no scan-lines. The cool thing about it is that it can upconvert 480i to 1024p and make it look pretty decent. However, mediocre source (read Cable TV and VHS) will look poor-to-terrible, because this unit mercilessly reveals flaws in the source material that a regular "soft" TV display conceals. Also, amusingly, it occasionally revealed small blocky MPEG artifacts on some of the "standard" DirecTV channels, which I don't normally see; its well-known that they dynamically allocate bandwidth, giving more to Premium and sports channels. I would expect digital Cable to fare worse.

I adjusted this unit using the "Video Essentials" DVD. The big plus was its absolutely unbelievable horizontal resolution. I saw fine resolution detail in vertical-line test displays that I had never seen before; this probably explains why it looks poor with low-quality source material. High res + 480i upconversion + poor source = bad picture, especially when there is a lot of motion. The two BIG downsides were: 1) it cannot do absolute blacks well at all, and 2) the most damning is that the gray-temperature is set VERY high, making blacks and grays look distinctly "bluish", and there is NO adjustment to compensate which I am aware of. These two problems will kill this unit off for most videophiles; it's a common design problem. Note that my final settings for S-video were: Brightness 50; Contrast 50; Sharpness 0 (DEFINITELY!); Color 95 (strange but true) and Tint 50.

Consider for future HDTV that this unit is not 16:9, and it does not have component video inputs (present in the pricier 171MP model).