Customer Reviews

Samsung Touch Of Color T260 25.5-inch LCD Monitor

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I just received the monitor, so my intention is to write a review based on initial impressions. In-depth reviews and long-term reviews I'll leave to others.

Out of the box, not much of a problem. I didn't have much a problem with anything. Just put the two pieces of the base together, insert the metal base piece into the bottom of the monitor, take off the back plate and insert your power cable and whatever cable you are going to use to hook it up to your computer, and pop the back plate back on. DVI, analog and USB are supplied, as well as the power cord, so you get four cords, and will wind up using two (the power cord and the cord you choose to hook up to your monitor). No tools required.

Asthetics - a nice, nice black with a red/rose tinting around the edges, and then silver at the very edges. I like it - this will be personal preference, but it looks nice to me.

I plugged it in and it immediately started going between modes looking for a signal. I turned on the computer, set the Source to the way I hooked it to my computer (DVI, in my case), and it was up and running! No dead pixels!! I had an older Syncmaster T213 from a few years ago, and it had no dead pixels either, and my review of online reviews notes that pretty much all Samsungs go out of the factory with no dead pixels. This was an important issue with me, as sometimes companies don't take back monitors with only a few dead pixels, but I have had none with two Samsungs so far.

Then I set my computer for 1920x1200 resolution, and here I am. Done. It has a driver disc, but I haven't found the need to install the driver yet - maybe I will later, but it seems plug-n-play to me.

Initial review of screen - great. I popped in a Blu-Ray disc and love the results. Internet/general use, pictures, movies, etc. all look great. As noted, I had a Samsung Syncmaster before this one, and I love them both.

My only things to discuss - the tilt feature is kind of tough - you have to be careful but forceful, and at first I was nervous it didn't have a tilt feature, but it does. And the back plate seems kind of cheap, but you're most likely only going to access that a few times in the life of the monitor, if you're just going to hook it up to your computer and use it. Finally, the USB ports are in the back behind the plate, so the ports are okay for plugging in something you're not going to be messing with for awhile, like a keyboard, mouse or printer. But they're not practical at all for mp3 players or memory sticks or anything you'll take in and out regularly.

One thing I'd like to note is the monitor is HDCP-compliant. This is important if you want to play Blu-Ray discs, but not a lot of places list this important specification where you can find it easily.

In conclusion, a nice monitor that you will love for home or home office use.

The T260 is a TN panel with a very narrow viewing angle: from top to bottom and left to right there is a considerable variation in brightness and color accuracy. I found myself unable to get an accurate gamma setting on this monitor and after a week of trying I gave up and returned the monitor for a refund. For Internet surfing, watching videos and gaming this monitor will do the job. For serious photo work forget it.

I bought this monitor in the last week and own a few other LCD's around the house even very expensive top end sony bravia xbr's. I have to say this is up there with my new favorite LCD's in the house.

Looks:
The housing (screen bezel) on this monitor is stunning in design. It looks like a clear thick candy coating of plastic was formed around the monitors frame. You can see the light refract around the edges of the thicker clear plastic and it looks really eye catching. Considering buying another this week and using them in a dual monitor setup. Even though this is a touch of color (red) in normal lighting conditions you dont even see much of the red (only at the bottom), normally it looks almost pure black at the core of the clear coating. However, if you shine a flashlight or very bright light on the montitor's frame you can see its all dark red and not black. I wasnt sure I was going to like this whole touch of color thing but now that I own it I have no objections. The rear of the monitor looks as good as the front. You could easily have this on a desk where people could see the back and it would still look sharp. The back is rounded slightly and has a big Samsung logo on it. Also the connection ports have a plastic cover to hide the works so it maintains a sleek look even with wires going in.

Function:
I am a graphic artist and avid PC gamer and so far I am loving this monitor. The Magicbright and MagicColor features really help to simplify and amaze you with color/contrast management. I have the colors looking spot on now when I do my graphic editing. As an artist I can tell you I am totally happy with the look. As a gamer I am very happy as well. I have noticed that I get screen tearing a lot more noticable on this monitor then others I have owned. I am not sure why. However, turning on a games vsync function helps remedy that problem. Some games lack vsync option and for those games moving the screen around at extremely fast rate or patterns moving very fast will cause screen tearing. Outside of that everything else is flawless. Since screen tearing can be fixed with vsync I dont knock the monitor for this. I will note that the 5ms time seems to be fine for my games. I get no ghosting at high speeds at all things look great. 1920x1200 resolution on Crysis with high settings is a thing of beauty! :)

I highly recommend this monitor for this price point and this size. Its an eye catcher both on and off the screen.

First off, this is a TN panel and probably isn't ideal or photo or video editing. That's fine, all that I use it for is playing games. It is perfect for that application. I purchased it on a great holiday sale for less than $400, and for that price, I think it is an excellent value. If you're looking for a fast gaming monitor, this one will do the job. Just don't expect to use professional editing tools like CS3 and get perfect results.

Monitors has some useful features:

1. DVI, VGA, and HDMI inputs. It's nice to have multiple connections so that you can use it as both a monitor and a television simply by changing the input (assuming you have a cable box connected to it). If you want one with a TV tuner, get the T260HD.

2. 20,000:1 contrast ratio. Amazon is listing this as 1000:1 but that is not correct. The box and the Samsung web page list it as 20,000:1.

3. 5ms response time. Good enough for most games. There is a little motion blur when playing something like a FPS, but it is minimal.

A few dislikes:

1. The exterior of the bezel is clear and catches background light creating a thin line of light along the top of the monitor.

2. Because this is a TN panel, there is some fall off at the top and bottom of the monitor.

3. No VESA mount. This is really stupid as every other Samsung monitor I've ever had did. I was planning to mount this to a monitor arm. The bas e provided has no height adjustment, so you might need to use something to raise it higher depending on your viewing angle and preference.

4. Tricky to calibrate, even with a Huey. It took a bit of messing around to get the monitor to look accurate and have the right gamma settings. This is not an easy monitor to calibrate.

Overall, I'm satisfied with this monitor. For the price I paid, I think it works well enough. It is not a graphic design capable display, but is fantastic for games, surfing the net, programing, etc... Get one if you don't need additional features like a TV tuner or VESA mount.

The Samsung T260 monitor, part of their "Touch of Color" series which is increasingly showing up in both computer and television monitors, is a solid performer and a good value for the money. At 25.5 inches (diagonal), the monitor is one of the larger types on the market, perhaps the largest size to be available without requiring the use of dual cables and/or multiple video cards. At about $500, the price is unbeatable.

Performance for this monitor is good. True photographic experts are not likely to be satisfied, because the monitor, like all in its class, is not capable of exactingly reproducing the widest range of gamut colors, nor is it up to the standards of the $2,000-plus models that offer uncompromising and detailed spot adjustments for photographic work. But don't let any of that dissuade you. I use the monitor all the time for my own digital photographs, and the images are clear, crisp, vibrant, and pleasing. The vast majority of us have no need for the most esoteric features of the highest-end monitors, and if we did, it is doubtful we would be reading this review, anyway.

What the T260 is, however, is a great monitor for the average user, and one that adds a touch of physical style that makes most other monitors look ancient by comparison. The monitor also offers HDMI connectivity, USB 2.0 ports, and a touch-sensitive power control that has no mechanical component. And although this particular model cannot be rotated 90 degrees, the size of the monitor makes this feature largely unnecessary, even when editing manuscripts.

Considering the performance, the price, and the styling, I can easily recommend this monitor to most typical users.

The on screen menu has over 30 customizable options for the picture allowing you to fine tune it to your heart's content. Dynamic Contrast mode is wonderful for gaming and viewing photo's / videos. Also it has a "Text" mode which allows you to view text with little eye-strain.

The screen CAN be locked onto an imput source unlike what some reviewers have stated. I have my screen locked onto DVI.

PROS:

(1) Good value

(2) 2 USB ports on the rear if you want to use them.

(3) The monitor can be swiveled or tilted with ease (other reviewers have mentioned it won't tilt, it does tilt stiffly which is necesary otherwise it wouldn't hold a position) It swivels very easily.

(4) Has VGA, DVI, HDMI imputs, includes a 5 foot DVI and a 5 foot VGA cable.

(5) 20,000:1 contrast ratio when in the "Dynamic Contrast" mode. 5ms responce time, no ghosting or blurry motion.

CONS:

(1) The screen wobbles if put on a unstable table
On a sturdy table however is doesn't.

(2) The Touch of Color frame reflects light from light fixtures and such.

(3) The DVI cable supplied is 6" too short to connect to my computer... have to go by a longer one. Remember the supplied cables are only 5 foot long.

(4) No HDMI cable. They sure could have stuck one in.

I upgraded from a very old, but nice 21" CRT monitor and bought a new XFX PVT86JYAHG GeForce 8500 GT PCI Express x16 graphic card to go with it from another vendor for $45.99. I'm using a DVI cable and not a D-Sub cable. I read somewhere that a D-Sub cable will degrade the quality.

I was afraid that I was going to wind up sacrificing some sharpness and clarity in switching from my 21" CRT to this monitor, but was in for a very pleasant surprise. This monitor actually provides a lot more sharpness and clarity than my CRT did.

This monitor also provides a lot more real estate on the display. With this monitor, I can display two amazon windows side by side (barely) and this current window will display vertically down to and including the "$449.99" figure under the caption, "What Do Customers Ultimately Buy After Viewing This Item?". My 21" CRT (at 1280x1024) would only display about 1 1/3 windows side by side and the vertical display on the T260 is probably about 22% bigger. I measured the T260 screen as being 13 1/2 x 21 3/4 inches.

Everything about this monitor seems to say quality and it's very nice to look at. I haven't noticed any dead pixels, by the way. The on/off switch is very convenient and is magically embedded in the plastic case and doesn't require any mechanical pressure. It just senses the presence of your finger somehow. I don't think you'll ever have to worry about it wearing out like you would with a mechanical switch.

The monitor swivels left and right and tilts also. The stand strikes me as being sort of flimsy and tilting the monitor makes me nervous, but it works. The height doesn't adjust (of course), but it turns out to be just exactly right for me. My guess is that if the average person adjusts his chair so that the keyboard angle is correct, the monitor height will be correct also.

Because of the flimsy stand the monitor will wiggle with the slightest movement of your table or desk. I have a fairly sturdy table I think and even moving the mouse will cause the monitor to wiggle if you manhandle the mouse to much. The wiggling situation kinda of reminds me of one of those hula girls you used to see on the dash board of some automobiles. In my case the monitor has its own separate table, so I don't get much wiggling and it doesn't bother me.

Originally, when I purchased this SECOND Samsung product for our home (because we were so happy with the first), I THOUGHT I had purchased the same product (the T260HD model with the TV tuner). --It must have been really late when I ordered it-- I was a bit bummed when it arrived and realized there was no TV Tuner. However, this was a blessing in disguise.

I previously had a Dell 20 inch widescreen, that had 2 USB ports on the side (a very handy integrated feature). The T260HD does NOT have ANY USB ports. Also, the size of my Dell screen was all-of-a-sudden too small for webpages and certain programs.
I realized that I was leaning forward more and more to view my monitor (I'm seated about 24 inches from it). This caused straining on my eyes and a lower back problem.

So, back to the review:
The USB ports on the back are actually pretty important to have (instead of the TV tuner), as we connect our cameras and jump/flash drives to them (through a USB hub) - our PC is not within certain wire lengths, depending on routing.
The resolution is fantastic and now I can lean back in my chair and still be able to read the font/text on the screen without straining my eyes. There are several video connections to use, HDMI, DVI, and D-Sub.
The digital audio out (which I'm not using) is a nice touch, I guess.
The construction of this monitor (like the T260HD) is great, but the actual mounting setup was a tiny bit different than the HDTV version. So, the foot doesn't line up 100% with the back bottom edge of the monitor. No big deal, but I wouldn't really expect something like that from a Samsung design, even if it's on the back of the LCD. I guess that's what happens when you have to carry over parts from other models.

I'm very pleased with this monitor and have plenty of workspace. Web browsing is much nicer (full pages displayed - no scrolling to the side), and 3D/2D applications are easier to work with (tools to one side). I looked at other 28 inch models, which sound great in theory, but if you read half of the reviews, they are usually complaints about the DVI failing or dead pixels. Besides, the connections are WAY limited and I don't want to have to deal with warranty issues. That goes for some of the other models as well, that are 'on-the-rise' to making a 'good' product. I didn't want some super cheap and flimsy monitor that could fail at anytime. Especially when you are dropping over $350. So, if you are kind of on a budget and don't want to jump the 26 inch line on monitor size...this model is pretty darn nice for the price (for now). The fact that Amazon has/had the rebate on this product and offered free shipping just makes it that much sweeter. Hope this helps with your decision.

Got this monitor about 2 weeks ago via Amazon for just a little over $300.00 after rebate.

Bright, colorful, attractive, easy to set up and HUGE. I was looking at a 24" apple monitor to go with my new Mac Pro, and while this is not quite as sharp, it is really close. Hard to justify spending an extra $600.00 for the Mac monitor.
You can get 2 of these and have money left over for other things.
Saw that a few people trashed it solely because they got a lemon - c'mon people, it happens sometimes. If you get a bad product from Amazon, they send you a new one asap.
If you are looking for some extremely well priced monitor real estate, you can't go wrong with this baby.
3 year warranty too!
Highly recommended.

I have owned the Samsung T260HD for three months and can say that the monitor is great for casual PC use, Gaming, and HDTV or BluRay DVD viewing.

There are separate on screen menu settings for TV and DVI (PC) usage. So the settings that work for your PC are maintained if you make adjustments for watching TV. The monitor also has a fair amount of video connection options including VGA, DVI, Component, 2 HDMI and Coaxial.

This is a very capable monitor for HDTV viewing. The picture is clear and the remote is easy to use and accesses all the features of the monitor for fine tuning. Gaming on the T260HD via PC or Console is also very good. The 5ms timing is tight enough to present the action sharp with no noticeable lag or blur.

Unfortunately, for Graphics and Video work where color reproduction is important, the T260HD proves problematic. Although the "Natural Color" software provided allows for Color Calibration in Windows XP, it simply will not work in Vista or Vista 64 despite claiming Vista compatibility. As of this writing Samsung has not updated the software since 2004. (Understand that the monitor itself works in Vista and Vista 64 - but the accompanying support CD software "Natural Color" doesn't).

I've resorted to purchasing a hardware color correction device (Eye-One D2). Even with the color calibrator, this monitor lacks the ability to manually adjust the individual RGB values. Regrettably this takes more work to get the desired results which further limits its professional appeal. I would be hard pressed to suggest this monitor to anyone who's primary use requires color accuracy in their work.

Pros

*Viewing angle is better than most - Image and color maintain (left to right)
*Matte screen prevents glare
*Very good picture for HDTV/BluRay with reasonable built in speaker sound
*Digital audio out if you prefer to use external speakers
*2 HDMI inputs
*Easy to use Remote accesses all features on the Monitor
*Natural Color software helps pin down color correction (XP only)
*5 MS Response Time is great for PC and Console gaming
*A great multi-purpose monitor

Cons

*No height adjustment - only tilts forward and backward.
*No Red Green Blue (RGB) color adjustment in DVI mode
*Color correction can be difficult to achieve. Natural Color software does not work in Vista or Vista 64
*Not recommended for photo for video work
*Some light bleed along edges
*Viewing angle in the vertical displays a notable luminance shift