Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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47 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Razor-sharp image and good features, April 30, 2006
First, I should say that I'm surprised at how sharp and clear the image is. The display card at CompUSA said this monitor has a 1000:1 contrast ratio, and I'm not sure what that means, but it definately seems to translate to a crystal clear picture. The contrast ratio is higher than most other flat-panels I looked at, which have a contrast ratio of around 500:1 to 700:1 (including Samsung's own 20.1" non-widescreen model). Everything is crystal-clear, which makes it easy on the eyes and good for watching movies. It is also good for gaming - Half-life 2 and Unreal Tournament 2004, for example, both look great.
Its wide-screen resolution of 1680x1050 is more than decent for most tasks. It also has a feature that lets you change the aspect ratio to 4:3 (which makes a square picture centered on the screen), so if you have any games or other applications that don't support widescreen modes, you can use 4:3 mode so that the picture doesn't look stretched and distorted. Plus, the monitor has DVI, analog VGA, S-Video, and RCA inputs (which would allow you to plug in a DVD player if you want). The monitor can also rotate 90 degrees, and it has built-in speakers and a headphone jack.
Being a flat-panel display, it is also lightweight and compact, which is ideal for areas where space is limited. This is my first flat-panel display, and I was surprised at how lightweight it really is.
All of these features, especially the sharp image, make this a great monitor, and it is worth the money.
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27 of 28 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Widescreen LCD monitor that hits the sweet spot, October 20, 2006
After cruising numerous stores and viewing many LCD computer monitors in the 20 to 22 inch size, it was apparent that the most value was to be had with the Samsung SyncMaster 215TW. While there were some 22 and 23 inch widescreen monitors that matched the 215TW's PQ, they were priced hundreds of dollars more. In the $500 and under bracket, the 215TW was hands-down the best PQ we saw.
I think it is the 1000:1 contrast ratio that makes the difference, but the 215TW just had a far superior picture compared to other Samsungs, and to ViewSonics, Gateways, and anything else on the shelf. All had the same pictures displayed and driven by the same PC, so the playing field was level and the 215TW stood way out.
After stumbling onto an unadvertised sale on this monitor, we quickly purchased it. We hooked it up to our Power Mac G4 MDD with Radeon 9600 video card. While the instructions show the hook up for Macs to be only analog, ignore that. Our 215TW is working fine via a DVI connection, and the PQ is really stunning with our Mac set up.
Samsung doesn't provide the accompanying software in the Mac OS, but that is not much of a problem. Only the MagicTune software is unavailable for Macs with this Samsung monitor as the MagicBright function is built into the monitor setup buttons. That isn't true for the smaller and cheaper Samsungs.
We are running the 215TW at a resolution of 1680 x 1050 @ 60 Hz, which is the unit's maximum. It is more than adequate for watching QuickTime movie trailers in HD and allows for really sharp text. Our 215TW replaced a 19" ViewSonic PF790 professional series CRT, aperture grille monitor. The increased text clarity and reduced eye strain with the 215TW is a welcome surprise, and the color saturation and distinction is gorgeous.
Viewing angle with the 215TW is as good or better than any of its competition. Response time is more than adequate as we haven't detected any ghosting with fast moving video. Movie DVDs look fabulous on this monitor. Watching Pirates of the Caribbean on this monitor makes it look like near HD quality.
Finally, the adjustable, rotating, and flipping stand is really nice. Too bad so many LCD monitors are stuck with basically non-adjustable stands.
No dead pixels on the unit we purchased and no problems with anything after two weeks of ownership and use. Build quality appears good, and Samsung included both a VGA and a DVI cable with the monitor. Nice!
We highly recommend this monitor for anyone looking for a widescreen LCD computer monitor in this size range and to any Mac users looking for a highly compatible widescreen LCD monitor.
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14 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Could this be a perfect monitor?, September 24, 2006
This is written from someone who has had this monitor for 5 months now.
To begin, I wasn't sure if I would like buying a high end monitor with a built in speaker. For me it works out perfectly. The sounds quality in the speaker is juse like every other speaker built into a monitor....subpar. However, it is not an eye soar to look at and the headphone jack is right in the front for easy access. The sound output into headphones is perfect. I have a ps2 set up to my monitor and with the built in speaker I can plug in my headphones and get sound from the ps2 without having to change any cords or settings.
One thing I really love is the swivel base design that Samsung uses on this series of monitors. If you want to watch anything from a different location in the room the swivel base can be moved easily in any direction. In fact, the monitor's range of motion in with tilt, swivel and hertical cannot be beaten by any other monitor and can only be matched.
No reason to talk about the image quality of this monitor. It is top notch and comes with a highly configurable PIP.
One that might be a negative to some people is the lack of USB ports that are often built into high end monitors like this. My computer has eight USB ports to begin with and two in the keyboard so the last thing I need are more ports.
This monitor also comes with a DVI cord. Something Gateway cheaped out on with their 21 inch monitor.
5/5
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