This is my first post here, however I wanted to give back as I used this awesome forum to make a decision on the 30" panel that I wanted to buy.
I had a chance to compare the LG W3000H and Samsung 305T (I believe it was the Plus model)
I was looking for a new monitor as my 2 x 20" Viewsonic Monitors (VX2025WM) - MVA panels - the back light got quite a bit dimmer over time (about 30 months). The monitors are still on warranty (3 yrs) but not sure if Viewsonic would replace the back lights or send me some other refurbished models (which I don't really want to go through) - any ideas?
You can jump to the comparison photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukas_photos/sets/72157611287517709/
I first bought the LG W3000H because I could get my hands on it in Future Shop and it was possible to return it. And it's an IPS panel.
It's a great panel and really show off with it's colors. It needed calibration however because white was a bit on the yellow side.
Everything was great with the panel - I liked the design and the stand and loved the colors in photos. However, there was a problem that I noticed once I opened photoshop - vertical smudges only shown on gray colors. Defective. Then found a stuck blue pixel visible only on black.
Another problem is quite a bit of sparkle effect on white background. So when reading text it was a bit tiring on the eyes.
I decided to go for the Samsung 305T. I bought it from Infonec Computers (my client - infonec.com) and asked them ahead of time what was the model number on the box as I wanted the newer mode (305T Plus) because of DHCP. The model was LS30HUXCB/XAA - great I thought - then it must be the PLUS model.
However nowhere on the box did it say Plus. Once I opened it it also didn't say Plus anywhere, but the model is LS30HUXCB/XAA. So this is kind of a puzzle as the model number would suggest this to be the Plus Model. BTW, this is a Canadian version.
Comparing it to the LG W3000H, the colors on the Samsung were much more washed out, however when I went to the Nvidia control panel, and pushed the Gamma down to 32%, the colors almost matched in vividness. Both panels display colors really nice.
Here are my thoughts:
Colors:
LG seems a bit better at this out of the box, however when the Gamma is tweaked to 32%, the same level of detail can be had on the Samsung.
White:
The LG has a sparkle effect where the Samsung White is nice and Matte - Samsung wins big time for working with text (I'm a web developer and spend a lot of time writing PHP code.) The sparkle effect on the LG is tiring - mostly visible on white.
Text Contrast:
The text on the LG looks sharper.
Speed:
The Samsung input lag is about 30 - 40 ms slower. It's really not that noticeable though for my purpose. I played Crysis on it and it doesn't bother me. Honestly, not sure if a 30" panel is really a target for gamers anyway.
Stand:
The LG has a better and nicer stand that goes much higher than the Samsung. Big plus for me as I'm a tall guy and need a separate stand under my monitors. (You can see the stand that I custom-made on the flickr photos just to get the monitors higher)
Looks:
The LG looks nice as a monitor and the touch-sensitive buttons are neat - but the Samsung looks ok and is unobtrusive. The Samsung frame would work better if I later decide to add another Samsung Panel side by side.
Brightness:
The LG brightness level is much higher - I had to bring it down about 8 notches as it was burning through my eyes! The Samsung I leave at 100% brightness. This is a drawback as LCD back lamps get dimmer with time.
Black Levels:
The Samsung Blacks are deeper - mainly because of the panel coating is less reflective.
Coating:
The Samsung has a better panel coating - it is less reflective than the LG.
USB hub:
Both panels come with 4 port USB hubs. The Samsung has all 4 ports on the back - hard to reach.
The LG has 2 ports on the back and 2 ports on the left side. A better solution than the Samsung IMHO.
Heat:
Both panels seem to give off about the same amount of heat - a bit from the front and more from the top.
Packaged Items:
Both boxes supplied DVI cables - (LG's cable was quite a bit longer - a nice plus)
Both Panels came with one USB cable for their HUBs
In the end I kept the Samsung as the LG was defective, I was able to get the Samsung for about $160 less after taxes, and for my purpose the Samsung screen is less tiring on the eyes when looking at text because it doesn't have the sparkle effect. The LG was returned to Future Shop.
If you are a photographer or mostly work on pictures in Photoshop, etc. you may consider the LG - it's a very nice panel too (if you can get a non-defective one - Look at solid grays!). It wins over the Samsung in some features, however for text the Samsung is better. This is not to say that the Samsung is bad for photography purposes - it just needs the gamma adjustment. Maybe this has something to do with it probably being the PLUS model?
After working on the Samsung for about two weeks I love it. I was a bit concerned about the text being a bit too small on a 30" panel, however this has not proven to be a problem as the brightness/contrast level is much better than my old Viewsonic monitors. We'll see what happens after 2 years.
I hope that this review was helpful to someone that is looking for a 30" panel.
I had a chance to compare the LG W3000H and Samsung 305T (I believe it was the Plus model)
I was looking for a new monitor as my 2 x 20" Viewsonic Monitors (VX2025WM) - MVA panels - the back light got quite a bit dimmer over time (about 30 months). The monitors are still on warranty (3 yrs) but not sure if Viewsonic would replace the back lights or send me some other refurbished models (which I don't really want to go through) - any ideas?
You can jump to the comparison photos here:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/lukas_photos/sets/72157611287517709/
I first bought the LG W3000H because I could get my hands on it in Future Shop and it was possible to return it. And it's an IPS panel.
It's a great panel and really show off with it's colors. It needed calibration however because white was a bit on the yellow side.
Everything was great with the panel - I liked the design and the stand and loved the colors in photos. However, there was a problem that I noticed once I opened photoshop - vertical smudges only shown on gray colors. Defective. Then found a stuck blue pixel visible only on black.
Another problem is quite a bit of sparkle effect on white background. So when reading text it was a bit tiring on the eyes.
I decided to go for the Samsung 305T. I bought it from Infonec Computers (my client - infonec.com) and asked them ahead of time what was the model number on the box as I wanted the newer mode (305T Plus) because of DHCP. The model was LS30HUXCB/XAA - great I thought - then it must be the PLUS model.
However nowhere on the box did it say Plus. Once I opened it it also didn't say Plus anywhere, but the model is LS30HUXCB/XAA. So this is kind of a puzzle as the model number would suggest this to be the Plus Model. BTW, this is a Canadian version.
Comparing it to the LG W3000H, the colors on the Samsung were much more washed out, however when I went to the Nvidia control panel, and pushed the Gamma down to 32%, the colors almost matched in vividness. Both panels display colors really nice.
Here are my thoughts:
Colors:
LG seems a bit better at this out of the box, however when the Gamma is tweaked to 32%, the same level of detail can be had on the Samsung.
White:
The LG has a sparkle effect where the Samsung White is nice and Matte - Samsung wins big time for working with text (I'm a web developer and spend a lot of time writing PHP code.) The sparkle effect on the LG is tiring - mostly visible on white.
Text Contrast:
The text on the LG looks sharper.
Speed:
The Samsung input lag is about 30 - 40 ms slower. It's really not that noticeable though for my purpose. I played Crysis on it and it doesn't bother me. Honestly, not sure if a 30" panel is really a target for gamers anyway.
Stand:
The LG has a better and nicer stand that goes much higher than the Samsung. Big plus for me as I'm a tall guy and need a separate stand under my monitors. (You can see the stand that I custom-made on the flickr photos just to get the monitors higher)
Looks:
The LG looks nice as a monitor and the touch-sensitive buttons are neat - but the Samsung looks ok and is unobtrusive. The Samsung frame would work better if I later decide to add another Samsung Panel side by side.
Brightness:
The LG brightness level is much higher - I had to bring it down about 8 notches as it was burning through my eyes! The Samsung I leave at 100% brightness. This is a drawback as LCD back lamps get dimmer with time.
Black Levels:
The Samsung Blacks are deeper - mainly because of the panel coating is less reflective.
Coating:
The Samsung has a better panel coating - it is less reflective than the LG.
USB hub:
Both panels come with 4 port USB hubs. The Samsung has all 4 ports on the back - hard to reach.
The LG has 2 ports on the back and 2 ports on the left side. A better solution than the Samsung IMHO.
Heat:
Both panels seem to give off about the same amount of heat - a bit from the front and more from the top.
Packaged Items:
Both boxes supplied DVI cables - (LG's cable was quite a bit longer - a nice plus)
Both Panels came with one USB cable for their HUBs
In the end I kept the Samsung as the LG was defective, I was able to get the Samsung for about $160 less after taxes, and for my purpose the Samsung screen is less tiring on the eyes when looking at text because it doesn't have the sparkle effect. The LG was returned to Future Shop.
If you are a photographer or mostly work on pictures in Photoshop, etc. you may consider the LG - it's a very nice panel too (if you can get a non-defective one - Look at solid grays!). It wins over the Samsung in some features, however for text the Samsung is better. This is not to say that the Samsung is bad for photography purposes - it just needs the gamma adjustment. Maybe this has something to do with it probably being the PLUS model?
After working on the Samsung for about two weeks I love it. I was a bit concerned about the text being a bit too small on a 30" panel, however this has not proven to be a problem as the brightness/contrast level is much better than my old Viewsonic monitors. We'll see what happens after 2 years.
I hope that this review was helpful to someone that is looking for a 30" panel.