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Well after testing both monitors out in my home, I have a full report.
Viewing angle: Didn't really test this much, as it wasn't an issue at all with either monitor. At least to me anyway.
Backlight beeding:
Samsung: This has bleeding yes, but I think I over reacted when I said how horrible it was. It's just that it's in a really bad spot. When your viewing web pages or doing anything on the desktop, the bleeding is 100% invisible. When playing games that are really dark (dungeons in Oblivion) then you can see the bleeding, slightly. The Samsung however has ZERO bleeding in the corners and sides. The only problem it has with bleeding is right at the top, which unfortunately of all places, is the worst. I play alot of World of Warcraft, and that is a very colorful bright game, so the bleeding is totally invisible when playing. I think what makes the bleeding stand out on the Samsung, is at the top, it's a very thin line of bleeding. It doesn't fade into the black very well, so that is probably why it stands out among other monitors that bleed. The Viewsonic seems to have a much wider bleed area, but it's more dull and blends in better with the black so it's not as noticable.
Viewsonic: Well, honestly, this monitor has more backlight bleeding then the Samsung, BUT... it doesn't stand out as much because it blends in with the black alot better. It bleeds mostly on the sides, which in my opinion is a better place to bleed if it has to.
Winner: Viewsonic. This monitor bleeds more, but it is a bit more dull, less noticeable, and therefore less distracting.
Color:
Samsung: This is where the Samsung kicks some serious tail. Aside the fact that it's a high bit panel, it has this wonderful thing called MagicColor. I usually frown upon "gimmicks" like this, because it always seems like a "lazy" way of making something adjust itself, and I always feel that manual adjustments are the best way to do anything. That may be true, but the MagicColor does an amazingly good job of adjusting the colors for you, with one easy click. There are 2 settings for MagicColor. Full and Intelligent. Full seems to be a bit too much, while the Intelligent settings seems to make the important colors come to life, without getting carried away. Overall, the Samsung seems to have a nice "warm" feel to it's colors.
Viewsonic: This monitor takes the bright colors, and, makes them brighter. It doesn't really make the colors better, they are just brighter. I don't really know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. This monitor does not display darks very well.
Winner: Samsung hands down.
Picture quality:
Samsung: This is something I noticed almost instantly with the two monitors. The Samsung seems "crisper". The best way I can describe why the Samsung is better in this area, is to say that the Samsung seems to have a "looking through a window as if you were actually there" feeling when you look at photos. The best way to test this was with scenery. I downloaded his res scenic wallpapers for the tests.
Viewsonic: The Viewsonic does display pictures very well. One thing I noticed instantly, is again, the Viewsonic doesn't display darks very well though. The images are brighter then the Samsung, but that doesn't mean it displays them better. The Viewsonic was a bit more "smoother" then the Samsung, but is less crisper.
Winner: Samsung hands down.
Features:
Samsung: MagicColor, incredibly sexy design, and the best stand I've seen come with a monitor. It is height adjustable! This monitor just feels very solid as well. The menu is very easy to navigate, and the buttons are well located and easy to press. The power LED is very dim and out of the way, so it's not distracting at all when the lights are turned off.
Viewsonic: This has OptiClear, which is like Samsung's MagicColor, but not as good. The menu buttons feel very cheap. The Menu however is easy to navigate, no problems there. There is a bright LED power light in the middle of the monitor, which can be a bit distracting. The stand feels like cheap thin plastic, and wobbles more then the Samsung. This thing is also one UGLY mofo.
Winner: Samsung hands down.
CONCLUSION:
Summary for the lazy: The Samsung has better colors, crisper images, better features, and a much sexier design. The only category that Viewsonic wins in is the backlight bleeding.
In my opinion, ANY amount of bleeding is going to bother me. The Viewsonic has bleeding, and the Samsung has bleeding. There are so many things good about that Samsung that in the end, they easily outweigh the backlight bleeding. I was a fool to say that the bleeding was "horrible". It honestly is not that bad. I just never tested out another 22 inch at home to compare. The backlight bleeding does suck though yes, but not enough to make you chose another monitor over this one.
I think the Samsung BY FAR is a much better monitor. If you are very picky about bleeding then wait until the next generation of 22 inch monitors. The backlight bleeding bothers me alot less now, considering how much better it performs in comparison to the Viewsonic.
I guess you can call this a case of thinking "the grass is always greener on the other side", and coming to realize that my side was the best to begin with, and I now appreciate my side much more, and am completely happy with my purchase.
Viewing angle: Didn't really test this much, as it wasn't an issue at all with either monitor. At least to me anyway.
Backlight beeding:
Samsung: This has bleeding yes, but I think I over reacted when I said how horrible it was. It's just that it's in a really bad spot. When your viewing web pages or doing anything on the desktop, the bleeding is 100% invisible. When playing games that are really dark (dungeons in Oblivion) then you can see the bleeding, slightly. The Samsung however has ZERO bleeding in the corners and sides. The only problem it has with bleeding is right at the top, which unfortunately of all places, is the worst. I play alot of World of Warcraft, and that is a very colorful bright game, so the bleeding is totally invisible when playing. I think what makes the bleeding stand out on the Samsung, is at the top, it's a very thin line of bleeding. It doesn't fade into the black very well, so that is probably why it stands out among other monitors that bleed. The Viewsonic seems to have a much wider bleed area, but it's more dull and blends in better with the black so it's not as noticable.
Viewsonic: Well, honestly, this monitor has more backlight bleeding then the Samsung, BUT... it doesn't stand out as much because it blends in with the black alot better. It bleeds mostly on the sides, which in my opinion is a better place to bleed if it has to.
Winner: Viewsonic. This monitor bleeds more, but it is a bit more dull, less noticeable, and therefore less distracting.
Color:
Samsung: This is where the Samsung kicks some serious tail. Aside the fact that it's a high bit panel, it has this wonderful thing called MagicColor. I usually frown upon "gimmicks" like this, because it always seems like a "lazy" way of making something adjust itself, and I always feel that manual adjustments are the best way to do anything. That may be true, but the MagicColor does an amazingly good job of adjusting the colors for you, with one easy click. There are 2 settings for MagicColor. Full and Intelligent. Full seems to be a bit too much, while the Intelligent settings seems to make the important colors come to life, without getting carried away. Overall, the Samsung seems to have a nice "warm" feel to it's colors.
Viewsonic: This monitor takes the bright colors, and, makes them brighter. It doesn't really make the colors better, they are just brighter. I don't really know if this is a good thing or a bad thing. This monitor does not display darks very well.
Winner: Samsung hands down.
Picture quality:
Samsung: This is something I noticed almost instantly with the two monitors. The Samsung seems "crisper". The best way I can describe why the Samsung is better in this area, is to say that the Samsung seems to have a "looking through a window as if you were actually there" feeling when you look at photos. The best way to test this was with scenery. I downloaded his res scenic wallpapers for the tests.
Viewsonic: The Viewsonic does display pictures very well. One thing I noticed instantly, is again, the Viewsonic doesn't display darks very well though. The images are brighter then the Samsung, but that doesn't mean it displays them better. The Viewsonic was a bit more "smoother" then the Samsung, but is less crisper.
Winner: Samsung hands down.
Features:
Samsung: MagicColor, incredibly sexy design, and the best stand I've seen come with a monitor. It is height adjustable! This monitor just feels very solid as well. The menu is very easy to navigate, and the buttons are well located and easy to press. The power LED is very dim and out of the way, so it's not distracting at all when the lights are turned off.
Viewsonic: This has OptiClear, which is like Samsung's MagicColor, but not as good. The menu buttons feel very cheap. The Menu however is easy to navigate, no problems there. There is a bright LED power light in the middle of the monitor, which can be a bit distracting. The stand feels like cheap thin plastic, and wobbles more then the Samsung. This thing is also one UGLY mofo.
Winner: Samsung hands down.
CONCLUSION:
Summary for the lazy: The Samsung has better colors, crisper images, better features, and a much sexier design. The only category that Viewsonic wins in is the backlight bleeding.
In my opinion, ANY amount of bleeding is going to bother me. The Viewsonic has bleeding, and the Samsung has bleeding. There are so many things good about that Samsung that in the end, they easily outweigh the backlight bleeding. I was a fool to say that the bleeding was "horrible". It honestly is not that bad. I just never tested out another 22 inch at home to compare. The backlight bleeding does suck though yes, but not enough to make you chose another monitor over this one.
I think the Samsung BY FAR is a much better monitor. If you are very picky about bleeding then wait until the next generation of 22 inch monitors. The backlight bleeding bothers me alot less now, considering how much better it performs in comparison to the Viewsonic.
I guess you can call this a case of thinking "the grass is always greener on the other side", and coming to realize that my side was the best to begin with, and I now appreciate my side much more, and am completely happy with my purchase.