Samsung 205BW Owner's/Review thread

i just got the 204bw which is similar to the 205 and i am not sure how this height adjustment thing works. i pull out the pin on the back adjusted to my desired height and reinserted the pin, the pin does not lock when inserted and i am still able to slide the screen up and down. can anyone tell me how this works
 
rhawbsays said:
I'm about to buy the Samsung 204bw. Does anyone have both the 205bw and the 204bw? Is there a big difference between the two picture quality-wise? I myself, would prefer the 204bw just because it's thinner, but if the 205bw has better output quality than i'd go the other way. Newegg shows a $10 difference. Any thoughts?

thx
RR
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If I'm correct they are the same exacy LCD, except on the 204 models you are able the spin the display sideways, and on the 205 its fixed.
 
Hi everyone!

I am thinking of going for a 205BW, however I have some questions which I believe
can better be answered by people who have used 205BW :) So

1. has anyone managed to connect a DVD-player directly to the monitor?
2. how does it perform when it comes to movies?
 
greygoose said:
all these pages and i still cant find anything stating whehter or not it will map 1:1
Click to expand...
Answer is No.

busoni said:
Hi everyone!

I am thinking of going for a 205BW, however I have some questions which I believe
can better be answered by people who have used 205BW :) So

1. has anyone managed to connect a DVD-player directly to the monitor?
2. how does it perform when it comes to movies?
Click to expand...
1. I personally have not tried it
2. Movies look amazing on this screen. Dark ones like The Matrix look perfect, as well as normal movies. I have noticed some visual artifacts similar to jpeg compression on certain movies, but I believe that's a problem with how DVD's are encoded. High-def content does not do that.
 
rhawbsays said:
I'm about to buy the Samsung 204bw. Does anyone have both the 205bw and the 204bw? Is there a big difference between the two picture quality-wise? I myself, would prefer the 204bw just because it's thinner, but if the 205bw has better output quality than i'd go the other way. Newegg shows a $10 difference. Any thoughts?

thx
RR
Click to expand...
Get the 205BW. The 204bw is 6bit and the 205bw is 8bit.
 
techweenie said:
1. I personally have not tried it
2. Movies look amazing on this screen. Dark ones like The Matrix look perfect, as well as normal movies. I have noticed some visual artifacts similar to jpeg compression on certain movies, but I believe that's a problem with how DVD's are encoded. High-def content does not do that.
Click to expand...

1. I'm just asking because I have found several ways that seem to do this, e.g. HDMI-to-DVI cables, component-to-DVI etc. It would be interesting if something like this is possible!

2. My question emerged by reading several reviews which say that this monitor looses details in dark scenes of movies, so I wanted a user's opinion on this too. Thanks!
 
Has anyone else had problems finding these in stock? I picked up 1 on Monday on Newegg to check out the quality. Since it ecxeeded my expectation I went back to pick up another and they were sold out. I couldn't find it at either zipzoomfly or directron either. Seems like its not in stock at many places.
 
busoni said:
1. I'm just asking because I have found several ways that seem to do this, e.g. HDMI-to-DVI cables, component-to-DVI etc. It would be interesting if something like this is possible!

2. My question emerged by reading several reviews which say that this monitor looses details in dark scenes of movies, so I wanted a user's opinion on this too. Thanks!
Click to expand...

Go Here:

http://www.cyberguys.com/templates/searchall.asp?search=dvi+cable&sort=rev
 
kevinf said:
i just got the 204bw which is similar to the 205 and i am not sure how this height adjustment thing works. i pull out the pin on the back adjusted to my desired height and reinserted the pin, the pin does not lock when inserted and i am still able to slide the screen up and down. can anyone tell me how this works
Click to expand...
The pin is just there to keep things safe during shipping. You don't need to re-insert it, as the screen should stay at whatever height you leave it at.
 
hello everyone, I've been looking to purchase a new LCD to upgrade my 19in CRT. At first I thought about getting the 19in widescreen but opted to just pay the difference and get a 20in widescreen. I was wondering if the MagicColor chip actually makes a difference in the monitor? I was looking at the sceptre models which were cheaper but I'm leaning toward a recognized brand such as Samsung and wanted to know if the "chip" actually warrants a higher price? Also someone mentioned the 205 is an 8bit panel and the 204 is a 6 bit but when I looked at the product specifications they both seem to be 6 bit panels as their display colors are at 16.2 million not 16.7. One last question, I have a nvidia 6600GT and on the display settings the max resolution currently isn't the same as the widescreen native resolution. I was wondering if its b/c my CRT is still connected to it and that if I get this LCD will my graphics card be able to handle the 20in LCD? Any help and comments are appreciated, thanks!
 
I was bothered about banding and the 6/8-bit thing. Reading around I see that it most likely is a 6-bit monitor but does a good 8-bit emulation - banding is minimal in the dark areas. Other monitors costing twice the price look the same or worse. One thing I did find is that using the analogue cable basically eliminates banding completely - very smooth gradients. BTW If changing cables be sure to press the enter button at PC start-up else it thinks it's still digital.

One other point of interest is that analogue mode it offers up an extra res 1920x1080, ie 1680x1050 being the max in digital. It also offers extra parameters for image control. I would guess that Samsung is more comfortable with analogue than digital for this screen.

Gaming is fine. HL2 looks really good as does Guild Wars. I play Q3A Excessive+ in a window. Movies are excellent. I found good detail in dark areas.

OSD and supplied programs give all the control required to set it up to one's liking.

Overall an impressive monitor. WS is THE way to go - it is how we see the world.

Initially, I was not going to keep this since Amazon sent it used with scuff and finger marks but it has cleaned up okay, I like it and can't be arsed with packaging, waiting in for collection, etc. It's got a three year warranty. Likely I'll never need it.
 
itzhobbes said:
One last question, I have a nvidia 6600GT and on the display settings the max resolution currently isn't the same as the widescreen native resolution. I was wondering if its b/c my CRT is still connected to it and that if I get this LCD will my graphics card be able to handle the 20in LCD? Any help and comments are appreciated, thanks!
Click to expand...

I have this exact same card, and 1680x1050 (the monitor's native resolution) became available once I plugged in the 205bw and installed the drivers.
 
MacDad said:
I have this exact same card, and 1680x1050 (the monitor's native resolution) became available once I plugged in the 205bw and installed the drivers.
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This is correct. Virtually all monitors made in the last several years report the available resolutions to the video card, and Windows limits you to those resolutions. All modern video cards are perfectly capable of 1680x1050.
 
I had the same problem with the samsung not displaying native res. turns out the monitor was programmed WRONG, and it was thinking it was a 19inch lcd non widescreen..

Called samsung, they cross shipped and had a new 205bw on my doorstep in 2 days, worked at native fine. another couple days later a shipping label came in the mail and I just sent the bad one back. BEST customer service ever.
 
TRD Supra said:
Get the 205BW. The 204bw is 6bit and the 205bw is 8bit.
Click to expand...

Verified through samsung, both panels are 8-bit TN-III, and support HDCP. Only difference is that the bezel on the 204BW is thinner than the 205BW.
 
AdamNesvick said:
Verified through samsung, both panels are 8-bit TN-III, and support HDCP. Only difference is that the bezel on the 204BW is thinner than the 205BW.
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Look at this august press release from Samsung about the 940BW, 205BW and the 225BW. Scroll to the bottom and look at the specs, why would Samsung list the 205BW at 16.2M colors and the 225BW at 16.7M colors? A typo? I have my doubts.

http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/PressRelease.asp?seq=20060814_0000279799
 
thanks for the reply guys. I got my 20in widescreen and life is gooood! So far no problem...well except a minor hiccup. Before going to sleep I turned my monitor off. During the night my sister had to come to my room and wanted to check out my new monitor. When she tried to turn it on, it wouldn't come on! :confused: Eventually I turned the main power switch on then off and switched the power plug to a different port on my surge protector. This apparently did the trick even though I plugged my speaker power plug into the port that was used for the monitor and the speakers worked perfectly. Has anyone encountered a similar problem?
 
Hey guys........I bought a 225BW....and I have a 205BW.........anything you guys want me to do? I have to say, the 205BW seems "brighter"....... I messed with all the settings in the 225bw and the white in my computer compared to the 205BW isn't as bright...
Brightness / contrast are the same on both monitors.
 
Shaman said:
Look at this august press release from Samsung about the 940BW, 205BW and the 225BW. Scroll to the bottom and look at the specs, why would Samsung list the 205BW at 16.2M colors and the 225BW at 16.7M colors? A typo? I have my doubts.

http://www.samsung.com/PressCenter/PressRelease/PressRelease.asp?seq=20060814_0000279799
Click to expand...

That is strange, it might be 16.2 w/ dithering, but damned if I can tell, it looks better then that couple of P-MVA monitors I have seen, and the response time is a lot better.
 
Well I have just got my 205bw and im really happy with it, I couldnt care less what panel it has, the colour looks great, its large enough to watch movies on and therre is no ghosting that i can make out. definately a good buy imo.
 
skunkmunkey said:
Well I have just got my 205bw and im really happy with it, I couldnt care less what panel it has, the colour looks great, its large enough to watch movies on and therre is no ghosting that i can make out. definately a good buy imo.
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Having used it for a few weeks, I agree it's a very good monitor for the money - not the best but then you pay a lot more for that. Certainly from the NEC1701 lcd I was using (which cost me twice the price of the 205bw three years ago) this is a significant step up. HNY!
 
I'm trying to decide whether or not I need a new monitor, but I'm pretty sure this will be the one if I decide to upgrade :) I have a couple questions for you about this monitor.

My setup is "kinda" old, I was wondering if this monitor works with a 64mb GeForce 2. Does graphics card really matters when it comes to monitors, resolutions etc?

Also, can someone measure the height of the screen with the lowest setup of the base please? I have kind of have a height restriction in my PC desk. In the lowest setup of the base, how much does the actual viewing area sits off the desk?

Thanks :D
 
andreascy said:
I'm trying to decide whether or not I need a new monitor, but I'm pretty sure this will be the one if I decide to upgrade :) I have a couple questions for you about this monitor.

My setup is "kinda" old, I was wondering if this monitor works with a 64mb GeForce 2. Does graphics card really matters when it comes to monitors, resolutions etc?

Also, can someone measure the height of the screen with the lowest setup of the base please? I have kind of have a height restriction in my PC desk. In the lowest setup of the base, how much does the actual viewing area sits off the desk?

Thanks :D
Click to expand...
64MB is enough to run at 1680x1050.

14" minimum height.
 
hrm.... Just wondering what happened to the people who noticed that there monitor tilted fowards? Did samsung replace your monitor or just fix it?

This is the furthest mine can go back.

my.php

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Jesus dude, just take it back to the store if you bought it locally and get another. Otherwise call Samsung and have them deal with it. Does it really matter if they only fix or completely replace it? Anything is better than that.
 
it's 3 months old so I don't think they will take it back... The thing I'm worried about is, getting a refurbished monitor :(
 
Very light colors all seem too washed out. I can barely notice a pure white from a very light blue for example. I tried to play with the settings but couldn't come up with something right. What are your settings?
 
HardCaution said:
it's 3 months old so I don't think they will take it back... The thing I'm worried about is, getting a refurbished monitor :(
Click to expand...

I had the same exact issue with my monitor. I posted a few pics earlier in the thread. I called Samsung up and they sent me out a new one. You should give them a call because you've got nothing to lose. It's broken, I know its broken because thats exactly how mine looked. Before the replacement came, mine actually broke and I had to prop the monitor up to use it. The new one they sent me looks way different at the hinge. When calling them, just be sure to tell them that its broken even if they say its not.

I was scared of getting a refurb or one with dead pixels because the one I had originally purchased had no dead pixels, but the one they sent me was just as good. No dead pixels.
 
I'm planing to buy 205BW, but i don't know if it's brightness is well controled...

Is it calm on the eyes and pleasant for viewing? how does it behave when you turn down the brightness? Are colours still good?

thanx a lot
 
I just bought one from Staples. $169 after mail-in rebate and a $30 off coupon. For the price, it's a very good monitor. I pretty much have it adjusted now where I like it and the picture quality is very good. Blacks are very good, color transitions are very good with no banding. No dead or stuck pixels (I hope it stays this way).

I use the monitor for gaming, movies & web surfing. The picture quality for movies is very good. I have not noticed any ghosting in games or movies. I played CS:S for a bit and it looked very good. ARMA is very immersive and the detail is excellent. I'm pretty impressed with how sharp and vivid the colors are. For a heck of a lot more $$, one can get either a S-IPS or PVA panel, but for the bang for the buck, this monitor is pretty decent so far.
 
does the 206bw differ much!?
i see it does in price, but maybe the new model improves?
(apart from the panel lottery?)
 
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