Samsung 215TW... mixed feelings

SelRahc

Limp Gawd
Joined
Aug 12, 2004
Messages
389
So it was time to upgrade monitors. I had been watching the forums for a while now and I knew I wanted to go Widescreen. Since I promissed my wife I would upgrade her first she got first dibs....

I picked up a Samsung 215TW. I must say I was HELLA impressed with it. The screen was near perfect. The refresh is very fast, 8ms, and the price was right at $550 ish. I decided to pick mine up at Best Buy since they have a liberal return policy. After a week of watching my wife play on 21 inches of sexy screen, I couldn't take it anymore! I was suffering from screenal envy. So 1.5 weeks later I went out and picked up my own.

I came face to face with the worse case of backlight bleed I have ever seen. The entire right 3-4 inches were hella bright. My wifes screen has the same effect but only for about 1 inch and its next to impossible to even see. However the one I picked up was just awful. >.<. So I took it back. By this time the only other one near where I lives was 60 miles away. But I made the drive anyways to go pick it up. Since it was the only one they had I just took it home. And you know what happened im sure....

The exact same problem! I was so upset. >.< It seems to be a reoccuring problem. The left side of the screen, about 3 to 4 inches were lightened up. In addition, the second monitor had a darker area on the right side. Everything would even up if you looked at the screen at an angle, which kinda made me wonder if its a misallignment of the crystals themselves.... I dont know. So I took it back. Im sad.

So here I am still running on my 19" monitor. Still suffering envy looking at the 21 incher on the desk next to me, and wondering if I dare try to pick up another 215TW or just wait for something better.

Has anyone else had a problem with this monitor?
 
Has anyone else had a problem with this monitor?

No, but I was thinking of getting this monitor in the near future.
Well this one or the ViewSonic VX2025WM anyways. I thought
that the samsung would be better quality(backlight) than the viewsonic
but now I'm not as sure. Good thing I can't afford to buy it right now... :p

How much did you pay for it?



And you could always Buy the new viewsonic WS and let me know what you think ?
 
Best Buy was selling them for $549. If I could pick up another like the one my wife has I wouldn't be concerned. The lightness on her screen is next to unnoticable... and I am a VERY picky person when it comes to this. However the 2 I got were very unacceptable.

Every Best Buy near me are out of stock. Maybe they figured out the problem and recalled them to fix it? :) Probably not tho. Its a Hawt monitor.......

I will probably end up just waiting to see what comes out over the next few months. The 24" from benq looks nice, as do a few other monitors.
 
Maybe your wifes has the detail loss as well, but you are watching her from a slight angle so you dont notice it? Ive got a 21" gateway monitor which uses the same panel. and mine does the same. As far as the backlight bleeding mine is only very slight in the corners. So maybe your just getting unlucky there. Unless your computer is in a darker environment, it would be easier to notice. But I dont know. I guess just wait for best buy to get them back in stock.
 
You should try Fry's Electronic's. They also carry the Samsung 215TW's. I currently have a perfect Dell 2005FPW. No dead pixels and absolutely no backlight bleeding. I was thinking about upgrading to Samsung 215TW or the Gateway FPD2185W. The extra 1" makes a huge difference not to mention higher contrast ratio and lower response time. I didn't really like the way Gateway looked but I immediately fell in love with the 215TW. The image quality on that thing was exceptional. I couldn't find any backlight problems on that monitor at Fry's or BestBuy though, but maybe that was because store lights were on. I thought I looked very carefully, but I guess I have to go look again.

Let us know if you pick up another one.
 
SelRahc said:
Best Buy was selling them for $549. If I could pick up another like the one my wife has I wouldn't be concerned. The lightness on her screen is next to unnoticable... and I am a VERY picky person when it comes to this. However the 2 I got were very unacceptable.
.

I'd recommend picking up another and if it still has the problem, wait until you wife isn't home and swap the monitor with hers! :) Just kidding!
 
I also picked up a 215tw at BestBuy and when I brought it home and plugged it in there was a LOT of backlight bleeding in the corners and I was really bummed out... The upper left corner was the worst out of the 4...

However, when I lowered the brightness down (it was preset to 100) to the "Internet" setting (brightness 38) the backlight bleeding mostly (95%) went away...

It IS a great monitor but is a bit pricey... I am debating whether to return it and buy a cheaper 20" like the vx2025wm... I don't watch movies so I don't care about HDCP or the component inputs and I doubt I will ever use the Rotate function... This monitor just seems a bit indulgent for me right now... but it IS a rockstar if you get a good one.
 
How about testing the Component video input for us. Use PS2, or XBOX, since it is the direct competitor to gateway, one of gateway's faults was a very dark component video input that made it funtionally useless.
 
Welcome to the world of LCDs, they all suffer to some degree or another background leakage.

I bought a Apple 23" Cinema Display last week that suffered from this, in fact they are a known issue with them right now.

Oh and gee, that's not all of it either, then there is banding, screen door effect, dead pixels, pixel discoloration, what else guys? I'm sure I've missed a few others of the wonders of LCD misery, LOL

But all LCDs are like this, you just have to try and see, some are lucky, some are not. HELL I have been reading up on LCDs for the past 6 months and I still haven't bought anything yet. With a $2500 SLI gaming rig, you'd be doing your research too, and what a PAIN in the ass to find something, but I'm almost there.

ALOHA
 
screw widescreen and get the Sam 204B. I have zero issues with mine and they should have plenty in stock.
 
spaceman said:
screw widescreen and get the Sam 204B. I have zero issues with mine and they should have plenty in stock.

204B is to old of technology with a TN panel for just about anyone out there looking for a more state of the art LCD.
 
dtos01 said:
I also picked up a 215tw at BestBuy and when I brought it home and plugged it in there was a LOT of backlight bleeding in the corners and I was really bummed out... The upper left corner was the worst out of the 4...

However, when I lowered the brightness down (it was preset to 100) to the "Internet" setting (brightness 38) the backlight bleeding mostly (95%) went away...

It IS a great monitor but is a bit pricey... I am debating whether to return it and buy a cheaper 20" like the vx2025wm... I don't watch movies so I don't care about HDCP or the component inputs and I doubt I will ever use the Rotate function... This monitor just seems a bit indulgent for me right now... but it IS a rockstar if you get a good one.

While I have a bit of backlight bleed I do love this 215TW and decided not to return it as it is not a worry of mine as it has no dead pixels- 2 stuck that I rubbed out- and all is good I have to say I can't ask for much more as this is better than what I had last year, and what most people have- so I shall not complain (too loudly at least, lol)
 
Ok I had to reply here. First not all lcd's suffer with backlight issues. I own a dell 2405 with zero backlight problems. I own a sony 23 premierpro with zero backlight, I also own an apple 23 with zero backlight issues. I also own 2 dell 2005fpw and one is in perfect condition with the other one having just some minor backlight at the corners but didnt bother me enough to return it.
 
I went to Best Buy on Saturday to take a look at this display, as I plan on upgrading to a widescreen LCD. The in-store display looked absolutely stunning and I'm pretty much sold on it. I'll be buying it soon, I'm just waiting a few weeks to see if Best Buy has a sale first. They usually have 15% off sales every month or two, so if I can save around $80 on the thing, why not?

BTW, I have an Xbox 360, Xbox, PS2, and Gamecube, so when I eventually buy the display I'll be doing a nice long review that should answer everyones questions about it.
 
noesis said:
Ok I had to reply here. First not all lcd's suffer with backlight issues. I own a dell 2405 with zero backlight problems. I own a sony 23 premierpro with zero backlight, I also own an apple 23 with zero backlight issues. I also own 2 dell 2005fpw and one is in perfect condition with the other one having just some minor backlight at the corners but didnt bother me enough to return it.

What I meant was the LCD technology has this problem, some will see it, some won't. That's what I was trying to say, didn't mean to imply everyone is going to have this problem. But some LCDs seem more prone to the issue of background leakage then others.

You had a 23" Apple with no issue and the first one I bought had background leakage. In fact Apple will even tell you that the 23" has this issue.

ALOHA
 
DasFox said:
What I meant was the LCD technology has this problem, some will see it, some won't. That's what I was trying to say, didn't mean to imply everyone is going to have this problem. But some LCDs seem more prone to the issue of background leakage then others.

You had a 23" Apple with no issue and the first one I bought had background leakage. In fact Apple will even tell you that the 23" has this issue.

ALOHA

Oh man..Naa i wasnt referring to you my friend. This was just a general statement. I got really lucky with the apple and sony. The sony i knew off the bat that it would be perfect.But it was also bought from amazon (they have a liberal return policy,,,sonystyle sucks big time). the apple is always a hit and miss but i got really lucky. This monitor is beautiful and very perfect, no leakage and no dead pixels. My dell however was a hassle. I returned the 2005fpw twice i think because i wasnt happy with the leakage until i finally got one that i could deal with. Than i studied up on panels and who makes it and my second dell 2005fpw i made sure i got the samsung lcd and this one ended up being perfect. My 2405fpw came out perfect from the start so i was fortunate there.

Oh and believe me i was a little afraid with the apple myself. The day i got it i looked it over with a fine tooth comb. tested and evertthing, so i got lucky.

So yes with lcds there will always be this problem with leakage and dead pixels but you just have to get lucky (or keep on returing them until you get a perfect one hehehe).


:)


Das i apologize if i sounded like i was referring to you. (i wasnt).
 
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