Samsung 226BW 22": 3000:1 Contrast, 2ms response time

[Dogmapog]

Claiming they did a "Bait and switch" is also silly because as the manufacturer they can revise the product as much as they want. Less than 2% of the consumer market would even care and the only ones who notice this stuff are people like us. If Samsung decided to cut production costs by using a comparable panel to the one they originally placed in the monitor then that is their right as the producer of the product. Get over it.

.

Excuse me all over the place....do you have shares?
Any reasonable person would expect that the product that is sent to website reviews{and receives worldwide praise as the best 22}, should be the product they can buy.

If they switch to an inferior panel, then it's known as "bait and switch"......so let's see how the A panel fares against the other 22's.

I'd also add that even if the A panel was of similar quality, the public perception may still be negative, ie, they might "assume" a lesser grade panel was used......end of the day, no sale.

IMO, the manufacturer should decide on the panel supplier and subsequently supply that panel to review and to customers.
Samsung would have known that it's new high spec 22 would be interesting/popular, so why use their own souped up panel if they can't meet the expected demand?

 

[parish]

Excuse me all over the place....do you have shares?
Any reasonable person would expect that the product that is sent to website reviews{and receives worldwide praise as the best 22}, should be the product they can buy.

If they switch to an inferior panel, then it's known as "bait and switch"......so let's see how the A panel fares against the other 22's.

I'd also add that even if the A panel was of similar quality, the public perception may still be negative, ie, they might "assume" a lesser grade panel was used......end of the day, no sale.

IMO, the manufacturer should decide on the panel supplier and subsequently supply that panel to review and to customers.
Samsung would have known that it's new high spec 22 would be interesting/popular, so why use their own souped up panel if they can't meet the expected demand?

Well then let's go down this path all the way then shall we?

When a manufacturer of a computer product releases a new item, and well before it hits the shelves, they send them out to review sites so that they can generate "buzz" for said new product. Most review sites note in each review that the item they are reviewing may be revised before it hits the market in full production. You may be more familiar with the item being called a "reference" or "1st Gen" for its type. They do this so that when you and I go buy it from our local retailer; we don't expect that exact same experience the reviewer had. We can expect some semblance of it, but not always get the same thing.

Here is a direct quote from the Overclockers Online review of the Samsung 226BW: "Also worth pointing out is the fact that under standby mode this monitor draws less than 1 watt and only 55 watts under full operation! If you dig around on the net, you'll find out that Samsung uses a TN panel with the 226BW. The panel can be made directly by Samsung or AOC panel." Make special note that it clearly says that it could be one of two panels right in the review !

Some manufacturers have in the past, revised items for reasons unknown to the consumer that produced such a negligible difference in performance they did not view it as viable to inform the world they did this. It is common practice and if indeed were some sort of "Bait and Switch" then it would be a liability for them and possibly cost them money in the short term. Now let's be honest here, as I said before this is all speculation on many levels.

When the difference as it is in this case is one of a personal preference issue such as how much backlight is or is not ok they really don’t have to justify it. It’s a matter of opinion which, you will note I said before. The only people who know why Samsung swapped panels work at Samsung. We won't be given a reason because it is not warranted. For that matter, you might as well wait a year and RMA your monitor because by that time, there will be several more revisions to the model you have now. Using your logic, they should replace yours right? I mean, someone else got something better than you did and it works both ways right? No it does not. Most reasonable people understand this and accept that be it good or bad, sometimes the people who make the things we buy change them. For every one person who thinks the change is bad, there is yet another who is happy with it and why we come full circle to it being a matter of opinion as to the change being good or bad.

Just so this does not go any further, I do not work at or own shares in Samsung. I am just a reasonable person with some sense of logic and understanding of how things are done in the corporate world.

I hope this helps explain my view on this and possibly sheds some light how things are done from a manufacturing standpoint.

 

[dbthump]

...didn't bother to check until last weekend and even then only did so because of this lunacy...lol

The same could be said of the X-Fi card. If I had not taken the "leap of faith" and bought the card anyway despite their forum postings, I'd be missing out on a lot of sounds.

 

[gunner1]

We have some folks around here who seriously need to get a grip. This whole "A" vs. "S" panel debate is a almost a joke and certainly wearing thin. The difference between them is minor at best. No matter what panel you get, there are allowable tolerances in the manufacturing process that could net you an "S" panel with just as much backlight bleed as an "A" panel… sad but true.

Let's focus on some genuinely important stuff ok? Such as exactly how many of you sit in front of your monitor looking at an all black screen for minutes/hours on end? Not a one I would bet. So is it really important to have CRT-like blacks from an LCD panel? I doubt it. You should be more concerned about color reproduction and gamut, which negates whatever difference you *might* imagine you see between the "A" and "S" panels. On paper the differences are minor enough that only the most discerning of tastes would have any serious issues with the difference. You WILL get backlight bleed on EVERY LCD panel on the market. Get used to it. What defines an acceptable amount of backlight bleed varies from person to person. People around here need to start saying they are expressing opinions and not stating fact. If you think the panel has too much bleed, then that is your opinion and NOT a fact. Someone else might not agree with you. Stop beating a dead horse here fellas and move on.

Samsung did right by putting this monitor on the market as it is about the best you can do on a budget for a 22" HDCP compliant LCD. It has fast response times (G2G) and a good native resolution.

Claiming they did a "Bait and switch" is also silly because as the manufacturer they can revise the product as much as they want. Less than 2% of the consumer market would even care and the only ones who notice this stuff are people like us. If Samsung decided to cut production costs by using a comparable panel to the one they originally placed in the monitor then that is their right as the producer of the product. Get over it.

It’s almost laughable that people would go buy something and then exchange it for the same thing several times hoping they will get the goose that laid the golden egg. If you are so unhappy with your purchase, return it and get something else. If it were really that important, you would spend whatever money you had on something that lived up to your standards, but you don’t.

In the end there are certainly worse monitors you could get (almost all of them in this size range for example) and they are more deserving of whatever angst you might have. Leave this 22” offering form Samsung alone as it is markedly better than the others in it’s range.

Unless you have had both panels hooked up together to the same video card and done comparisons between them, then I'd say you are talking out of your ass.

All we know for sure is that the specs on the "A" and "S" panels is very close. That is not the whole story however, because as we both know, the tolerances in the different fabrication plants is probably different, slight differences in assembly, slight differences in materials, etc, all add up to two different products that are noticeably different under similar conditions.

I don't stare for hours at black screens, but I can tell you that the color gradient difference, which might be attributable to this being an "A" panel, or this being a "TFT" panel, is definitely noticeable. The viewing angle difference on color is noticeable. The backlight bleed, IS noticeable if I am watching a movie or playing a game in a dim room.

Would the "S" panel be any better? I don't yet know, but for you to be so dismissive of people who are critical of the situation when you yourself have no firsthand experience is laughable.

 

[parish]

Unless you have had both panels hooked up together to the same video card and done comparisons between them, then I'd say you are talking out of your ass.

My buddy got the same monitor on Sunday from CC. His is an "A" panel, mine is the "S". Going from mine to his I saw NOTHING that made me think his panel was significantly inferior. However, after he read all the rubbish in here he talked himself into thinking he made a bad purchase. It took me an hour to convince him otherwise and now he is happy with his new monitor.

All we know for sure is that the specs on the "A" and "S" panels is very close. That is not the whole story however, because as we both know, the tolerances in the different fabrication plants is probably different, slight differences in assembly, slight differences in materials, etc, all add up to two different products that are noticeably different under similar conditions.

Samsung does not use multiple plants to produce the same LCD product. This LCD is being assembled in one plant and the tolerances are the same for each run of the model.

I don't stare for hours at black screens, but I can tell you that the color gradient difference, which might be attributable to this being an "A" panel, or this being a "TFT" panel, is definitely noticeable. The viewing angle difference on color is noticeable. The backlight bleed, IS noticeable if I am watching a movie or playing a game in a dim room.

The difference is noticeable to YOU which cements what I have been saying this whole time. It is your OPINION and may or may not reflect the experience others will have with the same LCD.

Would the "S" panel be any better? I don't yet know, but for you to be so dismissive of people who are critical of the situation when you yourself have no firsthand experience is laughable.

I am not being dismissive of anyone or anything said in here. I am simply saying people need to realize that each user will have a different experience with the same product. To imply that one persons opinion and view will be the same as the next person is both ignorant and sadly mistaken. Also make note that I do have experience with both panels. I am glad I gave you a good laugh but assure you it was simply because you could not read what I wrote and grasp the context of it. I recommend you read my post again and try to understand the context of it, not just read into it what you will.

 

[gunner1]

Samsung does not use multiple plants to produce the same LCD product. This LCD is being assembled in one plant and the tolerances are the same for each run of the model.

Note I am talking about the construction of the LCD, not the monitor. The Samsung branded LCD module and the AOC one are certainly NOT produced at the same plant.

The difference is noticeable to YOU which cements what I have been saying this whole time. It is your OPINION and may or may not reflect the experience others will have with the same LCD.

I would say that the difference would be noticeable to most tweakers with good eyes, which probably makes up a lot of the audience at enthusiast sites like this one. I have some very good displays sitting in my office and while the 226BW is great in some areas, it's lacking in others, the real question is whether the trade off is worth it for the individual user. Remember that the average user might have issues with what they are seeing on a display but being unfamiliar with the technology they simply accept it as "normal" when there is better out there.

I remember when 10-16 bad pixels on an LCD panel was considered accepteable because people didn't know any better. I remember people buying crappy flat panels for gaming and not liking all the input lag and crappy response time causing the picture to smear but not being educated on why it was happening.

I would argue that more information is always better than less. If this causes some heat for Samsung or other panel makers then that's tough, because the market is always going to demand that they produce a better product at a lower price, and if they can't, they will be out of the business soon enough.

 

[parish]

I remember when 10-16 bad pixels on an LCD panel was considered accepteable because people didn't know any better. I remember people buying crappy flat panels for gaming and not liking all the input lag and crappy response time causing the picture to smear but not being educated on why it was happening.

I would argue that more information is always better than less. If this causes some heat for Samsung or other panel makers then that's tough, because the market is always going to demand that they produce a better product at a lower price, and if they can't, they will be out of the business soon enough.

Agreed.

 

[IHL]

It is not an AOC monitor, it is a AUO monitor.

I have an A. I ordered another from NewEgg in hopes of getting an S so I can end this debate. I doubt there will be much difference after both are calibrated.

If there is, I'll be sure to let know. I don't hold any bias either way. If the S is better I'll say so. If not, I'll say that too.

 

[chronic9]

went to best buy to buy a splitter for my cable box. decided to venture to the LCD section to look at the 22" LG. and woola!!! 5 226BW in boxes, there wasnt a display unit, but since they have a pretty good return policy for LCDs. i bought one. I am pretty happy with it, coming from a dell 2001fp.... all this extra space is nuts. and i got lucky, i got a S model on my 1st try!

 

[ForeStorm]

Hi guys, I own this monitor and wanted to share my thoughts on it, especially the panel (A vs. S) discussion going on. I had an open-box Gateway FPD2185W from Circuit City, but it had odd problems displaying the same color across the length of the screen, so I returned it. That's the only other LCD I've owned; the other would be a really old monitor - CRT maybe? - and my CRT TV, which is awesome. Oh, and first post!

First off, it's a long thread - if I've missed something (I've read some, skimmed most), please point me in the right direction.

I'm ran the monitors (A and S) off of a VGA connection on my laptop; I don't have a way to connect DVI, or I would have. I'll go chronologically.

I bought a 226BW from Circuit City online with a neat 10% coupon. It's what made me buy it over the LG 226WT at the time. It got here and I set it up, checking the panel version after reading through much of this thread. It was an A Panel. I turned it on and was greeted by a noisy black screen when using a full black. The contrast was at 75 at this point, and the 'noise' reduced itself when I lowered the contrast at 47. This got better with time, and after about a week, I could set the contrast to anything and not see the noise.

I played around with the back light bleed and reduced the brightness to 50, which was adequate for me. There was small amount forming into an X (where the X wasn't brighter) on the screen, but it too diminished within about a week to where the only noticeable bleed was at the bottom right, if not offset towards the middle even. And it was hardly noticeable, even on a black screen.

I set up a B->W gradient though, and was surprised. At the far left, where the black turned to grey, pixels were changing color noticeably from two feet away from black to a brown or something, a kin to the same noise I was seeing when I had the contrast too high (at first). This annoyed me, and I couldn't find a way to fix it. The same thing happened in a black to green gradient.

Banding was not an issue; it was there, but it was not prevalent. It didn't bug me enough for me to return it on that accord, though.

I realized that the noise in the dark scene was the result of the dithering process the A panel used - it was far too noticeable to me to be happy with with the money I spent. Granted, this isn't a high-end S-IPS panel, but still. $400 is a lot to me, so I wanted to see if I could do anything about it.

Six days after receiving it (and the "only" qualm being the noisy dithering) I took it back to Circuit City to try to replace it. One of the tech guys called it a defect (in comparison to their display model). He talked to the manager for me and I received a new one. I went ahead and opened and tried it out on the spot, and it too showed the noise dithering, unlike their display. After looking for the first time, my first replacement was an A panel.

I talked to the manager again and asked (since it too had this odd 'defect) to see if I could get the display instead. (I checked after testing - it was an S, without the noisy dithering, although I actually think it shows a little more banding than the A.) He thought about it for a while, and finally got back to me: I walked out of the store with an S panel Samsung 226BW.

[ Overview ]
A panel:
+ less banding than S, though doubtful
- very noisy dithering, very noticeable
S panel:
+ no noisy dithering!
- maybe a little more banding, thought doubtful
- fuzzy; less sharp than the A

Do note that these are my observations and didn't have any sort of scientific approach to them. Nothing changed save the monitor, though, as I brought in my laptop (my source at the moment) to test out the (total) three monitors. It's worth mentioning that the S panel may have a slightly less amount of back light bleed in the same area as the one I had for six days. The only thing I have to say is that I'm on VGA - I find myself wondering if a DVI connection would have done away with the noisy dithering, and wonder now if it'll make the screen a bit sharper and crisper. Computer parts are coming soon in the mail, though, so we'll see. One more thing, which I believe has been talked about earlier in this thread - there seems to be a color wash effect of sorts from the top of the monitor towards the bottom.

Oh, I had to wait around for a little while at Circuit City, but I'm satisfied with their customer service and how they handled the situation - but that's me.

 

[MeathooK]

My 226BW showed up today....DOA. I'm beginning to f***#(*$&@#$)'ing hate UPS and how they damage everything. Memory came DOA, and had to pay for a shipping label, now this monitor, and have to pay for a shipping label. Sigh...

 

[chronic9]

who makes u pay for a shipping label to return a DOA item.....

hows that YOUR fault that its dead? thats not fair!!!! make newegg or whoever pay for shipping back.
I know newegg does that, at least for me, i got a 250gb drive once, it was DOA, the paid for the return shipping.

 

[MeathooK]

I know newegg does that, at least for me, i got a 250gb drive once, it was DOA, the paid for the return shipping.

Musta been awhile ago :-\ They even have "DOA" as an RMA reason in the dropdown menu now. After you submit the RMA it asks you if you'd like to print a UPS label from their site. If my memory or monitor comes back DOA again, I'm raising hell. I'll let it go once, considering my employer does the same thing. I'm not blaming them (Newegg), however. I'm blaming UPS. They're completely wreckless with things. I've received shipments from UPS at my job, and seen boxes roll down the drivers aisles, and down the stairs of his truck. What can ya do... I'm definitely only using FedEx from now on.

 

[Dogmapog]

For the moment, I’m going to wait till some Australian reviews{personal and website} start trickling thru, however, this thread indicates that there is a difference between the two panels, and I think that should be known.

As I said before….Samsung and everyone else interested in LCD’s would’ve anticipated that it’s 226BW specs would generate interest, therefore they would’ve known demand would be high…as such, I think it’s appropriate that they supply the finished product for review.

Being that the Viewsonic 22 can be bought for $445AUD, then the 226BW needs to be a lot better to justify it’s $579AUD asking price.

I don’t like the sound of what Samsung have done, and IMO they should avoid this type of practice.

 

[TigerLord]

I ordered my 226BW on sunday in Belgium (Im in Europe and afaik the 226BW has been released shorlty before the US) and got it today, its an S, so I got lucky...

I intend to take pictures! I guess I was lucky.

 

[IHL]

As much as I hate to say it, we used to use UPS to ship our servers to other divisions across the U.S. We had to stop using them. Most of the time the boxes were terribly damaged and trying to make a claim on an item is a major PITA.

It's too bad, but UPS sure does seem to have a big problem in this area. I don't use them anymore if I have a choice.

 

[cazz]

this thing shouldn't have happened. Even if the 2 panels are the same u cant convince people at this point. It is out of control now.

I live in turkey and am trying desperately to learn if any S panels shipped here. Because 226BW is the best option available to me. All retailers i tried had A panels (at least the sample i saw). Then I checked with 2 main distrubitors of samsung in turkey. They both have no idea about this panel thing. They ordered 226BW, thats it.

suprisingly they both told me they are geting many calls about this issue. I even helped one of them with how to check if they have an A or a S panel (thanks to hardforum ). They will further investigate the issue with their supplier, hopefully i will get a heads-up. I will post if i learn something important. The other distrubitor is waiting for the next shipment to see if there are any S panels.

If i am convinced that there are no S panels in turkey or coming very soon i will have to try an A. Sometimes ignorance is bliss

 

[7331]

Samsung should at least acknowledge the situation and say that both panels are the same. Then we'll know they aren't trying to pull off a secret cost saving maneuver by sending superior panels to reviewers and selling worse panels to users. Now everyone's in doubt.

 

[samduhman]

I remember when i first joined this thread on the 226bw.It seemed like this was the monitor to get.Very positive chat and little negativity.When the A panel showed up!Comments of the 226 bw have gone down hill.Granted!! it does seem that the A panel is not as good as the S! But all this present focus on bleeding,banding,uneven colors seems to be making this once apon a time great monitor into a not so good one anymore.Even some of the s panel reports have been a bit more negative lately.I think all this talk has made us looking for problems that have been there all along.If this A a panel isnt that great!then what is?? for the type of monitor and price tag.After all this chat!!I dont think I or others here will be able to look at any 22" within the same price range and not see the problems that have been discribed here.Just venting alittle a guess!Great people here and have found a wealth of info.I just wonder if i had not found this forum and just went out and bought this monitor would my feelings of the 226bw be different?I think yes!! Id say it was a great monitor and leave it at that.Now that the genie has been let out of the bottle i wont be able to look at any monitor without finding fault.

Reading this thread makes you anal retentive Don't worry I've seen the same thing happen with other lcd threads. People love to whine. IMHO the average joe picking up this monitor who never saw a forum is probably very content. I recall reading the notebook forums about the Dell 9300s lcd screen 2 years ago before I bought mine. People where pissing and moaning about the screens and which (yes Dell was swapping panels as well in the 9300s) one they recieved. Reading the threads freaked me out to the point when I finally received mine there was backlight bleed and I was so distraught. I didn't go to the hassle to return it and you know what, within a couple hours I'd forgotten about it because it didn't make a difference when I was actually using the screen instead of looking for problems. Its been a great laptop So don't let a couple complainers make your decision for you. For all you know they could be nuts, knowitalls or talking out of their rear end. I might be one of them

 

[7331]

Reading this thread makes you anal retentive So don't let a couple complainers make your decision for you. For all you know they could be nuts, knowitalls or talking out of their rear end. I might be one of them

Dude! You take the fun out of nitpicking. Life would be so boring if we didn't pick on the tiniest problems of monitors....

 

[samduhman]

Dude! You take the fun out of nitpicking. Life would be so boring if we didn't pick on the tiniest problems of monitors....

I just got a big O chuckle reading your response. Thanks for improving my day

Just trying to keep some people from spinning out of control from reading to much into this thread.

 

[cazz]

if we were not nitpicking hardforum wouldnt exist

 

[Ewokki-]

I bought Samsung 226BW yesterday from Verkkokauppa.com here in Finland. It's an S-panel made in Slovakia Feb 2007. There aren't any dead pixels or leaks that i have noticed yet...

Horizontal viewing angle is great but vertical sucks. My desk is little high and i have low chair so the upper part of the screen dims a little. Even though my eyes were a little bit higher than the center of the screen. It seems like i would have to sit so high that my eyes are like 5-10cm higher than the upper frame of the screen to prevent dimming of the colors on the upper part.

The colors are way better than on my year old Samsung Syncmaster 997MB. Also, the picture is much sharper on the 226BW(ofcourse)...although i prefer lower sharpness so it blurs the text a little.

Anyway this is a great monitor. DVD's look so coooool and 720p porn... you can actually count how many hair those asian babes have down there....and don't even ask about 1080p content(available from Microsoft.com) it's just =O~~~~

 

[Mansize_tissue]

The colors are way better than on my year old Samsung Syncmaster 997MB. Also, the picture is much sharper...although i prefer lower sharpness so it blurs the text a little.

Is the picture sharper on your old display, or new one?

 

[Klint]

I bought Samsung 226BW yesterday ..... DVD's look so coooool and 720p ****... you can actually count how many**** those **** ...~~

You deserve to be ban from this forum.

 

[7331]

and 720p porn...

That was the question everyone had on their minds and was afraid to ask... How does porn look on this monitor... Or maybe not..... Don't be surprised if the admins show you some tough love. LOL

 

[Volucris]

He deserves a ban just for looking at asian stuff.


I love this monitor. It has a slight frost effect when looking at it from high vertical angles. There's only 1 bad pixel and it just doesn't do pure black. For $400, this is a great screen. Now if there was 1:1 pixel mapping..........

 

[Fading Phoenix]

what exactly is 1:1 pixel mapping? I'm seen other people asking in forums, but I haven't seen anyone answer yet.

 

[Mansize_tissue]

what exactly is 1:1 pixel mapping? I'm seen other people asking in forums, but I haven't seen anyone answer yet.

To my knowledge, it's the monitor's capibility to display a non-native resolution without distorting the image. Like running 1280x800 on a 22" display with a native resolution of 1680x1050.

 

[Anoesis]

Just got my 226bw 2 days ago, no dead pixels, no bleeding, looks great, i love it! Got mine from new egg and its an S panel

 

[Hadron]

I recently picked two of these panels up, One was A" and one was an S" panel. Overall, they both looked pretty similar. I've since taken my A" panel back and picked up the 20WMGX2 as my second panel, and it makes the Samsung look like crap. S-IPS panels are definetly the way to go!

 

[Cliff Couser]

.......the 20WMGX2 as my second panel, and it makes the Samsung look like crap. S-IPS panels are definetly the way to go!

ouch! the *best* TN out there just got pWned!

 

[Klint]

I ran Monitor Test my S model and everything looks as is supposed to look. @ custom setting gamma 3, bright 46, contrast 80, RTA=on.

I dont have time now to take pics of the test paterns right now, but I took this one:

Is an impressive image in person.

 

[Hadron]

ouch! the *best* TN out there just got pWned!

When I first picked up the samsungs, i thought they looked sweet, since I was moving from a 5 year old CRT. Now that I have the 226BW and the NEC20WGX2 hooked up side by side, on dual dvi, the color of the samsung looks pathetic in comparison, and the NEC looks much brighter, sharper and vivid.... I have to say though, if I didn't pick up the NEC, i would have thought the 226BW to be amazing (As this was my first impression), But i guess that's what happens when you compare a TN panel to one of the best screens on the market... And the difference in price for me was only a 100$!

 

[Mansize_tissue]

When I first picked up the samsungs, i thought they looked sweet, since I was moving from a 5 year old CRT. Now that I have the 226BW and the NEC20WGX2 hooked up side by side, on dual dvi, the color of the samsung looks pathetic in comparison, and the NEC looks much brighter, sharper and vivid.... I have to say though, if I didn't pick up the NEC, i would have thought the 226BW to be amazing (As this was my first impression), But i guess that's what happens when you compare a TN panel to one of the best screens on the market... And the difference in price for me was only a 100$!

Do you think you could take a photograph to compare the two?
This is the same display you have, yes? I just want to check before i go buying something totally different.

 

[Cliff Couser]

I was deadset on the NEC as well...until I saw it in action at Frys. YES, the image/colors are amazing...but I couldn't get used to the glossy screen.

I'm sure glare in my house would have been no where as bad as Frys (flourescent light all around)....but still...I couldn't get used to it. If it had more real estate....say 22"....I think I would have bit though.

..as it is....I'm still waiting for the 226bw to come back in stock in Las Vegas or Best Buy to start carrying. This damned thing re-appeared in stock in 2 differnet CC stores and promptly disappeared within 3 days. On 3 different instances!

 

[Hadron]

Do you think you could take a photograph to compare the two?
This is the same display you have, yes? I just want to check before i go buying something totally different.

Here's a pic for you...My camera's crap, so i don't think you can really see too much detail in the pic. I will say that the NEC panel has much more clarity, more vibrant colors and you see very fine details, whereas the 226bw, the image is not as clear alot of the detail seems washed out, and it's not as bright. It's such a noticable difference for me, especially when surfing the web, watching media files, and looking at still images..... I want to stress though, that had i not picked up the NEC, i would have been very happy with the 226bw, it's only when comparing the two, that I am being so critical of the samsung, because it's really not in the same league. I still might recommend the 226bw for gamers due to it's fast response time, and reasonable price but i really think that it's worth investing just a little extra for a better quality screen if you can. In the pic, they both look good, but in person the NEC is sooo much better. If I was to rank the NEC in comparison to the Sammy, i would give the NEC 100 and the sammy probably a 70...



In terms of size, The 20" vs 22" isn't that big of a different. I can't say enough good things about the NEC.... The colors are just so much more vibrant, and detailed, when comparing the two panels, it really puts the samsung to shame.

I'm on my computer alot, and i find the NEC is also much more easier on the eyes as well... I know the cheap price of the TN panels make them seem attractive, but now that I see the difference in quality, it's definetly worth the money investing in a high quality screen.

 

[Mansize_tissue]

Thank you, Hadron, that was very quick!

Wow, the NEC looks so much brighter and more vibrant; it's a shame about the price here in the UK, though. We're talking £350, which is more than $650.

I suppose the main reason why the NEC looks so much nicer than the Samsung is due to its glossy screen. How good is the NEC for gaming? If you've tried it, that is; since whatever monitor i get is going to be used for gaming only, but i'm not sure how good glossy screens are for this.

 

[Squish]

226BW

I enjoy it for the speed and motion and clarity contrast.

The AUO panel is a TN screen. (Twisted Nematic)

The Samsung is a BTN III (Bistable Twisted Nematic) screen. quick response, better contrast, Wider View angle.

I'm no expert, But this is what I have found. These screens are two different species.

 

[quincy4]

I got the 226BW with an A panel a few weeks ago from CC. Its been working fine and I didnt have any problems after I changed a few of the settings. Lately however I been having a problem, I usually leave the pc on all day with the monitor off. When I turn on the monitor I get a bunch of small dots around the mouse pointer, it eventually goes away but sometimes comes back. I also tried playing a video while I still had the dots and I get a bunch of colors on the video window. Anyone have any ideas what could be wrong? Thanks.