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

This is seriously messed up. I think there is definitely grounds for a class action lawsuit, don't you guys think?
 
The design is gorgeous and I love the extra screen space - it's perfect for me and didn't find it too big or small. Reclaiming some desk space is nice too (I had a 19" CRT before).

Regarding the panel itself, I haven't had any time to calibrate yet but the backlight bleed seems quite prominent.Here's a pic of the backlight bleed:

IMG_3514.jpg


As you can see, it is not uniform. What is annoying is the inconsistency in the middle of the screen.

Do people with 'A' and 'S' screens have similar backlight bleed?
 
Tejstar said:
As you can see, it is not uniform. What is annoying is the inconsistency in the middle of the screen.

Do people with 'A' and 'S' screens have similar backlight bleed?
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From what I recall, it was mostly the C panels that had bleeding issues in the middle of the screen. My A panel has significant bleed on the top, bottom and sides but is not noticeable under normal viewing conditions.

As far as your panel being unidentifiable, it was mentioned a few weeks ago that some monitors were shipping with generic labels and no way to tell who the manufacturer was. BE Hardware reported that there was now a second version of the C Panel manufactured by CPT. Who knows? Maybe the unlabeled one is a fifth manufacturer that hasn't been identifying themselves.

I would think the only way the established manufacturers would stop labeling their monitors is if Samsung gave the order, in which case pretty soon all panels that ship will have no identity.
 
swiharta said:
This is seriously messed up. I think there is definitely grounds for a class action lawsuit, don't you guys think?
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Hi, is it much work for you to make a profile wit lower gamma settings to make things less washed out ?
 
I don't know why you are asking me that in response to my question about filing a class-action lawsuit. The existing color profiles that I made have made me and many others quite happy with our CMO "C" panels, I don't feel that I need to change anything to make it "less washed out". I'm really concerned with those getting stuck with CPT and "D" panels, or worse, although I think anything other than an "S" panel is slander on the part of Samsung.
 
Tejstar said:
Regarding the panel itself, I haven't had any time to calibrate yet but the backlight bleed seems quite prominent. As you can see, it is not uniform. What is annoying is the inconsistency in the middle of the screen. Do people with 'A' and 'S' screens have similar backlight bleed?
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That looks like my C panel. The brightness in the middle of the screen never bothered me because I don't run any applications that have a dark black background there.

The A panel that I returned had backlight bleed that was MUCH worse. It was as svgtom described, but a much higher intensity. I had a very bright spot in the lower-right corner.
 
swiharta said:
I don't know why you are asking me that in response to my question about filing a class-action lawsuit. The existing color profiles that I made have made me and many others quite happy with our CMO "C" panels, I don't feel that I need to change anything to make it "less washed out". I'm really concerned with those getting stuck with CPT and "D" panels, or worse, although I think anything other than an "S" panel is slander on the part of Samsung.
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Sorry about that, it had nothing to do with what i quoted i was just wondring if it was much work for you, thats all.:)
 
Hey everyone! I just got a 226BW "C" panel a few days ago. Was hoping for an S like everybody, but alas. It does look quite good using the color profile though, although I still think it looks slightly watched out and the darks aren't quite as dark as I would like them to be.

When I go to the options menu, I can't find a panel number either, but it does say C on the back. Pretty sneaky how they removed it from the menu though, right?

Only thing I'm not sure if it's just that I have a bugged monitor or if it's too be expected is that the bottom of the screen seems a little brighter and more flushed out then the middle. And the top of the screen is notably darker. It depends a little on what I'm doing, say in games it's not as noticeable, but for instance on this forum the message backgrounds are supposed to be a sort of greyish color, and it looks fine in the middle of the screen, but as I scroll down the top most message will look noticably darker, and from some angles even nearly completely black. And that's not even at the absolute top of the screen (there's tool bars from the browser etc etc above it still...)

Also, when I move my taskbar to the top of the screen instead of the bottom, it looks seriously darker. In most uses it's not too noticeable or annoying, but it does bug me a bit. Just wanted to know if it is normal or if I've got a bum monitor.

I made a picture that demonstrates roughly how much darker the top half is.... Is this normal? I've never owned an LCD panel before and I never had issues like this with CRT panels.

5243ajk.jpg


Do feel a little dumped by Samsung, and I don't think doing this is right, they're basically giving some people better panels for the same price, while pretending they're all the same. That really sucks.

Doubt I'll go through the trouble of getting it exchanged though, since I ordered it online. All the shipping and stuff would be troublesome.
 
DaSal said:
Only thing I'm not sure if it's just that I have a bugged monitor or if it's too be expected is that the bottom of the screen seems a little brighter and more flushed out then the middle. And the top of the screen is notably darker.
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This is the viewing angle issue that plagues all TN monitors, not just Samsung. I guess you haven't been reading this thread. :D
 
svgtom said:
This is the viewing angle issue that plagues all TN monitors, not just Samsung. I guess you haven't been reading this thread. :D
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A bit, I'm new to all this. :)

It being darker at the top doesn't correct it self no matter how I look at it though... it's just darker... Is that normal?
 
amoeba1126 said:
does anyone else hate samsung as much as i do now?
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Hate is a rather strong word. Do I think Samsung deliberately tried to screw consumers? No. Will this stop me from buying other Samsung products? Maybe. Has this whole experience left a bad taste in my mouth? Yep. Will this cause me to dissuade my friends from buying the 226bw? Heck yes.

I think that Samsung tried to meet demand by using panel types that they hoped would be as good as their own. That was not the case. The cost to fix this issue would be huge. Samsung knows that they have the power in this situation so they deny that the claims of inferior panels have any validity. They hope the whole thing will quiet down and people will forget. I hope they realize that the web (and Google in particular) has a long memory. When I go to buy my next LCD or when my friends ask for advice, what brand do you think I won't choose?
 
So what do you guys recommend instead? I'm in the UK and have pre-ordered one of these from play.com. At the time they stated it would be an "S" Panel. Now they don't say what you'll get. Not cool :( I can still cancel or return it. I'm guessing it won't say the panel on it. Is it still the best 22"?
 
Have to say that even with it's problems it's still a huge improvement over my old CRT. Overall it has better colors, and it is a LOT sharper. Photo's really pop. And the resolution/size of the monitor is awesome. The design is very nice as well, it looks really slick and beautiful. Have to say that if I hadn't googled it, I would probably not have cared half as much about it's shortcomings, and overall I have to say it's a very good first experience using an LCD screen.
 
M!ke said:
So what do you guys recommend instead? I'm in the UK and have pre-ordered one of these from play.com. At the time they stated it would be an "S" Panel. Now they don't say what you'll get. Not cool :( I can still cancel or return it. I'm guessing it won't say the panel on it. Is it still the best 22"?
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FWIW, BeHardware tested the S and A at this page Samsung 226BW A and S series: The verdict and said "Should we regret having bought an A version and would another screen have been better? No. The 226BW, whether it’s an A or S, is still above the rest." However, two other 22" LCDs are rated the same overall as the A panel.

To me, that means only the S panel is clearly better than other 22" LCDs, and the only one you should pay a premium for.
 
DaSal said:
Have to say that even with it's problems it's still a huge improvement over my old CRT. Overall it has better colors, and it is a LOT sharper. Photo's really pop. And the resolution/size of the monitor is awesome. The design is very nice as well, it looks really slick and beautiful. Have to say that if I hadn't googled it, I would probably not have cared half as much about it's shortcomings, and overall I have to say it's a very good first experience using an LCD screen.
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I hear what you're saying about not otherwise knowing without having Googled. I happen to think my C panel is great, btw. However, if I paid for a monitor as good as the S panel, then I think I should've gotten it.

If I buy a product and I don't realize that it has shortcomings, that doesn't make it OK for the manufacturer to sell it to me without disclosing that it's not what I expect. Look at it this way: if I buy pet food from China, but it turns out that some Chinese company "substituted" some ingredients, is it OK as long as my dog doesn't get sick or die?
 
I just bought a few 931BW's, will tell you how they compare to the larger 226BW's
 
DaSal said:
Have to say that even with it's problems it's still a huge improvement over my old CRT. Overall it has better colors, and it is a LOT sharper. Photo's really pop. And the resolution/size of the monitor is awesome. The design is very nice as well, it looks really slick and beautiful. Have to say that if I hadn't googled it, I would probably not have cared half as much about it's shortcomings, and overall I have to say it's a very good first experience using an LCD screen.
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I agree I love my "c" panel, after having it for over a month I don't think of any of these "S' vs "c" issues. I was very into this when I bought it originally though.
Calibrating it with the spyder2 was a huge improvement, and I just love this monitor for gaming and everything really. Its a bright, sharp, no ghosting monitor.
 
is the lottery any more mixed for purchasisng in the UK or is it equally likely to get an A C or S

thanks
 
Picked up the display model at CC for a confirmed "S" panel. I'm happy; after calibrating with Huey, it's great!
 
I can't believe this thread is getting so big; and lasting so long. I'm just using my 225bw and 226bw; and enjoying them both. No matter which panel, I think the consensus is they are a cut above most.
 
this thread is all about one kind of monitor! this is surely one heck of a monitor series to grant so much attention...
 
this thread is so long cuz samsung lied and cheated its customers and CONTINUES to do so. what they dont understand is that the internet has a long memory (mostly due to powerful search engines and data that doesnt go away) as well as huge marketing power. someone needs to start a petition and class action suit against samsung.
 
I have the 226BW Revision "A" and it has horrible red tint around any black text.

Does anyone know how to fix this? Color manipulation, etc? I've installed the Samsung monitor drivers, so if there are any other steps to make it better, please let me know before I call for RMA.
 
i believe thats the windows cleartype or clearfont thing. search for it and i guarantee you will get a hit on the solution thread. i saw it floating around before here but im too lazy to find it for you :)
 
Hey everyone,

I just bought a 226 from PC World this afternoon and I have a couple of questions about it.

Firstly I don't know the type of panel. I opened it up in the shop to read the back sticker and all it has is 226BW [R], no A, S or C.

Although I knew that the only one I want was the S type, I bought it anyway as PC World have a 28 day returns policy (and they had it at the best price, online or offline, £245 with 5% student discount). On the service menu it have the Version: M-ME22W0BDA-1003, so what panel is this?

Another question is what does changing 'auto auto' to off do? And vice-versa for 'PixelShift'.

Lastly, how do you change it so the light around the power button goes off after a set period of time? Mine just stays on forever and I can't find any way to change this in the menus.

Thanks a lot

BTW Even if this is a C or an A panel I think I still may keep it. I am quite pleased with it after properly calibrating using one of the colour profiles someone posted. The only downside is there is blacklight bleed, but with no previous LCD experience I have no idea if it is bad or not. It doesn't bother me in normal use, the only reason I noticed it is in the HL2 intro.
 
I got my C from newegg over a month ago and I love it. There is almost no backlight bleeding and it came with 0 dead pixels. It's holding up strong and all of my friends are jealous of my giantass 22" screen :D
 
the reason your service menu and the back doesnt have S, A, or C is because rather then doing the right thing and giving everyone who complains S panels, Samsung decided to render the matter moot by HIDING which panel you have. :mad:
 
I just picked up a Samsung 226BW A panel yesterday, and I noticed that on many sites that have a large block of a solid color, there is some sort of problem.

For example, my YouTube account profile has a mostly dark blue background. When my monitor displays it, you can occasionally see it "flicker" - a bunch of lines, almost like a TV trying to tune itself to the right station still, will ripple throughout the monitor. It is like a wave of lines that just keeps flicker/rippling upwards. Of course, it's not constant. It will do it, then stop for a bit, then start up again.

I've noticed it on YouTube, this site (although it's much harder to see here because of all the lines), NewEgg, and many other sites. I even noticed it on MS Word (the grey part ripples). However, when I go to fill my screen with a solid color from an LCD testing site, there is no side of any rippling/flickering for all the colors.

Why would this ripple be apparent on some sites, but not when the entire screen is filled with a solid color?

This is very strange to me. Could it be that the monitor is a dud? Or perhaps my video card is too weak? By the way, my Samsung 226BW is hooked up via VGA to my laptop which has an Intel integrated graphics card, serving as an extended monitor. So my video card is providing the image to both my laptop screen as well as the Samsung screen simultaneously.

I also do not notice any rippling in pure black or pure white. Colors I do notice it on the most are grey (almost any shade) and a certain shade of blue (bluish-grey).

Btw, if it matters, I followed BeHardware's instructions and applied their color profile that is downloadable from their site for the A panel.
 
amoeba1126 said:
the reason your service menu and the back doesnt have S, A, or C is because rather then doing the right thing and giving everyone who complains S panels, Samsung decided to render the matter moot by HIDING which panel you have. :mad:
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So the version number doesn't mean anything?

Hmm thats pretty low of Samsung, but can you imagine what the situation would be if they did this from the start, and people just randomly got bum monitors. I'd reckon that there would be more Samsung hate now.

Anyway I'm not hugely concerned over this. I did the MS Paint test, so I do believe I have a C panel. Even if I have a C panel I am still pretty impressed especially after loading the colour profile up.
 
BoneMachine said:
So the version number doesn't mean anything? Hmm thats pretty low of Samsung, but can you imagine what the situation would be if they did this from the start, and people just randomly got bum monitors. I'd reckon that there would be more Samsung hate now.
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If Samsung had done this from the start, then the reviews on the monitors would've been less consistent, and the monitor would've been rated a bit lower than it did. People wouldn't have gravitated towards it as much as they did due to the almost uniformly stellar reviews.

BoneMachine said:
Anyway I'm not hugely concerned over this. I did the MS Paint test, so I do believe I have a C panel. Even if I have a C panel I am still pretty impressed especially after loading the colour profile up.
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I agree. The C panel is very impressive. But then again, a BMW 3 series is also pretty darned good compared to a Honda Accord. However, if you paid for and expected a 5 series, but BMW gave you a 3, you'd be pretty pissed. Let's not blame the "victims" here. Just because I can't tell if the 226bw I've been sent is great or just merely very, very good, does that mean I don't deserve the monitor I paid for?
 
Can anyone help me on the turning off the light around the power button issue?

Also how do people compare the C panel to other 22" monitors , for instance the Asus, the Acer and the LG (not the HP)
 
From BeHardware:

[FONT=Arial, Helvetica]
On the one hand, Samsung feels bad about the bad press, notably with us, following the polemic surrounding its SyncMaster 226BW. On the other, they recognize that this is a record selling screen after the 913N from two years ago, and that sales in France are noticeably below the international average. In the end, they will take the occasion to complete this product range to finish off the competition, which lacks innovation for this successful screen size.

At the end of the month, they will first release a clone of the current 226BW, the 223BW, for less expensive but it won’t be as reactive. It will have a 5 ms panel, and theoretically no possibility of activating the overdrive to go to 2 ms. Its expected price is around 300 euros, compared to the recommended 370 of the 226BW. While we know that the latter is found for as low as 335 euros, this could mean some good things for those who might opt for this younger sibling. Samsung specifies that all production of the 223BW will be with Samsung panels.

The SyncMaster 226BW continues on its way with just one change. Samsung now assures us that supplies arriving in stores are all with Samsung panels. So, the A and C versions are finished.

At the end of July, the SyncMaster 2232WG will arrive. It uses the Samsung 2 ms panel of the 226BW, but is in a new bezel inspired by TV models from this manufacturer.

Finally, the SyncMaster 226CW will come to stores with its 2 ms and wide gamut tubes. Samsung’s hopes are not as great here as the difference in price between the base and extended gamut model may give consumers cold feet.
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[/FONT]
 
I'd really like to see that 226CW right next to a 226BW and color comparisons in different applications. hopefully a reputable site will do this.
 
hmm I still have a two weeks left to return by C panel to PC world. I think I may just do that and wait a little for the new revisions to come out.
 
i read that the letters on the panel notate the country where the monitor was made i'll try to find the link...c is made in china ..i have an s panel made in mexico..i beleive the a is made by another company ...i'll search for the link
 
http://www.pcworld.com/product/userreviews/prtprdid,32830843/userreviews.html..here's the link it say s panel was made in south korea.. but my panel has an s but says made in mexico
 
jazzmaster221 said:
i read that the letters on the panel notate the country where the monitor was made i'll try to find the link...c is made in china ..i have an s panel made in mexico..i beleive the a is made by another company ...i'll search for the link
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You obviously haven't been reading this thread. The letters refer to who made the panel - not where it was made. My A panel was also made in China.

S = Samsung
A = AU Optronics
C = Chimei as well as another manufacturer that begins with C but whose name escapes me at the moment.
 
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