Samsung S27A950D 120Hz

I could care less about 3D cross talk as I don't use gimmicky 3D. Taking pictures of back-light bleed is pointless as cameras don't reproduce the image properly. Not to mention even if there is back light bleed, 99% of the time you won't notice anyways unless all you do is watch very dark movies on the screen.

I think the verdict is still out on this monitor. A few people taking pictures with their phone cameras doesn't mean anything .
 
Well I have been waiting fo this monitor, but I have my doubts samsung will put out a monitor with low input lag and a monitor that does not ghost.

The reason is because I have the 226bw which is great, but I have one of their newer monitors the bx2450 and that thing looks nice, but I can easily notice the ghosting etc. I read the reviews and lots of other people complained about this.

This is only a single example, but I still think this monitor will have input lag and ghosting issues.
 
DV has received the T27A950D and added it to their Face Off Section. 730:1 contrast ratio:mad: The average is close to 900:1 and lately most TN's are closer to 1000:1. The brightness variations are pretty big across the screen.

High brightness is needed for 3D=grey blacks on the Samsung/Acer due to the low contrast. The T model is an extreme fail due to the slow response time+60hz and low contrast for 3D gaming. The 120hz S will be faster but still...

Gamma shift looks fine for a 27" however the colors are awful in which ever preset they tested. Would be nice to see how the colors are in other modes.

My S27A950D should arrive tommorrow, but now with the reports of Crosstalk and this new info I might just return it. The T/S versions probably use the same panel....things aren't looking good!
 
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Ya 5 stars? I wonder how different the electronics will be in the S27 versus this T27. Do they even use the same panel (120Hz vs 60Hz). That could make a huge difference. Mine is arriving on Thursday. If it stinks it stinks, and I'll return it.

We shall see.
 
kalston said:
And they gave it 5 out of 5 stars because of the look - that's how bad DV is.
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Yeah that is pretty retarded. Ugh another failure of a 27".

Apparently the colors can be corrected easily and it has slightly less ghosting than the HN274 like many other 60hz models (HN274 has less Crosstalk due to being true 120hz).

They have the monitor hooked up through HDMI to a PC which can cause problems, for example the HDMI black level must be set to low other wise the contrast ratio was 150:1.

Seems the T model is meant to be used with external devices and not PC's, the S version has a DVI input so it should be ok, in theory. Still the T model is in no way deserving of a 5 star rating. There are plenty of 60hz monitors with perfect response times and high contrast, for 650-750$ the S+T models should be setting standards, not performing below average.
 
Thanks for the update about DV.

NCX, any chance of a review on the S model when you get it? Thanking you. Im curious about the lag/chosting & 3D performance of this monitor. I hope its better than the 'T' ...
 
I am a moron. Opened it w/o reviews. Ultimate Eyefinity set up or what?

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NCX your S27A950 is perfectly glare like HP 2509 or your Acer G24 ? not difference ?
 
Ultra Clear Panel/Glossy both show relfections, my Samsung LN46A950, which I have had for years uses an Ultra Clear Panel, I see no difference in the severity of reflections, however I have not put a Glossy monitor directly beside it for direct comparison.

I returned the HP and sold both Acer G245H's to friends, maybe I can get one to bring theirs over for reflection comparisons.

+Subjectively no input lag, will measure later with the SMT Tool agaisnt my CRT and C-PVA
-BLB on both edges of the panel, noticeable with lights on with blacks with the monitors default settings, which are extremely bright.
+Monitor comes set to "Custom," out of the box, is way to bright, colors are accurate next to a calibrated CRT and C-PVA but noticeably washed out
+the "Standard," preset has very good color accuracy and dims the brightness. Edge light bleeding still visible with lights on and all black screen with brightness set to 33 (default for standard mode).

I tried all 3 response time settings with Digital Versus Test, the Normal setting is on par with the Acer G245H, Faster has clear RTC errors, Fastest has slightly less. Fastest will probably be the best setting. The monitor appears to be on par with the Samsung S27A550H. There will be some light streaking+corona effect with console gaming (30-60fps).

While still very fast, the monitor is a failure in terms of responsiveness. The 60hz LG W2442PA and Samsung PX2370 are both faster, and if we look on Digital Versus we can see that other faster 60hz monitors exist.

Going to post my own review thread here which will link to WCGT where I will host my review with all the pretty pictures. Will provide measurements of all the color presets and calibrated results along with input lag tests and response time.
 
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eddie500 said:
?
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I can't say yet, because I don't know. Give me a few days to test everything out properly.

At 650$ if the 3D does not function properly (crosstalk fest+compadibility issues) I would consider this monitor a failure and it should be avoided just by principle alone.

Yes I know some people don't care, but supporting a company who puts out a premium product that doesn't function properly will only encourage them to put out more broken products.

If the 3D does not function properly like others have reported I will be returning it (15% restocking fee).

The left hand side of the monitor has about a 1.5" long strip of bleeding which is noticeable even with the lower brightness (many would consider this to be far to dark) of the "Standard," preset (most likely close to the calibration standard of 120cmd/2) with the lights on displaying a pure black image, even with the reflections! For 3D use with high brightness this will be very annoying.
 
NCX said:
I can't say yet, because I don't know. Give me a few days to test everything out properly.

At 650$ if the 3D does not function properly (crosstalk fest+compadibility issues) I would consider this monitor a failure and it should be avoided just by principle alone.

Yes I know some people don't care, but supporting a company who puts out a premium product that doesn't function properly will only encourage them to put out more broken products.

If the 3D does not function properly like others have reported I will be returning it (15% restocking fee).

The left hand side of the monitor has about a 1.5" long strip of bleeding which is noticeable even with the lower brightness (many would consider this to be far to dark) of the "Standard," preset (most likely close to the calibration standard of 120cmd/2) with the lights on displaying a pure black image, even with the reflections! For 3D use with high brightness this will be very annoying.
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any small hints about the 3D? i dont want to have to give in the the ACER :( though i have seen a review of that where there is not BLB and they even managed to kill the ghosting by adjusting the RGB levels
 
Vega said:
I could care less about 3D cross talk as I don't use gimmicky 3D.
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Crosstalk is just ghosting as seen through shutter glasses, so it matters regardless of whether or not you're using 3D. Low crosstalk means fast response times.
 
Samsung S27A950D Review...in progress

Should probably make my own [H] Review thread.

I have measured the color presets and calibrated the monitor. Very good default accuracy, good (not great) gamma, average contrast and blacks. The average contrast is certainly a let down, however due to the reflective nature of the UCP it wouldn't be an issue with the lights on if it was not for the back light bleeding.

Most Lagom tests are passed flawlessly except for a slight green tinge+banding visible on the lower shades of grey in the gradient banding test.

There was some slight grey gradient banding in the darker shades of grey and green tinge which I have not seen on the other TN panels I have tested. The default gamma is a tincy bit low "Standard," preset @2.09 resulting in slightly less punchy colors compared to the Acer G245Hbmid and LG W2442PA's default values. By default the monitor is set to "Gamma Mode 1," mode 2 drops the gamma below 2.00 resulting in washed out colors and mode 3 raises the gamma to around 2.3 with a tincy bit more banding. Still I would recommend using Gamma Mode 3 and turning down the green a bit.

I have to reset the monitor and re-measure everything again just to be sure, but I thought I would post the initial measurements. After calibration the black level and contrast is medicore at 0.16cdm/2 @122cdm/2 brightness for a contrast ratio of 760:1. Gamma was 2.18 when calibrated using the Gamma mode 1 option. Color temperature remained perfect at 6499k and the average Delta E was <0.80.

Installed the Tri-Deff software, will try some 3D gaming and Tron: Legacy.
 
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NCX said:
Installed the Tri-Deff software, will try some 3D gaming and Tron: Legacy.
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YAY :)

I do wonder, do you happen to have an nvidia vision kit? that'll be a biggie if we can use those as an extra. This monitor may be my first venture into home 3D but from what i understand, the nvidia ktis work much better with games? profiles etc.
 
I have a 3d-vision kit and my S27A950D has finally shipped, so ill try this when it arrives (today/tomorrow).
 
Just tracked the order and its in a town a few hours away, so it will arrive tomorrow.
 
I don't have a Nvidia kit. If some one wants to buy me one......

I tried: Black Ops, Shadowrun, Left 4 Dead 2, Starcraft II in 3D. With my Nvidia card, the "Side-by-Side," mode must be used. The only custom setting avaliable is the L/R change and changing the brightness/contrast/gamma/RGB values. Colors are accurate to begin with, however changing the Gamma to mode 3 and turning down the Green value is recommended for slightly punchier colors and reduced banding.

Blacks Ops: Looked good in 3D (Zombie Mansion) with little crosstalk.. The SP mission I tried had noticeable crosstalk . The added depth perception was great.

Left 4 Dead 2: Dark Carvniale: the 3D effect was weird and there was a TON of cross talk. just like earlier reports suggested. When whipping around to shoot zombies it isn't noticeable, but as soon as I focussed even slightly on something it was very apparent. Lots of dark greys/blues going on compared to the browns and blacks of the black ops zombie map I tried where I didn't see any CT. The depth perception was kinda weird here. It makes it so your gun and arms appear to be further away, however they are kinda of blurry and the whole effect seemed slightly messed up.

Shadowrun: Tried the Malestrom map, the color vibrancy is destroyed and the crosstalk was absolutely horrendous. Full on double images on light blues and greys.

Starcraft II: Played a game of Zealot Frenzy, if any one is familiar with this map it is very similar to Footmen Frenzy found in WCIII: TFT. There was some very minor crosstalk on some dark green trees but that was it. The visual quality of the game is destroyed in 3D, say good bye to the vibrant color pallete and sharpness of SCII in 3D.

Basically Black Ops was fine and L4D2 has potential, other wise I woudln't bother. I have seen most of the 3D movies in theaters and noticed the ocaisional tincy amount of CT, but the Samsung can be in a whole other league.

I can't say how bad the CT is as this is my first 3D monitor. Will take some pictures of the L/R thing and some examples of CT. Still have more games to try, settings to mess with and my PS3.

Definately prefer 2D over 3D for the better colors and black levels. Adding the respone time pictures to my written review.
 
Since the CT varies from game to game it sounds more like software issues then hardware. What was it like on movies and 3D images?
 
Haven't tried anything else yet except for those games. Turns out I don't have Tron Legacy 3D, just the regular Blu-Ray. For some reason I thought the blu-ray version came with 3D as well.
 
NCX said:
While still very fast, the monitor is a failure in terms of responsiveness. The 60hz LG W2442PA and Samsung PX2370 are both faster, and if we look on Digital Versus we can see that other faster 60hz monitors exist.
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I was wrong, I had my other 2 monitors hooked up which forced the Samsung back to 60hz without me knowing some how. Also with my other monitors hooked up it launched 3D games on my CRT instead of the 950, despite being my main monitor lol.

In terms of 60hz performance the LG W2442PA and Samsung PX2370 are faster, but only by a tincy margin. In PixerPixAn @60hz the 950 is slightly behind the LG, but ahead of the S27A550H. In the Digital Versus test it is still 2nd place, tied with the 550H while the LG shows 0 ghosting. This is great for console gamers. @120hz the monitor is perfect with the Fastest setting. All the pictures can be seen in my written review.
 
I just got mine in. I am pretty impressed so far. Hopefully I will add more detailed information here later tonight.

It is NOT as reflective as the Apple 27" I viewed! You can still see some reflections of course on a dark screen but on a lighter colored screen I can barely see any at all.
 
Vega said:
I just got mine in. I am pretty impressed so far. Hopefully I will add more detailed information here later tonight.

It is NOT as reflective as the Apple 27" I viewed! You can still see some reflections of course on a dark screen but on a lighter colored screen I can barely see any at all.
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Awesome, looking forward to the impressions! :)
 
Anyone know when these will be available in the USA. I can not find any information on US release date or why they are not released here.
 
Vega said:
I just got mine in. I am pretty impressed so far. Hopefully I will add more detailed information here later tonight.

It is NOT as reflective as the Apple 27" I viewed! You can still see some reflections of course on a dark screen but on a lighter colored screen I can barely see any at all.
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When will you disassemble it for your multimonitor setup? :D
 
eddie500 said:
Anyone know when these will be available in the USA. I can not find any information on US release date or why they are not released here.
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I bought mine from Canada and had it shipped to the US. You can just Google for merchants. I just got done playing some games and man this monitor is quick! I could not notice any ghosting while using the "fastest" setting. Input lag seems to be very low also. Hopefully NCX or someone else will post some actual measurements. Also loving the "perceived" contrast. All that means is that with a glossy type panel the blacks "look" better but under measurements may be the same as a non-glossy screen that doesn't look as "good".

kache said:
When will you disassemble it for your multimonitor setup? :D
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Sorry man my 3x 30" setup was too fatiguing on my eyes. Those massive screens were just overwhelming in 3x 30" portrait. I am back to just a single 27" 120Hz and am quite happy. ( I still have some 30" for backup). :D
 
Interesting, didn't realize it was available here in Canada in certain places already. I've been interested 3x S23A750Ds, but I've been considering just picking one of these up instead.
 
Vittra said:
Interesting, didn't realize it was available here in Canada in certain places already. I've been interested 3x S23A750Ds, but I've been considering just picking one of these up instead.
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get 3x s27a950.

That is what I plan on doing.
 
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