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Samsung SyncMaster 225BW 22"

As I stated in my last post, the Samsung 225BW does NOT do 1:1 pixel scaling. There is nothing in the documentation or in the onscreen menu (which I've gone through completely) that hints at any such feature.

So in short, unless you have software via the source (a PC for example) which tells the monitor to do otherwise, it's going to stretch the images to fit the screen. Case in point, my PC scales everything according to the original resolution so they look perfectly normal on screen (a 1024x768 image for example will not stretch to fit the screen) while games on my 360 will ALL stretch to fit the screen. Again, it isn't even noticable though and this is coming from someone who was very concerned about that before buying the monitor.

Update BTW, my wife convinced me to not return the monitor and now I'm glad I didn't. After some additional tinkering I found good color settings on the monitor for my 360. Besides, the PC games just look insanely better on this monitor than my 19" CRT anyway. :) I'll see if I can post some pics in the next day or so to show you guys.
 
a 1024x768 image for example will not stretch to fit the screen

this is 1:1 if it puts out a 1024x768 or 800x600 at native and puts black bars down the sides of the image (puts up the same image as a NON widescreen and blacks out the rest.

the problem is some monitors(the cheap ones) only do whatever resolution the video card is putting out and upscales or stretches the image to make it fit the full screen.

you are describing a non stretched 1:1 image if what you are saying is it will not stretch to fit the screen, but display whatever it should be displayed at....Like an old game such as Diablo that will run 800x600 it should have big black bars down both sides of the monitor and small black bars on top and bottom


Lonewolf its a lot more than 2 inches of display.
I looked at the 20's and it is tooooooooo damn small

the 22 is the same height as a 19 inch lcd and has 3 more inches of width
a 20 inch lcd is 2 inches shorter than a std 19 inch and 1.8 inches wider.
IT SUCKED big time.

it looked like lord of the rings (cant remember the ratio of that one but it was custom) the letter box on dvd played on a tv looked like it was smashed(ratio was way wide) over half the top and bottom were black bars) its the same with a 20in wide its too damn short.
 
I recently bought a 225BW but I have one problem with it. I connect it to my computer using Analog VGA, and I have an apperature type line going vertically 3 quarters from the left of the screen. I can't provide a picture as it doesn't capture using "print screen". It distorts whatever is along the line. It is the same in games too. Is this just because I'm using analog, or is my screen defective?

Thanks,

Mike
 
mike2060 said:
I recently bought a 225BW but I have one problem with it. I connect it to my computer using Analog VGA, and I have an apperature type line going vertically 3 quarters from the left of the screen. I can't provide a picture as it doesn't capture using "print screen". It distorts whatever is along the line. It is the same in games too. Is this just because I'm using analog, or is my screen defective?

Thanks,

Mike
Click to expand...

I haven't used the analog contect at all , but it does sound defective . Try another cable or on other pc or v/card (if possible) .



BTW ...the 225BW is onsale again at CC for $366.xx LINKY . CC seems to carry the later production model from Oct/06 in the white box (vs brown) . Maybe a price match to Staples or BB ,etc for a few more bucks off . If you buy online from CC , then dont forget FW (cash back) or Ebates for another $7 off . :D

*edit* A possible PM too when CC sells the 225BW for $279.99 on BF :)
 
mike2060 said:
I recently bought a 225BW but I have one problem with it. I connect it to my computer using Analog VGA, and I have an apperature type line going vertically 3 quarters from the left of the screen. I can't provide a picture as it doesn't capture using "print screen". It distorts whatever is along the line. It is the same in games too. Is this just because I'm using analog, or is my screen defective?

Thanks,

Mike
Click to expand...
Sounds defective, unless your video card did the same exact thing to your last monitor, then your video card's defective.
 
sparks said:
a 1024x768 image for example will not stretch to fit the screen

this is 1:1 if it puts out a 1024x768 or 800x600 at native and puts black bars down the sides of the image (puts up the same image as a NON widescreen and blacks out the rest.

the problem is some monitors(the cheap ones) only do whatever resolution the video card is putting out and upscales or stretches the image to make it fit the full screen.

you are describing a non stretched 1:1 image if what you are saying is it will not stretch to fit the screen, but display whatever it should be displayed at....Like an old game such as Diablo that will run 800x600 it should have big black bars down both sides of the monitor and small black bars on top and bottom
Click to expand...

Let me see if I can clarify a little more than my previous statement. Take the Sceptre x22wb for example, from what I understand it can do automatic or manual 1:1 pixel scaling. What that means is that if it's set to automatic then it will stretch images to fit "if" the source hardware and/or software doesn't tell it to do anything different (which is what the 225bw does). Or you can (via the monitor OSD) turn it to manual which means that you have the option to show the image in it's original resolution and not stretch to fit the screen (which the 225bw does not do).

That being said, since my PC has drivers to act on behalf of my video card, images sent from the card to the monitor can thus be shown in their original format. The 360 on the other hand doesn't have any such driver settings that you can adjust which is why it gets stretched to fit.

So the question is "can the 225bw do 1:1 pixel scaling?". By itself? No. Software assisted? Yes. Otherwise it will stretch to fit by default. That's where the Sceptre has an edge because you don't need software to make it do 1:1, it's all handled by the monitor regardless of the source.
 
chaikovski2002 said:
So is this a good buy or not?
Click to expand...
you should be able to come to a decision yourself. no one can tell you whether its a good buy or not.

i personally dont regret buying mine at all and i am enjoying lcd goodness.
 
Haste266 is correct. It's not our purpose to make up your mind, not as individuals anyway. Our collective input, however, should provide you with the information you need to make the final decision. Like Haste266, I too am happy with my purchase. This is a very well made monitor and I consider myself lucky to have gotten one with no dead pixels and virtually no backlight bleed to speak of.
 
i could not be happier with this LCD. From what i gather the Sceptre x22wb uses the same panel as the ViewSonic 2235WM which i found to have horrible blurring in games..
 
One thing I might do though is keep the NeoFlex monitor arm I bought in anticipation of getting the Sceptre since it has a weak stand, but instead use it on my Samsung. While the Samsung stand is plenty beefy and strong enough to hold the monitor, what it doesn't do is swivel so that you can put the monitor in portrait mode and the NeoFlex would allow me to do that.
 
GetFunk01 said:
i could not be happier with this LCD. From what i gather the Sceptre x22wb uses the same panel as the ViewSonic 2235WM which i found to have horrible blurring in games..
Click to expand...

I too made the switch from the Viewsonic 2235 to the Samsung 225BW pretty much for the same/major reason , the bluring in games was pretty bad .and annoying .

So far , for the last week or so ; Ive been pretty happy with the 225BW . ;)
 
I had my 17'' viewsonic lcd vp171b for 3 years now, and I want a bigger gaming lcd, so im debating right now if I should get this...
 
Well, it's definately bigger. :) I went up from my 19" CRT which granted isn't a huge leap, but it was enough to certainly seem like it. Feels like I've got some kind of Star Trek display/control panel in front of me with the only thing missing being touch sensitivity. :) I have a solar system screen saver that I run which looks crazy on this thing in widescreen.

Those of us who have one should be posting some pics of our setups with different apps and/or games running on screen for reference. I'll post some tonight if I can, but it will be later.
 
PC.jpg
 
I went to look at this monitor tonight in person and was sutibly impressed. Neither of the units on display had much if any backlight bleed I could detect. I dont tend to use my system in the dark so if thats the defining backlight test it doesnt matter to me. I'll be picking up one on black friday from CC..possibly two.
 
Nice pics. I'm curious though, what are your current OSD settings for color, contrast, brightness, etc?
 
big thanks Atar3on for the pics especially the mame one.
did the monitor do that or your video drivers?
 
sparks said:
big thanks Atar3on for the pics especially the mame one.
did the monitor do that or your video drivers?
Click to expand...

My drivers did it. There's a setting in the nVidia panel which has I think 4 settings or so which allow you to change the scaling control from monitor to Vid card, etc. Granted, it didn't seem to always work with all the games I tried in MAME. Some games got forced to fit the entire screen regardless, not sure why.

Anyway, I'll have more pics up today which will include more from the 360 (GoW). I'd do it right now, but I'm at work and kind of stuck working on something. :)

Not home yet so no new pics aside from this one I forgot to include earlier which shows the VERY minimal back light bleeding that I have. Mind you, my camera adds about 10lbs. to this image which in short means that those faint bleeds at the top and bottom are virtually invisible in real life.

Back light bleed (PC side)
 
Sorry for bumping an old topic, but I picked up the Samsung 225BW on Black Friday and I felt inclined to write a short review since I had used this forum to decide what I was going to purchase.

Before I get to the monitor, let me tell you that I am VERY picky about which gear I buy. This Samsung replaced a Sony flat screen CRT I have had for over 10 years. I had been very reluctant to try out LCDs because of the low quality LCDs I have come across. My Sony has given me problems in the last year so I have had my eyes open for deals. Due to the awesome price cuts, I had to check out the Best Buy Westinghouse deal and the Curcuit City Samsung deal.

I was 99% sure that I was not going to replace my monitor as generally I dont spend money on things I don't need. However, I wouldn't find a deal like this until next year if my monitor took a dump so I figured I would check out one of the two deals and return it if I didn't like it. The Samsung was getting better quality reviews so I went with it.

After a driver update and a few resolution tweaks, this monitor is nothing short of awesome! Brightness, color and range of viewable angles are excellent. Quality and image crispness are as good as any CRT I have ever had. A few minor resolution changes and the games I run are just as crisp as they were on my CRT. Grey and black quality has been very good from what I have seen so far. No noticable image trails/fades/bleeds in games.

The only problem I have encountered so far is the small amount of back light bleed others have reported. The image linked in the post before this one gives an accurate indication of what you can expect. However, the only time I can even detect it is against total black. I have not been able to visibly detect it against anything other then my Starfield screensaver. Let me say that once more so it sets in...I have to make an effort to even find the flaws in this monitor.

In summary, if I felt this monitor were in any way inferior to a CRT, I would take it back in a second. Not only is it a great monitor, it has convinced me that LCDs are a viable option for displays. I know I am singing Samsung praise here, but I am not a Samsung !!!!!!. This is my first Samsung monitor. Hopefully it will last as long as my Sony did!
 
Circuit City has this for $362.99.

Someone had this for $299 on black friday.

it just says after $137.00 savings
No mention of rebates
 
it was $249.99 after rebates at my local CC on black friday...
i almost bought one just to sell it on e-bay...
 
I bought the 225BW on black friday at CC. The display looks great, except for this: When browsing pages with white background and blue text in capital letters (like after Google search results), some capital letters will look more purple than blue. For example, in the word "Monitor", the "M" will look purple, but not the rest of the letters. Same for the F and W.

This happens with text size set to Medium in IE. I'm using ClearType and normal fonts and 96dpi (normal size). Resolution is set to 1680x1050. My video card is a Radeon 9800 SE 128MB, and I'm using the latest ATI driver and have installed Samsung's driver for the 225BW.

This "effect" goes away if using large text size in IE, or when the letters are in bold.

Is this a normal "optical illusion" or is my display deffective? This is my first LCD, and I don't recall seeing this effect in CRT monitors. I'd like to know if others are seeing the same thing.
 
sounds like a solid monitor after reading thorugh this thread.

this may be the monitor that makes me skip 20" WS altogether.

Any updates on the bleeding with new purchases. Though it seems like a minor issue (at best)....I'm still a bt curious to see if the bleeding really was exclusive to certain batches.

thanks for everyone's contribution to the thread!
 
From Samsung 930BF 19" 4:3 to 225BW 22" 16:10, worth it? On a 22" widescreen should be movie watching go ok, gaming if widescreen suport also and better edditing in software because of plus pixels in width.
I have now the 930BF whit zero pixel problems and am afraid of going to such a little bigger screen and maybe get dead pixels :confused: .
 
einer2060 said:
From Samsung 930BF 19" 4:3 to 225BW 22" 16:10, worth it? On a 22" widescreen should be movie watching go ok, gaming if widescreen suport also and better edditing in software because of plus pixels in width.
I have now the 930BF whit zero pixel problems and am afraid of going to such a little bigger screen and maybe get dead pixels :confused: .
Click to expand...

I went from a 21" crt , to a 19" Acer lcd , to the 22" Sammy and can tell ya its WELL WORTH IT ! As many have have said in the past , "once you go wide-screen there's no looking back and you won't settle for anything else in the future" . I think 1680X1050 is perfect for a 22" and definiltly easier on the wallet than a 24"-30" that may also require a better v/card .

As far as the dead pixel thing ... just purchase from a place that you KNOW you can return it to without any hassle . Most brick & mortar stores give you atleast 2 weeks some a full 30days (CC , BB , Staples , etc) . SamsClub also carries the 225BW and you have up to 6 months to return . Unfortunatly Costco does not carry the 225BW , as they have the BEST return policy out of anyone .

Bottom line ..... a 22" ws is SOOOOOO worth it for gaming ,movies , etc !
 
Supershanks said:
But that's a 4:3 resolution not widescreen which is 1680x1050. :D
Click to expand...

OOPSIE ...my bad . Your correct . To early in the morning for me or not enough coffee flowing in my body yet , lol . Thanks for the correction . ;) (edited mistake)
 
I just bought the Samsung 225BW. Will take pictures abit later and post. So far I love it. Wished they would have left magic colour on at default. I was playing CS for like an hour trying to figure out why the colour is kinda faded. After I turned magic colour to full what a difference.

I also tried the Colour settings from post 110 for the custom profile. Its really good but I backed the red down to 60 from 65 found it a tad too red.

I checked for dead pixels I have none :)

Now as for panel speed comparted to my Dell Trinitron 21 CRT. The CRT is faster, I noticed that within the first 2 mins of CS. After putting on Vsync, and adjusting to the new display which takes a few hours if not days. I like it, the CRT is still abit faster but no complaints at 5ms on the LCD.

Black light bleed is still there, but its not bad at all, and is expected!

Now image quality, The CRT still has much better blacks and of course higher contrast.

I still have to do some more tunning to the LCD I think, and to see if I need that MS font fix thingy.

Other than dead pixel buddy, is there any other appz I need to run for testing??
 
Ok i'm back with some pics
This is the setup before LCD



After



Current Desktop



4:3 Anime





Fish Screensaver

 
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