Samsung LTM295W 29" LCD Review 320
An anonymous reader noted a review of the Samsung LTM295W. Quick excerpt "The contrast ratio of 600:1 is amazing, and takes the cake for being the highest Iâ(TM)ve seen to date here with the site. I was pleased to see a more than acceptable brightness level of 450cd/m2. The response time isnâ(TM)t anything to snuff at, standing at 22ms. For viewing angles everyone should be pleased with 170/170 (W&H). The last mention is the pixel pitch which sits at .4935(h) X .4935(w). The optimal resolution while in PC use is 1024 x 768 @ 75Hz although the maximum is 1280 x 768 @ 75Hz." Not the highest resolution, but still, quite impressive.
Samsung is the Best (Score:4, Informative)
Samsung is the innovator of Display Technology, Their LCDS are top notch.
When you buy a Dell Flat Panel, it is a Samsung
Panasonic, then Sharp would be next when it comes to LCDs
Full text in case of slashdotting (Score:5, Informative)
Posted:Chris Allen
Reviewer:Jun 3rd, 2003
Provided By:Samsung CA
Manufacturer:
Samsung Genre:
TFT LCD Monitor/TV Released:
In the last year or so Samsungâ(TM)s name has been an everyday household name around here at MonkeyReview. In terms of LCDâ(TM)s weâ(TM)ve seen our fair share, ranging from in size from 15â all the way up to todayâ(TM)s whopping 29â. Today weâ(TM)ve got the Samsung LTM295W LCD TV/monitor on the block which will be sure to impress many of you with its nice 29â viewable area and elegant looking design.
Thereâ(TM)s no question in my mind that most of you, if it was possible, would love an LCD plopped in front of you rather than a conventional CRT which hogs up 50% of your desk space, well, what if it was not only an LCD but one which is larger than most of your mates home TV? With a viewable area of 29â the LTM295W will appeal to those either looking for the crÃme de la crÃme monitor or a great looking high end HDTV ready TV or a combination of both. The Samsung LTM295W offers us at least one feature which makes me a lover of it right off the bat; Iâ(TM)ll discuss this a little later though.
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Contents & Setup
The Samsung LTM295W comes to us in two separate boxes, one which has the speakers and the other for the Monitor/TV as well as setup essentials. For a complete list of everything thatâ(TM)s included please read a little further down. Opening the box which contains the actual Monitor/TV we find a smaller box which contains the documentation, the remote (batteries included), RGB to DVI Cable, DVI cable, Power cord, audio cables, and warranty information. I was very pleased to find the RGB to DVI cable included as it will allow support for all VGA cards rather than just those with a DVI output.
LTM295W Display
Remote control (2x AAA batteries included)
Owners Manual
DV Adapter
DVI Cable
RGB to DVI cable
PC Stereo Cables
Power Cord
Clamp Back/Screw
Speakers (Stands, mounts, screws, wires)
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Also in the box, we find the large silver finished DC adapter. Finally, under the mentioned goodies, within the full Styrofoam encasing, we find the LTM295W LCD monitor/TV. To furthermore ensure its safety we find it covered in wrapping. Something worth noting is Samsungs safe packaging for all of their monitors/TVâ(TM)s. Itâ(TM)s definitely an aspect in which weâ(TM)ve noticed over the course of time and something which deserves a mention. Itâ(TM)s also something we would expect when paying the price for one of these guys, on that note; while checking pricegrabber the lowest price is $3139 USD and for our fellow Canadians itâ(TM)s going to be setting you back $4659 CDN according to Soho Diffusion, the only Canadian website which I could find thatâ(TM)s offering it.
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The next thing we focused our attention on was the box which contained the speakers. Opening the box we find the screws, braces, speaker wires and of course the 2x 10W speakers. Also in the box we find stands for alternate speaker mounting/usage. Iâ(TM)ve never been a fan of having the speakers on the side of the Monitor/TV, and so, as usual, I opted to connect them to the side of the LTM295W, using the included braces and screws. I must make a mention that while Iâ(TM)m generally unimpressed with some of the mounting methods used for speakers by manufacturers, this one is well done and while I wouldnâ(TM)t recommend carrying around this TV holding nothing more than the speakers, they are mounted in a solid manner.
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Once we had the speakers mounted, the DC Adapter plugged in, and our source ready (PC, Bell Express Vu Satellite, and DVD). A few notes about our sources The PCâ(TM)s specs are listed below, the main thing I should
Price? (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Price? (Score:5, Informative)
Holy MegaPixels, Batman! (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Price? (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Holy MegaPixels, Batman! (Score:3, Informative)
They did mention dot pitch of .4935
If you want ultimate pixel counts, check out the T221 [ibm.com] 22.2" from IBM. For $8400, you too can have a native QUXGA-W(3840x2400) resolution. Dot pitch is a microscopic .1245
Re:sw33t (Score:5, Informative)
I remember I (or my brother) used to do the waving in front of the old and antiquated 13" CRT screen, and go, Look at all the fingers I have!!!
Re:Refresh rate?? (Score:2, Informative)
Dan Rutter's got an excellent write-up of another samsung monitor that goes into this issue at some depth here
There are better choices for computing (Score:5, Informative)
Re:DLP (Score:3, Informative)
Checkout projectorcentral.com [projectorcentral.com] for prices/info and the Under $5k Digital Projector forum [avsforum.com] for more detailed info.
Re:DLP (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Samsung is the Best (Score:4, Informative)
Aside from that, though, the display is stunning - just crap customer service and reliability IMO.
SyncMaster 172t (Score:5, Informative)
Bought a SyncMaster 172t, after a few reviews swayed my opinion. It's amazing alright, the only thing I'd ask is for the ability to get the brightness lower. I could literally read by the lowest brightness settings with standard wallpaper displayed. The brightness is so much at the lowest setting I am having some eyestrain problems and have been considering getting smoked plastic to hang over the screen. The lowest setting is more than adequate with daylight coming in a nearby picture window. 500:1 contrast is great, as black is pretty near black and it rocks for watching DVD's on, but who actually uses a brightness setting higher?
Re:LCD's are still overpriced. (Score:3, Informative)
I sit behind two CRT's at work and used to have my home desk crowded by a 16" Sun monitor. The real estated, if not the power bill or adjustability/versatility is a major selling point. They're also very sharp and do fine for games, those like the Samsung SyncMaster 172t with faster refresh rates. Considering 17" CRTs used to run ~700$US, LCD monitors are progressing downward in pricing nicely.
Re:Rant: FUXGA! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Viewing angle - I'm skeptical (Score:2, Informative)
Wrong Resolution! (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Samsung is the Best (Score:4, Informative)
At first I thought you were trying to be funny. You do realize that Samsung is a Korean company, right?
Re:Refresh rate?? (Score:3, Informative)
Dude, try a T221 from IBM (Score:5, Informative)
Let's see... specs...
* 22.2-inch viewable image area
* 3840 x 2400 addressability (QUXGA-W)
* 9.2 million total pixels, 204 pixel density per inch (80 per cm)
* 16.7 million colors, 8-bit drivers
* Two models, one with a modified graphics adapter, and one with DVI cables for attachment to DVI graphics adapters
* Tilt stand
* Detachable Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) standard mount size (100 mm) stand
* Available in stealth black
This sucker requires four DVI connectors. Check out the various reviews [google.com].
Re:There are better choices for computing (Score:3, Informative)
Maybe I was unlucky and got a bad one (last they had at the store...I too bought this based on the Tom's hardware review...which ONLY looked at the thing from playing quake...not from how well text looked when doing real work), but mine took HOURS of fussing around with the fine tuning to get it crisp. Then as soon as you flip resolution (ie, to play quake at 1024x768...I only have an Athlon 900), and come back, Major blur all over the screen.
I took it back. Picked up the sony 17". The sony isn't quite as bright (So what, I use computers here in a dark room anyway and still had to turn it down), and the response is supposedly slower, but I do not see it, even when playing RTCW and Quake, but it is CRYSTAL CLEAR. I adjusted it ONCE. It locked on and has been sharp as a razor ever since.
If all of the 1760Vs are as crappy as the one I got, I'd highly recommend anybody considering one steer clear of it and go with the sony 17", which actually does provide a very crisp display at its native resolution.
Poor review (Score:3, Informative)
My god, if you look at the picture of the Monster's Inc. screenshot you can tell he is running it in standard 4:3 letterboxed mode from his DVD player, which is further stretching the image to 16:9 dimensions... Ugh!!!
Also, why not run the PC in 1280x768 mode as well? LCDs do not perform very well unless you run them in their native resolution. It would have been nice if he ran DScaler and scaled up some 480i sources as well.
Half of the benefit of one of these TV's is their ability to properly display the full picture information on 16:9 anamorphic DVDs.
Samsung's Take on the Resolution Issue (Score:3, Informative)
It's a TV; they market it as the "Bedroom Home Theater" unit. So, the fact that the review keeps refering to it as a "Monitor" or a "Monitor/PC", and listed it on the Monitor section, is a little misleading. Sure, you can USE it as a monitor. I could also drag race a Winnebago, I suppose.
The PC Monitor market is not what the the manufacturer is targeting, so this whole "resolution is too crappy for a Monitor" thing is kinda irrelevant.
22ms response time == 45 fps... (Score:1, Informative)
Re:Any gaming-useful flats yet? (Score:3, Informative)
The best I've seen is Formac's Gallery 2010 Platinum with a response of 15ms; that's a really great display all-around.
Re:Samsung is the Best (Score:5, Informative)
For instance, Viewsonic boasts some imressive contrast ratios. In reality they suck. At least, the viewsonics that I saw on display and had a chance to compare to some other brands were left to shame. Same, but even to a greater extent can be said about response times. Everyone seems to find their own way of defining those. Some for fading of a pixel from white to black; some - from black to white. (notice that those two are QUITE different due to the way those transistors operate). Some go even further and declare that very dark colors are very close to completely black, and very bright colors to white, so they'll measure times for those 'approximate' extremes, and some even just measure the 'common case' response time, whatever that is.
I (and a lot of other people - just check Tom's hardware guide [pair.com] for their LCD overview) seem to notice that there is just way too much fudge in those numbers when it comes to measuring different aspects of LCDs.
Let me give you an example. My monitor (Samsung 181T), for example, boasts 25ms response time. I'd say it's more like 35 (at least that's what tom's hardware guesses it to be and I think he is quite close), but FPS games are a lot more playable on mine than on a lot of other 25ms panels. Why? Probably because their "fudge" factor is a bit smaller. The only real way to tell a difference easily is to look at the same set of tests being displayed on an array of several different panels. First and foremost you'll notice that color fidelity on some of them sucks. That factor alone will probably eliminate more than half of the panels from what you could consider buying. After that try adjusting contrast/brightness and notice that some monitors (notable ViewSonics) are pathetic. After that, if there are any monitors still left, check if their response time is reasonable. Chances are, it isn't. After that, slow down, think and lower your expectations.
When shopping for an LCD I learned a lesson that the numbers you see describing LCDs are not what they appear. There is so much discrepancy in how manufacturers define various parameters that those numbers become close to meaningless. The only numbers that aren't fudged are the resolution and hom much power they use. Maybe also the life of the bulb. That's about it. So, next time you are impressed with the specs of some particular LCD panel, try to see if you can have a look at it next to some other panels, performance of which is known to you. Make sure they are running the same stuff, and see what difference you can see.