Date: |
January 25, 2007 3:53 PM |
Price: |
$379.99 |
Sponsors: |
|
Author: |
|
Editor: |
|
Score: |
10/10 |
Samsung 22" WideScreen LCD Monitor (225BW) Testing and Usage Testing and Usage
During our tests the monitor will be used throughout numerous basic applications. Color quality, brightness, and ease of use will be taken into effect throughout all results. Several of these applications will be: Windows (Desktop, Windows Explorer, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, Mozilla FireFox, File Compression, Encoding and Decoding) , Gaming (Half-Life 2, Counter-Strike Source, Day of Defeat Source, Call of Duty 1 / 2, Need For Speed: Carbon, NHL07, FIFA07) , and DVD Movie Playback.
The monitor performed well within Windows. Plug and Play Detection picked up the monitor, with the assistance of WindowsUpdate to find the proper driver, without using the Software CD. Things look a little funny when running your standard resolutions of 1024x768 , 1152x864 , or 1280x1024 as they get streched out of proportion. This is where the WideScreen 16:10 ratio comes into play VS the Standard 4:3 contrast ratio. I will note that the Standard WideScreen ratio is 16:9, I believe the reasoning for using 16:10 as opposed to 16:9 is to allow room for the navigation menus, without interfering with the movie playback. Switching to the native resolution of 1680x1050 quickly resolved any distortion. The display was very bright and showed no issues with lights or darks, leaving text very easy to read. Color clarity was reproduced perfectly without the use of Samsungs MagicTune software.
 |
 |
| Windows - Desktop View |
Windows - Playing Some Music |
|
|
 |
 |
| Windows - Browsing Folders |
Windows - Browsing The Internet |
 |
| Windows - Encoding A Movie |
The monitor greatly exceeded my expectations within gaming. I have played on several LCD Monitors with 18ms-25ms response times, and have seen my fair share of ghosting in fast-paced games (for example in NFS:Carbon motion blur is present even when it is turned off ;)). The first thing I noticed in NFS:Carbon is that there is zero ghosting and the games natural/designed motion blur can be used. Secondly, I did not experience any kind of backlight bleed on this model either, which is the one and only complaint from other purchasers and reviewers. Perhaps it was corrected by Samsung? Most current games are capable of native widescreen support, if not the higher 'abnormal' resolutions can provide this effect. Half-Life 2 (and all of its counterparts) for example have native support for all WideScreen formats. NFS:Carbon on the other hand does not have native support and offers abnormal resolutions, which results in a 16:9 ratio and just slight stretching (which isn't noticable anyways). The color clarity and brightness were bang on when compared to my old CRT Monitors (again no MagicTune is in use). Knowing the differences between FullScreen and WideScreen, it is different (in a good way) to be able to see 'everything' on the screen. Knowing a few seconds earlier when someone is coming at you can be the difference between 'life and death'. Flat out, the Samsung 225BW provided me with amazing performance and quality!
 |
 |
| NFS:Carbon - Game Setup 1/3 |
NFS:Carbon - Game Setup 2/3 |
|
|
 |
 |
| NFS:Carbon - Game Setup 3/3 |
NFS:Carbon - Ingame Play |
 |
 |
| Call of Duty - Game Setup |
Call of Duty - Ingame Play |
 |
 |
| CounterStrike:Source - Game Setup |
CounterStrike:Source - Ingame Play |
 |
 |
| Half-Life2:Episode One - Game Setup |
Half-Life2:Episode One - Ingame Play |
 |
 |
| NHL07 - Game Setup |
NHL07 - Ingame Play |
 |
 |
| F.E.A.R. - Game Setup |
F.E.A.R. - Ingame Play |
 |
 |
| Project Snowblind - Game Setup |
Project Snowblind - Ingame Play |
The monitor reproduced DVD Movies with a theatre-like experience. Being that nearly all of my movies are widescreen, and the monitor is widescreen it was nice not to see the gapping at the top and bottom of the screen. As mentioned before, the 225BW uses a 16:10 aspect ratio where the movies use a 16:9 aspect ratio. I found that this slight difference left just enough room for the navigation menus at the top & bottom of the screen, perfect planning, if you ask me! During playback, because the backlight bleeding is not present, movies were displayed immaculately. Color clarity was brilliant. Darks were dark, and lights were light. Beauty may be in the eye of the beholder, but either way, I am in love ;)!
 |
 |
| Spaceballs Movie - Title |
Spaceballs Movie - Starting |
|
|
 |
 |
| Spaceballs Movie - Yogurt |
Spaceballs Movie - Ending |
|
|
