206BWs now with Chunghwa panels

Just FYI all the new from factory Samsung 206BWs seem to be coming with Chunghwa panels now. They have the info on the back removed and the hidden service menu isn't there anymore either but I've taken a few apart to see. To there credit I have one at my house setup side by side with a 931BW S Panel and the colors are very close in quality now. Much better than when I compared the 931BW to a 226BW C Panel and a 206BW A panel a few months ago so seems Samsung either told Chunghwa how to calibrate their panels properly or they are doing it on their own.

Hi!

Could you tell us a bit more about the issues regarding the backlight bleeding and really poor vertical viewing angles people were complaining about the C panels? Could you compare this panel with the C one? I've read some people on othe forums talking about a "D" panel and also a "W" panel, could this one be the "W"?

I'm from Brazil and I'm looking forward to buying the 206BW or the 931BW and this issue with the panels almost drove me crazy last week, I spent the whole week reading about this thing and now you're saying there is a new and apparently good panel around! I still don't know what the main panels being sold in Brazil are, but I've read some people on brazilian forums saying that they have an S panel and other that they have an A panel, I still haven't come across anyone saying they have a C panel here. What I know for sure is that there are some 931BWs sold here that are assembled in Brazil and other are imported ones.
So, could you post more information on this "new" panel? Where were this new displays of yours assembled and when? Pictures are also welcome!
Thanks for any help!

That's interesting. All the cheapest 20" TN monitors use CPT and you rank this one above both AUO and CMO. Perhaps they made great improvements on their newest panel.

RaynQuist said:

That's interesting. All the cheapest 20" TN monitors use CPT and you rank this one above both AUO and CMO. Perhaps they made great improvements on their newest panel.

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Yeah well I know the 205bw used a Chunghwa panel and people thought that was pretty good. I haven't seen any others to compare this to but seems like whatever they did it is working great in this model.

To the other poster in Brazil I don't think the 206BW is made with a C panel, W does stand for Chunghwa but I have no idea about the 931bws. I bought mine late last year so it was probably from the first batch and that may be why I got an S Panel.

First, thanks for your reply!

Well, regarding the 206BW not coming out with the C Panel, what I see on the internet forums is that this model is also coming out with the A Panel, still don't know about the C one. If this confirms, at least there is a good chance for me to get the A or the "W" panel 'cos the review posted on behardware.com states that once the A panel is calibrated, it is as good as the S and you also say the "W" is not bad. The only thing is, there's know way to confirming what panel is inside the monitor before the purchase or is there?

no you can't tell beforehand especially now they've removed the info from the back of the display casing. the only way to tell is to take apart the casing itself. most likely you will get a W because they don't make the As anymore. only way you will get an A is if wherever you buy it from has really old stock. if it makes you feel any better if the colors look bad you can create an online repair ticket on the Samsung website and they will send you a replacement no questions asked.

do you guys think I should buy the 226CW instead? The only thing is, the CW is not being sold in Brazil, not yet I think. I've sent an e-mail to samsung asking them when they're gonna release the CW version here and they replied me that they don't have this information yet.
Thanks!

I would wait til some more reviews come out of the CW. A lot of initial opinions were it was worse than the BW.

I think I've read something on behardware.com or it was at xbitlabs.com, I don't remember... that the first impression they had was that they saw some improvements on the twinkling effect and color reproduction from the new wide gamut CCFL. I'm still waiting for the in depth reviews to come out, but I need to buy a new monitor, the 206BW is the best thing I can afford now and Idon't like the idea of waiting for something that hasn't been even announced here yet.

In Brazil everything that is made outside the country has a 60% taxation on the on the international price, plus shipping costs and profits. The price of this monitor as of now is about 700 us dollars here.

hey, I think I just found out something. CPT means, Chunghwa Panel Tubes (?) - http://beyondinfinite.com/product/lcd/cpt_lcd_display.html

I can recall reading something about C panels coming out with this CPT panel and people were also talking about it a while ago that there were two "C" panels, one made by CMO - Chi Mei Optoelectronics and the other one was this CPT, so could this one be the Chunghwa?? Now I'm really confused 'cos this one was supposed to be the "W"! Damn, I quit it! This panel thing has driven me already. F* you Samsung! If only I had other choices! S-IPS or S-PVA LCDs in my country cost an arm and and a leg and are really hard to find and most are illegally imported.

I think the manufacture panels for all these makes:

http://www.beyondinfinite.com/lcd_display_panel.html

I just bought this lcd from amazon a few days ago. Everything looks really good but the blacks. If you have an all black background you can clearly see that a white color is bleading bad on the sides and corners.

yes CPT does stand for Chunghwa but that is represented as a W on the Samsung monitors not C because C was already taken by Chi Mei.

yes, but what about the stories of monitors coming out with a "C" on the sticker and having a CPT panel inside? That's why some people started writing about these "two" C panels... I don't know... the only thing I have to do now is take a chance and then return the monitor in case I don't like it or find out there is a bad panel inside or wait for the 226CW - SAMSUNG ARE YOU "LISTENING" TO ME AND ALL YOUR ANGRY CUSTOMERS???

When it comes out here I'm sure it's gonna cost about 1000 US dollars or more! Because the 931C, which also comes with a Wide Gamut CCFL and it's on the market for quite a while now, costs as much as a 206BW and is more expensive then the 931BW, about 200 dollars more.

Well, thanks for all the help!

THERE IS NO C PANEL FOR THE 206BW!!!

Really?! If I'm not mistaken I have read that the 206BWs are also being sold with Chimei panels... I apologise cos the things I'm telling here are just the things I've been reading so far... Sorry!

I went to two computer stores today and all the 931BWs had an S on the sticker and one 206BW I saw had an S also, but on both I could notice some backlight bleeding on the top and on the bottom of the screen, is that normal for a supposedly S panel? Or could it be an A panel "disguised" of an S? I haven't noticed any blue shift on the colors...the only thin g is they didn't allow me to run the testing softwares I took to the store with me and all the monitors on display was hooked to those crappy VGA HUBs that was causing some odd vertical lines being displayed on the screen and the resolution was set to 1280x800 and the salesperson didn't know how to change it, I also tried it and couldn't do it either...

I think I'm gonna buy the 206BW anyway, but I saw the 971P image and I kinda fell in love with it, the colors are much better, the viewing angle is also much better in all directions. It's got a PVA panel... The only things are, its a 19" screen and more expensive then the 206BW...

yeah I don't know but just remember a lot of places have S on display because they've had the same display model for months but have something different in stock. just buy whatever you can always return it if you don't like it.

That's what I'm gonna do today. There's an open store here on sundays afternoons till 8pm. I'm gonna buy and test it and in case I don't like I'll return it. I thought of doing so since the beginning, but I wanted to collect as much information I could before the purchase.
Thanks for the answers and sorry for so many questions and for any English mistakes I have possibly made.

It's been three hours since I arrived home with my new 206BW and to sum up in one word, pleased, is what I am now, so far... To my likings this monitor is great! I got the W panel and to me every point people were complaining about are fine. No banding, very little backlight bleeding on the bottom of the screen, none on the sides and none on the top as far as I can see. I used the Samsung Natural Colors to profile and calibrate the monitor and up until now things look great, nothing to complaing about apart of the viewing angle problem that is expected on a TN screen and to me the angle provided is enough. No twinkling effect that I can notice. I disabled the RTC to see if I could notice any differences, I couldn't see any.
My monitor was assembled in China in April 2007. The monitor is configured to 50% brightness and 55% contrast, dynamic contrast is disabled and all the other settings on the OSD were left at the default.

glad you like it. like I said the Chunghwa ones seem pretty nice. not as nice as an S but a lot better than the others I've seen.