205BW different specs?

S

Shaman

Limp Gawd
Joined
Sep 17, 2006
Messages
501
I've seen different specs for this monitor, some places say 16.7M colors and 700:1 contrast, others say 16.2M colors and 600:1 contrast. It seems to vary from country to contry but I've seen different specs on sites from the same country :confused: Is there really two different panels for this monitor or is there just some generalized global confusion going around? 8bit or 6bit? Banding or no banding? The truth has to be out there.
 
I'm wondering about this myself, espeically since i've already bought the Samsung 205BW and i'm now beyond the return period. I have an email into Samsung and one of their support people are apparently working on getting me an answer...

When I first started shopping for an LCD the specs on samsung.ca listed the Samsung 205BW as having a TN-III panel capable of displaying 16.7 million colours and i'm almost positive it said 8-bit, as did other reviews at the time. They've since dropped any specs regarding the panel but still state 16.7 million colours... if you hit samsung.com it lists 16.2 million colours. Samsung, please fix your sites so consumers know what technology they are buying! By "fix" I mean accurately list the panel specs for your displays.

I hope to have this sorted soon. I will be a very unhappy customer to learn that I spent $400 for a 20" LCD w/ a 6-bit TN panel. I would have done something very different with my consumer dollars in that event...
 
kick said:
I hope to have this sorted soon. I will be a very unhappy customer to learn that I spent $400 for a 20" LCD w/ a 6-bit TN panel. I would have done something very different with my consumer dollars in that event...
Click to expand...
They're only $300 ;)

I'm using one right now. If there's some way to tell a 6-bit from an 8-bit, let me know.
 
Well I'm no lcd expert (haven't gotten one yet lol) but I believe you can spot the difference between 8bit and 6bit by looking at gradient colors. You can use this app wich I found on this forum

http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/gradlin-v0.3-mix-fs.exe

If you see banding or steps (eg not a smooth transition from light to dark) then it must be a 6bit panel.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
 
Look like TFTCentral also doesn't know the exact panel this monitor uses, they just list the panel as being a '20"WS Samsung TN Film'.
 
Shaman said:
Well I'm no lcd expert (haven't gotten one yet lol) but I believe you can spot the difference between 8bit and 6bit by looking at gradient colors. You can use this app wich I found on this forum

http://xtknight.atothosting.com/tools/gradlin-v0.3-mix-fs.exe

If you see banding or steps (eg not a smooth transition from light to dark) then it must be a 6bit panel.

Someone correct me if I'm wrong.
Click to expand...
I see no banding.
 
kumquat said:
I see no banding.
Click to expand...
That's good, where did you get your monitor and what specs did the place you got it from advertised?

I noticed one more difference between the two versions, the 16.7M one is rated at 55 watts and the 16.2M one is rated at 75 watts. :rolleyes:
 
Shaman said:
That's good, where did you get your monitor and what specs did the place you got it from advertised?

I noticed one more difference between the two versions, the 16.7M one is rated at 55 watts and the 16.2M one is rated at 75 watts. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...
I bought it last week from CompUSA.

300cd/m^2
700:1
6ms
160°x160°

I do notice the contrast ratio differs slightly from what is advertised by CompUSA. It never occurred to me that Samsung would market a 6-bit LCD these days, so I didn't look for or ask about it. I'll check the box when I get home to see if it says anything.

There was also a TCO '03 sticker on the monitor itself, but that has more to do with emissions than anything else, right?

It came packaged with a DVI and VGA cable. The vertical adjustment is very slick. It's got a neato counterweighted system that makes it easy to adjust by just pushing on the bottom or the top. Easy to do with just a couple of fingers, no need to hold the base while you pull the panel up. The base of the monitor also swivels within itself, so the rubber ring touching the desk don't move when you swivel the panel.

I have no dead pixels.

I play a lot of COD2 with it and I'm very impressed that I cannot notice *any* ghosting whatsoever.

Speaking of COD2, my graphics card doesn't handle 1680x1050 all that well, but I run at 1024x768 16:10 aspect ratio and it looks fantastic. I can't even tell I'm looking at a fixed-pixel display.

There's also a very cool button on the front that brings up a list of color/brightness/contrast presets. "Internet" has a nice blend of contrast and brightness that isn't too hard on the eyes, and "Game" cranks up both for a very bright vivid image that looks awesome in Madden and COD2 (the games I play most). There's also a "Movie" mode with a warmer color temperature, a "Custom," and one or two others I can't remember. It's nice being able to use one button to quick switch between modes.

The one thing that pisses me off is there's no way not to stretch an image that is 4:3. Madden 07, for example, only renders in a 4:3 aspect ratio, so the image is stretched, and there's nothing I can do about it.

If you have any other questions about it, just ask.
 
That's a great report kumquat, thanks. :)

Yes I have some questions, you say the contrast ratio differs slightly from what is advertised by CompUSA, how so? Is it worse than what you expected? How could you tell the difference between 700:1 and 600:1 without some measuring tools?

How would you say the black level is with a black background in a dark room? Medium gray, dark gray or almost black?

Does the monitor have the X light pattern typical of 16:10 monitors?


I really like the looks of this Samsung, so I'm torn between the 205BW and the 215TW. The 215TW because I value good black level and contrast. but I don't need speakers or video inputs so it will be money gone to waste. I like the design of the 205BW better because it doesn't have speakers at the bottom, but almost all online stores in portugal list it as being 600:1 16.2M colors. :( I don't have any way to test one at a store so I have to order online and I'm not a fan of shipping stuff back lol.

That's why I started this thread to know if there really is a 600:1 16.2M version out there or if it's just misinformation.
 
Shaman said:
That's a great report kumquat, thanks. :)

Yes I have some questions, you say the contrast ratio differs slightly from what is advertised by CompUSA, how so? Is it worse than what you expected? How could you tell the difference between 700:1 and 600:1 without some measuring tools?
Click to expand...
I meant that the "advertised" contrast ratio differs between what CompUSA advertised and what Samsung's literature claims.

The thing looks fine to me. Blacks aren't as black as I'd like, but I'm used to the inky blacks from my ADI CRT. It doesn't bother me. I have a plasma TV and I'm super anal about the blacks on that being as black as possible, but of course a $300 LCD monitor and even most $3000 LCD TVs don't come that close. They are as black as I've seen on any LCD, which isn't saying an awful lot because I've only seen and used relatively low-end panels.

Shaman said:
How would you say the black level is with a black background in a dark room? Medium gray, dark gray or almost black?

Does the monitor have the X light pattern typical of 16:10 monitors?
Click to expand...
Dark gray. When I sit close to the monitor, it fades to light gray around the edges because of the angle.

I'm not sure exactly what you mean by X light pattern.

Shaman said:
I really like the looks of this Samsung, so I'm torn between the 205BW and the 215TW. The 215TW because I value good black level and contrast. but I don't need speakers or video inputs so it will be money gone to waste. I like the design of the 205BW better because it doesn't have speakers at the bottom, but almost all online stores in portugal list it as being 600:1 16.2M colors. :( I don't have any way to test one at a store so I have to order online and I'm not a fan of shipping stuff back lol.

That's why I started this thread to know if there really is a 600:1 16.2M version out there or if it's just misinformation.
Click to expand...
A 6-bit panel would only be able to display 256k colors at once. 16.2 is almost certainly a typo.. besides, you wouldn't be able to tell the difference between 16.2m and 16.7m colors anyway. I wouldn't sweat it if I were you.
 
kumquat said:
They're only $300 ;)
Click to expand...

Not in Canada. The best price I could find was $395CDN and I had to have a local vendor price match that from $459CDN. Way too much $$$ if the 205BW does in fact use a 6-bit TN panel.
 
Shaman said:
That's a great report kumquat, thanks. :)

Yes I have some questions, you say the contrast ratio differs slightly from what is advertised by CompUSA, how so? Is it worse than what you expected? How could you tell the difference between 700:1 and 600:1 without some measuring tools?

How would you say the black level is with a black background in a dark room? Medium gray, dark gray or almost black?

Does the monitor have the X light pattern typical of 16:10 monitors?


I really like the looks of this Samsung, so I'm torn between the 205BW and the 215TW. The 215TW because I value good black level and contrast. but I don't need speakers or video inputs so it will be money gone to waste. I like the design of the 205BW better because it doesn't have speakers at the bottom, but almost all online stores in portugal list it as being 600:1 16.2M colors. :( I don't have any way to test one at a store so I have to order online and I'm not a fan of shipping stuff back lol.

That's why I started this thread to know if there really is a 600:1 16.2M version out there or if it's just misinformation.
Click to expand...

The 205BW produces fairly decent blacks... definitely on the blacker side of black and not the washed out grey side. You can only see a slight bit of backlight leaking through at the extreme upper/lower edges of the display - no X pattern and nothing at the corners. The backlight is very even IMO. I too am looking forward to confirmation from Samsung re: specs.
 
kick said:
I too am looking forward to confirmation from Samsung re: specs.
Click to expand...
Same here, thanks for the input so far everyone, but I would really like to get more opinions on this, specially as it seems that europe has the most 16.2M monitors listed. Too bad very few people have the 205BW here. :(
 
Shaman said:
Same here, thanks for the input so far everyone, but I would really like to get more opinions on this, specially as it seems that europe has the most 16.2M monitors listed. Too bad very few people have the 205BW here. :(
Click to expand...
You're not understanding something.

A 6-bit panel produces just over 200,000 colors. Even if for some totally bizarre reason the Samsung you get can only do 16.2 million, there would never be any possible way to tell the difference between that and 16.7 million.

16.2 is a typo.
 
No, 16.2 miillion isn't a typo. It usually indicates a 6-bit panel that uses dithering to approximate the 16.7 million colors of an 8-bit panel.

I looked at that exe file of color gradients on my 205BW, it looks pretty smooth, with just a hint of banding towards the darker (left) side. But no OBVIOUS banding visible.
 
kh6idf said:
No, 16.2 miillion isn't a typo. It usually indicates a 6-bit panel that uses dithering to approximate the 16.7 million colors of an 8-bit panel.
Click to expand...
Wow. Really?
 
I purchased my 205BW about five days ago and by now the only thing that has been disappointment are viewing angles. In shop viewing angles looked great to me and it was like all the other monitors. After these days I have discovered that verticle angles are the most horrible. Especially dark colors (not black btw.) in lower part of monitor looks like washed out and upper monitor looks a bit too dark.

Otherwise I'm happy with this monitor.
 
I'm about to buy this monitor, but I really like portrait mode because I surf alot and like the more thread it shows: How is the monitor in portrait mode: ie the angles I currently have a Samnsung 712N that Im going to ebay for around $100.
 
rrhomes said:
I'm about to buy this monitor, but I really like portrait mode because I surf alot and like the more thread it shows: How is the monitor in portrait mode: ie the angles I currently have a Samnsung 712N that Im going to ebay for around $100.
Click to expand...
It doesn't do Portrait mode as far as I know.
 
I have a desktop LCD arm with VESA mounts so I can rotate it and nVIDIA software will rotate my screen 90% so I can do portrait mode. My curent monitor is horible in portrait angles -half the screen is dark the other half is bright. But it has worse angle rateings than the 205BW.
 
Too bad this monitor isn't very popular here, there was never a dedicated thread started about it so the information is scattered all over the place. Any volunteers to start one with a mini review and pics? :D
 
I agree this to me looks loike the premier 20 inch WS, yea the Benq is nice also but I like Samsung and here they have their tightest pixel structure in a 1680x1050 setup at great price. Yhis is no doubt the leading candidate for my upgrade just waiting for newegg to do one of those $50 off things so Ican steal it in the low $200. :) right now it at $289 to my door which is very cheap already.
 
If I find the time tonight, I'll start a thread with a complete review and pics.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top