Samsung 215TW

Has anyone here testsd the 215TW component's output. I'm wondering how 720p content looks on it. The Gateway FPD2185w's component output was dark.
 
I picked up the Sammy at Office Depot on the 1st. $549.99. Last one they had in stock!

I went out shopping for a 19" WS LCD and after looking and looking I had settled on a Viewsonic. I had been looking online for weeks contemplating a replacement for my 2 tired CRTs (Old old 17" Viewsonic and a old old 15" Samsung). One connected to an XP box, the other to a Suse 10 box. So I wanted a VGA and DVI inputs to switch.

Anyway...My last stop on the search was Office Depot and sitting right next to the 19" Viewsonic was the Sammy 215TW, and at the point, there was no question, I had to have it! From looking in every store (literally, CompUSA, BB, CC, Staples, mom/pop shops, Office Max) at evey LCD in the consumer market, this blew everything away!

I've always known Samsung's to make great LCD DLPs, and at work we rely on Sammy's and NEC's.

Plus, the form factor is far better then most. The intergrated speakers hide well enough, and are great for use on a 2nd computer. Text is crystal clear, and World of Warcraft is ungodly on it! Colors are accurate and vivid, and every pixel is razer sharp. I have yet to hook up my Comcast HDTV box to it yet, but the HD-WMV and Apple-HD content looks great!

Only small issue is the side panal inputs for S-Video and Composite. Would have prefered to just have everything in the rear to better hide every cable that I might use (Such as using my Video iPod's video out for PiP while working) Not a big deal, just a cosmetic issue!

Overall, great specs, awesome preformance, and nice form factor for a great value!
 
charliebrown78 said:
Man, I saw this monitor at Bestbuy today and it looked so awesome. Beautiful screen, very sexy black monitor. I hate monitors with silver color cause it looks so cheap. I also saw a lg monitor with same screen size (i forgot the model number). It had a better contrast ratio, i think it was 1400:1 and cheaper too (selling at $500). I think this samsung monitor I saw was made in Mexico. I heard there has been a quality issues with Samsung monitors made in Mexico. If anyone got this Samsung or LG monitor, would you mind sharing your experience with them??
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Have been using the new LG-L203WT (20.1" widescreen) for 3-weeks now, and loving it. Using with the analog connection until I purchase the cable and new graghics card necessary for the DVI connection, but don't see how it can get any better than this. The 1400:1 cr sets this monitor apart from the competion. I also like the easily accessible (not hidden on the side) f-engine settings for movies and text.
 
I been researching LCDs for maybe 2 years. I tried a Viewsonic VX924 (4ms) a few months ago, and returned it the same day. The color reproduction was very innaccurate to me. I'm finally to the point where I must lower my expectations a little bit. I want more desk space bad, so I'll try out this widescreen next. I'll look at it at Best Buy and make sure its close to what I'm looking for, then i might buy it to try out.
 
I guess this is the wrong thread, since I went with the 20.1" 4:3 model instead. But anyway:

I picked up the 20.1” LCD computer monitor at Best Buy today. I’m going to give LCD’s another try. I had the Viewsonic 19” VX924 a few months ago, it was the “fastest” response available at the time. (4ms). But in true tests, that number was pretty bogus. So I returned it quick. Since I want more desktop real estate so bad, I took another plunge today, after reading tons of reviews. I was going to get the widescreen, but after seeing it in person decided against it. In true life, a 20.1” 4:3 looks a lot bigger and useable than a 21” 16:9 widescreen. (Since a 21” wide is equivalent to a 17” 4:3) I finally decided I just have to lower my standards a bit and just accept the LCD for what it is. I hooked it up real quick at lunch, but I didn’t try the DVI cables yet. Don’t know how much better the DVI cables could make it look. The color wasn’t amazing, but it was crisp and good enough. The native resolution is 1600x1200 which is kind of tough. But my Counterstrike played fine at that resolution. I have very slight blurring during game movement, but overall, I think I can live with it. I’ll be testing it a lot more tonight, seeing if I can actually keep this one and finally throw out my last CRT monitor. (Viewsonic 19” weighing at least 60 pounds).
 
So is this a good monitor? I've been looking to get an additional monitor (have a 17" lcd now). I have 180 bucks in GCs to BB, so I looked there. Origionally I was gonna cheap out and get a westinghouse 19" WS...but 21"...man that is so tempting :D. And only 370 bucks after the cards :D.

The only bummer is the local BB doesnt have it. I have to drive an hour to get it. Doesnt BB move stuff to local stores for pickup? Anyway, I can't wait to get this...
 
ly.chand you seriously saying this Samsung 215TW blows away even the 20WMGX2? That is quite a BOLD statement if I do say so.

Anyone to back this up? By the way what type of a panel is this?

THANKS
 
I finally picked mine up. I dont think I am as picky as everyone else, but I think it is awesome. It looks like a larger version of my 17" hitachi, so it fits right in. Really shows how bad the lighting is on my little 17" though :(. I'll try and get some pics tommorrow.
 
DasFox said:
ly.chand you seriously saying this Samsung 215TW blows away even the 20WMGX2? That is quite a BOLD statement if I do say so.

Anyone to back this up? By the way what type of a panel is this?

THANKS
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No way does this blow the 20WMGX2. This uses a S-PVA panle while the NEC uses the latest AS-IPS panel.

Believe me it makes a diff. The Gateway and the Sammy have the same S-PVA panel. I had the Gateway version of this and the gradient, black levels and backlight bleeding were awful. Must as well not even have components on the monitor as an XBOX 360 or even my upvert dvd player looked terrible because black levels were just way too dark.

Can't say the same thing about the NEC lcd. Black levels are awesome. No backlight bleeding and only minor gradient.

Also, I couldn't stand the PQ on the Gateway. I thought the Sceptre 20 lcd was even better.

Now, that I've got the NEC I can really see why everyone raves about it.
 
The NEC is only available as a glossy-finished screen, correct?

Andrew


GMaxx said:
...Now, that I've got the NEC I can really see why everyone raves about it.
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silentsammy said:
Now...if they'd just sell these things at Costco then I'd be set. :)
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They do, I just bought one out here in Maui yesterday. The gaming in F.E.A.R. has been awesome, the only issue I saw with the LCD was some minor background leakage, very faint, but I saw over at Tweaks R US site, on their HOME page, LOOK at the upper left and right of the page, it is slightly lighter in color a BLENDED color, it goes from the top on the left down to the "Home" link and on the right side the same length down.

Some people might not notice this slight lighter shade they have in the website, but with the LCD I see that light area show up with horizontal bands running through it, it's not smooth and clear.

Personally this banding was the only big thing I noticed about this LCD. In F.E.A.R. I had the game on 1680x1050 all game settings on MAX, using the latest XTreme-G 84.56.v3 Public Beta driver and boy I was really impressed with the gaming in this thing, no tearing, ghosting, nothing.

But because of this slight background leak and color gradient banding, I'm going to take it back today and swap it for another one.

Let you all know how that one goes. :)
 
Can someone post pics of this monitor with the Xbox 360 using the component input?

Thanks.
 
So far two of these I have bought had background leakage, but it was very slight, along with some slight banding, where gradients are not smooth, but have a stair-stepped appearence. I only have noticed this online at one website where a background image was two-tone in color, the banding appeared in the lighter hues.

Also when playing a FPS game, and going into a low light area on a map, the weapons loose image quality, sort of like if you where looking at the panel on a angle, where it gives a more faded look.

As far as the desktop 2D quality it was very clear and sharp.

Well I'm going to hang on to this one for a few weeks and drag it back to Costco later in hopes a THIRD one this time is good.

I built a high-end SLI box and I want a nice LCD, so not sure this is going to fill my SLI's shoes.

ALOHA
 
just curious if the 215TW is HD-Ready Via DVI or Component Input with HDCP? I know the Gateway FPD2185W is but that one is pretty expensive for me right now and it does seem to be a remarkably similiar panel to the 215TW
 
Karan said:
just curious if the 215TW is HD-Ready Via DVI or Component Input with HDCP? I know the Gateway FPD2185W is but that one is pretty expensive for me right now and it does seem to be a remarkably similiar panel to the 215TW
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I haven't actually heard it is HD ready and they haven't advertised it as such unlike the gateway, but if you look at the requirements for HD readiness it supports 720p and 1080i over DVI and component inputs and has HDCP on DVI so in theory it must be HD ready.
 
wow. I was planning on buying the Viewsonic 2025wx or whatever its called, the 20 inch one, because I couldn't find this Samsung215tw in any brick and mortar store, and I really don't want to purchase somehting so expensive online. But tonight, I finally found one at Office Depot. It looked utterly amazing, even though the resolution was only set at 1024x768. I can't even imagine what it will look like at its native resolution with DVI. Can't wait til next saturday, because that's when I'm picking this badboy up for graduation :)
 
is it just me or is the left side of the panel brighter than the right? i've gone through 3 of these and they were all the same. i put the same dark image on both sides of the screen and the one on the left side was brighter. also the backlight looks like it's leaking out of the sides, especially the right, and especially the top right corner. is this normal? this monitor is great, except when i notice the uneven leaking backlight. is there anything i can do?
 
didnt notice this in the demo model that i saw the other day. i switched the desktop to a plain black backround, set brightness to about 55, contrast to around 65 and it looked quite uniform. so maybe its just the piece you have? try exchanging if possible.
 
i exchanged it for a barely used one. i just wiped the screen and it was good as new. the backlight still bleeds, but it's more even so it doesn't bother me much. it's not as bright on the left side as the others (the best viewing angle seems to be just a little left of the center). i can still notice it but, for $399 (vs 549), i'll find some way to be happy :) thanks for the help Karan. sena.
 
Well I took back to Costco, they where not that bad really but for the cost of SLI box I'm picky, they only had very minor background leakage, but colors, when two-tone colors where on a website I noticed they where stepped.

Anyhow, on number #3, haven't used it yet, so I'll let you know if I have finally found a better one, but I get the feeling it's as good as it gets.

ALOHA
 
Just got my 215TW and I love it so far. No dead pixels and uniform color :D. Very Happy here



J
 
i just wanted to inform people, that the new official beta driver from nvidia 91.28 fixes the scaling problems with the Samsung 215 with the 7900 series card.

At least for me :)

Maybe it works for the viewsonic 2025 also. Good luck :)
 
the only prob i have with it is that it doesn't scale on my x850xt. i have to use the monitors OSD and set it to 4:3 (hmmm, but 1280x1024 is not 4:3) using centered timings just doesn't work. i'll be getting an x1900xt soon tho, as soon as i figure out if i should go ASUS or DFI for my motherboard, maybe even ABIT. But i have 5:4 LCD on the same table, so not that big a deal. nice colors on me samsung :)
 
the only prob i have with it is that it doesn't scale on my x850xt. i have to use the monitors OSD and set it to 4:3 (hmmm, but 1280x1024 is not 4:3) using centered timings just doesn't work. i'll be getting an x1900xt soon tho, as soon as i figure out if i should go ASUS or DFI for my crossfire RD580 motherboard, maybe even ABIT. But i have 5:4 LCD on the same table, so not that big a deal. wish i could get the blacks blacker, but nice colors on me samsung :)
 
senakun said:
is it just me or is the left side of the panel brighter than the right? i've gone through 3 of these and they were all the same. i put the same dark image on both sides of the screen and the one on the left side was brighter. also the backlight looks like it's leaking out of the sides, especially the right, and especially the top right corner. is this normal? this monitor is great, except when i notice the uneven leaking backlight. is there anything i can do?
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Had the same problem with my 21" Gateway, same panel as teh 215TW.

Left side was brighter than the right.
 
Actorios said:
i just wanted to inform people, that the new official beta driver from nvidia 91.28 fixes the scaling problems with the Samsung 215 with the 7900 series card.

At least for me :)

Maybe it works for the viewsonic 2025 also. Good luck :)
Click to expand...

I just picked up one of these beauties last week and its amazing. Now are you saying that the new nvidia driver will auto scale the picture for games that don't have a widescreen option? I know you can do it in the monitor menu....
 
DasFox said:
They do, I just bought one out here in Maui yesterday.
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That's awesome! Unfortunately the costco's near me doesn't have these, nor does their website list them. I saw the HP F2105 at costco's the other day but they were only selling it with a full HP system :rolleyes:

Hopefully they'll get this new Samsung in soon...I've got a few issues with my Sceptre 20" so I'd love to swap em.

Can I ask you what you paid for the 21" Sammy at Costco?
 
well i just got this thing today.
works great, no problems...i think. lol
first off does this thing have auto rotate/portrat mode, if so i cant get it to work :mad:
got my ... spanked playing some quake 4 online :p
should i see/feel laggy running 2 7800gt's?
well maybe i just need to get use to the whole LCD thing, its my first :D
oh btw very sharp text and colors compaired to my old and dieing 21' dell crt.
no banding that i can see, does have the backlight " X " thing , but just lightly on the tests{dont see them anywhere else}.
office depot $551.19 total w/$30 off $150 online cupon
 
spawn447 said:
well i just got this thing today.
works great, no problems...i think. lol
first off does this thing have auto rotate/portrat mode, if so i cant get it to work :mad:
got my ... spanked playing some quake 4 online :p
should i see/feel laggy running 2 7800gt's?
well maybe i just need to get use to the whole LCD thing, its my first :D
oh btw very sharp text and colors compaired to my old and dieing 21' dell crt.
no banding that i can see, does have the backlight " X " thing , but just lightly on the tests{dont see them anywhere else}.
office depot $551.19 total w/$30 off $150 online cupon
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Coming from a CRT i can see you feeling like it lags a little bit, but once you get used to playing on it you'll be fine. Give it a couple days, soon you won't even notice. It does have a rotate mode, but I don't think it has an auto sensor unless thats a setting in the magic rotate software. I probably wont be using it anyway, it takes too much adjustment up and down to get it to rotate. I've got it sitting pretty low.
 
The Equalizer said:
I was reading the manual and it says maximum resolution at 60hz, so I dunno if it can, would 60hz and 75hz make a difference?
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anyone get this to work ?
 
well, my samsung is the same panel, and it does 75 max on the DVI, but 60 max on the VGA.

i had the gateway before my samsung and i don't remember getting it past 60 at any time, though i used vga most of the time since i heard that color banding would be less if i use vga. i don't think it happened.

EDIT: can't get past 60 now at native res.. maybe i was mistaken.
 
just picked it up yesterday and very pleased with it so far. no dead pixels either woo hoo! got it for $599.99 + GST from Futureshop. Quite happy with the way it handles 4:3 games too automatically (dont need to go into the OSD as it switches to 4:3 automatically when launching a game in a 4:3 res) . Since ATI's drivers seem to have some trouble with that its quite handy.







 
Anyone know when Samsung is going to put out a rebate on this thing? I want to get it from CompUSA as I purchased a replacement plan on my monitor and I'm going to trade it in for the Sammy.
 
Well yeah I dunno why the heck they would put it on the left. Was blocking the entire left row of icons on my desktop :p
 
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