Samsung 226BW 22": 3000:1 Contrast, 2ms response time

Excellent photo review.

I'm struck by the vast improvement in backlight bleed when dynamic contrast is on.
Is there a downside to its use or do you inrend to leave it enabled for daily LCD use?
Thanks for your effort to post these pics...I agree the colors do seem a bit off. Do you perceive that with most uses (web, etc...) besides gaming?
LW
 
I really don't see the colors as being off most of the time, just in those instances I tried to show. I don't think I'm great at calibrating, and probably aren't too picky, so the colors for the most part are fine. Really the banding is the thing that is getting to me. I only played CS:S for a bit last night and I did seem to notice the banding occasionally around the lighting. I can't play many games as my computer is really old, I'm waiting till quad core is cheap to get a new system. I don't leave dynamic contrast on as it constantly switches based on what you're looking at. If you look at [H] for instance cause it is dark the monitor dims, if looking at brighter pictures it lightens. It's a little annoying and you can't fine tune it. Really I don't notice the backlight bleed as I don't sit in the room without some sort of light ever. With any background light it's really unnoticeable. I forgot to mention in the last post I used a lot of tools here http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=1865 for evaluation. Helped a noobie like me.

Edit: I just noticed in the grey areas around the text in the forum posts the pixels seem to move or dance. Kinda like watching subtle static on tv.
 
wow it may just be the pictures taken oddly but it seems broke to me, and i dont think it's cause you got an A panel. I think, from the color thing you may have a problem with your red level (red looked orange).

also, yeah with dynamic contrast on the backlight looked perfect, does the picture look better too or is it too dark?
 
Hahaha I would say it was broke. Just returned from giving back the A panel and luckily I got an S panel. The return was kinda silly. I called ahead and explained the panel situation. The CC person was basically like "Uuuuh, just tell them it's broken." I don't like lying so I told them the color seemed off and there was some banding. I doubt the clerk cared, they just wanted an answer that wasn't no to "Was there a problem with it?" The color blotching is gone and the banding is much better (though still slightly noticeable it's a lot reduced). I haven't calibrated it at all, just plugged it in. I can't say if it is all A panels or just the one I got, but my subjective experience points to the S panel being much better. I guess we'll just have to wait until more reports roll in. I'll try and calibrate it and check out dynamic contrast (my quick opinion is that it is just like quickly re-calibrating it, it might make the picture slightly better but it's very annoying. I would guess if I was gaming it would be a large distraction, or any movement for that matter. Just looking at pics though it would probably be better). Let me know if anyone wants more pictures.
 
Well, I went to the only Circuit City within a 50 mile radius of Orlando that had the 226BW in stock and returned mine.

The first one I opened was the dreaded "A" panel. I was not happy about it. I noticed that the ship date on the box said 2/19/07. My original 226bw that was an "S" panel shipped on 2/16/07. I asked the guy if he had any Monitors that had shipped before 2/19/07. He came back and said he had some from 2/15/07. After a little explination they let me get one from the earlier shipment, but said I couldn't keep opening them to check. I said that is fine, if you give me one from the earlier shipment I will just take it reguardless.

I got home, opened up the monitor that had the 2/15/07 ship date and it was an "S" panel. I lucked out.

I can attest that it is not possible to tell what panel it is on the outside of the box. My only advice for those looking to get this monitor is try to get one with the oldest ship date as possible.

Edit* Pegleg, what was the ship date and batch # on the S panel you got today?
 
mr2good said:
Well, I went to the only Circuit City within a 50 mile radius of Orlando that had the 226BW in stock and returned mine.

The first one I opened was the dreaded "A" panel. I was not happy about it. I noticed that the ship date on the box said 2/19/07. My original 226bw that was an "S" panel shipped on 2/16/07. I asked the guy if he had any Monitors that had shipped before 2/19/07. He came back and said he had some from 2/15/07. After a little explination they let me get one from the earlier shipment, but said I couldn't keep opening them to check. I said that is fine, if you give me one from the earlier shipment I will just take it reguardless.

I got home, opened up the monitor that had the 2/15/07 ship date and it was an "S" panel. I lucked out.

I can attest that it is not possible to tell what panel it is on the outside of the box. My only advice for those looking to get this monitor is try to get one with the oldest ship date as possible.

Edit* Pegleg, what was the ship date and batch # on the S panel you got today?
Click to expand...

How do I figure out the batch #? I also assume the ship date for the one I have now was today. I only know this because this morning they didn't have any in the store, and today is their delivery day as I had found out in an earlier call. I checked back later in the day after they unloaded the shipment and that had one in so it must have come to the store today. If you're knowledgeable what are your monitor settings? I don't think I'm very good at calibration so somewhere to start would be nice.
 
Gamesfreak99 asked if the Ergotron Neo-Flex LCD stand that is specked out for 20" monitors had any problems with the 226BW. I took a chance and have no problems at all. Up/down - 5", forward/back real easy. Does portrait smoothly when in the up position. I use a roll-top desk and it works great for tucking the monitor into the back when I need to. Staples has the stand for $30, all other locations (BB, CC, net sites) started around $42 and up. If you don't like the stand for any 22" and under monitor you're looking at, this stand is the cure. Hate to pay the extra $ but... monitor and stand look like they were made for each other.

Still loving the monitor. Get the WoW factor when others see its performance.

FYI: Ship date on the box for my "S" model is 1/30/2007.
 
The only date I see on my box label is 2/23/07. I found where it says batch on the label but the number is far below and seems to be melded with another. It says 33483045 if that helps. I bought mine in MI for additional information.
 
Here around the DC area we are privileged to have a Microcenter store, a very great place to just gawk (if nothing else) at the miriad of products that this chain carries. Today I spent about 2 hours in there and took more than an hour to look at their monitors on display. What's great in this store is that all monitors are connected to individual computers and some of them afford the customer to play a bit with configuration. You don't see this at any of the mamouth chains such as CC, CompUSA or BB.

My first observation, subjective though it may be, is a general improvement in back light bleeding compared to models that came out even 1 year ago. True, the place is well lit, neverthless one can discern bad back lighting from little backlighting. Just looking at the picture, I suddenly remembered my old DOS days as a debutant. To see the effects of back lighting I called up the old DOS console form the START/ACCESSORIES menu. You can redimension this window from its Properties. Interestingly, the VIewsonic VX2245WM yielded the best results, followed by the Sceptre x22wg. I didn't like the ChiMei at all. Its colors were washed out more than those of the other contenders'.

In general the colors were kind of washed out at all of the panels, but this might have been for lack of calibration. The best of the bunch ** appeared ** to be the Viewsonic VX2245WM. Too, this monitor, in spite of being about 1 foot higher than my eyes, was still visible, without too much color dimming or shifting.

All, I mean all, panels had some color banding, the NEC 90GX2 included which had perceptible white striping. Some of them also had some color smearing (where purple meets blue or blue meets read at certain pixel groups on certain characters, that is where parts of the character are shown in double, but different colors), such as the Scepter. I took the pains to see whether every panel was at native resolution and they all were. The monitors just did not exhibit vivid colors, period. It's calibration, stupid, I guess.

Again, all of these shortcomings may have been outstanding because of lack of calibration. There were no 22" Samsung, LG, Gateway or Sony monitors in the showrooms. As a matter of fact Sony's monitors have vanished from all of the stores around the DC area. Anyone know what's happening at Sony? In any case, even when shown with separate computers, it's difficult to tell how the monitors perform. It'd take tremendous expertise and even more time to calibrate so many monitors and I assume the store personnel just can't possibly have the time to make good on such monumental a task.

Now, there were two glossy panels in the showrooms (an 19" wide HP, the other was normal 19" but I don't recall its manufacturer) and, frankly, they were awsome color wise. We know that glossy panels have more vivid colors, but the difference was just too big with the no-glare panels. Many people say this is an artificial way to enhance colors and I take their opinion to heart. Just my impression.
 
Pegleg Joe said:
How do I figure out the batch #? I also assume the ship date for the one I have now was today. I only know this because this morning they didn't have any in the store, and today is their delivery day as I had found out in an earlier call. I checked back later in the day after they unloaded the shipment and that had one in so it must have come to the store today. If you're knowledgeable what are your monitor settings? I don't think I'm very good at calibration so somewhere to start would be nice.
Click to expand...

I guess its called the Wave #. The "S" panel I just got today has a wave # of 501. The "A" panel they tried to give me had a wave # of 201. Maybe that will help dictate which panel is in the box. It's good that your shipdate was 2/23 and was an "S" panel, that means they aren't completely out of them yet. Still seems to be a random mix of "S" and "A".

I'm a noob at calibrating. I am still waiting for one of the regulars around here to post some good settings.
 
I set my brightness to 70, contrast to 75, and in Nvidia control panel went to appearance->desktop settings and bumped up digital vibrance to 11% and gamma to 1% and now mine looks a lot better. I'm sure it's not perfect but I'm a noob too and it look spretty good to me. I tried calibrating it with the Nvidia control panel and one of the tools from the site I posted earlier but I like these settings better.
 
I was really excited about getting this panel since I run Vista and love my games.

But after reading all the different and confusing views I just don't know anymore. I'm totally confused.

Quite simply, is the panel any good or not? I play games and run vista. :confused:
 
sockie said:
......I'm totally confused.
Quite simply, is the panel any good or not? I play games and run vista. :confused:
Click to expand...

Yeap, from the info I gather by reading here and there, it's beautiful, but some of us are still confused. We are trying to make a decision on a very important purchase, the display screen that sits on our desk at home is like a sacred altar, -like Moses looking at the burning fire- we look at it many hours everyday.
cool.gif


I know this thread is up to 27 pages already and reading all that would be a pain in the ar_se.
This is what I wanna know: * What is this bussiness of "S" and "A" and does it really matter? ; * Where is the 226BW selling on the web? the only online merchant that claims to have it in the US is CircuitCity, I want to get it right now, but the traditional online retailers like newegg haven't post anything about it and is a hard to get item. NO ONE ELSE has it "in stock" on line. Im I wrong?
eek.gif


The CircuitCity stores nearest my town are at least 50 miles away and they don't even have it in stock. **WHEN * is this 226BW monitor going to be selling conveniently without having to climb Mount Everest to get it? [today's date= Feb. 24, 2007] WHEN??

Im sick of waiting.
 
and once we get past the S and A nonsense, i still am trying to get a side by side of the 206bw and the 226bw (since not even circuity city had them both on display side by side).

i really wish theses questions were satisfied as well since right now i'm weighing the pros and cons of the "annoyances" that may or may not come with either this or the Dell 2007wfp.
 
sorry i haven't read through the whole forum yet, whats the differences between the S and A panel and how do you know which one you have?
 
The A panel and the S panel are suppossed to be the same!Just built by two different manufacturers,Samsung(S panel)and AUO(A panel).From what i heard!the s panel was to be made until AUO went into full production,which should be soon.I may be wrong on this but thats what ive been hearing.The A panels from pics and what others have said seem to be not as good as the s panels.Recently a few with A panels have said they look pretty good.So for now ill hold no judgement on the panels.The 226bw is still very new with little or no reviews on them.The one i just got had the s panel (great pic with verry little backlight bleeding.My advice to you is either wait until more data is gathered on this monitor,or buy one!try it out and return it if your not happy with it! Good Luck Stan
 
VICTORious said:
Hello

#erion
ur inpu lag....

What graphic card do u have?
Click to expand...

From technical point of view I'm about 100% certain that graphics card model does not matter, but if you really wanted to know, I have Radeon 9800 Pro 128 Mb. Yeah it's is kinda old but i'm upgrading this spring...
 
I've been looking at the 22" Gateway display ever since my wife axed the idea of getting a Dell 2407 (we both use the PC and she felt the 24" displays were just too much screen real estate).

The gateway has a nice screen and 1:1 pixel mapping, plus an integrated USB hub.

Is the picture on the Samsung really that much better?
 
========== Original Message ==========

From: John T Sylvanis < [email protected] >
Subject: Samsung 226WT 22" and LG L226WA 22" monitors.

Hello!

Are you planning on having these monitors? Many people on the largest
forums are looking for them. I know you already have the LG L226WT.
However, the L226WA also has HDMI inputs.

Sincerely, John.


============= Newegg ===============


Reference number: LTK25015347709X Please use this ticket number in any correspondence with Newegg.com.

Subject: Samsung 226WT 22" and LG L226WA 22" monitors.


Dear Customer,

Thank you for contacting Newegg.

Every product we carry is listed on our website, and pricing and availability is posted in real time. Our marketing and purchasing departments collectively determine all decisions regarding our inventory selection. In addition, we do not have an ETA for these items until after we receive the first shipment. Once we receive the initial order, we can more accurately estimate future deliveries. Generally it takes us about 6-8 weeks to receive new merchandise once it has been released to the public, due to the nature of supply and demand. Please continue to check all prices and availability at http://www.Newegg.com/ for our most up-to-date status.

If you have any further questions or concerns, please visit our FAQs page.
http://www.newegg.com/CustomerService/FAQHome.asp

Sincerely,

Kitty Zhou
 
FYI, the S panels are not the holy grail of the 226BW. I bought a 226BW S panel from Circuit City and everything is good except the bottom of my screen is saturated compared to the top. Ive tried adjusting my viewing angle to no avail and proof of this can be found when I run the Monitor Test.exe file. Whenever I do the gradient test (black on bottom gradually proceding to white) instead of being black on the bottom, everything is gray. The black on top gradient test is fine. I imagine I have a bulb problem illumination type of problem and will be returning the monitor once more come available at the local CC.

That being said, everything else about the monitor is great, games are vibrant and text is sharp.
 
Too be honest, I think everyone on this forum is freaking out about nothing. As mentioned in an earlier thread, the spec comparisons found on the manufacturers websites between the samsung panel and the AUO panel were the exact same. People here are just going into a tissy fit and making grand assumptions and subjective analysis's. If both panels have the exact same specs, than how can they differ in quality?
 
Dirty1talian said:
Too be honest, I think everyone on this forum is freaking out about nothing. As mentioned in an earlier thread, the spec comparisons found on the manufacturers websites between the samsung panel and the AUO panel were the exact same. People here are just going into a tissy fit and making grand assumptions and subjective analysis's. If both panels have the exact same specs, than how can they differ in quality?
Click to expand...

I know we can't say if there really is a difference between the A and S panels just yet, but the logic you use is faulty. That's like saying the specs on any computer make them equal. I think we all know there is a big difference between a Falcon Northwest and an Ibuypower or whatever. Craftsmanship does make a difference even if the parts are always the same. We'll just have to wait and see until more people get A panels and can report back, or someone does a comprehensive review. As of current reports the A panels don't seem to be of the same quality.
 
*BRAKING NEWS* - 2/25/07 3:00pm EST

I just drove 60 miles to CC and got one.

The outside level reads : Wave 602
Batch/Batch type 21273179
Date 02/23/07

When I got home and opened the box, the level in the back of the monitor reads: 226BW [R] A
frown.gif


Unpacking right now......will run DisplayMate utility for calibration...etc.

*Rubs hands nervously*
 
Klint let us know what you think. I had a bad A experience but I'm hoping it was just a bad monitor. I would really like to have some positive A reports as this switch seems rather unfair.
 
Glad you found one. Every Circuit City within 100 miles of me is either sold out or doesn't carry it.
 
many cc are out of stock with the 226bw! Very popular i guess! Hope buyers who get the A panel do well.I think so!! they are just ramping up production!Quality should improve
 
Is it confirmed that all panels shipping from this point on will only have the "A" panel?

That would sort of suck if it was the case since there were some implications that the "A" panel wasn't capable of the same color depth as Samsung's panel.
 
I dont see why the A panel could not be as good as the S panel.Its up to samsung to make sure its done right!
 
First post! I had my mind made up to get a Gateway today but when I saw the 226BW the display was so much better, despite all the adjustments I made. I honestly tried my best to talk myself out of this monitor but couldnt do it. Anyway this thread really helped me so I thought I would give back a bit. There was only 1 circuit city near me that had any of these so I drove there a few hours ago. Got to my vehicle and saw ship date 2/23/07 and was like damn. Wave 605. Batch 3272346. Just about freaked out when I saw the S on the back of it. So apparently they are still shipping.

So thanks for all the information everyone has shared. It is bs that Samsung has done this, although I also am not convinced every A is significantly lesser quality.

By the way, could someone point me to a good calibration test? I saw a few referenced on the thread but couldnt find the links. My dvd drive wouldnt read the driver cd although I dont think this type of software was included.
 
The 226BW on the whole seems to be a good panel. There's no perfect panel out there to satisfy every taste or desire. I am going to wait till manufacturing goes full tilt and we'll have more than enough owners to gather data from for statistical evaluation. I was very poised to buy, especially that the CC located about 2 miles from my residence had it, but after much research and reading the knowledgeable exchanges on this forum I won't buy till LG's L226WA-WN with its multiple connectivity and PIP is readily available from Newegg for comparison and customer evaluation. Then we'll know whether manufacturing and supply are smooth and variations in quality from unit to unit negligible. Needless to say, I'm itching as much as anyone on this forum but waiting a month or two will probably make me a more happy camper owning something that satisfies my needs.
 
Noryn said:
First post! I had my mind made up to get a Gateway today but when I saw the 226BW the display was so much better, despite all the adjustments I made. I honestly tried my best to talk myself out of this monitor but couldnt do it. Anyway this thread really helped me so I thought I would give back a bit. There was only 1 circuit city near me that had any of these so I drove there a few hours ago. Got to my vehicle and saw ship date 2/23/07 and was like damn. Wave 605. Batch 3272346. Just about freaked out when I saw the S on the back of it. So apparently they are still shipping.

So thanks for all the information everyone has shared. It is bs that Samsung has done this, although I also am not convinced every A is significantly lesser quality.

By the way, could someone point me to a good calibration test? I saw a few referenced on the thread but couldnt find the links. My dvd drive wouldnt read the driver cd although I dont think this type of software was included.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm in the same boat, I'm torn between buying one online or waiting till the stores get them in so I can swap it easier if I have a problem with it.
 
Pegleg Joe said:
Klint let us know what you think.....
Click to expand...


I have played with this monitor for about 2 hours since I bought it earlier today. I can tell you this much so far: It's absolutely GORGEOUS!.
biggrin.gif

and I dont have time today to post pics.

I guess this is a random thing whether you get a "S" or a "A" panel.

Like I said before, I got the type "A", and I was running the Dead Pixel Test [link] and for ten minutes I looked with a magnifying lense and I could not find one single wrong pixel. I set the brighness to 45 and the contrast to 80 in the "CUSTOM" Magic Brite mode, also set the green to 48 in "color control", set the "Magic Color" to "Intelligent", Color Tone to "Custom" and set the Gamma to "Mode 3".

I'll stick to using Magic Brite modes of "Custom" or "Dynamic Contrast". The Dynamic Mode is way too bright for my liking but everything looks totally and completely awesome in this mode.

I made a HUGE mistake and forgot to check my e-mail after I placed the internet order for pick up later in-store @ CC and the e-mail included a 10&#37; off Coupon that I did not get to use.
mad.gif
,

So...the plan is to drive back to the store, return this "A" panel and purchase another one hoping I get the "S" panel in random luck. The incentive for me is that the worst I can do is get the $38 bucks back by using the cupon. The best I would do is get the "S" panel + get the $38. lol

LET ME MAKE THIS CLEAR, There is NOTHING wrong wirth the "A" panel I got today, Its a beautiful set. I did run some testing with the AVIA DVD [link] for calibration and ran some testing patterns on "Grayscale & Levels" and some on "Geometry and Convergence" and everything looked great to me exept for a bit of green over-saturation that I didn't have time to correct.. If I don't get the lucky "S" panel, I will be very happy if I end up with the "A" panel. I repeat: It's GORGEOUS!


Other thoughts, Its not HUGE, actually my first impression was how small it looked.- my other LCD is the Viewsonic VX2000 Vesa 1600x1200 @ 60Hz native - size is just adequate.

Thank you to DiscDog I think (I am sot sure) was the person who told us about the Ergotron Neo-Flex LCD Stand I got this as well at Staples and works just fantastic ! with the 226BW, It can do Pivot left/right, tilt up/down or rotate screen in a very easy way.

NFLCDstnd-anim2.gif
 
well wait though, if there is nothing wrong with the A panel (which is good to hear from those who bought an A panel and likely just had a defective monitor in general) why are you trying to get another? you may just want to be happy that you got a defect free monitor in general, as i'm not sure it's worth risking to get an S panel if it wont make a difference and could only be worse with dead pixel or other issues.
 
Do any of the 10% over 199 CC coupons floating around work for this? I see quite a few out there.
 
sylva said:
The 226BW on the whole seems to be a good panel. There's no perfect panel out there to satisfy every taste or desire. I am going to wait till manufacturing goes full tilt and we'll have more than enough owners to gather data from for statistical evaluation. I was very poised to buy, especially that the CC located about 2 miles from my residence had it, but after much research and reading the knowledgeable exchanges on this forum I won't buy till LG's L226WA-WN with its multiple connectivity and PIP is readily available from Newegg for comparison and customer evaluation. Then we'll know whether manufacturing and supply are smooth and variations in quality from unit to unit negligible. Needless to say, I'm itching as much as anyone on this forum but waiting a month or two will probably make me a more happy camper owning something that satisfies my needs.
Click to expand...

I've been wanting to head down to buffalo and pick up the samsung 226bw, but with all the uncertainty about the panels e.g. S' A' , I think I might give the LG L226WA-BN a try, it's listed at 499$ canadian, at future shop.
 
I need a lot of help. Just bought my 226BW yesterday at CC, had to drive 50 miles to get it. I used to be a CRT user and decided to get this base on the feedback I saw. Unfortunately I got the one that has an "A" on it. I have a stock video card on my Presario SR2050NX ATI Radeion Xpress 200 Series, I have my new 226bw connected as analog and while wacthing movies, i have a lot of color inconsistencies and bleeding/blotching. Maybe I should critic right now due to not having a good video card; hope this improves, this is very bad...

I need help in selection a starter video card, less than $125.00. I am leaning towardsEVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16. What do you guys think? I would like to have a card that has a TV Tuner and HDCP but that might cost more. What is HDCP?

Thanks for all the help I can get.
 
It's High Def copy Protection.
From the web. If a monitor doesn't support HDCP, one of two things will happen at the discretion of the content providers. It's a possibility that a given studio may simply refuse to allow the content to be displayed at all. More likely, the studios will allow for playback on unauthenticated devices with purposely degraded quality. The thinking is that Joe Consumer will be more likely to pay for HD content than seek out pirated content that's not in HD.

If you installed the two software control programs from the cd that came with the monitor.
de-install them. ( natural color and Magic tune)
They suck, they are not ready for the 226BW yet. Shares same issues with blotches.
Removed the software they went away.

I just bought a nvidia 7900 gs $179 best buy, as its a really fast gamer.
But I don't like the drivers.

I will be trading up for ATI 1950 Pro. For accuracy in color.
 
Willie Noel said:
I need a lot of help. Just bought my 226BW yesterday at CC, had to drive 50 miles to get it. I used to be a CRT user and decided to get this base on the feedback I saw. Unfortunately I got the one that has an "A" on it. I have a stock video card on my Presario SR2050NX ATI Radeion Xpress 200 Series, I have my new 226bw connected as analog and while wacthing movies, i have a lot of color inconsistencies and bleeding/blotching. Maybe I should critic right now due to not having a good video card; hope this improves, this is very bad...

I need help in selection a starter video card, less than $125.00. I am leaning towardsEVGA 256-P2-N615-TX GeForce 7600GT 256MB GDDR3 PCI Express x16. What do you guys think? I would like to have a card that has a TV Tuner and HDCP but that might cost more. What is HDCP?

Thanks for all the help I can get.
Click to expand...

If your going to buy a new video card, you really should consider a series 8 nvidia card or a new ati card coming out in late March - they are dx10 compliant unlike the series 7 cards. Also nvidia is supposed to have a revision and less expensive cards when ati launches their new ones. Unless you dont play games or use ms vista, I would go for the series 8 card.
 
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