Strange Review

[Guy]

In LCD Round up V: 17" LCD Panels Compaired they reviewed the Samsung 172x. I was surprised to find that the monitor suffers from heavy ghosting when playing games and even makes dvd viewing unpleasant if not impossible. He notes at the end that while watching the DVD there was a great deal of "flashing" leading him to suspect that it is a 16 bit display using dithering. This is clearly incorrect as the color reprodution tests show the screen can produce 99% of colors. If it is a 16 bit display using dithering how can dithering fool the spectrometer. Another review site claimed that dvd viewing with no ghosting at all. I think they need to take a second look at this monitor.

<P ID="edit"><FONT SIZE=-1><EM>Edited by Guy on 11/13/03 11:53 PM.</EM></FONT></P>

 

[zoner]

Very odd!

see

http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/monitors/Samsung_172x_3.html

 

[Guest]

Maybe Extremeoverclocking, PCstats and I have not tested the same display. Mine was presented by Samsung as a 16 ms. And Samsung explained me that a new generation of panel would replace this one in Q1 2004. They said that all displays sold in December and January would be 16ms, as the one I've tested, but that in the future they would disappear and become 12 ms. That means that the ones in 16 ms are not the same at all than the ones in 12 ms. Certainly that Extremeoverclocking and PCstats were lucky and tested the new units. I'm waiting for them me too.

By the way, I had tested two 172X (16 ms). The first one came from the French Samsung stocks, the second directly from Samsung Korea. Results were the same on both displays.

 

[jaccil]

<A HREF="http://www6.tomshardware.com/display/20031105/lcd-06.html#18_and_24bit_color_interpolations" target="_new">In the review</A> it was explained that 18 bit dithering results in only 16.2 million colours and not 16.7 million.

If you have a look at the <A HREF="http://www.samsungusa.com/cgi-bin/nabc/product/b2c_product_detail.jsp?eUser=&prod_id=172T-Black" target="_new">specifications on Samsung's site</A> you'll note:
COLOR Maximum 16.2 M

If the manufacturer says it's so (worse, not better), would you argue?

-jaccil

 

[Guest]

Sorry Jaccil, I don't understand your question. What do you mean?

 

[jaccil]

The question was rhetorical and in reply to Guy saying the author's assumption was incorrect

He notes at the end that while watching the DVD there was a great deal of "flashing" leading him to suspect that it is a 16 bit display using dithering. This is clearly incorrect as the color reprodution tests show the screen can produce 99% of colors. If it is a 16 bit display using dithering how can dithering fool the spectrometer.

You might, however, want to explain why "the color reproduction tests show the screen can produce 99% of the colors" when it is using 18 bit dithering (16.2M) instead of being a 24 bit display (16.7M).

-jaccil

 

[Trudie]

Butaz, based on what I thought was a reasonable amount of research, I believe the best 17" and 19" Samsung LCD's are those of the T series. I haven't been able to find any reviews of these monitors on THG. Have you not looked at these monitors at all? Several sites have gone so far as to say the 172T and 191T / 192T set the standard for 17" and 19" displays. I noted the 172X is the latest 17" model, and you've credited the LCD's ability to display color. Doesn't make sense to me that they would finally come out with a 16ms or 12ms LCD only to fail miserably at movie playback. I would greatly apppreciate it if you could take another look at the 172X. BTW, I was looking for an LCD with good color performance, smooth video playback display and at least 500:1 contrast. Gaming performance is secondary. Anybody have recommendations?

 

[jaccil]

I think the general recommendation at current is to wait a few months for Samsung to release its <A HREF="http://www.samsung.com/Products/Monitor/LCDMonitor/Monitor_LCDMonitor_172X_sp.htm" target="_new">12ms panel</A> (scheduled for Q1 2004). From the reviews on <A HREF="http://www.pcstats.com/articleview.cfm?articleID=1033" target="_new">PCStats</A> and <A HREF="http://www.extremeoverclocking.com/reviews/monitors/Samsung_172x_3.html" target="_new">ExtremeOverclocking</A> it seems that panel is far superior to any currently available.

Hopefully THG can get their hands on one of these to compare with other displays.

Anyways, this is what I am waiting for before making a move..

-jaccil

 

[jhnlngn]

Does anybody know why Samsung would spend money on research and development of a below average 16ms panel only to release what appears to be an exceptional 12ms panel a couple of months later? Does this appear idiotic to anyone else?

 

[Guest]

Ok, I've just had Samsung and as it will be written in an interview that we will published soon, everybody has tested the same display, le 172X 16 ms.

This 16 ms had to be lunched in December but they decided to stop it. There will be a few 16 ms available on the market, but in fact the production has been stopped. As they said to me, they are working to upgrade the quality of their next panel, the 12 ms, that will be available in January in the US, February for the rest of the world.

So nobody has tested the new 12 ms.

They should send us a unit as soon as it will be available.