High-End LCD: Samsung and BenQ

Interpolation

At last! Although this isn't the ultimate solution, the 172X is the first screen to correctly resize images. If you feel like giving it a whirl, you can play at 800 x 600, or even at 640 x 480 if the game is really that resource-hungry.

Of course, the image will have deteriorated, but it will remain correct thanks to a "blurring" utility that helps correct the image when the resolution is changed.

Of course, the ideal solution would be to have a dedicated processor inside screens that could resize images as well as Photoshop does it, but in real time. Unfortunately, we're still a long way off. For the moment, the 172X provides the best solution that manufacturers have come up with.

Samsung SyncMaster 172X: Games, Movies, Notes

Games

No dice, the Samsung panel is still a notch below that of the AU Optronics. The screen still leaves perceptible ghosting. The rendering is comparable to that of the LG-Philips 16 ms panels. The Hydis panel therefore still remains the most responsive panel for the moment.

Of course, the ghosting only becomes irritating in very fast games such as Unreal Tournament 2003 or 2004. If the movement is slower, as in Vice City or Civilization, the rendering is perfectly acceptable. Soon, you'll even forget that you're playing on an LCD.

Movies

Apart from a visible flicker, movies highlight a color problem. Sometimes we get uniform areas of color instead of shading. It's hard to believe that the screen really displays 16.7 million colors, as Samsung claims. You get the feeling that you're looking at a 262K screen that has difficulty interpolating them into 16.2 million shades.