View Full Version : Does anyone have the Samsung 204T?
I'm thinking of getting a new monitor, and I've been eyeballing the 204T for about a year now. The price has been cut in half, so I'm wondering if I should make my move. Does anyone have this monitor and like it? I've heard a lot about the Dells too, but I've had very good experiences with Samsung LCDs, so I'm leaning toward sticking with them. I'm not a heavy gamer anymore, but I game once in a while. I know the response time isn't the best, but it should be decent right? Any thoughts?
Wow, no one? It must suck then, haha! :p
wmiddleton
10-31-05, 01:12 PM
looks decent, but the princing doesn't look as attractive at other comparables. (2001fp)
Yeah, it's not as well-priced, but I'm more concerned with image quality and performance. I'm willing to pay a premium for those. Also, every Dell monitor I've used so far sags to the left or the right, and it really bugs me, I don't think the 204T sags right?
duncann
11-01-05, 08:23 AM
I recently picked one of these up from Best Buy. I also returned it three times and kept the fourth one, but that's probably because I'm very picky about this sort of thing. The first one had some sort of banding defect in the upper right corner of the screen. The second one was probably fine but I was unhappy about the backlight bleeding in all four corners (this backlight bleeding is not noticeable unless the screen is set to a dark color and the ambient lighting is very, very dim). The third one had considerably worse backlight bleeding in the upper left, lower right, and middle bottom, in addition to the height adjustability not working well. The fourth one is the one I have now and has slight backlight bleeding in all four corners but is easily ignored.
I noticed no dead pixels in any of the monitors except the first one. I found two that were stuck on green. But even then, to actually see them, I had to look through two magnifying glasses.
The first three monitors were manufactured in Mexico and the fourth in China. I don't know if this may indicate a quality control problem in Mexico, but the one from China just seems more "solid".
I don't regret getting this monitor at all. It is very nice. I'm coming from using a 21" PT813 Viewsonic CRT for the past 7 years. I'm using the DVI connection and the colors are absolutely amazing and incredibly vibrant (I believe this monitor uses an 8-bit panel). The sharpness of text and everything else is astounding as well. I occasionally do some gaming and notice no ghosting. If you use lower resolutions than 1600x1200, the scaling really doesn't look bad at all. In fact, in games I can notice no difference at all, but the desktop looks slightly "blurry". Viewing angles are pretty good. I can clearly see the image on the screen when viewing from about 180 degrees, but it's somewhat faded. I like being able to rotate the monitor 90 degrees, very neat feature. The absence of a small room heater is not missed.
The monitor doesn't sag either left or right.
The only thing I don't like, and this would be true of all LCDs, is the blacks are not truly black. But comparing this monitor to others, this one is better than most.
That's the kind of info I was looking for, thanks! :)
How was BestBuy handling your returns? I'm very picky also, and I would want to return it if things didn't seem assembled perfectly or if I found stuck/dead pixels... I think BestBuy has a 8 dead pixel in the center of the screen return policy for this monitor, but they didn't hold you to that?
P.S. Welcome to the focums! :)
duncann
11-01-05, 11:21 AM
They didn't seem to care one way or the oither, but I did the exchanges at three different stores. The last time I did the exchange, the girl asked me if I was sure I wanted another one instead of just returning it for a refund. I then mentioned that the first three were manufactured in Mexico and this one in China, so it's probably worth a try. She said, "Hmm, that's interesting..."
As far as dead pixels, the subject never even came up. The first time I exchanged it, however, they wanted to see the defect in the screen, which I happily did. The other three times I told them the monitor had backlight bleeding.
So if you get one, I'd say make sure it's manufactued in China. That information is on the label on the outside of the box.
Another interesting fact: the third one displayed a rotation message when I put the monitor in portrait mode while the other three did not. That suggests a different firmware.
Wow, you must be very personable to get them to do all that! I would imagine that Best Buy people would try to tell you that some backlight bleeding is normal and just not want to replace it. I guess I should try and ask if I can get one made in China. Whether it works or not just depends on the kind of employee I get stuck with I suppose.
I have a favor to ask. Would it be possible for you to post a pic with your monitor displaying black? I would like to get an idea of how much bleeding is normal for this monitor. Thanks again! :)
duncann
11-01-05, 02:15 PM
It was difficult to take a picture of the backlight bleeding. Hopefully you can get an idea of what it looks like. The picture shows the brightness of the monitor at 100%. I normally run it at 25%. I also increased the brightness and contrast of the photo slightly to make it look more like it looks in real life.
In fact, now that I look at the photo again, it's actually slightly exaggerated.
Hey thanks a lot, I really appreciate the pic! :) Wow, that's at 100% brightness and exaggerated? That's pretty damn good. You should see my laptop bleeding, haha!
Has anyone ever compared a 12ms response time monitor to a 16ms response time one? Was there a big difference?
duncann
11-01-05, 02:27 PM
I've used some 8ms 19 inch ones, a viewsonic (va201b) and samsung (930b), and to be honest I really don't notice enough of a difference to matter. The only thing I might have noticed is some slight mouse lag (only in desktop usage) which I think I mistakenly attributed to the monitor. I used to have a ball mouse hooked to a ps2 port. Using this mouse I felt some lag. Just yesterday I bought a Logitech G5 laser mouse and noticed that the lag is now completely gone.
Oh ok, good to know. I know the whole response time thing is controversial at the moment, so figured I'd get another opinion. Well, I'm going to do some more reading, but unless I find something terrible about the 204T, I think I'm gonna get it! :p I've been wanting to buy this monitor for a year and a half, haha!
Hmmm, I just read about the 214T, it has a purported 8ms response time and a greater contrast ratio. And, of course, it's slightly larger. Does anyone have this monitor, or has anyone tried it?
Hmmm, I just read about the 214T, it has a purported 8ms response time and a greater contrast ratio. And, of course, it's slightly larger. Does anyone have this monitor, or has anyone tried it?
Have it but i can't try it yet :cry: My mb is in for RMA.
Oh, I see. Well when you do get a chance to try it, please let me know how it's working out for you! Where'd you get it by the way?
Welcome to the forums! :)
Have it but i can't try it yet :cry: My mb is in for RMA.
Did you get your mobo back yet?
Did you get your mobo back yet?
I love the Samsung 214T :drool:
I playd BF2 and notice no ghosting :)
It is my first TFT display.
Traying to get som fotos of it.
I love the Samsung 214T :drool:
I playd BF2 and notice no ghosting :)
It is my first TFT display.
Traying to get som fotos of it.
That's great man! If you could get some pics of the backlight bleeding that would be awesome.
Also, is the 8ms response time for real? Or is it fudged somehow?
That's great man! If you could get some pics of the backlight bleeding that would be awesome.
Also, is the 8ms response time for real? Or is it fudged somehow?
The camra did the backligth bleeding blue. :bang head
I don't now if the response time is fore real but have no ghosting on BF2.
The camra did the backligth bleeding blue. :bang head
I don't now if the response time is fore real but have no ghosting on BF2.
Wow, that looks pretty! Hey, I don't mean to be a pain, but do you think you could take a picture of it in the dark while displaying a totally black screen (no flash of course)? That'll give everyone a better idea of the amount of backlight bleeding there is. Thanks for the pics so far, it looks awesome! :)
Wow, that looks pretty! Hey, I don't mean to be a pain, but do you think you could take a picture of it in the dark while displaying a totally black screen (no flash of course)? That'll give everyone a better idea of the amount of backlight bleeding there is. Thanks for the pics so far, it looks awesome! :)
My camra can't handel the dark so well. :bang head
Trying to do som more fotos.
Edit: foto in next post.
Oh ok, haha! What kind of camera do you have? Does it have optional manual exposure and shutter controls? If so, you could set it on something stable, set the shutter speed to something slow like 1/2 or 1 and set the timer and let it take a picture. If not, then, yeah, I guess it would be pretty hard. Sorry for my annoying request! :eh?:
Oh ok, haha! What kind of camera do you have? Does it have optional manual exposure and shutter controls? If so, you could set it on something stable, set the shutter speed to something slow like 1/2 or 1 and set the timer and let it take a picture. If not, then, yeah, I guess it would be pretty hard. Sorry for my annoying request! :eh?:
Have added a foto. hopps it is helping.
Wow, that's pretty sweet, haha! :)
Do you have any dead/stuck pixels? Where'd you get it from?
Wow, that's pretty sweet, haha! :)
Do you have any dead/stuck pixels? Where'd you get it from?
No one i can se yet. :D I did get it in sweden wher i live.
I see! Well, they're not very common here in the US yet. A few big online retailers sell them, but I haven't seen any brick and mortar stores that sell them yet. I'm waiting for Best Buy to get it so I can keep returning it if I get dead/stuck pixels, haha! :p
Have added a foto. hopps it is helping.
Looks like there is a stuck pixel in the upper left hand corner =/, hopefully its just a camera defect.
Looks like there is a stuck pixel in the upper left hand corner =/, hopefully its just a camera defect.
Oh yeah, you're right. My monitor at work sucks so I didn't notice it, but now that I'm home, it's pretty clear. Was it a pic defect zorry? Can you take a pic with a totally black screen (blank screensaver maybe) or is that too difficult?
Oh yeah, you're right. My monitor at work sucks so I didn't notice it, but now that I'm home, it's pretty clear. Was it a pic defect zorry? Can you take a pic with a totally black screen (blank screensaver maybe) or is that too difficult?
It is the camra. :) Black backgrund in windows.
It is the camra. :) Black backgrund in windows.
Ahh, not a bad LCD, a bad camera :D
Nice, that's a relief! :)
How should I test completely for dead/stuck pixels anyway? Never figured out how to do a perfect test for this. I can make most of the screen black, red, green, blue, etc... using MS Paint and the "view bitmap" feature, but even with that there's still a small band a few pixels wide that's white around the edge of the screen. How do you guys test for dead/bad pixels?
Nice, that's a relief! :)
How should I test completely for dead/stuck pixels anyway? Never figured out how to do a perfect test for this. I can make most of the screen black, red, green, blue, etc... using MS Paint and the "view bitmap" feature, but even with that there's still a small band a few pixels wide that's white around the edge of the screen. How do you guys test for dead/bad pixels?
Make the windows backgrund black or any coler and move the start bar arund.
Omg of course! I feel stupid... :cry:
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