11.10.2011
Review: Samsung S23A300B LED Monitor
We all are aware of what are LCD monitors and are using them from last few years and now the large screen monitors are cheap and affordable. But now the new LED monitors have come in the market and manufactures claim they provide more natural colours. So, today we will try to find out whether these LED monitors (Samsung Series 300 LED Monitors – 23”, 24” and 27”) are worth an upgrade. We have reviewed the SyncMaster S23A300B, which is the 23" version.
The first thing to know about LED (Light Emitting Diode) is that they are simply LCD with a different kind of backlighting. The screen remains the same but LEDs are used in place of Cold Cathode Fluorescent Lamps (CCFL) that is found in most LCD’s. LED’s provide improved brightness and contrast levels, with deeper blacks. LED are also more environmentally friendly due to there being no mercury used during manufacture. LED can consume up to 40% less power than a LCD monitor of similar size.
The 23-inch viewable LED panel in the S23A300B has a 16:9 aspect ratio, native resolution of 1920x1080 (Full HD - TN Panel), 5ms Response time, 250cd/m2 brightness and Dynamic Contrast Ratio 1000,000:1 (1000:1 Static Contrast Ratio). This monitor bundles with D-sub to D-sub cable, Monitor stand, Stand Connector, Manual with Driver CD and Power Adapter.
Yes, AC/DC adapter is provided with the monitor to give external power supply to the monitor which is quite good. There is no DVI cable bundled with this monitor. Don’t know why, at one side manufacturers are providing a Full HD monitors and on other side not providing the DVI cable (or this is the solution of making a Budget monitor). Digital is always better than Analog and connecting such monitors with D-Sub cable is silly and for ignorant people. DVI port also becomes a standard in  today’s video cards. So, we cut the half point here for not bundling the DVI cable.
This is a TN-type panel, common to the vast majority of affordable computer screens. The front is glossy black plastic prone to gathering fingerprints and dust impressions. The monitor weighs about 3.0kg. The space occupied by the stand base is not too much. The stand allows only tilt adjustment up to 20 degrees backward which is little difficult to do because you always have a doubt in mind,that a little more pressure will break the stand. We think height of the monitor is a bit low and option of height adjustment will be better to setup as per workspace (another half point cut).
The back of the monitor has a wavy pattern which looks awesome but gathers lots of dust and need to clean regularly. A Kensington slot is also present on right side. (Kensington is a small, metal-reinforced, oval hole. Locks are generally secured in place attached to a rubberized metal cable. The end of the cable has a small loop that allows the cable to be looped around a permanent object, such as a heavy table or other similar equipment, thus securing it in place). D-sub and DVI ports are available in the back of the monitor. There is no HDMI, USB port, internal speakers and also it is not wall mountable.
Monitor comes preloaded with features such as Samsung Magic Angle, Samsung Magic Brigh, Samsung Magic Color, Multi Screen etc. According to Samsung, MagicAngle technology improves the off-angle viewing performance of the monitor so that it maintains superb image quality even if you are leaning back, lying down or watching from side. Actually, it adjusts the gamma factor, which affects the brightness of the display and fades up the colours. This "Magic Angle" stuff only makes sense if you are forced to look at the monitor at a bad angle, and wouldn't be able to move the monitor but I don’t think you will need to use this feature because why will you look at the monitor from such a bad angle.
When Samsung Magic Bright Mode is selected, then Dynamic Contrast is available to switch on. Dynamic Contrast mode lets the monitor automatically adjust the contrast to achieve better overall balance between bright and dark pictures. But this gives a very unpleasant viewing experience because brightness and contrast keeps jumping when you switching the windows/tabs. So, this feature is also not useful for multitasking users.
Samsung Magic Color improve digital image and to display natural color more clearly without disturbing image quality. This is a good feature and those don’t know anything about setting the RGB, Gamma and Color Tone, can use this feature but graphic professionals can disable this feature and make the correct setting for Gamma, RGB values to calibrate the monitor.
The monitor has non backlit touch controls present just below the right side of the bezel and controlled from the bottom and not from front like in Samsung Lavendar Series. Power On indicator blue light is quite strong and in a dark environment when watching a movie then it pinches in your eyes. Little backlight bleeding is only visible in the right bottom otherwise everything is clean and no sign of backlight bleeding.
Colour reproduction is excellent in this monitor whether watch a movie, play the games or do the graphical/office work. Text was crisp and very easy to read. When viewing stock tickers, scrolling sports scores, or even just scrolling through pages of text the words were very easy to read as the scrolling was quite smooth with no jitters, ghosting or other artifacting. Below find the LCD monitor (Samsung P2350 another good budget LCD monitor) and LED monitor side by side pictures and have a look White are whiter in LED.
Maximum power consumption is 29W in full brightness otherwise taking around 26w and when you enable the Eco Saving mode then you can save 8w more in 50% Eco saving mode. Previous 23” LCD monitor takes 40w in operating mode which is almost 40% higher the LED power consumption. In USA Rated EPEAT® Gold Standard - The rating is based on the environmental impact in a complete product lifecycle, so consumers can easily match high-performance electronics with green benefits. Earning this top rating means this product surpasses standard green criteria by at least 75%.
This excellent monitor is armed with a 3 years warranty in Asia/Pacific and 1 Year warranty in USA/Canada, and available at around Rs 10,600 or $197. So, if you planning to buy a new monitor or want to give a break to your old monitor then you don’t need to look anywhere else. But if you already using 23” LCD monitor then you can skip this and wait for OLED monitors which is coming in 2012.
Samsung S23A300B LED Monitor Rating: 4.0  by Ashish Rastogi, CGArena
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