19” LCD monitor survey: 4, 8 ms, TN, IPS, VA… (page 9: Samsung SyncMaster 930MP)

Samsung SyncMaster 930MP

It is one of the latest tendencies: the LCD monitor is now in your living room and is used equally as a computer monitor, TV and for the game console. The 930MP is one of the most complete monitors available on the market and even includes a remote control.

Ergonomics

The easiest way is to start with what the 930MP doesn’t have. It doesn’t have an USB hub, nor a pivot mode and it isn’t vertically adjustable.

And now what it does have:

SCART plug (one),

DVI input, D-Sub 15 pins (analog),

YUV, RVB, S-Video, RCA inputs,

RF antenna (radio),

integrated tuner,

a nice remote control.

Unfortunately, it also has an external power supply. It isn’t huge but it is no longer the tendency to have it outside the monitor. Frankly we prefer it to be invisible, hidden in the monitor.

Color quality

The standard color quality could be very much improved, according to our test tools …

How to interpret the graph

On the left is the gamut this is the monitor colorimetric range compared to the sRGB range (the one usually used for digital cameras). We are not here talking of its accuracy, but of the range of reproducible colors.

For accuracy, you have to refer to the right graph, the DeltaE. This is a measure between the color requested and the one really displayed on the monitor. The result obtained is also counter-balanced by human color sensitivity.

With Delta E > 3 the desired colors is noticeably different from the one on the screen.
With 1 < Delta E < 2 colors are accurate. With Delta E < 1, the result is perfect.

The gamut is normal. With the DeltaE, the result is awful. In fact, it isn’t as bad as it looks. This measure amplifies the reality. Of course, the colors displayed aren’t the right ones, but they aren’t completely crazy either. In fact, they only seem lighter than the one requested. This is what our eye sees. Our tool doesn’t make the difference between a wrong color because of a different shade or in the same shade but a little too light. Colors aren’t crazy to the point where all users will change their monitors’ adjustments. The image displayed wasn’t shocking like with the VX9224 (see further).

Anyway, a calibration singularly improves results.

Calibration with DVI input

According to the legend, DVI monitors resituate nicer pictures and faster. We have fought against this erroneous notion from the start, and we demonstrate here, once again, that it is inaccurate. Using the DVI input doesn’t improve the monitor response time but it can cause some problems with the monitor colors. Some monitors, including this one, cut the access to several user adjustments by means of the OSD, in numeric. Here, for example, it is impossible to independently adjust the red, green and blue channels. It is only possible to adjust brightness and color temperature. This smaller amount of accessible parameters has a negative influence on the monitor color quality. Here is the best result obtained:

Of course it is clearly better than the standard results. Here is the result obtained after the same adjustments with a VGA input but with the possibility of accessing the color channels:

Calibration with VGA input

Colors are even better, especially the dark ones, closer to black.

We might also think: if it is impossible to adjust RGB channels with the monitor why don’t we do it directly from the graphic card? You will indeed find advanced display parameters quite easily, as well as the option for adjusting colors. However, in our opinion, even if you really have a good eye, this tool isn’t handy at all. It only allows you to make wrong adjustments. It is possible to have access to brightness, backlighting, and contrast, and with the advanced mode, the RGB graphs. But all of this doesn’t help to easily adjust your monitor. When you know that all options available in the OSD aren’t enough and that you will find them in the analog menu, why would you choose the hard way?

Viewing angles

It is a standard VA monitor, but not a recent panel. Unlike the TN monitor, the image is still visible almost from the top of the monitor. It is, however, best to consider that colors are still accurate until 100°. Beyond that, they tend to get lighter.

Interpolation

This monitor is a multi-source. Potentially, it could have as its source a DVD recorder, soon an HD player, a computer, a console game…All work with their own resolutions, so it is essential that this monitor be capable of resizing pictures.

How disappointing that is! DVD and HD movies quality is good like all LCD monitors but console games or computer games’ quality with another resolution is strongly reduced. When will the manufacturer improve the component’s quality in order to resize pictures???

Games video

With a 25 ms response time, we were expecting horrible results and tests confirmed our fears: the 930MP reaction time is awful. With a computer, there is some afterglow and with a console it is even worse because, on top of this, there is the problem of picture resizing.

Anyway, this monitor hasn’t necessarily been designed for this particular use (but we feel that it could still be legitimate to use a console with this monitor). All its video inputs tend to use it for movies.

Films : DVD, HD

The good point is that the twinkling effect is very, very discreet and only appears in the darker images. This is the best result with this type of panel. Light and intermediate colors quality is good and color scales are progressives, everything is fine so far.

The problem is once again, the reaction time. And we cannot leave out of this account the blurred areas due to the low speed of liquid crystals, the multiplication of characters while in motion, trails of light…The image is really ruined by the afterglow. Once more, we aren’t all equally sensitive to this problem but when we know what the other monitors are capable of…

Verdict

Take a look at this manufacture’s dead pixel policy by clicking here!