Samsung 226BW Owners Sound Off

Master Shake

Member
Jul 14, 2007
82
0
0
Looking to hear from other 226bW owners

What is the final verdict here?

I personally got a C panel from frys for $300 and it has an amazing picture right out of the box, the color profiles did not change anything so there was no issue from the start.

I have found no dead pixels.

The only thing that bothers me is the backlight bleed on the bottom. I am coming from a crt and this is new to me.

Do the rest of you have backlight bleed? Is it bad? Can backlight bleed get worse over time?

I am debating exchanging the monitor to frys to try and see if I can get one that has less/no backlight bleed.

Or returning it all together and waiting for a display with similar qualities.

Is the display I got the best I can hope for in the 226bw?
Should I just go with a different brand?

What is the verdict?
 

Cookie Monster

Diamond Member
May 7, 2005
5,161
32
86
I got some back light bleed on the top and the bottom. But the bottom line is that i cant even notice it during day to day activities and gaming. The thing is that you can hope to get a new one with no backlight bleed but really why go through the hassle when it doesn't bother you at all!

Bottom line is that the samsung 226bw after calibration looks the SAME whether or not its a C/A/S panel. There are others out there but they are all TN panels and i just cant see how they can be "better" in terms of color/accuracy etc unless they use a different panel e.g a S-IPS 22inch (i wish)

If you have no problems with it, i suggest you to keep it like i did. Just like you this is my FIRST lcd as ive been a CRT man for a long time. IMHO, the bezel used by the 226bw is absolutely fantastic and beats the other 22 LCDs on the market today.

edit - oh and i didn't realise but WELCOME TO THE AT FORUMS!

It's good to see newcomers on this board.

note - currently using Andrew's color profile for the 226BW C panel and monitor calibration wizard 1.0 which allows me to keep the color profile while gaming so everything looks vibrant and natural as ever. (with a notch of digital vibrance too)

 

postmortemIA

Diamond Member
Jul 11, 2006
7,721
40
91
Originally posted by: Master Shake
Looking to hear from other 226bW owners

What is the final verdict here?

I personally got a C panel from frys for $300 and it has an amazing picture right out of the box, the color profiles did not change anything so there was no issue from the start.

I have found no dead pixels.

The only thing that bothers me is the backlight bleed on the bottom. I am coming from a crt and this is new to me.

Do the rest of you have backlight bleed? Is it bad? Can backlight bleed get worse over time?

I am debating exchanging the monitor to frys to try and see if I can get one that has less/no backlight bleed.

Or returning it all together and waiting for a display with similar qualities.

Is the display I got the best I can hope for in the 226bw?
Should I just go with a different brand?

What is the verdict?

Have you seen any S-IPS or PVA panel? CMO's TN panels picture reproduction is one of the worst on market; it is very hard to buy your claim "picture is amazing", and this comes from the experts.
 

videopho

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2005
4,185
29
91
Mine is a S panel and made in China I think.
Got it from buy.com for $272 (AR) back in May (Memorial Hol discoun)
No dead pixel.
After several tweaks/cals the pic became more vivid and much improved.
2ms response is what bought me into (for gaming) and love it.
Disregard experts or so called reviews.
Let your eyes do the justice.
Can't go wrong and highly recommended.
 

Master Shake

Member
Jul 14, 2007
82
0
0
Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
I got some back light bleed on the top and the bottom. But the bottom line is that i cant even notice it during day to day activities and gaming. The thing is that you can hope to get a new one with no backlight bleed but really why go through the hassle when it doesn't bother you at all!

Bottom line is that the samsung 226bw after calibration looks the SAME whether or not its a C/A/S panel. There are others out there but they are all TN panels and i just cant see how they can be "better" in terms of color/accuracy etc unless they use a different panel e.g a S-IPS 22inch (i wish)

If you have no problems with it, i suggest you to keep it like i did. Just like you this is my FIRST lcd as ive been a CRT man for a long time. IMHO, the bezel used by the 226bw is absolutely fantastic and beats the other 22 LCDs on the market today.

edit - oh and i didn't realise but WELCOME TO THE AT FORUMS!

It's good to see newcomers on this board.

note - currently using Andrew's color profile for the 226BW C panel and monitor calibration wizard 1.0 which allows me to keep the color profile while gaming so everything looks vibrant and natural as ever. (with a notch of digital vibrance too)

Thanks for the welcome, long time lurker

See I have a similar opinion as you, I wanted a 22" display with a good refresh rate for gaming.




EDIT
after even more research link

I am less satisfied with this monitor. I don't have the experience with lcd panels so I'm sure that plays a big part in my impressions of the display.

I don't think I feel like paying a premium price for a non-premium product

Perhaps I'll try an exchange and see if I get an S panel, if not then return it and wait for a better choice.

Any other 226bw owners want to chime in?
 

*kjm

Platinum Member
Oct 11, 1999
2,222
6
81
"picture is amazing"

Never know if he had his CRT as long as I had my last one the colors could be so far gone he is telling the truth. Don't doubt tell you see:)

Most of the reviews probably use new CRT's compared to LCD's.
 

videopho

Diamond Member
Apr 8, 2005
4,185
29
91
I have currently owned several LCD panels to date e.g. Dell 2001, 2405, ViewSonic2235mw and this.
Dell models have the least backlight bleeding and perhaps the most vivid colors among the displays I own but it has the worst response time.
The Sammy 226bw has the worst backlight bleeding among the display I have.
But after several days of usage you'd get used to it and it's no longer an issue.
2ms is what I'm after the Sammy since I'm a pretty heavy flight simmer myself.
That being said and the low price I paid for, I'm happy with the 226bw.

EDIT:
It's worth mentioning that the link CookieMonster has provided above was greatly responsible of getting my 226bw's colors in order. Try that if I were you.
 

nutxo

Diamond Member
May 20, 2001
6,813
491
126
I got a C panel and the ghosting is horrible and I cant get the colors right...


Im pretty unhappy.
 

Master Shake

Member
Jul 14, 2007
82
0
0
Originally posted by: Cookie Monster
This will make you think otherwise

Im happy with my C panel and so does other people. Just like videopho said, Let your eyes do the justice.

I have seen that page, and have set it up with the best possible color settings I can.

The real issue is the fact the C panel is the worst of the bunch, could have saved $100 and bought this monitor and gotten the same thing.

I would love to "let my eyes do the justice" but my wallet is not too happy.

I feel ripped off by samsung
 

zig3695

Golden Member
Feb 15, 2007
1,240
0
0
Originally posted by: postmortemIA
Originally posted by: Master Shake
Looking to hear from other 226bW owners

What is the final verdict here?

I personally got a C panel from frys for $300 and it has an amazing picture right out of the box, the color profiles did not change anything so there was no issue from the start.

I have found no dead pixels.

The only thing that bothers me is the backlight bleed on the bottom. I am coming from a crt and this is new to me.

Do the rest of you have backlight bleed? Is it bad? Can backlight bleed get worse over time?

I am debating exchanging the monitor to frys to try and see if I can get one that has less/no backlight bleed.

Or returning it all together and waiting for a display with similar qualities.

Is the display I got the best I can hope for in the 226bw?
Should I just go with a different brand?

What is the verdict?

Have you seen any S-IPS or PVA panel? CMO's TN panels picture reproduction is one of the worst on market; it is very hard to buy your claim "picture is amazing", and this comes from the experts.



have you seen the tn panels of the last two years? my 225bw is far from average picture quality. of course the viewing angles and black levels are not the best, but as far as a general appeal goes, its a fantastic image. note i only say this with games and apps- tv viewing and especially movies are very average on this screen, ill give you that.