Samsung 997 DF 19" Monitor

[Basie]

I am thinking of getting the Samsung. Best Buy has it for $179 with $20 rebate. Any comments both pro and con would be appreciated by those who have one or had experience with Samsung.

 

[overst33r]

Although i dont have this monitor, i have read several opinions on this monitor, most positive. The only repeating negative is some kind of dim lines at the top and bottom of the screen, very dim but still visible. I would buy it, its a great deal.

 

[dynasty]

I'v had the 997df since around june of 2004. Been a pretty good monitor. I like that it has the buttons on the side, so that takes down on some of the weight of the monitor and it makes it looks alittle smaller. It's done pretty good, I have heard however that it is not a true flat monitor though. That it has a flat piece of glass in front and then the tube is actually just a regular tube. Dont' really know if this is true or not. Hope this helps.

 

[broly8877]

I also have it, i love it.

And like the poster above mentioned, it is not a "true" flat CRT.

Other than that, top notch, well worth the money.

 

[Gustavus]

I bought a Samsung 997DF at Best Buy last night (the $179.00 less $20.00MIR deal) and have some crisp criticisms of the monitor. The image is crisp -- but so is my criticism. I have long experience with Samsung monitors -- starting with the 950, followed by a 955DF and a 753DF that my wife uses. The first 950 had serious color blooming (splotches of pinkish cast the size of your hand) and serious geometry problems. Samsung really impressed me though and did two RMAs. The final monitor was exceptional. Both the 955DF and the 753DF are fine (a little subdued in color so a paper white is impossible to acheive) but very crisp for text. So when the 950 died last week (power supply apparently died) I naturally replaced it with the current Samsung 19" CRT monitor -- the 997DF. It has the same color blooming the first 950 showed years ago -- a spot the size of your hand is bluish on the right side and a slightly larger area is shifted toward the lavender on the left. More serious though is the geometry problem I use Nokia's monitor test to set up monitors. One of the geometry test patterns is a grid array with a large circle in the center that is full screen height and four smaller circles in the corners. I set the diameter of the central circle to be the same horizontally and vertically (using draftsmans dividers to make sure the dimensions are exactly the same). The height of the left side of the display is higher than the right side -- by roughly 1/8" and there is no control for this. Pincushion, trapezoid, rotation etc. do not affect this. The monitor has been on for less than 24 hours, but as it stands now the geometry is off and there is a very noticable color blooming as I described. Given my previous experience I suspect these are probably endemic problems with Samsung CRT displays. I haven't decided yet whether to return it to Best Buy or to try the long RMA replacement route with Samsung again.

The reason for this post is not to rant but to tell anyone considering a Samsung CRT monitor my experience with them.