This is bizarre. 191t vs 1900fp

[Alptraum]

In the Feb issue of PC World they have a review of 14 19" LCDs. I usually don't get this mag but I noticed the cover and since I have been thinking about getting one lately (the 191t) I picked it up.

First off, there reviews are abit short in my opinion. Though they do go into more detail on their website.

But the weird thing is the different ratings the 191t and 1900fp got. It was my understanding that other then the portrait feature and the badging these were the same thing. But there was quite a difference between the two on the horizontal viewing angle test (167 degrees for the 191t versus 153 degrees for the 1900fp). They had a guy from DisplayMate help with that test, so it should be accurate.

Also they gave them different scores for image quality. They both got "very good" for text quality but on graphics quality the 191t got ""outstanding" while the 1900fp stayed at "very good".

I just thought I would pass this info on as I find it somewhat strange.

Edit = In addition, even with the higher price the 191t was ranked #1 and a "Best Buy" while the 1900fp was ranked 5th. Gratned, if you are gaga over the portrait feature I could see giving that result but its still weird.

 

[Kingofcomputer]

pc world's reviews suck and are biased for how much ad the manufacturers pay.
please don't listen to pc world.

 

[Alptraum]

pc world's reviews suck and are biased for how much ad the manufacturers pay.
please don't listen to pc world.

Fair enough. Thats why I usually don't bother with them. I still thought it was weird though

 

[Gosharkss]

King

You are so wrong on this one.

For example my Cornerstone branded products have won many PC World reviews, and we have not spent one cent in advertising with them. You obviously have a strong opinion on PC World?s reviews, however you have no proof what so ever to say they are biased.

 

[chizow]

It was my understanding that Samsung (and other mfgs.) bin their LCDs like any other part. First-run hand picks go to internal use, select channel partners, and of course reviewers. 2nd-run go to OEM partners to be rebadged and 3rd-run and below go to us, the consumer.

Its not totally surprising, as many have commented on the differences in image quality/ghosting between a 191T and 1900FP. Typically, experiences have been worse on the 191T's bought through retail outlets, with less complaints from 1900FP users. Would somewhat corroborate what I was told by my cousin who's a design engineer out in San Jose.

Chiz

 

[Alptraum]

If that is the case I would think they would give the lesser quality ones to their OEMs so they would be able to sell the high quality ones as their own brand. I do think many review parts (wether LCDs or CPUs or whatever) are hand picked though.

Of the few people I know that have seen/used both the 191t and the 1900fp the response has ranged from "they are the same" to "the 191t is markedly better". Nobody I have talked to that has used both has favored the Dell for whatever reason.

 

[Gosharkss]

You would think so, however the OEM?s will put such a tight control on the specifications and Q.A. for the product they will accept. I know I do. My Specs and Q.A. processes have always been much stricter than the branded products.