Review: Samsung SyncMaster 2343BWX November 15, 2008
Posted by thevery in Announcements, Media, News, Resources, Reviews, Tech.Tags: 1080p, Final Cut Pro, hd, Samsung, SyncMaster
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I picked up Samsung SyncMaster 2343BWX 23.3-inch LCD display. It is the newly released 16:9 LCD display. It supports QWXGA resolutions (2048×1152).
First Impressions
Samsung SyncMaster 2343BWX looks a little bit out of place due to its extra wide profile. It doesn’t take long to get used to the 16:9 width to height ratio that is commonly found in HD-TV. The brightness and color of this LCD monitor are above average in my opinion.
Resolutions: 2048×1152 @60Hz
Maximum Refresh Rate: 75Hz
Diagonal Measurement: 23.3 inch
This monitor is not intended for gaming. First it is the aspect ratio, most games will be stretch to fit the screen. Second, this monitor seems to have a slow response time for intense 3D-games such as Call of Duty (first person shooter game).
This monitor seems to be designed primarily for one thing: widescreen video. This monitor provides extra horizontal space for programs like Final Cut Express/Pro. This monitor is a perfect companion for those who use HD camcorders since they share the same aspect ratio. No more dealing with the letter-boxing on the monitor when viewing the HD video full-screen.
The monitor does not come with Height Adjustable Stand (HAS, however it does come with one VGA (D-sub) cable and one DVI cable.
to be continued.
Has anybody seen a real review on this monitor?
Here’s mine-It sure is pretty and the specs are good.
The box looks nice too.
Did this come with a height adjustable stand (HAS)? Thanks.
I picked one up at Fry’s this weekend for $250. It’s a lot of bang for the buck. Unfortunately it’s my first TN based panel and I’m coming from a few year’s old Dell 20″ 2005FPW that was an IPS panel.
I have it hooked up via single mini-dvi adapter to my aluminum macbook and it was recognized and supported with no effort at all on my part.
The 2343BWX, straight out of the box, is retina searing bright. A bit of tweaking with the contrast, brightness, and sharpness settings produces a pretty good picture. Also tweaking the gamma settings in the mac system preferences from 1.8 to 2.2 or higher produces, what I think, is a richer image. I know nothing about color calibration however. My work mostly involves opening a lot of terminal windows, so I was tuning the thing up to look best for that application. I’ve tried to check for back light bleeding and dead pixels, and I haven’t noticed any of each.
There’s a hell of a lot of screen here. The 2343BWX is pretty enticing based on that alone. One of the biggest selling points of this monitor is that at the 2048×1152 resolution you can open two 1024 wide windows side by side on the same screen. With more and more web developers designing for 1024 width, it really matters in that you don’t need to scroll side to in one window or overlap.
I really like the thin bezel and the overall minimalism of the 2343BWX’s design. In a market filled with gear sporting horrid pimped out styling aimed at overgrown children… err… gamers this monitor sports an elegant, understated aesthetic.
I’m pretty happy with the 2343BWX and plan on keeping it. Overall the performance is good. That said, I do think the old Dell 2005FPW offered a more pleasing picture, as well as more features like 1:1 pixel mapping and a built in USB hub.
There are certain issues with the TN panel that I wasn’t expecting. There’s definitely color change from the top of the screen to the bottom. The bottom third of the screen is just brighter. Also, there is of course some darkening with off axis viewing but it’s really not bad. Finally there is perhaps an unquantifiable quality… a harshness to the image, a bit of shimmer or sparkle when compared to the dell? Maybe the anti-aliasing of fonts isn’t as smooth? I’m unsure of any of this and for the most part I’m satisfied with the image but sometimes I have my doubts. Not enough to return it and give up that sweet sweet real estate though!
I used my SyncMaster 2343bwx for about 2 months and now it will not sync to either VGA or DVI input.
I called Samsung and was given nothing but the run around. At first I was told that I would have to mail my LCD monitor in for repairs because they did not have any in stock to send one to me. I was to receive a mail label to return the monitor, by the way I was told that I had to provide my own box.
After a couple of weeks, I checked my online service ticket with Samsung and the status was pending receipt of my LCD monitor. I called back in and Samsung said I should have received a mailing label via email and of course I did not.
I then spent the next two days highly frustrated with Samsung support. I called in requesting a replacement monitor and no repair considering the mistake of them not sending me a mailing label. I was transferred to their customer relations support where I wanted on the phone for 30 minites with no answer. I hung up and immediately call back their support and was told that there are only 4 people in Executive Customer Relations and therefore the wait woudl be long. I allowed to be transferred to ECR again only to be hung up on after waiting on hold for an hour. They close at 6pm cst.
Today June 29th 2009, I am on hold again waiting on ECR, it is now 6pm and I have been waiting for 10 minutes. I do not expect anyone will answer my waiting call.
This monitor is actually really good for gaming. You just need a strong enough setup to produce good performance for this many pixels. Also, since high-def programming like blu-ray movies goes up to 1080P (1920 x 1080), the image will have to upscale (stretch) to fit this screen, which will result in a slightly blurry image. If you want pixel for pixel clarity with movies and 1080P programming running in full screen mode, get a 1920 x 1080 monitor. This monitor is more for screen real estate and gaming.
Randall,
I’ve been contemplating buying one of these. I’ve done my homework and found that this would be a great upgrade from a SyncMaster 930B using the DVI connection. Can this monitor use lower resolutions without many problems? Like, can I use 1280 X 1024?
Thanks, Tim
All I had to do was change the font size (DPI) and I’m happy. I use my monitor for Visual Studio and Photoshop, Photoshop rocks on the 2343BWX.
Phil