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The Samsung Syncmaster 743B LCD/TFT monitor PCSTATS is checking out in this review is clearly oriented towards individuals on a budget who aren't willing to skimp on picture quality.
80% Rating: 
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Samsung Syncmaster 743B |
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Visual Display Tests: MagicBright
Like most recent Samsung LCD displays the Syncmaster 743B comes with a little
feature built into the control panel called MagicBright. This tool has several preset brightness/contrast/colour temperature settings for a variety of general
applications. For example, when we select "text", the screen switches to a warmer image that isn't too bright, and thus is
easier on the eyes. If work is over, choose "Movie" mode to bump up
screen brightness as you sit back and watch a flick.  
The MagicBright button is located on the control panel,
and also accessible through the on screen display. MagicBright has pre-programmed modes to suit
movies, text, sports, games, etc. For general desk work we recommend the 'text'
setting which offers a good mix of brightness and colour temperature (~6500K).
On Screen Display menu
The OSD menu is
neatly organized so it's easy to find what you're looking for.
The only problem we encountered while navigating the Syncmaster 743B's OSD menu was the control panel
keys. Without any tactile indicators for the up/down and menu/enter buttons we found ourselves more
than once pressing the wrong key, or nothing at all.
The control
panel on the 743B doesn't have physical buttons, instead it uses touch sensors. The OSD
menu's are pictured below for those who want to see.
  
  
Gaming Tests
The Samsung
Syncmaster 743B monitor was tested with a few rounds of Quake 4,
and the results were as expected: the high contrast ratio
of 1000:1 resulted in velvety black backgrounds and colourfully bright graphics. The Syncmaster 743B's screen is rated at
a quick 5ms G-to-G pixel refresh rate, so rapid screen movements are
ghost free. We did find that quick character movements had a tendency to result in a somewhat choppy
picture however.
Magicbright settings were tested in
the gaming environment as well, but the results were mixed.
When set to 'Dynamic contrast', the screen slowly pulsed from
overbright to a completely dark image in Quake 4. The Syncmaster 743B
is rated for a 1000:1 contrast ratio, but it can dynamically scale that up to
7000:1 in certain cases. We think the software has a hard time interpreting
some shadowy areas in the game. PCSTATS would just as soon leave Magicbright
alone while gaming, the 'game' display presets is totally fine.
 LCD Screen Evaluation Notes
Test parameters: Mode - Custom, resolution 1280x1024 32 bit,
60Hz, 6500K, DVI connection.
For the evaluation of the Samsung
Syncmaster 743B's display quality, PCSTATS uses a standard Monitor Test application
which displays several test patterns, solid colours, and different grey
scale patterns for subjectively analyzing visual aspects. These include contrast,
colour luminance, brightness and Moire. Ghosting is subjectively
tested in a gaming environment.
Brightness and Contrast:
The Samsung Syncmaster 743B
has a 1000:1 contrast ratio which results in bright white test bars over a very dark
background. From head on the transition between 1%-9% white test bars was visible, but the
shallow vertical viewing angle affected this if we viewed things from
too low to the center of the screen. No significant light bleeding was
detected around the corners of the screen.
Colour Vibrancy:
All colour test screens were bright and vibrant, and even across the screen. Colour saturation on the whole was
fine. No visible dull or broken pixels were detected.
Non-native Resolution: The native resolution of the Syncmaster 743B is 1280x1024. We tested
several non-native resolutions and found the image scaling acceptable. Text remained legible and undistorted, edges were smooth and
not blurred.
Moire:
There were no
noticeable background noise in the moire test pattern when using a DVI signal.
Nice 17" LCD Screen, But A Little Pricy
 First and foremost there's not much of a technical or
price difference between the Samsung Syncmaster 743B and the 19"
Syncmaster 943B LCD display PCSTATS previously
reviewed. Do yourself a favour and spend the extra $30 to get the 19" model.
The Syncmaster 743B is a good an
LCD display, but the price is a little high for a 17" monitor in this
day and age; $260 CDN ($260USD / £130 GBP) .
On the
technical front the 17" Samsung 743B
features average 170/160 degree viewing angles, a gorgeous 1000:1 contrast ratio,
a native resolution of 1280x1024 pixels and a standard brightness value
of 300cd/m2. Samsung's 743B is a pleasure to use, if only a little
cramped in screen size. A 5ms pixel response time is a nice bonus for gamers, but
we don't really see this panel as a gamer's monitor, it's better suited to office or
SOHO environments.
Like the Syncmaster 943B before it, the Samsung
743B LCD display has a control panel without buttons. Instead, sensors are set behind the
plastic to respond to your fingers' touch. It can be hard to tap
the correct button without hitting its neighbour, and it's difficult
to read the dark-grey icons much of the time. Samsung could improve usability by
adding tactile features.
On the whole PCSTATS found the Samsung Syncmaster 743B
to be a nice mainstream 17" LCD display to work on. The control panel
takes some getting used to, and there isn't a USB hub, but the screen
itself makes up for these shortcomings. If a 17" display is exactly
what you need, the Samsung 743B is a great display to consider.
However, for a your money, we'd recommend the 19" Samsung
943B model.
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