 |
| LCD Display Tests |
Observations |
| Brightness and
Contrast: |
The SyncMaster 730B monitor shows good
gray scale shading. The white scale bars were clear and contrasted
well with the black test background. The differences between the 1%
and 2% black bar test was difficult to see. With a 600:1 contrast
ratio, the black background was jet black while the while was
vibrant and strong. Viewing angles was not great however and the 1%,
2% and 3% bars faded together almost into one.
|
| Colour
Vibrancy: |
The SyncMaster 730B was also very
strong with colour, we did notice a slight yellow tint when passing
35 degree mark on the white test but this did not affect the other
colours. The SyncMaster 730B test sample did not have any broken
pixels which is nice.
|
| Colour
Shading: |
Colour transition and shading was very good,
there was some banding between on the read and green tones but
that's normal and regular CRT monitors suffer from the same thing.
Despite what the tests may say, the colour of the SyncMaster 730B is
excellent no matter what type of application you
use.
|
Resolution:
(native
and non-native) |
The native resolution of the SyncMaster 730B
is 1280x1024 and text at that setting was extremely sharp and crisp.
Using a non native resolution like 1024x768, dithering was alright
although you probably wouldn't want to run the LCD at a non native
resolution when working with 2D applications as there is a slight
blurring effect. For gaming, the SyncMaster 730B produced an
excellent image despite not using the native resolution.
|
| Moire: |
The SyncMaster 730B only comes with an
analog cable but despite that we did not notice any visible noise in
any of the moire tests.
|
| Broken pixels, response
times and other evaluation notes: |
We did not notice any broken pixels
with the SyncMaster 730B and this is something that Samsung has been
very good at. At 60 Hz, moving text up and down did not produce any
streaking and everything remained crisp.
With its
8ms pixel refresh rate, the SyncMaster 730B is not just good for
office/workstation work, it's also an excellent monitor for gamers
or those who like to watch movies on their
computers.
| |
An Excellent Value!
The 17"
Samsung SyncMaster 730B is a very modest LCD monitor that doesn't strike with
the kind of awe as its much larger and more expensive 24" Syncmaster 243T
cousin did... Still, the 730B is an excellent choice for those who
are looking for a 17" LCD display that won't break the bank. With a retail price of $430 CDN ($342 US), and pixel refresh
times of 8ms, the Samsung SyncMaster 730B is also a great
alternative for gamers to consider when buying their next monitor.
Setting
up the monitor out of the box is easy, and no tools
are required. Yippee!
Its 600:1 contrast ratio guarantees that images are sharp and clear, blacks are black and colours
vibrant. The 730B boasts an 8ms pixel refresh time, and luminosity hovers around the 300cd/m2 mark.
Viewing angles are just a little below average at 160°/160° horizontal & vertical.
While the
Samsung SyncMaster
730B is compatible with both Digital and Analog video connections, the
monitor only comes with an analog cable. Testing in monitor in analog mode
produced an excellent image when viewing from dead on. When viewing the monitor
from an angle, we did notice a slight yellow tint on the horizontal axis, and
a blue hue when viewed from a similarly steep angle on the vertical. The contrast was
still excellent and words were legible at even extreme angles.
Samsung's
midrange 17" Syncmaster 730B LCD monitor has some good qualities, but
begins to fall short on colour trueness at large viewing angles of
approximately greater than 45-55 degrees. Its affordable sticker price is what really makes the 730B good for
average workstation use, or even gaming. When viewed head on the screen is bright,
vibrant, and thanks to an 8ms pixel response time, ghost free.
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