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Samsung Syncmaster 206BW
Posted 03/25/07 at 07:08:19 PM | by Katherine Stevenson
In keeping with the prevailing aesthetic of this category, Samsung’s 206BW is fancily clad in black plastic and brushed aluminum, much like ViewSonic’s VX2035wm. And as with that model, you can tilt the screen only forward and back. The height stays put. A circular base serves as a lazy Susan of sorts for swivel functions.
In the past, we’ve taken issue with Samsung’s “hands free” displays, which relegate all screen adjustments to software; fortunately, this model strikes a compromise, offering OSD buttons (in addition to the software) that are discreetly placed beneath the bezel’s bottom edge. Luckily, labels on the bezel help guide your fingers. In Samsung fashion, the adjustment options are plentiful and include a handful of presets for various types of content—movies, games, text, etc. We’ve actually come to appreciate these presets. They make overall changes to the brightness, contrast, and gamma that would take many more steps to achieve through standard OSD operations. HD videophiles will appreciate the 206BW’s HDCP support.
The 206BW’s performance in DisplayMate was strong. Evidence of backlight seepage around the extreme perimeter of the screen was its most notable failing. That was sufficiently offset by stellar grayscale reproduction and marked distinctions between shades at even the extreme dark and light ends. Text looked crisp and clear, and content of all stripes, including games, was reproduced without flaws. While this was also the case with HP’s L2045w, Samsung’s 206BW bested that model with a more vibrant, lively picture. In the end, we’re prepared to declare this our new favorite budget desktop LCD.
Samsung’s screen is a tenth of an inch smaller than the others here, but it’s still our favorite.
Samsung Syncmaster 206BW
OVERJOYED
Superb grayscale; strong real-world performance.
OVERWEIGHT
No screen-height adjustment; subtle perimeter backlight seepage.
| SPECS | ||||
| Samsung 206BW | ||||
| Viewable Screen | 20 inches | |||
| Native Resolution | 1680 x 1050 | |||
| Inputs | VGA, DVI | |||
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WHere can i get one of these
Submitted by marshnt on Mon, 2008-09-15 14:49
WHere can i get one of these
Submitted by steven2 on Sun, 2008-08-31 06:25
Greatly appreciate Ker0 Zen's comments and info.
Just got a 2nd 206BW (new, $189) to run two 206BWs off an nVidia-based 8800 GT, switching between DualView and Span modes (and surprisingly having to disable SLI and the 2nd 8800 GT I'd been running to do this).
The new monitor made the image on my older one pale in comparison. Those colors which I thought looked spectacular, now looked yellow shifted to me. (Like the whites of a photo fading with age ;-)
The older monitor was outsorced to CPT, not AU or CMO. (And the new 206BW replaced the "Panel Info" line with 2 HDCP HotPlug related lines.
I can experiment with the .ICM, but do you think the .ICM file to corrct the AU's color would work in 1 or 2 monitor case, and for different "outsorces"? Or would I be better tweaking the gamma?
Thanks
Submitted by Danielw719 on Sun, 2007-09-23 18:51
I also went with the bigger 226BW. Alsolutly perfect and earns the Kick Ass rating.
Submitted by CodeDelta16 on Tue, 2007-08-14 12:24
And this puppy will set me back how much?
Submitted by Ker0 Zen on Fri, 2007-04-20 07:54
Please take note that Samsung outsourced part of its production to AU Optronics and CMO.
It can be verified on the backpanel label. For more information, go to this article (sorry in french only).
http://www.hardware.fr/articles/667-1/samsung-226bw-series-a-s-verdict.htmlTo exactly know who manufactured your monitor, please follow those steps:
- Get contrast and luminosity to zero (0)
- Press the Menu button
- Press the Source button for five (5) secondes (second from rigthA secret "Service Function" menu will then appear. Look for the "Panel Info" line. It's there!
http://www.hardware.fr/medias/photos_news/00/19/IMG0019703.jpg
To help you get the rigth colors from the AU version, in the article (on page 3), they propose an .ICM file that corrects the colors so you'll get the same rendering as the "S" version.
(http://www.lesnumeriques.com/images/1/news/2007/04/Samsung%20SyncMaster%20226BW%20A%20Internet.icm)
You'll also need Wincolor (from the microsoft web site) to apply this ICM.
(http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?FamilyId=1E33DCA0-7721-43CA-9174-7F8D429FBB9E&displaylang=en)Good luck!
Oh!. By the way! I do have the "A" version, and the ICM file did a fairly good job of correcting the colors!
Submitted by Sonjador on Fri, 2007-04-06 05:07
I went with the bigger brother- 226bw... no complaints here!!!
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