Product Listing

Samsung SyncMaster PX2370 Monitor - LED and Eco-Friendly

By Wong Casandra - 9 Sep 2010
Launch SRP: S$498

Samsung PX2370 - Performance

Steady Performer

 

Calibration

Per our normal tests, we first calibrated the monitor with Datacolor's Spyder3Elite before conducting our visual tests and video benchmark. Do note that we kick-started the series of test with these settings: changing color settings to the sRGB preset, with a contrast setting of 90 and brightness at 60.


Before calibration, colors appear white-washed. Blacks and whites don't appear extremely accurate.

After calibration, colors appear more saturated. Blacks are deeper and well-toned. Nonetheless, the difference is minimal.


DisplayMate

DisplayMate is an application which generates a sequence of test patterns to determine the capabilities of imaging devices like color and gray-scale accuracies. Here's what we gathered:

No major color distortion was noticed on the 256-Intensity Color Ramp test pattern. However, we noticed a few compression artifacts appearing on the green band and white bands at mid-point. More compression bands were noticed throughout all four color bands at the end.

Even with 9-pixel fonts, the Samsung monitor exhibited excellent readability on both black and white backgrounds. However, readability was marginally better on a white background.
 

Circular Geometry, Cross Hatch and Dot:- Circular shapes and linear grids on the test screen appeared symmetrical with no visible signs of distortion.

Screen Uniformity:- Screen Uniformity was tested across all primary and secondary colors with no irregularities in tint or hue observed. While backlight bleeds aren't overtly prominent on the monitor, they were lightly visible at all four corners when darker colors were shown.

Stuck Pixel:- No dead pixels were visible on the screen across all the colors.

Dark Gray Scale:- Decent black levels were observed with little to no irregularities across the blocks. Grey blocks were noticeable from level 7 onwards.

Color Tracking:- No abnormal variations apparent.

256 Intensity Color Ramp:- Like most monitors, compression artifacts began to appear more prominently towards the mid and end of the color bands, especially noticeable in the green and white bands. Nonetheless, colors appear accurate, with red looking especially striking.

Color Scales:- Smooth gradation was spotted across the color scales.

Scaled Font:- Fonts were very discernible even up to the smallest size on both black and white background. However, the text was more clearly viewed on a white background.

Video Playback

A screenshot of the "Harry Potter And The Order of the Phoenix" clip taken before we switched on the dynamic contrast option. Details in dark scenes were discernible, and colors were brighter.

With dynamic contrast switched on - darker details are lost.

As part of our video playback tests, we played two 1080p trailers - namely, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix and Star Trek. As mentioned in most of our monitor reviews, both offer a mixture of dark brooding and fast-moving action scenes that are great for testing out a monitor's video playback performance.The PX2370 comes with a intense 5,000,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio, on par with another eco-friendly monitor, the BenQ V2410's 5,000,00:1, but lower than HP 2310e's 8,000,000:1 contrast ratio. However, like the previous two LED monitors tested, the Samsung PX2370 exhibited deep and accurate blacks that were almost identical to the letterbox surrounding our movie trailers than LCD monitors with CCFL backlights. To add on, details were crisp and sharp, with colors that were bright, nicely contrasted and accurate. We spotted excellent color reproduction, both in the background as well as skin tones. Fonts were extremely sharp and crisp as well.

We found that as per most monitors, switching on the Dynamic Contrast mode is a rather disastrous affair. While bright colors appear more visually arresting, the trade-off is that a lot of visual details get lost, especially in dark scenes. There are several unnatural transitions and dims peppered through the videos, but on the plus side, colors and skin tones remain accurate.

The Samsung PX2370 also comes with an Eco mode and the MagicEco option. Here, you can select these power-saving options at three different presets, 100%, 75% and 50%, with differing brightness. We tested all three, and concluded that 75% will be the optimum level for day-to-day usage. At 100%, the level of brightness comes across as a tad invasive and glaring. On the other hand, the screen is too dim for proper web-surfing at 50%, though watching video clips is not of a problem.

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8.0
  • Design 8
  • Features 8
  • Performance 8.5
  • Value 7.5
The Good
Swanky crystalline design
Good video playback and color reproduction
The Bad
Wobbly stand
Unintuitive and cluttered GUI
Awkward button placement
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