Samsung SyncMaster T220

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http://reviews.cnet.co.uk/monitors/0,39030121,49297382,00.htm

Reviewed 12 June 2008

Reviewed by Matthew Elliott

Is it possible to base a monitor purchase strictly on the display's bezel? If so, Samsung has an LCD to sell you. For around £330, the Samsung SyncMaster T220 features the company's new 'rose black' bezel, which presents a most attractive visage.

Design
The black frame features slightly curved edges along the top and bottom, and a pleasing translucent strip of deep red runs along the bottom edge. The bezel is covered with a smooth, clear plastic coating, which extends past the display's black frame to create a narrow border around all four sides. Its design looks like that of an HDTV destined for the living room than a computer display, which makes it even more surprising to find only the most basic features onboard.

The new rose black bezel adds a clear plastic coating over the black bezel and subtle red highlights, which is most visible along the bottom edge and under the power button, in particular. The result is a striking look and one we prefer to the silver bezel of the Dell SP2208WFP.

Unfortunately, the T220 uses an oval base, which is prone to wobble and even more so in this case since the T220 sits up high. If you bump your desk, the screen is sure to shake. The only physical adjustment the T220 affords is about 30 degrees of backward tilt.

The rose black bezel shows off its touch of colour most noticeably along the bottom edge

Samsung hides all of the menu buttons along the right edge of the display; the only control on the front panel is a touch-sensitive power button (really, it's just an icon). The onscreen display is straightforward and easy to navigate. You can also adjust the brightness, switch between analogue and digital inputs, and select among seven image presets -- Custom, Text, Internet, Game, Sport, Movie and Dynamic Contrast -- without entering the OSD.

Features
Underneath its shiny exterior, the Samsung T220 has a sparse feature set. You get the basic pair of VGA and DVI ports; no HDMI here. Also missing are USB ports and a webcam. If those features are important to you, we'd direct you to the Dell SP2208WFP.

The Samsung SyncMaster T220 presents a look of luxury, but its oval base means it's wobbly

The T220 does include HDCP support for displaying high-definition copyright-protected content. As with any 22-inch display, the native resolution of 1,680x1,050 pixels means you won't be able to display 1080p video without scaling.

Like the Dell SP2208WFP, the T220 boasts a fast 2ms (grey-to-grey) pixel response time. Movies and games showed no signs of ghosting, though it lacks the glossy screen coating found on those other two displays. Finer details in DVDs appeared soft and not as sharp as we would have liked, but the argument for a matte finish is reduced glare and reflection from overhead lights and windows.

The choice between a matte and a glossy screen finish is largely personal preference, though we'd say a matte finish is best if you are buying a monitor for office use. If it'll be used more for entertainment purposes rather than productivity, a glossy screen might suit you better.

Performance
Like its feature set, the Samsung T220's performance was merely average. It posted a composite score of 83 on our DisplayMate-based suite of tests, which is a good score in and of itself but trails the scores the Dell SP2208WFP. It did well on the sharpness, greyscale and screen uniformity tests, but it struggled with colour accuracy. We saw compression on the colour scales and intensity colour ramp tests. Colour tracking errors were evident, with some red visible on the greyscale. Also, its reproduction of colour near peak white was very lacklustre.

Samsung trumpets a 10,000:1 dynamic contrast ratio. The static contrast ratio is rated as a pedestrian 1,000:1. On our contrast ratio benchmark, we got an acceptable 894:1 ratio, though Dell's leading SP2208WFP was better in this regard. Its brightness score was right in the middle of the pack of 22-inch LCDs we've seen recently, and we found that its maximum brightness was more than sufficient in a bright office on a sunny day.

In anecdotal tests, we found the picture to be quite good, with accurate skins tones and vibrant colours. The Royal Tenenbaums on DVD exhibited no colour problems, showing accurate colours from Royal's ruddy complexion to Richie's tennis whites to Pagoda's pink slacks. Finer details were blurry, and edges weren't as sharp as we would have liked. A glossy screen finish would have likely helped smooth the rough edges, though we had no such sharpness issues when playing F.E.A.R.

Conclusion
Overall, we found the Samsung T220 provides a more than adequate overall image. However, the £199 Dell SP2208WFP costs less and provides an HDMI jack, USB ports, and a webcam -- all of which are absent on the T220. The SP2208WFP proved itself to be a better performer, too. 

The Dell SP2208WFP remains our pick among 22-inch LCDs, but the Samsung T220 makes a strong case for those who want a great-looking monitor and can do with a thoroughly average feature set.

Edited by Shannon Doubleday