Samsung SM226BW 22" Widescreen LCD Monitor

I bought this as a wide-screen replacement to my 19" Samsung 930BF.

I was happy enough with the previous one, but I really wanted a wide-screen monitor in order to reduce the black banding top and bottom, and decided I may as well upgrade size while I'm getting a new monitor.

Running Windows XP at 1680x1050 is really amazing. The Samsung official line describes it like "Having elbow room on screen" And I can agree wholeheartedly with that view. Here's an example... Used to browsing full-screen on your monitor? Well, No-need for that any more - You can easily browse while having iTunes, or a MSN on the other side of the screen.

Aesthetically, I really like the look of the monitor - to my surprise the black around the side of the monitor is glossy - I was amazed how pretty it looked when I got it out of the box.

Couple of things worth noting - some reviews have brought up that some variants of this monitor are sold with an inferior TFT panel (which is not made by Samsung) I can confirm the model I received from Amazon comes with a Samsung panel (Judging by the S Present on the serial code). No dead pixels at all.

The specifications on this monitor are flawless - 2ms is as good as your ever going to get and I haven't seen any ghosting effects what-so-ever. Gaming at 1680x1050 is also a pleasure - Command and Conquer 3 and World of Warcraft both look much better in wide-screen. And As for films, sublime - the only problem is I'm wanting higher-definition films to take full advantage of 1.764 million pixels. 'bleeding' is noticeable on the top and bottom of the screen when playing 16:9 movies - But only noticeable (i.e. you actually have to look for it) - and non-existent on the left and right hand side of the Panel.

Couple of things to note however (About Buying a 22" Monitor in General):

A larger resolution will have an effect on frame rates in games - so if your upgrading from a 19" monitor that is struggling to run new games you might need to consider a new graphics card.

All 22" Widescreen 1680x1050 Monitors have a fairly large pixel size, 0.282mm in this case. In contrast, for example, the Dell 20.1" widescreen at the same resolution offers a pixel size of 0.258 mm, making it inherently sharper than this monitor. In reality though - I don't think your going to notice the difference, especially if, like me, you're moving from a 19" monitor then the pixel size will more likely actually be smaller on this monitor.

Negative Points (And I'm really nitpicking):

The screen is just 10cm from the base of the monitor - For Me that means it has to be raised by sitting on two stacks of 6 DVD Boxes.

The blue light which permeates 'around' the bottom and sides of the power button is slightly irritating - on the plus side, it uses less than 1W when on standby.

Samsung 226BW review

Before my review, let me give you a brief introduction into an issue currently surrounding the Samsung 226BW 22".

During my research, I found that the Samsung monitor was beset with some manufacturing issues. Specifically, the technology been used inside was becoming inferior with each subsequent revision of the monitor. In the Samsung 226BW's case, the first version was called the "S-panel". This is supposedly the best model, having excellent colour reproduction. It can be identified at the monitor's back where it states "226BW S". A subsequent model revision saw Samsung introduced a new model alongside the S - the "A panel", made by AU Optronics. Out of the box, this monitor has slightly inferior colour reproduction BUT can be calibrated to be as good as the S-panel. The final panel is C, made by Chi Mei (CMO). Out of the three, the "C-panel" is the red-headed stepchild BUT can also be calibrated to S-panel standards.

If you are looking to purchase a Samsung 226BW, the model you will mostly likely end up with is the C-panel as it is now the most common. Furthermore, Amazon UK can not guarantee you a S-panel, for reasons I shall explain later. On with the review.

So after all this research, I still went ahead and purchased a Samsung 226BW 22". My research had indicated that, even if I ended up with an A or C-panel, it was still possible to calibrate the panel to an excellent colour reproduction. The nearest competitor in my eyes was the Dell 2407 WFP 24" but that was over £150 more for an extra 2 inches space. Not worth it in my opinion.

Upon its removal from packaging, the monitor did not disappoint. It is gigantic and clearly has a superb build quality. The bezel of the monitor's screen has a piano finish which looks excellent. The power button has a blue light when switched on, but is quite soft and not distracting. The monitor's stand is a simple circle base; the circumference has the same piano finish as the bezel whilst the top is mat. The stand is slightly too big for my liking - I would prefer a smaller diameter so the monitor could be closer to the wall but it's not a problem. Aesthetically, it is definitely an attractive monitor, prominent and eye-catching even when turned off.
Straight away, I flipped the monitor so I could see what panel type I had on the back. Unfortunately, Samsung has decided to exacerbate the situation further and fob the customer off by labelling all new shipments with a default `R'. Previously the label would indicate "226BW S/A/C", but now only states "226BW R". This is the reason why Amazon UK can not guarantee a S-panel; it is not stated anywhere on the outside. The only way to find out voids your warranty; search Google for "Checking Your Samsung 226BW Mystery Monitor". The first link is a detailed guide for determining your panel revision. Be warned that the steps involved VOID YOUR WARRANTY as you have to delve inside the monitor's innards. After following the steps, it was determined my Samsung 226BW was a C-panel.

Connecting the monitor is simple: DVI and VGA outputs are provided with their respective cables. The obligatory CD contains monitor drivers (available on Samsung website) and some calibration software, which I did not install. However, if you plan on using the monitor's auto-calibration, you will need to install said software. On first use, the immediate thing that struck me was the monitor's brightness - it is very, very high. You can also notice the inferior colours straight away - mine had a strong blue shift which meant greys have a strong bluish tint. As you'd imagine, this was impossible to ignore since I was using the Windows XP classic theme. Fortunately, my research prior to the monitor's purchase had found a series of colour profiles by a man with the same C-panel. If you search in Google for "samsung 226BW colour profile", the first link goes to a reputable review containing colour profiles for C-panels. Immediate changes were noticeable after applying the profiles: photos had much softer colours instead of being distractingly vibrant beforehand.

With proper colour calibration, my tests began in earnest. Gaming is perfect. My eyes have not noticed any ghosting whatsoever, and that has been after a solid week of FPS gaming. Also the improved colour reproduction is noticeable in games as the environments really do pop out. There have been times in-game where I have caught myself staring into the distant landscape, drinking in the gorgeous range of colours. Black levels are a common criticism of LCD TFT technology, not quite approaching their CRT counterparts. I tested the Samsung 226BW with a particularly dark scene from the Lord of the Rings: Return of the King DVD. It coped well, blacks were blacks and not charcoal grey or anything. Another impressive thing I realised is how this monitor makes DVDs look absolutely terrible; the monitor's performance just emphasises the compression artefacts inherent in DVDs. For casual use, the 226BW also excels. Web browsing is redefined with the extra space and colour; indeed, the former attribute is excellent for work. It is a real pleasure to have a Word essay and two PDF documents side by side, easily readable. No need for switching between the three, and less time-wasting.

After a bit of fiddling and poking, the Samsung 226BW is an excellent monitor. Powered on, it brings new life to anything gracing its screen. Initial concern with colour issues were wiped away after applying the colour profiles. The monitor is easy to install, both to the computer and in Windows. Powered off, it looks stylish and stunning: the high build quality clearly evident and at ease with any contemporary furniture. If you are considering buying the 226BW but are put off with the customer gaff by Samsung, an entirely new model is arriving soon, called the 226CW. This will supposedly address the issues by having a much wider colour gamut (97% compared to the 226BW's 70%).

I can't fault this monitor - its a superb clear display and no hint of any of the much-reported blue colour tints. It takes up less desk space than the old 19 inch CRT I replaced with it and gives much more screen area.
But don't be fooled by the Amazon page - it comes with a perfectly adequate DVI lead and an analogue lead, despite the Amazon page indicating that you might want to buy a DVI lead with it.