BIOS: Technology Means Business

Samsung's latest TFT displays combine both ultra-fast speeds and relatively high contrast ratios. In fact, they're Samsung's fastest response time monitors currently available. The new 17- (reviewed here) and 19in. monitors are well suited for viewing multimedia content and for gaming due to their outstanding response times and bright displays, but their thick bezel, bulky plastic stand and noisy-when-clicked buttons leave a lot to be desired in terms of cosmetic appeal.

The silver-and-black 17in. SM730BF (£229 inc. VAT) offers a contrast ratio of 600:1, whereas the 19in. SM930BF (£289 inc. VAT) has a better ratio of 700:1. Otherwise, both screens are identical, including a native resolution of 1280x1024 pixels (SXGA), 300cd/m2 brightness, dual inputs (VGA and DVI), and 160-degree viewing angles. The screens also sport a space saving design in the way that they can be wall mounted.

The new LCD monitors (382x175x386mm, 3.6kg) come with the Samsung's Proprietary Response Time Accelerator (RTA) chip that minimises response time when switching colours. This exclusive Samsung RTA chip has, phenomenally, reduced the time needed for switching between mid-level colours (grey to grey) in moving images, to a market-leading time of just 4ms. The response time listed in competing monitor specifications often refers to the time needed to switch between highest level and lowest level colours (white to black), which only appear in images with little movement, such as text or Web-surfing.

As a result, in most instances the response time is not adequate to show the real improvements in drawing moving images for movies or games. Samsung's new models with minimised response time in mid-level colours remove dragging in moving images, and flickering when using professional designer programs such as CAD. Those who look at monitors for a long time, especially design professionals and multimedia users, will surely welcome these improvements.

Operating the screen is relatively quick and easy. The six buttons on the front of the screen let you access the on-screen display (OSD), set the MagicBright button to one of six different modes (Custom, Text, Internet, Game, Sport and Movie), alter brightness levels, and select a video source. MagicBright is a new Samsung feature designed to provide an optimum viewing experience depending on the contents of the image you are watching. For instance, 'Text' is ideal for documentations or works involving heavy text, 'Internet' is for working with a mixture of images such as text and graphics, 'Game' can be used when running motion pictures such as a game, 'Sport' is ideal for motion pictures including sport, while 'Movie' is optimised for DVDs or Video CDs.

If the pre-configured values are not comfortable to your eyes, you can alter brightness and contrast levels manually using the OSD menu. At the rear of the monitor is a regular power port to hook up the external power supply, DVI and VGA ports (no S-Video or USB 2.0 ports), and Kensington Lock. The latter is a device used to physically fix the system when using it in a public place, although the locking device itself has to be purchased separately.

One of the recent problems in using a computer is that the colour of the images printed out by a printer or other images scanned by a scanner or a digital camera are not the same as those shown on the monitor. The bundled Natural Color software is the very solution for this problem. It is an easy-to-use colour administration system developed by Samsung Electronics in association with Korea Electronics & Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). This software is available only for Samsung monitors and Windows computers, but helps to make the colour of the images on the monitor more closely resemble printed or scanned images.

MagicColor is a new technology that Samsung has exclusively developed to improve digital image and to display natural colour more clearly without disturbing image quality. Using the OSD you can alter hue, saturation, brightness, sharpness, horizontal and vertical positions, horizontal and vertical sizes, colour tone (Cool, Normal, Warm and Custom), gamma, and individual R/G/B colour balances. RTA (Response Time Accelerator) is an unusual function that accelerates the response speed of the panel so as to provide a sharper and more natural video display, and can be toggled on or off.

Samsung's SyncMaster 730BF performed above par in our tests, which is a relief considering it costs a little more than most competing 17-inch LCD monitors (excluding Sony). There was just the faintest ghosting effect in our response time test, and we found white-level saturation was a slight weak point. In particular, the screen had trouble rendering hues near peak white. Other negative points are that the screen doesn't support pivoting and the stand isn't height adjustable. Nevertheless, the monitor really stood out with deep and rich blacks, and its colour tracking and pixel tracking were nearly flawless. It's connectivity options are basic and it's a tad pricey, but the SyncMaster 730BF is a solid product if you can get it at a good price. [7.5]