Samsung SyncMaster 997DF 19 inch CRT Monitor
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- Aspect Ratio: 5:4
- Screen Size: 19 inch
- Display Max. Resolution: 1920 x 1440
- Monitor Type: CRT
- Native (Recommended) Resolution: 1600 x 1200
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Who needs an LCD? This Samsung rocks.
Pros
Overall excellent image quality, great price, nice design, reliable name.
Cons
Blacks are a bit light, sharpness is reduced at the edges of the screen.
Recommended it?
Yes
The Bottom Line:
Overall, this is a very good monitor, probably the best considering its price.
I replaced my KDS 19" CRT (which was horrible, for the record) with a 19" Hyundai L90D+ LCD, and was sorely disappointed. I returned it in frustration and went back to my KDS, but then I came across this Samsung 997DF. I had a 17" Samsung back in the day, and it was about the best monitor I've ever had, so I knew I wanted a Samsung again.
Image quality: It's not top-notch, but it's very good. Text is sharp and very readable, even at high (85hz) refresh rates. Sharpness is reduced toward the edges of the screen, but not much. I can see it if I look for it but I don't stress out over it. Contrast is good and color quality is hinging on excellent. Blacks are a bit light if you have the brightness turned up. You can correct this by turning it down, of course, but then you lose color quality. The best fix for this seems to be turning the contrast up to 100% and leaving the brightness somewhere near 0%. This is not an uncommon problem, and again, I don't stress out over it. Considering the cost, this is a five-star monitor without a doubt. Let's face it, there are better monitors out there, but you will pay more for them. I'm a web designer and I'm very picky about image quality, so if I'm happy with it, I'm sure you will be too. It's a whole lot better than my old KDS, that's for sure!
Geometry: I hear this all the time: "This monitor says it's flat but it's just a curved screen with a flat piece of glass on the front!" Well, yeah, the inside has to be curved, because that's how a CRT works. It's not a cheap trick, it's just the way it has to be made. The gun fires the electrons from a central location, so the glass can't be flat on the inside. It IS flat on the outside, and the refraction through the glass is what creates a flat image. Samsung monitors are particularly good at this, and this one is no exception (it's very flat), although with a 19" you're more apt to notice the curve than you would on a 17". But this IS a TRUE flat CRT. Go back to using a bubble monitor after using a flat one, and tell me you don't feel like your desktop is bulging out in your face! The geometry is tricky to tweak, but there are a wide variety of settings available, so you should be able to get a distortion-free image. I look at it as a good challenge for when I have nothing better to do on a Friday night. I did it in about twenty minutes.
Design: Obviously, styling is completely subjective. I personally like the way this monitor looks, maybe you won't, who knows? Going by photos I was under the impression that the front had some kind of clear plastic shell on it or something, but it's actually just painted (it's not MOLDED in silver, which I found out after scratching mine in my trunk! Oops! Did it on the way home from the store too...) It's not bulky at all, and I really like the idea of putting the buttons on the side. It makes it look cleaner, and it also makes the menus easier to navigate (if you're right-handed - sorry, lefties). The base swivels and tilts really easily - it's not flimsy, but smooth. It's very nice to adjust. The monitor does jiggle a bit if the desk gets bumped, but it's not a cheap jiggle, if that makes any sense. It doesn't make me wonder if the whole thing is about to fall off of its base, which is the impression I got with my KDS.
Now that I've told you how great this monitor is, I wish you luck finding one. Thanks to the LCD fanboys out there, it's getting extremely difficult to find any decent CRT's in stores anymore, especially if you want a 19". I looked around online but wasn't too keen on paying $30 just for shipping. Lucky for me, my Circuit City had one of these left: it was an open-box return, but man, it was a Samsung. They had marked it down to $160 but let me take it home for $130 because they really wanted it gone, and apparently no one was biting. A shame! This is an excellent monitor for the price. My Hyundai LCD had nothing on this one, and I paid more than $200 more for it. I can't imagine why anyone would want to return this thing, but more savings for me I guess.
LCD's are great for portable devices, but for a desktop PC? No way, unless you really need the space. Why pay twice as much for something that's half as good? Sure, CRT's are big, bulky, energy-wasting SOB's, but they still work better than anything, especially after 80 years of improvements! Where else can you get top-notch color quality, nearly infinite viewing angles, and a sharp, clean picture in ANY resolution? If you're not convinced that LCD's are worth it (I'm definitely not), this Samsung 997DF is an excellent choice. Unfortunately, you will probably have to buy it online, unless you're as lucky as I was. It's worth it though. Happy hunting =)
Update: I meant to give it a five for ease of use...
Image quality: It's not top-notch, but it's very good. Text is sharp and very readable, even at high (85hz) refresh rates. Sharpness is reduced toward the edges of the screen, but not much. I can see it if I look for it but I don't stress out over it. Contrast is good and color quality is hinging on excellent. Blacks are a bit light if you have the brightness turned up. You can correct this by turning it down, of course, but then you lose color quality. The best fix for this seems to be turning the contrast up to 100% and leaving the brightness somewhere near 0%. This is not an uncommon problem, and again, I don't stress out over it. Considering the cost, this is a five-star monitor without a doubt. Let's face it, there are better monitors out there, but you will pay more for them. I'm a web designer and I'm very picky about image quality, so if I'm happy with it, I'm sure you will be too. It's a whole lot better than my old KDS, that's for sure!
Geometry: I hear this all the time: "This monitor says it's flat but it's just a curved screen with a flat piece of glass on the front!" Well, yeah, the inside has to be curved, because that's how a CRT works. It's not a cheap trick, it's just the way it has to be made. The gun fires the electrons from a central location, so the glass can't be flat on the inside. It IS flat on the outside, and the refraction through the glass is what creates a flat image. Samsung monitors are particularly good at this, and this one is no exception (it's very flat), although with a 19" you're more apt to notice the curve than you would on a 17". But this IS a TRUE flat CRT. Go back to using a bubble monitor after using a flat one, and tell me you don't feel like your desktop is bulging out in your face! The geometry is tricky to tweak, but there are a wide variety of settings available, so you should be able to get a distortion-free image. I look at it as a good challenge for when I have nothing better to do on a Friday night. I did it in about twenty minutes.
Design: Obviously, styling is completely subjective. I personally like the way this monitor looks, maybe you won't, who knows? Going by photos I was under the impression that the front had some kind of clear plastic shell on it or something, but it's actually just painted (it's not MOLDED in silver, which I found out after scratching mine in my trunk! Oops! Did it on the way home from the store too...) It's not bulky at all, and I really like the idea of putting the buttons on the side. It makes it look cleaner, and it also makes the menus easier to navigate (if you're right-handed - sorry, lefties). The base swivels and tilts really easily - it's not flimsy, but smooth. It's very nice to adjust. The monitor does jiggle a bit if the desk gets bumped, but it's not a cheap jiggle, if that makes any sense. It doesn't make me wonder if the whole thing is about to fall off of its base, which is the impression I got with my KDS.
Now that I've told you how great this monitor is, I wish you luck finding one. Thanks to the LCD fanboys out there, it's getting extremely difficult to find any decent CRT's in stores anymore, especially if you want a 19". I looked around online but wasn't too keen on paying $30 just for shipping. Lucky for me, my Circuit City had one of these left: it was an open-box return, but man, it was a Samsung. They had marked it down to $160 but let me take it home for $130 because they really wanted it gone, and apparently no one was biting. A shame! This is an excellent monitor for the price. My Hyundai LCD had nothing on this one, and I paid more than $200 more for it. I can't imagine why anyone would want to return this thing, but more savings for me I guess.
LCD's are great for portable devices, but for a desktop PC? No way, unless you really need the space. Why pay twice as much for something that's half as good? Sure, CRT's are big, bulky, energy-wasting SOB's, but they still work better than anything, especially after 80 years of improvements! Where else can you get top-notch color quality, nearly infinite viewing angles, and a sharp, clean picture in ANY resolution? If you're not convinced that LCD's are worth it (I'm definitely not), this Samsung 997DF is an excellent choice. Unfortunately, you will probably have to buy it online, unless you're as lucky as I was. It's worth it though. Happy hunting =)
Update: I meant to give it a five for ease of use...
