Thread: Samsung S27A950D Review

I WILL NOT BE REVIEWING THE 3D PERFORMANCE OF THE MONITOR

I tested the Samsung S27A950D with SLI GTX 480's with the included Dual-Link DVI cord. This review will mainly be focusing on the 2D performance of the monitor. I have not used Nvidia 3D before but am well aware of issues like Cross-Talk. I can only provide my own thoughts on the 3D performance and provide some insight on how to use the Tri-Def 3D software.

Just like always, I used an X-Rite Eye One Display 2 Colorimeter with HCFR and BasICColor to measure the color presets. For calibration I used Eye One Match 3 and verified my calibrated results with HCFR and BasICColor.

For the response time portion I used a camera with a high shutter speed of 1/100 and 1/125 to capture ghosting from both PixerPixAn's motion test and Digital Versus Ghosting Test.

I tested the input lag with the SMT Tool using 1/100 shutter speed on my camera and cloned the S27A950D with my Samsung 700nf CRT.

Product Page

Ergonomics

The Samsung only tilts 20 degrees back, which is a useless feature. Height adjustability is what every TN panel needs due to the limitations of the viewing angles, however typically only the office oriented TN panels come with height adjustability.

The Samsung S27A950D comes with 1x DisplayPort, HDMI, DVI-D and Audio Out inputs.

The S27A950D sacrifices adjustability for style, and the style is gorgeous. It would have been nice to have an extra HDMI input for console gamers with both a Xbox 360 and PS3. Adjustability is not really needed with a 27" TN due to viewing angle limitations, however being a display with such a price premium I expected more.

Default Color Accuracy

Calibrated Monitor

Default Custom Preset

Default Standard Preset

Target settings are 6500k, Gamma 2.2 and a Delta E Average <3.

Samsung states that the S27A950D will come with 100% photo accuracy, and it nearly does. Out of the box the monitor comes set to "Custom," mode, which is very bright, but achieves nearly perfect results typically only obtainable after calibration. Same goes for the dimmer "Standard," setting. Only a slightly higher gamma for comepletely punchy colors is desired, however only those used to a calibrated screen will see a difference, even then it is very small.

What does this all mean? Samsung delivers extremely accurate color presets just as promised earning itself a nearly perfect rating. With the premium pricing I would accept no less.

The S27A950D aces almost all of the Lagom LCD tests, tests which require the reviewer to go on a witch hunt for color banding, gamma issues and shadow detail problems that may arise. Under the Gradient Banding Test, there was some slight banding a green tint in the darkest shade of greys. By default the monitor comes set to "Mode 1," which is close to the 2.2 standard @2.09, "Mode 2," washed out colors reading under 2.0 while "Mode 3," adds a tincy bit more banding compared to "Mode 1," @2.3 while giving the colors a tincy bit more punch.

The Game Modes color temperature is slightly off the target of 6500k resulting in a slightly warmer (orange/redish) picture. Cinema mode has a ridiculous amount of banding and extremely inacurate colors with an average Delta E of 4.47 and a Deviation Average nearly double those of the other presets. The Dynamic Contrast does not work as the dimming is extremely obvious and just plain annoying.

To sums things up, the Samsung S27A950D delivers nearly perfect color acuracy out of the box. Only the gamma value and average contrast leaves something to be desired, earning it a near perfect rating. One thing to note is that the backlight bleeding as seen above on the left side is quite obtrusive to gaming.

It becomes even more obvious in the dark because of the average black level. This is quite disapointing for dark room viewing which is a requirement for 3D viewing due to the relfective nature of the screen. Hopefully I just got a bad unit.

Response Time

120hz Normal Setting

120hz Faster Setting

120hz Fastest Setting

120hz PixerPixAn Faster Setting

120hz PixerPixAn Fastest Setting

Comparison

[CENTER[/CENTER]

In terms of 120hz performance, in the fastest mode the S27A950D is easily one of the fastest LCD monitors out there. I did not post the 60hz Digital Versus test results, however the 950D performs essentially the same as the Samsung S27A550H. Some slight over drive errors can be observed.

Now these motion testing programs aren't a true indication in terms of responsiveness due to the specific colors being used. Different monitors ghost with different colors, and the colors in the test programs are rather low contrast and won't really ever been seen in movies and gaming.

I played a bunch of games like Bad Company 2, Left 4 Dead 2, Dead Rising 2 (Xbox 360), Killzone 3 (PS3) and Read Dead Redemption (Xbox 360). I did not see any ghosting at 120hz or 60hz which makes the Samsung S27A950D the fastest LCD monitor I have used.

Just keep in mind that all LCD's still show motion blur due to the Sample and Hold Effect. When I say ghosting free I mean that the Samsung S27A950D is free of overdrive errors.

Input Lag

I used the SMT Tool which is probably the most accurate method of testing input lag for pro-sumers. It is still going to be out a few ms, but it gives stable readings rather than the "maxium," values or "lag spikes," which results in high over all averages.

PRAD.de has made a very in depth article all about the different processes of measuring input lag, use google chrome to translate and have yourself a mind-blowing read.

Subjectively there is no input lag, however when testing I averaged 12ms. The accurately measured value is going to be less, so we will have to wait for PRAD.de to properly illuminate us.

I have uploaded a bunch of the pictures I took here, so if you really want you can view the results and maybe come up with a different average. Remember anything under 16.7ms is less than 1 frame of lag and is considered very good and essentially neglible.

Calibrated Image Quality

The point of calibration is to achieve the most accurate picture possible at a target brightness. The industry standard brightness is typically 120cdm/2, which is what I aim for as it gives a pleasing picture weather the lights are on or off.

The goal is to achieve the deepest black/highestr contrast, Gamma of 2.2 for proper picture detail, a Color Temperature of 6500k for a natural look, and the lowest Delta Values E possible to get rid of any unwanted tinting.








What does it all mean? It means that the S27A950D delivers flawless calibrated image quality, except for the medicore black level/low contrast. At 755:1 the Samsung performs below average. Images are not as vibrant as I am used to, especially compared to the Acer G245hbmid's 930:1 and the HP 2509b's 1100:1 contrast at the same brightness.

Fortunately the Ultra Clear Panel helps make up for the 950's lack of color vibrancy and deep blacks with the lights on, however with the lights off blacks start to become greyish and the backlight bleeding hurt the image quality.

This is especially disapointing given the price of the panel, and the fact that sub 250$ monitors like the Acer G245hbmid, HP 2509b and LG W2442PA all have better image quality and screen uniformity. While below average the S27A950D is not terrible, like the S27A550H so it earns itself a pass.

Screen Uniformity

Lights off

HP 2509b

Lights on

Up Close

Backlight bleeding is minimal on the sides, but always visible and quite distracting. This is really disapointing considering the premium pricing.

On a positive side the actual brightness distribution is very good. I measured the white level across the entire screen using this white monitor grid and then used MS Paint to record the brightness measurements from the different points across the screen.



The top is slightly brighter than the bottom according to my measurements but this is not visible in practice. For such a large monitor the 950 does a great job, and there is no infamous LED blue tinting like I observed on the Samsung PX2370 and BenQ EW2420. It is really a shame that the light bleeding on the edges is visible in the day time, even with the low calibrated brightness of 120cdm/2.

Apart from the light bleeding on the sides, the screen uniformity is very good. Given the premium pricing of the Samsung S27A950D and the fact that some of the other, much cheaper monitors I tested not only had deeper blacks, but also less light bleeding, it is only fair to take off a few points.

CONCLUSION

Rather than a final rating and summary, have a picture and my custom settings.

Just kidding. Samsung promises 100% Photo Accuracy, fast response times and a 3D solution for AMD GPU users and delivers. The S27A950D has no ghosting, fantastic default color accuracy and almost no input lag while also sporting a fantastic look. It leaves little to be desired.

AWLAYS KEEP THE HDMI BLACK LEVEL SET TO NORMAL TO PREVENT BLACK CRUSH

Calibrated settings (120cdm/2)

Brightness: 18
Contrast: 81
Sharpness: 60
Response Time: Fastest
HDMI Black level: Normal
Red: 45
Green: 32
Blue: 53
Gamma Mode: 3

Recomended Settings

-Set the monitor to the Standard preset
-Sharpness 60
-Gamma Mode 3,
-Turn down the brightness to your liking
-Set Green to 40-45

3D Settings

Brightness: 100
Contrast: 81
Response Time: Greyed Out
HDMI Black level: Normal
Red: 45
Green: 35-40
Blue: 50
Gamma Mode: 3

HDMI/Console Settings:

Follow the picture steps below to avoid overscan.



Under Picture-Magic, set it to Standard, then under Color change the Gamma to mode 3, the Colors to Warm, and turn the green down to 40 or 45, or try my color settings.

How to Set it up with your Console
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n4ZmMqjE_oU

Video Review

3D IMPRESSIONS

First off, what is Cross Talk? It is a double image which can bee seen below whenver standing still and looking at objects

What is Cross-Talk ghosting which can be seen in 2D-3D conversion? Basically it is the same thing as the above picture, excpet every time you pan the camera the image ghots resulting in a double image like the one above.

I have SLI GTX 480's, so only Side-By-Side 3D is avaliable. SBS3D stretches a 960x1080p image across the entire screen, games look blurred and lack sharpness by comparison to a full resolution image.

I tried: Black Ops, Shadowrun, Left 4 Dead 2, Starcraft II in 3D. With my Nvidia card, the "Side-by-Side," mode must be used. The only custom setting avaliable is the L/R change and changing the brightness/contrast/gamma/RGB values. Colors are accurate to begin with, however changing the Gamma to mode 3 and turning down the Green value is recommended for slightly punchier colors and reduced banding.

Mass Effect 2: The best game ive Scene in 3D, default settings need to be changed to eliminate Cross-Talk.

Bad Company 2: Did not work

Left 4 Dead 2:

By default there is a ton of Cross Talk, but it can be 99% fixed by setting the Scene Depth to 40 and the Percent in Front to 90

Look at the telephone pole on the right hand side Depth 2 vs Depth 9 vs Depth 11 vs Depth 50

Look at the CT from the trees along the top of the screen with Depth 50 vs Depth 3

The point of these pictures is to show the effect of changing the Scene Depth and Percent in Front.

Blacks Ops: Looked good in 3D (Zombie Mansion) with little crosstalk.. The SP mission I tried had noticeable crosstalk . The added depth perception was great.

Shadowrun: Tried the Malestrom map, the color vibrancy is destroyed and the crosstalk was absolutely horrendous. Full on double images on light blues and greys. No setting combination could fix the CT in Shadowrun, but sadly no one plays this wonderful game, so the 3D performance does not matter.

Starcraft II: Played a game of Zealot Frenzy, if any one is familiar with this map it is very similar to Footmen Frenzy found in WCIII: TFT. There was some very minor crosstalk on some dark green trees but that was it. The visual quality of the game is destroyed in 3D, say good bye to the vibrant color pallete and sharpness of SCII in 3D. Didn't have to change anything, there was hardly any CT, but I think the game is best played in 2D.

Metro 2033: Did not Work

2D-3D Conversion

With a simple touch of a button clearly labeled 3D on the right hand side of the monitor, you can convert everything.

Unfortunately 2D-3D conversion can ruin Image Quality. This picture was taken with the glasses in front of the camera.

2D


2D-3D conversion with movies can be really cool with the added depth, but due to the color settings in 3D mode they can end up looking off. There is Cross-Talk ghosting in movies during conversion, which increases as you increase the depth, but it is relatively minor compared to gaming with conversions. Particualrily the S27A950D ghosts with light blues and greys.

Overall 3D is a mixed bag. Mass Effect 2 blew me away in 3D, L4D2 was good but there are a lot of problems. This monitor was really made for ATI GPU's since it only supports Frame Sequencial (Real 3D) with ATI cards. Hope my impressions help.

3 replies

3300 views


I love it!

There is not much more to say which such a steller well written and in depth review as per usual.

This baby must get a ton of google hits.

Great review, NCX. Before I ask for personal advice on whether or not I should pull the trigger on this particular model I'd like to share where I'm coming from as a shopper.

I don't care about 3d. I want a large, quality 120hz monitor primarily for gaming, working (no photo or design stuff), surfing and probably some netflix here and there until I acquire a nice living room set-up. For reference, all I've owned in my life are typical, matte TN panels and for the most part I've been satisfied. I can notice things like washed out/crushed blacks and over-saturated colors. That said, I think my standards for judging monitors would be slightly above average with average being your typical best buy shopper. I can notice imperfections but they typically don't distract me very much from my viewing experience and probably wouldn't make a monitor a deal-breaker for me.

Solely from the standpoint of using this as a 2D 120hz monitor, what would you say to me asking if i should buy it?
a.) Buy it without reservation - people with average to slightly above average standards will be satisfied
b.) buy it with some reservation - people with average to slightly above average standards may not be satisfied
c.) better 2d 120hz quality is available in other products
d.) wait for other 27" 120hz panels to show up on the market
e.) 2d 120hz as a standalone feature isn't valuable if you won't be doing 3d, invest in a quality 60hz monitor

Originally Posted by Lakerboy

a.) Buy it without reservation - people with average to slightly above average standards will be satisfied

The only other 120hz 27" is terrible and only 1 other 120hz 27" was annouced, but has been regarded as vaporware for over a year.

Originally Posted by Ashrok

What's so terrible about it?

Acer Review

Far below average contrast (grey blacks+dull colors), and the slow response time make it a mega-fail. Many 60hz panels are faster.

I have not used Nvidia 3D myself, so I don't know how it compares...but I will soon. Still I would avoid the HN274 due to the terrible picture quality and stick with a 23" Nivida 3D compatible monitor.