Samsung SyncMaster 206BW

...have owned a 17 inch Samsung TFT (Thin Film Transistor) monitor for several years, and I well remember the extortionate price I paid for it. I'm happy with my purchase, the colours are great, it takes up very little space on my desk and it uses a fraction of the power of my old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor.

So when I got the call to go and install a new PC for a customer it was good to be able to recommend the Samsung that was waiting ...
...the old fishbowl screens. Samsung seem to be aware of this and have included extra weighting in the base. These screens can also be used with the stand removed fixed to the wall, which save even more space. The image extends to the extreme edges of the frame, there is no space lost to wide casings.

Setting it up is easy, you take it out of the box and plug it in. Any Questions?

The price of TFT screens has fallen dramatically, ... more

I have owned a 17 inch Samsung TFT (Thin Film Transistor) monitor for several years, and I well remember the extortionate price I paid for it. I'm happy with my purchase, the colours are great, it takes up very little space on my desk and it uses a fraction of the power of my old CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitor.

So when I got the call to go and install a new PC for a customer it was good to be able to recommend the Samsung that was waiting for me.

With the fine resolution of 1680X1050 it is great for those spreadsheets that tend to get too large for a standard format screen, and of course, you can watch DVDs on them. Video reproduction does depend a lot on the graphics card used but I was quite impressed with the reproduction on this screen, There was a demonstration video for one of the software packages which I used to evaluate the screen's performance, it was quite acceptable, especially for office use.

I use my 17 inch for photo editing and it is fine. The 20 inch is a lot sharper so I would be happy to edit photos with that too.

The screen's design is nice. no fancy embellishments and a steady, sturdy base. Some TFTs that I have used in the past have had flimsy stands and this makes them prone to wobbling and falling over, something that never affected the old fishbowl screens. Samsung seem to be aware of this and have included extra weighting in the base. These screens can also be used with the stand removed fixed to the wall, which save even more space. The image extends to the extreme edges of the frame, there is no space lost to wide casings.

Setting it up is easy, you take it out of the box and plug it in. Any Questions?

The price of TFT screens has fallen dramatically, when I was "In the trade" 8 years ago I bought a 15 inch Illyama TFT screen and got it heavily discounted for a mere £400! some time after that I bought the Samsung, again through a trade deal for £299, now you can get this one for less than £200, ten years ago a 17 inch CRT monitor would set you back more than this and ramp up your electricity bill into the bargain, the other advantage of this kind of screen is that when you have a room full of them it doesn't make the room hot. I have worked in offices with dozens of screens in them and on a summer day it can get quite uncomfortable.

From an environmental point of view both CRT and TFT screens are not good news when it comes to disposal, they both contain some nasty heavy metals and plastics.

On the plus side, my oldest TFT screen is still going strong, having outlived a number of other screens. It's carbon footprint is smaller, using as it does less than a quarter of the power. The newer ones are more energy efficient and, in an air conditioned environment the TFT wins out even more by reducing the load on the climate control by not pumping out as much waste heat, they do give off a little heat but nothing like that of the old fashioned screen.

All things considered, I would advise anyone to look seriously at switching to a TFT screen and in particular the Samsung offerings. They are as good as the more expensive brands like Illyama. You can buy CRT monitors for very little money now and if budget is a factor this is good news. If you consider what you were paying for them ten years ago it is well worth going for slimline, 

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