[ Background Music ] >> Eric Franklin: Hi everyone this is Eric Franklin from CNET.com and today we're taking a first look at the Samsung Sync master 2233SW. This 21.5 inch display has a design that closely resembles the Samsung 223RZ. The display is devoid of useful ergonomic options like screen rotation and height adjustment offering only a 25 degree backwards tilt. When knocked from the sides the Samsung wobbles only minimally but it does slide a few inches across the desk with each knock. Video connection options are limited to VGA and DVI. No HDMI connections included. Both connections sit on the back to the right and are tucked in in a way that makes them somewhat difficult to access. USD has options for brightness and contrast including 6 different presets choosing each preset appropriately adjust the brightness of the display however the movie preset seems to change the color temperature to have a redder push than the other presets that look more blue. In our dark screen test the display showed only a small amount of backlight bleed through. Not surprisingly thanks to its low brightness the 2233SW display whites that were noticeably darker than say the Samsung XL2370s. Other than the after mentioned red push in the movie preset the display exhibited deep lax and descent color when playing movies. We looked at the displays game preset to check out the games and while we were able to play the games with no problems the overall presentation was darker than what we prefer and spots on the games that were intended to be overly bright didn't look as bright as they did on the Samsung XL2370. At $190 it's difficult to care too much about the Samsung's shortcomings. Sure it has a low screen brightness, no HDMI connection, a clumsy OSD and no ergonomic connections aside from the tilt however most will be willing to look past that thanks to the displays sub $200 price especially if they're looking for a general purpose monitor. Compared to the displays mentioned before the Samsungs overall performance and lack of features just can't really compete. It relies on its low price as its trump card and is currently at least $50 cheaper than the others. [ Background music ] >> Eric Franklin: Once again this is Eric Franklin this has been a first look at the Samsung Sync Master 2233SW. ^M00:02:14 [ Music]
