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>> Hi everyone. This is Eric Franklin from CNET.com. And today we're taking a first look at the Samsung SyncMaster F2380. The 23-inch and F2380 has a black matte chassis and a fairly angular aesthetic with somewhat sharp corners and edges. Wobbling proved prevalent when we knocked the panel from the side, but it never felt in danger of toppling, especially with the screen adjusted to its lowest height. The panel swivels about 45 degrees left and right, and tilts back about 25 degrees. The panel also pivots 90 degrees to the left for portrait mode. Samsung includes only two types of video connection options for the F2380. These include two DVI's and one VGA. Unfortunately no HDMI or USB ports are included. The onscreen display follows the same design seen in the Samsung XL2370. Picture options consist of brightness, contrast, and sharpness. We tested the Samsung SyncMaster F2380 with its DVI connection in the custom presets. The F2380 scored well in all of our color and uniformity tests, except in 3 areas. Color tracking where it revealed a slight reddish hue. Our dark screen test that showed apparent backlight bleed through in the top corners of the screen. Lastly we found the display crush dark gray, making it difficult to see dark details. We found the F2380's brightness a tad lower than we prefer, especially when viewing games or websites with lots of color. Movies on the F2380 look great, thanks to the displays high contrast ratio exhibited by its very deep blacks. The tested contrast ratio of the monitor was 2,517 to 1. Lower than Samsungs claim 3,000 to 1, but higher than any other monitor we've tested before. Games look great running at 1920 x 1080 and showed no signs of ghosting or impute lag. However, we did notice a weird graphical anomaly when playing War Craft. In certain spots we noticed very subtle green circles that appeared when we moved through the world. This most likely can be attributed to the displays slower 8-millisecond response time. We didn't see this on the XL2370, which has a faster 2-millisecond response time. In power consumption the F2380 will cost you about $12 per year to run, compared it with the XL2370's $10 per year. The Samsung SyncMaster F2380 sells for as low as $330 from online retailers. That price places it just above the XL2370's $300 dollars. The F2380 also offers two DVI ports, one VGA, full four way ergonomic adjustments, and a cPVA panel that affords it a wider viewing angle than the XL2370. Also the F2380 has one of the best contrast ratios we've yet seen. Unfortunately the display crushes dark grays at the low end of the color scale. And while its colors reproduction is good, it looks rather dull compared to the XL2370. If viewing angle and ergonomic options are important to you, the F2370 is a great buy. Otherwise the XL2370 is better performing and better looking alternative at a slightly lower price. Once again this is Eric Franklin. It's been the first look at the Samsung SyncMaster F2380.
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