I just purchased a Samsung 20.1" Syncmaster 204B, and wonder how much better other screens are in this regard. Pretty hard to tell in a bright showroom, but at home now, I am struck by just how non-black this is. I just changed from very high quality CRT to this guy. Definite improvement in sharpness though . . .Noel

no lcd is even remotely close. I have a sony kdl32V2000 bravia monitor which is supposed to have great blacks. Side by side with my CRT it sucks but its okay if you have nothing to compare it too lol.night flying/racing is better on the CRT for sure due to better contrast. not only black levels but also white. If I set up my LCD to have as good white you can forget about ever displaying black ;).But that is about the first thing you notice. What differs is how well the backlight is distributed on the LCD:s. On some it

I found a CRT repair place and they tell me it is the "focus module" that is going out on my Sony, and that they will fix it for a flat fee of $200, and I pay the $60 shipping each way. I am very inclined to do this! I love my CRT, but I imagine I will get used to the differences and eventually accept and go with it. I DO like the fact the thing is much smaller. I guess they both have their strengths and shortcomings.

While this Samsung 204B has great specs, and a pricegrabber user average opinion of 5 stars, and has no pixel defects, I do notice it is very sensitive to me moving laterally. When I'm in dead center looking straight at it about 20", there is an ever so slight off color look (when desktop set to all white) on the entire right side. If I move just 2-3 inches to the right, the off color fades to all white. The left side looks all white until I move that same 2-3" to the right, then the left side looks slightly off color. By off color I mean very slightly darker, as in off-white. If I move to about 3 feet away, the entire screen looks all white. Since this monitor is otherwise totally fine, except for the bright back light bleed through (comp to CRT), has very fast response time and crystal clarity and no pixel defects, does it make sense to try to swap it for another of the same type to try to resolve this slight off coloration that seems to appear with slight changes in position, or is this fairly common, to find very subtle but distinct shading changes like I describe?Thanks for your insights,Noel

Noel I think that monitor has a TN panel... It

Par, thank you for this nice overview. I think I will pack this guy up and shoot for something better as in super pva. My concern with wide format is the 2D panel issue, plus, I don't have the machine to drive a greater than 1600x resolution adequately. Though my next machine will! I don't use my display for anything but PC functions, office, web browsing, games. In your opinion, why go with a 16:9 or thereabouts instead of 4:3, if DVDs are not important to the user? Will FSX work better on a wide screen?Thanks again for the excellent replies.

It

I've done some more thinking about this, plus used the tools to get this TN type Samsung adjusted better (mainly downturning gamma settings). When all things are considered, this thing is really 100% perfect--except for the issue of narrower viewing angles. It does have the response time, enough screen real estate at 20.1", 4:3 seems to work well for me and my needs, and it scales pretty well for non-native settings, plus, the thing was cheap and has a 3y warranty. I am still going to send my Sony in to these folks here in the US:http://www.tccmonitor.com/I think I may pick up Dell's 2407WFP tomorrow and see if the double cost is really worth it. It is a s-pva monitor and wide format.

I'm awfully glad you started this thread...I am/was/am on the verge of getting that exact same monitor...Samsung 204B...I was wondering about the 204T(Super-PVA)...It appears to be a bit harder to get(Out of Stock) the last time I checked...A bit more expensive than the 204B..I wonder if the fill rate would be there?? Image Quality is suppose to be pretty schweet?? I've never seen one...This will be my first LCD...Not positive I'm gonna like it(CRT Guy)...Since it seem's you were able to do some tweaking on the 204B and get it pretty respectible...I think I'll stick with 204B...I have read some others using the Dell 2407 and seem to like it allot...I doubt I'd personally be a widescreen canidate...I like 2D cockpits too much...Not sure I'd like the stretching?? Plus they just look wierd to me..he heI wanted to run the 204B in the 1600x1200 resolution...Is that what your using?? How is it?? You mention "non-native settings"...Does that mean your not runing 1600x1200...Sorry for the stupid questions..he he...I'm a CRT guy...Things are much less complicated in my world... :-roll I had almost wrote it off the LCD quest after I read your "Boxing it up" comments...But now after some headway with the tweeking I think I'm back on...I don't mind tweeking...Thanks for the info!!

http://hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=10641242407 thread dunno if it

Chuck, there is no question for me the transition from CRT to LCD is not a no-brainer! As always, there are pros and cons. I was fortunate to own the beheamoth Sony GDM F520, 21" with a grille pitch of .22. Very fine! Even so, this 204B is displaying detail much much sharper albeit in some sense in a somewhat less natural. I guess they way CRT's do their thing ends up with sort of more blending of colors, much like a photograph nicely blends the analog world we live in, whereas LCDs look like their pixels stay very discreet if you get my meaning.I am running FS in 1600 x 1200, but was formerly running my desktop at 1280 x 1024. 1280 x 1024 looks decent on this Samsung as a desktop setting, though with more blurring than at native 1600 x 1200. I'm with you on being unsure about wide format. Doesn't fit what I do with a PC. I didn't know about the 204T. Depending on the response time, it might be a good bet, reducing this issue I described relating to the narrow viewing angles. I'm guessing, that if I went back to my Sony right now, I'd be noticing how blurry detail is by comparison to this guy. They both have their good and bad points!I am definitely going to send my Sony in for repair. To me, it is preposterous to throw out 75 lbs of excellence because . . . a tiny little component is hosed. That is pathetic! The folks I mentioned felt due to the component they would use to fix my Sony, provided the tube looks good (it's perfect!), I should get another 5 years or more out of it. I just looked at the 204T on pricegrabber--16ms response time, less than stellar user reviews. I think the 204B is a better bet :()I'm heading to my local Costco to see if they have a Dell 24" Ultrasharp 2407 WFP in stock, and if so will buy it and bring it home. I would like to see for myself if the wide format is good or not so good for me personally. I'll let you know . . .Noel

I have run mine in dual screen to compare and the CRT don