SyncMaster 931BF review

Samsung's SyncMaster 931BF has a large sticker on the front that proudly announces the LCD's 2,000:1 contrast ratio and 2ms response time.

It manages its DLP projector-level of contrast ratio with a chip that dynamically alters the contrast of the display based on the input. With this mode turned on, we found that it failed to display many highlights in the brighter parts of an image when there were dark areas as well. Turning off the dynamic mode and returning to the monitor's default - a respectable 700:1 contrast ratio - produced a much better picture.

The 2ms response time is available only when the Response Time Accelerator (RTA) is turned on, as it is by default. If you turn it off, it switches back on when the monitor is next turned on, which is annoying if you don't want to use it. The RTA made no real difference. We didn't notice any ghosting when playing games or movies, but we've not had this problem with other monitors that don't have RTA, either.

As with all 19" monitors, the 931BF has a native resolution of 1,280x1,024. It isn't height adjustable, but it has more than the usual amount of tilt, though we didn't want to use it. Even tilting it a little resulted in a loss of contrast and colour across either the top or bottom, depending on which way it was moved. Although it has a stated viewing angle of 160 (horizontal and vertical), we found that the contrast and colour deteriorated noticeably as soon as we stepped to the side of the screen.

Our monitor tests also revealed a slight variation in illumination, with the screen appearing to darken slightly in the top corners. The monitor has both DVI and D-sub connectors, and we ran our tests over each. The screen is crisply focused and images are sharply detailed.

There is a MagicColor setting in the monitor's controls, which claims to provide more vivid colours and natural skin tones. We didn't find this did the picture quality any favours, and colours appeared richer and warmer in our test movie clips with it turned off.

The SyncMaster 931BF looks impressive on paper, but it doesn't quite live up to its promise. It's fine for most office tasks, but Samsung's SM940FN and Acer's AL1951, which are similarly priced, have better image quality.

Author: Lynley Oram