Samsung 8 Series S27A850D
We have a habit of relentlessly banging the
TN-vs-the-rest drum. But we do it because we care. Both about technology and
your very fine elves. Sorry, selves. Samsung’s all-new 527A850D has us at
something of a disadvantage.
Many of its on-paper specs are thoroughly
familiar. A 27-inch diagonal and 2,560 x 1,4XX native resolution puts it firmly
in the premium, high resolution camp. Bung in a static contrast ratio of 1,000
to one and you might assume you’re looking at yet another screen sporting LG’s
familiar 27-inch IPS panel. Yes, the same one used by Apple in its 27-inch
iMac.
On the other hand, Samsung is one of the
very small handful of outfits with the gumption to fabricate its own LCD
panels. Manufacturing the substrates that form the basis of large, full-colour
is a criminally complex and expensive process. Consequently, around five to six
companies make nearly all the LCD substrates worldwide. And that in turn means
that Samsung in not normally in the business of buying in panels.
Samsung stops us moaning about TN and
throws PLS into the ring just to shut us up
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VITAL STATISTICS
Price $880
Supplier www.samsung.com
Size 27-inch
Panel type PLS
Native resolution 2,560 x 1,440
Pixel response 5ms
Viewing angle 178/1780 H/V
Inputs 2x DVI, DisplayPort
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Switch to PLS
What lies at the heart of the S27ASSOD is
neither TN nor IPS, nor PVA technology. Instead. Samsung has come up with a new
technology known as PLS or Plane to Line Switching. You can read more about PLS
in the feature starting page 6. But suffice to say It closest in concept to
IPS. Fire it up and initial impressions are of a cross between the better bits
of IPS and PVA in a single panel. Exciting eh? That means colours are richer
and more saturated than you’ll be used to with IPS. Black tones are also in deep
and inky PVA territory and viewing angles are rather redolent of a good PS
screen. The sparkly anti-glare coaling that compromises IPS panels is absent
too. In its place is a smooth, semi-gloss surface as seen in some PVA screens.
Result.
If that makes the Samsung sound perfect,
there are one or two slight snags. For starters, just a little of what we’ve
come to know as ‘IPS glow’ is visible. It’s a glowing sheen in darker tones
that shifts across the screen as you change your viewing position. It’s not overly
evident here, but it does detract marginally for the movie and game playing
experience.
The other area where Samsung’s new PLS tech
appears not to have moved the game on is pixel response. Pegged at 5ms in the
spec list, the subjective experience is nothing special. A good TN panel
remains tangibly quicker. PLS is a welcome addition, then, but it’s not quite
the Holy Grail of panel tech.
Spec analysis
The fine details for you fine people
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|
AsusPA238Q
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Asus VG278H
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BenQRL2240H
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BenQEW2730V
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Dell UltraSharp U2412M
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Price
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$377.6
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$848
|
$176
|
$480
|
$440
|
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Web
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www.asus.com
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www.asus.com
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www.benq.com
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www.benq.com
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www.dell.com
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Size
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23-inch
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27-inch
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21.5-inch
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27-inch
|
24-inch
|
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Panel type
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IPS
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TN
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TN
|
VA
|
IPS
|
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Backlight
|
LED
|
LED
|
LED
|
LED
|
LED
|
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Native resolution
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1,920x1,080
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1,920x1,080
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1,920x1,080
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1,920x1,080
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1,920x1,200
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Aspect ratio
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16:9
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16:9
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16:9
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16:9
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16:10
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Contrast
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1,000:1
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1,000:1
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1,000:1
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3,000:1
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1,000:1
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|
Brightness
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250cd/m2
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300cd/m2
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250cd/m2
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300cd/m2
|
300cd/m2
|
|
Pixel response
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6ms
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2ms
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2ms
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8ms
|
8ms
|
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Viewing angles
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178/178° H/V
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170/160° H/V
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170/160° H/V
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178/178° H/V
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178/178° H/V
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Inputs
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DVI,HDMI, Display Port, VGA
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DVI,HDMI,VGA
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DVI,HDMI,
VGA
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DVI,2xHDMI, VGA, component
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DVI, DisplayPort, VGA
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Dimensions
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549 x 496 x 201mm
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643 x460 x220 mm
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525x400x183mm
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662x515x190mm
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556x399x180mm
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Weight
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5.5kg
|
8kg
|
3.2kg
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7.4kg
|
6.2kg
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Stereoscopic 3D
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No
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Yes, active shutter, includes Nvidia 3D
Vision glasses and integrated IR receiver
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No
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No
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No
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|
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LG DM2350D
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Philips Brilliance
248C3LHSB
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Samsung 5 Series T27A550
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Samsung 8 Series S27A850D
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Price
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$352
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$307.2
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$520
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$880
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Web
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www.lg.com/uk
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www.philips.com
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www.samsung.com
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www.samsung.com
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Size
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23-inch
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23.6-inch
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27-inch
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27-inch
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Panel type
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TN
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TN
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TN
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IPS
|
|
Backlight
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LED
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LED
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LED
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LEDw
|
|
Native resolution
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1,920x 1,080
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1,920x 1,080
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1,920x 1,080
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2,560 x1,440
|
|
Aspect ratio
|
16:9
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16:9
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16:9
|
16:9
|
|
Contrast
|
1,000:1
|
1,000:1
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1,000:1
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3,000:1
|
|
Brightness
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250cd/m2
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300cd/m2
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300cd/m2
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300cd/m2
|
|
Pixel response
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5ms
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5ms
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5ms
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5ms
|
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Viewing angles
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170/160° H/V
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170/160° H/V
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170/160° H/V
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178/178° H/V
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Inputs
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2 x HDMI,VGA
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2 x HDMI,VGA
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2 x HDMI,VGA
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2 x DVI, DisplayPort
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Dimensions
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547 x 424 x 180mm
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579 x 443 x 194mm
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648 x 486 x 235mm
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642 x 443 x 225mm
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Weight
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4kg
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4.5kg
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5.6kg
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6.6kg
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Stereoscopic 3D
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Yes, alternate-line polarised. includes
two pairs
passive glasses
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No
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No
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No
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How we tested
There are several schools of thought when
it comes to screen testing; the objective, scientific ideal involves the use
of a light meter and calibration before extracting metrics. The problem with
this approach is that hardly anyone has a light meter, and the ability to
fully calibrate their PC monitor. In that context, fully calibrated
performance is somewhat academic. We therefore set up and test our screens
using the Lagom LCD test images pages, free at www.lagom.nl/lcd-test. It's
not possible to fully calibrate a screen using the Lagom images, but you can
dial in improved settings for contrast and gamma, which are the most
important for multimedia usage. We also tested at multiple brightness
settings to assess contrast, colours and black levels for typical daytime
desktop and gaming usage, and low light video playback.
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