Most helpful customer reviews
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful.
Can’t Go Wrong With The B2430HD
By verheully
At the time of this review I’ve had the monitor in use for 2 days and I have to say I’m floored by what I’ve seen so far. I primarily plan to use this as a monitor for my desktop, but I’m impressed by its function as both a monitor and tv. I have to respectfully disagree with the other reviewer on one topic; I’m running Win7 64bit and connected the monitor (via D-sub) without installing any software/drivers. It instantly self-adjusted to optimal (1920×1080) resolution, displaying an crisp image with no jagged lines or blurring, even with my 5 year old video card (which did not cooperate with a 19″ HDTV I was using until now). No incompatibility issues here.
I’m very, very impressed with this unit. Have not tested all the features yet I will write another review here if any major pros or cons are found. The msrp may be a bit high, but finding PIP in a device this small is rare enough, let alone at this level of quality. I did considerable research before finally taking the plunge with this Samsung, even after reading a handful of negative reviews. If you’re in the market for a tv and/or monitor of this size, I can’t imagine you’ll be disappointed.
Pros: Easy setup, good signal, sharp image, blacks are black, customizable channel names, appealing menus, sound production is pretty decent (I haven’t needed to go over 1/6 of max volume), lots of settings can be fine-tuned including a sound equalizer, plenty room for 2 full-size Word documents with PIP in the corner, option to select audio source when using PIP
Cons: Although menu navigation is pretty easy and generally appealing, some functions could definitely be simplified (e.g. 1-button press for PIP and viewing a channel using the channel list without having to exit the list; this would make naming the channels much simpler). PIP is somewhat limited. Only 2 preset options for size of the second input; largest option gives a window approximately 5″ wide. These are just minor inconveniences for me; definitely not dealbreakers.
32 of 39 people found the following review helpful.
Seriously hampered by insufficient driver design and support
By W. M. Moss
The specs, price, and graphics quality in particular are excellent for this model.
But there are some serious disadvantages, exacerbated by Samsung’s lack of support and unusually hostile response to those who are complaining about it.
The driver disk that comes with this product doesn’t load in Windows 7 64-bit, which is now the standard for newer computers. You can find drivers that work, but not easily from the official Samsung site. There are actually two drivers, one for VGA and one for HDMI connections. In VGA mode, the monitor’s native resolution of 1920×1080 is not supported; it deforms horizontally and clips off 3/4″ on either side of the screen, thus converting squares into rectangles and circles into ovals, a fact that even level 2 Samsung support defiantly insists is OK.
In HDMI mode, they have written a fix (as of this writing) which allows a hardware option to ‘fit screen’ instead of the usual ’16×9′, which of course never should have been necessary, since the monitor itself is shaped as a 16×9 to naturally match the 16×9 standard. Also, the default mode for use in HDMI is AV, not PC, and if you don’t override that, the type quality in particular is smeared and virtually unusable.
Worse yet, the front panel controls, which are both critical and extremely difficult to use, except in very bright light, can be overridden by software (convenient), but again ONLY if you are not using Windows 7 64-bit, a limitation you can find buried in their Web site.
Of the three reviews submitted to their site, it got one five star and two one-star reviews, and Samsung deleted the initial one-star and refused to publish mine. A company that makes a lot of fine products can get in serious trouble treating users as the enemy and failing to support those products. Be forewarned.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful.
good monitor, fair PIP TV
By J. Cook
Running Windows XP Home so 64 bit issue may not be a problem for me. No sign of the dreaded green tint that cnet obsesses over, at least on this monitor. The PIP is disappointingly small and stuck in wide-screen but I will still find a use for it from time to time when watching something primarily for dialog or keeping a sporting event going in the corner.
This is hooked up to a fairly old AGP ATI Radeon 3800 graphics card without any problems. The multi-screen software that presumably allows me to split the screen may be limited by my video card or by my ignorance, but the software documentation is so pitiful it doesn’t really matter.
Good, large, reasonably priced computer display with a fairly expensive and disappointing TV monitor built in. It won’t replace your TV in a home office, I’m afraid. The 2430H doesn’t have the PIP and costs less. If you think you want the PIP feature go watch it in a showroom before you make up your mind. Best Buy doesn’t carry any of these that I can tell, but Frys did.
Amazon price and shipping is very competitive.
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{ 1 comment… read it below or add one }
Hd media player have all the function of DVD player. What’s more, HD media player can suppout HD multimedia interface and extend cards. Also it can play the video in the Hard Disk. The same time its price is cheap.