here are two reviews I found on Newegg that are very interesting about this LCD. It seesm to me that the 'A' is simply an average LCD panel compared to the 'S' panel. Now since I believe that Samsung makes panels for ViewSonic, I am wondering if a version of this 'A' panel is what they are sending out for models like:
ViewSonic Graphic Series VG2230wm Black 22"
Juts a thought. Anyway if you are like me and must use the net to get an LCD, this creates a dilema.
Customer review 1:
S is the quality Samsung panel while A is the new cheap version meant to cut costs for Samsung. All the initial reviews were done with the S panel before it was phased out. The reviews will look good because its a different product. Now all the new monitors are manufactured with the cheap cornercutting A-panel. A pretty sneaky move by Samsung. Unless you buy a monitor that has sat in a warehouse for months, you will wind up with the A-panel.
Customer review 2:
Pros: I purchased several top-line 20-24" LCDs (locally so could return) to try the past few weeks, incl the 204B. The 226BW (S-panel) blew them all away. Night & day difference from all others I tried - nice sharp, clear BLACK text, good colors. I'm a 50y/o w bad eyes doing mostly web, email & business apps. Text stays legible even while fast-scrolling or dragging the window around desktop. All the others "shimmered". 5 stars for the S panel running here for a week - nothing else came close. (No drivers/software installed for any - Radeon 9600 256mb GDDR, XP-pro 32, AMD 1900+) I wanted the 244tBW for higher res & features, but no retailers had one to try - I was afraid it might not have as good image as the 226BW - S, so decided not to chance it. (BTW: they all looked somewhat better on DVI than VGA) The stand is good quality, but no height adjustment.
Cons: I ordered a 226BW here Sat - arrived today. A-panel from NJ warehouse. This unit is about as good as some of the others I tried, but night & day to the "S" running side by side comparison - also swapped DVI between them to confirm not problem DVI v VGA - same results. Not quite as crisp/sharp image - blurry spots. Most text shades of blue, not jet black, completely different coloring even on desktop background. I'm not a gamer or graphics guy, so didn't try those. Neither has dead pixels, bleeding/backlight problems, banding etc that I can tell. 4 stars compared to others I tried, but only 1 star compared to "S" panel. I have a riser for mine, but it sits too low if you have it on your desk. You can get a really good stand for it at S__les for under thirty bucks so not an issue.
Other Thoughts: Ran a google search on the A vs S contoversy - there's tons of threads out there about it, but none that I read had done a side by side comparison. From what I see in front of me, these two monitors look the same out of the box, but in use are two completely different products being marketed indiscriminately as the same model by Samsung. One is "superb", the other "average". If I wanted to order by "lottery" (luck of the draw), I'd buy a PowerBall ticket. Samsung's monitors sell for a premium. I find what they are doing with this model inexcuseable & will be calling customer service about this problem tomorrow. Hopefully, they will take it back & confront Samsung about it.
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