[SOLVED] The controls of my new monitor are very inconvenient. Is this normal?

Alonshow

Distinguished
Apr 30, 2013
7
0
18,510
I bought a budget 32 inches monitor a few days ago, a Samsung C32F391FWU. The picture quality is fine, for less that 200 bucks I can't complain. However, in order to get a decent picture quality I have to adjust constantly the settings, and it baffles me how cumbersome this is. There is a setting for playing games (game mode), a setting for watching movies (cinema mode), and another setting to do everything else, like reading my mail or using Word (for this I use eye saver mode). The button that controls all of this is located in the back of the monitor, which makes switching between modes specially inconvenient.

All of this is new for me. For many years I used almost exclusively the display of my laptop, which always looks good regardless of whether I'm playing games, watching movies or doing anything else. It has been an unpleasant surprise to find out that my new monitor requires me to constantly do all this setup just to have decent picture quality. Is this normal? Does it happen with all displays or are there external displays that look good automatically regardless of what you're doing, just like my laptop display?

If this is how all displays work I guess I'll have to get used to it, but if there are other displays that don't require all this constant maintenance, I will definitely return this one and get one of those.
 
Solution
I bought a budget 32 inches monitor a few days ago, a Samsung C32F391FWU. The picture quality is fine, for less that 200 bucks I can't complain. However, in order to get a decent picture quality I have to adjust constantly the settings, and it baffles me how cumbersome this is. There is a setting for playing games (game mode), a setting for watching movies (cinema mode), and another setting to do everything else, like reading my mail or using Word (for this I use eye saver mode). The button that controls all of this is located in the back of the monitor, which makes switching between modes specially inconvenient.

All of this is new for me. For many years I used almost exclusively the display of my laptop, which always looks good...

Alonshow

Distinguished
Apr 30, 2013
7
0
18,510
Thank you for your answer. I think I was being too picky. Someone explained to me that in order to get the best picture quality for each particular scenario you have to adjust the settings, but you can also use a standard mode for everything and it will look OK, even if it's not optimal. So it looks like it's a matter of preference, if you don't mind a slightly sub optimal picture quality you use that standard mode, and if you really want to get the best picture quality you use the settings.
 
I bought a budget 32 inches monitor a few days ago, a Samsung C32F391FWU. The picture quality is fine, for less that 200 bucks I can't complain. However, in order to get a decent picture quality I have to adjust constantly the settings, and it baffles me how cumbersome this is. There is a setting for playing games (game mode), a setting for watching movies (cinema mode), and another setting to do everything else, like reading my mail or using Word (for this I use eye saver mode). The button that controls all of this is located in the back of the monitor, which makes switching between modes specially inconvenient.

All of this is new for me. For many years I used almost exclusively the display of my laptop, which always looks good regardless of whether I'm playing games, watching movies or doing anything else. It has been an unpleasant surprise to find out that my new monitor requires me to constantly do all this setup just to have decent picture quality. Is this normal? Does it happen with all displays or are there external displays that look good automatically regardless of what you're doing, just like my laptop display?

If this is how all displays work I guess I'll have to get used to it, but if there are other displays that don't require all this constant maintenance, I will definitely return this one and get one of those.

You don't need to keep changing things, those are there to help you pick what you want the screen to look like by a single option which the manufacturer thinks people would like. Since gaming, reading, etc.. has different optimal settings, the monitor has several settings. You can find one you like, or do a custom one, and leave it. Almost all monitors have presets similar to this. It's like buying a knife set with 30 knives, you don't need to keep swapping knives, usually a few good middle of the road sizes are good, but if you want to have a 3" knife, a 3.25" knife and a 3.5" knife and swap you can.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alonshow
Solution