Weird color issue

[The Dimak]

Hey guys,

I recently bought a Samsung XL2370 monitor, and I've been getting this weird problem where colors, especially in motion wouldn't "mix" very well.
For example, in the following Youtube video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh29_SERH0Y at about 0:16 there's a gray background with a slight gradient. Here's a picture of my monitor with the background: http://i.imgur.com/Q7opO.jpg
Sorry for the picture quality. I don't really have a decent camera anywhere nearby.

Perhaps it's the video itself, but even in games and Photoshop I notice the same problem.
Here's a picture of a soft brush: http://i.imgur.com/kHaeT.jpg
And here's a picture of it in motion: http://i.imgur.com/umayj.jpg

In the second picture there are visible lines that separate the shades of gray. It's much more noticeable during a movie or a game, but I wanted to present a clean example.
I'm not sure whether it's an actual problem, or if it's standard for this monitor; however, I didn't notice this problem at all with my old monitor.

So should I ask for a replacement or is it supposed to be like that?

 

[jaguarskx]

It is due to the fact that the monitor uses a TN panel. TN panels cannot create 16.7m colors by itself; it can only create 256k colors. Temporal dithering is used in TN panel monitors to create roughly 16.7m colors. It basically flashes between two colors to create a 3rd color. For example, flashing between red and blue to create purple.

TN panels are more prone to image artifacts with gradient colors because temporal dithering is not done for individual pixel, but for a cluster of pixels. That's why the color issue looks a bit "blocky".

There is no way to correct the issue, it is a flaw with TN panel technology itself. More expensive monitors which use VA or IPS panels can truly create 16.7m colors and this color banding issue is less noticeable or non existent.