Samsung Syncmaster 2033SW LCD Monitor

There are quite a few presets available in the brightness/contrast section, for Movie, text, Game etc. There is also a Dynamic contrast option, that adjusts the contract according to the frame, but I noticed a slight lag when shifting from dark to light scenes quickly. This preset section is called Magic bright. There is a separate section for color presets called Color effect, and another optimizer option called Magic Color. Magic Color works well, though theoretically all hues are a bit oversaturated and contrast is increased in this mode.

Speaking of contrast and brightness, this monitor definitely is bright enough to impress. For black levels the verdict is a bit more subdued as the monitor barely passed the black level test we had, which comprises 2 blacker than black bars moving around on a dark background. We also had 256 level grayscale patterns; here the monitor smudges a bit on the ends if not calibrated perfectly. Thus the brightness needs to be reduced so the blacks can be discerned but at the same time not look washed out. What was great was there was no coloration like bluish tinge or anything. The grays were more or less set at 6500K, meaning they looked quite neutral.

For color we again had a nice response as there was a good amount of neutrality in all 3 primary shades. On basic settings in color tone in the menu, we got the best result as the colors in other modes get a little saturated and off the mark. It’s obviously not anywhere what a pro would need, but nothing looks cartoony. Motion and accuracy is probably where this monitor performs best, as the low rated response time comes out with very less visible ghosting and blur. We played Burnout Paradise and Prince of Persia on the PC to see overall performance, and here again we can say that motion wise this monitor performs very well. There is hardly any lag, plus the higher contrast setting games look very nice.

There is one iffy, and that is backlight bleed. Put one pure black screen and the side edges look a little cloudy as the black light is seeping through. Though this problem actually gets solved if you put the monitor in dynamic contrast mode, as in dark scenes the brightness is turned full down automatically, albeit with a slight lag.

Conclusion
At MRP 8,250, this monitor is reasonable as you are getting a 20 inch for below 9K. The blacks are not the best, but accuracy and brightness can impress. The colors too are quite good due to their neutral amounts. It’s a good monitor for budget multimedia guys, but stringent people who need that deep vibrant image might not get it here as dark images are not so dark.