Samsung SyncMaster 2493HM
Samsung is never tired of introducing new monitor models. We have discussed the 245B and 245T recently, and now I’ve got a monitor with a new 4-digit number.
The specs are not extraordinary, though. It is yet another TN-based model without Response Time Compensation. The declared contrast ratio of 10,000:1 is very high because it is dynamic contrast. The static contrast ratio is lower at 1000:1.
The monitor is pretty with its black glossy case, ideally smooth stand and chrome band along the bottom of the case. Samsung’s designers can really catch the customer’s attention.
The stand allows adjusting the tilt and height (from 110 to 205mm) of the screen, pivot it into portrait mode and rotate it around the vertical axis. The stand can be replaced with a VESA mount if necessary.
The monitor has analog and digital inputs and a HDMI interface. The DVI input supports HDCP and can be used for connection to a HD video source, but the additional input allows connecting the monitor to a PC and, for example, to a HDMI video player at the same time.
The SyncMaster 2493HM doesn’t have analog video inputs such as component or S-Video.
There is a 2-port USB hub built into the stand. It is not very handy for plugging devices in and out frequently due to its position. Moreover, it is passive, i.e. without its own power supply.
The monitor is controlled with touch-sensitive buttons whose labels are in the bottom right of the front panel. The only downside – you can see it in the photo above – is that it’s hard to read the thin gray labels and icons on the glossy plastic. Otherwise, the buttons are implemented almost ideally. As opposed to many other monitors with such controls including the recently tested SyncMaster 225UW, I never missed a button on the SyncMaster 2493HM.
The power indicator is a mild blue LED. It is not distracting at work, but begins to blink in sleep mode. You cannot turn the LED out or lower its intensity.
This is a typical menu of a Samsung monitor but some of its settings are new. First of all, you now select a MagicBright mode in the first menu tab.
It is because the user can now assign a function to the button that used to switch between the MagicBright modes in previous monitors from Samsung. It can now be made to switch between the MagicColor modes (to increase color saturation), ColorEffect modes (I’ll discuss them shortly), or between image interpolation variants (full screen or with restrained proportions).
Color Effect is a new feature of Samsung’s monitors that renders the image colorless. You can do it in four different ways: besides ordinary black-and-white mode, there are three modes with additional toning of the black-and-white picture.
The practical purpose of Color Effect eludes me, though. The result looks funny, but I don’t think that the black-and-white image looks any better than with colors.
By default, the monitor has 100% brightness and 75% contrast. I lowered them both to 40% to achieve a 100nit white. You shouldn’t increase the contrast setting above 75% as it makes light halftones indistinguishable from white. The monitor regulates its brightness by means of backlight modulation at a frequency of 180Hz.
