Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW

Samsung's latest SyncMaster LCD monitor is the 2233SW — a Full HD display boasting a 1920x1080 resolution and a 16:9 aspect ratio. The lack of HDMI connectivity is a little disappointing, but this is still a great LCD monitor.

Recent Samsung LCD monitors have been extremely stylish, and the SyncMaster 2233SW continues this trend. It has a glossy black bezel with a clear extruded plastic edge running along its base. A soft blue LED just below the Samsung logo on the bottom of the display completes the stylish package, along with a round stand. Light tends to reflect off the surface of the bezel, though the screen itself isn't glossy so it's ideal for use in an office environment. We didn't like the controls on the right side of the monitor, which have difficult to read labels and the buttons require a firm press.

The Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW's stand is difficult to connect, with an awkward ball hinge connection that involves pushing the bottom of the monitor into the stand with plenty of force. The ball hinge doesn't click into place like with most other LCD monitors; instead it is wedged into place. Although it holds the LCD monitor sturdily once connected, the stand doesn't allow the monitor to swivel or be raised; nor does it allow much tilting.

The monitor has a 5ms refresh rate, making it one of the faster 22in screens on the market. The lack of HDMI connectivity does limit the Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW's use for high-definition gaming, though it performed well in our fast-motion tests — only slight trailing was present and there was no noticeable ghosting issues when viewing action movies and PC games.

Colour and contrast are excellent. The listed dynamic contrast ratio is 15,000:1, though the typical contrast ratio is 1000:1. Black levels are rich, detail is excellent and both light and dark contrast showed with plenty of distinction in our DisplayMate tests. The SyncMaster 2233SW also has accurate hues and saturation levels and produces a crisp, sharp image with no evidence of backlight bleeding.

It is worth delving into the on-screen menu as Samsung has included many useful features, headed by MagicColor and MagicBright. MagicColor increases the brightness and is ideal for viewing images, while MagicBright is a set of pre-programmed colour modes including sport, movie, dynamic contrast, text, Internet and game. In a regular office environment we found Internet mode to be the ideal setting, though the colours produced in some of the other modes are excellent, with no over-saturation. Text is displayed accurately with minimal aberrations and at the native 1920x1080 resolution the Windows Desktop looked superb.

Our only real complaint lies with the vertical viewing angles, which could be improved. Thankfully, the horizontal viewing angles are much better, with no noticeable colour shift.

The rear of the Samsung SyncMaster 2233SW has an etched flower design. The LCD monitor includes DVI and D-Sub ports but disappointingly there is no DVI cable included in the sales package.