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Samsung turns 2007 into 3000 (to 1)

Published on 10th January 2007 by Brett Thomas

"Is it live?" - Samsung has made the prettiest display to date. But it'll cost you...

There are things that sound great. There are some things that sound great and are absolutely wretched. Many are things that turn out to be halfway between as great as they sound and as absolutely poor as they could be. And then there are the rare things that sound great, and make your jaw drop in person.

Samsung has just entered the last of those categories.

Many of you commented on Wil's story kicking off CES 2007 about Samsung announcing a 3000:1 contrast ratio monitor. Is it fake? Will it really make that much of a difference? Is it done with smoke, mirrors, or other trickery?I got a chance to visit the booth a bit before my scheduled meeting, curious to see the beasts themselves. The answer to "Is it real?" is, "Yes, and it will knock your socks off."

There are two types of high-contrast monitors coming out - one is a standard 3000:1 contrast ratio, as is pictured in the captioned image to the right. This model has been announced in a 24" and 27" version, both are in production now. We can expect to see the 27" by 2Q of 2007, but the 24" won't debut until Q3. Those of you across the pond in Europe will be waiting a little longer, but probably not much.

The second type is pictured below. Samsung actually announced the 20" in November - LED backlit with a color palate far beyond a standard monitor. It will automatically correct itself based on the color type of image you're using, be it Adobe RGB, sRGB, or more unique formats. The target market for these fantastic screens are imaging enthusiasts - and they come at a price. The 20" model, which should be hitting stores in February, is roughly $2,000 USD. There is no price for the 30" model, which is the one pictured.

Drool on, enthusiasts - this might be one series of monitors worth paying for. So take a look at the picture below and tell us your thoughts in our forums. And before you even ask, the only thing I did to this image is change the file name. Enjoy!

You really want to click this.

27 Comments

Discuss in the forums Reply

Rich_13 10th January 2007, 01:30

i love the whole "no pictures" the the bottom left corner of the picture... jk thats a very nice screen. :D

DeX 10th January 2007, 01:43

What's with the shrouds at the side of the screen? In any case it looks yummy.

Tulatin 10th January 2007, 01:55

The shrouds are akin to those featured on professional displays - much like the ones you've seen some of the hardcore photo geeks use. Essentially, they serve to filter out ambient light to a degree, in order to maintain the colour in any light

Neogumbercules 10th January 2007, 02:05

If only I were wealthy.

speedfreek 10th January 2007, 02:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rich_13
i love the whole "no pictures" the the bottom left corner of the picture

I saw that right away.

The price is what dosent look nice but you get what you pay for.

DreamTheEndless 10th January 2007, 04:11

Holy shiznit batman -

I can't believe how good that looks.

The nice thing about technology is that in 5 years or so these will be affordable....

tylerpestell 10th January 2007, 06:54

I don't get it... How would the pictures do it any justice? Since more then likely you are using a standard monitor to view the picture of the great contrast ratio. It reminds me of the Bose commericials and they are like ... "Hear how great that sounds?" when they play the music through your TV's speaker.

I still want one!!! Little too expensive for my taste though.

BioSniper 10th January 2007, 07:40

Surely though this wasn't much of a challenge as their LCD TV's are 5000:1 ? or am I totally missing the point?

Tim S 10th January 2007, 08:15

heh, loving the no photography sign :D

rupbert 10th January 2007, 08:21

Quote:

Originally Posted by BioSniper
Surely though this wasn't much of a challenge as their LCD TV's are 5000:1 ? or am I totally missing the point?

There is no panel that exists that has anywhere near a 5000:1 contrast ratio.

Most panel manufacturers use the 'high dynamic contrast ratio' figure in the advertising specifications, which in all honesty is absolute nonsense and not representative of the actual real-world performance.

That is why if these Samsung panels are indeed 3000:1 then it's quite a technical achievement. It looks spectacular!

Any idea if Samsung were asked if these panels may be used on their HDTVs in the near future? I imagine with these prices though anything over 26" could be seriously expensive.

ralph.pickering 10th January 2007, 09:24

3000:1? Pah! I'm still waiting for my 120000:1 Brightside display to come on sale down at Dixons.

Tim S 10th January 2007, 10:19

200,000:1 is an approximation (using the lowest 'lit' black level), since black is actually black on the BrightSide, meaning you get an infinite contrast ratio.

BioSniper 10th January 2007, 10:34

Quote:

Originally Posted by rupbert
There is no panel that exists that has anywhere near a 5000:1 contrast ratio.

Most panel manufacturers use the 'high dynamic contrast ratio' figure in the advertising specifications, which in all honesty is absolute nonsense and not representative of the actual real-world performance.

That is why if these Samsung panels are indeed 3000:1 then it's quite a technical achievement. It looks spectacular!

Any idea if Samsung were asked if these panels may be used on their HDTVs in the near future? I imagine with these prices though anything over 26" could be seriously expensive.

Sooo.. what IS their actual contrast ratio then? My Samsung manual states 5000:1 :/

rupbert 10th January 2007, 10:53

Quote:

Originally Posted by BioSniper
Sooo.. what IS their actual contrast ratio then? My Samsung manual states 5000:1 :/

What's the model #?

BioSniper 10th January 2007, 11:24

LE32R72BX
I could swear it was in the manual but I can't find it.
I guess if its 5000:1 dynamic its more like 1600 static?

rupbert 10th January 2007, 11:33

Quote:

Originally Posted by BioSniper
LE32R72BX
I could swear it was in the manual but I can't find it.
I guess if its 5000:1 dynamic its more like 1600 static?

The website specifications as expected state the Dynamic Contrast Ratio is 5000:01:00 so it's actually more like 1000:1...

http://www.samsung.com/uk/products/television/tftlcd/le26r72bxxeu.asp?page=Specifications

Mister_Tad 10th January 2007, 11:39

Quote:

Originally Posted by ralph.pickering
3000:1? Pah! I'm still waiting for my 120000:1 Brightside display to come on sale down at Dixons.

From what I understand, the uber-screen pictured at the bottom of the article uses the same technology as the brightside display.

Bladestorm 10th January 2007, 12:09

Well, I think if any manufacturer is going to be the first to bring uber image quality to the table its a good bet it is samsung, of course if anyone is going to make you re-mortgage your house to afford it .. its samsung ;)

TheoGeo 10th January 2007, 12:25

whats the point in having a picture of a high contrast super, amazing, brilliantly bright display if your going to be viewing that picture on an average, low contrast (comparitively) current market display?

telling us to view those pictures full screen is kind of pointless, we wont be able to tell the difference.

rupbert 10th January 2007, 12:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheoGeo
whats the point in having a picture of a high contrast super, amazing, brilliantly bright display if your going to be viewing that picture on an average, low contrast (comparitively) current market display?

telling us to view those pictures full screen is kind of pointless, we wont be able to tell the difference.

Wrong side of the bed this morning? B)

Dustin 10th January 2007, 13:29

Does anyone know how much that baby costs?

Veles 10th January 2007, 15:58

Damn you and your brain eating Dustin!

Da Dego 10th January 2007, 16:50

Cost for the panels isn't released yet :( The panels won't be available for at least 3 months in the US, so we'll keep you informed as soon as we know more.

For the shrouded ones, the shroud is actually part of the design and does come with the monitor. The 20" costs $1999 (and will be here in February), so imagine the step up for 30"... :) Like I said, aimed at professional graphics people. The difference between these and the 24"/27" (which are also 3000:1) is actually not the display tech so much as the active colour correction - that technology is very expensive, and a monitor that can display Adobe RGB as it will print is invaluable to a graphic artist.

The 24" and 27" are very impressive - and they are going to be much more affordable. Their target market is basically us - enthusiasts who want the top of the line image quality but don't need the fancy colour corrections. They'll be easily the most expensive of each size class of monitors, but not beyond affordability.

TheoGeo 10th January 2007, 22:11

Quote:

Originally Posted by rupbert
Wrong side of the bed this morning? B)

no, just grumpy that i probably wont be able to afford one of those for a long long long time

rupbert 10th January 2007, 22:14

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheoGeo
no, just grumpy that i probably wont be able to afford one of those for a long long long time

Like the other 98% of us :(

gvblake22 13th January 2007, 01:02

I was at CES this year and got to see this monitor in action first hand it is definitely beautiful. This was last in line of many computer LCD screens along the display shelf and I was impressed by all of the displays more and more as I walked along looking at them. Then I got to the end and saw this monitor and I seriously just stopped in my tracks and stared. I got right up next to it and just looked it over and over. What is even more impressive than the contrast ratio was the viewing angles. I could not get the image to distort no matter what angle I was looking at it! As I was "wowing" at the monitor I realized there was another person next to me doing the same thing and we both looked at each other with the same stunned impression on our faces.

rupbert 13th January 2007, 01:06

Quote:

Originally Posted by gvblake22
I was at CES this year and got to see this monitor in action first hand it is definitely beautiful. This was last in line of many computer LCD screens along the display shelf and I was impressed by all of the displays more and more as I walked along looking at them. Then I got to the end and saw this monitor and I seriously just stopped in my tracks and stared. I got right up next to it and just looked it over and over. What is even more impressive than the contrast ratio was the viewing angles. I could not get the image to distort no matter what angle I was looking at it! As I was "wowing" at the monitor I realized there was another person next to me doing the same thing and we both looked at each other with the same stunned impression on our faces.

What was the source material? Static images only?