sabato 12 ottobre 2013

Samsung S27B971D Series 9 Monitor Review

 

 

Introduction


The new Samsung Series 9 S27B971D is a premium monitor targeted at photographers and other imaging professionals. The 27-inchwide monitor is individually colour calibrated at the factory and comes equipped with an advanced PLS panel with a wide viewing angle of 178 degrees and a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels. Importantly for photographers, it also has a non-reflective matt display, rather than the glossy version of last year’s S27B970D model. In the USA, the Samsung Series 9 S27B971D monitor costs $1199.99, and in the UK it retails for £849.99.

Ease of Use

The Samsung S27B971D boasts the same stunning design as its predecessor, with a two-tone silver and black colour scheme, rounded base and height adjustable stand.
Note that it still can't be placed in a portrait orientation, though, only vertically, with many rivals offering the ability to rotate the display in both orientations.
The 27-inch display boasts a WQHD resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, four times the resolution of HD (720p), making it well suited to running multiple programs and windows side-by-side.
Samsung S27B970DFront of the Samsung S27B971D
The Samsung S27B971D's connectivity options are mostly located on the rear of the stand, with ports for power, DVI, HDMI, DisplayPort, and USB from PC, as well as two downstream USB ports positioned on the side.
Samsung S27B970DRear of the Samsung S27B971D
Samsung S27B970DSamsung S27B971D connectivity
Samsung S27B970DSide of the Samsung S27B971D
As you can see in the photo below, the Samsung S27B971D has a matt display, rather than the previous model's distracting glossy display, which makes it much better suited to life as a a photographer's monitor. In a market where glossy displays are very much in the majority, it's nice to see a matt monitor being released.
Samsung S27B970DThe Samsung S27B971D is much, much less reflective than its predecessor
Samsung S27B970DFront of the Samsung S27B971D, stand raised to full height
Samsung S27B970DRear of the Samsung S27B971D
Samsung S27B970DRear of the Samsung S27B971D
Samsung S27B970DSamsung S27B971D connectivity options
Samsung S27B970DSamsung S27B971D connectivity, including two USB ports on the left
On the front bezel of the bottom of the height-adjustable stand are an array of soft buttons for controlling the monitor's configuration, which glow white when in use and fade away when idle. There's an Enter button, a Menu button, and up and down navigation buttons that double as volume and preset shortcut buttons, plus a power in the bottom-middle. They are a little on the small side and more difficult to use than most other monitors, especially when the stand is lowered right down.
Samsung S27B970DFront control panel of the Samsung S27B971D
There are five different monitor presets - Standard, High Bright, Cinema, sRGB, and Calibration - plus Brightness, Contrast, and Sharpness controls and Red, Green, and Blue adjustment options. You can also adjust the response time, gamma, and choose from 13 different color temperature settings.
We calibrated the Samsung S27B971D with the Datacolor Spyder4 Elite, a mid-range calibration device. The before and after results showed very little difference, which indicates that the factory calibration is accurate and the built-in Natural Colour Expert software works well. The Spyder4 Elite results also confirmed that the Samsung S27B971D covered 99% of the sRGB colour gamut, 77% of AdobeRGB and 72% of NTSC, making it well suited to life as a photographer's monitor.
Samsung S27B970DCalibrating the Samsung S27B971D with the Spyder4 Elite
Samsung S27B970DCalibrating the Samsung S27B971D with the Spyder4 Elite
Samsung S27B970DThe Samsung S27B971D displays 99% of sRGB
Samsung S27B970DThe Samsung S27B971D displays 72% of NTSC
Samsung S27B970DThe Samsung S27B971D displays 77% of AdobeRGB

Specifications

Display

 
Screen Size 27" / 68cm (16:9)
Type PLS LED
Brightness 285cd/m² (High Bright Mode) 220cd/m2 (Standard Mode)
Contrast Ratio Mega ∞ DCR (Static 1000:1) on High Bright, Cinema Mode
Resolution 2560 x 1440 (Wide Quad-HD)
Response Time 5ms (Gray-to-gray)
Viewing Angle (Horizontal/Vertical) 178° / 178°
Colour Support 16.7M colours

Interface

 
D-Sub No
DVI No
HDMI Yes
Dual Link DVI Yes
Display Port Yes
Audio In/Out No
Speaker Yes
USB Hub Yes

General Feature

 
Mobile Control No
Embedded Function Eco Saving, Colour Mode (Standard, High Bright, Cinema, sRGB, Calibration), Off Timer
Additional PC S/W NCE (Natural colour Expert ) S/W V2
OS Compatibility Win XP / Vista / 7Mac OS
Windows Certification Yes
Energy/Environment Mark Energy Star 5.0
Mobile High-Definition Link (MHL) Yes

Design

 
Colour Body : Black Glossy & Metal silver
Stand Type Round type
Stand Function HAS (100mm), Tilt
Wall Mount No

Power

 
Power Supply 100 - 240V (50 / 60hz)
Power Consumption Typ 53W (W/O USB), Max 63W (With USB)
Power Consumption (DPMS) < 0.5W
Power Consumption (Stand-by) < 0.5W
Type External Adaptor

Dimension

 
Set Dimension with Stand (WxHxD) 645 x 467 (567) x 247mm
Set Dimension without Stand (WxHxD) 645 x 402 x 23.2 (29.2)mm
Package Dimension (WxHxD) 741 x 563 x 312mm

Weight

 
Set Weight with Stand 7.9kg
Set Weight without Stand 5.7kg
Package Weight 10.7kg

Accessory

 
Cables Displayport cable, MHL cable, DVI-Dual-Link cable, USB 2.0 Cable
Others E-manual, Install CD, Quick Setup Guide, Natural Colour Expert Data Sheet included

Calibration

 
H/W Calibration Engine Yes
Factory Tunning Yes
LUT(Look-up Table) Bit Depth 16bit
Gray Balance ΔEab ≤ 1 on sRGB, Calibration Mode
Screen Uniformity Entire Screen: ΔEab ≤ 3, Luminance > 90% on Standard, sRGB, Calibration Mode
Embeded Calibration Sensor

Conclusion

When compared to last year's S27B970D monitor, the new Samsung S27B971D changes just one feature - swapping its predecessor's distractingly glossy display for a matt one, which makes a big difference when using it on a daily basis for photography. In all other regards the two monitors are exactly the same, sharing the beautiful design and high-specification, along with 99% sRGB colour gamut coverage and a very respectable 77% of the AdobeRGB spectrum. Unfortunately the Samsung S27B971D is now priced even higher than its already costly predecessor, with the asking price of £850 / $1200 making it very much a premium product, with some rivals undercutting it on cost whilst delivering more features and performance, albeit without the Samsung's impeccable styling.

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