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.
Front 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.
Rear of the Samsung S27B971D
Samsung S27B971D connectivity
Side 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.
The Samsung S27B971D is much, much less reflective than its predecessor
Front of the Samsung S27B971D, stand raised to full height
Rear of the Samsung S27B971D
Rear of the Samsung S27B971D
Samsung S27B971D connectivity options
Samsung 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.
Front 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.
Calibrating the Samsung S27B971D with the Spyder4 Elite
Calibrating the Samsung S27B971D with the Spyder4 Elite
The Samsung S27B971D displays 99% of sRGB
The Samsung S27B971D displays 72% of NTSC
The 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.