Poll

Ok so i took the plunge into LCD world today. I have been faithfully using my NEC FP2141sb CRT for years and decided it was time. So i picked this monitor for a couple reasons. First I did not want to pay the extra for the T260HD because i do not see myself using those inputs. Second, I have no intention of actually keeping the thing right now but it got a good deal on it from local Best Buy. I have read and read and read and i needed some sort of starting point to compare other reviews. You just don't really know until you get it in your home hooked up to your stuff. I tested it with my PC using DVI, xbox360, and laptop with VGA out.

**Disclaimer** I am extremely picky when it comes to picture quality. I have used CRTs my whole life until now and currently own 50" 1080p panny plasma which i love. So keep that in mind that its those screens i am used to.

Out of the box impressions:
Everyone is always taken back by how big the screen actually is and I was as well...its huge.

Style and aesthetics look amazing and the stand is ok. It rotates but doesn't go up and down but i don't care my chair goes up and down. It comes with every cable you could need except HDMI which isn't a big deal because it would probably be a crappy one anyway.

PC Using DVI:
The monitor was too bright so i had to turn it down half way from way it came. Text and general windows things are VERY clear and easy to read close up or far away. I immediately ran my pixel program and cycled through all the colors and found no dead or stuck pixels. the backlight bleeding was minimal to none. although i have read this takes time to set in.

Gaming was great. i ran crysis, warcraft3, half life 2, and they all looked great. there was no input lag that i could tell and the screen responded well to quick movement in shooters (keep in mind im running 9800gtx). So honestly i was very impressed because no one seems to have good or bad reviews about this monitor yet.

Oh and as far as viewing angles go...I could not give 2 s##ts about that because I am going to be using the screen head on pretty much all the time.

I played a blu-ray rip and the quality was incredible. What a great looking screen for HD movies.

PC Using VGA:
Good, not great. The vga is noticeably less clear and less sharp of a picture. But still perfectly manageable.

XBOX 360:
it immediately picked up 1080p and the screen showed it running at 1900x1080p. there were no bars ... and from what i can tell the image was NOT stretched. call of duty 4 looked good. i cannot say it looked great because i am used to running it on a 50" panny plasma which, imo, is looks better. actually, better might not be the right word...just different. i would say the lcd screen picture looks sharper and bright where my plasma looks smoother with better colors which i prefer. so i may be the wrong person to write a review about it.

OVERALL:
i payed $460 and i can't imagine a better screen for the price. the only other ones that i was considering was benq 24" or the kds 26". i opted on not going with kds mainly because i would have to order it from newegg AND i find myself being able to trust samsung screen more than KDS.