TV monitor
Relatively recently, Samsung Electronics introduced a new flagship line of 9-series monitors, the appearance of which resembles the creations of futuristic artists. Having used one of them for some time, I realized that my idea of the capabilities of modern monitors was stuck somewhere at the beginning of the millennium - it turns out that the future has already come.
Take a look?
If you at least once had to buy a TV in an electronics store, you must remember the boring picture that was displayed on all devices - for the reason that it was the most memorable among dozens of faceless screens. Well, after all, the truth is that with such a monotony of devices it is difficult to choose something specific, and there is no desire to read the characteristics — you choose the price tag.
')
Samsung went further - it worked individually on the design of its new product, so if you were looking for a TV “not like everyone else,” then the devices of the 9th series are just that.
In general, it is strange that so far only the word “TV” has figured in the article - after all, in this case we are talking primarily about the monitor.
So, the Samsung T27A950 is a 27-inch monitor, which can also work in combination with a TV, for which a TV tuner with a lot of connectors is built into it. We'll talk about them a bit later, but for now let's talk about design ... however, why talk about it - see for yourself:
The back wall of the display and many other parts of the body are made of aluminum with a fine grinding texture - the topic may be beaten, but still relevant and looks amazing. There are no sharp edges as such - smooth lines prevail everywhere, flowing from one part to another. This is especially noticeable on an asymmetrical leg - this is not to be confused with anything.
On the leg there is a power button and touch control buttons (highlighted, not visible in the photo):
The thin frame visually makes the treacherously glossy screen even larger. Like all Samsung TVs and monitors, this one is very thin - the thickness of the screen in the thickest place barely exceeds 15 millimeters.
Despite the modest weight of 6+ kilograms, the device is quite monolithic and more flexible than it might seem at first glance - a special hinge is built into the leg, allowing you to tilt the screen back to create a comfortable angle for a particular situation. With a slope, the structure does not become less stable - it stands, as it should be. Height adjustment, unfortunately, no, but how many TVs have it?
The device stands on a flat stand, which also has a stylish texture - there is a “smart” filling of the device in it. On the back side all interfaces are displayed, among which there are two HDMI, two USB (2.0) and Ethernet. There are composite and component inputs for connecting old analog equipment.
It is not very convenient that all the connectors are located exactly there - if you put the device to the wall, then connecting something may be difficult; it was necessary to bring to the side at least USB, because these connectors will be used most often. On the other hand, such a decision made it possible to make the screen itself more subtle.
The device uses a TN-matrix, which can upset the "experts" and other fans of tube sound. In fact, the TN matrix is not that bad, especially if it uses Magic Angle technology — a development by Samsung that magically increases viewing angles (mostly vertical) and facilitates collective viewing. For example, if you sprawled on the floor or sat on a low sofa, the technology will retain the original color rendition, while on ordinary devices there will be a solid darkness on the screen.
The Samsung T27A950 monitor boasts technical features that favorably affect the displayed image - a response of 3ms and a screen refresh rate of 120Hz. The latter, you guessed it, allows you to show not only normal, but also 3D video - for this, 3D glasses are included in the package.
Instead of cheap polarization technology, glasses use active shutter technology, thanks to which the 3D image is displayed in full FullHD resolution. Another nice feature is that if NVIDIA 3D Vision glasses taught their owners to order (as any items on the table could interfere with data transmission via the IR channel), Samsung glasses work using Bluetooth technology - long live the chaos!
As you noted above, the monitor has two USB ports to which you can connect external drives with multimedia content. If we talk about video, the monitor reproduced almost all the files, “stumbling” only on some mkv-videos with incomprehensible codecs. Alternatively, a USB dongle can be connected to USB so that the device can communicate with the network over the wireless interface.
Other non-standard features of the monitor include the Eco Motion function, which turns off (in automatic mode) the display of the device if the user moves away from the workplace, and turns on when it returns. As well as the EcoLight sensor, thanks to which the monitor can automatically adjust the brightness (in the presence of 10 levels) depending on the level of illumination in the room.
On this, perhaps, everything - go to the most interesting.
If the appearance of the Samsung T27A950 TV monitor can be considered minimalistic, then the functionality of the device is not the same.
The Samsung TA950 has a built-in TV tuner that supports analog and digital broadcasting of DVB-T / T2 / C standards. With cable and IP-TV monitor copes perfectly, especially given the fact that he often has to "stretch" the image with a low resolution to FullHD-size. In any case, the quality of the picture pleasantly pleases the eye - bright, clear and rich.
Another magic from Samsung, special, street - support for real-time conversion mode 2D-images in 3D. But in that case, unfortunately, the joy of image quality will not be complete anymore - it turns out to be somehow ... blurry and layered, or something. Unlike the “original” 3D, the image here is not clear enough - clarity is not true. But in general, I do not want to find fault with the image quality - everything is fine with viewing angles, too, for the picture is a solid five.
Ready to bet that many will be satisfied with the built-in speaker system, represented by two speakers (7 W each). They are quite enough for comfortable viewing of movies, but if you want something more (supported by Dolby Digital, SRS TheaterSound HD, DTS 2.0 and 3D Sound), then, of course, good external acoustics will not be enough.
The console is convenient and the buttons on it are very logical, the only remark is that the cross-shaped button in the center of the console does not clearly stand out from the others and is not always recognizable with fingers.
But on the other hand, the console has a pleasant (switchable) orange backlight, which you first notice in the evening - with it, the process of getting used to an unfamiliar console goes faster. The backlight is turned on by a separate button, next to which there is a button for selecting the signal source - for tests, the HDMI mode was used, in which the picture came from a nettop with NVIDIA Ion2.
Device settings are invoked by a separate button - a beautiful color menu in which all options are divided into categories, each has a short description.
The Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode allows you to watch videos while working, or, conversely, while watching a video, look out for some workflow from the corner of your eye.
But the most interesting thing starts when you press the Smart Hub button on the device's remote control - this technology allows you to fully surf the Internet, even without a computer! In more detail in the blog of the Samsung company about it already wrote - here and here .
In this model, the connection to the local Ethernet network is supported - we insert the wiring and here we have in our palm all those Smart TV functions that are used in modern Samsung TVs.
Browser, social networks, widgets and applications - when you see all this for the first time, your eyes begin to diverge. All features of the filling are divided into several sectors: at the top left, the main image is displayed (as in PiP), on the right - Samsung Apps, and below - two rows of already installed widgets and applications.
For example, I liked the widget from the company Yandex - there are displayed a TV program, information about the weather and traffic jams on the road, photos, a poster, news and other information relevant to the TV.
There are full-fledged GoogleMaps - a map on a huge diagonal, support for different layers (map-satellite-hybrid), scaling, routing, photos of the terrain - everything is like in adults. There is Google Talk, and if you have a webcam, you can talk on Skype.
Quite a lot of information and news applications. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Yota Play, Yota Music, Picasa, Zoomby, GisMeteo, Sport-Express - anything, and it is only pre-installed.
If this is not enough, you can always go to Samsung Apps and install something from there. There are hundreds of different applications to choose from - rules of the road, cooking books, kitchen timers, games and children's educational programs, calendars and world time - all this and much more (now more than 100 Russian-language applications) is available for free download at any time. Applications are placed in the internal memory of the device, the volume of which is about 950 MB.
Separate attention should be paid to the ability of the monitor to combine all multimedia devices into one network - speech from AllShare and ConnectShare technologies. All that is required is to connect the necessary devices to the network (via Ethernet or Wi-Fi), after which, for example, you can broadcast videos, photos and music to the TV. In a similar way, the android communicator can be turned into a more functional remote control or even a qwerty keyboard for comfortable typing in the TV interface.
The monitor, in principle, has no restrictions to use at all without connecting to a computer. For example, the most popular today SmartTV platform is supported, which allows you to go online using the browser’s built-in firmware. And this list of software does not end there: using the Smart Hub service, you can install any program. The most popular clients are for social networks, as well as for working with content of video exchangers and other media resources. There is also a popular picture-in-picture function.
Apparently, many people are worried about the further fate of such devices, after six months, the manufacturer will forget about SmartTV and there will be no support. It is difficult to say something for sure, but my reasoning was as follows.
Firstly, the SmartTV concept by historical standards has appeared quite recently, so the manufacturer is unlikely to bury it so quickly - very much effort has been invested in this newly formed market.
Secondly, the device provides a flexible system of updates - for sure the manufacturer will release firmware compatible with the range of their mobile devices.
But in the third - right now there are so many things in Smart Hub (not nominally, but fully) that the capabilities of a monitor-TV will be relevant for more than one day. Do not forget about the numerous applications in Samsung Apps - the further fate of the platform is given into the hands of users, and they certainly will also find programs for every taste and color. So worries about "what if" in this case are superfluous.
Model Name: Samsung T27A950
Screen diagonal: 27 ''
Matrix type: TN
Backlight: LED
Resolution: 1920x1080 (FullHD)
Screen refresh rate: 120 Hz
Response time: 3 ms
Brightness: 300 cd / m2
Contrast ratio: 1000: 1
Dynamic Contrast: MEGA DCR
Number of colors: 16.7 million
Viewing angles: 170/160 degrees:
Interfaces: 1 x Ethernet, 2 x HDMI, 2 x USB (2.0), component, composite and antenna inputs, digital optical output, 3.5 mm audio output, digital tuner (DVB-T / T2 / C)
Speakers: SRS TheaterSound, 2 x 7 W
Power consumption: 80 W (maximum), 1.5 W (in standby mode)
Dimensions: 691 x 543 x 216 mm (with stand)
Weight: 6.2 kg
Price: from 24 000 rubles
In fairness it should be noted that in the presence of a more affordable model Samsung TA750 - all the same, only the diagonal is 23 inches.
27 ''. If you use such a screen as a monitor, then everything will be visible on it.
Modest size and weight. Typically, displays such a diagonal weigh at least twice.
Stylish and practical body. Metal is better than plastic. And here it is also beautiful!
Support for many interfaces. In principle, you can connect anything.
Excellent image quality. That, actually, is not surprising.
Availability of Smart @ TV. This is definitely the future of televisions!
3D support. The proposal for the future can be repeated.
The presence of a TV tuner. Most likely, you will not have to buy a separate device.
Convenient remote control. All the charm of the backlight in an unfamiliar console you understand when you first turn off the lights in the room.
✘ Glossy screen. Even if you do not touch it with greasy hands, there will be highlights and reflections.
✘ Lack of card reader. But it would be possible to watch photos immediately from the camera!
✘ No D-Sub and DVI connectors. It is not clear what prevented them from adding ?!
✘ No built-in Wi-Fi module. Easily fit, but now you have to pull an extra wire or buy Wi-Fi-dongle.
The lack of support for the VESA standard will not be considered a disadvantage - here the whole “trick” in the stand.
The cost is also difficult to carry anywhere - on the one hand, a little expensive; on the other hand, it is quite an adequate cost for the screen of such a diagonal and functional.
Up to this point I have not had the opportunity to meet with this type of device - manufacturers simply didn’t do anything of the kind. In the best case, they got monitors, which, due to the presence of "non-standard" connectors, could be considered TVs. Much worse, if the TV is positioned as a “monitor” - in my opinion, this is the worst thing that can be found for the eyes. And even if the quality of the image on the screen was good, the eyes still began to bleed from the squalor of the interface and the built-in capabilities.
The Samsung T27A950 is different. First of all, it is the monitor, and as a monitor it is very good - there are no complaints about the quality of the picture. But at the same time, the television function was also extremely well implemented, although you can’t even call the device just a TV - with SmartTV, the possibilities have increased significantly.
Who would suit such a device? First of all, it is an excellent choice for connoisseurs of multimedia entertainment - the potential that has been pledged (stylish housing, TV tuner, 3D support, Internet, variety of interfaces) will help the device to integrate into a modern digital home, combining all multimedia devices in it. It will also suit those who wanted to save money and space in their modest apartments - indeed, why pay more, if you can work at the monitor during the day, and in the evening it turns into a full-fledged TV. So, well, who else is there?
In general, I am pleasantly surprised.
Take a look?
▌ Appearance
If you at least once had to buy a TV in an electronics store, you must remember the boring picture that was displayed on all devices - for the reason that it was the most memorable among dozens of faceless screens. Well, after all, the truth is that with such a monotony of devices it is difficult to choose something specific, and there is no desire to read the characteristics — you choose the price tag.
')
Samsung went further - it worked individually on the design of its new product, so if you were looking for a TV “not like everyone else,” then the devices of the 9th series are just that.
In general, it is strange that so far only the word “TV” has figured in the article - after all, in this case we are talking primarily about the monitor.
So, the Samsung T27A950 is a 27-inch monitor, which can also work in combination with a TV, for which a TV tuner with a lot of connectors is built into it. We'll talk about them a bit later, but for now let's talk about design ... however, why talk about it - see for yourself:
The back wall of the display and many other parts of the body are made of aluminum with a fine grinding texture - the topic may be beaten, but still relevant and looks amazing. There are no sharp edges as such - smooth lines prevail everywhere, flowing from one part to another. This is especially noticeable on an asymmetrical leg - this is not to be confused with anything.
On the leg there is a power button and touch control buttons (highlighted, not visible in the photo):
The thin frame visually makes the treacherously glossy screen even larger. Like all Samsung TVs and monitors, this one is very thin - the thickness of the screen in the thickest place barely exceeds 15 millimeters.
Despite the modest weight of 6+ kilograms, the device is quite monolithic and more flexible than it might seem at first glance - a special hinge is built into the leg, allowing you to tilt the screen back to create a comfortable angle for a particular situation. With a slope, the structure does not become less stable - it stands, as it should be. Height adjustment, unfortunately, no, but how many TVs have it?
The device stands on a flat stand, which also has a stylish texture - there is a “smart” filling of the device in it. On the back side all interfaces are displayed, among which there are two HDMI, two USB (2.0) and Ethernet. There are composite and component inputs for connecting old analog equipment.
It is not very convenient that all the connectors are located exactly there - if you put the device to the wall, then connecting something may be difficult; it was necessary to bring to the side at least USB, because these connectors will be used most often. On the other hand, such a decision made it possible to make the screen itself more subtle.
The device uses a TN-matrix, which can upset the "experts" and other fans of tube sound. In fact, the TN matrix is not that bad, especially if it uses Magic Angle technology — a development by Samsung that magically increases viewing angles (mostly vertical) and facilitates collective viewing. For example, if you sprawled on the floor or sat on a low sofa, the technology will retain the original color rendition, while on ordinary devices there will be a solid darkness on the screen.
The Samsung T27A950 monitor boasts technical features that favorably affect the displayed image - a response of 3ms and a screen refresh rate of 120Hz. The latter, you guessed it, allows you to show not only normal, but also 3D video - for this, 3D glasses are included in the package.
Instead of cheap polarization technology, glasses use active shutter technology, thanks to which the 3D image is displayed in full FullHD resolution. Another nice feature is that if NVIDIA 3D Vision glasses taught their owners to order (as any items on the table could interfere with data transmission via the IR channel), Samsung glasses work using Bluetooth technology - long live the chaos!
As you noted above, the monitor has two USB ports to which you can connect external drives with multimedia content. If we talk about video, the monitor reproduced almost all the files, “stumbling” only on some mkv-videos with incomprehensible codecs. Alternatively, a USB dongle can be connected to USB so that the device can communicate with the network over the wireless interface.
Other non-standard features of the monitor include the Eco Motion function, which turns off (in automatic mode) the display of the device if the user moves away from the workplace, and turns on when it returns. As well as the EcoLight sensor, thanks to which the monitor can automatically adjust the brightness (in the presence of 10 levels) depending on the level of illumination in the room.
On this, perhaps, everything - go to the most interesting.
▌ Inner world
If the appearance of the Samsung T27A950 TV monitor can be considered minimalistic, then the functionality of the device is not the same.
The Samsung TA950 has a built-in TV tuner that supports analog and digital broadcasting of DVB-T / T2 / C standards. With cable and IP-TV monitor copes perfectly, especially given the fact that he often has to "stretch" the image with a low resolution to FullHD-size. In any case, the quality of the picture pleasantly pleases the eye - bright, clear and rich.
Another magic from Samsung, special, street - support for real-time conversion mode 2D-images in 3D. But in that case, unfortunately, the joy of image quality will not be complete anymore - it turns out to be somehow ... blurry and layered, or something. Unlike the “original” 3D, the image here is not clear enough - clarity is not true. But in general, I do not want to find fault with the image quality - everything is fine with viewing angles, too, for the picture is a solid five.
Ready to bet that many will be satisfied with the built-in speaker system, represented by two speakers (7 W each). They are quite enough for comfortable viewing of movies, but if you want something more (supported by Dolby Digital, SRS TheaterSound HD, DTS 2.0 and 3D Sound), then, of course, good external acoustics will not be enough.
The console is convenient and the buttons on it are very logical, the only remark is that the cross-shaped button in the center of the console does not clearly stand out from the others and is not always recognizable with fingers.
But on the other hand, the console has a pleasant (switchable) orange backlight, which you first notice in the evening - with it, the process of getting used to an unfamiliar console goes faster. The backlight is turned on by a separate button, next to which there is a button for selecting the signal source - for tests, the HDMI mode was used, in which the picture came from a nettop with NVIDIA Ion2.
Device settings are invoked by a separate button - a beautiful color menu in which all options are divided into categories, each has a short description.
The Picture-in-Picture (PIP) mode allows you to watch videos while working, or, conversely, while watching a video, look out for some workflow from the corner of your eye.
But the most interesting thing starts when you press the Smart Hub button on the device's remote control - this technology allows you to fully surf the Internet, even without a computer! In more detail in the blog of the Samsung company about it already wrote - here and here .
In this model, the connection to the local Ethernet network is supported - we insert the wiring and here we have in our palm all those Smart TV functions that are used in modern Samsung TVs.
Browser, social networks, widgets and applications - when you see all this for the first time, your eyes begin to diverge. All features of the filling are divided into several sectors: at the top left, the main image is displayed (as in PiP), on the right - Samsung Apps, and below - two rows of already installed widgets and applications.
For example, I liked the widget from the company Yandex - there are displayed a TV program, information about the weather and traffic jams on the road, photos, a poster, news and other information relevant to the TV.
There are full-fledged GoogleMaps - a map on a huge diagonal, support for different layers (map-satellite-hybrid), scaling, routing, photos of the terrain - everything is like in adults. There is Google Talk, and if you have a webcam, you can talk on Skype.
Quite a lot of information and news applications. Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Vimeo, Yota Play, Yota Music, Picasa, Zoomby, GisMeteo, Sport-Express - anything, and it is only pre-installed.
If this is not enough, you can always go to Samsung Apps and install something from there. There are hundreds of different applications to choose from - rules of the road, cooking books, kitchen timers, games and children's educational programs, calendars and world time - all this and much more (now more than 100 Russian-language applications) is available for free download at any time. Applications are placed in the internal memory of the device, the volume of which is about 950 MB.
Separate attention should be paid to the ability of the monitor to combine all multimedia devices into one network - speech from AllShare and ConnectShare technologies. All that is required is to connect the necessary devices to the network (via Ethernet or Wi-Fi), after which, for example, you can broadcast videos, photos and music to the TV. In a similar way, the android communicator can be turned into a more functional remote control or even a qwerty keyboard for comfortable typing in the TV interface.
The monitor, in principle, has no restrictions to use at all without connecting to a computer. For example, the most popular today SmartTV platform is supported, which allows you to go online using the browser’s built-in firmware. And this list of software does not end there: using the Smart Hub service, you can install any program. The most popular clients are for social networks, as well as for working with content of video exchangers and other media resources. There is also a popular picture-in-picture function.
Apparently, many people are worried about the further fate of such devices, after six months, the manufacturer will forget about SmartTV and there will be no support. It is difficult to say something for sure, but my reasoning was as follows.Firstly, the SmartTV concept by historical standards has appeared quite recently, so the manufacturer is unlikely to bury it so quickly - very much effort has been invested in this newly formed market.
Secondly, the device provides a flexible system of updates - for sure the manufacturer will release firmware compatible with the range of their mobile devices.
But in the third - right now there are so many things in Smart Hub (not nominally, but fully) that the capabilities of a monitor-TV will be relevant for more than one day. Do not forget about the numerous applications in Samsung Apps - the further fate of the platform is given into the hands of users, and they certainly will also find programs for every taste and color. So worries about "what if" in this case are superfluous.
▌ Specifications
Model Name: Samsung T27A950Screen diagonal: 27 ''
Matrix type: TN
Backlight: LED
Resolution: 1920x1080 (FullHD)
Screen refresh rate: 120 Hz
Response time: 3 ms
Brightness: 300 cd / m2
Contrast ratio: 1000: 1
Dynamic Contrast: MEGA DCR
Number of colors: 16.7 million
Viewing angles: 170/160 degrees:
Interfaces: 1 x Ethernet, 2 x HDMI, 2 x USB (2.0), component, composite and antenna inputs, digital optical output, 3.5 mm audio output, digital tuner (DVB-T / T2 / C)
Speakers: SRS TheaterSound, 2 x 7 W
Power consumption: 80 W (maximum), 1.5 W (in standby mode)
Dimensions: 691 x 543 x 216 mm (with stand)
Weight: 6.2 kg
Price: from 24 000 rubles
In fairness it should be noted that in the presence of a more affordable model Samsung TA750 - all the same, only the diagonal is 23 inches.
▌ Pros and cons
27 ''. If you use such a screen as a monitor, then everything will be visible on it.
Modest size and weight. Typically, displays such a diagonal weigh at least twice.
Stylish and practical body. Metal is better than plastic. And here it is also beautiful!
Support for many interfaces. In principle, you can connect anything.
Excellent image quality. That, actually, is not surprising.
Availability of Smart @ TV. This is definitely the future of televisions!
3D support. The proposal for the future can be repeated.
The presence of a TV tuner. Most likely, you will not have to buy a separate device.
Convenient remote control. All the charm of the backlight in an unfamiliar console you understand when you first turn off the lights in the room.
✘ Glossy screen. Even if you do not touch it with greasy hands, there will be highlights and reflections.
✘ Lack of card reader. But it would be possible to watch photos immediately from the camera!
✘ No D-Sub and DVI connectors. It is not clear what prevented them from adding ?!
✘ No built-in Wi-Fi module. Easily fit, but now you have to pull an extra wire or buy Wi-Fi-dongle.
The lack of support for the VESA standard will not be considered a disadvantage - here the whole “trick” in the stand.
The cost is also difficult to carry anywhere - on the one hand, a little expensive; on the other hand, it is quite an adequate cost for the screen of such a diagonal and functional.
▌ Conclusion
Up to this point I have not had the opportunity to meet with this type of device - manufacturers simply didn’t do anything of the kind. In the best case, they got monitors, which, due to the presence of "non-standard" connectors, could be considered TVs. Much worse, if the TV is positioned as a “monitor” - in my opinion, this is the worst thing that can be found for the eyes. And even if the quality of the image on the screen was good, the eyes still began to bleed from the squalor of the interface and the built-in capabilities.
The Samsung T27A950 is different. First of all, it is the monitor, and as a monitor it is very good - there are no complaints about the quality of the picture. But at the same time, the television function was also extremely well implemented, although you can’t even call the device just a TV - with SmartTV, the possibilities have increased significantly.
Who would suit such a device? First of all, it is an excellent choice for connoisseurs of multimedia entertainment - the potential that has been pledged (stylish housing, TV tuner, 3D support, Internet, variety of interfaces) will help the device to integrate into a modern digital home, combining all multimedia devices in it. It will also suit those who wanted to save money and space in their modest apartments - indeed, why pay more, if you can work at the monitor during the day, and in the evening it turns into a full-fledged TV. So, well, who else is there?
In general, I am pleasantly surprised.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/130872/
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