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Samsung SyncMaster 225BW 22” Widescreen LCD
Introduction
Samsung has an outstanding history of producing great LCD monitors. Today we look at the Samsung SyncMaster 225BW 22" Widescreen LCD display. Its 22" size is an upgrade from the 20" widescreens that have dominated the market for the past two years. And what a welcome upgrade it is. The unit sports an MSRP of $500, however I couldn't find any store that is actually selling it for that price. The usual price is between $380 and $400 (plus any applicable shipping and tax); although at the time I checked (December 26th) prices were cut further because of the after Christmas sales. The 22" Widescreen LCD segment is a growing segment of the market, and it seems to hit on a tremendous value for consumers - displays larger than 20" at a price that doesn't make you cringe (like the 24" 1920x1200 displays that sell for over $600). Will this monitor be a good fit to use all those gift cards you got for Christmas? Read on and find out!    First Looks The monitor is big. And it comes out of the box in one piece, with a pin holding the stand to its minimum height. I thought it was kind of odd, but its just there to keep the stand from moving up and down during shipping. I have managed to put the stand into an intermediate position (not the top or the bottom) and have it stay there, so it seems the pin isn't needed during use. The bezel around the display is thin, about a centimeter on the left and right sides, 14mm on the top and 17mm on the bottom. The bottom right of the display as the power button along with five other buttons that control the OSD and the different things you can do in there.         Finally, the display came with VGA and DVI cables, power cord, a paper copy of the quick start guide and a CD that had the drivers and the calibration software for the display. The full instruction manual was on the CD in HTML, and is also available as a PDF from Samsung's website. One of the things I learned the first night I had the monitor was when it was in standby mode the blue power LED would flash on and off. This might be fine if your display is in a den, but my computer is in my bedroom. So at night my room would flash blue until I remembered to go turn the monitor off. The inputs to the display are located on the bottom rear of the display. You get the standard 15 pin analog and DVI digital inputs from your computer. Also included are the input for the power cable and an optional power output for a speaker bar. Finally, a real power switch is located next to the power cord plug. This is the real power switch, since the unit will simply go into a standby mode when you turn the unit's power off with the button on the front.
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23 User Comments 1 - Posted by
Lynda
on October 3, 2008 - 2:45 pm This is a great monitor - especially for the price. However, mine has developed a problem after approximately 14 months of daily use. I bought it in early July 2007 and in late August 2008 it began coming on with a gray screen and freezing. I have to turn it off and back on 2-3 times for it to come on normally and work. A couple of times I've had to shut down my computer and monitor for 5-10 minutes and begin all over. When not in use I shut it down, I don't put it to sleep - and it's always plugged in to a high quality surge protector.
2 - Posted by
Kurtis
on October 3, 2008 - 3:37 pm Are you positive the problem isn't your computer? Just to check, I'd plug it into a different computer and see if you have the same issues.
3 - Posted by
Floge
on January 11, 2009 - 7:52 pm This has been an very good monitor but as Lynda wrote after 13 months of daily use i have to got this gray blurring and freeze and now it has suddenly stopped working =( tried with a diffrent gfx card but it doesnt respond to that. Only thing that works on the LCD is the LED that as some monster spasms. blinking +3 times per second and now my only option is to see if my warranty covers this or if i have to buy me a new monitor 4 - Posted by
Noah
on February 5, 2009 - 11:50 am Same issue. Have had this monitor just over a year and a half and now it displays a black screen. I turn it off and on but the screen only shows properly for a second then turns right back off. Kind of annoying. I'm trying to rest the computer and monitor for a sec and we'll see what happens. Not looking hopeful at this point.
5 - Posted by
dipper
on February 8, 2009 - 11:25 am Noah, did you resolve the problem or have any ideas as to what is causing it? I'm experiencing the exact same thing and it just seem to start up over the last couple of days. I've also owned the monitor for only about 1.5 - 2 years. Running on Vista.
6 - Posted by
techie
on March 3, 2009 - 12:36 pm Same issue as Noah ... the screen comes on for a split second, then goes black. Power it off then back on and the same thing happens. Any idea what the problem might be?
7 - Posted by
brhyne
on March 4, 2009 - 4:37 pm Did anyone come up with a solution Noah's problem?
8 - Posted by
tradan
on March 20, 2009 - 3:21 am Just spent a few hours ,trying to get the monitor to work ,no luck.Have had the 225bw for about 2 years.Same issue as Noah .Screen comes on for a split second ,then goes black.I would like to know whats up.It cost good money.
9 - Posted by
rjackson
on April 7, 2009 - 12:43 pm Same issue as Noah. This problem just started last week. I would love to know the solution.
10 - Posted by
shorttimer
on April 16, 2009 - 11:02 am Has anyone found an answer for the screen going black? I would love to know the solution as well.
11 - Posted by
wtfsamsung
on April 29, 2009 - 3:26 pm I have the same problem. I've only had it for a year. I found that when the screen goes black, if I leave it on like for 10 minutes turn it off and turn it back on and it works with no problems. I don't think i'm buying another Samsung when this one no longer works.
12 - Posted by
trusso
on May 8, 2009 - 10:53 pm Grumble. I've been having the same problem as the everyone else here. In the last week or so, after a few years of owning it, my Samsung 225BW has suddenly started blacking out after a while of use. To get it to wake up, I have to push the power button repeatedly, and after 10-15 cycles, it finally turns on and stays on. As of tonight, though, it has only stayed on for a minute or two after all this. I really wish I knew what was causing it or how to make it stop. Has anyone had any results at all, or if there's been any clue from Samsung.
13 - Posted by
trusso
on May 8, 2009 - 10:57 pm AH-HAH! Found a web site that explains what the problem is. http://www.badcaps.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6930... Apparently there are a couple of bad capacitors in the unit. Those with hardware hacking skills might find this helpful. 14 - Posted by
ddl
on May 24, 2009 - 12:17 pm Yep, mine had same problem and found 2 bad 820uf capacitors. They were obviously bad because they were bulging (expansion) at the top. Replaced and now monitor works great.
15 - Posted by
jermany
on June 3, 2009 - 2:14 pm Can you tell me DDl where you bought yours at..i can't seem to find any locally...and i don't really want to order them with such a high shipping fee...Please help
16 - Posted by
jaaks
on July 7, 2009 - 10:06 am I found mine had the same problem with the bad capacitors. Ordered the 2 820 uf caps, plus the 330 uf cap next to them from Digi-key. With shipping, cost was less than 3 bucks. Should have them by the end of the week. Hopefully, this will fix my problem, too.
17 - Posted by
rhalle
on July 21, 2009 - 3:44 am After 2.5 years of close to 24/7 use, I've got what I'm guessing is the same problem; monitor appears to come on, greyish screen, and sometimes there are flashes of color and bars. After awhile (sometimes a long while) it will sputter to life. Maybe I'll open it up once the Acer gets here. 18 - Posted by
jerichat
on July 21, 2009 - 10:34 am Mine is kinda different, It usually changes colors, sometimes it turns black and i have to adjust the contrast and brightness, and most of the time the colors kept on changing and menu button is not working. It happens to me most of the time but when i try to unplug and replug it at works fine again.
19 - Posted by
KickToTheJunk
on August 2, 2009 - 5:21 pm Seems I have the same problem. Turn the monitor on, I see the POST screen (or logo screen) for about 1 or 2 seconds then NOTHING but the blue power light on the button. - I've removed my power board and inspected my CAPS, uh... everything looks and smells normal. Not too sure what to do next. May take it to a local shop and let them inspect it. 20 - Posted by
wtfsamsung
on August 23, 2009 - 10:22 pm My 225bw screen finally went out...I thought I was going to have to throw it away...but I decided to order the capacitors mentioned by Jaaks...I'am not that into electronics but my brother is an electronics technician...I ordered 10 each of the the 820uf and 330 uff they where like 12 bucks...I took the screen apart then my brother helped me find the offending caps...they were all in a row ...2 820s and one 330 or the other way around hehe...my brother replaced the 3 capacitors ...I put the screen back together and now it works like new...Thanks You for your help in finding a solution to that problem...I don't have to wait like 20 minutes for the screen to turn on
21 - Posted by
Sonaeru
on September 23, 2009 - 2:58 pm I turned this brightness down on mine, and it worked fine after I did that. Weird right?
22 - Posted by
bigdog411
on October 11, 2009 - 7:40 am my 225bw syncMaster does the same thing, when turning on , or powering up after sleep, it blinks on for a second, then goes black. after turning it on and off, usually about 10-15 times, it stays on........ can it be fixed????
23 - Posted by
lancelyons
on October 22, 2009 - 3:22 pm how big are the caps and I am talking physical dimensions. There are probably a number of different sizes that have the same capacitance values.
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