Thoughts:

Needless to say the camera lens captured a lot more than my eyes would ever could. During normal use from office apps, DVD movie, games and photo edit, I could not tell much of a difference. In fact, I was rather surprised to see some of the differences from the camera shots.

It would seem to me that the Samsung 204B is the obvious winner here; the pictures look more crisp and sharp. I couldn't make up my mind on the color reproduction as to which one I prefer.

5ms response time or as slow as the H20 25ms only produce the difference in ghosting from the camera. Personally, I simply can't see ghost effect from the lowly 25ms H20, perhaps my age is catching up on me.


H20

H20 wants you to know its presence with the extra width and height. The 2x 3W speakers could come in handy, setting the volume to higher than 50% will only amplify the high tone and sound really "sissy". There is no height and side adjustments, the only part that moves is tilt angle. The display is very bright with good contrast, default settings from the factory is rather poor as they set everything at 50 (right in the middle) while the color temperature settings (9300, 7500 and 6500° K) do not work at all. I use the "user preset" instead.

1600x1200 resolution must be created with forceware, there is no driver available. Otherwise, it defaults to 1280x1024. Color reproduction, brightness and contrast turn out decent after user adjustments made.

With a street price of $179.99, some of the inconveniences could be "ignored" by some, together with the lack of height and side adjustment feature.


Samsung 204B

You can adjust, swing and rotate whichever way you like. It only takes a slight push towards the direction you want. The front control panel is easy to operate, although it does not provide speakers. The Samsung 204B has a slim look as if it takes less space. The 1600x1200 resolution display is getting scarce because people are leaning towards the wide screen format; the 204B has a street price of about $330 to $350. The default setting allows plug & play at native resolutions. Color reproduction, brightness and contrast are better than H20. The 204B is a very good display in this class. For office apps, certain 3D works and graphic this classic format will be found in many businesses for a long time while the wide screen displays remain in the homes of many.

Conclusion:

I'd say we have a very good LCD display/monitor, the Samsung 204B; a decent average one, the H20. I "Googled" an hour ago, the Samsung 204B was priced at as low as $339.95 while the H20 is 55% less, everyday price of $179.95 at Geeks.

Putting money aside, the 204B is a winner. Considering the price difference, I'd take the H20 and add another $40 and my saving to get an 8800GT for the holiday season. Nevertheless, Samsung 204B offers unique features and highly rated by most. Should your work require such feature, the extra bucks would be well spent.

By the way, all H20 photos are on the left side and Ssmsung 204B on the right. :) Until next time, take care.