Product Reviews

Samsung's SyncMaster XL2370 is a 23in LED backlit display that has a native resolution of 1920 x 1080 pixels and boasts, according to Samsung, a dynamic contrast ratio of 5,000,000:1.

LED backlit displays differ from regular screens in the way that they light pixels. Most LCD monitors use CCFL (cold cathode fluorescent) lights, which draw more power and generate more heat than LEDs. This means LED displays are more energy efficient - the XL2370 draws 31W in use - and can be thinner than CCFL LCDs. The LEDs also hit full brightness immediately, meaning that when you switch on the display, it's ready to use instantly. The other advantage of LED is that dark pixels are completely black, so contrast is deeper, hence the XL2370's huge dynamic contrast ratio. It's worth noting, however, that Dynamic Contrast has to be enabled in the display's menu system and is only suitable for watching movies and video.

Samsung says that the XL2370 is 'up to 70% slimmer than conventional monitors' and this is immediately noticeable when you take it out of its box. It's significantly thinner and lighter than any display of a similar size we've seen. And that makes assembly and positioning very easy. The display connects to your Mac using its DVI-I connector, and also has an HDMI input for connection to, say, a high-definition camcorder. There are digital and analogue outputs, too, so you can feed the audio signal from the HDMI input to an amplifier.

The only positional adjustment available is tilt,

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and this is limited to about 20°. If you do need to turn it around, though, it's so light that rotating the whole thing, stand and all, is easy. The backlit, touch-sensitive controls are positioned on the front, on the lower bezel.

Samsung puts a great deal of effort into the look of its displays, and the charcoal-grey colour scheme and transparent halo-like surround make this a very stylish display. The XL2370 isn't all about good looks, though, as we found when we connected the display to our test Mac. The images on the display were bright and crisp, and contrast was excellent.

The on-screen display (OSD) allows you to alter brightness and contrast, as well as select from a number of image presets, including Dynamic Contrast. While the difference between the Movie setting and Dynamic Contrast is noticeable, it's nowhere near as dramatic as the maximum contrast ratio would suggest.

You navigate the OSD using touch-sensitive buttons on the front of the display. These light up when you use them and then fade away when you don't need them. Our only complaint about this system is that the buttons needed to be pressed quite hard to register anything. This was frustrating and seemed rather odd for a system that's supposed to be touch sensitive.

We liked the SyncMaster XL2370 a great deal. As a display for a Mac mini, it's ideal. If you use a Mac Pro and have a colour-critical workflow, you should probably go for an IPS (in-plane switching) panel, rather than a Twisted Nematics (TN) display like this one. IPS panels are capable of displaying 16.7 million colours, while TN panels simulate millions of colours using a technique called frame rate control.

Our only real criticism is the price. The best price we were able to find online was £318 (£277 inc VAT). That's expensive for a 23in display, and we'd question whether the benefits of the XL2370 merit the price tag. However, at the time of writing, the XL2370 wasn't yet widely available. If, when it ships in volume, there are reasonable discounts to be had, it would be a very good buy.