Home > Consumer Reviews > Samsung Touch Of Color T240HD 24-Inch LCD HDTV Monitor

I purchased the T240HD for usage as a computer monitor because of a long history with Samsung monitors being absolutely top notch. Unfortunately this product while being pitched as a monitor, makes a great TV but not a great monitor.

The resolution is very good (1920x1200) and it's very attractive and stylish.

There is no vertical height adjustment (typical for a TV but important to have in a monitor). Your desk / monitor stand had better be at just the right height. The edge is highly reflective and creates bad glare around the picture in a work environment. The adjustments are typical TV adjustments but not monitor adjustments (there is no horizontal or vertical position adjustment).

I've used Samsung monitors for many years and recommend them to my clients. When I finally purchased a HDTV I bought a 46" Samsung which is excellent. The T240HD makes a great HDTV but I regret purchasing it as a computer monitor.

Pros: First of all, this monitor arrived with no dead/stuck pixels. The performance is solid: no noticeable blurring during movies & games, good color accuracy, and reasonable viewing angles for a TN panel. When using HDMI, you can set the picture mode to 16:9, so HD signals retain their aspect ratio (aka black bars on top & bottom of screen). This feature is not available in the non-HD model, the T240. Also, the TV tuner works great. There seem to be rumors of this monitor having high input lag - even if that's true, it's not noticeable at all to me. Relatively low energy consumption is a big plus. Did I mention...the bezel looks awesome!

Cons: A bit pricey - you're paying extra for the HDTV tuner and the artwork (which IMO is worth it because it's rare to see such elegance in monitors). Slight backlight bleed on the edges (all LCDs will have this, unless they're LED backlit). Probably a pro, but this monitor's way too bright on default settings - had to turn it down to 30-40 for my eyes. The T240 has a USB hub, this one doesn't. Lacks height & rotate adjustments.

The bottom line: If you want a 24" high-performance TN panel monitor that also has a sleek design, go for this and pay the extra ~$50-100 for it; you'll also get an HDTV tuner. If all you care about is performance, look at other Samsungs; or an HP, Dell, Acer, or BenQ.

I purchased this for a future proof TV, a Blu-Ray Player for the Playstation 3, and some video editing. I think for $500 this has to be the best value option in the HD market right now. Even if it is a TFT panel monitor.

Two picture options are available for HD aspect ratio: 16:9 setting, and "just scan," which appear identical to each other, both having letterbox on top and bottom so that you get full 1920X1080p HD.

The HDTV QAM/ATSC tuner included is great. A cheaper alternative to full hd picture if you don't want to settle for 720p. I have adjusted the color through the TV settings and also using the my laptops display calibration tool.
Scanned for channels and was be able able to receive several HD channels outputting in 1080i and 720p.
Bottom Line: monitor works great for hdmi (2inputs) full hd1080p use (albiet a TFT display which will cause viewing angles to be somewhat restricted depending on lighting conditions and distance/angle of viewing between the you and the monitor)], good for a PS3 use or any hdmi console, it can hook up to your laptop as a monitor, a bonus of the great HDTV built in-tuner, w/ digital optical out sound hookup as well for under $600.

First, to the the guy that gave this monitor 2 stars, you need to give yourself 2 stars for your own logic. Samsung never marketed this monitor as a reference monitor for video editing. It plainly states it is an HDTV monitor it's not a LaCie or an Eizo. Folks, all I can say is forget that review. This hdtv/monitor works extremely well as a standard pc monitor. The image is crisp and clear at the native resolution (1920*1200) and the colors are great. I also use this as a gaming display for my 360/PS3 and that is where it really shines. Plenty of adjustments on both the component and hdmi inputs to get the color/contrast/brightness to my liking. What I really enjoy are the scaling opitions. It can be set to a full screen mode so it slighty stretches a 1080p image vertically or 16:9 mode which keeps the aspect ration and letterboxs the image and the best mode which is sought after on many displays is "just scan" This is 1:1 pixel mapping. No stretching and no overscan. Many options here to get a great image. As a pc/gaming display its really hard to beat. No input lag that I can feel either. Get it if you've got the cash!!

The major problem is a buzzing sound when I turn down the brightness. This is totally unacceptable when using this as a monitor, since being so close to the screen, the buzzing is clearly heard and very annoying. In monitor mode (PC and DVI modes), the buzzing starts when the brightness is set below 90.

In TV and HDMI modes, the buzzing starts when the backlight is set below 9 (10 is the maximum). There is another control called "brightness", which does not affect the buzzing, so setting backlight to 9 and "brightness" low, is a way to get around the problem. I am not sure why there are 2 ways to control the brightness, and what is the difference between them.

Customer support were not very helpful. They suggested I send them the TV, and they will fix it or send me another one. I decided to return the TV to the store, and get a brand new one instead. Unfortunately the new one has exactly the same problem as the first one, so unless I get used to this buzzing, it will also be returned.

This is my first LCD TV, so I don't know if this is a common problem. I have another LCD monitor (which is about 5 years old) and 2 laptops, and none of them have this problem.

If it wasn't for this buzzing, I would give it 4 stars. I especially like the size and the resolution when used as a monitor. The only other minor problems are:
- sound is mediocre
- I really don't like the glossy bezel. It does look beautiful, but I hate the glare. It also shows fingerprints, dust, and scratches easily.