Samsung Touch Of Color T260HD 25.5-Inch LCD HDTV Monitor

Comment: I bought this off [...] via Amazon while on the road since I had just bought a PS3 and didn't want to watch Blu-ray and play the PS3 for the first time on the hotel TV. I talked myself into this being ok since I was getting a computer monitor out of the deal that I can use when I get home. So far I'm pleased on both accounts. I plugged my laptop into it just to try it out and it looked like a very large, very sharp computer screen to me, played around with it a bit but haven't used it as a monitor again yet.

I think it looks excellent as an HDTV for PS3 games ("MLB 10: The Show" and "Bioshock 2" so far)and for movies, DVD and Blu-ray alike. I do agree with some others that it doesn't have the best horizontal (I think that's right, meaning you wouldn't want to sit on the floor and look up at it) viewing angle. It tilts a bit (20 degrees I believe) which helps. I used the PS3's suggested settings and set the color and sound on the monitor to Dynamic and although I'm no videophile I think it looks awesome. The sound isn't great but it's not unbearable and I wasn't expecting full dynamic sound from monitor speakers. That's all I got I guess, no buyer's remorse from me (until my wife finds out I bought a PS3 and TV while I was gone).

Comment: I was looking for a PC monitor + HDTV big enough to fit in my home office. After researching for the right model, I came to this and followed all the comments about it.

I did have some troubles trying to get the maximum resolution with my home PC, but figured out the video card was not able to keep up with it. I get a different result with my home notebook, and the video resolution I get from my TV signal is awesome.

I had to play a little bit with the color settings to max out the capabilities of this monitor-TV. But in general, I'd say it surpassed my expectations.

Comment: This was a major upgrade from my older 20" Dell LCD Monitor. While the Dell LCD was the top of the line for it's day (2.5 years ago), this Samsung 1080p takes the "cake" in all areas by far, including sound. I sold my 42 1080p LCD TV", Bought this 25" 1080p, and now I have a TV and Monitor all in one. I have no complaints with this product at all. Everything performs better than expected. The Sound is better than expected also. If you read some reviews on here, you would not think so. If you are looking to have one display for both TV and Monitor, this is a great purchase. I have Direct TV hooked into the HDMI and the computer connected into the DVI. Still have one HDMI left for the PS3. Just hit the source button on the remote to go between the HDMI source and the "computer" DVI. Very simple to hook up. This TV with mount is lighter than my Dell, another plus for me.

*One suggestion*...... If you are using for the computer, just let the computer automatic download the drivers. I did not use the Driver CD that came with the TV and I have found over the years with monitors, your computer will download what it needs to run it.

Again set up is a snap, 10 minutes total and was gaming away.

#1 I'm using DVI with my custom made computer.
specs: Windows 7 64 bit
(2) Nvidia GTS 250 (1024x2)
2.5 Terabytes of Hard Drive space
Internal TV Tuner
EVGA X58 SLI MotherBoard
Sony Blu Ray Player (Internal)
DVD Player/Burner (Internal)
6 in one Card Reader (internal)
Creative SB X-FI Audio (internal)
I core 7 920
6gb of Corsair Dominator

#2 I am using Direct TV HD by HDMI (1080p)

Comment: Pros: - Easy to setup
- Blacks deeper than I expected
- Crisp Xbox 360 display
- Headphone jack provides higher quality sound than I expected
- Vivid coloring
- The connectivity this monitor offers really is convenient
- Tilt and rotation of stand
- People are criticizing the speakers heavily, but give the built-in equalizer a "smile" and their performance is much better (I'm used to playing with studio monitors hooked up)

This monitor is the perfect size for my audio production needs. It makes using a digital audio workstation much more convenient. If any of you have used a DAW before, you know DAW's and VSTI's are filled with small knobs, sliders, etc. and can be cumbersome to navigate. I have this hooked up to my PC via DVI and it allows me to put the entire DAW window on the T260HD and use my Dell UltraSharp to display all the VST's for a current project, making navigation seemless. Also, coming from an UltraSharp, the blacks on this are deeper and colors are more vivid.
Cons:
- Stand is not as sturdy as it should be
- Lack of analog audio out is pretty annoying
- No Picture-in-Picture
- Miniscule amount of 'audio processing' noise can be heard through headphones when using the headphone jack and no sound is being emitted.
- 480p signal from Verizon Fios HD set-top box is pretty grainy
- Would have liked to see either another HDMI port on the back or the side HDMI port moved to the back
Other Thoughts: - Jumped on an open-box T260HD, so the price was good (The plastic had not even been removed from the screen and all accessories were included. I doubt the previous buyer even took the monitor out of the packaging.)

- Really sit down and take the time to properly set this up and I think you'll find that it is more than worth the price

- This review is coming from a student majoring in computer science and minoring in music. Audio engineering and production is a serious hobby for me and I know what good sound is. This monitor just made my life much easier.

Comment: So I don't have much to add to what other reviewers said. I am a student who wanted a bigger monitor (one I could sit a bit away from the desk) that would work well for work and videos at a decent price. I just got the monitor a few days ago and I will say I am satisfied.

Super easy to setup and install. Plug and play and just used the remote to setup the colors etc. how I wanted them.

Through the standard DVI hook up, the color and resolution are great both for text and videos. As previously mentioned the viewing cone is relatively small, but I only noticed it after reading other's reviews. For my normal usage, I don't notice it at all.

Some caveats...

-I haven't used it with HDMI, so I am not sure how it looks wit hat setup (though I imagine it is better than it is now, which is pretty great)

-I haven't heard the speakers as I have a sound system hooked up directly to my computer. I imagine most people will do the same.

-I haven't hooked it up to TV yet. I've heard some say that it isn't great as a TV, but others have seemed to make some adjustments and been blown away by it. I'm of the camp that doesn't mind spending a bit of time to get things working just right, so I'm optimistic on this point.

I gave it a 5 star rating because it was exactly what I was looking for. Is it the best 25"-ish monitor/TV out there? Probably not. But I doubt you'll find anything else out there that even comes close for the size and price. In fact, I think it's one of the best bargains in electronics I've come across in a while.