Samsung like other Korean manufacturers in our roundup is a well known reputable manufacturer of monitors. The SyncMaster 900 IFT does little to enhance this reputation, a rather bulky affair, it gives the distinct impression of being out of touch, there is no doubt ergonomically the monitor needs improving, as the specifications are far superior comparatively to its design. The monitor has a Samsung technology based "DynaFlat" CRT, with Smart III Surface treatment which results in TCO uniformity, which is similar to the FST monitors we have in our roundup, but the effect is not as good, but still better than the conventional shadow-mask CRTs. Connectivity is via a D-SUB non-captive cable and offers BNC connectors as does the Iiyama and Belinea, USB is optional. The monitor has a viewable diagonal image area of 18", whilst that is good, there is a certain amount of curvature, and a dot pitch size of 0.24mm did compensate for this. The monitor handled our test resolution of 1280 x 1024 at a refresh rate of 85Hz, comfortably, without any visible loss of image quality. The maximum recommended resolution by Samsung is 1600 x 1200 at a refresh rate of 76Hz; this is normal for a monitor of this size. Samsung provides OSD using the Digital Display Director, to set monitor controls with ease.

In our Set-up Display section the 900 IFT is another monitor to pass all our tests, without a single failure. In the Geometry and Distortion section the 900 IFT failed our Screen Regulation test completely, and had problems with Pincushion and Barrel Distortion. In our Sharpness and Resolution section the monitor had problems dealing with our Moiré tests and failed completely, fine-tuning could resolve the issues. In our Colour and Greyscale section the monitor passed with a hint of problem in the registration test, but enough to fail.

The Samsung SyncMaster 900 IFT can do with certain improvements, particularly in the look and feel departments. The monitor results were disappointing considering the tube technology and the fine dot pitch; it is a solid enough product, but lacks the performance over other flat-screen monitors.

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