Samsung CFG70: Curved 144Hz Displays with Quantum Dot Backlighting and AMD FreeSync
by Anton Shilov on October 21, 2016 11:00 AM EST- Posted in
- Monitors
- Samsung
- Curved Display
- Quantum Dot
Samsung was among the first television manufacturers to use quantum dot technology for its products, and this week the company has continued that trend by introducing the industry’s first curved monitors for gamers featuring quantum dots. The new 24” and 27” displays boast a wider color gamut and a very high contrast ratio, in addition to support for AMD’s FreeSync technology and a 144 Hz refresh rate.
Samsung’s CFG70 monitors are based on the company’s curved 8-bit VA panels with 1 ms moving picture response time (MPRT), as well as a 144 Hz refresh rate as well as the static contrast ratio to 3000:1, which is higher compared to many advanced displays on the market. As for brightness, the 24” CFG70 offers 350 nits, which is in line with other contemporary high-end displays. At present, Samsung does not share a lot of details about its CFG70 monitors, but we do know that the screens have 1800R curvature along with 178° viewing angles.
The purpose of using quantum dot technology is to expand color gamut of the display by increasing intensity of red and green wavelengths (you can read more here). Samsung confirms that in the case of the CFG70, quantum dots help to produce more accurate dark reds and greens, which increases the contrast. In addition, Samsung says that the use of quantum dot technology for the backlighting of the CFG70 has allowed the company to expand the color gamut to 125% of the sRGB color space.
However despite the monitors' larger-than-sRGB gamut, at this point Samsung is only confirming that the monitors' firmware supports the sRGB color space, listing nothing about the AdobeRGB or DCI-P3 color spaces. This is an important consideration due to the fact that it potentially limits the usefulness of having a color gamut over 100% of sRGB to begin with. With most monitor designs, manufacturers who offer larger gamuts also support color spaces that can use that gamut, which doesn't appear to be the case for Samsung.
The catch then is that having a gamut that exceeds a particular standard will not produce an accurate result when using that wider gamut. Case in point, sRGB content would end up oversaturated since it's meant for a smaller gamut, and the lack of support for larger color spaces makes it difficult to use the wider gamut with anything else. It is hard to believe that Samsung decided to develop a set of monitors that would produce incorrect colors out-of-the-box, so hopefully Samsung is offering a true 100% sRGB mode as well. This would negate the wider gamut of the monitors, but it would ensure their accuracy.
Moving on, the improved contrast ratio should give you the idea about the advantages that the quantum dot technology brings to the CFG70.
| Samsung's CFG70 Gaming Curved Displays with Quantum Dot | ||
| 24" C24FG70FQN |
27" |
|
| Panel | 24" VA | 27" VA |
| Native Resolution | 1920×1080 | unknown |
| Maximum Refresh Rate | 144 Hz | |
| Response Time | 1 ms MPRT | |
| Brightness | 350 cd/m² | |
| Contrast | 3000:1 | |
| Viewing Angles | 178°/178° horizontal/vertical | |
| Curvature | 1800R | |
| Color Gamut | 125% sRGB | |
| Dynamic Refresh Rate Tech | AMD FreeSync | |
| Inputs | 1 × DP 1.2 2 × HDMI 2.0 |
|
| Audio | 3.5 mm input/output | |
| Link | C24FG70FQN | - |
Besides being the first curved gaming monitors with quantum dots, the Samsung CFG70 are also among the first displays to use AMD’s FreeSync over HDMI technology (for maximum compatibility, the devices are also equipped with DisplayPort inputs). While we do not know the exact dynamic refresh ranges supported by the screens, 144 Hz maximum refresh rate implies on relatively wide dynamic ranges, more than enough to allow for AMD's low framerate compensation to work.
The CFG70 displays currently do not have direct rivals: there are not of a lot of monitors that use quantum dots right now, and when it comes to gaming monitors with high refresh rates, Samsung is the first maker to use the tech. Moreover, the CFG70 are the first curved displays to feature quantum dots.
Samsung said that the CFG70 displays will be available worldwide, but did not mention their prices. Given the unique combination of characteristics, it is reasonable to expect Samsung to try to capitalize on it.
Source: Samsung
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ianmills - Saturday, October 22, 2016 - link
Yeah me too! I remember watching TV as a kid and contrast was so bad black people had no features except when they opened their eyes or smiled to show their white teeth lolHollyDOL - Friday, October 21, 2016 - link
That won't be caused by panel itself since VA panels are natively 8 bit compared to 6bit TN which either use dithering or flicker to make up for missing colours. I suspect rather some lousy implementation or postprocessing "image improvement" function. If you seen VA panel flicker, it's RMA case. But in the end panel technology is just a part of final image quality. Cheapo solution will have cheapo results no matter whether you base it on TN or IPS.Beaver M. - Friday, October 21, 2016 - link
Nope, a VA problem. Of course they dont flicker all the time. Only when you move. And it only seem to be specific ones that have a certain texture kind (which isnt rare though). I saw it most on beige, sand color, or light gray textures, sometimes even white ones. I read its due to the alignment of the pixels in VA.Some people dont even notice the flicker, its kinda like a PWM lighting, flashing real fast at like 60 Hz, but I noticed it, and I hate it.
HollyDOL - Friday, October 21, 2016 - link
Do you have some example for trying? I still have old VA Eizo as a secondary screen, would try it on that to see.Neclord06 - Saturday, October 22, 2016 - link
I think he is mentioning pixel inversion artifacts(or interlace-pattern artifacts). But it would help to know the actual model. For instance, the Samsung CF391(which I assume uses a Samsung made panel) definitely has noticeable pixel inversion that is probably exaggerated even more due to VA response times and black rendering. When scrolling around text, you will see obvious an checkerboard look to it, and watching movies/playing games it is easy to notice the checkerboard effect(or whatever the grid pattern is configured as). It doesn't cause any eye discomfort as with PWM flicker, but it definitely obscures the quality of the image, and can be very distracting if you actually sit close to the screen as most computer users probably do. Call it a constant reminder of how much LCD technology really sucks(and perhaps it's even an indicator that more development is being pushed on better technologies), but also how desperate we are to obtain better displays that we'll probably just deal with defective stuff like this.Also, that Samsung panel made use of effects like dithering when turning on special modes like Game Mode.
I understand the appeal of better contrast, but honestly, I kinda feel like the diminishing returns of a 3000:1 contrast ratio and trade-offs don't give me much hope for VA panels(and, really, we're all probably waiting for OLED anyway). One last thing, the 1ms response time Samsung boasts is only accurate when you enable the PWM flicker mode(which not everyone will like, and likely introduces noticeable input latency).
HollyDOL - Saturday, October 22, 2016 - link
Well, that's just plain LCD ghosting. Never explicitely noticed that on my screen (Eizo S2111W) during all 25k hours of uptime it has. I'll try today with some tools.While LCD is imperfect, it's still much better than CRT bulb :-)
aliquis - Friday, October 28, 2016 - link
If by you you mean you in the physical space chances are what you saw was the anti-glare coating?Jleppard - Friday, October 21, 2016 - link
Samsung/LG the 2 panels makers for everyone have no interest in make low volume run monitors which is what gsync is with is extra cost and more space for the extra hardware takes in a monitor. Freesync is cost effective and takes no extra space to product.jsntech - Friday, October 21, 2016 - link
My very un-scientific observation is that it seems like most monitors I've seen announced/reviewed lately are FreeSync with no mention of G-Sync. Will Nvidia eventually have to cave and support the free, open FreeSync? (I know, I know, please don't laugh me out of of the forumsphere...)HollyDOL - Saturday, October 22, 2016 - link
tbh nV screwed this up. They had better solution, earlier than others, but nailed it with unnecessary additional costs (fees, custom chip instead of open spec)...