Samsung SE790C - 34'' Curved 21:9 Review
Category : Displays
Published by Marc Büchel on 30.03.15
With their SE790C, Samsung has one gigantic computer display in its portfolio. Measuring 84 cm in width, this monitor offers a 34 inch diagonal as well as a curved panel. Apart from that the specs are even more impressive since, there is 3440 x 1440 pixel resolution, a high contrast ratio and a VA panel. All this combined might create one excellent display.
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The Samsung SE790C is based on a curved 34 inch VA panel, which features 3440 x 1440 pixel resolution and an ultra wide aspect ratio of 21:9. Apart from that Samsung promised 300cd/m2brightness and a contrast ratio of 3000:1.
Thanks to the two 7 Watt speakers this could be categorized as a multi media monitor. Nevertheless Samsung is convinced that this monster belongs on an office desk. A quick look at the back reveals numerous connectors, where there are two HDMI ports, one DisplayPort and there is even a USB3.0 hub offering lots of flexibility. Comfortable for office use is the solid stand, which is adjustable in height and the display can also be tilted.
With the SE790C Samsung is using a curved panel. This brings the advantage that the filed of view is increased compared to a flat panel with the same 34'' inch panel. Due to the fact, that the edges are closer to the eyes more area can be squeezed into the same width.
Specifications
| Screen Size | 34'' |
| Resolution | 3440 x 1440 Pixel |
| Aspect Ratio | 21:9 |
| Panel Type | VA |
| Colors | 16.7 M |
| Lighting | LED |
| Brightness | 300 cd/m2 |
| Contrast | 3000:1 |
| Response Time | 4ms (Grey-to-Grey) |
| Viewing Angle (H / V) | 178° / 178° |
| Tilt | -2° - +20° |
| Height Adjustment | 100 mm |
| Connecitiy | |
| Dimensions (W x H x D) | 821.5 x 452 - 552 x 275.5 mm |
| Weight | 9.9 kg |
| Power Consumption On | 64 Watt |
| Power Consumption Stand By | 0.5 Watt |
Features |
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Delivery |
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Gallery
OSD
Using the on screen display you can change parameters like the display, options, settings and access information related to the SE790C. Samsung ships this display with brightness set to 100, contrast to 75 and sharpness at 60. A closer look reveals there is also a game mode, which shoul help reducing the response time. When testing this features, we didn't notice any differences while playing RTS and FPS games. Also from within the OSD you can access color settings, which makes it easy to calibrate the SE790C. There is also a PIP / PBP (Picture in Picture / Picture by Picture) feature, which allows you to display the picture from two different inputs at the same time. Moving on to settings Samsung lets you play with sound options, an eco mode as well as quite a few others.
Design / Ergonomics
Overall this display features a sleek and elegant design, which is visually attractive. The SE790C will blend in on any desk in the office but one should be aware of its width, which is immense, measuring 81.5 cm.
The massive display has been attached to a solid foot. Thanks to a height adjustment system, which also allows for tilting the panel by -2° to +10°, the SE790C offers good ergonomics. Including the solid foot this monitor weights 9.9 kg, which is quite heavy for a flat screen. Although the foot is rather stable, bumping into the table will make the panel move notably.
Image Quality / Grey gradient / Greyscale
Image Quality
Samsung decided to equip this display with a semi glossy coating. Reflections are being reduced but not eliminated. If there are bright objects in the background you're able to see their shape.
Grey Gradient
Using the SE790C with standard settings - brightness 100, contrast 75, sharpness 60 - grey gradients are very good. There is no coloration visible and all steps can be told apart.
Greyscale
Also the greyscale is very good. Even the brightest steps are distinguishable. In order to see differences as best as possible it's recommendable to sit straight in front of the panel, since viewing angle stability quite quickly has an effect on discoloration.
Illumination / Uniformity / Brightness / Black Level
To measure uniformity we define a matrix with 15 measuring points. The point in the center defines 100% brightness and based on that we calculate deviation in percent. Luminance is measured with brightness sett to its maximum. The black level on the other hand is measured with the brightness set to the minimum. To measure the brightness, we're using a Voltcraft LX-1108. The contrast ratio can be determined by dividing brightness by black level.
White |
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| 348 cd/m2 | 368 cd/m2 | 379 cd/m2 | 390 cd/m2 | 357 cd/m2 |
| 375 cd/m2 | 414 cd/m2 | 449 cd/m2 | 444 cd/m2 | 393 cd/m2 |
| 372 cd/m2 | 391 cd/m2 | 383 cd/m2 | 397 cd/m2 | 369 cd/m2 |
| - 29.02 % | - 22.01 % | - 18.47 % | - 15.13 % | - 25.77 % |
| - 19.73 % | - 8.54 % | 0.00 % | - 1.13 % | - 14.25 % |
| - 20.70 % | - 14.83 % | - 17.23 % | - 13.10 % | - 21.68 % |
Black |
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| 0.25 cd/m2 | 0.24 cd/m2 | 0.27 cd/m2 | 0.33 cd/m2 | 0.26 cd/m2 |
| 0.33 cd/m2 | 0.28 cd/m2 | 0.43 cd/m2 | 0.45 cd/m2 | 0.33 cd/m2 |
| 0.29 cd/m2 | 0.27 cd/m2 | 0.34 cd/m2 | 0.41 cd/m2 | 0.36 cd/m2 |
| - 72.00 % | - 79.17 % | - 59.26 % | - 30.30 % | - 65.38 % |
| - 30.30 % | - 53.57 % | 0.00 % | + 4.65 % | - 30.30 % |
| - 48.28 % | - 59.26 % | - 26.47 % | - 4.88 % | - 19.44 % |
Uniformity of the VA panel used for the SE790C is average. In the center, this panel is notably brighter than on the edges. On the outside deviation in percent doesn't surpass 15%. If we include the three measurement points in the center we see a maximum deviation of 29.02%, which is visual to the human eye.
Brightness / Contrast / Black Level |
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| Brightness Average | 389 cd/m2 |
| Brightness Maximum | 449 cd/m2 |
| Brightness Minimum | 56 cd/m2 |
| Contrast Ratio | 1215:1 |
| Black Level | 0.32 cd/m2 |
Viewing Angle / Color Reproduction / Color Space
Viewing Angle
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Samsung is using a VA panel with the SE790C. In terms of image quality and color reproduction the VA panel is in between the TN and the IPS panel, but much closer to the latter one. As you can see from the images above, the VA panel in this display delivers good horizontal and average vertical angular stability. Sitting in right in front of the display and turning you head from the left to the right and vice versa, you won't notice discoloration or changes in brightness.
Color Reproduction / Color Space
The VA panel used by Samsung for this display is capable of covering 94.88% of the sRGB color space. This result isn't perfect, but very good.
Power Consumption
| Manufacturer | Effective | |
| Maximum | 64 Watt | 57.6 Watt |
| Minimum | n/a | 25.1 Watt |
| Stand By | 0.5 Watt | 0.0 Watt |
Keeping in mind, this is a huge display measuring 34 inch diagonally, 57.6 Watt is a very good result. Apart from that the SE790C doesn't need a measurable amount of power when the display is on stand by.
Working / Movies / Games / Speakers
Working
In the beginning one might think, that it will take quite some time until you're used to working with this curved display. Having put the SE790C on a desk and after a few hours we've forgotten, that we're have a curved panel in front of us. What actually takes a little longer to get used to is the sheer size of this thing. 34 inch is really big. When you place a window in the left corner and another one in the right and you focus on the left one, you won't notice changes on the right. What's a very good compromise in our opinion is the resolution of 3440 x 1440 pixel combined with 34 inch diagonal. If you sit one meter away from the SE790C written text is well readable. This display really shines if you do excessive multi taksing. If you have to keep lots of different programs open and visible at work you will love the space this monitor offers.
Games
Diablo 3
Starting Diablo III, the first thing we notice is that the displays native resolution is not supported in normal fullscreen mode. In order to play using all 3440 x 1440 pixels natively, you have to switch to Windows Fullscreen mode. In this case the game is going to use the desktop resolution. In the beginning it feels like you're playing on a TV. Sitting one meter away from the panel you will notice your eyes glanceing from one side to the other. Although this is a curved panel, the display is so big, you won't have everything in your field of view. Overall we find ourselves focussing on the center of the display and rather sooner than later we stop checking what's happening on the edges.
Despite the fact, that VA panels have a rather high response time we didn't notice any striation even with very fast effects occuring. Apart from that we also didn't notice any stuttering, which could have been attributed to the response time. As soon as Vsync is active movements are perfectly smooth.
Battlefield 4
The game is capable of automatically recognizing the SE790C's native resolution and all settings are correct from the beginning. If we start playing we again notice immediately, that this is an ultra wide displays. Also in Battlefiled 4 we're under the impression that our peripheral view is limited. Again this is the case, despite the fact, that we're dealing with a curved display. Apparently, if there was no curvature, the field of view would be even more limited. On the other hand, cut sceens are highly immersive and sometimes it really feels like the display is sucking you into the game.
Apparently FPS gamers have high expectations when it comes to response times. Lots of fast mouse movements could possibly result in striation. The SE790C is capable of displaying pictures fast in enough, which means you won't notice stuttering or striation. If we again activate Vsync the image is perfectly smooth.
Movies
As we already mentioned when playing Diablo, it feels more like you're sitting in front of a TV instead of a computer display. If we watch a movie this feeling becomes even more present. Therefore it's no surprise, that watching movies is a lot of fun and highly immersive thanks to the 21:9 aspect ratio and the curvature.
Speakers
When our test system first booted into Window we were rather surprise how much noise the pictures can make. With 7 Watts both speakers are powerful enough to make a lot of noise. Watching a YouTube video every now and then is therefore children play for these speakers. Apparently a comparison with standard desktop speakers cannot be made, since there is no resonance space.
Conclusion
The SE790C from Samsung is able to convince with very good ergonomics as well as a VA panel, that offers good angular stability. Using the display with factory defaults is already pleasing and thanks to the easy to understand on screen display, calibration is done in a heartbeat. Since this is a huge 34 inch, ultra wide display it's just great Samsung decided to used a curved panel, which increases peripheral view. In the beginning the curvature seems a bit strange but it doesn't take much time to get used to it and after a few hours you don't want to miss it again.
When conducting brightness measurements we noticed, that the panel is much brighter in the center then on the edges. Comparing the brightest to the darkest measuring point there is 29 percent deviation, which is actually visible. When it comes to average brightness Samsung communicates 300 cd/m2. We measured quite a bit more ending up with 389 cd/m2, which is a positive surprise. Apart from that also the contrast ratio is good with 1215:1. Samsung is claiming the display is capable of reaching a contrast ratio of 3000:1, which we cannot confirm with our testing. Using default settings and Samsungs ICC profile almost 95 percent of the sRGB color space is covered.
The integrated speakers were quite a surprise. Thanks to 7 Watts of output power they play rather loud and also the quality is good for display speakers. Apart from the speakers we also liked the solid foot. Thanks to the fact, that the panel can be adjusted in height, by 100mm, and it can also be tilted by -2° to up to +10°, ergonomics are very good.
Looking for the price we find the monstrous display listed in Switzerland for CHF 1499.- Therefore this giant isn't exactly what you'd call a bargain. Nevertheless, for your money you get a very good and huge display, which is simply great to get jobs done, which require constant multitasking.
In Switzerland the Samsung SE790C can be bought at:
