Front view of the Samsung 27-Inch Curved Video Monitor, LED lit.

Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor Review

The Samsung 27 inch curved monitor, model S27D590CS provides a noticeably more “immersive experience” due to the slight curvature of its screen. It’s not flat.  So for viewers right in front of it at two feet away, this curve gives a highly uniform image.  It’s plenty bright, even with the brightness setting at a mere fifty percent of full.

Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor Intro

We bought ours at Staples for $399; a bit pricey for a computer monitor.  But we got what we paid for.

  • Sharp, flicker-free and vivid color pictures.
  • Rich set of adjustments for tailoring that picture to just about any viewer’s tastes.
  • The small pixel, high contrast display brings out the minutest details in clear fashion.
  • The built-in stereo speakers can take the place of separate computer speakers that so often clutter your desk.

This monitor has the following ports.

  • HDMI.
  • DP.
  • Legacy VGA-style video input.
  • Audio in and audio out for headphones, subwoofer, or another set of speakers.

Though you get no remote, you still get easy access to all settings via a joystick finger control. Find this on the lower right back corner of the monitor.  From here, settings such as brightness, contrast, color, picture temperature, mode, menu location, et al, are set.

Front view of the Samsung 27-Inch Curved Video Monitor, LED lit.
Samsung LED 27-Inch Curved Video Monitor, Front View

Benefits, Pros, Features, and Advantages of the Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor

Physical Features

Curved Screen Design

Indeed, it does create more of a 3-D viewing experience, for the person sitting directly in front of the monitor.

Low Profile

By far, the most prominent feature of this video monitor, is its large, curved screen.

Stereo Speakers

They fire downward from the bottom of the monitor, with surprisingly full sound for all the bigger they are.

The Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor Has Ports and Switches on the Back

Including the finger operated joystick and all connection ports.





Pilot Lamp on Front

By default, this power LED only solidly glows (no blinking) when monitor is powered OFF but connected to the mains.  However, via the menus, you can configure it to glow only when the monitor is ON, and to be OFF during power OFF times.  The former mode works best when you’re watching movies or pictures with primarily dim or dark content.  The power lamp being ON during these viewing sessions could become a distraction. Also, this lamp blinks slowly during standby mode, regardless of the Power Lamp ON mode setting.

External Power Supply

Takes any heating that typically originates in the power supply, well away from the critical monitor screen components.  Plus, should the power supply fail, a new one can be purchased.  You would not need to discard this video monitor simply because its power supply broke.

Supplied Cables

This Samsung product comes with a “cheater” cord for the power adapter, a 3.5mm male to 3.5mm male audio patch cable, and an HDMI to HDMI cable.

Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor Performance Features and Specs

Small Pixels

The screen is 1920 X 1080 pixels (optimal resolution).  Hard to see each dot without a magnifying glass, even when viewing from less two feet away.  Plus, this dot pitch is fine enough to render Power Point and spreadsheets in surprisingly crystal clear detail.

Many Settings

Picture parameters include brightness, contrast, sharpness, game mode, Samsung magic bright, Samsung magic upscale, image size, response time, h-position, v-position, coarse, and fine.  Color adjustments include red, green blue, color tone, and gamma.  Parameters that adjust the actual display of the menus onscreen include language, menu h-position, menu v-position, menu display time, and transparency.  Setup & reset parameters include: reset all, eco saving, off timer, PC / AV mode, key repeat time, source detection, and power LED on.  The Information option displays the model number (S27D590C in this case), the current operation mode (analog, 67.5 KHz., 60 Hz.,  PP, 1920 X 1080, and tells you what the optimal mode is.  For this monitor, it is 1920 X 1080 @ 60 Hz.  Via the menus, you can also turn power on and off, enter and exit game mode, and select the input source.





Game Mode

This is a group of picture settings (mode) that has been optimized for best game viewing.  It utilizes full brightness, high contrast, and a warmer color tone.

Auto Input Source Selection

This Samsung curved screen monitor can detect which of its input ports is receiving a signal, and then automatically switch to that port and display that signal.  You can manually select which port to display when more than one port has signal on it.

The Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor Features Auto Standby Mode

When computer goes into screen-saver mode, in which it sends command to power down the monitor, this monitor goes into standby (screen off) mode, and turns back on when computer sends video down the line to display.  The blue pilot lamp blinks when monitor is powered on but in standby mode.

LED Back Lit LCD Screen

More energy efficient, rugged, and longer-lasting than the fluorescent tube back lighting of yesteryear.  Runs cooler and can provide enough brightness for comfortable viewing in even the brightest showroom floor settings.

Full HD Display

Displays full high definition images.

High Contrast

During dark displays, the screen really looks black, while bright spots are quite bright.  The contrast ratio is 3000:1.

Wide Viewing Angle

As long as you’re a couple to three feet away, monitor images remain discernable at angles vertically or horizontally, up to 178 degrees.

Instant, Full Brightness on the Samsung 27 Inch LED Curved Monitor

No warm-up time needed for the LED back lighting.  You get the same brightness level two seconds after turning on the monitor as you get after it’s been running for an hour.  This is a major advance over the previous generation monitors, which featured cold cathode fluorescent lighting (CCFL).  These could require as long as two minutes to reach full luminosity; particularly when operated in colder environments.





Power Supply Details

External power adapter, Samsung AC/DC adapter, model A4514_DSM.  It accepts 100-240 volts at 50 or 60 Hz, drawing 1.5 amps.  Output is 14 volts DC at 3.215 amps, 45 watts.

Limited Warranty

One year on parts, and one year on labor “carry in / ship in.”

Picture of the port panel on the Samsung 27-Inch Curved Computer / TV Monitor.
Samsung Curved Computer Monitor, 27-Inch, view of Port Panel.

Problems, Cons, Disadvantages, and Concerns with the Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor

High Purchase Price

As mentioned, we saw this video monitor at Staples for nearly $400, while your typical 27-inch flat panel monitor runs roughly a hundred dollars less.  While we’re impressed with the viewing advantages of a curved screen, we don’t think that a curve is worth an extra $100.  $25 or at most $50 more seems more reasonable.

Does Not Display 4K Ultra High Def

4K UHD is fast becoming the standard video display system, and so, may soon surpass HD as the most popular content format.  So if future proof is your mantra, then you may wish instead to spend a couple hundred more dollars for a monitor that does display 4K UHD.  However, unless you’re viewing HIGHLY detailed video, 4K for just computer use, web surfing, and social media won’t benefit you much, even well into the future.

No Remote Control

It’s not always convenient to reach the rear panel rotor control on the back for adjusting picture parameters; especially if you have multiple monitors on your desk.  It would be nice therefore, to have a remote that duplicates the functionality of this wheel.

This Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor Has No Analog Computer Video (VGA) Cable Included

Surprising since this monitor has an analog sub-D connector, that Samsung did not provide the cable to connect it to your computer; especially since this product seems geared for computer display applications.  Fortunately, we had some extra VGAs laying around.





No 120 Hz. Display Mode

While this monitor displays still and slow-moving images very well, the lack of this faster refresh rate may cause a strobe-like, jerky, and “buzzy” not-so-smooth movement of fast-moving images.  Not a big deal though, unless you play lots of ultra-fast action games or watch a lot of high-speed action movies.

No Anti-Glare Coating on Screen Face

The absence of reflection reducing coatings on this monitor can increase viewer fatigue in situations where there’s lots of  BACK lighting (light shining from BEHIND the viewer that reflects off of the shiny screen surface).  Such reflections can obscure the image on the screen and cause numerous distractions.

Our Rating for this Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor

Upgrading from a 19-inch flat screen fluorescent LCD monitor to a 27-inch curved LED-lit LCD screen took a little getting used to.  But the extra screen real estate supports much bigger fonts while at the same time, displaying more text on the screen without having to scroll around as much to see it all.  The full HD display not only shows computer images about as clearly as they can be displayed, but also doubles as a high quality television or video display device.  Movies and TV shows (high definition versions) appear with the same clarity as computer images.  In spite of the higher purchase price, lack of a VGA cable, and slow maximum refresh rate, we’re pleased with this computer monitor’s overall performance, and would recommend this to anyone who enjoys big-screen computer displays.  We’d rate this product at 95 out of 100 therefore.

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  4. Radio Shack Weather Radio 12-522 Review, Emergency, All Hazards Radio
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References for Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor

  1. Flat Panel Displays   on Wikipedia
  2. LED Backlit Displays on Wikipedia
  3. Official Samsung Product Page
  4. VGA Connector    on Wikipedia
  5. Where to buy the   Samsung 27 Inch Curved LED Monitor

 Revision History

  • 2019-05-22: Added key word targeting for ‘Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor’, and added tags and related posts links.
  • 2017-02-02: Updated tags list. Changed post title to: Samsung 27 Inch Curved Monitor Review.
  • 2015-07-25: Originally published.