DoubleSight DS-263N - 26"

M Diddy said:
If any of the current owners are interested, there's now drivers for the monitor on the DS website. Just installed them myself.

http://www.doublesight.com/idx_support.htm
Click to expand...
It doesn't need a driver. In fact, I don't recommend installing the driver. It comes with a bogus color profile that isn't even for the right monitor.



Motospark said:
ToastyX, 1st, Thanks for the advice concerning my panel, I'll be calling DS tomorrow, today i'm actually in my CCNA class at the moment, can you please explain to me on how to use the color profile you have provided. I'm using an ATI HD3850 AGP card with the latest drivers and Cat control panel.

Do I have to make any changes to the monitor on screen display controls after loading the profile, and how where do I load it?
Click to expand...
I don't really know how to load profiles in Windows. Most calibration programs come with a profile loader that takes care of that for you. You can install the profile by right-clicking the file and installing it, but you'll still need something to load it.

For Windows XP, you can use this:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/colorcontrol.mspx

For Windows Vista, I think there's a color management section somewhere in the display settings.
 
In XP you can associate a colour profile with you chosen monitor by going into:

Control Panel > Display > Advanced Settings > Color management.

Additionally, the color control panel program ToastyX has mentioned does a nice job if you have multiple monitors set up.

Regards,

10e
 
where can i get one of these... all the online retailers with semi-decent prices are sold out.
 
import said:
where can i get one of these... all the online retailers with semi-decent prices are sold out.
Click to expand...
To quote a certain classic Christmas movie: "The line ends here; it begins there." (WAY back...)

Quite a few of us are already waiting, and we still have 2+ weeks to go. Hopefully this next round will be QC'd well, because if I finally get one and it's an eyesore (literally) someone in California will end up having a bad day at work.
 
LightHunter said:
To quote a certain classic Christmas movie: "The line ends here; it begins there." (WAY back...)

Quite a few of us are already waiting, and we still have 2+ weeks to go. Hopefully this next round will be QC'd well, because if I finally get one and it's an eyesore (literally) someone in California will end up having a bad day at work.
Click to expand...

My DS-263N had to get RMA'ed because after about 4 weeks of use, I got like over 12 dead pixels and I wasn't quite happy, but other than that it was a good monitor.
 
well, this is holding be back from ordering my system... but from the looks of things, i might be waiting a while.

whats the best 24+ inch in the sub $750 range?
who has a 0 dead pixel policy?
 
ToastyX said:
It doesn't need a driver. In fact, I don't recommend installing the driver. It comes with a bogus color profile that isn't even for the right monitor.




I don't really know how to load profiles in Windows. Most calibration programs come with a profile loader that takes care of that for you. You can install the profile by right-clicking the file and installing it, but you'll still need something to load it.

For Windows XP, you can use this:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/digitalphotography/prophoto/colorcontrol.mspx

For Windows Vista, I think there's a color management section somewhere in the display settings.
Click to expand...


Thanks T, I spoke with NewEgg today and explained my sight issue and they have agreed to let me return the panel, they have been good to me from the start and customer service is bar nun the best I have had to deal with. The profile information will come in handy when I order the DS-263N when back in stock, but I think I'll wait a little while.

MotoSpark
 
ToastyX said:
It doesn't need a driver. In fact, I don't recommend installing the driver. It comes with a bogus color profile that isn't even for the right monitor.
Click to expand...

I still load the profile you posed earlier in this thread but I feel better knowing my monitor doesn't come up as generic in Device Manager anymore personally. The profile that comes with it doesn't load until you do anyway, so no big deal loading the driver.
 
I just got my DS-263 monitor and have spent some time tonight calibrating it using the profile posted in this thread. So far it's pretty impressive except for a few annoyances that are making me question if this is the right hardware for me.

Color and detail: compared to my new Macbook pro 17" HD which is 1200X1920 itself the DS-263 seems to exhibits less shadow detail and contrast. I'm not sure if it's just that my MAC laptop has better contrast or if it's something that I'm not doing right? The color on my DS seems much nicer though, although much more saturated (which is to be expected).

My biggest concern/bother though is that I notice very thin faint horizontal lines throughout the entire screen. It's not what I would call 'banding', rather it's just something in the background that's noticeable when viewing images. I seem to notice it more when Im editing images with lots of color in Photoshop. Unfortunately, working in Photoshop is when I need to be the least distracted by screen artifacts/lines so I can concentrate on editing.

Does anyone else notice these faint horizontal lines in the background? Is this something that is common with this type of monitor (H-IPS)? :confused:
 
I broke down and pre-ordered the DS-263N from Buy.com, though after ordering it let me know that I can only return the monitor to the manufacturer if there are issues. Does anyone with experience ordering from Buy.com know if this includes if I want to RMA it due to dead pixels? Should I really just wait for Amazon to get it back in stock?
 
SPVA are worse for color critical areas.... They have color shifting or whatever you want to call it. When you sit in front of a largish screen, the left, right and middle of the screen will look different from each other. Colors will be brighter on the left and right and the middle will be dark. Those lines are nothing compared to the problems of SPVA panels.


I ordered mine from buy.com because it was the cheapest place, and luckily I got one with no dead pixels, so I dont know what there return policy is on it though.......
 
smackrabbit said:
I broke down and pre-ordered the DS-263N from Buy.com, though after ordering it let me know that I can only return the monitor to the manufacturer if there are issues. Does anyone with experience ordering from Buy.com know if this includes if I want to RMA it due to dead pixels? Should I really just wait for Amazon to get it back in stock?
Click to expand...

I ordered my NEC 2470WNX from Buy.com. My original unit had two stuck pixels, and I was able to exchange it for another one, no questions asked. My only complaint was that Buy.com does not cross-ship. I had to wait until they received the defective product before they sent out the replacement. It was about a two week turnaround.

Conversely, Amazon cross-ships defective exchanges. I received a replacement DS-263N (original had stuck pixels and a wonky OSD) from Amazon two days after I notified them. To me, that's worth paying more to purchase through Amazon. YMMV.
 
I guess I'm not as worried about the turn-around time since this will be going along with a Dell 2005FPW, and if I have to live with a single monitor for a couple of weeks, that's the setup I have now, so it's not a huge deal. I just want to be able to RMA it for a new one if I have a few stuck pixels on it.
 
Figured I'd update everyone on my situation.

I got my DS-263N from Buy.com. Bought April 6, and it was shipped from California.

It doesn't have the polarizer, but the glow doesn't bother me. I've used the ICC profile provided here, but the reds are still too vibrant. I went into my vid card settings, and lowered the red and green levels, and found a setting that's not bad at all. I use the monitor mainly for gaming, so I'm not terribly concerned about accurate colors. Response time and lag are excellent for an lcd.

I don't have any dead or stuck pixels, but I have a major flaw a couple inches off center. There is a split in the lcd layer that lets the backlight through. Buy.com is very difficult when it comes to returns, so I'm dealing direct with Doublesight. Support seems friendly enough. If you deal with them direct, don't use their web based email. I emailed them last week, and they say they never received it. I had to call and request a support email address in order to actually get confirmation the email was received this time.

I sent pics of the flaw that were forwarded to their engineering department, as soon as they make a determination I'll be sending it in for exchange. If they don't think this is bad enough, I wouldn't recommend anyone deal with Doublesight.

Here is a close up of the flaw (shows the flaw, and the reflection of the flaw on the lens of the monitor), and another pic that shows the location. The glow in the sides of the screen in the second pic is due to light from windows in the room, not the IPS glow, though it's similar in appearance.

Warning, the pics are large...

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~hammerheadaw/monitor/DSCN0986.JPG

http://www.home.earthlink.net/~hammerheadaw/monitor/DSCN1033.JPG
 
I sent an email to Doublesight stating that I was interested in purchasing three of these monitors from them if they could guarantee that there was some level of consistency in regard to the glowing issue. I referenced this forum as a place where people mentioned the possiblity of a polarizer present. The person that contacted me reiterated that they only ship out ONE type of monitor and that if I ordered three they would all be the same, sort of sidestepping my direct question about whether or not polarizers are present in any of their monitors. My guess is that this issue boils down to one of three things:

1) The units that appear to have polarizers simply don't suffer from some defect that the others do, meaning there is no polarizer present in any of the DS-263n's but there is still a reason why some glow and some don't that has to do with bad batches, etc.

2) There are units with polarizers and those without, but the intention is to never send a unit with a polarizer and there was a mixup from their panel supplier.

3)They all now ship with polarizers standard, but sales either doesn't know what they are talking about or are avoiding a large customer base without polarizers demanding replacements.

For those that have the panels without the glow that have experience with IPS panels with polarizers... would you say there is a chance that there is some other technology at work that could cause the monitors to behave as if they have polarizers (or don't), or would you say it is fair to assume your panel must have some kind of polarizer technology?

Maybe the assumption that there is a polarizer in any or some of the units is the real confusion here. I would be VERY curious for the people with the glowing monitors to contact doublesight and argue that other customers of theirs seem to have monitors that don't glow (not for those that are happy, but for those that are disappointed that they have a glow) Perhaps if you avoid the topic of polarizers altogether you can get to the bottom of why some glow and some don't. At least it would be interesting to know if they acknowledge that customers are reporting 2 consistently different experiences from the same model monitor.

p.s. I would love to have 3 of these monitors already if they weren't all backordered and I wasn't worried that I am going to be dealing with a nightmare of a situation with different panels (some that glow, some that don't). I am planning on using Matrox TripleHead2Go but can't pull the trigger until it is all cleared up.
 
I originally recieved a glowing version, but due to some stuck pixels and the hope of getting the "polarizer" version, I had the unit replaced. Turns out I was lucky and received a clean panel with the apparent polarizer. (Very pleased with the newer unit.)


Mattaholic, relative to your question about is it a really a polarizer at work cutting down the glow, I had an interesting experience recently. I had come in to the house with my polarized sungalsses and tried to look at the monitor. With the sunglasses on I couldnt see the screen, which would imply that the light from the monitor is polarized. Now I don't know if that is true of all LCD monitors but if it isnt, seems that the doublesight has utilized some sort of polarizing approach.

I also had called doublesight a while back asking about polarizers. One time the answer was they didnt ever use one, and the next time it was a lame story along the lines of it must be repaired units that someone else it providing. I've become cynical enought to think that a combination of your #2 and #3 scenarios is in play here.
 
Guys, talking to the reps as Doublesight is more then likely going to accomplish nothing. I'm pretty sure they aren't trying to dodge the issue or be shady about the whole thing. I think they honestly don't know that there are monitor's with and without polarizers out there because, to their knowledge, they're shipping the same panel in each.

If anything, the ones to call would be the actual manufacturer of the monitors, which, in this case, is PCBank. There will more then likely be a rep there that could answer some questions. I'm curious to see what the next shipment of these things brings to the table. It'll be nice to see which way these things actually go.
 
I'm not sure if mine came with a polarizing filter or not but it sure looks great so I'm not too concerned. Is there an easy way to tell?
Anyway, blacks are black on this thing and colors are incredibly wide and brilliant. There is no ghosting at all even with VGA plugged in. My only gripe is with slightly visible horizontal bands in the backround that I see when working on photos. These can be a bit annoying but I'm getting used to them. The monitor is a real pleasure to work with and for those that are waiting for one I can say that it's absolutely worth it! I might have to get another one when my Tax refund gets here. I use dell TN and S-PVA panels at work and I didn't realize the difference how much better the DS-263 N was untill I went back to work and compared....This difference is staggering!
Another cool thing with this screen is I get less fatigue staring at this screen than I do with others....maybe that's the polarizer at work? Either way I'm pretty happy with my purchase...so far so great!
 
Even without the polarizer, is it safe to say that blacks on the 263 will be better than on any TN display? I enjoy the darker games and prefer to keep my ambient lighting on the low side.

Also, any tried mounting it on an Ergotron Widescreen LCD lift stand? Wondering how well that might work.

Thanks!
 
You'd need the adapter someone noted earlier in this thread to mount the DS-263N on that stand. The 100x100mm mounting holes are offset.
 
Do they sell these at any retail stores? Can't seem to find any in my area.
 
Ergotron Neo-Flex Widescreen Lift Stand is compatible with VESA MIS-E 200x100...
You don't need any adapter for this stand
 
I got mine from Newegg(via Cali) on Friday. Not really qualified to say if it has the polarizer - the screen changes to a dark reddish tint when viewed from extreme horizontal angles on a black background.(standing to the right and looking at the screen) - but I don't think I saw any green.

You can also see a swath of what I'm guessing is BLB in the upper right hand corner from an angle in a semi-dark room. But this could be the white glow - not sure. And when viewing a gray solid background, you can look closely and see faint streaking/rippling type movement(brightness at 15). I have an old Samsung 712N LCD that does this also, but it's VGA only and I always assumed it was the video card it uses VGA out being crappy. It's sitting next to and plugged into the same outlet as a 215TW that has no issues.

I also can't get the DS 263N to run at native resolution. It goes to 1920x1080, but not 1920x 1200 with a Geforce FX 5700 via DVI-D with the most current nvidia drivers(using XP pro). From what I have read in nvidas docs(but have read otherwise elsewhere, so really I'm just confused), it should be able to handle that resolution fine. I have not tried to manually set it to 1200 with the nvidia control panel...yet

Icons and text look very slighty horizontally compressed at 1080 so it was driving me nuts. There's no way to adjust that when using DVI right, besides changing rez? The DoubleSight is sitting on my desk at work so can't check it out more now that I want to. Late next week when I go back in I'm going to bring a newer video card that I know has no issues. I've never really had problems before with a display not bumping right to native rez(never had one this big though) so I'm pretty dumb when it comes to troubleshooting it. I'm hoping that this other card will set it straight.

Here is pretty much what the faint streaking looks like, just not as extreme as that example, you have to look for it if the screen isn't gray, and it kind of pulses upwards. I'm not sure if this is just a normal characteristic for all LCDs or not.

http://www.4physics.com/tn1/255pa.jpg

I just had a thought that DS could possibly be buying up seconds that higher priced companies reject for their panels. That would explain the apparently different panel types and strange markings I've read about a lot in this thread. Or is that just silly? It's really late and my eyes are sealing shut :eek:
 
taters said:
I also can't get the DS 263N to run at native resolution. It goes to 1920x1080, but not 1920x 1200 with a Geforce FX 5700 via DVI-D with the most current nvidia drivers(using XP pro). From what I have read in nvidas docs(but have read otherwise elsewhere, so really I'm just confused), it should be able to handle that resolution fine. I have not tried to manually set it to 1200 with the nvidia control panel...yet
Click to expand...

I had the same issue with my comp only outputting at 1080p, I'm guessing you're running dual monitors? I fixed this issue by disconnecting my second monitor and reinstalling the nVidia drivers. It automatically detected it and ran it at the proper 1920x1200 res.

btw, I'm also running it alongside a 215TW :)
 
Dt6 said:
Ergotron Neo-Flex Widescreen Lift Stand is compatible with VESA MIS-E 200x100...
You don't need any adapter for this stand
Click to expand...

I stand corrected. Looks like it includes all the hardware to mount to 200x100 holes.
 
How do the black levels on the 263N to TN panels? Are they definitely darker and clearer? Or better than some? Most?

And I guess I won't assume the next batch will have the polarizer, so I mean without the polarizer. :)

thanks!
 
I randomly decided to check Amazon again a few hours ago, and they listed them in stock again! Some store known as SkyBox-USA apparently has a handful. I was weary to order one thinking it would be one of the older, problematic models. Interestingly, the price was $732. I checked again about 10 minutes ago and they are still listing them in stock... but the price has gone up to $780.


Rangoon said:
How do the black levels on the 263N to TN panels? Are they definitely darker and clearer? Or better than some? Most?
Click to expand...
TNs, as I understand, have better contrast, but they have crappy viewing angles; anything less than a straight-on view induces wash-out and color shifting. And, of course, no matter how you look at your monitor, some portion will always be at an off angle relative to your plane of sight.

*VA panels are considered the best all-around because they balance the visual capabilities with decent lag. But they still experience color shifting.

So, for color intensive work, *IPS panels (like the featured monitor) are considered best for color accuracy and uniformity, but you will sacrifice some contrast.

(If any of that's wrong someone will correct me...)
 
Sanchez said:
I'm guessing you're running dual monitors?
Click to expand...

The DS is the only display the vcard is connected to. But I did have another machine hooked up to the VGA input of the DS at the time. Would that still interfere you think?
 
When I had my non-polarized panel serial (F27B81900029) I connect my Phlips DVP 5960 DVD player via the HDMI to DVI connector to the either of the DVI connectors on panel and was not able to get an output. Has anyone else had this issue?

Moto
 
With amazon jacking up there prices, I went to look somewhere else. This site, The Nerds, is a little bit more than buy.com, but offer a 90 day satisfaction guarantee. Not to mention they arent located in CA, so there's no sales tax for Californian. UPS Ground shipping is $30.18 though. Still waiting on my tax refund...
 
taters said:
The DS is the only display the vcard is connected to. But I did have another machine hooked up to the VGA input of the DS at the time. Would that still interfere you think?
Click to expand...

Not sure, I would just try reinstalling the vid card drivers.
 
DragoonTD said:
With amazon jacking up there prices, I went to look somewhere else. This site, The Nerds, is a little bit more than buy.com, but offer a 90 day satisfaction guarantee. Not to mention they arent located in CA, so there's no sales tax for Californian. UPS Ground shipping is $30.18 though. Still waiting on my tax refund...
Click to expand...

Since I also live in California I followed the link to check it out and noticed that the 90 day protection SEEMS like it comes standard with the product but if you go through to the checkout process you will see:

YES, ADD ASSURZ PROTECTION TO MY ORDER FOR $90.79

denoting that this protection is for a fee and optional. Actually it seems to be charging you 90 dollars to add the option of returning the monitor which seems kinda crazy to me. If you don't want it, you just paid 90+ bucks to evaluate. I then wondered if they could possibly mean that the money you spent on the protection would be returned as well, thinking it possible that they make money on the people that are satisfied with their purchase and don't return it. This led me to the FAQ on their website which includes the following items:

9. Will Assurz also refund the purchase price of the Satisfaction Guarantee?
No, the fee you pay for the Satisfaction Guarantee itself is not refundable.

10. Most merchants offer refunds and exchanges, so why should I purchase a Guarantee from Assurz?
We can’t think of a single reason you should buy our Satisfaction Guarantee if you are completely comfortable with the idea of buying a particular item at an online merchant’s website. But for those times when you do feel reluctant to buy, our Guarantee will give you the assurance you need to proceed to the checkout page.

12. If I purchase a Satisfaction Guarantee, can Assurz ever reject my request for a refund?
While we make every reasonable attempt to ensure your satisfaction, there are circumstances under which a refund request can be rejected. Assurz reserves the right to deny any request for refund at our own discretion. See our Terms & Conditions page for more information.

I'd rather take my chances with returning it to Amazon or Buy.com. Thanks for the intel though!
 
I just started to notice something with this monitor, when viewing a gray image I notice flickering. This wasnt there before, or it wasnt noticeable to me :(.........

I assume others have this problem as well?
 
I notice a sort of flickering every now and then as well, but not just on a gray background. It's not very often and seems to come and go. Think it may be power related.
 
M Diddy,

The flickering 99% of the time is from the ground loop. If you get one of those 3 prong to two prong plug adapters you will see the flickering go away. It's the adapter that bypasses the ground on your plug. It worked for mine. Just make sure your outlets are safe and you useit on a surge protector. Another option is to plug the monitor on a different outlet, sometime that helps to.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top