24" Widescreen CRT (FW900) From Ebay arrived,Comments.

shiznit said:
Just because the driver you are using limits it to 85 doesn't mean that it's "supposed" to be that way. By default in Vista 960x600 is limited to 100hz, but in XP i run it at 150hz for CS:S and the horizontal refresh is only 98hz, not even close to the limit of 121. Try the XP x64 driver once, it allows for much higher refresh rates than xp x68 and vista, which one do you "suppose" is right?
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what i do know is that if you override the refresh rates on any monitor, it shortens the life of the monitor pretty good, and since the last of these monitors were made in '03, I'd make it last as long as possible because the chances of getting another one are pretty slim without paying a pretty penny.:D
Thats just me though:D


vafan13 said:
I am quite positive 95Hz is within the monitor specs (even the AccurateIT auctions show 1920x1200 at 98Hz). The reason it "maxes" at 85Hz in windows is because windows standard refresh rates are 60, 75, 85, 100, ect.




No, I didn't reset them to factory settings first.

And yes, as it was gov't surplus, I'm sure the gov just left the thing on 8-12 hours a day and it is worn. I have been able to, at this point, get the colors to be quite excellent. Been playing some BioShock, Doom 3 and F.E.A.R. and the blacks (as well as the rest of the spectrum) on them all look great (just before writing this, I was playing some Doom 3. Nothing like doom 3 in a dark room at 1900x1200 on a 24" widescreen with EAX HD enabled). I'm going to go so far as to say the picture is better than the Syncmaster 950p that it replaced (which was quite awesome in the IQ dep't).
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these monitors are used by ILM, LucasArts and Pixar, so these are pretty much the best CRT's made.
I have personally not seen a better picture on any monitor better than these.
If you can get a hold of a hardware calibrator, this monitor shines in a big way.
 
Dunan said:
what i do know is that if you override the refresh rates on any monitor, it shortens the life of the monitor pretty good, and since the last of these monitors were made in '03, I'd make it last as long as possible because the chances of getting another one are pretty slim without paying a pretty penny.:D
Thats just me though:D
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I might another one as backup :D. Can't see myself using anything else until a new tech comes out that actually matches CRT (OLED WRU?).
 
SH1 said:
You can try a weak magnet placed on your desk in front of the screen to try and sort it out in conjunction with the landing controls....
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Could you explain this technique a bit more please? I Tried putting the magnet close and on the screen but the result has been disastrous discoloration . Luckily I am able to reuse the magnet to fix what happened with the addition of the degauss button but the problematic area still persists. Does this mean I need to buy one of those big degaussing coils? Could this be the result of the physical move or some sort of strong magnetic field?

Thanks
 
Are there any real (non-cosmetic) differences between the Sony and the HP version? I noticed there are 9 '03 HPs for $275 ea. about 1 hour away from me for sale on eBay and supposedly "The monitor case is very clean with no scratches. The screen is crisp, clear, and free of defects." Also, *if* I were to pick one up (why am I thinking of buying another one of these?) I'd get the pick of the litter (assuming either no one else buys one, or I get there first.)
 
rawashdeh said:
Could you explain this technique a bit more please? I Tried putting the magnet close and on the screen but the result has been disastrous discoloration . Luckily I am able to reuse the magnet to fix what happened with the addition of the degauss button but the problematic area still persists. Does this mean I need to buy one of those big degaussing coils? Could this be the result of the physical move or some sort of strong magnetic field?

Thanks
Click to expand...

did you try image restoration?
 
Yups , didn't seem to make a difference. The magnet seemed to help a bit but produce problems else where. When I degauss the screen and just before it finally clicks into place everything is perfect. Not sure whats going on.
 
rawashdeh said:
Could you explain this technique a bit more please? I Tried putting the magnet close and on the screen but the result has been disastrous discoloration . Luckily I am able to reuse the magnet to fix what happened with the addition of the degauss button but the problematic area still persists. Does this mean I need to buy one of those big degaussing coils? Could this be the result of the physical move or some sort of strong magnetic field?

Thanks
Click to expand...

Sorry, I probably don't have much technique to offer. But as you know, CRTs are susceptible to their magnetic environment. What you're trying to do with the magnet is to tweak the monitor's environment.

I had a monitor a while back, which didn't like the corner it was in. And this showed up as a discoloration on the bottom (e.g., a reddish patch against a blue background), which could have been fixed with a landing control, except there is no landing control for the center of the bottom edge. However, I was able to fix it with a weak refrigerator style magnet positioned in front of the monitor.

I started by seeing how much the landing controls could clean up the discoloration. Then I added the magnet and readjusted the controls. And that took care of it.

I just re-read your post, and I think maybe you are talking about the center of the monitor having a discoloration? I don't have experience with that, but it seems like there must be some main control for that.

If any CRT techs are reading this, maybe they can chime in...

(Also you can still try or re-try varying the position of the monitor, the magnet, and such, and seeing if any of that helps...)

A stronger degauss coil than the built in degausser might help, but I don't know...

(Maybe if it was a degaussing issue, repeated applications of the built in unit would have already resolved things? Again though, I can't really say...)
 
Thanks SH1, I will keep working on it and see if I can get the magnet to help a bit. My problem is discoloration in the mid bottom of the screen , just out of reach of the landing controls unfortunately. I tried using the build in degausser multiple times but unfortunately it didn't really do anything . Colors are fine just before the Final "click in place " it does when degaussing then that area is discolored again.
 
How this monitor works? I think this is little different technology than classic 4:3 CRTs...
 
Well I have been loving this monitor for 2 yrs now but it seems that it might be on its way out. Im getting some blurry image quality now and then... reading alot of text hurts my eyes, And on the bottom of my screen it looks like its jumpy...

Anyone experiance these issues and know a fix? While the monitor is huge I so loved the picture quality.
 
From reading some more posts, apparently it seems I might be able to fix my fw900 that keeps going into standby mode using the windas cable and software.

So I'm looking to buy them. Anyone who is selling them, let me know. Help me resurrect this beauty!
 
im still waiting mine from David Wolff to arrive... i think its gonna take a month for it to arrive Germany... :eek:
 
mike82y said:
im still waiting mine from David Wolff to arrive... i think its gonna take a month for it to arrive Germany... :eek:
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=( Well I've had mine sitting in the corner for 8 months I could probably hold out just a bit longer :p

So I need the windas cable... and the software? I get that from some site right?
 
the guy will send you a link to download the software. no need to go through the steps on the geocity website..

Mike
 
I just got my cable today :D!!
Its very well packed and comes with an instruction. The chip on this circuit is different to those on ebay and its very well made (it has 3 LEDs)

it was a bit hard to connect to the 4pin port behind the monitor but everything went well with the installation!

I changed my G2 value from 146 to 110. the retrace lines are gone and the color is just great! I have however notice that this monitor makes a little ghosting?! :confused:
(when I move the mouse around black background)

I am going to send in my .dat file to the seller and see if his version comes out better. I will try to take some pictures this weekend.

Mike
 
Hello all, wow what a thread!

I have had my FW900 for about 6 weeks now and have tried read this topic in full, even after 160+ pages I still cant find the answers I am looking for.

I see most people have their monitors set to sRGB colour setting and they say there Black Levels are great and so on..................With mine set to sRGB the Blacks are as bad as most LCD's, even after warm up and restoration, to get anything near black on sRGB the brightness has to be turned right down.

Are you people using sRGB testing the blacks with the lights out in a dark room as I am or with the lights on? if the lights are on then surely its not true black??? You might as well be using a LCD?

So to get the black levels looking half way decent I am using the "Expert" setting with the RGB BIAS set to about 16 and the RGB GAIN set to 100, Contrast set to about 85 and brightness at about 11/18 depending on what I am doing.

The Blacks here are fine (still not true black, I can see light coming through) but the colours are way off so I use Power strip to sort that end.

When I watch video, HD or DVD it plays in the default colour settings so looks really poor, I have to use either Power DVD or Media player to sort the picture out, again it doesnt look quite right
.
So how do you guys measure your black levels?

is it just my monitor and do you really get blacks in sRGB?

I am using a Radeon x1900 512Mb card with up to date drivers.

Any help would be great!

Thanks
 
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I would not recommend you to buy cables from other places because of the pin order and also

1.) Wolff will pass you the WinDas software
2.) the cable is very well made and has been tested by many users here

just send me a pm and I will forward you his website (im not allowed to post links here) and also the online tutorial in case you do not know!





Mike
 
godskitchen said:
Hello all, wow what a thread!

I have had my FW900 for about 6 weeks now and have tried read this topic in full, even after 160+ pages I still cant find the answers I am looking for.

I see most people have their monitors set to sRGB colour setting and they say there Black Levels are great and so on..................With mine set to sRGB the Blacks are as bad as most LCD's, even after warm up and restoration, to get anything near black on sRGB the brightness has to be turned right down.

Are you people using sRGB testing the blacks with the lights out in a dark room as I am or with the lights on? if the lights are on then surely its not true black??? You might as well be using a LCD?

So to get the black levels looking half way decent I am using the "Expert" setting with the RGB BIAS set to about 16 and the RGB GAIN set to 100, Contrast set to about 85 and brightness at about 11/18 depending on what I am doing.

The Blacks here are fine (still not true black, I can see light coming through) but the colours are way off so I use Power strip to sort that end.

When I watch video, HD or DVD it plays in the default colour settings so looks really poor, I have to use either Power DVD or Media player to sort the picture out, again it doesnt look quite right
.
So how do you guys measure your black levels?

is it just my monitor and do you really get blacks in sRGB?

I am using a Radeon x1900 512Mb card with up to date drivers.

Any help would be great!

Thanks
Click to expand...

i measuer my black levels with a colormeter. you monitor may be wearing out? IDK.....
contrast is at 91 and brightness is set to 29. that gives me pitch black black levels, like out in the forest with no moon kind of black with no backlilght bleed.
did you try resetting the monitor by holding in the reset button for a few seconds?

dont manually set the RGB colors, leave them at default (after resetting the monitor), everything at 50% color and dont increase the gain on them.
Once you reset them, dont touch them.

installing the drivers helps as your video card will use the color profile within the driver.

hope this helps
 
I took some advice from the last post, wow... I'm watching a DVD and it looks 10x better now...

I think I'm keeping this thing ;)
 
Dunan said:
i measuer my black levels with a colormeter. you monitor may be wearing out? IDK.....
contrast is at 91 and brightness is set to 29. that gives me pitch black black levels, like out in the forest with no moon kind of black with no backlilght bleed.
did you try resetting the monitor by holding in the reset button for a few seconds?

dont manually set the RGB colors, leave them at default (after resetting the monitor), everything at 50% color and dont increase the gain on them.
Once you reset them, dont touch them.

installing the drivers helps as your video card will use the color profile within the driver.

hope this helps
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply! The Monitor is a 2003 model and I was told it was not used much, its second hand of course.

Just to clear something up for me, are you using the "Expert" setting or SRGB on the color settings? And are you using any app like Powerstrip?

Also, when for example i use the ASC button, and the picture shrinks to the middle, I am left with two black bars at the side of the screen, and when i say black I mean forest black (lol) so I take it this would prove that the screen is capable of perfect black levels?

Thanks again!
 
Blazestorm said:
I took some advice from the last post, wow... I'm watching a DVD and it looks 10x better now...

I think I'm keeping this thing ;)
Click to expand...

Right on:cool:

godskitchen said:
Thanks for the reply! The Monitor is a 2003 model and I was told it was not used much, its second hand of course.

Just to clear something up for me, are you using the "Expert" setting or SRGB on the color settings? And are you using any app like Powerstrip?

Also, when for example i use the ASC button, and the picture shrinks to the middle, I am left with two black bars at the side of the screen, and when i say black I mean forest black (lol) so I take it this would prove that the screen is capable of perfect black levels?

Thanks again!
Click to expand...

I'm using the 'easy' setting, dropping down and selecting a 6500K white point and not touching anything else. I've found that if you dont have a colormeter this monitor looks best when run at its default factory settings color wise. Myself, I'm using a pantone colormeter to calibrate it.

I wouldnt say as black as the side bars - the tube shrinks its display and i dont think those black bars are part of the immediate display after using the ASC button, hence the area around the window a couple inches out. Hope that made sense:D

After its warmed up, if you turn the contrast all the way up and the brightness all the way down thats the best black level you will see on this monitor. If your monitor's tube is in fairly good shape, you'll get exceptional blacks.

And if you can get a hold of a colormeter, all the better.:D

EDIT: i want to correct the other post, if my brightness is set to 0, I get pitch black levels, no detail. I dont use that setting, i use 29 :eek:
 
So I think im gonna buy a "grade B" from AccurateIT off of ebay.

I dont think the scratches in the anti-glare coating would be annoying (you can remove it, right?), but a burnt in image might spoil it for me...

Im gonna try and contact them and see if I could possibly request one without a burnt in image, and see what there overall opinion is on the grade B stock.

I could spring for a "reconditioned" grade one, but its kinda pushin it and id rather not. Any opinions on this? Is it just plain stupid?
 
Cabages said:
So I think im gonna buy a "grade B" from AccurateIT off of ebay.

I dont think the scratches in the anti-glare coating would be annoying (you can remove it, right?), but a burnt in image might spoil it for me...

Im gonna try and contact them and see if I could possibly request one without a burnt in image, and see what there overall opinion is on the grade B stock.

I could spring for a "reconditioned" grade one, but its kinda pushin it and id rather not. Any opinions on this? Is it just plain stupid?
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if they could send you a pic of one before you buy that would be cool, you dont want scratches on your screen or burnt images, there would be no point in spending the $$:(
 
Cabages said:
So I think im gonna buy a "grade B" from AccurateIT off of ebay.

I dont think the scratches in the anti-glare coating would be annoying (you can remove it, right?), but a burnt in image might spoil it for me...

Im gonna try and contact them and see if I could possibly request one without a burnt in image, and see what there overall opinion is on the grade B stock.

I could spring for a "reconditioned" grade one, but its kinda pushin it and id rather not. Any opinions on this? Is it just plain stupid?
Click to expand...

Dont worry too much about the scratches, mine has some pretty bad ones and to be honest unless I point them out people don't notice them.

They don't bother me and I do a lot of close up graphic work.
 
mike82y said:
I would not recommend you to buy cables from other places because of the pin order and also

1.) Wolff will pass you the WinDas software
2.) the cable is very well made and has been tested by many users here

just send me a pm and I will forward you his website (im not allowed to post links here) and also the online tutorial in case you do not know!





Mike
Click to expand...

What is his name on the forums?
 
Dunan said:
if they could send you a pic of one before you buy that would be cool, you dont want scratches on your screen or burnt images, there would be no point in spending the $$:(
Click to expand...

Its guaranteed im gonna have one or the other. I would rather have the scratches. I dont think they would be as noticeable or as bad as burnt in images

Can you remove the anti-glare coating?
 
Cabages said:
So I think im gonna buy a "grade B" from AccurateIT off of ebay.

I dont think the scratches in the anti-glare coating would be annoying (you can remove it, right?), but a burnt in image might spoil it for me...

Im gonna try and contact them and see if I could possibly request one without a burnt in image, and see what there overall opinion is on the grade B stock.

I could spring for a "reconditioned" grade one, but its kinda pushin it and id rather not. Any opinions on this? Is it just plain stupid?
Click to expand...

I'd make sure you're clear on AccurateIT's return policies...
 
Hello, lurker from Anandtech forums here, but I had to sign up to pose a question in this great thread.

I've been after one of these FW900 class displays for a while now, but missed the original bunch on eBay, and have been frustrated in my attempts to get one since then. I'm about ready to bite the bullet and buy a 22" LCD, but the lack of high-resolution is frustrating in spite of the price. On the other hand, Costco is now selling a 24" LCD Acer for $370 or so shipped, which is a great price but forces me to run 1920x1200 all the time. Plus both are TN panels AFAIK, so the quality is sort of mediocre. On the other hand really nice 24" panels are still out of my price range, and don't fix the forced high-res issue.

So I come humbly asking for advice and info. I see there are still eBay auctions for FW900s, and the HP equivalent, but they seem to be refurbs, not off-lease models like the originals were. So what's the consensus on those? Is there a seller or group of sellers that are delivering consistent quality even though they are refurbished displays?

Basically, I'm sold on the display, I just need to know whether or not the market has passed me by, or if there is still an opportunity to grab one of the beauties in a good condition. Thanks for any and all advice.
 
I would try the accurateIT website and se where you could go from there, i personally wouldnt trust anything off of ebay but thats just me. the shipping $$ alone kills:(
 
At this point, you could end up getting a used CRT with a heck of a lot of hours on it. Maybe even one on it's last legs...

I'd make sure you're well versed on return policies...

If non-widescreen is ok, I was going to recommend you get a new FE2111 from NEC, which was an excellent monitor for the price, but they must have recently delisted them. You could try calling NEC Display or maybe you could find another new display elsewhere (eBay, Google, ...)
 
UPDATE: NEC stock is actually unclear at this point...

NM Select is no longer in service.
If you would like to purchase a product from NM Select, please contact Patrick Anders at 630-467-4376 or via e-mail at [email protected].

Check back with NEC in April to view our new online store.
 
sunrise089 said:
Hello, lurker from Anandtech forums here, but I had to sign up to pose a question in this great thread.

I've been after one of these FW900 class displays for a while now, but missed the original bunch on eBay, and have been frustrated in my attempts to get one since then. I'm about ready to bite the bullet and buy a 22" LCD, but the lack of high-resolution is frustrating in spite of the price. On the other hand, Costco is now selling a 24" LCD Acer for $370 or so shipped, which is a great price but forces me to run 1920x1200 all the time. Plus both are TN panels AFAIK, so the quality is sort of mediocre. On the other hand really nice 24" panels are still out of my price range, and don't fix the forced high-res issue.

So I come humbly asking for advice and info. I see there are still eBay auctions for FW900s, and the HP equivalent, but they seem to be refurbs, not off-lease models like the originals were. So what's the consensus on those? Is there a seller or group of sellers that are delivering consistent quality even though they are refurbished displays?

Basically, I'm sold on the display, I just need to know whether or not the market has passed me by, or if there is still an opportunity to grab one of the beauties in a good condition. Thanks for any and all advice.
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AccurateIT's A- grade ("reconditioned") is the best way to go if you want to make sure you aren't getting a worthless monitor

$425 shipped with 6 mo. warranty if you get it off eBay.

I won an auction for (another) FW900 form a local refurb/resell place for $130. They say on their website that all of their stuff is "tested, configured and reconditioned" and that the unit is in "very good condition." I'll have my fingers crossed when I go to pick it up.
 
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sunrise089 said:
How do you verify that is an "A-" condition monitor? I don't see it mentioned as such in the ad.
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I sent them a message asking if the reconditioned condition in this auction corresponded to the A- condition on their site. It does.
 
OK, I picked up the 2nd monitor today. Everything is great except it has bad ghosting with black backgrounds. Like bad LCD ghosting, wth? :confused:
 
vafan13 said:
OK, I picked up the 2nd monitor today. Everything is great except it has bad ghosting with black backgrounds. Like bad LCD ghosting, wth? :confused:
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didnt you get to look at the picture first?:confused:

i wouldnt buy mine until i saw it plugged in and warmed up.
 
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