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

Might we get some pics of just how much brighter the picture is w/o the coating? Those of us that have turned our computer rooms into dank caves might just care to ditch the thing anyway.
 
Well that would be near impossable to do now as i've already adjusted the brightness.. but you can see the difference in the pic that i have already posted with the coating half off.
 
Well, just got this thing dropped off, and it's better than I ever thought it could be... :p

Seriously, it's incredible. Spent a bunch of time on the settings, definitely happy with the way it looks now, hopefully won't have to get the windas cable too too soon. Only problem is that the USB ports don't work, but that's not too big of a deal. Also, apparently finding the perfect convergence level is impossible, but I got it close enough!
 
ki_cz said:
Well, just got this thing dropped off, and it's better than I ever thought it could be... :p

Seriously, it's incredible. Spent a bunch of time on the settings, definitely happy with the way it looks now, hopefully won't have to get the windas cable too too soon. Only problem is that the USB ports don't work, but that's not too big of a deal. Also, apparently finding the perfect convergence level is impossible, but I got it close enough!
Click to expand...

Congrats! No biggy on the USB hub man.. Its only a USB 1.0 so its turttle slow.. Would be sweet if its possable to swap it out with a USB 2.0 Hub.
 
So what are some tips on keeping this monitor happy? I'm running it at 1680x1050x85hz, hoping that won't push it too hard, so you know, I can keep it forever!

Another question, does the Windas setup program help with the convergence at all? It's not that it's necessarily bad, but it could be better!

Last question: how much to the BNC cables help with convergence and color? I have a fairly decent VGA cable, but if it can be better, why not?

:D

Thanks!
 
Well, I had a big post here of even more problems ready to submit, but I accidently hit the back button on my mouse and lost it all. Figures.

Long story short, 1280x720x60hz is completely screwed up in Windows and PS3 (through HDFury). I get a ton of small, faint, horizontal lines that fill up the screen and jitter up and down. It almost looks like colored noise. You can clearly see the picture of the monitor, but it's like it has this grain over it. These lines appear using both the VGA and BNC ports, and only at that resolution.

The fact that it sucks for Windows doesn't matter, but one of the main reasons I bought this thing was for PS3 use because current HDTVs are horrible.

Testing on an older CRT shows 720p working fine. It's definitely the monitor at fault.

On the plus side, my BNC cables came in and they pretty much solved my issue of vertical lines on the left side of the monitor when using VGA. So my VGA port is screwed up, but BNC seems to be in pretty good shape.

If only my first 30 days of owning this thing didn't fly by so much with all the testing and waiting for orders of cables to come in. I'm not sure paying several hundred dollars to ship it back to AccurateIT is work the trouble now that I can't ship it back for free.
 
Have you tried 1366x768 instead? Or can that even be used with a ps3? I know the xbox 360 can do that res with the vga cable.
 
This is probably old news for all of the posters in here, but if you're having any problems getting certain videos to play over the whole screen, even if they're ~16:10, get VLCplayer. It has some options to get rid of any cropping so that pretty much any video you watch will be in full screen goodness. Had the problem with (ahem) Project Runway (ahem) not going all the way to the edges/top, even though it's a widescreen show, just set up the cropping and got 24" of Heidi!
 
Thanks Doadea for the instructions on opening the case very helpful. Thanks eclypse for posting your experience of taking off the antiglare layer. I didn't know it was so easy to remove and once I saw your experience I promptly removed mine. My screen is also now perfect. I've been trying to think of a way to fix my scratches or remove the layer for quite some time now. Thank you again.
 
HardB said:
Thanks Doadea for the instructions on opening the case very helpful. Thanks eclypse for posting your experience of taking off the antiglare layer. I didn't know it was so easy to remove and once I saw your experience I promptly removed mine. My screen is also now perfect. I've been trying to think of a way to fix my scratches or remove the layer for quite some time now. Thank you again.
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No Prob.. Glad to give back to this thread!
 
HardB said:
Thanks Doadea for the instructions on opening the case very helpful. Thanks eclypse for posting your experience of taking off the antiglare layer. I didn't know it was so easy to remove and once I saw your experience I promptly removed mine. My screen is also now perfect. I've been trying to think of a way to fix my scratches or remove the layer for quite some time now. Thank you again.
Click to expand...

No Problem! I like to give back to this thread as well...if not for this thread I would not even had known about this monitor!
 
Heya guys I had a few questions before I go pick up this monitor.

I already have a 21" CRT Compaq P110, I was wondering if this 24" widescreen would be better than what I already have?? I mostly game and just watch movies.

Also which connection would be better BNC or VGA?? If BNC then where might I pick up a quality pair of connectors that would go to DVI???
 
I finally got around to trying my G520 with the removed coating. Can't say i was that pleased with the result. I tried it with various light conditions and found that even with very dim light the glare was quite prominant on a dark screen. Whereas right now im using my P1130 (with anti-glare coating) in a room with about 5 times as much light and i see only a teeny bit of glare on a dark screen. Plus as more light hits the uncoated screen the black level becomes more and more washed out looking, which does not happen hardly at all with the coating, it stays fairly dark no matter how much light is on it.

I did a little research and found an interesting product called Glare Buster. Its a spray on aerosol anti-glare coating which is supposed to work quite well. It can also be removed easily so theres no risk in using it.

http://www.glarebusters.com/

I don't think i will be ordering the stuff myself since i don't plan on using the G520 anymore but some of you guys might wanna give it a try.
 
carajean206 said:
Heya guys I had a few questions before I go pick up this monitor.

I already have a 21" CRT Compaq P110, I was wondering if this 24" widescreen would be better than what I already have?? I mostly game and just watch movies.

Also which connection would be better BNC or VGA?? If BNC then where might I pick up a quality pair of connectors that would go to DVI???
Click to expand...

monoprice without a doubt is the best place to buy cables.
 
Toompra said:
I finally got around to trying my G520 with the removed coating. Can't say i was that pleased with the result. I tried it with various light conditions and found that even with very dim light the glare was quite prominant on a dark screen. Whereas right now im using my P1130 (with anti-glare coating) in a room with about 5 times as much light and i see only a teeny bit of glare on a dark screen. Plus as more light hits the uncoated screen the black level becomes more and more washed out looking, which does not happen hardly at all with the coating, it stays fairly dark no matter how much light is on it.

I did a little research and found an interesting product called Glare Buster. Its a spray on aerosol anti-glare coating which is supposed to work quite well. It can also be removed easily so theres no risk in using it.

http://www.glarebusters.com/

I don't think i will be ordering the stuff myself since i don't plan on using the G520 anymore but some of you guys might wanna give it a try.
Click to expand...

Hello,
I just repaired the touchscreen on the Nav System in my Car. It had an anti glare coating that over the last 6 years had been rubbed away. It looked like hell, and caught all kinds of glare.

First I removed it, and it reflected so much it drove me nutz.

Then I found a 3m Product called Vikuiti. It is expensive, but protects the screen and it looks better than new. Google it and read about their films. If you really wanted to do it back top notch, I would try this. The film that was on my Nav screen originally was a little soft looking. This is crisp yet still knocks the glare doen. The make this film in a lot ofdifferent sizes. It has no adhesive and is held on with a static charge, so it is easily removed.

Just my .02

Les
 
Wow I never knew the anti glare could be removed that way .. Very cool ..although when we removed the anti glare from a Sony G400 the result wasn't the greatest , the picture had a slightly washed out look to it, hopefully no one here has the same results w/ their FW900.
 
That 3M stuff does look good but i'm not sure it would work since its made for LCD screens, whereas Glare Buster is made for CRT TV's so it should also work with CRT monitors.

And yeah the only way to avoid washout after removing the coating is to have all the lights off. The more light there is the worse it will look.
 
Can anybody give me some actual concrete benefits of using the BNC cables over just a VGA cable? I looked through most of the thread, it looks like the differences are negligible, but would like to heard it first hand from somebody who has tried both.
 
ki_cz said:
Can anybody give me some actual concrete benefits of using the BNC cables over just a VGA cable? I looked through most of the thread, it looks like the differences are negligible, but would like to heard it first hand from somebody who has tried both.
Click to expand...

I've had both on mine. I am running Vista. A good quality BNC has always been better than a Good quality HD-15. That's why a lot of high end monitors have BNC's like the one you have here. I see much better color saturation and contrast when using BNC. Really good cables make the difference less obvious. This monitor deserves a Good cable. I've posted a link for good cables earlier in this thread.

One issue is that BNC does not talk back to the computer so you may have issues with "sensing" the monitor with BNC. Foe me, If I use BNC, Vista keeps switching me to Generic VGA on a Reboot. Then the correct resolutions for 16:10 won't be available as an option. I don't want to use Powerstrip. There may be another work around in Vista for BNC inputs and locking in the monitor type, but I don't know what it is. I never had this issue with XP or 2000. Vista is just too freakin' "SMART" for it's own good I suppose.
 
mathesar said:
Wow I never knew the anti glare could be removed that way .. Very cool ..although when we removed the anti glare from a Sony G400 the result wasn't the greatest , the picture had a slightly washed out look to it, hopefully no one here has the same results w/ their FW900.
Click to expand...


Nor I...I thought it was sprayed on or was otherwise somehow a coating....

(I guess this is coming up only for people who's anti-glare is damaged?)
 
les_garten said:
I've had both on mine. I am running Vista. A good quality BNC has always been better than a Good quality HD-15. That's why a lot of high end monitors have BNC's like the one you have here. I see much better color saturation and contrast when using BNC. Really good cables make the difference less obvious. This monitor deserves a Good cable. I've posted a link for good cables earlier in this thread.

One issue is that BNC does not talk back to the computer so you may have issues with "sensing" the monitor with BNC. Foe me, If I use BNC, Vista keeps switching me to Generic VGA on a Reboot. Then the correct resolutions for 16:10 won't be available as an option. I don't want to use Powerstrip. There may be another work around in Vista for BNC inputs and locking in the monitor type, but I don't know what it is. I never had this issue with XP or 2000. Vista is just too freakin' "SMART" for it's own good I suppose.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. Is there any noticeable difference in terms of convergence and focus?
 
I have two "higher quality" DVI-I to BNC cables incoming, so I'll compare it to the low quality BNC Cable + DVI -> D-SUB Adapter solution I'm using right now. One of the cables is supposed to be a high end one, but I'm not holding my breath.


Looks like my screen has an issue thou...

When I turn it on after I get home from work, during the first hour or so the picture becomes blurry a couple of times. Turning it off and on again after a 5 second wait, the picture is sharp again, until a few minutes later it goes all blurry again. Didn't and don't have this issue with my old Eizo, so it's definately the Sony screen and not the graphics card / system thats behaving odd. And clues what might be the cause of this blurryness and how to fix it?

Coming from lunch as of this writing (screen was turned off for around half an hour), it's back to blurry / off / wait / on / wait / blurry again.
 
Preacher0815 said:
I have two "higher quality" DVI-I to BNC cables incoming, so I'll compare it to the low quality BNC Cable + DVI -> D-SUB Adapter solution I'm using right now. One of the cables is supposed to be a high end one, but I'm not holding my breath.


Looks like my screen has an issue thou...

When I turn it on after I get home from work, during the first hour or so the picture becomes blurry a couple of times. Turning it off and on again after a 5 second wait, the picture is sharp again, until a few minutes later it goes all blurry again. Didn't and don't have this issue with my old Eizo, so it's definately the Sony screen and not the graphics card / system thats behaving odd. And clues what might be the cause of this blurryness and how to fix it?

Coming from lunch as of this writing (screen was turned off for around half an hour), it's back to blurry / off / wait / on / wait / blurry again.
Click to expand...

Hello,
Mine does this everytime I turn it on. I don't know what causes it. I have Exactly the same thing you are describing. Don't turn it off and on. That only restarts the issue. Just leave it on and in some minutes, about 5, itg will clear and be good till another power cycle. This monitor is not without it's issues for sure.

Les
 
Would be interesting to know if this is limited to 2001 models only. Maybe the later 2003 models don't have this issue.
 
I'm writing this on my 2nd PC, because the FW900 @ 1st PC is still out of focus 30 minutes after the picture got blurry. I guess it's time for off / wait / on / sharp / wait / blurry again ;)

@ki_cz
Check the back of the screen, there's a sticker on it telling you month and year of when the it was manufactured. Mine says January 2001

@les_garten
What's that brightness issue? Too bad the search function of the board is disabled. Google isn't much help, topics say something about the picture becoming brighter in some areas and stay the same in others. Is that right? If so, mine doesn't have that problem.

@Topic
Is it possible for a 'two left hands' to open the screen without mortal danger? I'd very much like to take a look at the settings via WinDAS and am thinking about making the port available from the outside by connecting it to an extender.
 
I think i might know how you guys can fix those focus problems.

One of the P1130's i bought also has a random blurriness problem, or at least thats what the guy i got them from told me. At first i wasn't gonna buy it because of that but later decided i would after researching the issue online. I found out its actually quite a common occurance and i came across a post from a guy who claims to have fixed it by simply adjusting the focus pots. His theory was that the pots somehow got stuck in a "bad" position that caused an irregular voltage current, so by repositioning them they were freed from the bad spot and in turn started to function properly again.

I can't say for %100 sure that this works as i haven't seen my P1130 go blurry yet (been mostly using the other one so far) but if i ever do i will be trying the above fix for sure.
 
Hmm, the pots having to warm up prior to functioning properly? Interesting idea. Because after my screen is on for something between 45min and an hour, It's working flawlessly. Anyway, I'm keeping an eye out for a 2003 model. Were there produced any FW900 in 04?

:Edit
OK, so I managed to adjust the two focus pots from the outside. Let's see how the screen behaves tomorrow when I'm back again from work.

If you want to tweak focus, too, but don't know if what you found is a screw or a pot - wasn't sure myself - the 6th picture in this posting shows where and what to look for: http://75.126.99.204/showpost.php?p=1030076125&postcount=2321 Thanks to MightyJoe.

Off Topic:
Any clues if and when the search function will be back again?
 
Preacher0815 said:
Hmm, the pots having to warm up prior to functioning properly? Interesting idea. Because after my screen is on for something between 45min and an hour, It's working flawlessly. Anyway, I'm keeping an eye out for a 2003 model. Were there produced any FW900 in 04?

:Edit
OK, so I managed to adjust the two focus pots from the outside. Let's see how the screen behaves tomorrow when I'm back again from work.

If you want to tweak focus, too, but don't know if what you found is a screw or a pot - wasn't sure myself - the 6th picture in this posting shows where and what to look for: http://75.126.99.204/showpost.php?p=1030076125&postcount=2321 Thanks to MightyJoe.

Off Topic:
Any clues if and when the search function will be back again?
Click to expand...

I'll be curious to see if this works as well.

Les
 
Hmmm, intreresting. . . I had the "pops in and out of focus" issue and eventually just started leaving my monitor on 24/7 with a blank screen saver in order to avoid its recurrence. Several other people over the course of this thread have stated they have the problem as well and have come to the same conclusion/solution.

However, having said that, I've noticed that I no longer have the problem and the last few times I've turned off/on my monitor, the focus hasn't popped in and out.

And, now that it has been mentioned, it stopped happening when I adjusted my focus pots several months ago.

May not actually be the reason, but just some anecdotal evidence. Personally, I'm still of the opinion that whatever was causing it eventually "burned out."

My monitor's only problem now is that it sometimes powers itself off when I turn it on. . . I think that's because I have set the Drive_Max high in Windas. But that's okay, I'm used to just leaving it on.
 
It just picked up a GDM-FW900 from an ad in Craig's List. Price with delivery from North NJ to Central NJ was $230. The screen is perfect - the case is a little crappy with some cracked plastic spars in the top vents, but the bezel is fairly good.

I tried a Gateway FHD-2400 LCD recently based on several reviews which said it was top-notch. It's a wide-gamut TN panel. The color and sharpness were great but the viewing angles and backlight bleed were unbelievably bad. The black levels were also horrible.

I know it's been discussed to death, but *-IPS (and PVA/MVA to a lesser extent) panels provide a great alternative to CRT. They're sharp, have good color these days, and good viewing angles. They're very easy to set up since you don't have to deal with setting geometry and convergence for each combination of resolution and refresh rate. The black levels still aren't up to CRT, but they're good.

So what's the problem? Try finding a reasonably priced 24" or 26" IPS panel. OLED, SED, FED are still a long ways from affordable mass-production. Even the current 24" PVA panels from Samsung (found in Samsung 245T and Dell 2407) are over $600 and come with terrible color consistency, lag times, random backlight bleeding, ghosting, poor black levels, etc.

Don't even talk to me about TN panels...

The cheapest modern IPS panel capable of 1080p resolution (i.e 1920x1080 or higher) that I could find is the 26" planar PX2611W for around $800-$900. The planar has a much larger color gamut than this Sony CRT. Now if it were in the $400-$600 range, I probably would've coughed up the money...

But instead I got what is likely the best CRT ever made for $230! That's a huge savings.

And for the record, this CRT runs at ~115W. The planar LCD runs at about 100W from what I can tell. The extra 15W translates to under $10/year assuming the monitor is on every day for 12 hours/day.

I don't think the 24" Sony CRT is for everyone. If you don't game, if you don't edit photos, if you don't watch movies, you'll probably be much happier with a modern IPS, PVA, or IPS LCD panel.

I'm happy with my choice. Sure it's old, but it's everything I need and then some, and for allot less than that Gateway FHD-2400 which was a lousy panel anyway.

I want to thank everyone who's participated in this forum for helping me find out and learn about this monitor. I've finally found a monitor I can be happy with!

Thank you!
 
Anyone know if they make a BNC switch? I'd like to hook up my PS3 and PC to BNC, since that port is pretty much perfect.

Also, for those who adjusted your focus pots through the casing, how easy was it? Any chance of.. .dying if I miss the pots? lol I know where they should be, but I can't seem to see them with a flashlight (HP version).

I still can't decide if I should try it or not... I don't think it would void the warranty with AccurateIT, but who knows.
 
Weird. I thought that message above disappeared. Moved the mouse and my browers skipped back to pages for some reason.
 
Nothing can happen to you if you don't touch any parts that might conduct electricity. That means that as long as you touch your screwdrivers on the plastic end and not the metal end, you're safe. If you descend the screwdriver steadily down right into the knob of the pot, you won't hit anything hazardous. However, if you're not sure of what you're doing, then don't do it at all. Uncertainty leads to errors. Not neccessarily thou, but it tends to...

Through the closed case, the pots look pretty much like those screws used in PC casings to screw tight the covers. If you find one, the other should be in a 1 inch radius of it.

I can try to make and post a picture of what it looks from the outside. This however depends on the flash of my camera, or rather if it's strong enough to shed at least some light through the ventilation openings. We'll see once I get back home. 7 hours down, 8 hours to go :(
 
zerohaste said:
Anyone know if they make a BNC switch? I'd like to hook up my PS3 and PC to BNC, since that port is pretty much perfect.

Also, for those who adjusted your focus pots through the casing, how easy was it? Any chance of.. .dying if I miss the pots? lol I know where they should be, but I can't seem to see them with a flashlight (HP version).

I still can't decide if I should try it or not... I don't think it would void the warranty with AccurateIT, but who knows.
Click to expand...

AccurateIT would never know, unless you really mess the thing up. I've been in there. Those guys aren't recording detailed data about every monitor. They receive a skid of monitors, put on the test bench, get it working if it doesnt work, the do some image adjustments, and then they mark it A+, A, B, or C grade based on the outside appearance. It's pretty quick and dirty.
 
zerohaste said:
Anyone know if they make a BNC switch? I'd like to hook up my PS3 and PC to BNC, since that port is pretty much perfect.

Also, for those who adjusted your focus pots through the casing, how easy was it? Any chance of.. .dying if I miss the pots? lol I know where they should be, but I can't seem to see them with a flashlight (HP version).

I still can't decide if I should try it or not... I don't think it would void the warranty with AccurateIT, but who knows.
Click to expand...

If I mess with mine, I plan to take it all down. My intention is that at the end of the adjustment to apply a small dap of silicone to lock them back down. Sony thought it was a good idea, so I do also. If it takes such a small amount to make a huge difference in adjustment, this just seems like a good idea to lock the screws back down.

Les
 
Has anyone received a "B" grade unit from accurateit via ebay? I'm curious at the quality of that as compared to the "A-" that I think some people here have commented on.
 
les_garten said:
If I mess with mine, I plan to take it all down. My intention is that at the end of the adjustment to apply a small dap of silicone to lock them back down. Sony thought it was a good idea, so I do also. If it takes such a small amount to make a huge difference in adjustment, this just seems like a good idea to lock the screws back down.

Les
Click to expand...

Hard to say if thats necessary or not. I adjusted the pots on my G520 about 2 years ago and didn't add any silicon. I have since moved the monitor around quite a few times and even smacked it a bunch cause it was making a high pitched squeel noise, yet the focus still remains perfect. That tells me the pots are quite secure the way they are.

I think Sony primarily did that as a precaution since things tend to get banged around a lot more during the shipping process.
 
@ zerohaste
Sorry, no picture. Beyond the outer case of the screen, the camera won't pick up anything. It's a focus issue, I just can't seem to find the right focus for the camera.

@Topic
Got home, turned on the screen, waited for 15min and boom, it's all blurry again. So adjusting the pots didn't do the trick. I'm giving this method another shot, just to be sure.
 
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