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

sunrise089 said:
Well my patience got greatly rewarded last night.

After years of letting these displays slip through my fingers due to lack of funds or indecisiveness, my daily Craigslist hunting finally paid off.

I found a Sony branded FW900 only five minutes from my apartment. I bought it from the original owner - a freelance architect. For the last three years it had been sitting on his bedroom floor, since he had swapped desks and needed something smaller (he had switched to a 22" 4:3 CRT). The monitor is pristine - no screen imperfections, perfect casing, it even has the original cables and manual. I fired it up, and it's stunning.

Total costs including renting a FlexCar to go pick it up: $65. I'm rather pleased with myself.

Now I just need to figure out which settings to use. The picture looks great to me, but I have no idea whether or not I have ideal brightness and/or contrast settings selected.

So two specific questions: which programs or utilities should I be using to calibrate the display, and also, in the "color" menu, I have tabs for "Basic", "Expert", and "RGB" or something to that effect. Tabbing from the first two to the latter changes the image, even without selecting Image Restore. Which tabs should I be exiting the color menu from?
Click to expand...

WOW did you get a SMOKING deal:D

after letting it warm up for a while (when you go into the control panel it'll say "image restoration 'on'" instead of "image restoration 'after warm up'")

The first thing you want to do is download/get the drivers and install them so your video card has the right color profile for the monitor.
After its warmed up, hold the reset button down for a few seconds and you'll see the monitor blink a couple times and then it should default to the 9300K "cool" setting. This resets EVERYTHING, so you'll have to reset your border settings, convergence, etc. also.
Go back and change it to the 6500K setting or the RBG setting which defaults the monitors contrast/brightness to 91/29. After warm up, the default contrast/brightness settings are perfect by themselves.
If you can get a hold of a hardware calibrator like a spyder 2 or a one eye display 2 like I use, it REALLY makes this monitor shine color wise.

Hope that helps, but MAKE SURE you get the drivers so windows knows what its working with.
 
I'd start by letting it warm up at least an hour. Then do image restore. And after use the basic color options to see which one looks best to you...

(If you have the inclination and tools, you can of course adjust the monitors color quite precisely in the expert mode...)
 
Thank you for the helpful info. I'm running XP SP2, and the display control panel does properly detect the display. Do I still need to download Sony specific drivers anyways?

Besides that, why am I resetting the display again? I understand what you're saying about no additional tweaking beyond the defaults being needed, but it seems a shame to have to re-do all the border settings, as well as the convergence, which I don't even know how to do.

I can't accomplish the same thing by just setting the contrast/brightness to 91/29 and the temp to 6500K?
 
sunrise089 said:
Thank you for the helpful info. I'm running XP SP2, and the display control panel does properly detect the display. Do I still need to download Sony specific drivers anyways?

Besides that, why am I resetting the display again? I understand what you're saying about no additional tweaking beyond the defaults being needed, but it seems a shame to have to re-do all the border settings, as well as the convergence, which I don't even know how to do.

I can't accomplish the same thing by just setting the contrast/brightness to 91/29 and the temp to 6500K?
Click to expand...

Image restore wont reset the convergence or landing and yes you should do it.

Also, DL the FW900 driver here .
 
I FINALLY got one!
Drove 45 minutes to pick up one of these yesterday for $100 flat due to a small chip in the screen. It's more like a tiny gash. I'm usually a stickler / OCD'ish type but when I saw the beast I just let it go.. it's noticible but I don't give a rats ass since this thing is so SEXY.
I'm still messing with my settings but omfg this thing is LOCO.

My Sammy is cowering in fear - Check it out!
theBEAST.jpg


720p mkv
theBEAST2.jpg
 
NICE!!! Great deal!
I wish I could find one in Toronto.

Just came across an IBM P275 Black 21" CRT is it any good?

Can anyone provide me with a "top 5" (graphic/gamer) 21-24in Crt List?
 
Hey guys.
My FW900 recently started to make a quiet Pinging noise, and the screen jumps. I'm not sure how to explain it, but its acting as if something is behind the screen poking it, if u know what I mean.. obviously thats not possible, its just an idea on how to explain it. And at times horiontal lines are showing up. Parts of the screen are like.. flinching.. weird. Flinching AND flickering..

I originally thought it had to do with an electicity issue- I had only noticed it when the washing machine was on.. but now, its doing it again...

any ideas? I've still got the 6 months on the warranty, but I'd rather not have to go thru that.. maybe something just needs to be adjusted? doubt it tho.

let me know, and thanks!
 
I'm thinking about an AccurateIT on from eBay for $300 shipped.

It's the HP version. They are identical, correct? I was sure that it is just rebranded, but if so, why is the Sony version more expensive?

Also, how is the 'B-Grade' condition?

I'm thinking maybe to just wait until a pristine Sony version comes along at a nice price.
 
mine was a B grade HP from AccurateIT for $248 shipped.
excellent monitor. I noticed no flaws. Why is it more expensive as sony? Coz you're paying for the name... just like an Infinity is more expensive than a Nissan.. but its the same damn car.
 
I live about 10 miles away from the accurate IT place. I went in their warehouse a couple weeks ago to check out the FW-900's to see about a replacement for mine. Their FW-900 stock is huge. I was really surprised. I should have asked how much they'd charge to sell me a bulk qty skid of 12 FW-900's ..............
 
Rock&Roll said:
I live about 10 miles away from the accurate IT place. I went in their warehouse a couple weeks ago to check out the FW-900's to see about a replacement for mine. Their FW-900 stock is huge. I was really surprised. I should have asked how much they'd charge to sell me a bulk qty skid of 12 FW-900's ..............
Click to expand...

Were they in boxes? If not, how did they look?
 
fragzem said:
Hey guys.
My FW900 recently started to make a quiet Pinging noise, and the screen jumps. I'm not sure how to explain it, but its acting as if something is behind the screen poking it, if u know what I mean.. obviously thats not possible, its just an idea on how to explain it. And at times horiontal lines are showing up. Parts of the screen are like.. flinching.. weird. Flinching AND flickering..

I originally thought it had to do with an electicity issue- I had only noticed it when the washing machine was on.. but now, its doing it again...

any ideas? I've still got the 6 months on the warranty, but I'd rather not have to go thru that.. maybe something just needs to be adjusted? doubt it tho.

let me know, and thanks!
Click to expand...


I apparently got rid of this problem by leaving the screen on straight for a couple of days. (Maybe that allowed the build-up causing the error to burn off...)
 
SH1 said:
I apparently got rid of this problem by leaving the screen on straight for a couple of days. (Maybe that allowed the build-up causing the error to burn off...)
Click to expand...

How long ago was that? Its never happened since?
 
Well,
My fw900 just shit the bed.
Now I have to decide to go get another one, or buy an lcd.
I loved that monitor.
Scared the shit out of me when the tube blew up. I was waking my computer from sleep mode and the monitor popped really loudly then puked for good.
Too Bad.
 
Is it practical to try to get one of these repaired? There is a TV repair shop close to my house.
Thanks
 
ok guys,

i have just discovered another problem with this monitor...
i bought a XFX 7900GS 256MB video card on the other day but never get to install it until today. this card comes with 2 DVI ports so I have to use a DVI->VGA adaptor to connect to FW900.. i have noticed that when using this adaptor the icons/text on my screen create shadows (like many layers of same thing.. starting from left to right)
do any of you have similar problems?

I also test it on a 6600GT 128MB board with 1 DVI and 1 VGA port, this issue appears only if I use the adaptor on the DVI port..

I tried with 2 adaptors, problems remain...


Mike
 
TheGodfather47 said:
Were they in boxes? If not, how did they look?
Click to expand...

No, they were not in boxes on the skids. They were laying face down on sheets of cardboard. From what I saw, the skids were stacked two high. They do their own re-calibration. These guys aren't electronics pro's by any means. Minimum wage kind of place.

They say that A grade are monitors devoid of blemishes and are restored to factory settings.

The B grades have some minor blemishes, and usually have good image quality.

The B- grades has at least one major blemish, but is functional. (I thought about giving them $150 B- for a parts monitor.) I should go raid thier dumpster for FW-900 parts. I'm sure they've thrown plenty away when they didn't work.

I was tempted, but I decided my best buck was spent on moving onto LCD. I'm really impressed at the IQ i'm getting on my new 24" LCD.
 
mike82y said:
ok guys,

i have just discovered another problem with this monitor...
i bought a XFX 7900GS 256MB video card on the other day but never get to install it until today. this card comes with 2 DVI ports so I have to use a DVI->VGA adaptor to connect to FW900.. i have noticed that when using this adaptor the icons/text on my screen create shadows (like many layers of same thing.. starting from left to right)
do any of you have similar problems?

I also test it on a 6600GT 128MB board with 1 DVI and 1 VGA port, this issue appears only if I use the adaptor on the DVI port..

I tried with 2 adaptors, problems remain...


Mike
Click to expand...
I'd suspect the cable. Yes, even if it looked okay with your old video card.

In my experience, ghosting is nearly always cable-related. Try another cable or two and let us know how it goes!
 
I might have the chance to pick one of these up locally for pretty cheap ($250, maybe lower if I can haggle). I've rediscovered the beauty of my Dell P1130 after using a 24" LCD for a while - the P1130 has way better color, blacks, and contrast but I love the widescreen factor of the LCD. SOO - best of both worlds :D
 
repoman0 said:
I might have the chance to pick one of these up locally for pretty cheap ($250, maybe lower if I can haggle). I've rediscovered the beauty of my Dell P1130 after using a 24" LCD for a while - the P1130 has way better color, blacks, and contrast but I love the widescreen factor of the LCD. SOO - best of both worlds :D
Click to expand...

i'd pick it up in a heartbeat if its still in good shape;)
 
So, I've been trying to get one of these on-and-off for the last year or so in the UK, and I've now pretty much given up on finding one here in good condition. (or even just trying to find them for sale)

I've been in touch with "Unkle Vito" on eBay (I believe a few people here got theirs from him?) as he's got a factory serviced one for sale right now. I'm really very interested, but it looks like it's going to end up costing about $750-1000 US to have one shipped over here, plus $700 for the screen itself (he has a 2002 model that sounds like it's basically "as new" that he was planning on keeping for himself) and no doubt I'll have to pay VAT (17.5%) plus import charges.

I wasn't expecting it to be so much to have it shipped over here though, and am starting to have second thoughts. I've also been trying to catch up on this thread (it's been months since I last visited) and it seems a lot of people are starting to have problems developing which is beginning to put me off the idea.


Basically for the last two years I've been trying to get myself a nice HDTV - there have never been any HD CRTs for sale here, so I've had about 10-15 different HD LCDs/Plasmas/DLPs (including the most recent stuff like Pioneer's "Kuro" plasmas) and I'm just not happy with the image quality on them, which is why I've resumed searching for one of these screens, as they seem like the next best thing, which is why I'm considering going to such lengths to get one.

So for current/previous owners, would it be worth it?
 
andrewfee said:
So, I've been trying to get one of these on-and-off for the last year or so in the UK, and I've now pretty much given up on finding one here in good condition. (or even just trying to find them for sale)

I've been in touch with "Unkle Vito" on eBay (I believe a few people here got theirs from him?) as he's got a factory serviced one for sale right now. I'm really very interested, but it looks like it's going to end up costing about $750-1000 US to have one shipped over here, plus $700 for the screen itself (he has a 2002 model that sounds like it's basically "as new" that he was planning on keeping for himself) and no doubt I'll have to pay VAT (17.5%) plus import charges.

I wasn't expecting it to be so much to have it shipped over here though, and am starting to have second thoughts. I've also been trying to catch up on this thread (it's been months since I last visited) and it seems a lot of people are starting to have problems developing which is beginning to put me off the idea.


Basically for the last two years I've been trying to get myself a nice HDTV - there have never been any HD CRTs for sale here, so I've had about 10-15 different HD LCDs/Plasmas/DLPs (including the most recent stuff like Pioneer's "Kuro" plasmas) and I'm just not happy with the image quality on them, which is why I've resumed searching for one of these screens, as they seem like the next best thing, which is why I'm considering going to such lengths to get one.

So for current/previous owners, would it be worth it?
Click to expand...

for that much, probably not. :( the last ones were made in 2003 and the only repair shop i know of is in the states here. i've been unbelievably lucky with mine, its a 2001 model and still going strong. have you looked into something like a sony CRT like a 21" or similar or do they have them over there?
 
andrewfee said:
So, I've been trying to get one of these on-and-off for the last year or so in the UK, and I've now pretty much given up on finding one here in good condition. (or even just trying to find them for sale)

I've been in touch with "Unkle Vito" on eBay (I believe a few people here got theirs from him?) as he's got a factory serviced one for sale right now. I'm really very interested, but it looks like it's going to end up costing about $750-1000 US to have one shipped over here, plus $700 for the screen itself (he has a 2002 model that sounds like it's basically "as new" that he was planning on keeping for himself) and no doubt I'll have to pay VAT (17.5%) plus import charges.

I wasn't expecting it to be so much to have it shipped over here though, and am starting to have second thoughts. I've also been trying to catch up on this thread (it's been months since I last visited) and it seems a lot of people are starting to have problems developing which is beginning to put me off the idea.


Basically for the last two years I've been trying to get myself a nice HDTV - there have never been any HD CRTs for sale here, so I've had about 10-15 different HD LCDs/Plasmas/DLPs (including the most recent stuff like Pioneer's "Kuro" plasmas) and I'm just not happy with the image quality on them, which is why I've resumed searching for one of these screens, as they seem like the next best thing, which is why I'm considering going to such lengths to get one.

So for current/previous owners, would it be worth it?
Click to expand...

Not happy with a Pioneer Kuro plasma for HDTV? Are you sure it's the monitor and not the input source? Was it a 1080P model? Or how about one of those new Samsung LCD's with the intelligent LED backlighting?

In any case, with that shipping cost...no it doesn't sound worth it...

(There's also a lot of opportunity with all of that distance for it to be accidently dropped and such...)
 
Dunan said:
for that much, probably not. :( the last ones were made in 2003 and the only repair shop i know of is in the states here. i've been unbelievably lucky with mine, its a 2001 model and still going strong. have you looked into something like a sony CRT like a 21" or similar or do they have them over there?
Click to expand...
Yeah, I was thinking it's probably not worth that much. I have a decent 19" Viewsonic CRT which is the best CRT I was able to find that was new, but I was hoping to get something widescreen. CRTs have virtually disappeared in the UK (at least where I am) even a lot of the supermarkets have dropped their really cheap sets in favour of LCDs, and there were never any HD CRT TVs.


SH1 said:
Not happy with a Pioneer Kuro plasma for HDTV? Are you sure it's the monitor and not the input source? Was it a 1080P model? Or how about one of those new Samsung LCD's with the intelligent LED backlighting?

In any case, with that shipping cost...no it doesn't sound worth it...

(There's also a lot of opportunity with all of that distance for it to be accidently dropped and such...)
Click to expand...
The black levels still aren't very good on the Kuros, and plasmas have really bad motion artefacts: http://sr-388.net/images/misc/tv/Plasma.jpg

I've not tried the LED Samsungs, which might fix the black levels, but LCD is terrible at motion and colour reproduction.


I guess I'll be sticking to my Viewsonic monitor for games, and a 15 year-old CRT for TV (which still looks amazing considering the age, as I've recalibrated it recently) until OLED / other tech is widely available or these things die.
xgmumf.gif
 
Hurin said:
I'd suspect the cable. Yes, even if it looked okay with your old video card.

In my experience, ghosting is nearly always cable-related. Try another cable or two and let us know how it goes!
Click to expand...

Hurin your are correct, its the cable!
i just bought a DVI-VGA cable and the problem is gone now, thanks!

whats ur personal opinion on Dell UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC?? good to replace FW900?


Mike
 
Hey everyone. Just wanted to say that I just got mine yesterday from Accurate IT. It was the "B Grade" and I have to say that the screen is in perfect condition. There are only a few minor scuffs on the case. Before this monitor I had a 22" wide Samsung 226bw and I'll tell you what, after using this monitor for games, I will NEVER go back to an LCD. The color amazes me. Very happy with this. Was a beast though to lift on my desk :p
 
Well, I bought one (A7217a, same tube different logo) and it's easily the most awesome monitor I've ever used. Except for being pretty far out of focus. No problem though, just adjust the pots....

Except that doesn't work. I've got a bookmarks folder that goes from the top of the screen to the bottom right down the center and even though I can get THAT into perfect focus all the way from top to bottom somehow "normal" stuff like the black text on a white background that i'm typing right now is WAY out of focus.

I can accept that a monitor with 2002 on the sticker might not be able to get perfect focus across the whole screen but being able to both have and not have perfect focus at the same time depending on what is being displayed? That's one I didn't see coming.

I've tried different resolutions and refresh rates and that doesn't change anything with the focus so I know it's got to do with the pots and not just a bad res/refresh combo. It's just damn wierd to be able to completely focus this thing and then switch to a different webpage and find out that it's not working at all...

Anyone got any ideas?
 
You may want to try to do dynamic convergence via Windas and the interface cable referenced throughout this (hard to search) thread.

I wrote up a guide on doing Dynamic Convergence. It's buried somewhere in this thread.

If you're able to focus some things and not others, one of the three "guns" may be out of alignment. Some material based on some colors will look okay while others will not. Dynamic convergence might help.

Though, be careful spending any more money on a display that might just be beyond help. It's a judgement call whether any tweaks from here will "save" the monitor. Tweaks can only do so much and can't work miracles on damaged or otherwise "beyond hope" displays.
 
I'll give that a try. I can get pretty much perfect focus in the center if I don't mind having universally bad focus around the edges.
 
I can also confirm what Hurin is saying. At one point i thought my Sony CPD-G520P was out of focus in some areas but after running through the dynamic convergence in Windas the whole screen looks nearly as sharp as an LCD.

BTW does anyone by chance know where i can purchase an FW900 in Canada? I don't understand why there are so many liquidators in the US that have them but in Canada there seems to be absolutely nothing.
 
Hurin said:
They're often related. Even a slightly misconverged display can appear blurrier than a properly converged one.
Click to expand...

If it were convergence wouldn't there be colors and messing w/ the pots wouldn't return it to flawless focus (in some areas)? I've got really good vision and even looking one pixel at a time I can't see any convergence color shadows in the out of focus areas.
 
Those of you who ordered it from Accurate IT, how was it packaged when it arrived? I was thinking of getting one (B grade) but I'm worried about it getting here (during winter in the snow no less) in one piece.
 
i cant for the life of me understand why Vista has so many problems when it comes to resoultions and refreshrates with CRTs

I use 1680x1050 and only have the choice of 60hz and it makes my eyes tired faster.. iv tried refreshforce, and rivatuner. RT gives me some bs about EDID and cant change refreshrate, reforce doesnt do anything.

and ontop of all that i only have one option for widescreen res in cs1.6, and thats 1280x720, cant even force a res with the advance options. also other games have very limited resolition choices. crysis doesnt have 1280x800, which is what i ran at under XP

iv never had one single problem with XP and my FW900, upgrading to vista has had me pulling my hair out. iv read somewhere about editing the registery, but was very confusing so im not about to try that.

anyhelp would be greatly apreciated.. so fusterated why vista gotta be like this?
 
http://newyork.craigslist.org/jsy/sys/486838774.html

Saw that earlier and just about wanted to cry. :D

Been wanting one of these for years now, and finding this thread just makes me realize I still want one, so I've been scouring Google, eBay, and Craig's List here in Vegas hoping beyond hope someone wants to dump one on the cheap sometime and I get lucky.

Amazing monitors, perhaps the best ever made by and large. And I'm a big fan of CRTs, always.

A few mins later I found this:

http://annarbor.craigslist.org/sys/486694420.html

3 OF 'EM... good lord. :p
 
Ryle said:
i cant for the life of me understand why Vista has so many problems when it comes to resoultions and refreshrates with CRTs

I use 1680x1050 and only have the choice of 60hz and it makes my eyes tired faster.. iv tried refreshforce, and rivatuner. RT gives me some bs about EDID and cant change refreshrate, reforce doesnt do anything.

and ontop of all that i only have one option for widescreen res in cs1.6, and thats 1280x720, cant even force a res with the advance options. also other games have very limited resolition choices. crysis doesnt have 1280x800, which is what i ran at under XP

iv never had one single problem with XP and my FW900, upgrading to vista has had me pulling my hair out. iv read somewhere about editing the registery, but was very confusing so im not about to try that.

anyhelp would be greatly apreciated.. so fusterated why vista gotta be like this?
Click to expand...

cause vista is the "here and now and XP is old school":rolleyes:

i wold write to M$ about it really, ive never heard of such a thing, where an OS prefers a certain technology of monitor over another. it must be that DRM and HDMI shiite.:rolleyes:
 
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