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

The highest resolution that the Nvidia control panel will let me set is 2304x1440, which is a widescreen resolution. That is the resolution that looks like its squished into 4:3. I have it at 1920x1200 now, and I have seen it listed as the "recommended" resolution. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the Nvidia drivers. It still looks awesome, but I'd like to know why the max resolution doesn't work.

For anyone looking for one of these monitors, the guy I bought it from still has 3 or 4 HP's and 1 or 2 Sony's. Some are better than others condition-wise, but they all looked to be decent. I don't know if he'll ship it, but I can find out if anyone is interested!
 
Shadowex3 said:
I was thinking more along the lines of component to BNC rather than using the VGA plug.
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Yeah, I know. BNC doesn't work at all though because the color encoding is different.

The only option is a converter box, from HDMI to HD15.

If a converter existed for Component to BNC or HD15 (Really just a wiring order, not encoding difference) that would also work. I don't think such a thing exists though.

Feel free to try if you don't believe me, the green ghosts are amusing to look at. Hopefully they don't pop out of the screen like in Pulse :)
 
Make sure that the refresh rate at that resolution is 75 Hz. You can also adjust the height and width of the screen using the monitor's on-screen display.

beelzibub said:
The highest resolution that the Nvidia control panel will let me set is 2304x1440, which is a widescreen resolution. That is the resolution that looks like its squished into 4:3. I have it at 1920x1200 now, and I have seen it listed as the "recommended" resolution. I'm thinking it may have something to do with the Nvidia drivers. It still looks awesome, but I'd like to know why the max resolution doesn't work.

For anyone looking for one of these monitors, the guy I bought it from still has 3 or 4 HP's and 1 or 2 Sony's. Some are better than others condition-wise, but they all looked to be decent. I don't know if he'll ship it, but I can find out if anyone is interested!
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Pyrocles said:
Make sure that the refresh rate at that resolution is 75 Hz. You can also adjust the height and width of the screen using the monitor's on-screen display.
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Thanks Pyrocles....I didn't even think about using the monitor's on screen controls to widen the picture! I guess I assumed that the monitor would automatically get it alot closer! This monitor is awesome! :D
 
beelzibub said:
Thanks Pyrocles....I didn't even think about using the monitor's on screen controls to widen the picture! I guess I assumed that the monitor would automatically get it alot closer! This monitor is awesome! :D
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whoa...are u used to using LCDs or something? :eek:
 
I used to have a 17" CRT about 3 or four years ago, but since then I've been using a Sceptre 20" LCD. I needed something to upgrade the small CRT, but I was a fulltime student, so the Sceptre was the best thing I could find in my price range. Now that I've graduated and work full time, I can afford the good stuff. I started looking for a 24" or 30" LCD, but I'm not seeing any that have the specs I'm looking for....that is when I found out about the FW900's from [H]. I found one local for $200, so I bought it to hold me over until the big LCD's lower their lag or some new technology comes out. I was almost ready to pay $1500 for the 30" Dell, but it seems the input lag is high and it has backlight bleed issues. These FW900's are awesome looking, as long as you've got a strong back and beefy desk!
 
beelzibub said:
I used to have a 17" CRT about 3 or four years ago, but since then I've been using a Sceptre 20" LCD. I needed something to upgrade the small CRT, but I was a fulltime student, so the Sceptre was the best thing I could find in my price range. Now that I've graduated and work full time, I can afford the good stuff. I started looking for a 24" or 30" LCD, but I'm not seeing any that have the specs I'm looking for....that is when I found out about the FW900's from [H]. I found one local for $200, so I bought it to hold me over until the big LCD's lower their lag or some new technology comes out. I was almost ready to pay $1500 for the 30" Dell, but it seems the input lag is high and it has backlight bleed issues. These FW900's are awesome looking, as long as you've got a strong back and beefy desk!
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Good choice. I have had my FW900 for little over 2 years now. Although it doesnt get used as much as it used to, but man, every time I turn it on, I'm still wowed...
 
I love this thread!

Just got mine last week (HP Version Man. 2003) but front bezel and base plate were damaged during shipping. The rest of it is fine and the display is just unreal :D

I was wondering if anyone here has an extra bezel and baseplate they would want to sell me for the HP version.
 
danny_discus said:
I was wondering if anyone here has an extra bezel and baseplate they would want to sell me for the HP version.
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I'm pretty sure there is a link in this thread somewhere, to the Sony website that you can still buy the bezel....not sure about the base plate ..
I would search the thread for you, but its like a million pages .:)

EDIT: OK here it is, you owe me one......:)

http://hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1031915495&postcount=3666

$55.00 sounds like a deal...
 
Good news, I discovered the source of my screen's blotchiness. Seems the magnets in my sterring wheel are a fraction stronger than I thought and even though there was a considerable gap, after moving it away, degaussing and then leaving it away for a while the blotch went away - huzzah :D
 
I'm sure a Sony bezel would fit the HP version. It may look somewhat "unique" but it would still be better than having a damaged bezel. You could also paint the bezel or outer casing if you wanted things to match better.
 
I'm thinking about getting a FW900 to replace my dying Samsung CRT. There aren't any for sale locally, so eBay is my only option.

There is a dent in the monitor below. Is this a big warning sign against this monitor? The seller claims that the monitor has been professionally calibrated recently. I'm also somewhat leery about having it shipped to Tennessee from New Jersey. I'm afraid that it'll get jarred enough in shipment to throw the calibration off. Should the monitor be fine in shipment?

http://cgi.ebay.com/Sony-GDM-FW900-...215233365QQcmdZViewItem?hash=item260215233365
 
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Prophecy said:
I'm thinking about getting a FW900 to replace my dying Samsung CRT. There aren't any for sale locally, so eBay is my only option.

There is a dent in the monitor below. Is this a big warning sign against this monitor? The seller claims that the monitor has been professionally calibrated recently. I'm also somewhat leery about having it shipped to Tennessee from New Jersey. I'm afraid that it'll get jarred enough in shipment to throw the calibration off. Should the monitor be fine in shipment?
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As long as its packed well it should be fine...but shipping is gonna be expensive. I would try and find one closer to home.

The other problem is if it shows up with problems, your gonna have to ship it back......way too much risk for me..
I bought mine locally to avoid these types of problems.
 
I've been checking Craigslist a lot lately for that monitor and so far I haven't had any luck. I agree that 200 is quite a bit for shipping so I guess I'll continue to check Craigslist and hope I get lucky.
 
I recently purchased a FW900 that was listed as A- (bezel is a bit scuffed, but the screen is pristine) and I can't seem to get it focused. Connected via DVI-A to VGA from an 8800GT with monoprice cables w/dual ferrite cores. I've adjusted the convergence, and even used a screwdriver to manually adjust the focus pots (which helped) but even with hours of tweaking I can't get a sharp picture across the screen. The middle is only in "acceptable" focus, with the edges being fairly poor. It gives me a headache to look at because my eyes are constantly having to adjust to the different focus levels on different parts of the screen. (Note this isn't from the refresh rate. I use 85Hz at home on the FW900 and 85Hz at work on the Dell.)

I have a cheap Dell brand shadow mask CRT at work which is considerably sharper than this FW900. I can look it all day with no eye strain. Am I correct in assuming that the FW900 I received is defective? People that are praising them do have units that are sharp enough edge to edge for long term use? I should be able to get usable focus without a WinDAS calibration, right?

Spec-wise this monitor is everything I want. Help!



tl;dr: I bought an A- monitor I can't get focused. Gives me a headache it's so bad. Can a properly tuned FW900 have comparable sharpness to a cheapo Dell brand shadow mask CRT?
 
Going by what everyone in this thread has said so far WinDAS does not adjust focus at all, the only thing it does is gamma/brightness and a slightly more specific convergence. I think the problem is that shadowmask monitors just seem to last longer than aperture grille ones and since CRTs basically stopped being made sometime around 2002 or so all the ones out now are just too old.

Conjecture aside, I'd say you're screwed. You probably have the same problem I do and as far as I know it means that the tube itself is dying and no longer capable of producing a sharp image at all, let alone edge to edge. I'm also willing to go out on a limb and predict that brighter colors such as yellow or orange and so on are much less in focus than darker ones and that black-on-grey text like you find in firefox/IE's favorites menu is more in focus than the rest.

My only suggestion is try switching to 1600x1200. For me it's more in focus (and brighter) than any of the widescreen resolutions, hopefully it will help for you too. If you can get a full refund I'd jump that, if not try and sell it to someone that finds the picture acceptable.
 
Shadowex3 said:
I'm also willing to go out on a limb and predict that brighter colors such as yellow or orange and so on are much less in focus than darker ones and that black-on-grey text like you find in firefox/IE's favorites menu is more in focus than the rest.

My only suggestion is try switching to 1600x1200. For me it's more in focus (and brighter) than any of the widescreen resolutions, hopefully it will help for you too. If you can get a full refund I'd jump that, if not try and sell it to someone that finds the picture acceptable.
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You're spot on. My oranges and yellows are muddy and switching to 1600x1200 is substantially better. I'll be exchanging it for a replacement and hope for the best. I really appreciate your input.
 
On the next one I'd do three things as soon as it's tuned finished warming up. I'd view slashdot or a fullscreen notepad full of lorem ipsum to make sure text is in focus across the screen, I'd view OverClocked Remix to make sure that bright colors like orange on white are in focus across the screen, and then I'd run the Nokia monitor test and check their focus images.

A- on most websites is defined as meaning the picture should be absolutely flawless from edge to edge, don't settle for "acceptable" focus like I did. You'll just get headaches and eyestrain in the long run.
 
hakujin said:
I recently purchased a FW900 that was listed as A- (bezel is a bit scuffed, but the screen is pristine) and I can't seem to get it focused.


tl;dr: I bought an A- monitor I can't get focused. Gives me a headache it's so bad. Can a properly tuned FW900 have comparable sharpness to a cheapo Dell brand shadow mask CRT?
Click to expand...

Where did you pick up this monitor from? Accurateit? Or did you just pick it up off ebay or something?
 
I just purchased Crysis, and want to play in 1440x900 resolution on my FW900 and nVidia 8800 Ultra in 64-bit Windows Vista. However, 1440x900 isn't available in the Display Properties. The available resolutions go right from 1680x1050 to 1280x1024. Does anyone have a 1440x900 resolution available in Vista with this monitor?

I applied Hurin's widescreen refresh rate fix, which is posted earlier in this long thread, to achieve refresh rates above 60Hz in widescreen resolutions. It works great.

However, is there any way to add a custom resolution such as 1440x900? I've Googled for information on editing Monitor.inf files, but where do I find the FW900 INF file in Vista?
 
Pyrocles said:
I just purchased Crysis, and want to play in 1440x900 resolution on my FW900 and nVidia 8800 Ultra in 64-bit Windows Vista. However, 1440x900 isn't available in the Display Properties. The available resolutions go right from 1680x1050 to 1280x1024. Does anyone have a 1440x900 resolution available in Vista with this monitor?

I applied Hurin's widescreen refresh rate fix, which is posted earlier in this long thread, to achieve refresh rates above 60Hz in widescreen resolutions. It works great.

However, is there any way to add a custom resolution such as 1440x900? I've Googled for information on editing Monitor.inf files, but where do I find the FW900 INF file in Vista?
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to my knowledge vista doesnt recognise the FW900, its too 'old school'
some ppl complain that they cant get the monitor to work at all in vista and if they do they have all sorts of problems (like the 60hz refresh rate debacle)
 
My FW900 works great in Vista, even with the DVI-BNC cable I'm using now. Vista does include an FW900 driver, which installs automatically through plug and play (when the monitor is connected using the VGA port, not BNC). And as long as you follow Hurin's procedure provided in this thread, you can get all refresh rates working at all resolutions. It worked great for me, at least on my particular config.

I just need to figure out how to add custom resolutions somehow, now. I know the monitor supports 1440x900; it worked in XP. If only nVidia would include the custom resolution tools in their Vista drivers...

Dunan said:
to my knowledge vista doesnt recognise the FW900, its too 'old school'
some ppl complain that they cant get the monitor to work at all in vista and if they do they have all sorts of problems (like the 60hz refresh rate debacle)
Click to expand...
 
Pyrocles said:
My FW900 works great in Vista, even with the DVI-BNC cable I'm using now. Vista does include an FW900 driver, which installs automatically through plug and play (when the monitor is connected using the VGA port, not BNC). And as long as you follow Hurin's procedure provided in this thread, you can get all refresh rates working at all resolutions. It worked great for me, at least on my particular config.

I just need to figure out how to add custom resolutions somehow, now. I know the monitor supports 1440x900; it worked in XP. If only nVidia would include the custom resolution tools in their Vista drivers...
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probably you have updated vista in one way or another, because right out of the box vista doesnt support the FW900. all kinds of complaints when vista first came out with ppl wanting to use this monitor w/vista.
 
Dunan said:
probably you have updated vista in one way or another, because right out of the box vista doesnt support the FW900. all kinds of complaints when vista first came out with ppl wanting to use this monitor w/vista.
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Hi,
There is a driver out of the box with Vista. The problem I found was that the driver wasn't added automagically. I would go in and manually change the monitor to FW900, and on a reboot it would always revert back to Plug n Play monitor. If you use the BNC inputs, you can manually set it and it will stick. Or as I now do, I use Powerstrip and all issues are non-existent. Even though I hate to run Powerstrip.

Les
 
Pyrocles said:
I just need to figure out how to add custom resolutions somehow, now. I know the monitor supports 1440x900; it worked in XP. If only nVidia would include the custom resolution tools in their Vista drivers...
Click to expand...

Yeah it really sucks the Vista drivers from Nvidia are still missing the custom resolution menu. Up until a few months ago, the 8800 drivers were even missing the digital vibrance control, and the entire video color adjustment page :eek:. These were all eventually added back in; I'm sure that the custom resolution screen will too. I know it's possible, Nvidia just has really been lazy with drivers lately.

BUT, there IS a way to add custom resolutions without that page. Check out this thread here: NVIDIA Forums -> Add Custom Resolutions in Windows Vista ;) Also, I believe using RivaTuner will allow you to use custom resolutions.

P.S. I'm not suprised 1440x900 doesn't show up; my 24" LCD won't let me use 1280x800 no matter what I do; but if I add it in manually I can use it (although the monitor "thinks" it's 1280x960 :confused:)
 
As long as this thread is active again, anybody know a way to adjust image focus other than the 2 focus pots?
 
I figured this out. I obtained 1440x900 resolution by uninstalling and reinstalling the nVidia drivers, then adding the resolution into the "nv_modes" value in the Windows registry. After rebooting, I 1440x900 was available in the display properties with up to 100 Hz refresh rate.

Unfortunately, Crysis keeps starting in windowed mode at 1440x900 with DirectRefresh enabled to ensure 100 Hz refresh; the taskbar is distractingly displayed at the bottom of the screen.

Cornflake said:
Yeah it really sucks the Vista drivers from Nvidia are still missing the custom resolution menu. Up until a few months ago, the 8800 drivers were even missing the digital vibrance control, and the entire video color adjustment page :eek:. These were all eventually added back in; I'm sure that the custom resolution screen will too. I know it's possible, Nvidia just has really been lazy with drivers lately.

BUT, there IS a way to add custom resolutions without that page. Check out this thread here: NVIDIA Forums -> Add Custom Resolutions in Windows Vista ;) Also, I believe using RivaTuner will allow you to use custom resolutions.

P.S. I'm not suprised 1440x900 doesn't show up; my 24" LCD won't let me use 1280x800 no matter what I do; but if I add it in manually I can use it (although the monitor "thinks" it's 1280x960 :confused:)
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what does the driver do ?? show a better picture ??? cuz more resolutions and refresh rates to show up in the control panel??? what??:confused:
 
glenbjackson19 said:
what does the driver do ?? show a better picture ??? cuz more resolutions and refresh rates to show up in the control panel??? what??:confused:
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drivers tell windows what monitor you are using. it is needed for windows to determine what resolutions you can use and refresh rates.

quite important. they are not made for nothing.
 
I just bought a FW900 locally that I found on craigslist :D The guy had 3 of them (2 HP and one Sony) that he had left-over from a graphic design office he used to work at. They all looked like they were in great condition.

I swiped the Sony which he had setup and callibrated. He threw in the VGA to BNC cable. From what I can tell the screen is flawless, no scratches on the anti-glare layer. There are only minor scratches on the sides of the bezel and some goo from a sticker on the front. I checked the manufacture date and it was August 03. Great condition, pretty much as new as they get, already calibrated and local for only 260 bucks....SCORE!! :D

I havent tweaked anything, just installed the driver and re-installed video drivers and its good go. Right now im working on setting up custom resolutions because it seems stingly to bust out its impressive refresh rates.

COD4 looks gorgeous on it!

Wish I could post pics but it seems my digital camera has died!?!?! The little LCD screen on it is all black with what looks like purple and pink lines zipping around horizontally, almost like static. Bah.
 
Just bought my first LCD Dell 2408WFP which is good, but it still doesn't compare to 6 years old Sony FW900 especially for color and black level. Congrat on your purchase of FW900 it's the best monitor I've seen and have two of them just incase one died.
 
Thanks man, im loving it so far. I have a ton of 16:10 resolutions set-up now with awesome refresh rates. I've been playing COD4 at 1440x900 120hz refresh all night :D

This thing lives up to the hype!
 
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