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//[T.0.P]//;1034955545 said:My FW900 just pooped out I was referred here into looking for some help. I hear Uncle Vito knows a lot about the monitor and perhaps, if he is around, could help me with my situation.
Basically, my monitor will not display a screen on both inputs anymore. It almost sounds like it's trying to switch to something to where it eventually gives up and blinks the orange light. I am not sure if I can repair this on my own, or if it can be repaired at all.
Here's the link to the full details of what happened: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=1471688
I wouldn't worry about too many of those errors. Just make sure you followed all of the steps closely while installing the software.
The software will be useless until you have cable. Once you have it hooked up, it's just a matter of telling WinDAS which sony model monitor it's working with and reading the error codes. You'll probably find an error for no power supply.
What did they do to fix the defocus/popping/flashing problem? I have three FW900s but one of them is now doing the defocus/popping/flashing problem.
Have you tried fiddling with the cables to see if the blanking occurs when you move them ?
It might be a bad cable or bad solder joints on the connectors.
Sure am. Had to used the hacked 64bit drivers and edid editor dealio to get my refresh rates to work properly tho.
Ah, I think the auction you're thinking of is $800, and it has the 12 month warranty you mentioned. However, they do not ship internationally, and since I live in Canada the one I'm looking at is $1000USD, and it only has a 30 day warranty with the computer shop that's selling it. This is actually what worries me about it most, it would absolutely break my heart to go through the effort of getting it and then having the tube crap out a few months after it arrives. Also I think my video card would be just fine to display full resolution, but I would be shelling out for an HDFury to hook up a blu-ray player. HDCP fucking blows, I wish I could just hook a Ps3 straight through by VGA like I would with my Xbox 360 if I got the FW900. Does the HDFury have significant lag time to process the digital signal to analog?$1000 is probably a great deal for a mint-condition FW900, considering it includes a 12 month warranty, and that a new FW900 was more than $1800 in 2002. It's still a lot of money though, especially considering that Grade B ones can be bought for much less, and reportedly some people don't even notice the blemishes that give one a Grade B.
My Grade B is arriving in two days, and I intend to give a full report. My current video card has a 10-bit DAC, so I won't even need an HDFury to take full advantage of the FW900's best contrast ratio. The last time my FW900 worked I could only go as high as 2304x1474, and had an 8-bit DAC... now I'll be able do 2704x1730, with smooth gamma correction.
Thanks for the link, and the advice. Alot of money to pay for something that isn't guaranteed, indeed.If you want to ask questions about the HDFury then go to the HDFury forum. My guess would be that it has no input lag.
Definitely seems like a bad idea to pay that much for a FW900 with only a 30 day warranty. And the auction I was looking at is more like $950, with shipping added, or even $1028 with tax for someone who lives in California.
Ah, I think the auction you're thinking of is $800, and it has the 12 month warranty you mentioned. However, they do not ship internationally, and since I live in Canada the one I'm looking at is $1000USD, and it only has a 30 day warranty with the computer shop that's selling it. This is actually what worries me about it most, it would absolutely break my heart to go through the effort of getting it and then having the tube crap out a few months after it arrives. Also I think my video card would be just fine to display full resolution, but I would be shelling out for an HDFury to hook up a blu-ray player. HDCP fucking blows, I wish I could just hook a Ps3 straight through by VGA like I would with my Xbox 360 if I got the FW900. Does the HDFury have significant lag time to process the digital signal to analog?
If you want to ask questions about the HDFury then go to the HDFury forum. My guess would be that it has no input lag.
Definitely seems like a bad idea to pay that much for a FW900 with only a 30 day warranty. And the auction I was looking at is more like $950, with shipping added, or even $1028 with tax for someone who lives in California.
Finaly got my FW900 from Ebay ,The box was packed extremely well with a very thick barrier of bubble wrap all around it. The front of the monitor casing has a little scratch (Update: I was able to cover up this scratch using a silver colored sharpie) but the glass/screen itself is in perfect condition.
Picture quality on this thing is AWESOME I was very pleased to find the Geometry and Convergence in near perfect condition after looking at various test patterns.Also the overall Focus is excellent corner to corner. It seems as if this monitor wasnt used very much or it just aged very well, I cant see any notable flaws in the picture quality, I havent really messed with it gaming & movie wise but I was just playing FarCry @ 1900x1200 and it looked amazing, I think I got an excellent deal @ $400 shipped,especially considering this monitor retailed for $2,300 new.
Few pics I took, digital camera doesnt really do it justice tho:
*** UPDATE ***
A big Thanks to Hurin for putting together the following information from this lengthy thread:
-------------------------------------------------------------
Monitor Information
Sony Product Page (product datasheet, user's manual, driver).
Service Manual.
Aspect Ratio and Resolutions
The monitor is 16:10 aspect ratio. The following resolutions are 16:10:
1280x800
1600x1000
1680x1050
1760x1100
1840x1150
1920x1200
2048x1280
2304x1440 (Max resolution listed in the FW900 product datasheet)
If you can't select these resolutions, make sure the monitor driver is installed (included with Windows XP or you can download it at the link above). If certain resolutions are still not available, you can add custom resolutions easily via NVIDIA's "Custom Resolution and Refresh Rates"control panel. ATi users may need to use a 3rd party application such as "Powerstrip" if their preferred 16:10 resolution is unavailable.
Initial Setup Panic? "Image Restore" to the Rescue!
When you first unpack and power up your monitor, do not worry if black levels and color are way off. Let it warm up for about 30 minutes. After thirty minutes in the powered-on state (don't let the monitor enter "sleep" mode), the "Image Restore" option becomes available under the "Expert" and "sRGB" color settings menu. Set your preferred color temperature in the Expert area and then activate the "Image Restore" option. Your colors should then "pop" into place. Edit: its also good to turn up the monitors Brightness setting before running Image restore, For example I normally run mine at around 25 but before running Image restore Ill turn it up to 50, Then back down after running it. Doing this normally gives the brightness setting a wider range, especially if you're currently having to run the monitor at a low brightness setting to achieve good black levels.
Green Tinge?
If you notice a "green tinge" to greys and blacks, do the "Image Restore" procedure above. But first, raise the Brightness setting for your monitor appreciably above where you'd normally like it. Then, do the "Image Restore" operation.
Discolored Corners?
If you have a yellowish (or other color) "tinge" in one or more corners of your display (but the rest of the display is fine), adjust the "landing" setting for the affected corner in the monitor's setup menu.
Circles Are Oblong!
Sony specs state that the 'standard image area' calls for 1/2" of black space on top/bottom and 1/4" total on the sides. This gives a 1.59x :1 aspect ratio. Close enough for government work. So, adjusting your image area completely to the corners isn't recommended if you want a completely pure 16:10 aspect ratio (totally round circles). But really, it's hard to notice either way.
BNC Cable?
So far, nobody in this thread has noticed any improvement from using them. But, if you want to be sure you're getting the best possible video signal to your monitor, you can try getting this high-quality BNC cable. A high-quality cable has heavily shielded individual signal wires as early as possible in the cable run rather than a standard VGA cable that only breaks out into the five individual wires over the last few inches of the cable.
One side-effect of the BNC cable connection is that you will need to manually set up the monitor driver. The monitor driver is built into Windows XP, You can choose it manually or if you have trouble you can download it from here. When using BNC connections, don't be alarmed if the screen "jumps" or "rolls" for a moment every time you right-click certain video files. This is a side-effect of using BNC cables, apparently. Multiple peope have noticed it.
Monitor focus seem a little soft / blurry?
Over time the optimal focus can tend to drift on CRTs but you can re-adjust it using the 2 focus pots located inside the monitor , Thanks to MightyJoe for the detailed info on gaining access to these adjustments here. Sorry the picture links are currently dead if anyone has them backed up please let me know, Although It might not even be necessary to open your monitor , refer to the Alternate method for adjusting focus below.
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UPDATE / Alternate method for adjusting Focus: Apparently you can adjust the focus pots from the outside of the monitor! I recently adjusted my monitor using this method ,Thanks to beast for this info: "The pots are visible from the outside by shining a flashlight into the left rear top of the case, and with a small screwdriver, they were easily accessible thru the ventilation slots. The metal cage inside the plastic case has round holes, and the pots are directly under two holes, which happen to be directly under two ventilation slots. It looks intentional from the outside, but i could just be lucky." uberwurst confirmed that he was also able to adjust it from the outside so it's definitely worth a try before going through all the trouble opening the monitor. When adjusting the Focus I noticed its best to have the Contrast turned up to around 85 and display a white backround with black or blue text (such as cnn.com which has both) if its even slightly out of focus the text will appear blurry ,try to get it as clear as possible with contrast turned up and you'll be in good shape.
How Does It Display 4:3 Content?
It's up to you! For non-widescreen content, the monitor can show it in all its glory in the proper aspect ratio by simply squeezing the raster area so that it's only drawing in the 4:3 areas of the screen. In other words, there will be black "undrawn" bars on either side of the image. If you don't mind a distorted image, the monitor can also "stretch" the image to fill the entire screen. But then, things look "fat."
The proper 4:3 aspect ratio can easily be attained by pressing the "ACS" button on the front of the monitor when any 4:3 resolution is displayed.
Opening the monitor
If for whatever reason you need to open the monitor for service etc. here's some info on how to do it, Just remember to BE CAREFUL as there are high voltage areas in the monitor even after its been unplugged for days: Link
Removing Anti-Glare coating from monitor
If you have scratches in the antiglare coating (the dreaded rainbow effect) there is the option of removing the coating entirely, of course it involves tearing down the monitor but people have reported good results: Link
Dynamic Convergence Adjustments
With the help of WinDAS you can make Dynamic Convergence adjustments across the entire screen, This allows for picture perfect Convergence compared to using the monitors limited user adjustments, Thanks to Hurin for making this guide! Link
Last Updated: 8/17/09
Do FW900s last longer if you don't run them at 100% gain? I always ran mine at 100%, and I'm wondering if that's why it only lasted 5 years. If so... then how low do you have to go to significantly lengthen its life?
Is it possible to make an FW900 increase its gain above the normal 100% using WinDAS? If so, would this make it really die young? What if you combine the high gain with low bias, to max out your contrast ratio?
And, do GDM-F500 and/or GDM-FW900 experience "cathode poisoning" if you display blackness on them for long periods of time? If so, then how dark does the blackness need to be to do this? (If I'm using two CRTs side by side, but I temporarily just want to watch a movie on one, then I'd be inclined to display black on the other so it doesn't present a visual distraction... but when I learned about cathode poisoning, this freaked me out and I wondered if I darkened my GDM-F500 by using the Blank screensaver for years.)
I don't like to turn off one of these CRTs unless I know I'm not going to be using it for hours. That's because when it's warming up, the bias level is too bright and it takes at least 10 minutes to properly stabilize. On my FW900 I even saw it trying to digitally compensate for the bias change as the monitor warmed up, but it overcompensated by far too much and resulted in a bias that was way too high for the first several minutes. Can this problem be fixed using WinDAS / WinCAT?On cathode poisoning... I never experienced this scenario. If on my two-CRT setup, I am using one of the monitors to watch a movie or play a game and do not want to be disturbed with the other unit, I simply turn it off.
I don't really understand this, Unkle Vito. Why not set every gain parameter as high as it can go? For example, if auto-calibration yields R=70%, G=80%, B=60%, then why not normalize that to R=87.5%, G=100%, B=75%? (That's simplified... of course you'd have to correct for linearity.) In short, why not adjust every gain parameter to be as maxed-out as it can be, limited by your target white point, with luminance also set to 255 via WinDAS, and contrast set to 100% via the OSD, so you get as intense as picture as you possibly can? That is what I would be tempted to do once I figured out how to use WinDAS. I'd use the LUT on the video card to compensate for effects this had on the gamma curve.If during a white point balance using any commercial color calibration system (software calibration), the gun(s) reached 100 on either BIAS/GAIN, then the unit needs hardware white point balance calibration via WinDAS and/or WinCAT. Now, if after the hardware white point balance, the unit still reaches 100% on either BIAS and/or GAINS via ODS adjustment, then the gun(s) are bad, the tube cannot achieve accurate white point balance, and the tube may be near the end of its life. In addition to this, the luminance parameter can be adjusted via WinDAS, but if during the process, the unit adjust above 200 (0-255 on the WinDAS adjustment scale) on the second white background pass, then the tube's emission is pretty low and the tube may have reached the end of its life.
I sure do miss my FW900.
Anyone else forced to use an lcd from a fw900 due to space issues?
Can you link me to a walk-through?
Thanks, Unkle Vito!
I don't like to turn off one of these CRTs unless I know I'm not going to be using it for hours. That's because when it's warming up, the bias level is too bright and it takes at least 10 minutes to properly stabilize. On my FW900 I even saw it trying to digitally compensate for the bias change as the monitor warmed up, but it overcompensated by far too much and resulted in a bias that was way too high for the first several minutes. Can this problem be fixed using WinDAS / WinCAT?
I don't really understand this, Unkle Vito. Why not set every gain parameter as high as it can go? For example, if auto-calibration yields R=70%, G=80%, B=60%, then why not normalize that to R=87.5%, G=100%, B=75%? (That's simplified... of course you'd have to correct for linearity.) In short, why not adjust every gain parameter to be as maxed-out as it can be, limited by your target white point, with luminance also set to 255 via WinDAS, and contrast set to 100% via the OSD, so you get as intense as picture as you possibly can? That is what I would be tempted to do once I figured out how to use WinDAS. I'd use the LUT on the video card to compensate for effects this had on the gamma curve.
I'm no expert on calibration like you seem to be, but this is the first time I have ever heard of a calibration actually improving the lifespan of a set and not just the image.
Not saying it's impossible but I would love to read some evidence that this is actually true.
There are many things you can do to extend the life of a CRT. Hardware calibration/adjustment is one of them, because it maintain the tube always set to factory standards. There are several key parameters that are re-adjusted during the process... G2 adjustment (supplied voltage to the tube), luminance - emission, RGB color-band (per gun), focusing, tube shorts (done with a Sencore CR7000), which all are key elements of a well functioning tube. For instance, high voltage levels off-specs, high luminance levels off-specs, incorrect landing adjustments, H-K and/or G1 shortages, among others, will ultimately lead to irreversible damage to the tube and/or diminishing of the tube's life span.
Like I stated, I own several GDM-FW900s with manufacturing dates of 2001 and 2002, which are as bright, vibrant, and as sharp as the day I bought them! Want to see them? Come by the lab, and that will be the ultimately proof.
Lastly, owning a GDM-FW900 is like owning a Lamborghini. It's the very best 24" FD CRT monitor ever produced, and like any other high performance gadget, it needs to be properly maintained. See what happens to Lamborghini if it is not properly maintained... Se what happens to the GDM-FW900 is it is not properly maintained...
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!
nope you sound like a salesman any links to back up what you're saying?
does the SGI rebadge have the so called 'service port'?
I can't seem to locate it
Well, my Grade B FW900 arrived from Accurate IT. It was $399 with free shipping; it was delivered 14 days after I placed my order. It's been 35 months since my original FW900 died.
The picture on this one is just as beautiful as I remember my original being. It has all the same imperfections but also all the same strengths, and I'm better able to take advantage of these strengths with the hardware I have now (as opposed to when my original FW900 still worked).
The anti-reflective coating is riddled with scratches (at least six, covering the gamut from subtle to obvious), and one scuff mark. While often unnoticeable, under many circumstances they're obvious, especially the scuff mark. They seem to be very shallow scratches and I can't feel any texture in them with my fingers, so perhaps they could be polished away, but it'd be nice to see more than one success story before trying that.
But all of that is moot. Before even 12 hours went by, the defocus/pop/flash problem reared its ugly head. The first defocus stayed put for a long time before popping back into focus. Then it happened again with a very brief period between defocus and pop back into focus; and now it seems to be okay, but if previous experience means anything, it'll happen again later...
It has a 6 month warranty with Accurate IT, but that most likely means I'll have to pack it up and ship it back, and that's not going to be easy getting it OUT of the box was very hard. I am not looking forward to putting this thing back in the box.
What if you use the colorimeter readings to construct a gamma ramp/LUT to correct the Delta E variances? That should reduce the Delta E values down to a very low level, especially with a 10-bit DAC on the video card... right? Even doing very simple gamma correction I got a very good-looking result, though I wished for a good way of setting gamma at two or more points. (I don't have a colorimeter, but am considering getting one.)On the BIAS/GAINS issue: If you do what you are asking, then all your Delta E's values for D93, D65 and D50 will be WAY OFF the scale, and your monitor will be totally miss-calibrated and off the gamut range. Although to the naked eye, the unit may or may not appear to be "decent looking", once you take measurements with a good colorimeter, and/or you attempt to perform color correction work, you'll find out the hard way. Now, if you set the luminance unnecessarily all the way up to 255 on the WinDAS adjustment scale, your monitor will look extremely white and all the tonalities will appeared "washed out". If you keep the unit with the luminance off-scale and high, you will be forcing the tube off the correct luminance calibration scale for the unit, and you may run the risk of damaging the tube beyond repair.
NOPE.... To the contrary, I'm trying to give the readers on this blog FREE technical advice. Some readers appreciate and welcome my input (many thanks to all of you), but a few don't, and I truly respect that.
As to your statement "you sound like a salesman...", I am known all over the world for my services and products, and when there is a need, many people come to me directly as they been doing for the past 25 years. No need to advertise them. Just google my name and see it for yourself.
Again, if you like to see the units I own, you are more than welcomed to come to the lab and see the units for yourself... Maybe then, you'll rethink your position.... As to the guidelines to extend the life of the CRT, if you ever come by, I will give you a set of guidelines (I do that for my clients only!), and if you put them in practice, they will help you to extend the life of your monitor. In addition to this, I've posted some of them in many other blogs in the Internet... Again, google me and check out the entries...
Hope this helps...
Sincerely,
Unkle Vito!