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

It's been a while since I have been here, could be a year, I don't know. Anyway, here is some info dump, for posterity. I know there is still a few people reading this thread.

Issue: Sony F520 cannot reach resolutions higher than 2048x1536 (because of wrong EDID info, IIRC limited to only ~220MHz bandwidth)


WORKING Workaround #1:

1. Add new custom resolution via NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Add the same resolution via CRU (yes you need to do both step 1 and 2 and they need to match).
3. Sometimes you need to switch to this resolution before launching the game (switch via NVIDIA Control Panel, might not be able to do it elsewhere).
4. If on Windows XP, use RefreshLock (v2.01) or ReForce (v1.1.0.0) to make sure the game will be forced to pick up the resolution. This is often needed for nonstandard refresh rate resolutions such as 1600x1200@106Hz, etc. Install both programs and only launch one or the other, not both at the same time. Some games work with the first one, some games with the second one. It is possible they work on later versions of Windows but I have not needed them there personally.

NOT WORKING Workaround #2:

1. Buy "VGA EDID Emulator" box from ATEN (IIRC model number VC010).
2. Find out that the build quality of the box is truly amazing/professional (unlike Sunix and similar companies) but the software is so bad and buggy that the whole thing bricked and I was told to just return it because there is not way to factory reset it. Before it bricked, I had some opportunities to try it out and it did not work. I have done everything correctly and it should have worked based on theirs specs, but it just did not. And then it sort of bricked which resulted in the EDID memory slots being filled with some haywire EDID data that was not possible to delete/reset/overwrite/anything.

Issue: Sony F520 cannot do DSR (because it cannot reach resolutions higher than 2048x1536)


WORKING Workaround:

1. Add new 1x custom resolution via NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Add the same 1x resolution via CRU (yes you need to do both step 1 and 2 and they need to match).
3. Switch to this new 1x resolution via NVIDIA Control Panel.
4. Add new 2x custom resolution via NVIDIA Control Panel. You must set Timing->Standard to AUTOMATIC, this way it nicely connects with the 1x resolution.
5. Switch to the new 2x resolution before launching the game (switch via NVIDIA Control Panel, might not be able to do it elsewhere).

Issue: Sony F520 picture grey/washedout after doing WPB (black is gray)


WORKING Workaround #1:

0. Perform WPB (which results in washed out picture)
1. Save the current state (of your new WPB result) into orig.DAT file.
2. Copy orig.DAT to copy.DAT (so you do not lose/overwrite orig.DAT).
3. Hex edit the copied .DAT file and change G2 to be 10 points lower than what you got there now. I am not writing here how to edit .DAT files because you should know how, otherwise do not attempt it. If you want to learn, read this thread.
4. Load the -10 G2 copy.DAT file into the monitor.
5. Display 100% black image and check if it is grey or not. You need to repeat steps 3 and 4 until black is black. Not more, not less. This is a bit tricky because you need to find the sweet spot. When you see grey it is easy, you just lower G2 further by a few points. But when it is black you should raise G2 by a few points and keep raising it until you hit grey - at that moment you lower G2 one step back and know that you hit the sweet spot back then.
6. Make a note of this new "fake" G2 value somewhere.
7. Load the orig.DAT into the monitor.
8. Perform WPB but when asked for G2, do not do as usual, but instead just input your "fake" G2 number and roll with it through the next steps. You will need to complete all the WPB steps with new numbers because due to different G2 they will measure quite differently now than before in your previous WPB (step 0).
9. If black is still not perfectly black, adjust Brightness in monitor OSD menu by a couple of points. Or if you are challenged, do the WPB again with slightly adjusted "fake" G2 value again, to compensate for this small imperfection.
NOTES: This will not fix the underlying (electrical/mechanical?) problem so any time in the future you want to do WPB you need to do it like this, steps 0 through 8 again. So if you do WPB as usual, you will get a washed out picture (again), at which point you should continue at step 1. In other words, you need to do 2 rounds of WPB any time you want to do WPB.

NOT WORKING Workaround #2:

1. In WinDAS, change model to GDM F520J (Japan?) from regular GDM F520. As suggested by Strat_84. Same issue happens there too.

PSA: I have switched from 9300K to 6500K


Why:

Seems like a lot (probably even most) of content is mastered at 6500K. Here is what I noticed happens when you use 9300K with such content:

1. People's faces seem pale and have light greyish cast to them, sort of like haze. This is because the yellowish tint of 6500K is missing and it is needed to make the skin color look just perfect.
2. The yellow tint sort of works like a color filter which unites the whole picture, making it appear more coherent.
4. Some unsightly detail in shadows is visible
5. Any scene that is heavy on red/orange can appear washed out (the whole of Doom 2016 basically).
6. Content mastered at 9300K or higher looks okay (probably, I have not noticed anything yet) at 6500K. It is worse vice versa, ~6500K content just does not look right on 9300K.

As you know dark text on white background is blurry on CRT. It is maybe a few percent less blurry under 6500K than 9300K, mainly because the output in nits is slightly smaller (as you can notice when doing WPB). So everything is slightly sharper, which is nice.

It is easier on the eyes during night.

Games that look "obviously" (requires trained eye) wrong at 9300K but look just right at 6500K: Half-Life 1 (too bland at 9300K), Doom 2016 (appears not fully saturated), etc. Just a quick couple of examples from the top of my head.
I am attaching 2 screenshots (not mine) at the bottom, where it is imo "obvious" and where you can try to judge it yourself. Please note that to view these images I am using post-WPB ICM calibration as well, with relative gamma setting at 2.3.

Recommendation: Do post-WPB ICM calibration (with DisplayCAL) with various gamma settings


I use and often switch between relative gamma of 2.2, 2.3, 2.35, 2.4 and 2.5. The issue here is the same as with 6500K vs 9300K, but that is easy because most content looks right at 6500K. With gamma, it is like 40% content looks right under 2.2, another 40% under 2.4, and the other 20% is either 2.3, 2.35 or 2.5 (or none, usually with some old games mastered on non-calibrated or partially calibrated CRTs). There are other standards in DisplayCAL, like "Rec. 1886", and what not, but I have not found them to be anything special, the differences to good old relative gamma steps seemed very small so I just don't bother - let me know if that is a mistake in your opinion.

Issue: Some games/OS do not respond well to ICM profiles, or they ignore them, or they don't seem to work at all (Windows 98, DOS, ...)


Possible idea for a workaround:

Use one of those (quite expensive) external LUT boxes to load the color profiles into, in-between GPU and CRT monitor. The issue is that there are no analog LUT boxes, but that is not a big deal as most GPUs have digital output, which can be converted into SDI and then plugged into LUT box (via SDI IN). Those GPUs with only analog output, it might work to use analog to digital converter first - what it does with the picture quality or lag, I do not know.

LUT box usually have HDMI out or something, which you can then plug into for example Sunix adapter and use that to generate analog signal for the CRT monitor.

Some food for thought:

VGA TO DVI-D
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1079755-REG/aten_vc160a_vga_to_dvi.html

DVI-D TO SDI
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/prod...esign_HDLEXT_DVI_HDLEXT_DVI_DVI_Extender.html

SDI TO HDMI (LUT box, color calibration happens here)
https://www.aja.com/products/lut-box

HDMI (DP) TO ANALOG (D-SUB VGA)
https://www.newegg.com/sunix-dpu3000-d2/p/N82E16812282009

What do you think? Anyone here have any experience with this (professional) equipment? I am not entirely sure it would work, I am just throwing around some ideas.

Recommendation: 80 nits.


It is just enough to not be too dark. and is very much usable in a dark room, with small ambient light ---> best setup for CRT viewing anyway. I have found that this makes the picture look most correct, even dark text on white background is quite sharp now. Scenes look more coherent, there is no disconnect between various objects on a scene, where some things otherwise appear too bright or dark or sharp or blurry. It is all very nice and soft and "real". Give it a go if you haven't tried it. And as with any change like this, give it a few days to get used to it, your eyes/habit should adjust and you will end up with an overall better picture in the end.
 

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Thanks for the write up. I'm wondering why people are having problems with WPB now. I don't remember anyone having these issues a few years back. The successful ones I did were all on Windows 7. Had some issues with it on Windows 10 so I decided to abort instead of fiddling around with it when I did try it a year or so ago. I assume you're on Windows 10 right? (Though I have an FW900, sounds like the same problems are popping up with the newer chassis too.)
 
Thanks for the write up. I'm wondering why people are having problems with WPB now. I don't remember anyone having these issues a few years back. The successful ones I did were all on Windows 7. Had some issues with it on Windows 10 so I decided to abort instead of fiddling around with it when I did try it a year or so ago. I assume you're on Windows 10 right? (Though I have an FW900, sounds like the same problems are popping up with the newer chassis too.)
It's just this one unit, there must be something wrong with it. But I only have/had this one F520 model so cannot rule out a model issue. My other CRTs do not have/had this issue.

WinDAS should work on all Windows and without differences, once installed correctly.

edit: By the way, IIRC WinDAS is based on DOS program called DAS or Sony DAS, does anyone still have the files and can share it?
 
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edit: By the way, IIRC WinDAS is based on DOS program called DAS or Sony DAS, does anyone still have the files and can share it?
That would be very interesting to have but Windas must be the only version that was cracked and made its way online. I think the software originally required a dongle plugged on a (serial ?) port of the computer to work.
 
Sony DAS (Digital Alignment System) for DOS (v4.2.1, 2/05/98) EXE Program Download

Files are attached to this post somewhere, names:

SONY DAS J4.2.1.part1.rar
SONY DAS J4.2.1.part2.rar

Shared 100% as I found it, no repack.

For convenience I have unpacked it and attached a few more files (PDF, GIF).

How to get around the dongle (crack):

[TAKEN FROM dastips.txt from inside the attached SONY DAS J4.2.1 RARs] >>>

A few hints:

Connect cable to COM2 on computer. I believe some monitors use slightly
different connectors at the monitor end, I'm sure you can figure that
out, no likelihood of damage so long as you get GND and 5V right.

Once you've unzipped and installed, you can get round the dongle by:

1) cd into the directory you installed into. It should contain a DAS.EXE
2) debug das.exe <enter>
3) e d476 <enter> [it should reply 74.]
4) 75 <enter>
5) g <enter>

This changes the executable in memory so it only complains if you _do_
have a dongle, then runs it. You can also permanently change the das.exe
the byte you want is at offset 14D76h from the beginning of das.exe, change
from 74h to 75h. I use DISKEDIT that comes with Norton Utilities (for DOS)
as a convenient binary editor, but there are others.

The software comes via several continents and the internet, I got it in
exchange for working out the modification. I have only distributed it to
a few people who I feel I trust and who deserve it.

Another user tells me:
"Now, there is one problem. You have to add all of the
rest of the monitors in the STP files to the ZModels.db file with the
correct monitor model N2H, X1, etc. using dBase3 or Borland's Paradox or
the program won't see them. I added all of the Sun, SGI models I work on
and DAS finds them correctly now."

After a quick look inside I have noticed (hundreds of) files in STP.ZIP and MSG.ZIP (both located inside the attached SONY DAS J4.2.1 RARs) contain human readable code, with extensions MSG and STP.
Here is for example first 1000 lines from some (X2FDELWB.STP) file:

@ "D1025HTX" "1.x" 1708 - 17X2F White Balance
#
# Oct/8/97 R.Sasaki (INY)

# ABL data = 110 reset after step 110

# Preparation
#

# Clear the read/write stack
monitor 53

# Preparation
STEP 5
BEGIN
SCREEN "White Balance" 10 5 70 15
message full_screen "You are about to perform the Color Alignment procedure for User Adjustable models."
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON OK
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND

# mode pattern gun White at Prime Mode
GENERATOR 999 3 3
# ChooseMode(int ModeIndex, Boolean doRetry);
monitor 0 255 0


STEP 10
BEGIN
SCREEN "Screen Size" 4 1 76 22
message "If required, adjust the Image by:\
a) adjust the HSize for 312mm.\
b) adjust the VSize for 234mm.\
c) adjust HPhse and VCent to center the image.\
DO NOT ADJUST the image if the Factory Preset modes have already been adjusted.\
If you adjust the image at this step, you should verify the Factory Preset modes."
SCROLLBAR 12 "HSize" Q
SCROLLBAR 8 "VSize" W
SCROLLBAR 14 "HPhse" E
SCROLLBAR 9 "VCent" R
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON OK
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND

# Service Save
monitor 27 50 0 0
# User Save
monitor 27 64 0 0

# Preparation
STEP 20
BEGIN
SCREEN "Warm-Up" 10 5 70 15
message full_screen "Warm Up for 30 Minutes."
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON OK
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND

STEP 25
BEGIN
SCREEN "Landing Adjustments" 10 5 70 15
message full_screen "Perform Landing Adjustments."
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON OK
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND

STEP 31
BEGIN
SCREEN "White Balance Test" 4 1 76 22
message full_screen "The following steps allow you to test the existing\
settings of the monitor.\
\
Select the TEST button to test the current settings of the monitor.\
\
Select the BYPASS button to skip the test and begin color calibration.\
\
Select the CANCEL button to exit the White Balance procedure.\
\
NOTE: If 9300K color temperature is out of specification, you must align all color temperatures."
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON USER1 ~B~YPASS
BUTTON USER2 ~T~EST
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
ON USER1 GOTO 40
ON USER2 GOTO 32
STEPEND

STEP 32
# Select Color Temp 2 ( set the color index to 1 )
monitor 4 1
BEGIN
SCREEN "Confirm (9300K)" 11 1 69 22
message "Confirm 9300K White tracks with Contrast.\
Press READJUST to align the color temperatures.\
x=0.283 +/-0.008,\
y=0.298 +/-0.008."
SCROLLBAR 0 "Cont" Q
BUTTON READJUST
BUTTON OK
END
ON READJUST GOTO 40
STEPEND

# Brightness to 80
monitor 27 61 80 1
# Contrast to 255
monitor 27 61 255 0

# mode pattern gun Grayscale at Prime
GENERATOR 999 2 3

STEP 33
BEGIN
SCREEN "Confirm (9300K)" 11 1 69 22
message "Visually confirm 9300K White tracks with Brightness.\
Press READJUST to align the color temperatures."
SCROLLBAR 1 "Brite" Q

BUTTON READJUST
BUTTON OK
END
ON READJUST GOTO 40
STEPEND

# Brightness to 80
monitor 27 61 80 1
# Contrast to 255
monitor 27 61 255 0

# Leave Color Temp (void)
#monitor 5
# Select Color Temp 3 ( color index 2 )
#monitor 4 2

# mode pattern gun White at Prime Mode
#GENERATOR 999 3 3

#STEP 34
# BEGIN
# SCREEN "Confirm (6500)" 11 1 69 22
# message "Confirm 6500K White tracks with Contrast.\
#Press READJUST to align the color temperatures.\
#x=0.313 +/-0.015,\
#y=0.329 +/-0.015."
# SCROLLBAR 0 "Cont" Q
# BUTTON READJUST
# BUTTON OK
# END
# ON READJUST GOTO 40
#STEPEND

#Brightness to 80
#monitor 27 61 80 1
# Contrast to 255
#monitor 27 61 255 0

# mode pattern gun Grayscale at Prime
#GENERATOR 999 2 3

#STEP 35
# BEGIN
# SCREEN "Confirm (6500K)" 11 1 69 22
# message "Visually confirm 6500K White tracks with Brightness.\
#Press READJUST to align the color temperatures."
# SCROLLBAR 1 "Brite" Q
#
# BUTTON READJUST
# BUTTON OK
# END
# ON READJUST GOTO 40
#STEPEND

# Brightness to 80
#monitor 27 61 80 1
# Contrast to 255
#monitor 27 61 255 0

# Leave Color Temp (void)
#monitor 5
# Select Color Temp 4 ( color index 3 )
#monitor 4 3

# mode pattern gun White at Prime Mode
#GENERATOR 999 3 3

#STEP 36
# BEGIN
# SCREEN "Confirm (5000K)" 11 1 69 22
# message "Confirm 5000K White tracks with Contrast.\
#Press READJUST to align the color temperatures.\
#x=0.345 +/-0.008,\
#y=0.358 +/-0.008."
# SCROLLBAR 0 "Cont" Q
# BUTTON READJUST
# BUTTON OK
# END
# ON READJUST GOTO 40
#STEPEND

# Brightness to 80
#monitor 27 61 80 1
# Contrast to 255
#monitor 27 61 255 0

# mode pattern gun Grayscale at Prime
#GENERATOR 999 2 3

#STEP 37
# BEGIN
# SCREEN "Confirm (5000K)" 11 1 69 22
# message "Visually confirm 5000K White tracks with Brightness.\
#Press READJUST to align the color temperatures."
# SCROLLBAR 1 "Brite" Q
# BUTTON READJUST
# BUTTON OK
# END
# ON READJUST GOTO 40
#STEPEND

# Brightness to 80
#monitor 27 61 80 1
# Contrast to 255
#monitor 27 61 255 0

# Leave Color Temp (void)
monitor 5
# Select Color Temp 2 ( color index 1 )
monitor 4 1

STEP 38
BEGIN
SCREEN "White Balance Test" 4 1 76 22
message full_screen " \
You have completed the check of the current settings of the monitor.\
\
Press OK to continue with the White Balance alignment.\
\
Press CANCEL to exit the White Balance procedure."
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON OK
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND

STEP 40
# mode pattern gun White at Prime Mode
GENERATOR 999 3 3
# Select Color Temp 2 ( color index 1 )
#monitor 4 1
BEGIN
SCREEN "Adjustment Tips" 4 1 76 22
message full_screen "During the White Balance Alignment Procedure, you will be required to set x and y color coordinates with Red, Green, and Blue scrollbars.\
Please keep in mind that Red mostly affects x, Green mostly affects y, and Blue affects both x and y.\
Also, Green has the greatest affect on Y (Luminance)."
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON OK
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND

STEP 50
BEGIN
SCREEN "Adjustment Tips" 4 1 76 22
message full_screen "Therefore:\
1) If Red and Blue are the available scrollbars, adjust y with Blue, then x with Red.\
2) If Red and Green are the available scrollbars, adjust y with Green, then x with Red.\
3) If Green and Blue are the available scrollbars, adjust x with Blue, then y with Green.\
4) If all three scrollbars are available, adjust Y with Green, then y with Blue, then x with Red."
BUTTON CANCEL
BUTTON OK
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND

STEP 60
BEGIN
SCREEN "Escape/Cancel Warning" 4 1 76 22
message full_screen "WARNING:\
\
Do not attempt to ESC, Cancel, or Quit from this White Balance procedure after this step.\
\
Any attempt to ESC, Cancel, or Quit will result in lost data and the monitor will be left in an unknown state.\
\
This procedure must be followed through to completion to ensure proper monitor operation.\
\
If you accidentally ESC, Cancel, or Quit after this step, you must perform the entire White Balance procedure again."
BUTTON OK
BUTTON CANCEL
END
ON CANCEL EXIT
STEPEND


#----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


# Color 1 (9300K)
STEP 110
BEGIN
SCREEN "Color Temperature (9300K)" 10 5 70 15
message full_screen "You are about to adjust the 9300K Color Temperature."
BUTTON OK
END
STEPEND


# Set the number of color presets to 4
monitor 27 61 4 128

# Select Color Temp 2 ( set the color index to 1 )
monitor 4 1

# mode pattern gun Grayscale at Prime
#GENERATOR 999 2 3

#SETUP THE INITIAL VALUES

# ABL CONT set to 110
monitor 27 61 110 38

#
# Brightness to 80
monitor 27 61 80 1
# Contrast to 255
monitor 27 61 255 0
#
# Input initial Data
# contmin to 75
monitor 27 61 75 112
# contmax/brtmin 155
monitor 27 61 155 113
# contmax/brtmax 120
monitor 27 61 120 115

# green drive 125
monitor 27 61 125 25
# blue drive 125
monitor 27 61 125 26

# R Cutoff/Max to 85
monitor 27 61 85 16
# R Cutoff/Min to 85
monitor 27 61 85 15
# G Cutoff/Max to 85
monitor 27 61 85 18
# G Cutoff/Min to 85
monitor 27 61 85 17
# B Cutoff/Max to 85
monitor 27 61 85 20
# B Cutoff/Min to 85
monitor 27 61 85 19

# Brt Max to 160
monitor 27 61 160 23
# Brt Min to 50
monitor 27 61 50 21

# Color Save
monitor 27 62 0 0

# Mon Con Reg1 to 0
monitor 27 61 0 126
# ABL LOOP ATN to 3
monitor 27 61 3 47

# COLOR TEMP to 0
monitor 27 61 0 54
# COLOR BAL to 1
monitor 27 61 1 122

# contmin/brtmax 0
#monitor 27 61 0 114
# green cutoff 50
#monitor 27 61 50 220
# ABL_SHUTDOWN 255
#monitor 27 61 255 37
# ABL_CONT 200
#monitor 27 61 200 38


STEP 115
# mode pattern gun Green Grayscale at Prime
GENERATOR 999 2 1
BEGIN
SCREEN "G2 (9300K)" 15 1 65 22
message "Adjust G2 to make the darkest level just extinguished and the 2nd darkest level slightly visible."
SCROLLBAR 29 "G2" Q
BUTTON OK
END
STEPEND

STEP 120
# mode pattern gun Black at prime
GENERATOR 999 10 3

# Brightness to 255
monitor 27 61 255 1
# Contrast to 0
monitor 27 61 0 0
# R CUTOFF to 0
#monitor 27 61 0 21
# B CUTOFF to 0
#monitor 27 61 0 23

#STEPEND


#STEP 130
BEGIN
SCREEN "Cutoff Max (9300K)" 8 1 72 22
message "Adjust for:\
x=0.283 +/-0.015,\
y=0.298 +/-0.015,\
Y=6 +/-1 cd/m^2,\
by:\
1) Adjust y with Blue.\
2) Adjust x with Red.\
3) Repeat 1) and 2) as required."
SCROLLBAR 16 "Red" Q
SCROLLBAR 18 "Green" W
SCROLLBAR 20 "Blue" E
BUTTON OK
END
STEPEND

STEP 130
BEGIN
SCREEN "Cutoff Shift (9300K)" 4 1 76 22
message "Select the Cutoff shift by:\
1) Compare the scrollbar values.\
2) Select the PUSHBUTTON corresponding to the scrollbar with the lowest value.\
\
Note: DO NOT ADJUST ANY OF THE SCROLLBAR VALUES!"
SCROLLBAR 16 "Red"
SCROLLBAR 18 "Green"
SCROLLBAR 20 "Blue"
BUTTON USER1 ~B~lue
BUTTON USER2 ~G~reen
BUTTON USER3 ~R~ed
END
ON USER1 GOTO 3000
ON USER2 GOTO 2000
ON USER3 GOTO 1000
STEPEND


#RRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
#1111111111111111111

# R select (9300K)

STEP 1000
BEGIN
SCREEN "Selection Warning" 4 1 76 22
message full_screen "WARNING:\
\
You have selected Red as the scrollbar with the lowest value.\
\
If this is correct, select the CONTINUE button.\
\
If you wish to verify the scrollbar values, select the VERIFY button to return to the selection screen."
BUTTON USER1 ~C~ONTINUE
BUTTON USER2 ~V~ERIFY
END
ON USER1 GOTO 1010
ON USER2 GOTO 120
STEPEND


STEP 1010

# Calculate CutOff Min for Red: CutOff Min = [(85 - CutOff Max) x (80 / 175)] + 85
math clear
math read 16
math push 85
math swap
math sub
math push 80
math mult
math push 175
math div
math push 85
math add
# The RED CutOff Min value is now on the top of the stack
# Write the RED CutOffMin value from the stack to the register
math write 15

STEPEND


STEP 1020
 

Attachments

  • SONY DAS J4.2.1.part1.rar
    1.9 MB · Views: 0
  • SONY DAS J4.2.1.part2.rar
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  • DB25.GIF
    DB25.GIF
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  • SONY DAS User Manuals.pdf
    1.2 MB · Views: 0
  • manual-page-62.PNG
    manual-page-62.PNG
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Sony DAS (Digital Alignment System) for DOS (v4.2.1, 2/05/98) EXE Program Download

This is awesome, thanks for digging this up. Some of that human readable code may give hints as to what the hell WinDAS is actually doing during the WPB :)
 
Sony DAS (Digital Alignment System) for DOS (v4.2.1, 2/05/98) EXE Program Download

Another user tells me:
"Now, there is one problem. You have to add all of the
rest of the monitors in the STP files to the ZModels.db file with the
correct monitor model N2H, X1, etc. using dBase3 or Borland's Paradox or
the program won't see them. I added all of the Sun, SGI models I work on
and DAS finds them correctly now."
Thank you for this share. I am pleased to have found a probable solution to my question back on page 379. In DAS_Monitor-select.jpg, I added the model to ZMODEL.DB using xDBD and then selected it in DAS. The STP file on the right proves that it should be supported. I doubt I edited all fields accurately. Attempting to save the EEPROM from the monitor failed, giving the database error in DAS_EEPROM_save-error-crop.jpg. I believe it is caused by my faulty configuration. The step by step alignment process menu was available -- the relevant sequences were listed for the correct model. Prior to editing the database I had tried to load the model of the Sony equivalent of this monitor's chassis, the GDM-20SE2T which was a bad idea and blue screened the computer -- the monitor's OSD was locked on reboot -- a predictable outcome of an interrupted alignment. "Final Adjustment" worked to restore access to it. None of the alignment procedures worked, as seen in DAS_alignment-fail-crop.jpg. Note that the horizontal and vertical timing is accurately reported in the midst of this failure. From this I conclude the software is communicating properly with the monitor. For completeness I include DAS_failure_information_Prime-crop.jpg where the rates for 1280x1024 85 Hz are reported.

To sum up, I request an elaboration of the tip quoted.
 

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I have not worked with DAS, but in your case, start troubleshooting with simple things, can you see options to save to .DAT and then write that same .DAT back in? If yes, does it work if you try doing it, or do you get blue screened as well?

Btw, are you required to "pick a model" before you are allowed to do anything inside DAS?

Also, .DB files being binary, it is possible that you really need dBase3 or Paradox as stated in dastips.txt. The program you are using instead may be compatible for only 99% and then cause random issues, especially if the program is newer than ~2/05/98.

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Try one of these, probably the "III Plus v1.1", alternatively the latest 5.x.

https://winworldpc.com/product/dbase/iii-plus-v11

Perhaps it is the same software (I wouldn't know).

There is also Paradox here:

https://winworldpc.com/product/paradox/1x
 
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Guys, I wanted to mention I am now using the StarTech DP2VGAHD20 with an EVGA 3080. 375 pixel clock at 2235 x 1397 is as beautiful as ever :D. The card has 3 x DisplayPort 1.4a, which support up to 144Hz at 4K, and an HDMI 2.1 port. Such a shame these cards can't do analog by themselves, but thank goodness I didn't get a USB-C adapter that I had considered before. My gut told me go with an actual video port adapter, and good thing I did. I am now going a little over 4 months pushing this adapter to its limit, and it has been a champ.
 
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Flybye Is 375MHz the pixelclock limit there? The "old" Sunix adapter could do ~500-550MHz.
Ah I forgot to type that my 375 is at 2235 x 1397. I updated my reply. A different resolution might be higher, but at 500+? Wow. My Delock, which is the same as the Sunix as far as I am aware, also couldn't make it past 375 at my funky resolution and a few other resolutions.
 
If I enter a fresh install of DAS and attempt to do anything it automatically selects as the model the first entry in the database which is the CPD-100ES. Of course I am not able to do anything because that is not the model I have. Blue screens result when trying to do any adjustment with the wrong model selected. With the "right" model nothing happens due to database error. When I tried dBase3 it couldn't find the files because it looks for ".DBF" extension and I did not know how to use the old version of Paradox. The 5.x version (released prior to 2/05/98) of Paradox could open the Paradox .DB file but editing it did not give me a different outcome from xDBD32 (database errors in DAS).
 
Does you Delock have a single DP, HDMI, and VGA output? Because that's the one that is the same as the Sunix. And yeah, I've tested my Sunix up to near 550mHz.
Yep that is the one. It's the Delock 87685 which has the 1 x DisplayPort 20, 1 x HDMI,and 1 x VGA output. This one.

I did a bunch of testing in this reply, and I could never get it to look well past 375. But I also was not testing with very low resolutions.
 
My Delock 87685 was able to go up to a measured 539MHz using the Nvidia Control Panel and CRU as a measurement of Pixel Clock, it would not display any image if i went up to 540MHz sadly. I have pics if yall need them.
 
Today. I turned my fw900 on, it had a long sizzle and some flash on the front of the screen. Then I tried to turn it on again, and I heard a pop. Now whenever I turn it on it tries to turn on the lamp but there's just an electric sound again and again and nothing works. I will open it tommorow to see what broke exactly... although, does anyone know where I could send it for repair ?
 
My Delock 87685 was able to go up to a measured 539MHz using the Nvidia Control Panel and CRU as a measurement of Pixel Clock, it would not display any image if i went up to 540MHz sadly. I have pics if yall need them.

Wow either you guys had golden samples, or I was doing something wrong. I'm at 2235 x 1397 @83Hz which makes it about 375Mhz. I was also using CRU. If I went up 1Hz which brought me to about 380Mhz, the Delock would start doing strange things like mirroring images around the screen. I couldn't get most resolutions past 375 except for 2560 x 1600 @70Hz which was about 411Mhz I couldn't test higher since it was out of my scan range.
 
Today. I turned my fw900 on, it had a long sizzle and some flash on the front of the screen. Then I tried to turn it on again, and I heard a pop. Now whenever I turn it on it tries to turn on the lamp but there's just an electric sound again and again and nothing works. I will open it tommorow to see what broke exactly... although, does anyone know where I could send it for repair ?
Another one down.
Damn you 2020, your hunger for making us all miserable know no restraint :(
 
This is really sad but not totally unexpectable.
I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if a good share of the units that recently poped-up and were sold after the Digital Foundry buzz were more or less defective ones. Some people just exploited this to get rid of junk taking up too much room.

This should be a lesson to anyone, electronic devices wear out and paying a 20 years old monitor thousands of dollars/euros is a total nonsense (just as paying insane premiums for items released in ridiculously low numbers, see the latest CPU/GPU releases)
 
This is really sad but not totally unexpectable.
I mean, I wouldn't be surprised if a good share of the units that recently poped-up and were sold after the Digital Foundry buzz were more or less defective ones. Some people just exploited this to get rid of junk taking up too much room.

This should be a lesson to anyone, electronic devices wear out and paying a 20 years old monitor thousands of dollars/euros is a total nonsense (just as paying insane premiums for items released in ridiculously low numbers, see the latest CPU/GPU releases)
Now if we could just have that 100hz OLED 16:10 1440p+ 27"+ monitor for under $1000, that will be great. :sneaky:
 
dang... that sucks, how much was the damage (how much did acquiring it cost ya?) if i may ask?
I didn't check the damage yet, but I'm suspecting that the light gun popped. It cost me around 500 euros when I got it. I was blessed to find it at that price. At least I got to experience it...
 
Today. I turned my fw900 on, it had a long sizzle and some flash on the front of the screen. Then I tried to turn it on again, and I heard a pop. Now whenever I turn it on it tries to turn on the lamp but there's just an electric sound again and again and nothing works. I will open it tommorow to see what broke exactly... although, does anyone know where I could send it for repair ?
When you say "turning on the lamp", do you mean the filament at the back of the tube or the diode next to the power button ?
 
Wow either you guys had golden samples, or I was doing something wrong. I'm at 2235 x 1397 @83Hz which makes it about 375Mhz.
A lot of the behavior you described is normal (buggy) behavior for the Synaptics chip. Like I can't run 4:3 resolutions right above 2048x1536, but if I go way past it, like 2400x1800, the "side swapping" issue goes away. Seems to have more to do with resolution than refresh rate.
 
So I did a recalibration of the ViewSonic monitor. White balance is rock solid now, however I noticed some video streaking. I noticed that it's particularly bad when I push the drives hard on the CRT, and this includes the OSD. Reading the service manual, it appears that both the OSD and video input signal is preamplified on an IC, and then sent to a video amp IC. So I'm going to go ahead and replace the video amp IC, as the behavior I'm seeing suggests that it needs to be replaced. Thankfully, unlike the GDM monitors, replacement IC's for the ViewSonic are readily available to purchase. :) So I guess we'll see what happens. I feel very confident in my soldering capabilities now and this is only a 9-pin IC, so we should be good.
 
So I did a recalibration of the ViewSonic monitor. White balance is rock solid now, however I noticed some video streaking. I noticed that it's particularly bad when I push the drives hard on the CRT, and this includes the OSD. Reading the service manual, it appears that both the OSD and video input signal is preamplified on an IC, and then sent to a video amp IC. So I'm going to go ahead and replace the video amp IC, as the behavior I'm seeing suggests that it needs to be replaced. Thankfully, unlike the GDM monitors, replacement IC's for the ViewSonic are readily available to purchase. :) So I guess we'll see what happens. I feel very confident in my soldering capabilities now and this is only a 9-pin IC, so we should be good.
Which IC model is this out of curiosity ? I would have thought analog RGB amplifiers to be a dead branch of the electronic industry like many components specific to CRTs (flybacks, very high voltage transistors used in horizontal deflection and so on);
 
Which IC model is this out of curiosity ? I would have thought analog RGB amplifiers to be a dead branch of the electronic industry like many components specific to CRTs (flybacks, very high voltage transistors used in horizontal deflection and so on);

LM2435T National Semiconductor
The pre-amp is a Mitsubishi one. I may get that too as this may involve replacing that one too. It’s a 36 pin.
 
LM2435T National Semiconductor
The pre-amp is a Mitsubishi one. I may get that too as this may involve replacing that one too. It’s a 36 pin.
Oh, ok. It can still be found here and there, but these are stock leftovers or refurbished components (with aliexpress, be careful, at least 50% of failed components expected). The chip is obsolete and apparently can't be obtained through normal suppliers anymore according to what I see.
 
What are the best VGA adapters that I currently can buy for FW900? I have RTX 2080 Ti (with USB-C) but I might upgrade it to another GPU (without USB-C) a bit later.
 
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very recently discussed, just read what user Flybye wrote just few post above ;)
also for more info on adapters, search words like "adapters" or search post from user "derupter", in this thread
 
WareBoss There is a USB-C adapter that was discussed here last year, and I think John Linneman of Digital Foundry used it as well. It's from Vention, but I forget the specific model, you'll have to search through the thread
 
Today. I turned my fw900 on, it had a long sizzle and some flash on the front of the screen. Then I tried to turn it on again, and I heard a pop. Now whenever I turn it on it tries to turn on the lamp but there's just an electric sound again and again and nothing works. I will open it tommorow to see what broke exactly... although, does anyone know where I could send it for repair ?
PM me about your unit when you get chance...

Take care and keep safe!

Unkle Vito!
 
WareBoss There is a USB-C adapter that was discussed here last year, and I think John Linneman of Digital Foundry used it as well. It's from Vention, but I forget the specific model, you'll have to search through the thread
I'd be afraid to suggest a USB-C adapter, though. Look what happened to me. I went from a 2070 Super that had the USB-C adapter to a 3080 that doesn't have a USB-C adapter. I have no clue why they dropped that port, but I think it is safe to say a specialized video port like the DP will stay for some time with video cards just like how VGA and DVI were the norm for decades.
 
Oh yeah, I misread his post.

It does seem like a better converter than even the Sunix, from what I've read. So if you were going with a 6000 series AMD card, that would be a way to go.
 
With ITE IT6564 chipset (DP to HDMI 2.0 and VGA)
Startech DP2VGAHD20 (tested by some users up to 375 MHz)
Probably the best Displayport to VGA adapter considering performance and price

I've tested two of these Startech DP2VGAHD20 adapters/transcoders and the best I can get out of them on my FW900 is a pixel clock of 320 MHz with a max resolution of 1920x1200 @ 95 Hz. Not the reported 375 MHz. Still great, and better than my super expensive HDFury X3 HDMI to VGA adapter ($200) that has a max pixel clock of 225 MHz at a resolution of 1920x1200 @ 60 Hz.
 
I've tested two of these Startech DP2VGAHD20 adapters/transcoders and the best I can get out of them on my FW900 is a pixel clock of 320 MHz with a max resolution of 1920x1200 @ 95 Hz. Not the reported 375 MHz. Still great, and better than my super expensive HDFury X3 HDMI to VGA adapter ($200) that has a max pixel clock of 225 MHz at a resolution of 1920x1200 @ 60 Hz.

what resolutions did you try to asume that 320mhz limit? i ask because at 1920x1200 the max you will be able to get with the fw900 is 96hz (323mhz) but that limit in this case is because of fw900 horizontal scan limit, not adapter pixel clock limit.

what happens if you try something like 2560x1600@63hz? which is arround 367mhz, or the same at 64hz? (373mhz)
 
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