Before I buy the FW900.....

B

Benton The Race

Limp Gawd
Joined
Nov 3, 2005
Messages
287
Okay guys, I think it is pretty much settled I am going to get the FW900 instead of the 2405. My reasoning is I am saving like $500 and that leaves money to get a 7800GTX. Anyways, before I buy I need some help.

Questions:

1. What is the diffrence between the sony and HP models?

2.Can it display HD?

3. Will it play at a resolution of 1080i(or whatever) and can I hook an xbox 360 to it?

4. Is ebay the best place to buy?

5. How does it stack up to the 2405 image quality wise?

6. Anything I should know before dropping the $350?


Thanks
 
1. I believe the difference is only in the casing. The sony is silver, while the hp is a standard beige.

2. It can display hd (ive tried playing hd trailers off of apple's site, but they play like a slideshow (look good tho). I think its cause of my xp2400, but im not sure)

3. You can hook an xbox360 up to it with the vga adapter ($40), but it's somewhat unclear if you can play at 1080i (some websites say its max is 1080i, while others say 1380x768 or something like that. It should do 720p however. I'm waiting for someone w/ an fw900 and a 360 to try out the cable and post what its max is.

4. I got mine off ebay. Check the seller everyone links to in the fw900 thread, he seems pretty good.

5. Dont know, sorry.

6. The seller was selling them for 325 before, so i'd keep a lookout.

hope i helped.
 
I'm about to buy one too! Also: Don't believe it has audio inputs...so how are we supposed to hear the 360?
 
EgyptBoy20 said:
I'm about to buy one too! Also: Don't believe it has audio inputs...so how are we supposed to hear the 360?
Click to expand...

rofl, since when do you plug your cd player into your monitor? Or your mp3 player?

You'd plug the audio out from your xbox into your audio in on your soundcard. I can't tell if your post was serious or not but it had me hysterical :D
 
InternationalHat said:
rofl, since when do you plug your cd player into your monitor? Or your mp3 player?

You'd plug the audio out from your xbox into your audio in on your soundcard. I can't tell if your post was serious or not but it had me hysterical :D
Click to expand...
Lol, it sounded dumb to me too, but I didn't know either. Thanks for clearing that up.

I'm going down to Lawrence with $300 and hand picking out a FW900. Im so pysched!
 
Helmut said:
It depends...

Standard resolutions for HD are 720p (1280x720), 1080i (1920x1080 interlaced), and 1080p (1920x1080 non-interlaced). Basically, the two you're going to worry about are 720p and 1080p since most monitors aren't going to be displaying interlaced images (interlaced=bad). So, if your monitor can display 1280x720 or 1920x1080 or higher, then it's technically displaying an HD-quality image.
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1. What is the diffrence between the sony and HP models? Color, hp is beige, sony silver n blue

2.Can it display HD? Yes read above (quoted from helmut) I'm too lazy to type

3. Will it play at a resolution of 1080i(or whatever) and can I hook an xbox 360 to it? U need an adaptor but yes should work, read FW900 tread

4. Is ebay the best place to buy? Yes, its an used monitor
http://cgi.ebay.com/24-SONY-HP-COMP...ryZ99235QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
for the HP
http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-TRINITRON-...ryZ99235QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
For the sony, ask anyone who got fw900 most of em got em from lou, hes good n helpful

5. How does it stack up to the 2405 image quality wise? Gaming wise fw900 has better color, contrast and can scale at any resolution. 2405 is nice, will dispay letter better, has some extra bells n wistles but is not really HDTV input, it's comosite not components. Also at gaming 2405 has some ghosting and not as flexible 2405 will run u 800$, for that much u can get 2-3 fw900, don't blow ur money on that, get a nicer graph card, ram, or even one of those new ATI HDTV turners that let u get free hdtv broadcast from air.

6. Anything I should know before dropping the $350? Test unit upon arrival, buy from reputable dealer like luo, don't buy from sketchi ppl, I still rather pay more to get the sony silver n blue rocks, not a fan of beige, looks dull. One thing, this monitor takes 5-6 mins to warm up to get the blacks deep, and remember to degauss after warm up since this monitors been prob not used in a while.
 
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2405 has both but the composite is not true hdtv, i asked dell b4 when they came out so no 1080p, also i did a lical pickup maybe since u are picking up personall u can haggle price
 
Of course composite is not HDTV... you need to use the component input for that. ;)

And we've discussed the 2405's 1080 capability here:
http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?t=978147

And just to whet your appetite:

P1010109.JPG

(Courtesy of magnetik)
 
http://www.azatek.com/details.asp?iid=786

I just bought a fw900 here for $480 shipped, with a 6 month warranty. It is a refurb unit, certified by HP. I'd rather get a cleaned up and inspected refurb unit than a used unit. I think it's worth the extra 80 bucks getting it here over ebay. Azatek claims it is in grade A condition.

Only thing is a hate the beige color, but oh well.
 
Benton The Race said:
Okay, so that means that the Sony FW900 can play 1080i resolution?
Click to expand...
yes it definitely can, Its capable of a true 1920 x 1200 at 98 Hz which is more than whats needed for 1080i

For high definition you would need one of these inputs: hdmi, dvi, vga, component (or even BNC). The FW900 has VGA and BNC so you're covered there.

I bet you're going to love that monitor especially after it's tweaked.
 
got my fw900,the sony version,2 weeks ago.it came in as the seller said,like new condition.not a scratch or smudge on it.manual,usb,vga and bnc cable was included.paid 480 with shipping.if any of you are thinking about using it with the xbox 360 go with the bnc cable.i tried mine with the vga cable and the colos was washed out unless you tweaked it.tried the vga to bnc cable and there was no comparison.colors are now vibrant,deep,dark and rich.i compared it to my HDTV and it did not come close to my FW900.i read some post that said there was know difference between the vga and bnc.i see a total difference.only negative,you must let the monitor warm up for at least 30 min.otherwise very happy. :D
 
rab said:
got my fw900,


if any of you are thinking about using it with the xbox 360 go with the bnc cable. i tried mine with the vga cable and the colos was washed out unless you tweaked it. tried the vga to bnc cable and there was no comparison. colors are now vibrant,deep,dark and rich.
Click to expand...
Hmmph, interesting, i wonder if somebody else that has BNC inputs could repeat these results with their 360.

My 21" hitachi has 5-BNC inputs....hmmm, just need an xbox360 now :D
 
Orange.exe said:
3. You can hook an xbox360 up to it with the vga adapter ($40), but it's somewhat unclear if you can play at 1080i (some websites say its max is 1080i, while others say 1380x768 or something like that. It should do 720p however. I'm waiting for someone w/ an fw900 and a 360 to try out the cable and post what its max is.
Click to expand...

The max resolution for 360's VGA output is 1360x768. Using 720P (1280x720) looks great on the FW900 w/ Xbox360.

SJetski71 said:
Hmmph, interesting, i wonder if somebody else that has BNC inputs could repeat these results with their 360.

My 21" hitachi has 5-BNC inputs....hmmm, just need an xbox360 now :D
Click to expand...

Interesting indeed. .Ill have to try it but I dont see how this would change the look of Xbox360's VGA output. Ill post results.
 
SJetski71 said:
Hmmph, interesting, i wonder if somebody else that has BNC inputs could repeat these results with their 360.

My 21" hitachi has 5-BNC inputs....hmmm, just need an xbox360 now :D
Click to expand...

Ok I tried it (VGA to BNC) and Xbox 360 looks identical compared to VGA to VGA, I figured this would be the case considering my PC looks the same when comparing VGA vs. BNC as well. You can tweak the monitor to look very good w/ VGA but it still lacks a certain color richness that I see on my Sony HDTV w/ 360.

I've heard people fixed Xbox360's VGA 'lack of color' problem by using a Component video to VGA transcoder, but these arent cheap.
 
mathesar said:
Ok I tried it (VGA to BNC) and Xbox 360 looks identical compared to VGA to VGA, I figured this would be the case considering my PC looks the same when comparing VGA vs. BNC as well. You can tweak the monitor to look very good w/ VGA but it still lacks a certain color richness that I see on my Sony HDTV w/ 360.

I've heard people fixed Xbox360's VGA 'lack of color' problem by using a Component video to VGA transcoder, but these arent cheap.
Click to expand...
Thanks for checking that mathesar, sorta odd with the opposing results but it probably shouldn't surprise us either.

The transcoder option sounds interesting too. btw, there are two good component~vga transcoders that are fairly inexpensive:

Lik-Sang: http://www.lik-sang.com/info.php?category=320&products_id=4233&
Vdigi: http://www.vdigi.com/index.php?option=content&task=blogsection&id=4&Itemid=27

The vdigi also has internal pots that can be adjusted, pretty sure i can dig up a pdf or link if you're interested. Not sure if the liksang has internal pots though.
 
<Begin Rant>

Refurb is a joke, I used to sell "refurbished" monitors what that means is they are willing
to gamble that a used monitor will last 6 months. They wash the case, usualy test it for 48hrs and send it packing. Because they figured if it lasts 24-48hrs should make the trip.

Also with Sony unless you are a Sony authorized repair center, 10k a year upkeep.
Its nearly impossible for you to do any repair to a Sony monitor/Sony Rebranded monitor.

Everything is adjusted through a Sony proprietary interface, and the software is 10k
per year upkeep. Finally when your monitor does break Sony dealers are required by Sony to charge per inch on the CRT a flat fee. If I remember correctly the repair on this monitor will run you in excess of $400 no matter if its a capacitor or a board. Also, Sony kept end of life products over 2 years old so you can't even get replacement parts.
Unless they can repair the defective part your SOL.

After my experience with Sony I would never buy any of their products unless it’s a must
have item.

</End Rant>
 
It is a must have item. :D

We know it's used and not as care free as buying an lcd, but it's cheaper and better than lcds for fps gaming (don't want to argue for people buying it most likely feel this way). For someone picking it up locally like the OP this monitor is a no-brainer!

And no monitors are worth fixing unless it's something like the resistor mod you can do yourself. ZERO.

The end.
 
Amen, this is definetly a must have no matter what. If it works whether used or refurbished. it's really eye candy and makes the game more fun for me. I am like that one guy and just prefer the 2405 for word processing... but gamewise, it's straight up FW900.
 
Benton The Race said:
Okay, so that means that the Sony FW900 can play 1080i resolution?
Click to expand...

Lol, 1080i only requires 540 lines, a monitor from the 80's could do that. Seriously 1080i is gay, use 720p.
 
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