Dell 3008WFP - anti glare coating

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freebeerz

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Jan 13, 2009
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Hi,

I am looking for an affordable 30" monitor to replace my 2405WFP, mostly for Web browsing and programming and a bit for watching films or playing games. Here in the UK the choice is rather limited, one of the cheapest (brand new) is the Dell 3008WFP at about £1000 (£1200 in the Dell store). The 3007WFP-HC goes for the same price.

I've read many reviews and forums about all the 3008WFP faults (wide-gamut producing oversaturated colours, high input lag, failing DVI ports on some units, backlight bleeding, etc..) but the only thing that really worries me is the anti glare coating that many people describe as having the effect of a frosty window glued to the front of the screen and which makes white backgrounds distracting.

Could someone post a picture of this effect, if it can be photographed?!

Thanks!
- freebeerz
 
freebeerz said:
Hi,

I am looking for an affordable 30" monitor to replace my 2405WFP, mostly for Web browsing and programming and a bit for watching films or playing games. Here in the UK the choice is rather limited, one of the cheapest (brand new) is the Dell 3008WFP at about £1000 (£1200 in the Dell store). The 3007WFP-HC goes for the same price.

I've read many reviews and forums about all the 3008WFP faults (wide-gamut producing oversaturated colours, high input lag, failing DVI ports on some units, backlight bleeding, etc..) but the only thing that really worries me is the anti glare coating that many people describe as having the effect of a frosty window glued to the front of the screen and which makes white backgrounds distracting.

Could someone post a picture of this effect, if it can be photographed?!

Thanks!
- freebeerz
Click to expand...

Sounds like the same sparkly/grainy type look that the 3007WFP has but really is only noticeable on a white background.

If you have a ATI type video card the oversaturation can be adjusted very easily. Not so easy with the Nvidia control panel.
 
I've got a 3008 and don't see any of this sparkly, grainy, cloudy look on mine. The image quality is clear, sharp, bright, with no input lag while playing any FPS game. I also have a 2407 and think the 3008 has a better picture.
 
AG coating is something embedded in IPS. 3008 can't be an exception as it has Q5 IPS.
The only 30'' I've seen without sparkling effect is samsung 305t.
 
My 3008 is Rev 02, for what it's worth. My previous 30" was the Gateway XHD3000 which has the same panel as the 305T. I saw no sparkle on the Gateway and there's no sparkle on my 3008. Maybe I'm clueless about this sparkle effect. Maybe it's just not there. Everyone claims excruciatingly intolerable levels of input lag on both monitors, too. I've never seen this lag, either.
 
It looks like a slight layer of dirt on the screen, most visible with light, solid colors.

The worst I've ever seen is the Apple Cinema Display 23". I first saw it on my Dell 2005FPW previously. You get used to it though, and the other advantages of IPS technology offset this slight issue IMHO.
 
10e said:
It looks like a slight layer of dirt on the screen, most visible with light, solid colors.

The worst I've ever seen is the Apple Cinema Display 23". I first saw it on my Dell 2005FPW previously. You get used to it though, and the other advantages of IPS technology offset this slight issue IMHO.
Click to expand...


I agree it doesnt really take away the picture quality from the panel.
In fact when I first got it I had it side by side with my Planar 2611 IPS monitor and the 3007 had a sharper picture.
 
Mr. Wolf said:
My 3008 is Rev 02, for what it's worth. My previous 30" was the Gateway XHD3000 which has the same panel as the 305T. I saw no sparkle on the Gateway and there's no sparkle on my 3008. Maybe I'm clueless about this sparkle effect. Maybe it's just not there. Everyone claims excruciatingly intolerable levels of input lag on both monitors, too. I've never seen this lag, either.
Click to expand...

It's not noticeable in dark. Look when the monitor is displaying full white and it's there.
Samsung 305t and Gateway xhd3000 are s-pva so they do not suffer from this effect.
 
albovin said:
No, it cannot be photographed.
Have a look at 30" Apple Cinema at Apple store. It has similar AG coating effect.
Click to expand...

In that case I certainly didn't notice it at all. I remember that my old S-IPS Viewsonic VP201 had a coating that seemed like sparkle effect that was noticeable but not really anything to worry about.
 
FWIW, I'm looking at a 23" last-gen Sony S-IPS and a current-gen 3007WFP-HC and neither have any sparkling effect. They look vastly superior to every other LCD i've seen. I think a lot of people are either over-sensitive or are massively blowing this out of proportion.
 
anodize said:
It's not noticeable in dark. Look when the monitor is displaying full white and it's there.
Samsung 305t and Gateway xhd3000 are s-pva so they do not suffer from this effect.
Click to expand...
I see nothing resembling a thin layer of dirt, dust, smoke, clouds, sparkles, dots, care bears, candy canes, etc. with a full screen of white on my 3008. It looks no different from a white screen on my previous XHD3000 or 2407. I've had/have all 3 of these LCDs. I know what I see and don't see. As an actual owner of a 3008, I can say that I don't see this sparkle effect. If others do see it, then they see it. Get in front of one of these monitors and then draw your own conclusion.
 
i have 2 hazro 30" screns and they use the same panel as the Dell 3007WFP-HC and the coating isnt really noticable but you can see its coated when its switched off as any reflections cast on it are dull, but i have never seen any sparkling effects.

hazro 30" is selling cheaper than the dells as overclockers in uk has been shifting a bulk purchase from before christmas of the older Q3 pane which is the same as the dell 3007-hc so as to start getting in new stock using dell 3008 Q5 panels.

i managed to grap mine at a bargain of £649 inc vat +del each and what a screen it is...hardly any bleeding and no fulty pixels to speak of. :p maybe i got lucky.

oh and dont confuse the 30" to the 24wi and 26wi as they had firmware and tecnical faults from the word go which have only been marginely corrected recently (check out the hazro thread) the 30" is faultless in my opinion apart from the lack of height adjustment and also some may complain about lack of ports but i only connect mine to the pc so im happy...

reagards

Rhino"
 
Mr. Wolf said:
I see nothing resembling a thin layer of dirt, dust, smoke, clouds, sparkles, dots, care bears, candy canes, etc. with a full screen of white on my 3008. It looks no different from a white screen on my previous XHD3000 or 2407. I've had/have all 3 of these LCDs. I know what I see and don't see. As an actual owner of a 3008, I can say that I don't see this sparkle effect. If others do see it, then they see it. Get in front of one of these monitors and then draw your own conclusion.
Click to expand...

If you still have your Gateway, you can compare them side by side. I have a 30'' IPS and a 27'' S-PVA side by side and I can definitely tell the difference.
You're coming from a 2407 which also has IPS AG effect(only the models with IPS panels). So I assume you're used to it to notice this effect.
Like I said before, this is something that's embedded in every 30'' IPS and can not go away.
 
anodize said:
If you still have your Gateway, you can compare them side by side. I have a 30'' IPS and a 27'' S-PVA side by side and I can definitely tell the difference.
You're coming from a 2407 which also has IPS AG effect(only the models with IPS panels). So I assume you're used to it to notice this effect.
Like I said before, this is something that's embedded in every 30'' IPS and can not go away.
Click to expand...

AG coating effect is not related to IPS technology.
All non-glossy screens have AG coating effect to a certain extent.
PVA, IPS all may or may not have noticeable AG effect - defferent models differ.
 
albovin said:
AG coating effect is not related to IPS technology.
All non-glossy screens have AG coating effect to a certain extent.
PVA, IPS all may or may not have noticeable AG effect - defferent models differ.
Click to expand...

But it's true all 30'' IPS panels have this effect. I don't think you can magically make this dissapear. I've yet to find an AG IPS that does not have this effect.
 
just wondering...does the coating do anything other than reduce reflection?

does it make the screen harder to scratch or harder to smuge compared to gloss?

cus i find cleaning my gloss screened laptop easy with a microfibe lint free cloth and upto now havent had the need to clean the 30" screens yet and wouldnt wnt to ruin the AG coating such as scrathing it:(

what recomendations would one give for cleaning AG coated screens?

thanks.
 
anodize said:
But it's true all 30'' IPS panels have this effect. I don't think you can magically make this dissapear. I've yet to find an AG IPS that does not have this effect.
Click to expand...

Yes, current 30" IPS have that.
Gateway 30" PVA has AG effect too - if you want to see it you will. Sure, it's less visible than on Apple 30", for example.

I've yet to find an AG IPS that does not have this effect
Click to expand...
You will not find that because all AG panels have AG effect.
But you can find the NEC2490 or HP 2475 with the same AG effect that the DEll 2408 has and so on.
Look through prad.de reviews and see that they specifically note AG effect on Samsungs (m.b. Eizo too - I don't remember).
 
I've got a 2007WFP (S-IPS) and when buying it there was a huge concern about this issue. Locally the term soap-effect was used since it looks as if theres a thin layer of soap on top of the panel, which in my opinion describes it quite well.

I was a bit afraid of it as well, and at first it really got my attention. It was almost hard to read 'normal-sized' text. It required a litle adjusting before picking up reading speed for me and when being away from the monitor and coming back I always noticed it right away.

After a day or two this got much better and after a week it didn't bother me at all (if wasn't actively thinking about it) and after a few weeks I probably never even thought about it.

I think that most people will adjust to it quite well, everyone that complained about it and kept the monitor did as far as I know.
However, some people (very few) couldn't stand it at all but they never kept the monitor long enough to get used to it anyway so hard to tell.

The situation reminds me of trinitron CRTs which have two faint horizontal lines across the screen, most people learned to never even notice them but some just couldn't stand it.

I'd guess that one of the major apsects of this issue is the attitude towards it you have. Although I'm not saying that thats the only deciding factor.

But, as with input lag, I believe that most people never notices it to start with.
 
Thanks for all your replies!

I've just ordered a Hazro HZ30W which has the same panel as the 3007WFP-HC. It's still relatively cheap in the UK (about £700 delivered) and at that price I won't be too fussy!

- freebeerz
 
I just got my refurb 3008wfp and it's spectacular. Of course, Dell didn't send me a dual-link cable so I'm just slumming it with a single-link at HD resolution. But still, holy cow.

I *do* see the "dust-like" phenomenon with solid white. It's not bad though. I think all LCDs have some sort of these, but the AG might be a bit more aggressive on this monitor because it's so huge.

Coming off of a 5-year old, tired Viewsonic 17" LCD...this thing is glorious. Can't wait to see what she can really do with a proper dual-link cable.
 
I have received my Hazro 30" and indeed the coating is quite noticeable, especially when sitting close to the screen. Not a big surprise for me after having read all the reviews but I understand why some people would find it shocking at first. Let's hope they'll go easy on the coating for the future generation of large panels.

Beside that, the screen is overall much better than my old dell 2405, so it's a keeper.

- freebeerz
 
I don't really find the coating to be objectionable at all. It is more pronounced on my 3007WFP-HC (2nd one came with no pixel issues, huzzah!) than on my 2407WFP, but not a big deal. For some reason it looks the same on every ips based monitor I've ever seen. Whether it be an Apple, NEC, Dell, or HP. S-PVA Monitors look smoother and have better contrast, but text and color are not quite as good.
 
FWIW, Dell just dropped the price on the 3008WFP from $1999 to $1599. I think that's still too high, especially when the refurbs are $1299.
 
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