DoubleSight DS-265W Official discussion!

[QuantumPion]

I just got the monitor last night, here are my first observations:

-The case/bezel/stand aren't nearly as ugly as they look in the pictures, it looks pretty nice. However, the glossy bezel is slightly annoying as it reflects a little bit of the picture along the edges.

-No stuck pixels, haven't noticed any dead pixels so far.

-The manual/stickers/etc are in the most ridiculous engrish I have ever seen, lol.

-I like the V-style base much better then the disk style, it lets me put my keyboard right up against the screen. The stand it self is sturdy enough. It will wobble if you shake your desk or while messing with the controls, but is fine if you leave it alone.

-The power brick gets ridiculously hot, it must be a pretty inefficient transformer. The monitor itself also gets pretty warm, almost like a plasma tv.

-The monitor is crazy bright, I need sunglasses to view it if there is a mostly white background. The colors really pop out, coming from a TN monitor to a IPS/WG the colors are amazing.

-The contrast and gamma settings are pretty close to the correct values at the default settings.

-The brightness control does seem to be a digital black level control. Setting it below 45 or above 55 seems to be pointless, you lose all contrast. I'm not sure how I can reduce the brightness to a usable level this way. Maybe if I reduce brightness but crank up the contrast; I haven't messed with it much yet.

-I see no white glow or red glow at wide viewing angles. I do see a slight green glow in the corners when looking straight on, but I can only see it on a black background. There doesn't seem to be any serious blacklight bleed issues.

-The response time is at least as good as my samsung 22" TN panel, e.g. I can't perceive any ghosting (and I am really sensitive to ghosting). I don't notice any input lag either, where my sammy had significant input lag. The monitor has almost CRT-like response.

Anything you guys want in terms of tests or pictures when I get home from work? I don't have a CRT to test input lag, although I could test it against my sammy which I know has like 2 frames of lag.

 

[X-ray Doc]

This monitor never puts black bars on the top & bottom, only the sides. 16:10 fills the monitor, 4:3 puts black bars on the side for 4:3 ratio stuff.

In 1080p at 16:10, the PS3 is slightly vertically stretched to fill the screen. FWIW, it looks fine to me, but I can understand that 1:1 would be better. 16:9 resolutions from my PC are noticeably distorted by this stretching.

In 1080p at 4:3, the image is displayed exactly as you would expect, a 4:3 image, vertically filling the screen with black bars on the sides. Of course, this produces a horizontally compressed image that looks like crap, because 1080p is a 16:9 resolution.

You keep asking about 4:3, I think based on some strange behavior in your current monitor. On the DS-265W, it works just like it should, so it's not suitable for displaying anything other than 4:3 resolutions. What other people are upset about is the lack of 1:1 support for 16:9 source material.

Orange Crush, I'm going to hope that your lack of 1:1 pixel mapping is simply because of a wrong video card driver or monitor setting. kessomatt has already posted that with lower resolutions (i.e. less than 1920 across and less than 1200 vertical) his monitor displays black bars on all four sides. That sounds like proper 1:1 pixel mapping support to me. Perhaps that support also depends on which monitor input is used. kessomatt, were you using the DVI input? What input were you using Orange Crush?

 

[Orange Crush]

Orange Crush, I'm going to hope that your lack of 1:1 pixel mapping is simply because of a wrong video card driver or monitor setting. kessomatt has already posted that with lower resolutions (i.e. less than 1920 across and less than 1200 vertical) his monitor displays black bars on all four sides. That sounds like proper 1:1 pixel mapping support to me. Perhaps that support also depends on which monitor input is used. kessomatt, were you using the DVI input? What input were you using Orange Crush?

Google "catalyst centered timings", (or go to: http://www.tweakguides.com/ATICAT_7.html ). His video card is doing the 1:1 scaling and outputting at 1920x1200. He can confirm this by reading the resolution output by the video card in the menu of the 265W.

Read the manual at the Doublesight site:
http://www.doublesight.com/files/ds-265w-manual.pdf
There is no 1:1 setting.

I have tested all inputs (component/dvi/vga), and numerous 16x9 resolutions from my pc, ps3, gamecube, wii, and original xbox. The monitor does not do 1:1, at least not the 265W sitting on my desk.

 

[miochza]

This monitor never puts black bars on the top & bottom, only the sides. 16:10 fills the monitor, 4:3 puts black bars on the side for 4:3 ratio stuff.

In 1080p at 16:10, the PS3 is slightly vertically stretched to fill the screen. FWIW, it looks fine to me, but I can understand that 1:1 would be better. 16:9 resolutions from my PC are noticeably distorted by this stretching.

In 1080p at 4:3, the image is displayed exactly as you would expect, a 4:3 image, vertically filling the screen with black bars on the sides. Of course, this produces a horizontally compressed image that looks like crap, because 1080p is a 16:9 resolution.

You keep asking about 4:3, I think based on some strange behavior in your current monitor. On the DS-265W, it works just like it should, so it's not suitable for displaying anything other than 4:3 resolutions. What other people are upset about is the lack of 1:1 support for 16:9 source material.

HTH...

The reason I asked about 4:3 so many times is because I already knew (from the manual and others) that it doesn't have 1:1 mapping, and also that the "4:3" mode effectively letterboxes non-4:3 resolutions on my current LCD. Which would be perfect for 1080p content. Again, DoubleSight has some pretty crazy business practices. No advertisement of the A-TW polarizer and now taking out an important feature (1:1 mapping) that it's older version had (DS-263N).

 

[X-ray Doc]

His video card is doing the 1:1 scaling and outputting at 1920x1200. He can confirm this by reading the resolution output by the video card in the menu of the 265W.

Very interesting. Are you sure that the video card actually adds black pixels surrounding the "smaller" resolution and outputs a 1920 x 1200 signal? I always assumed that the video card was capable of just sending out the smaller resolution and that the black bars are monitor derived because those surrounding pixels have recieved no information from the card. I believe that is how my ATI video card connected to my DLP projector functions. Granted, the projector specifically has a mode labeled pixel to pixel. But when I have "enable GPU scaling" unchecked in the Catalyst Control Center, my projector receives and reports the lower resolution. It also centers the image and surrounds it with four black bars. In order to "use centered timings" with an ATI card you actually have to enable GPU scaling first. Do you think that using that option actually outputs a centered image, but does it with "added black information" at the native resolution of the monitor? If so, then I would agree that the DoubleSight must not actually support true 1:1 pixel mapping. It just looks that way when a capable video card can add the surrounding black bars.

Maybe kessomatt would be willing to repeat the lower resolution (i.e. 1024 x 768) experiment across a DVI connection and have "enable GPU scaling" unchecked. That way "use centered timings" does not apply and we can see what the desktop looks like when the monitor mode is set to 16:10. I would say if the answer is four black bars, then the monitor actually does support 1:1 pixel mode (even though it's terribly labeled). If the desktop fills the screen, then it definitely does not support 1:1 pixel mapping and DoubleSight has made a really bad bone head move. Furthermore, wasn't there an e-mail response from DoubleSight posted several pages back that claimed 1:1 support? I don't remember for sure, but you'd certainly hope that they would understand their own monitor. Come on kessomatt! I'm still confused on this issue.

 

[Armatoste]

The reason I asked about 4:3 so many times is because I already knew (from the manual and others) that it doesn't have 1:1 mapping, and also that the "4:3" mode effectively letterboxes non-4:3 resolutions on my current LCD. Which would be perfect for 1080p content. Again, DoubleSight has some pretty crazy business practices. No advertisement of the A-TW polarizer and now taking out an important feature (1:1 mapping) that it's older version had (DS-263N).

Wouldn't the 4:3 mode letterbox, but also pillarbox any non 4:3 resolutions as well?

 

[miochza]

Wouldn't the 4:3 mode letterbox, but also pillarbox any non 4:3 resolutions as well?

I don't know what to tell you guys, on my Dell 4:3 is letterbox and maintains the aspect ratio. I guess it's getting kind of off topic now.

Furthermore, wasn't there an e-mail response from DoubleSight posted several pages back that claimed 1:1 support?

I would take those Engrish responses with a grain of salt

 

[Armatoste]

We need someone to use the 4:3 mode to verify if it can actually maintain the correct aspect ratio with non 4:3 resolutions.

Some pics would be nice too.

 

[scivian]

Does this have an auto pivot sensor in it?

 

[miochza]

Does this have an auto pivot sensor in it?

I don't think so, but I'm not positive.

 

[QuantumPion]

We need someone to use the 4:3 mode to verify if it can actually maintain the correct aspect ratio with non 4:3 resolutions.

Some pics would be nice too.

It does not. If you use a 16x9 resolution, it will be squished into a 4:3 aspect ratio with black bars on the sides but not top & bottom.

 

[miochza]

It does not. If you use a 16x9 resolution, it will be squished into a 4:3 aspect ratio with black bars on the sides but not top & bottom.

Sucks. And I'm assuming that "Auto" doesn't help.

 

[gsa]

Have a question/need help. I have an IMAC 24" - am not technically inclined a all and needed an additional monitor, so bought 26" westinghouse - its terrible in every way, except how it looks when switched off Anyway, since then I have learnt that the IMAC is an IPS panel - so am looking to buy a nice replacement for the Westy.

This is my question - which is better - this DS265W or the planar? I just need a dependable, good IPS panel - your thoughts/help is very much appreciated

 

[miochza]

Have a question/need help. I have an IMAC 24" - am not technically inclined a all and needed an additional monitor, so bought 26" westinghouse - its terrible in every way, except how it looks when switched off Anyway, since then I have learnt that the IMAC is an IPS panel - so am looking to buy a nice replacement for the Westy.

This is my question - which is better - this DS265W or the planar? I just need a dependable, good IPS panel - your thoughts/help is very much appreciated

Well, we have a few forum users who have the DS-265W, but no one has put up a comprehensive review. The DS-265W may have an A-TW polarizer which would eliminate white glow from angles. The Planar appears to have more scaling options, as it can do 1:1 pixel mapping, but degrades the image (banding). The Planar also has a built in USB hub. I'm pretty sure these use the same panels, Planar and DoubleSight I think are now owned by the same parent company.

 

[verylostindeed]

So, to recap the reported experiences thus far, this panel is inferior in every way as compared to the 263N save for the stand. I have an incredibly hard time believing that the 265W has the A-TW treatment and will continue to do so until there is overwhelming photo evidence to the contrary. The confluence of users right now claiming that their panels have A-TW reminds me a lot of the initial 263N fiasco and we all know how that turned out.

 

[Armatoste]

verylosindeed, the user Peock already posted pics of his DS-265W and it appears that it does have the A-TW polarizer. Although it still has that evil wide gamut and the lack of 1:1 pixel mapping.

 

[miochza]

Just got a PM from the guy over at the Canon forums, he loves the monitor:

I love this monitor! The colors are fantastic and realistic. Excellent color gradients and very good grey gradients. Excellent black and whites. I love it.

The only thing I don't like is the brightness control could have been done a little better (effective brightness for me, is only in the range of about 45%-52%). This isn't that big of a deal, Im not blinded by the monitor, but it is a noticeable difference compared with the Dell's I've been using for the last four years.

I've tested a LOT of monitors and this is a winner. I'm going to buy another one next month

 

[verylostindeed]

verylosindeed, the user Peock already posted pics of his DS-265W and it appears that it does have the A-TW polarizer. Although it still has that evil wide gamut and the lack of 1:1 pixel mapping.

I'm not sold on that picture. It's some evidence, to be sure, but ideally we'd see a comparison with the NEC 2490 or the 265N.

 

[Armatoste]

Any IPS monitor at that angle would exhibit an obvious white glow. I was interested in this monitor but the wide gamut and the lack of true 1:1 scaling gives me the hibbie jibbies.

 

[X-ray Doc]

I'm still hoping kessomatt will repeat a DVI test with a low resolution and ATI's "enable GPU scaling" disabled. Something he did (I believe "use centered timings") gave him black bars on all four sides, similar to what you'd expect with 1:1 pixel mapping. But I'd really like someone with an ATI video card to disable GPU scaling and try one more test for 1:1 pixel mapping with the monitor mode set on 16:10. There may still be hope for this monitor (though I know Orange Crush disagrees ).

 

[miochza]

hibbie jibbies.

I'm still hoping kessomatt will repeat a DVI test with a low resolution and ATI's "enable GPU scaling" disabled. Something he did (I believe "use centered timings") gave him black bars on all four sides, similar to what you'd expect with 1:1 pixel mapping. But I'd really like someone with an ATI video card to disable GPU scaling and try one more test for 1:1 pixel mapping with the monitor mode set on 16:10. There may still be hope for this monitor (though I know Orange Crush disagrees ).

I really don't think there is 1:1 mapping on this monitor. As someone posted earlier(Orange Crush?), the graphics card was putting the bars on the sides. I guess I'm not as optimistic as you.

 

[kessomatt]

Soon as I get my replacement I will verify this, but it does sound like it won't do 1:1. I am only using this on my pc, so this does not matter to me. What I liked the most was not having the glow in the corners. It REALLY bothered me on my old nec.

 

[d3viant]

still abit confused as to which display is better, the 26inch Planar or the DS-265W?
To my understanding the DS is wide gamut? whats the planar? On a comparable
note each display has its own advantages and its up to the consumer what his needs
are but the 2 monitors seem to be really close.

 

[Armatoste]

Both the DS (old and new) and the Planar are wide gamut.

 

[miochza]

still abit confused as to which display is better, the 26inch Planar or the DS-265W?

It remains to be seen.

To my understanding the DS is wide gamut? whats the planar?

Also wide gamut. They're believed to be the same panel.

On a comparable note each display has its own advantages and its up to the consumer what his needs
are but the 2 monitors seem to be really close.

That is a fair assessment from my point of view.

Planar:
Pros:

• Scaling (1:1)
• USB inputs

Cons:

• No A-TW polarizer
• More Expensive
• No component input (does this really matter to anyone)?

DS-265W:
Pros:

• A-TW polarizer (not confirmed)
• Component input (again, probably doesn't matter to most)
• Cheaper

Cons:

• No USB inputs
• No second DVI port (DS-263N has one)
• No 1:1 or Aspect Scaling (How can you have component, and no way to accurately display 16:9 content?)
• Aesthetic

Also of note, the Planar's joystick for the OSD is reported to be annoying by some.

 

[Armatoste]

Meh, the DS-265W doesn't look that ugly to me. Is it because of the bezel?

 

[mystykmax]

so what are the downsides to not having built-in HDMI? Can they be worked around with no quality loss and no problems?

 

[miochza]

Meh, the DS-265W doesn't look that ugly to me. Is it because of the bezel?

I was just compiling the complaints others have had. Yes, people have complained about the large bezel. I don't think any of said people actually owned the monitor however.

so what are the downsides to not having built-in HDMI? Can they be worked around with no quality loss and no problems?

You'll need an HDMI -> DVI cable to use HDMI, included with the monitor. If you want more than one digital device connected you need an HDMI splitter (I.E. monoprice).

 

[esumsea747]

Hey Guys,

I am trying to evaluate this monitor against HP LP2475w and the Planar PX2611 on this thread: http://www.hardforum.com/showthread.php?p=1033096632#post1033096632 . If anyone has seen this monitor side by side, or compared it, to any of these other two monitors I would appreciate your opinion, especially why you think this monitor is a better or worse choice than either of these two. I have tried to read each individual thread (really I have) but people are posting faster than I can catch up, and at 50+ pages each its very daunting. You can leave comments here, or preferably, on the thread linked above. I would appreciate any insight anyone can share.

Kind Regards,

Mario

 

[kessomatt]

Did the ds-263n have different DV modes?

 

[miochza]

DV MODE: Like on the Planar, the only useful mode is TEXT. sRGB mode skews various parts of the grayscale towards red and doesn't desaturate the colors like a true sRGB preset should. All the other modes have banding..

from
http://www.hardforum.com/showpost.php?p=1032187513&postcount=36

 

[miochza]

I am sorry that the information which was previously released was incorrect. The new 26” model DS-265W does not support 1:1 pixel mapping.



I can offer to swap your present DS-265W for a DS-263N. If that is something you would be interested in, please let me know.

Dario DellaMaggiore

Director of Sales & Marketing

t: 949.253.1535 ext. 214

f: 949.253.1537

e: [email protected]

w: www.doublesight.com

This monitor is not for you if you want accurate 16:9 representation.

 

[QuantumPion]

Hmm, I just noticed a possible problem with my monitor. I don't know if it is the video drivers or the monitor itself yet.

The very top row of pixels have a moving/flickering artifact whenever there is a dark to light color gradient. It looks like a light spike coming out of the light color into the dark color, and it jumps in length by like ~10 pixels or so.

Is this a defect in the monitor? Or an artifact of the overdrive? Is there a way to turn off overdrive?

Do any of you guys that have the monitor see this?

 

[kessomatt]

Mine did this, in fact this is the reason I used to return the monitor. It was not constant, sometimes it would happen sometimes not. I didnt notice it while gaming, and would have kept it if I didnt have the stuck pixel.

 

[King of Heroes]

This monitor is not for you if you want accurate 16:9 representation.

Wow.

Is it even reasonable to assume this has an A-TW polarizer anymore? They strip out the 2nd DVI port, 1:1 pixel mapping, and the USB ports, all of which are much more relevant for practical usage, and yet its assumed they kept the polarizer? The most expensive one?

Even if they did, what the hell kind of upgrade is that? Put in a polarizer but take out all the other, and much more useful, features?

 

[verylostindeed]

Wow.

Is it even reasonable to assume this has an A-TW polarizer anymore? They strip out the 2nd DVI port, 1:1 pixel mapping, and the USB ports, all of which are much more relevant for practical usage, and yet its assumed they kept the polarizer? The most expensive one?

Even if they did, what the hell kind of upgrade is that? Put in a polarizer but take out all the other, and much more useful, features?

The good money is on this monitor not sporting the A-TW goodness.

Looks inferior in every respect other than the stand, which is probably the least important feature for most people on this board.

 

[Armatoste]

Well looks like I'm going to have to scratch this one of my list of possible candidates.

All hope rests on the Hazro now.

 

[kessomatt]

Wow.

Is it even reasonable to assume this has an A-TW polarizer anymore? They strip out the 2nd DVI port, 1:1 pixel mapping, and the USB ports, all of which are much more relevant for practical usage, and yet its assumed they kept the polarizer? The most expensive one?

Even if they did, what the hell kind of upgrade is that? Put in a polarizer but take out all the other, and much more useful, features?

Well I for one would rather have a polarizer over some usb ports and another dvi plug. Although it can't be confirmed that its actually in there, I can tell you there is no white glow looking straight on or at angles. Either they found another way to get rid of it or they put a polarizer in it. Heh, what if for the first batch they did that then the next batch they add the ports back and take the polarizer.

 

[X-ray Doc]

This "sequel" is such a disappointment! I almost bought the DS 263N, but held off when I learned that the replacement monitor was going to have an adjustable stand. That change was certainly a nice step forward. But providing fewer inputs, using an external power brick, removing USB ports, removing pixel to pixel mode, and adding some cheap speakers was truly an epic, bone head move. And what's up with labeling ports that don't even exist? I'm afraid there is no real thought taking place at the US DoubleSight company. I think they just rebadge whatever is made in Korea and have no say in the actual design. For me, the unforgivable mistake was removing pixel to pixel mode. Truly disappointing! This monitor is definitely off my list!

 

[Gauss]

I got one from the egg. what I can tell is that I don't see any brightness when I look from the sides or top of the monitor, but some redish glow on very dark cases (like the Earth wallpaper), the screen and colors are fantastic! On the dark this monitor kick ass, even on a very illuminated room.

No 1:1 scaling, I tested with a 8800GT (latest drivers) many resolutions, including 1920x1080 over DVI and the screen is always stretched, at 1600x1200 the resolution is nicely scaled with black bars at sides however, don't know if it's a driver advantage though. 1024x768 it's stretched from top to bottom with black bars at sides.

I'm happy with it. Just have one PC connected to it, I don't need to connect anything else, no consoles, watch blu rays movies fine through the PC, I play fantastic either widescreen games or 4:3 games at 1600x1200.

I think this monitor if it happens to have an AT-W polarizer its perfect on those conditions, you just have one PC connected to this thing and just use either 1920x1200 or 1600x1200.

Anyway I think the DS-263N was a better monitor overall. The new stand looks cool but it's not worth it. BTW, it's a hot monitor! I mean temperature. The composite input it's a joke, I haven't tested it jet but without 1:1 what's the point?

Any tips on calibrating a display would be nice. I don't have any other quality displays or printings for reference nor I'm going to buy things as spyder tools.


Edit: I just found some flickering pixels on the top row, just one row, and it's just at the right corner with a width of the 3 buttons (minimize, maximize, close) of a window.... wait it's all over the top row just when there is stuff as those buttons.

I read here that's maybe possible to ask for a DS-263N in exchange for this monitor. I think I'm going to do that.