Gateway XHD3000 - 30" Widescreen Extreme HD Display

I finally received my LCD after waiting for over two weeks. Needless to say, I was counting the days :D

There's a huge defect with mine though. When I plug in 480i content, the scaler makes it extremely pixelated. There's also noticable lag when playing the PS2, but that seems to be common.

I was going to exchange it, but now I'm thinking of returning it because of the lag. It's a bit more than what I want when playing video games....

Maybe later I'll pick this up again once the lag issue is fixed or get the dell if they do better.
 
Input lag that bad? What input where you using with the PS2? Have you tried running the monitor at native resolution using dual link DVI? Was there any lag?
 
i had it hoooked up by component with both 480i and 480p

There is also lag when using the DVI at a different resolution than native (with PC)

The monitor's strength is at 1600p

I did some tests today and had much better resuslts when playing a DVD in the PS2, so evidently this is what I should expect and it's not getting better. I was expecting a perfect tv, not one that would be pixelated
 
You expected increasing something to 4 times its resolution would be perfect? That was unrealistic.
 
I have a 30" HD CRT television and it does a much finer job.

I did try some other games and a dvd later today and was much more satisfied. I guess Need For Speed Wanted just doesn't look good on the XHD3000

I don't know about the input lag.... it's a very tough decision. I got 'used' to it after playing for about 10 minutes, but it's a dissapointment since I've been saving and waiting a long time for a montior this big that does everything.
 
You are experiencing more input lag than anyone else, what are you doing differently?

Your 30" HD CRT may have less lag, but no way can it upscale low res video to
2560x1500 better than the Gateway.
 
rinaldo00 said:
Your 30" HD CRT may have less lag, but no way can it upscale low res video to 2560x1500 better than the Gateway.
Click to expand...
If it's a CRT TV I seriously doubt it has a resolution of 2560x1600. It's probably 1920x1080 or somewhere thereabouts.
 
rinaldo00 said:
You are experiencing more input lag than anyone else, what are you doing differently?

Your 30" HD CRT may have less lag, but no way can it upscale low res video to
2560x1500 better than the Gateway.
Click to expand...

Not sure that I'm doing any thing differently. Just hooked it up via component and tried the different modes...
 
Jonnyk429 said:
Not sure that I'm doing any thing differently. Just hooked it up via component and tried the different modes...
Click to expand...

It must be (as you said earlier) that running the monitor at less than native resolution means upscaling, meaning more image processing, and more lag.

My brother and I have been gaming on LCDs for years, including FPS games (never over the internet though whch adds to lag, and always at native resolution) and never noticed lag. Some people must be more demanding than others.
 
rinaldo00 said:
It must be (as you said earlier) that running the monitor at less than native resolution means upscaling, meaning more image processing, and more lag.

My brother and I have been gaming on LCDs for years, including FPS games (never over the internet though whch adds to lag, and always at native resolution) and never noticed lag. Some people must be more demanding than others.
Click to expand...

I think it's a combination of having a lot to scale and that I'm pretty sensative... after playing more today on it I'm really not noticing the lag as much since my brain is adapting to it. But it is pretty bad when playing driving games. You can steer over and it takes an extra 1/10 second to make the move... pretty critical when playing Gran Turismo
 
Well, I bought the display last night despite the better color gamut of some other displays, I decided that the advantages make it worth it. So I ordered it direct from Gateway, got the extra two year warranty and free shipping, had to pay tax though, not sure why since Gateway doesn't have stores in Michigan anymore. But I can deal with that. If people want this monitor, Gateway was saying I will not get it until the 21st....so plan accordingly. BestBuy said, the 16th the last I checked, not sure about now.

For those that were possibly interested, I found but then couldn't find again educational pricing and it was only $35ish dollars off, so no deal there.

But I wanted to ask a off-topic question if everyone won't mind too much, I wanted to get a Blu-Ray player for this monitor and was thinking of the playstation 3, does anyone have any strong pros or cons for a PS3 with this monitor?

I thought I found a combination HD DVD and Blu internal drive that I could stick in my wife's G5 Mac, but there isn't support I found yet for Blu with the Mac and I couldn't find the drive either, google was not being my friend last night.

I really used the input everyone gave to make a informed decision.
 
The PS3 should work stellar with this monitor. I ordered it from BestBuy when they had stock about a week ago. It shipped and should be here any day now. I will provide a review of using it with a dual link-dvi computer, a PS3 and Xbox 360.
 
DonutHunter said:
Well, I bought the display last night despite the better color gamut of some other displays, I decided that the advantages make it worth it. So I ordered it direct from Gateway, got the extra two year warranty and free shipping, had to pay tax though, not sure why since Gateway doesn't have stores in Michigan anymore. But I can deal with that. If people want this monitor, Gateway was saying I will not get it until the 21st....so plan accordingly. BestBuy said, the 16th the last I checked, not sure about now.

For those that were possibly interested, I found but then couldn't find again educational pricing and it was only $35ish dollars off, so no deal there.

But I wanted to ask a off-topic question if everyone won't mind too much, I wanted to get a Blu-Ray player for this monitor and was thinking of the playstation 3, does anyone have any strong pros or cons for a PS3 with this monitor?

I thought I found a combination HD DVD and Blu internal drive that I could stick in my wife's G5 Mac, but there isn't support I found yet for Blu with the Mac and I couldn't find the drive either, google was not being my friend last night.

I really used the input everyone gave to make a informed decision.
Click to expand...

You can buy it here:

http://www.ncixus.com/products/index.php?sku=26553

I dont know anything about a G5 Mac. It's a sata drive. I am also not sure if the software is compatible with Mac?
 
That is a great link, although you really need a PC and just the right combination of components to make these drives work to their full potential.

I liked this thread the best...just in case anyone else was inspired to get one of these drives.

http://forum.ncixus.com/forums/inde...id=26553&msgcount=16&overclockid=0#msg1469549

And neither the G5 my wife has nor does Leopard or Tiger support a drive like this. I think the standalone player is the way to go. I'm looking forward to reading your PS3 and this monitor review.
 
DonutHunter said:
I thought I found a combination HD DVD and Blu internal drive that I could stick in my wife's G5 Mac, but there isn't support I found yet for Blu with the Mac and I couldn't find the drive either, google was not being my friend last night.
Click to expand...

You can find drives to burn data (Toast supports Blu-ray I believe) but you are out of luck watching BD movies for now. Thanks, Apple.
 
To answer a few posts:

This monitor does have some, but not major input lag when running on a lower than native resolution. The lower the resolution goes, like lets say 480p - it'll tend to show more. Obviously it is due to the processing that goes into upscaling. The lower the source resolution, the more it has to calculate and process the stretching.

I haven't experienced much if any input lag when running at 1080p, either via pc dvi connection or consoles.

PS3 definitely does look pretty great on this monitor as long as it's running at 1080p, even at 720p it doesn't look too bad.

Also, Jonnyk429 - make sure to manually configure the brightness,contrast,gamma,black level, color temp and etc on each input, as each seperate input has seperate settings to control.

Initially when I used to play certain games on non-native resolution, it didn't look so great. Then I realized the settings were way off. Once I raised the contrast up a bit, turned on black level and adjusted the colors a bit - it looked much much better.

And you definitely don't want to upscale anything lower than 720p. 480p is just too little data for it to upscale properly.
 
enyceexdanny said:
To answer a few posts:

This monitor does have some, but not major input lag when running on a lower than native resolution. The lower the resolution goes, like lets say 480p - it'll tend to show more. Obviously it is due to the processing that goes into upscaling. The lower the source resolution, the more it has to calculate and process the stretching.

I haven't experienced much if any input lag when running at 1080p, either via pc dvi connection or consoles.

PS3 definitely does look pretty great on this monitor as long as it's running at 1080p, even at 720p it doesn't look too bad.

Also, Jonnyk429 - make sure to manually configure the brightness,contrast,gamma,black level, color temp and etc on each input, as each seperate input has seperate settings to control.

Initially when I used to play certain games on non-native resolution, it didn't look so great. Then I realized the settings were way off. Once I raised the contrast up a bit, turned on black level and adjusted the colors a bit - it looked much much better.

And you definitely don't want to upscale anything lower than 720p. 480p is just too little data for it to upscale properly.
Click to expand...

Thank you for your informative post! I will definitely start messing around with the settings. I'm very glad to hear that 1080p has less lag than 480i (or p).

I still have the monitor because other games look better on it and I fell in love with it as a monitor (I work about 12 hours a day on the computer so I get good use out of it)
 
Are you able to turn off/on the upscaler and just have it do 1:1?
 
vhx said:
Are you able to turn off/on the upscaler and just have it do 1:1?
Click to expand...


Yes and No. There's an option to either have it 1:1, wide or zoom.
And it works well for the pc, my hd cable but NOT the ps3. For some reason PS3 seems to upscale to full size of the screen no matter what. Since it looks pretty darn good, I have no complaints.
 
Question, will the scaling option work on the input from my DirectTV receiver? I’m running a pair of 8800 GXT’s so I believe the PC will perform well with this monitor. I’m just concerned with the TV quality, as I would like to interface my DirectTV HD TiVo to the monitor for viewing movies and sports. And opinions?
 
My XHD3000 finally arrived. After a get a few more hours under the belt of using it I will post a small review. The funny thing is goofy Best Buy shipped this monitor to me in Iraq not insured or accountable like they said they would. Yet it still made it luckily. So far I think there are more positive things about the monitor then negative, which is always good.
 
BamaDave said:
Question, will the scaling option work on the input from my DirectTV receiver? I’m running a pair of 8800 GXT’s so I believe the PC will perform well with this monitor. I’m just concerned with the TV quality, as I would like to interface my DirectTV HD TiVo to the monitor for viewing movies and sports. And opinions?
Click to expand...

If it's displaying at 1080i (p), it should look fine. But for non high def channels, it won't look too hot.
 
So the scaling function provided by the internal HQV processors only works on the signals coming from the dual link DVI, correct?
 
After a couple of days using this monitor, I will provide my impression. The packaging seems pretty robust and made it to Iraq without any problems. Inside the box in addition to the monitor there was the remote, power brick and an array of cables which is nice. The manual is actually quite good, a rare thing these days. Unwrapping the screen, you find a nice stylish aluminum stand already mounted and ready for the screen to sit on your desk. The swivel/tilt is all metal and seems to be of high quality. Although, with the speaker bar attached, you don't really see much of the stand.

As everyone already knows, there is inputs out the wazoo. Taking the protective wrap off the bezel, you notice a nice combination of piano black and brushed aluminum. One thing did annoy me though; there was a sticker on the bottom right of the monitor that was of cheap quality and left adhesive behind. Using cheap quality stickers, especially on high end items is a pet peeve of mine. I think Gateway could have spent the extra cent and gone with a sticker that doesn't feel like it's going to take off the bezel as you remove it.

The build quality is actually better then I expected. Although it is not the nicest crafted item I have seen, it is quite nice. Attaching the speaker bar was a snap. In the back, I hooked up a dual link DVI connection to my PC running an 8800 Ultra O/C, HDMI to a PS3 and VGA cable to an Xbox360. I also plugged in the audio and the rather large power brick. As soon as I turned the monitor on, a demo starts playing that is quite interesting. Given that it is pretty much for store display use and you will turn it off after you see it once, it is interesting that they put that much effort into a demo.

Upon entering Windows Vista and changing the resolution to native, I immediately opened up LCD test pages to look for dead/stuck pixels. Out of 4 million pixels, I couldn't find a one! I could only find two very small blemishes. There are two spots where it looks like a piece of dust got trapped when the screen was being layered. I have to look really close and hard to notice them on a pure white screen so it isn't much of an issue for me. After scanning many LCD test and demanding images, I would have to say the image quality is excellent. The monitor this one replaced was a 23" Sony LCD which was of high quality. After viewing tons of monitors in the States, the quality of the XHD3000 is right at the top.

I was worried about it having a "lower" spec 72% color gamut versus the newer 92% that are available. I would have to say the color gamut spec is another one of those specs that is good on paper but isn't the end-all in real use. The color reproduction on this monitor is quite good. The default settings for color accuracy and contrast where also quite good and did not need to be messed with much while doing LCD calibration and testing. This LCD is very bright and definitely makes images stand out, thanks also to its large size. The viewing angle of the monitor is also excellent. I can almost go completely parallel to the sides or top and bottom of the screen as I type this and still read the text.

The black level is great and there is very minimal backlight bleeding. I am an avid Counter-Strike Source player and there is virtually no ghosting in fast action. The screen truly immerses you in the game. At native 2560x1600 in Vista and in games running native, there is no input lag at all. It is quick and very nice. Taking Vista below the native resolution, there is a perceptible input lag of I would say around 50ms or 1/20th of a second. The scaling chip seems to take time to do its thing, although it not being extreme input lag, you would definitely want to run the screen at native if using a computer. Using a computer is much more precise and "quick" if you will, versus using a game console. Hence it is much easier to gage input lag.

Next up was the Xbox360 plugged in using a VGA D-SUB 15 and playing Halo3. The system started up and immediately I could notice quite the improvement in the image quality of the Xbox360 over my previous lcd. The built-in scalar really does a good job. Once I loaded up into Halo3, a problem arose. Having the Xbox set at 1920x1080 with Halo loaded, the screen kept bouncing back and forth between resolutions. It was like it could not decide which resolution to use and that got very irritating quickly. I loaded up the Xbox display setting in which the resolution changing stopped. I switched the resolution to any one lower then 1920x1080 and Halo3 would work fine. Not happy with settling for a lower resolution, I decided to use the Xbox's component output at 1080p and the problem was solved. A great picture was had. Playing Halo3 multiplayer, there seemed to be a very slight amount of lag but nothing that would impact the playability of the game. As a matter of fact, after a few minutes your brain adjusts and you don't even notice it anymore.

Last up was the PS3 connected via HDCP HDMI and using the game Resistance: Fall of Man. Immediately the PS3 worked flawlessly with the monitor and it looked incredible. The Xbox360 is a decent console but the PS3's graphics, especially on a high end screen, are vastly better. Once again, the scalar chip did quite and impressive job of converting 1080p into 2560x1600. Loading up the game, I noticed it only support 720p. It still looked great. Just like the Xbox, there was a slight input lag but nothing deal breaking. If you run game console sound through the speaker bar, there is a setting in which you can have the sound timing adjusted slightly to scale with the slight input lag. I really never knew a PS3 could look this good.

The on-screen menu is well laid out and easy to use. The pressure-less buttons are an upscale touch. You can do everything from adjusting the speaker bar volume to selecting inputs with a few "glide-overs" of your finger. One really nice feature of the monitor is that if you have multiple inputs running and disconnect one, it will automatically switch to another input that is providing a signal. As far as picture and picture is concerned, I only played around with it for a few minutes but it was very impressive. I had my desktop up and I had Halo3 in a PIP window so I could see when people joined my game over the network. You can adjust PIP size, position, and even individual display and transparency settings. I don't know how much use I will get out of the PIP, but it was impressive none the less.

The remote control is a basic programmable but I have to say, it's a monitor with a remote! It's pretty cool; you can sit across the room and watch movies, adjust display and sound settings and program it to work all of your other devices. Not to mention turn off the screen before you fall asleep. Another issue worth noting is the heat the unit puts out. You can't really feel it when you sit a couple of feet away but you definitely can if you get within a foot. That will help you in the winter but hinder you in the summer for us Northern Hemisphere dwellers. With pretty much everything over clocked in my desktop, multiple computers and this LCD, my air-conditioning power draw will definitely be higher this summer!

The XHD3000 also comes with a USB hub which is nice for those easy flash drive plug-ins. The speaker bar, although will not rock the house down, does sound pretty darn good for something included with a computer monitor. My favorite feature is that you can plug in your headphones right into the side. It kills the sound bar and you can listen to your music with easy headphone access for those late nights. One last thing to mention is that I did the dreaded white screen, center right screen "screw head" shadow test. If I do press on the screen, I do see a faint screw head shaped shadow in the spot that people have reported. Under normal operating conditions, with music blasting and a pure white screen, I could not get the screw head shadow to appear. Only if I put pressure with my hand on the screen would I notice it. Given that this anomaly only appears when I do something I never do, like put pressure on the screen with my hand, it gives me little cause for concern.

Overall, it is a high end and expensive monitor, but I do feel that I got what I paid for. My largest use for the monitor by far would be computer gaming at native resolution. It does that with an excellent picture and no lag. The up scaling chip does in impressive job of turning lower resolutions into something great. It up scales so well that I could barely tell the difference between lower resolutions and 1080p. If you are looking for a great computer monitor and have a beast of a computer to run it at its native resolution and have the need to run other high def systems on the same screen, I recommend this monitor.

-Pro's-
Excellent picture quality
No ghosting
Good build quality and aesthetically pleasing
Remote
PIP
Actual INPUTS!
Quality up scalar not seen in other monitors
Good sound bar that changes output sound to match current display input

-Con's-
Heat
Severity of "screw head" shadow most likely luck of the draw
Slight input lag when viewing non-native resolutions due to scalar
Cheap store display sticker attached and hard to remove (ya, I know that's a small gripe)

Vega's rating: 9 out of 10.
 
Vega said:
As everyone already knows, there is inputs out the wazoo. Taking the protective wrap off the bezel, you notice a nice combination of piano black and brushed aluminum. One thing did annoy me though; there was a sticker on the bottom right of the monitor that was of cheap quality and left adhesive behind. Using cheap quality stickers, especially on high end items is a pet peeve of mine. I think Gateway could have spent the extra cent and gone with a sticker that doesn't feel like it's going to take off the bezel as you remove it.
Click to expand...

There is 2 layers to the sticker. You made sure to remove the thin adhesive too right?
 
Wow, Vega....Really Nice Review.....I can't wait to get my monitor, err..my Wife's monitor.

I was having some anxiety about the color gamut and you have put those fears to rest.

Thanks a lot.
 
Very good review, Vega. You should seriously consider doing tech reviews part time. You certainly have the knack for it. :)
 
Tried water, didn't work. Then tried alcohol, didn't work well. Then tried Oops! product and it's gone :cool:
 
With the input from this thread and with additional help from “enyeexdanny” I just canceled my order for a 3008WFP and ordered a XHD3000! I believe the Gateway will shine over the Dell and its over $300 cheaper to boot.

Thanks guys! :D
 
BamaDave said:
With the input from this thread and with additional help from “enyeexdanny” I just canceled my order for a 3008WFP and ordered a XHD3000! I believe the Gateway will shine over the Dell and its over $300 cheaper to boot.

Thanks guys! :D
Click to expand...



Uh-oh.. Now I'm worried. Just don't track me down and kill me if you're not satisfied with it.

I'm joking, I'm pretty sure you'll be happy with it. ^^
 
$300 cheaper then the dell? I am just curious what the specs of the Dell are to make it 2 grand.
 
Here is a small blurb: http://www.theinquirer.net/gb/inquirer/news/2007/11/12/world-meet-3008wfp-displayport

I read somewhere that it will still use an S-IPS pannel.

Samsung Ezio, and NEC will relaese new 30 inchers that will compete directly with the Dell and Gateway. The scaler chip seems to be adding a good bit of cost. Gateway compensated for this by using a cheeper pannel, (72% S-PVA). It sounds like Dell is having problems getting theirs out the door. Personally I hope they take care of production flaws like those found in the XHD300 before they ship. I also hope they start calibrating their displays so we do not have to buy color calibration [H]ardware.

2008 will be an enteresting for displays.

Dave
 
"It sounds like Dell is having problems getting theirs out the door."

Not really. They are clearing out the 3007s and holding onto 3008s until the "old" stock is sold. The 3008 is available for Dell Premiere clients.
 
daveswantek said:
I also hope they start calibrating their displays so we do not have to buy color calibration [H]ardware.
Click to expand...

It doesn't make much sense for them to calibrate it. Due to a few factors. First being that calibration will differ depending on your environment. Not everyone has the same exact amount and type of lighting. Secondly, the fact that you need to re-calibrate it every so often due to the panel/backlighting starting to degrade over time.

So either way, if color accuracy is important - you'd still need to purchase a hardware calibrator.
 
daveswantek said:
The scaler chip seems to be adding a good bit of cost. Gateway compensated for this by using a cheeper pannel, (72% S-PVA).
Click to expand...

Noone knows yet what chip it's using to up-scale. But in Gateway's case, the HQV Realta chip is a fairly high end chip usually only seen in expensive HT equipment. I highly doubt Dell will be using one in the same level.
 
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