Here we go again (CRT replacement question)

Periodically I check in with [H] to see if there have been any improvements in LCD technology since I checked last. Screw anandtech and Tom's Hardware, I just come here ;)

I killed my CRT today. Well it's not dead, but it's got battle damage. I was playing with some rare earth magnets too close to the monitor and now I have some nice splotches on screen. The internal magnet isn't powerful enough to degauss them out. I even tried putting some of the same rare earth magnets on a dremel to force them away. While it lessened the problem (when the magnets weren't flying off the dremel even at the lowest RPM setting), it didn't eliminate it. So I may have to just step into the realm of LCDs.

I do a lot of Photoshop work and I do a lot of gaming. Yes, yes, I know, these two things countermand each other. So what is my compromise? Do I go with a sRGB S-IPS paneled LCD? Do I go with a wide-gamut that has an sRGB mode (we know that won't work)?

Suggestions from the peanut gallery, please.

As far as price concerns, I'm broke. If I only had $200 or so, am I better off going somewhere local that still sells CRT's or should I go with a Dell 2209WA or something similar? What about that U2410? Basically my wants are simple - I want the closest I can get to a CRT. I know this is an impossible want, but there it is. I would say that speed (little to no lag) is more important than color representation, but at the same time, I don't think a TN panel would work (We use HP 1740's at work and they effin' suck!)

Any help would be appreciated. Thanks guys. Next time, don't play with magnets anywhere near your equipment! Learn from my folly :p

I would recommend the 2209WA or getting in contact with Afterhourpower about their screens ASAP. The only issue with the 2209WA is inconsistent white uniformity where the left is colder than the right, but otherwise a great screen. I was able to calibrate mine to a 0.18 DE94 with no values being over 1.83 which is very good, and yes the gamut is exactly sRGB.

I'd be interested in one as well from Afterhourpower if I didn't just get a 3008WFP a couple months ago. And also I don't think my desk is strong enough :)
 
ive got a sony fw900 im trying to find a new owner for. it has some very minor issues but overall is a great monitor. gaming/readability and colors are all up to par imo.

im near roanoke, virginia if ur interested.
 
zzz: Gotcha. It was the 2. that I didn't understand - about if the experience is worth the 0-$15 or whatever.

Afterhourpower: Where is the location? How much would one of these things run?

Haste: Same question - how much would one of these things run? It sounds like it may be my best solution.

Thank you all for the info in this thread.
 
My Sony GDM-F500 developed a color problem a couple years ago, in which the top and bottom of the screen had severe color distortion. Using the DEGAUSS function temporarily clicked it into perfect color, but once the degauss finished it would click back into bad color.

I didn't have the guts to try sculpting the magnetic field by waving a powerful magnet close to the monitor, so I let it stay that way for years... resulting in muddy photo viewing and my attacking the wrong-colored teams in games. The best I could do was fix the colors of the corners using the LANDING adjustments.

Then today I called a monitor repair place and asked about this problem, and the technician told me that it was a problem in the picture tube, and would not be worth trying to fix (it'd take him too much time), and that I should buy a similar monitor to replace it.

This finally gave me the guts to try sculpting the monitor's magnetic field with a powerful cylindrical NdFeB magnet (2 inches in diameter, 2 inches in height). I waved the magnet closer to the monitor than I had ever dared before, and figured out how various waving vectors affected the field. Then I gradually painted away the color defects, leaving almost none! I got rid of virtually all the residual flaws by using the LANDING adjustments.

My GDM-F500 is now brighter than it's been in years (I had forgotten it was that bright) and color is virtually uniform across the screen, with the exception of some very slight deviations in certain spots. The caveat is that I must NEVER use the degauss function; it will erase all my work and go back to the way the color was distorted on the top and bottom.

EDIT: *sigh*... I forgot that every time you turn on the monitor, it degausses itself automatically. I guess I have to figure out how to lock the degauss coil into the opposite state.
 
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sculpting the monitor's magnetic field with a powerful cylindrical NdFeB magnet (2 inches in diameter, 2 inches in height). I waved the magnet closer to the monitor than I had ever dared before, and figured out how various waving vectors affected the field. Then I gradually painted away the color defects, leaving almost none! I got rid of virtually all the residual flaws by using the LANDING adjustments.

Problems aside, that's some good work. You should start your own thread so people can follow along with your process, including the degauss coil situation.
 
Just get a degausser....i bought mine for ~15$ on ebay. It helped my T.V. too; it had gotten a discolored spot from a nearby magnet that was eliminated by the degausser.
 
headless, that may be my cheapest option. It's just called a degausser? Someone else in this thread mentioned one too. I'd never even heard of them before (other than the ones built into a CRT).
 
yep...a degaussing coil is what you need. Technically you could even make your own..but you'd probably blow a breaker in your house when you hooked it up.
 
You're not going to like this answer, but if you are a CRT guy.... buy a small PLASMA TV and use that as your monitor, because you will never be happy with an LCD. I used to be a CRT guy, and I'm STILL not happy with ANY LCD on the market. FHD2400 comes closest to CRT picture, but the viewing angles are killer.
 
headless - I was doing some research and heard horror stories. I think I'm just going to hit up ebay and see what I can find. :p

ElectroDragon - It's true - plasmas definitely come closer to a CRT than LCDs do, with much richer blacks. They're still not quite the same, though. I think I may try the degaussing gun route being that no one answered how much one of those FW900's go for.
 
That's what I thought, albovin. Moving on...

Anyone else have anything constructive to add to this discussion? We're looking for suggestions for an LCD that will do both color accuracy for Photoshop work and fast response time for gaming. I was thinking it was kind of a pipe dream from the start but I figured I would ask.

And for $200? Please you couldn't even find a CRT that did that for only 200 bucks. Your standards are ridiculous with the budget that you posited.
 
And for $200? Please you couldn't even find a CRT that did that for only 200 bucks. Your standards are ridiculous with the budget that you posited.

If you have nothing to add, then why bother even posting in this thread? CRTs may be harder to find, but quality ones can still be had for $200 that will suit me just fine. If I want the best, I'd have to pay more, but that goes without saying for anything, not just a monitor.
 
And for $200? Please you couldn't even find a CRT that did that for only 200 bucks. Your standards are ridiculous with the budget that you posited.
Two years ago, I paid $250 for the ultimate CRT - The Sony FW900 (24" widescreen CRT). It was in perfect condition and remains my primary monitor. I picked it up myself after a 90-mile drive.

One would think that you could get many other CRTs for less. And you seem to be unaware that just about any decent CRT would satisfy the criteria he listed. CRT response times and color accuracy was nearly always very good across most models and brands unlike LCDs where you really have to pay top dollar before you even begin to approach CRT-quality color. Nevermind performance.

So, uh, there you go.
 
Two years ago, I paid $250 for the ultimate CRT - The Sony FW900 (24" widescreen CRT). It was in perfect condition and remains my primary monitor. I picked it up myself after a 90-mile drive.

One would think that you could get many other CRTs for less. And you seem to be unaware that just about any decent CRT would satisfy the criteria he listed. CRT response times and color accuracy was nearly always very good across most models and brands unlike LCDs where you really have to pay top dollar before you even begin to approach CRT-quality color. Nevermind performance.

So, uh, there you go.

Thank you for that, Hurin. I understand that people love LCDs and that's fine. But people also fail to realize that in some ways, LCDs is a step backwards in that there is a larger amount of variation in builds whereas with CRTs, many of them performed excellently and you didn't have to drop $1,000 on one to get that.
 
I'd like to know what you calibrated your crt against, and the methodology you used. I have a Sony G420 and there are one or two color charts I'm familiar with, you put the chart on the screen and play with brightness, contrast, etc until you can see all the shades on the gray-scale (for instance). I also have a color wheel that I can pull up and do the same thing with; namely play with brightnes, contrast, etc. until it looks like the instructions say it should. O.K. A G420 (it's been in the box since I got it, so it's virtually brand-new) but by no means is it the most accurate CRT in the world...I still can't believe all the frequencies and resolutions it will handle...and it's at least six-year-old technology. I am not advocating we all turn back the clock six years (unless we can do it chronologically) so...I'm ready for LCD tech. just wondering how you "calibrated" your monitor.
 
That's what I thought, albovin. Moving on...

Anyone else have anything constructive to add to this discussion? We're looking for suggestions for an LCD that will do both color accuracy for Photoshop work and fast response time for gaming. I was thinking it was kind of a pipe dream from the start but I figured I would ask.

One constructive item.

Quality gaming LCDs are still at cross-purposes to quality Photoshop LCDs.
So if you're that bothered, buy one of each. Almost every Photoshop user that goes dual-screen says they can't imagine going back.
 
One constructive item.

Quality gaming LCDs are still at cross-purposes to quality Photoshop LCDs.
So if you're that bothered, buy one of each. Almost every Photoshop user that goes dual-screen says they can't imagine going back.

Hey Squalish. Out of all the LCD fans, this is one of the most useful suggestions. As much as that would solve my dilemma, it's not a cost effective solution, though.
 
Hey Squalish. Out of all the LCD fans, this is one of the most useful suggestions. As much as that would solve my dilemma, it's not a cost effective solution, though.

I'm still using a 21" Trinitron, and for the same reason :)
 
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