Need Advise! Got vp201s, but want something better

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sclark10000

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Nov 2, 2004
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Just got a vp201s. Exactly what I was looking for; build quality , brightness, colors are good. But that damn SCREENDOOR. Is there anyway to get rid of it? Or...

Is there another 20.1" monitor that is as good without it? Looked at the 213T, it's good, but technology is too old now & I plan on using the new display prob 3 years or so. What about the LaCie Photon 20Vision II ?

I would be willing to consider the HP L2335 if it's as good as the vp201s in everyway, but has no screendoor. The HP bezel looks kinda thick and what are you guys doing about cable management? I like to game sometimes, but how can you run @1900x1200 all the time. How well does it downscale?

Help - I want to exchange this beast today!
 
any 20inch will have a screen door. It's just a matter of how close you stare at your monitor on still images:(
 
Bango said:
any 20inch will have a screen door. It's just a matter of how close you stare at your monitor on still images:(
Click to expand...

Sure, if you get THAT close. But not if you're 2 to 3 feet away like with this one.
 
if you can see the screen door from 2 feet away you either a)have superman-vision, or b)have a defective panel.
 
like I said you probably have a defective panel if the screen door is that prononced. I have a vp201 and don't notice any screendoor unless i have my eyelashes touching the panel.
 
Went out to local CompUSA checked a vp201s Display unit, same problem. Noting from other threads that the HP L2335 & Apple Cinema Display share the same panels, I checked and they both have the same screendoor effect, just not as pronounced. Not as much a screendoor, but more of a fine mesh effect in the acceptable range.

Did some research on LCD Monitor calibration, and my unit as shipped had all the controls turned way up. Went through settings and changed to latest ati drivers without catlyst center. Now the display quality is in the acceptable range, on par with the L2335 & 23" Cinema display.

Just to make sure contacted Viewsonic tech support, got the usual loser rep, Called right back & got a techie that owns the same display and a similar vid card. He helped me go through the settings and tweaked it out nice. The nasty grainy screendoor is now a very fine mesh.

This chracteristic is native to all S-SIPS type LCD's. I would have forked out for the L2335 or maybe more, but in fact the qaulity is no better, just wider. Almost went mad with this business, but it all good now. Whew!

Thanks for the help. :cool:
 
sclark10000 said:
Went out to local CompUSA checked a vp201s Display unit, same problem. Noting from other threads that the HP L2335 & Apple Cinema Display share the same panels, I checked and they both have the same screendoor effect, just not as pronounced. Not as much a screendoor, but more of a fine mesh effect in the acceptable range.

Did some research on LCD Monitor calibration, and my unit as shipped had all the controls turned way up. Went through settings and changed to latest ati drivers without catlyst center. Now the display quality is in the acceptable range, on par with the L2335 & 23" Cinema display.

Just to make sure contacted Viewsonic tech support, got the usual loser rep, Called right back & got a techie that owns the same display and a similar vid card. He helped me go through the settings and tweaked it out nice. The nasty grainy screendoor is now a very fine mesh.

This chracteristic is native to all S-SIPS type LCD's. I would have forked out for the L2335 or maybe more, but in fact the qaulity is no better, just wider. Almost went mad with this business, but it all good now. Whew!

Thanks for the help. :cool:
Click to expand...

can you give some more info on your settings?
 
sclark10000 said:
Went out to local CompUSA checked a vp201s Display unit, same problem. Noting from other threads that the HP L2335 & Apple Cinema Display share the same panels, I checked and they both have the same screendoor effect, just not as pronounced. Not as much a screendoor, but more of a fine mesh effect in the acceptable range.

Did some research on LCD Monitor calibration, and my unit as shipped had all the controls turned way up. Went through settings and changed to latest ati drivers without catlyst center. Now the display quality is in the acceptable range, on par with the L2335 & 23" Cinema display.

Just to make sure contacted Viewsonic tech support, got the usual loser rep, Called right back & got a techie that owns the same display and a similar vid card. He helped me go through the settings and tweaked it out nice. The nasty grainy screendoor is now a very fine mesh.

This chracteristic is native to all S-SIPS type LCD's. I would have forked out for the L2335 or maybe more, but in fact the qaulity is no better, just wider. Almost went mad with this business, but it all good now. Whew!

Thanks for the help. :cool:
Click to expand...

You should post your settings.
 
Mons said:
You should post your settings.
Click to expand...

I used Adobe Gamma that comes with Photoshop & is installed in the Windows XP control panel, then cranked the contrast back down. Make sure to save the new profile as xyz custom profile or whatever. After using Adobe Gamma, lowered color setting back to 6500k, still good. The main adjustment that fixed the annoying screendoor was adjusting monitor color setting to user, adjust to your tastes. Also set your DPI on General Tab of display setting to custom/ 101 dpi and reboot.

This site has enough info to become informed how to do these adjustments properly:

http://www.normankoren.com/makingfineprints1A.html

There is no way to get rid 100% of the matte screen look as it's built-in to ALL of these S-Sips type LCD's. What I've done here is to make adjustments so that the effect goes from coarse & grainy to a fine mesh that's no longer annoying. If you don't beleive me, go look at a 23" Apple Cinema Display and tell me that the panel is any better than the vp201s panel after doing the above adjustments...it isn't.


The only major annoyance with the vp201s now is getting some baclight leakage at top of screen about 1/4 the way in on either side and about an inch or two round in both those spots. This is only noticeable on the black boot screen or when the screen saver is initalizing.
 
sclark10000 said:
Just got a vp201s. Exactly what I was looking for; build quality , brightness, colors are good. But that damn SCREENDOOR. Is there anyway to get rid of it? Or...
Click to expand...

Are you referring to those _horrible_ horizontal lines which make that screen completely unusable? Yes, they can be easily seen from over 1m away from the monitor. Made me return my Vp201 back to store. Unacceptable.
 
qurq said:
Are you referring to those _horrible_ horizontal lines which make that screen completely unusable? Yes, they can be easily seen from over 1m away from the monitor. Made me return my Vp201 back to store. Unacceptable.
Click to expand...

Not exactly. Horizontal lines are usually caused by your monitor timing (resolution & refresh rates) or your video card (old or cheap). "Screendoor' refers to the uniform horizontal & vertical cross pattern (perpindicular) which looks like a screendoor is covering the screen. ALL monitors have it, whether crt or lcd, it's just a matter of how coarse the pattern is and whether it's visible at a reasonable working distance form the display. Don't take my word for it, get up close to ANY display, even the Apple 23" Cinema display and see for yourself.

I also had the horrible horizontal lines when the vp201s was initally switched on, but that was before the resolution & refresh were set, and with a vga cable. After adjusting the timing and switching to dvi, that particular problem disappeared.

I'm not sticking up for Viewsonic, hell I was ready to ditch this thing and fork out more big bucks for an even bigger better model, but the truth is they really aren't any better. Maybe better looking case, or wider, but not better in terms of screen quality. The 213T may be an exception, but that's an old slow unit, soon to be replaced by a modern panel.
 
sclark10000 said:
Not exactly. Horizontal lines are usually caused by your monitor timing (resolution & refresh rates) or your video card (old or cheap). "Screendoor' refers to the uniform horizontal & vertical cross pattern (perpindicular) which looks like a screendoor is covering the screen. ALL monitors have it, whether crt or lcd, it's just a matter of how coarse the pattern is and whether it's visible at a reasonable working distance form the display. Don't take my word for it, get up close to ANY display, even the Apple 23" Cinema display and see for yourself.
Click to expand...

Very true. I've never been bothered by then though. To see those you really must be close :)

I also had the horrible horizontal lines when the vp201s was initally switched on, but that was before the resolution & refresh were set, and with a vga cable. After adjusting the timing and switching to dvi, that particular problem disappeared.
Click to expand...

Interesting.. I tried two graphic cards and both DVI and VGA and stripes were there. On DVI they were very annoying, VGA signal was so much worse that it was a bit harder to spot them. The stripes were visible on the left side of the monitor, at the middle they slowly fainted away and the right side of the monitor looked just fine. I also tried to change timings, but DVI-connection really didn't let you change much, nvidia's settings allowed some slight changes, but they had no effect (other that in the end monitor didn't sync anymore :)
 
There is that Dell 2001FP monitor on sale for $599. Everyone likes theres, I know I like mine at work...
 
Screen door effect is one thing I HAVEN"T noticed on my VP201s, nor on any of the many VP201s I've exhanged. I'm not, however, impressed with Viewsonic's build quality or quality control.
 
qurq said:
Interesting.. I tried two graphic cards and both DVI and VGA and stripes were there. On DVI they were very annoying, VGA signal was so much worse that it was a bit harder to spot them. The stripes were visible on the left side of the monitor, at the middle they slowly fainted away and the right side of the monitor looked just fine. I also tried to change timings, but DVI-connection really didn't let you change much, nvidia's settings allowed some slight changes, but they had no effect (other that in the end monitor didn't sync anymore :)
Click to expand...

In your case this prob comes down to one of 3 things:

Old or burned up video card; you know the answer there.

Quality of the dvi cable... are you using the one supplied with the display? Also longer cables may give you these problems.

Power supply to your video card. Are you using a card that has a seperate power connecton directly from your PSU? You should. Don't know what the input requirements for this display are, but I'd say at 1600x1200x24, your video card is going to need a load of power.
 
My VP201s has been perfect until I tried to connect it to my X1950XTX's. It won't work in DVI mode at all. Not sure if this is Viewsonic or ATi's fault. It works until the ATi drivers are loaded, so I've been blaming ATi. Though it really could be Viewsonics firmware. The monitor is picked up, but won't display. When I remote into the system the flat panel controls do not appear, and the monitors DCC information is completely wrong. It does however work fine in analog mode, but that looks like crap.

But other than that, the quality of mine, the image, the colors (after calibration) have all been flawless. I've even been very happy gaming on it.

In the short term I replaced it with the Viewsonic VX2025wm because I got it on sale on the cheap side. I can use it in my bedroom or somewhere else later on, so I am pleased with the overall results of the purchase.

Tomorrow my VP201s's real replacement gets here, the Dell 3007WFP.

I am actually using my VP201s still. It is on my test bench and I do all of my [H] motherboard testing for reviews on it. Still pleased with it, I just hate this problem of it not working in DVI mode with my video cards.
 
I know you guys don't want to hear this but I believe it is the anti-glare coating that gives the "fine mesh" effect when you get close to the screen. I have an Acer F-20 and there is no cloudiness, fine mesh or any other effect. Owners of other glossy panels such as other Acer models or the NEC 20WMGX2 can confirm this..
 
Dan_D said:
My VP201s has been perfect until I tried to connect it to my X1950XTX's. It won't work in DVI mode at all. Not sure if this is Viewsonic or ATi's fault. It works until the ATi drivers are loaded, so I've been blaming ATi. Though it really could be Viewsonics firmware. The monitor is picked up, but won't display. When I remote into the system the flat panel controls do not appear, and the monitors DCC information is completely wrong. It does however work fine in analog mode, but that looks like crap.

But other than that, the quality of mine, the image, the colors (after calibration) have all been flawless. I've even been very happy gaming on it.

In the short term I replaced it with the Viewsonic VX2025wm because I got it on sale on the cheap side. I can use it in my bedroom or somewhere else later on, so I am pleased with the overall results of the purchase.

Tomorrow my VP201s's real replacement gets here, the Dell 3007WFP.

I am actually using my VP201s still. It is on my test bench and I do all of my [H] motherboard testing for reviews on it. Still pleased with it, I just hate this problem of it not working in DVI mode with my video cards.
Click to expand...
I would much rather have the NEC LCD2690WUXi-BK
quality over quantity

and why did you bump a 2 year old thread?
 
SDE Is known effect of ALL LCDs regardless of type, regardless of screen treatment. I can see it at two feet easily on my 17". That is just the way LCD is made.

Anti-glare coatings add a further muddy splotchiness, that would not be there if you get a glossy monitor. But glossy still has SDE.
 
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