CurtPalme.com Home Theater Forum

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

My trusty 21" CRT in my office has gotten wobbly, so I had to switch to a 24" LCD.

Pro: Sharp. Text is great.
Con: Colors change from bluish silver to deep reddish brown if I move my head vertically more than 4 inches. Rolling Eyes

So, I can't take it any more. I have to bob my head up and down like a goddamned pigeon whenever I do any graphics work because the color, gamma, and black level all change with vertical view position.

Anyone know where I can get a *good* FW900? People have 'em on ebay, but they tend to be b-stock ("minor blemish on the anti-glare coating" my ass) and I don't need to pay four hundred bucks for something ELSE that'll piss me off.

Any ideas?

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 4:10 am Post subject:

If you find a few let me know. I still need 7 of them.

ecrabb · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 4:14 am Post subject:

Pretty much anybody that's still selling these are going to be individual sellers selling them as "used" or resellers selling off-lease and surplus, which will be "B-stock".

This place has one that says "Refurbished, looks and operates like New"... for only $799! Shipping is free, though! Wink

http://www.accurateit.com/details.asp?iid=203

If you want to buy from a reseller, try googling "Sony GDM-FW900 refurbished" or "GDM-FW900 like new" or something like that. Otherwise, I think you're going to be relegated to craigslist if you don't want B-stock.

So, what 24 LCD are you using? It must be a cheapie. I have an older Apple Cinema 24 on my desk at home, and although black and uniformity aren't excellent, color is. I have a new Dell 24 at the office that was ~$550, and though I had to use an eyeone to get it dialed in, it's excellent in pretty much every way. Blacks are indistinguishable from a CRT, even in dim light. The only time black is noticeably elevated are when the room lights are completely off.

SC

Nashou66 · Joined: 12 Jan 2007 Posts: 16171 Location: West Seneca NY

If its wobbly maybe it can be repaired? i bet its as simple as maybe a few capacitors and or convergence chips. Ask McGyver for some help. he is the master.

Athanasios

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

**AnalogRocks** · Posted: Thu May 21, 2009 4:17 pm Post subject:

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

I can't help you with the FW-900 as I'm looking for one myself, but I do have a nice 21" Sony that was branded as a Dell (p1101?) It is flat glass, however it has one minor scratch.

Native resolution is 1800x1440 but I usually ran it at 1920x1440. If you'd like it make me an interesting trade offer and we could likely make a deal.

If I see any of the 24's local I'll let you know.

perisoft · Joined: 29 Aug 2007 Posts: 2920 Location: Ithaca, NY

Zebu Fellenz · Joined: 21 Dec 2006 Posts: 2567

Peri,

For the black level issue I believe there is a resistor fix on the neckboard, have you switched the bright one over to SRGB color mode. When I did this on mine it lowered the black level quite a bit (down to where it should be)

I have some other stuff I'm looking to unload if you're interested. Two Kodak Photo-CD changers, two smaller screens, one pulldown and one tripod, some boards from a Barco Data 801s. I'm looking to unload this stuff really cheap.

Let me know.

Erik

secstate · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 720

ecrabb · Posted: Fri May 22, 2009 8:47 pm Post subject:

I agree wholeheartedly, secstate. I'm sitting here at my desk right now looking at a 2408WFP. I do design work all day every day and I love it. Like you said, perfect geometry, tack sharp focus all over, excellent color, no flicker, great uniformity... I don't notice the matte screen because I work in a dimly lit room, and in that same lighting, I don't notice the lack of perfect black at all. Unless you're playing games or watching movies in a dark room, black is NOT an issue. I don't really care about scaling because I only use it at 1900x1200 (native) - which is exactly how I'd use an FW900. Calibration isn't bad out of the box, though like you said, you do have to crank the contrast down from torch mode quite a bit. If you calibrate it with the eyeone, it's awesome - the best display I've ever had, in fact. Zero complaints, here.

$479 less a 10% discount is a smokin' deal on it, too. We just got them in February and I'm pretty sure we paid about $550 for them. TWO DVI inputs, HDMI, component, and DisplayPort. Oh, and it swivels if you want to use it in portrait mode.

After working with a couple of good LCD's for a couple of years, there's no way I could go back to a CRT. In fact, I'm not sure I'd pay more than $100 for an FW900 in nice shape, and even then it would just be to snag it and put in my basement. There's no way I'd make it my primary display that I use every day.

SC

Mark_A_W · Posted: Sat May 23, 2009 10:00 am Post subject:

I got my second FW900 for $50. People are throwing them away these days.

But I agree, my 24" Dell at work spanks if for normal PC use...but beware the replacement model (2080 or 2008 or something) has way too much edge enhancement....it's horrid.

I just want the 24" CRT as it is true multisync, and runs the same res as my XG via a splitter, but for all other use, go LCD (and use way less power).

secstate · Joined: 20 Mar 2006 Posts: 720

@Mark if I could have found a decent FW900 for $50 I probably would have got it. I looked on and off for two years and never found one that was decent for less than $200 and that would then either require shipping or several hours driving. Maybe something CRT related is cheaper for you guys after all.

As for the latest Dell 24" I think those issues you mention were fixed with the A02 firmware. I don't own one and don't really keep up on the buzz but that is my recollection. I think the A02 firmware has been available since early this year.

@ecrabb if the deal on the 24" was available two months ago when I purchased by two 22" monitors I probably would have picked up one 24" and 22" instead. I could really use the extra inputs of the 24". Also *VA displays are probably the best for CRT folks since they have the best contrast of the three widely used LCD technologies. And you are right I don't even notice the anti-reflective coating anymore unless I look for it. I think initially I was used to the gloss w900 screen (it did not have the anti-glare coating the FW900 had) but once I used the Dells for a while and adjusted them it completely disappeared unless I looked for it.

It looks like the Dell deal is dead, at least the coupons don't seem to be getting applied online. Another monitor to consider is the HP LP2475W which is a 24" HIPS panel.