DSLRUsers.com

Hi All,
I have to buy a new computer. Due to the smallish desk space I have, I am considering buying an LCD. Does anyone have any recommendations for decent LCDs or should I just bite the bullet, put up with the cramped space and get a new CRT? I use a laptop at the moment but have older CRTs on my kid's computers.
Thanks,
Marvin

Look for an SGI.

I have a friend trying to sell me one at the moment and, based on what I'm hearing about them, I'm very tempted to buy it.

Might aswell get the rest of the SGI there while you're at it Nnnnsic

Nnnnsic wrote:Look for an SGI.

I have a friend trying to sell me one at the moment and, based on what I'm hearing about them, I'm very tempted to buy it.

Is it 6 or 8 bit?
I assume it's a LCD screen and not CRT.

Marvin,
You might want to check out the forum discussions at Whirlpool,
You can generally pick some great hints & tips from the board, just watch out for the trolls!
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=7

Thanks guys! Paul, I checked out the link - it's a great site for info.
BUT I have to admit, I know nothing about monitors. I can tell you everything else I want and know what to look for in the box, but monitors have got me stuffed!
The two quotes I have received so far include a cmv monitor and an lg monitor. Are these any good - I am having trouble finding reviews on them!
Thanks,
Marvin

Nnnnsic,

Look for an SGI.

I have a friend trying to sell me one at the moment and, based on what I'm hearing about them, I'm very tempted to buy it.

oooooerrrrrr......droooool .... Don't those Indigo workstations look awsome.

Marvin, I'm looking thru a CMV monitor right now. The colour rendition for photos are not very accurate. It's a CT-722D, I don't know what size it is, looks to be 17 or 19", retails here in HK for $US200. So if it's premium priced in Australia I'd say avoid it. LG is another low priced brand too. Samsung have traditionally built good spec LCDs, and offer a better than normal dead pixel return policy.

Hi Marvin,

Highly recommend a Sony, but make sure you get the right one.

The best of the Sony's is the SDMHX. It at least gives you 450 CD/M2 luminance (brightness) and a 800:1 contrast ratio.

You can pick them up for about $1200 for a 19" model

You can of course pick up superior brands but then I guess you will be starting to talk fairly big money - $3,900 upwards and many of these higher priced units are absolutely dreadful for DVD playback.

Regards
Nige

Ok Thanks. The cmv that you are on Onyx is the same one I have been quoted for. I would LOVE to get a Sony, but unfortunately they're a bit above my price range at the moment. I'm thinking of just pinching the CRT I used to use or buying a new CRT and then saving up for a decent LCD. Although.... that's another lens I could get right there.
This hobby is expensive!

The CMV/Polyview monitors seem to be getting a good reputation in terms of bang for buck. Check the conditions, not sure if it's the CT-722D, but one (or more) of them also have 3 year zero dead pixel warranties.

Onyx: when I was in HK last (about a year ago) the saving over LCDs here was huge, 30-40% off in HK...

If only I can overcome the logistics of bringing to Aust a large LCD screen.

It's been reported that US and Euro are dumping the "old" LCD monitors to Aust, while the larger newer and faster screens hit their markets. An entry level 17" LCD starts from just over $AU300; this might creep down to just below that in coming months.

Inspite of all LCD's inferiority to CRTs in colour accuracy, slow refresh/ghosting, potential defective pixels, etc. I now prefer them over a mid-range CRT. When the technology gets better, I'm sure they'll become the defacto standard for computer monitors.

 PS. On the CMV CT-722D I'm viewing, the black point test here only showed up at level 8 - which is scraping the lower end of "average".

Samsung have traditionally built good spec LCDs, and offer a better than normal dead pixel return policy.

The Dell 19" 1905FP non widescreen model (4:3) is around $600-$700 (depending on promotions/rebates available). It is the same LCD panel as Samsung 193P.
Details - http://tinyurl.com/673s7
ZDnet review - http://tinyurl.com/5lexb
Anandtech - http://tinyurl.com/4glzq

If you are interested in a wide screen LCD, look at the Dell 20" 2005FPW model. It is $1200 (not cheap) but for that size, it kills the competition price-wise. They use Samsung panels.
Details - http://tinyurl.com/4tbhm
ZDnet review - http://tinyurl.com/5n869

The only thing about Dell, is that they have no physical store and I think they ship their goods from Malaysia. Thus any warranty returns will probably take at least 5 working days to be replaced.

Paul wrote:You might want to check out the forum discussions at Whirlpool,
You can generally pick some great hints & tips from the board, just watch out for the trolls!
http://forums.whirlpool.net.au/forum-threads.cfm?f=7

As Paul said, it is a great place for info and not just broadband internet related, however do be mindful of the shitstirrers...

p.s. I'm not sure of your budget or the minimum size of the screen you are after, is it around $500?

I've had the Dell 1703FP for about 12 months, and I think it is excellent.

The 1903FP mentioned by el nino seems to be good value just at the present.

el nino wrote:The only thing about Dell, is that they have no physical store and I think they ship their goods from Malaysia. Thus any warranty returns will probably take at least 5 working days to be replaced.

Not that bad el nino,
I had a laptop display replaced last year (3 or 4 rows of dead pixels). I had to ship the laptop to Darwin overnight from TC, and the parts were waiting when it arrived. Turn around was 5 days for me - there was a delay in the service department of the company doing the repairs. If I was living on the east coast it would have been two days. They would have picked it up and returned it if I was not 1000km down the road. My warranty did not cover freight, but I have since upgraded my warranties to cover this and anything else - including total loss.

Dell has sevice contracts with third party companies in all of the major capitals and a lot of the major centres. Warranty returns are handled within Australia - but tech support for these problems is handled from India. Mine was a fairly straight forward problem, I was able to give them fairly accurate diagnosis complete with photos, and they sent parts to cover a couple of different problems. Other problems where the fault needs to be diagnosed at the service centre will probably take longer. So far, the fact that they do not have a presence on the ground here in Australia has not been a minus for me. In fact, Dell Support has been a positive experience for me.

One thing to do when contacting sevice departments. During initial contact, get the name, email address and extension number of the person that you are speaking to. This will ensure that service is personalised. It works for me.

Cheers

Matt

I stand corrected regarding Dells turnaround times (5 days to NT is impressive Matt).

The cheapest price for the CMV CT-712 would be $335 at MSY. Dont be alarmed by their dodgy website, they do honour their warranty and when I have to buy any PC hardware, I usually get it from them.
http://www.msy.com.au
http://www.msy.com.au/Parts/non-PARTS.pdf

Thanks everyone!
I went to Adelaide on the weekend and ended up with a Samsung something. It looked OK and I think I will be happy with it! I can't remember the exact model number. I appreciate the responses.
Marvin

Hi Marvin,

I was just checking out the posts and have discovered we (more to the point.... I, being the newest member, have a problem).

I think the best thing I can do is change my Avatar to one of those silly birds that Marvin followed around. Give me a few days to find an image of one of those birds.

Sorry, I did'nt mean to steal your thunder. I guess if there was no Marvin on D70users I would have been OK.

I can understand your avatar choice!

regards

Marcus

hey marcus get an original avatar. suffrin succatash!

jethro wrote:hey marcus get an original avatar. suffrin succatash!

Have you ever heard of an "ass shot" pooch?

So don't tell me about my avatar!

Yours was probably shot on a bloody C&non!

marcus wrote:

jethro wrote:hey marcus get an original avatar. suffrin succatash!

Have you ever heard of an "ass shot" pooch?

So don't tell me about my avatar!

Yours was probably shot on a bloody C&non!

Both of you... Chill.

I don't appreciate flaming on this forum, especially for a bloody avatar.

Marcus, you're allowed to have that avatar as your avatar if you want. The fact that someone else has it, big deal...

Nnnnsic wrote:

marcus wrote:

jethro wrote:hey marcus get an original avatar. suffrin succatash!

Have you ever heard of an "ass shot" pooch?

So don't tell me about my avatar!

Yours was probably shot on a bloody C&non!

Both of you... Chill.

I don't appreciate flaming on this forum, especially for a bloody avatar.

Marcus, you're allowed to have that avatar as your avatar if you want. The fact that someone else has it, big deal...

THX Nnnnsic but I think U need to take some of your own advice and chill!

It was just a g-up for someone I know through this site (and business dealings.... he put me on to D70users) that I now frequent and love!

I have also noticed after viewing several topics on the forum that you can be rather hostile and antagonistic at times. Sorry in advance, I mean you no offence but merely an objective observation from a new member.

I have been assured by several members to speak up and have your say is what this site wants and needs so here you go.....I'm doing it!

ps Do you have any idea what an "Ass shot" is in skateboarding terms? Do me a favour and don't do a google search before replying!

marcus wrote:THX Nnnnsic but I think U need to take some of your own advice and chill!

It was just a g-up for someone I know through this site (and business dealings.... he put me on to D70users) that I now frequent and love!

I have also noticed after viewing several topics on the forum that you can be rather hostile and antagonistic at times. Sorry in advance, I mean you no offence but merely an objective observation from a new member.

I have been assured by several members to speak up and have your say is what this site wants and needs so here you go.....I'm doing it!

ps Do you have any idea what an "Ass shot" is in skateboarding terms? Do me a favour and don't do a google search before replying!

First of all, what's a "g-up"?

Second, being told I can be hostile and antagonistic, and I don't take offense to it, isn't anything new to me.
However, it's not my job here to be especially nice to people or happy and positive!!! etc. I'm a moderator and administrator, and furthermore, if I see something that I feel is "flaming," whether or not I know a skateboarding term (I'll get to that in a minute), I'll make my point known. Gladly.

I have no problem with you speaking your mind and I encourage you to, but telling me that I have to search up a term like "ass shot" before replying... I'm sorry, that just doesn't sound all too friendly and I will reply if I damn well choose to.

While I don't know what an "ass shot" is (and really don't care), I wasn't aware that this was a skateboarding forum and should be searching for definitions of phrases or statements I may or may not know.
When I need to look up a phrase or term that I don't know on this site, it tends to have to do with photography, as I imagine many here do.
However, from my perspective, a glance at the term "ass shot" doesn't evoke any clear reason to Google a term as say one like "bokeh" might.
So from my perspective, if I'm seeing the term "ass shot," regardless of if I've ever heard it used or not, I'm going to have to assume it's something that someone who it's being used against, like Jethro, is being used as flaming.

It may not be, however, which brings up the next point:

If you want to say something as severely off-topic as this and not send out mixed messages, use your private messaging capability on this forum.

I don't like posting messages like this because it, like your post, has the tendency to derail topics. While we are fairly relaxed on how far you can go off-topic, this is where it goes too far.

Hi Marcus,
I'm not bothered by your avatar. I saw it ages ago and thought it was cute. Don't worry about changing it if you don't want to!
Marvin