OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Hi, all

I'll be purchasing a new 17" CRT Monitor in about a weeks time. (My 12 year old 14" is on it's Last legs.)

I have my Eye on a LG T710BH, (current price quote is at $239cdn.) Spec Sheet But there is a ViewSonic OptiQuest Q71 model on sale at $159cdn. Spec Sheet They both have pretty much the same specs, but I have found a few reviews saying that the Q71 is bad at displaying text. (has noticible blur) and it's colors are not as bright as standard crt's (whatever they mean by standard) So I'm hesitant to buy it.

Do any of you have either of these monitors? If so I would like your opinions.

Thanks. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

P.S. If you know of any 'other' good valued monitors feel free to share the info.

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

[ February 17, 2004, 19:38: Message edited by: David E. Gervais ]

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Looking at the specs, the more expensive one is better. I would look at the dps. The ViewSonic is 23mm x 27mm the other one is 20mm x 24mm. Back in the day if you could get under 29mm dps you were doing well.

If there is any way you can do it, go to a store and take a look at simular dps monitors. I don't stress name brands so much with monitors either. I know you will see a big difference by going to a 17 in monitor.

GL.

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

My old moniter craped out under warrenty so I got a nice new Compaq 7550. I don't think it costs that much and I like it. http://hardwarecentral.dealtime.com/...q_V_7550_17_in

[ February 17, 2004, 20:18: Message edited by: Combat Wombat ]

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

For that price shouldn't you get a 19"?
I haven't seen any 17" for sale for a long time...

Edit: Sorry , canadian dollars isn't the same as US, i checked at forex.

Edit2:
Most 19" monitors here in Sweden seems to cost from 269 CAN $ (Hansol 920P & AOC 9GLR) and upwards..

Swedish CRT prices

(1 Swedish kr = 0,18 CAD )


Edit3: I preferr CRT to Flat, much better if you swap resolutions much, and other advantages aswell, still... in the future...

[ February 17, 2004, 21:19: Message edited by: Ruatha ]

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

The price of crt monitors is dropping like a stone, and it's not going to slow down, as flat screen monitors continue to dominate the market.

Also as the flat screens get more prevalent, their price drops too. Which means two things. One of them might be in your range, or if not, there are a lot of barely used crt's out there that people who can afford the flat screens are buying.

If you can't afford a flat screen go to a little shop that sells and services pc's and buy a slightly used crt. You don't need one to Last another 12 years, just one that will Last 2 or 3 more and by then the flats will be in your range for sure. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

A flat screen gives you more room on your desk, and uses a lot less power. Might not matter that much to the home user, but some companies are finding that switching to flat screens are paying for themselves in electricity savings.

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Ruatha, could you shorten the link, please?

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">sure.

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

The given specs are not the only factors that determine quality when considering a CRT. The brand of the tube (? - well, the thing with vacuum inside) determines factors like brilliance and how long it will Last.
There are noticable differences even between units of the same series. Best thing is to check them out yourself in a store where they are sitting next to each other. Be sure to check the settings for "contrast" and "brightness". Contrast already set to the max in order to achieve a good performance = short life of the CRT, generally.

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Thanks for the feedback, I thought about a 19 inch but space on my desk is scarce. (it's 26" deep. and a 17" monitor is 16" deep, a 19" monitor is about 18.5" deep. So, just due to space limitations the 19" is out of the question.)

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

I'm never buying a flat, at least until they fix the blurring and I like the higher screen sizes that CRTs can goto.

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

You can get a refurb 17" from dell for 73 US right now.

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

I have a Triniton 19" and its great. I'll never go back to a 17" again. Its so much nicer, 18' viewable, for these old eyes it definitly beats a 17". Your best bet would be to just shop around and check them out in stores, or Dell has a refurbished section for monitors, computers, etc with all the same warranties, you may want to look them up on the net see what they have available... They do have good warranties

just some ideas mac

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Don't feed the beast that is Dell! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/shock.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

I'm using a 17' ViewSonic G773 that I bought about 5 years ago. I've never had any problems with it and the text display appears fine. Plus it's got 4 USB ports on the base, which is handy for mice & joysticks.

Now of course I'm talking about a model that's competely different (and older) than the one that you're thinking about getting, but it was my first & only Viewsonic purchase, and it's never given me a problem (knock on wood).

*knock*knock*

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">oh, come on, there commercials have given me a really good bad joke to use in a D&D game that includes a druid. if the situation ever comes up.

*waits for everyone to groan* http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

And don't listen to Fyron about data display devices - his gamma is way too low!

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

here's a question about the Vertical and Horizontal Dot Pitch...

If the LG T710BH 17" Monitor has a Horizontal/Vertical size of 325mm x 244mm (Max Display) and a .24mm(H) .20mm(V) dot pitch, Does that mean the maximum possible rez for the monitor is 1354x1220? (full screen) If this is the case, then it makes sense that the monitor is rated at 1280x1024 Max Rez

Using this same formula, the ViewSonic Q71 with a .23mm(H) .13mm(V) dot pitch would have a max rez of 1413x1876. (These numbers seem off, especially in the Vertical rez.) I suspect that the dot pitch info on the Viewsonic is wrong. One thing I found is a formula to calculate the Horizontal dot pitch from a diagonal number. (In the case of the viewsonic .27mm(D) x .866 = .2338mm ( I suspect they rounded down instead of up, and as for the .13mm Vertical, I haven't found any monitor that even comes close to that so this number must be wrong too.)

Anyway, My choice is prety much made, The LG T710BH is the one I'm going to get. 1280x1024 @66hz is going to become my new 'standard display setting' (Currently I'm running at 1024x768 @60hz) So this does seem like a step up. This and the fact that I'll be moving from a bit less than 13" diagonal to 16.01" Diagonal will make me a very happy man.

Shopping for monitors is fun, I wonder what the standards will be like in 10 years when I need another new monitor. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Hey dave have you tried www.ncix.com for monitors

or

http://www.computers-canada.com/

( for a price comparison )

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

example for the lg

http://www.computers-canada.com/display.html?text=LG+T710BH+&table=monitor&prov=QC &limits[minprice]=&limits[maxprice]=&limits[out]=&omore=0

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Really? I use one at work and it's clearer then my monitor at home. Admitadly my home monitor is less then state of the art. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif But I don't see any noticable blurring at work.

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">Wow, that's pretty cheap.

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

I bet you don't run any 3d intensive applications at work. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

<font size="2" face="sans-serif, arial, verdana">No, can't say that I do. For what I use it for the flat screen works nicely. Your results may vary. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon12.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Wow, I just found a site that does a very good job of explaining the dot pitch thing..

Dot Pitch Explained

And on top of that, I just got a new flyer for Bureau En Gross (aka: Staples)and they now have a new Viewsonic A70f+ 17" monitor and it has a .21 Horizontal dot pitch (the only one that counts when dealing with a Shadow Mask type Flatscreen display (Which is what the Viewsonic and LG monitors use.)

What does this mean? well with the same 325mm horizontal display area the LG has a 1354 (maximum) horizontal rezolution and the Viewsonic has 1547 (maximum) horizontal rezolution. According to the article on dot pitch it helps to have more than the advertized Max rez in pixel pitch. so now the New Viewsonic looks like the better chioce. And the ViewSonic is only 199$ and can be used as a video monitor too.
(Not that I'll use that function, I play DVD's through my computer.)

Anyways, thanks for all your tips and links.

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Fanfare please..

I just bought the ViewSonic A70f+ and omg What a sharp picture, and this 'FlatScreen' is going to take me a good week to get used to.

My first impression was that the tube (image) looked concave as opposed to my old convex (Fisheye) 14" monitor.

I'm very happy with this purchase. I still have to try out my DVD's and see how good this UltraBrite mode is for viewing movies, and of course games. I'll post my reactions on those a bit later.

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Edit: The DVD playback is very nice, the touch of a button to put it in 'UltraBright' mode makes the colors and image pop out and is very clear. Now to test a few games...

..It's fun playing Starfury in a window now. http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon7.gif

[ February 19, 2004, 19:28: Message edited by: David E. Gervais ]

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

Double WoW! I just found out the Viewsoniv A70f+ Monitor I'll be getting is also able to display HDTV (With the Viewsonic NextVision N6 unit.) It's definately an 'added bonus' that I'm sure to take advantage of in the future.

It looks like I'll be getting it on Saturday, I sure hope they still have stock left.

Cheers! http://forum.shrapnelgames.com/images/icons/icon10.gif

Re: OT: 17" CRT Monitors..
 

ViewSonic is the most likely the only monitor I'll ever buy due to their outstanding quality at the high end product line. I've owned an E770, a PF790 (drool), and a G90.

I'm thinking of going 21". Viewsonic, of course.

Also, their service is is good. After 3 months of owning my PF790 (19"), Viewsonic sent me a brand new one, no charge due to a strange anomaly.