[garyp]

I just had a terrible experience with an Apple 21" Graphite Studio Display. I will never buy another Apple CRT. Aside from unsatisfactory convergence/sharpness issues, it failed twice in the first 3 months (Failure of CRT Video Board) and was damaged in transit on the way back from Apple the second time due to a faulty packing job! Returned it & got a refund. I need a *Superior* Graphics monitor for Fine Art work, and am considering the following candidates:

NEC FP 1370 Totally Flat 22" .24mm
Viewsonic PF 815 22"
Mitsubishi DP2040U Flat Screen 22" .24mm
Sony GDM-F500R FD Trinitron 21" .22mm
Sony GDM-FW900 FD Trinitron 24" .23 to .27mm
LaCie Electron Blue ll 22"

I want to know about your real life experiences with any of these units. Love it? Hate it? Buyer's remorse? Satisfied customer? I need *The Absolute Best* in edge to edge corner to corner sharpness, fine resolution, superb calibratible color, brightness & contrast, etc. Can't afford Barco yet. What is yuour opinion?

Mitsubishi DP2040U Flat Screen 22" .24mm
Sony GDM-F500R FD Trinitron 21" .22mm


I have both of these. Both work great. I have had several mitsubishi monitors, and have always been pleased in the long run with their price/performance.

Mitsubishis are definitely nice. ViewSonic less so... i have a PT 813 at home, and while it's a great monitor for the price, the colour is less than spectacular, and not very consistent across the whole screen.

The LaCie is basically a repackaged Mitsubishi, and its deep blue enclosure matches the graphite/silver of the G4's quite nicely. Don't bother with the "Blue Eye" calibrator... it's overpriced.

MacWeek did a brief article on high-end 21" monitors last week.

I don't recommend the viewsonic Viewsonic PF 815 22". The G810 is a nice monitor and a great value, but the 815 really isn't that great. Sony and Mitsubishi both make good monitors, but I've had trouble with the Mitsu's and refresh rates on Macs. Check the individual monitor with the actual video card you will be driving it with.

Always go with Sony monitors, they are by far the leaders. I have a 520Gs and I have not had one problem with it in 3 years and I stare at it for about 12-14 hours a d ay (I'm a graphic designer) and it's still on a few hours after that. Flawless (now that I said that it'll probably break)!

I'm currently writing this on a 24" Sony GDM-FW900, and boy is it cool!

The letterbox aspect ratio is an interesting twist. The tube is actually the same height as the Apple 21", but it's 4" wider. I'm running it at 1920x1200 and I've scaled it such that I'm not using the bottom 1/4" or the top 1/4" of the tube so that the pixels are square (and circles are round, etc.)

It's silver, and is quite deep (19" or so). It has two inputs and a built in switchbox, but I've only used it with one machine so far.

That said, I love the 120 Apple 21" Studio Displays that I've purchased, and only had a problem with 1 of them. They've been reliable both for color and longevity (so far), and the only reason I bought this Sony was because Apple no longer sells the 21".

Alex McDonald
weasel@mac.com

Since I too had a terrible experience with my Apple Studio Display 17" Graphite, I understand your need to find the best monitor now. I also had bad experiences with Viewsonic Professional monitors so I would not be in a good position to recommend you a Viewsonic.

Between the list of units, the two monitors I could recommend you would be the Lacie electron22blue II or the Sony GDM-F500R. The absolute best would be the GDM-F500R but it comes with the absolute best price
I wonder why Sony discontinued the GDM-F400 monitors ? They were nice 19" .22's and they were more affordable than a full 21" for people not in need of all that CRT glory.

Go with the Sony GDM-F500R if you have the budget to do so, you really won't be disappointed!
I hope this help, you can't go wrong with a Sony ...

After researching the Sony and Mitsu, I went with the Mitsu 2040u and have been very pleased with it. It's razor sharp from corner to corner, wonderfully bright.
Two caveats: because of demand, the 2040u is usually backordered. Mine took 6 weeks from order to delivery. If you're in a hurry, then you're stuck. Also: One reason I got the 2040u was for simultaneous hookup to my Mac and PC. Both it and the Sony have a front button to switch from one computer to the other. However, the 2040u also has a built-in USB hub which _in theory_ would allow me to use my Mac's ADB keyboard and mouse (via Griffin's iMate adapter) for both machines. However, I'm _still_ trying to get the keyboard/mouse switching to work right, so that apparent feature isn't as plug-and-play as it might appear.

[garyp]

Thanks everyone for your valuable responses! This is the Internet at its best. I ordered a Mitsubishi DP2040U from Onvia today. My next monitor may well be the Sony GDM-FW900, added sometime next year.

What card do you all recommend for the 24" Sony GDM-FW900?

[ktpub]

I just received my Sony GDM-FW900 and I am confused on the resolution issue. If I put it in the 1900x1200 mode I have lots of black space on the sides of the display. How do you get it so it is not distorted?
Any information would be very helpful.

Originally posted by Alex McDonald:
I'm currently writing this on a 24" Sony GDM-FW900, and boy is it cool!

The letterbox aspect ratio is an interesting twist. The tube is actually the same height as the Apple 21", but it's 4" wider. I'm running it at 1920x1200 and I've scaled it such that I'm not using the bottom 1/4" or the top 1/4" of the tube so that the pixels are square (and circles are round, etc.)

It's silver, and is quite deep (19" or so). It has two inputs and a built in switchbox, but I've only used it with one machine so far.

That said, I love the 120 Apple 21" Studio Displays that I've purchased, and only had a problem with 1 of them. They've been reliable both for color and longevity (so far), and the only reason I bought this Sony was because Apple no longer sells the 21".

Alex McDonald
weasel@mac.com

[Shtoink]

Im surprised no one has mentioned the Barco monitor. If you are serious
about viewing/reproducing fine art, these displays cant be beat, and I
could never go back to using anything else.

[tonton]

Originally posted by shtoink:
Im surprised no one has mentioned the Barco monitor. If you are serious
about viewing/reproducing fine art, these displays cant be beat, and I
could never go back to using anything else.

Yeah, I bet you wouldn't, especially after paying $3XXX for the low-end Barco display.

Still, Barco does make the best, and as such come might argue it's worth a premium.

Typical uncalibrated monitor color error: 20 Delta E.
Typical calibrated monitor color error: 10 Delta E.
Typical high-end calibrated monitor color error: 5 Delta E.
Barco Personal Calibrator series: 3 Delta E.
Barco Reference Calibrator series: 1.5 Delta E.

Here's a great article originally from Macweek:

Sony, NEC-Mitsubishi Step Into the Breach

"You buy a Barco monitor to make absolutely certain you are going to match colors every time," said Michael Briney, a technology consultant and systems integrator based in Newport Beach, Calif. "You can't guarantee color with most other monitors on the market."

Michael Ulsaker, a system integrator in East Hartford, Conn., said that Barco monitors allow designers to see more detail in highlight and shadow areas. "You also get more accurate previews, especially when using ICC color profiles to show things like the influence of paper stocks and dot gain on designs," he said.

However, Barco's hefty price tags have deterred many publishing pros. Some turned to the Radius Pressview monitor, a business that Miro Displays picked up a few years ago as Radius was undergoing one of its many transformations (Radius eventually became Digital Origin, which was acquired last year by Media 100). Much of Miro's product line now consists of flat-panel displays, and Miro appears to sell the 21-inch Radius PressView XL only in Europe. So many designers see a gap between the high-end Barco displays and general-purpose monitors from Sony, Viewsonic, NEC-Mitsubishi and other manufacturers.

Now this one was definitely the king of all displays:


Mega Calibrator

Keep in mind it that these have been discontinued and a used Mega costs more than a typical small car.

So the best you can expect to get is the 21" Reference Calibrator V which costs around $5500 new.

[garyp]

Yeah, I need a $5,000 Monitor, a $25,000 digital scan back for a $6,000 Sinar view camera, a $40,000 Scitex Scanner, a $20,000 inkjet printer, an entire education in Color Management, and a Doctor for the heart attack when I realize I only have $30,000 to start my shop!

[tonton]

Please note that the pic above, if you follow the link, is for the 29" Mega Calibrator which costs $16,000 used. Oops! There goes your budget!

Originally posted by arcticbonfire@aol.com:
What card do you all recommend for the 24" Sony GDM-FW900?

I just unpacked my new GDM-FW900 (gorgeous in every aspect), but of course now realise I need a card to fully appreciate the new real estate. I have a G3 powerbook and don't have a clue as to whether I can replace or add video cards. PLEASE advise: I see there are other with this question as well.

thanks
Jennie Menke

[Timo]

Originally posted by jenmenke:
I just unpacked my new GDM-FW900 (gorgeous in every aspect), but of course now realise I need a card to fully appreciate the new real estate. I have a G3 powerbook and don't have a clue as to whether I can replace or add video cards. PLEASE advise: I see there are other with this question as well.

thanks
Jennie Menke

I think a search would reveal that a Pismo's (for example) video card can't be upgraded. However, here are two options you might explore.

1. http://www.macintouch.com/pbvideo.html

2. http://www.margi.com/products/displaytogo_4MB.html

N.B.: I have not tried either solution, so I can't vouch for them.

Good luck -- report back what you decide to do!

Timo