[mrurmil]

Hi all,

I just received my 2005FPW to use with my powerbook. I had a couple questions to ask the people that already have them.

1) One thing I noticed right away is that the 2005FPW is WAY brighter than the powerbook's screen. I have turned down the brightness on the 2005 all the way down to 0. The contrast is stuck at 50 (it won't let me change it, its greyed out). Is this the lowest the brightness will go?

2) When I'm playing something in quicktime and I choose to go full mode the quicktime goes over to the pbook screen for full screen. I have set the menubar to be on the 2005fpw side in display preferences in case your wondering.

3) Does anyone have a xbox or any other console type hooked up to their 2005fpw? My question is what do you guys to output the sound from the console. The xbox cables are grouped together so it doesn't leave much space to route the audio somewhere not close to the 2005.

Thanks.

[colosodian]

1. I keep my 2005 on 0 brightness. When using dvi input, you dont have control over the conrtrast as the signal is digital. When using vga, it is sometimes neccescary to alter contrast to achive a good picture.

[mrurmil]

Figured out #2, you just have to set it up in quicktime preferences.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by mrurmil

1) One thing I noticed right away is that the 2005FPW is WAY brighter than the powerbook's screen. I have turned down the brightness on the 2005 all the way down to 0. The contrast is stuck at 50 (it won't let me change it, its greyed out). Is this the lowest the brightness will go?

3) Does anyone have a xbox or any other console type hooked up to their 2005fpw? My question is what do you guys to output the sound from the console. The xbox cables are grouped together so it doesn't leave much space to route the audio somewhere not close to the 2005.

1) I think that's the best you can do. I've heard a number of other people complain about the brightness disparity between the PowerBooks and the Dells.

3) You could always attach another cable to the grouped cable, but if you just want a couple cheap speakers near your screen, Dell has a sound bar that fits on the bottom of the display.

[mrurmil]

I lowered the red/green/blues a bit on the monitor and it doesn't kill my eyes as much anymore.

Is there a way to hook up the console to the audio input port on the powerbook (using an adapter of course) and then have os x route the input back to the output somehow?

[robby818]

There is a freeware app by splasm that sort of reduces brightness. i used it for a awhile when I had the Dell 2005 but it wasn't the greatest piece of software because it couldn't keep your color calibration settings while reducing brightness. So here are a couple of suggestions:
1. use the vga port on the dell. you get better control over the brightness settings if you use VGA instead of DVI.

2. set the gamma point to 2.2 instead of 1.8 in the display calibrator. this will help a lot on the eye strain issue. also drop the brightnesss to 0 if you continue to use DVI.

Dell has replacements for the Dell 2005 & 2405 coming out in a week or so. The new models are designated 2007 & 2407. I think that they MAY offer better brightness control even over DVI. The reason why I say that is because i just got a Dell 3007FPW, which is part of the new generation of Dell displays and the brightness buttons on the front of the monitor actually do effect the brightness even over DVI.

[jersey]

totally off topic....

can you take the stand off and mount it to the wall ? the guy at the dell store says no, but their site says 100mm vesa on it.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by jersey

totally off topic....

can you take the stand off and mount it to the wall ? the guy at the dell store says no, but their site says 100mm vesa on it.

Yup, every Dell FP LCD comes with the 100mm VESA mounting holes on the back.
The guy at the Dell Store is clueless, since most (all?) of the FP LCDs ship unmounted from the base.

[jersey]

Originally Posted by mduell

Yup, every Dell FP LCD comes with the 100mm VESA mounting holes on the back.
The guy at the Dell Store is clueless, since most (all?) of the FP LCDs ship unmounted from the base.

Awesome, thanks.

fyi.... you just spent $2700....because I need 6.

[mrurmil]

Originally Posted by jersey

Awesome, thanks.

fyi.... you just spent $2700....because I need 6.

so does anyone know anything about the sound?

[mduell]

Originally Posted by jersey

Awesome, thanks.

fyi.... you just spent $2700....because I need 6.

Sounds like a sweet video wall.

Originally Posted by mrurmil

so does anyone know anything about the sound?

About plugging external speakers in, or using the PB speakers?

[NDBounce]

I have a similar set up. PB 15" connected to a 24" dell monitor, X-Box connected through component video.

I am not a true gamer (the X-Box is a hand me down and I onl yplay one game on it), so this is not an audiophile's solution. BUT what I did is went to radio shack and bought an RCA to 3.5mm converter AND a piece that has a female 3.5mm on each end. Then I plugged those together (thus I had a small thing that had 2 female RCA ends, and 1 female 3.5mm end). I used that to connect the XBox's RCA to a cheap pair of computer speakers. That worked for me. Again, I was not looking so much for quality as I was functionality in this set up, and I'll admit that I have not used the X-Box since early January.

But I hope this helps you in some way.

Peace,

O
B unce!

[mrurmil]

Originally Posted by NDBounce

I have a similar set up. PB 15" connected to a 24" dell monitor, X-Box connected through component video.

I am not a true gamer (the X-Box is a hand me down and I onl yplay one game on it), so this is not an audiophile's solution. BUT what I did is went to radio shack and bought an RCA to 3.5mm converter AND a piece that has a female 3.5mm on each end. Then I plugged those together (thus I had a small thing that had 2 female RCA ends, and 1 female 3.5mm end). I used that to connect the XBox's RCA to a cheap pair of computer speakers. That worked for me. Again, I was not looking so much for quality as I was functionality in this set up, and I'll admit that I have not used the X-Box since early January.

But I hope this helps you in some way.

Peace,

O
B unce!

Yeah I don't play that much either, I find myself not having enough ours in the day. I only have 1 game for it =P

Anyways, that sounds like a descent plan. I already have a spare dual RCA to single 3.5mm converter laying around. Now I just gotta find some cheapo speakers laying around somewhere. Thanks for the tip.

[iREZ]

why not get a video extension cable...then the audio could go wherever you want it to. thats how i have my xbox hooked up to it .