do I need a new monitor ?

[nate]

hey all. I'm posting here cause this forum seems to have a fairly high interest in displays.

I have an old Hitachi Super Scan 813 21" monitor and lately it's had a sort of funny thing happening. sorta like I hit the degauss button only very slight...the screen sorta "blinks" on me. it seems to happens a few times a night lately. just a few moments ago the screen went blank. no response from degauss button so I turned it off for a few moments and turned it back on again and it came on fine.

so I'm wondering if it's going to die soon or maybe it just has accumulated a lot of dust inside or ??

this is a big old CRT and very fine dot pitch. .22 dot pitch if I remember right and just a tic finer than everything else on the market when I was looking back then. it cost $900 or so new heh. these days people will pay to get rid of them even in good working condition for the thin LCD.

so, I'm wondering if it's gonna die, what do you guys think of the SONY PREMIER PRO GDM-FW900 ? I'd love to find the SGI virsion.
http://cgi.ebay.com/SONY-PREMIER-PRO-GD ... dZViewItem

back when I bought this Hitachi I wanted the Sony but it was $2000, now you can get the Sony used pretty cheap, but how long would it last ? can they be refurbed to get back to factory specs and last a good long time ?

or should I just say good bye to CRT forever and get a 24" flat LCD ? I can fit the big Sony on my desk still if I can find one at a decent price and if it's worth getting (age and remaining functionality factor) but I spose I wouldn't mind having more room on my desk (erm, my actual desk that is) if I got an LCD.

can anyone help with opinions here ? thanks alot !

[MrPopo]

To answer your first question, yes, it sounds like your monitor is due to die soon. To answer the second, I personally feel that LCD technology has gotten to the point that you should seriously consider getting yourself a nice widescreen LCD. Just make sure you carefully check out the specs to insure that the response time is good enough for gaming. However, if you're like my buddy and are anal about your black levels then you still won't get as good of a display as you can get on the CRT, due to differing technologies.

[executioner]

I went with the 24" wide lcd route, what I mostly love is all the inputs it has.

[opethfan]

I actually have an older 19" 1280x1024 Relisys LCD monitor, no DVI, VGA only, and I still think it looks great, in most cases better than the glossy screen of my newer laptop.
If I were you, I'd definitely try to find a matte LCD, glossy is the devil when it comes to monitors, it makes it glare like crazy, smudges and is overall, just a complete pain the ass. A matte LCD would make your life great.

[nate]

hey guys. I'm surprised nobody is promoting CRT's here.

I had a huge Sony WEGA tv, it up and died about a year back and that's when I went with a Sharp Aquos LCD tv. but till now I've been running my old CRT on my comp. my Sharp is my second monitor now too. but I don't use it much that way.

I've never had any issues with the glass monitor surface, in fact I like that it's glass and easy to clean, no worries about damaging it like the plastic LCD screen.

although I do own the first HOTD I don't see myself playing anytime soon on a computer monitor, so I suppose I won't miss the use of a light gun. so far I'm very pleased w/ my Sharp tv and it's color and black level.

I would definitely enjoy some more flat space on my desk to get crowded up with junk if I had a flat screen. but those old Sony GDM-FW900's are so cool...

well, I think I'll call a repair shop Tuesday and ask about my monitors symptoms. till then I'll shop around for LCD's too.

any suggestions on LCD's welcome.

[MrPopo]

I've never had any issues with the glass monitor surface, in fact I like that it's glass and easy to clean, no worries about damaging it like the plastic LCD screen.

I gotta ask, what are you doing that requires a screen to be cleaned? Dust you can take care of on any screen, so I'd wonder what's happening at your place that's getting crap on your screens?

any suggestions on LCD's welcome.

Really, I'd just look at specs. Look for a low response time, high contrast ratio. Look at inputs (depending on your need).

[nate]

ahhh, smoking, occasional splash of whatever I'm eating, swat a bug, whatever. this monitor has been in front of my face for ten years. so yes I do like uncoated glass.

[sneth]

never look at contrast rating as there is no standardization. It's made up my mfg's.

I would promote an LCD over CRT for your computer monitor as well. It's just not worth the weight and hassle. You won't even find dot pitch ratings on most monitors anymore because it's not even an issue. Even refresh rating has taken a backseat.

For classic gaming, I would still recommend you go to craigslist and find someone's Sony Wega, but your monitor needs to be updated.