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Need new monitor

W

wheatgrinder

Keep ending up with cheap crap that frustrates me.

Someone PLEASE recommend a monitor.
Good smooth transition from black to gray. 1080p etc..
 
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Is CRT out of the question?

Edit: To be honest, I've been looking into the same thing. Right now I'm using a pair of Dell ST2210 monitors. While they're fine for most things, I find myself wishing for something better at times. I just can't justify paying outrageous prices for broadcast quality equipment like this.
 
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This is what I ended up doing. For my main monitor, I have a ViewSonic 22" 1080p (VX2250) and the second is a Sony 42" LCD with factory settings (like most customers would have), except the power saver stuff is turned off. The ViewSonic comes from the factory very bright, so that is turned down to match the Sony 42".

This is a decent compromise with decent results on what things will look like an an average TV. Idea stolen from Creative Cow a while back.

People at home don't have professional monitors and I'm not grading for film.

That's my take. :cool:
 
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A company I did some freelance work a few years back had a Sony GDM-FW900. It was probably the nicest CRT monitor I've ever used, and I looked around for a used one a couple years ago. I found one on Craigslist, but it has already sold by the time I contacted the guy. It sold for $50; Googling now shows them coming up at $900 used. Getting to more available tech; have you tried any LED monitors? They're supposed to give better black levels.
 
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Just to be sure, computer monitor right? What is your budget?

We're spending a bit of money on a TVLogic production monitor. Ours is small, but they make every size larger you could want. They're beautiful and have every color control you can think of, but you pay for it. Marshall is a great brand too.
 
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With how cheap you can get a new HDTV for these days, why even go with something designed for computer use only?

I picked up a 22" 1080p at walmart a month ago for 250 bucks. I usually watch movies via my computer and I've been amazed at how I used to think everything was too dark and now it's all so beautiful and I can see all the details. (it's got VGA, s-video, and 2 HDMI ports, fwiw)
 
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Well you will want to defo get a good IPS panel not a TN panel as IPS has a much better contrast ratio. Best makes for colour critical viewing usually are NEC, HP and Dell. Personally at home i have a dell U2311 which is nice, gave it a rough calibrate and looks pretty good, good viewing angles etc and its dirt cheap for the quality. Others to consider are the HP ZR24w, this is supposed to be a great monitor and finally the NEC Displays Multisync EA232WMI 23"... Got these at work as second monitors, i think my Dell at home is better but these are still good. These are all fairly entry level monitors but skys the limit, I assume this is most likely your price range :P
 
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I don't personally have one but we got a lot of them at work (older matte ones) they are pretty good and last along time if you calibrate and profile them. Dont get a new glossy cinema display though I hear they are not very good for working with colour, also glossy is pretty rubbish unless its a CRT where the trade off is worth it.
 
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wheatgrinder said:
$500 is my price.

Does anyone here USE an apple cinema display WITH a PC? I hear that its doable, but Id like to KNOW before hitting craigslist.

Thanks
Click to expand...

ACD's are pretty bad for color work. If you're planning on doing that, don't bother with them. I've got a 21" just sitting in a corner collecting dust because it's useless for judging. The 30" is just for cutting etc when computer's not piped out to the 46"

500.00 isn't a lot... the real option would be a 24" Dreamcolor LCD, which is what I use over at the color house just to run RED dailies and do 1 Lights. Naturally, they're expensive.

You'd be better served grabbing an old HD CRT and calibrating it nicely, running that to DVI etc. That'd be my choice on a budget.

Incidentally, all of your footage will look a lot better on that CRT and you'll pay less for it. Haha.
 
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wheatgrinder said:
any thoughts on

Dell UltraSharp U2410

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productdetail.aspx?cs=19&c=us&l=en&sku=320-8277
Click to expand...

Yea that would be a pretty good monitor I think for your uses or any of the monitors I posted earlier should be good. Check some online reviews before you buy just to see what others say as it may narrow the selection down a bit. But as long as you calibrate correctly they will all do pretty good. Dream colours a still real expensive but are a good grade 2 to replace CRT. More beneficial for film work however I think, they are sweet tho :D
 
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brianluce said:
Anyone know what you might pay for one of these second hand? Love to have.
Click to expand...

An old Samsung HD CRT? 32"? Just a consumer model I mean.

You could probably scrape one off of a curb somewhere, or Craigslist it for like 150-250.00

We did a lot of our grades on one for a while because Production Monitors were so expensive. Never heard a peep or complaint when they went to broadcast.

In SD days, at the company I started for, they did everything on a 60" Projection TV in the main office. Was just fine.

EDIT HERE: After it was calibrated. No matter what you get, it needs to be calibrated. You can do it with a SPyder 2 but I suggest paying the 150+ to get someone to come out and do it.

You could even use a consumer LCD panel like Dready suggested, but if it's not Plasma it's a little "eh".
 
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