The Legacy of Newer Hardware + Xy

["J. R. Fox" jr_fox@xxxxxxxxxx]

Friends,

   This is a basic overview of my experiences looking for a new
monitor over the past few months -- for whatever it may be worth to
you -- with a heavy emphasis on how it affects the display of certain
legacy programs, including one that for me remains on the "essentials"
list.

   For the last four years, I had a great 21" CRT, apparently one of
the top two models in Iiyama's Visionmaster series. It was huge,
expensive, and weighed in at something like 85 lbs. ! You could get a
hernia lifting it on or off the desk. This was the 2nd. best monitor
I ever used, after its predecessor, a renowned 17" Nanao. These two
niche manufacturers have historically sold to a limited, more
demanding market -- graphics pros, CAD/CAM folks, medical imaging
display. Either product line stood head and shoulders above most of
the competition. Another point to mention is that once you get used
to working with a larger display, it becomes extremely difficult to
contemplate downsizing again. I happen to have the monitor on the
perpendicular portion of an L-shaped two-desk arrangement, close to 4
feet away. The work-prescription glasses I use are "tuned" for that
setup. Rearranging the workspace would be a very unappealing option.

   After four years of use, the big CRT did not croak altogether,
but it did begin to arc electrically inside the case, causing the
picture to spontaneously "pop," shrink, and then resize several times
a day. The handwriting was on the wall. So I hauled it off to a
local repair shop that had been recommended to me. The problem turned
out to be in the flyback transformer, one of the two most critical
components. They gave me a 17" loaner, and for three months tried to
secure -- or even just to price -- a replacement part. None of their
vendors could locate one. So much for that. Luckily, they can handle
the disposal problem, much more of a hassle these days due to new
environmental restrictions. Total cost to me was zilch.

   During this period, I did some intensive replacement monitor
research & shopping. I'm extremely critical about these things,
especially in a case like this, where it's something I'll wind up
staring at for several hours per day, hopefully for the next few
years. My intent was to get one of those nifty new flat-panel LCD
jobs. Within reason, cost was going to be less of a factor than is
the case for the mass market. (But, of course, the more expensive the
item, the more inclined I'd be to find the best deal available on
it.) In the end, cost wasn't a factor at all; display quality
definitely was. I looked at just about everything on the market I
could find, going to a lot more trouble than most people would. I
combed through every press review or user comment I could find online,
trying to narrow the field. I made several trips to places like
Fry's, where I could compare 12 or more makes / models side by side at
one time (hoping the one-computer-driving-multiple-panels and the
ambient lighting situations would more or less even out), and making
sure the panels displayed plenty of Text or things other than the
canned, best-case-scenario stuff the store would have running. (For
example, there is a "Virtual Aquariam" video they like to run, which
looks pretty decent to at least very good, *no matter what* CRT or
panel it is running on. It would be a big mistake to put much stock
in that.) I saw the new SHARP LCD panels, touted in the press for a
12-bit rather than the standard 10-bit hardware implementation . . .
or something like that. I drove 45 minutes for an appointment at the
Eizo (Nanao) showroom, to see *their* LCD line. (As I'd heard and
expected, these were far better than almost anyone elses. Also
considerably more expensive, model for model.) The only notable
panels I did not get to see were the Dell UltraSharps, which are just
rebadged Samsung models, and the Planar line, not seen in any stores I
know of, as they are sold direct. The latter are also rebadged
Samsungs, though tweaked somewhat in the design and manufacturing.
(Just f.y.i, and because some buyers have been hesitant due to a fear
of getting stuck with dead pixels on the panel they buy, Planar has
what is by far the best panel-replacement policy in the industry.
Also some of the best ergonomics.) But none of these LCD monitors
made the grade, in my estimation.

   The whole issue was crystallized for me on the last trip I made
to Fry's. There, I ran into another shopper, on a similar mission --
an American of German extraction, with a decided accent. He was
rather meticulous and exacting -- could have been a Mercedes Benz
plant manager, or something of that nature -- as reflected in his
comments as we strode the aisles checking out one display after
another. He said to me, "You know, I don't play the games, I don't
care about running videos, so this "ghosting" business doesn't concern
me; I just want the text in business programs to look as good as it
does on a really good CRT. Is that too much to ask ? " But, panel
after panel, manufacturer after manufacturer, he would say to me: "And
look at this one. It looks like S**T ! Text is all jaggy, like the
old dot matrix printouts -- not even a very good dot matrix. See, we
can change the font six times, and change the font sizes. We can go
with the native (optimum) resoultion, or another that's -- what did
you call it -- interpolated ? Doesn't matter, it all still looks like
S**T. See this one over here ? Supposed to be black text on a white
background, but look just a bit closely, and you can see greens or
reds bleeding through from behind the black letters. That really
bothers me." I seemed to know quite a bit more about computer
hardware than he did, and this guy was hoping I might have some good
news for him, but I didn't.

   It was nice to find out that I may be critical, but I'm not
crazy, re what I've been seeing. Other observers have noted the same
things. The proprietor of the repair shop, who *really* knows his
hardware, monitors of all kinds in particular, concurred. But the
panels are what's hot now, what's here to stay, and the CRTs are --
like many other things -- on the way out. The Eizo rep told me that,
not long ago, their business used to be 90 / 10 in favor of the CRTs;
now the proportions are tilting in the opposite direction, despite the
prices their LCD line commands. Also, the Q.C. is generally not what
it was, and even the better CRTs still being made may not last as long
as their predecessors. Not good.

   The Dosbox and LCD panel display issues relative to XyWrite have
been discussed quite a bit on this List. These are issues I was
prepared to deal with, even looking forward to dealing with. I know
I'll have to deal with them at some point. But, in the end, I punted,
buying some more time. Maybe by then, some superior panel
technologies will have presented themselves. For now, I got what I
hope is the best larger monitor I could find, for sure the best one I
can still lift ! Call it the Last Hurrah for CRTs, which I didn't
want to miss out on. It's another Iiyama, the Pro-454. Only a 19"-er
(equals a true 18", in CRT-ese), which is a size compromise vs. the
prior 21"-er, though hopefully not too much of one. Looks to be a
very intelligent design, significantly lighter, with a very good,
sharp, detailed picture, although perhaps not quite up to the level of
its two predecessors. Even the smaller print on some websites is
pleasantly readable, most of the time, which is something you can't
say about the panels. It cost less than 1/3 of what I paid for the
21" Iiyama four years ago. Running things like Xy remains a
no-brainer, with no hoops at all to be jumped through.


Reporting from somewhere in the Pleistocene,

Jordan