As people who know me know, I passionately hate TFT screens, for reasons not relevant right now. It is unfortunate that marketing has caused the superior type of monitor, the CRT, to disappear.
But, there are good sides to it, though. I was walking through a second-hand store the other day and saw and Eizo T961 21″ Flatscreen. Most people wouldn’t want such a thing because of its size, and that was probably the reason it was only 15 euros. I was curious as to its quality, so I bought it.
Aside from a few minor things and after recalibration (which these Eizo CRTs make possible through the on-screen menu), the image quality was very nice. In some respects even better than my own 19″ T766 (but granted, that one was better with it’s old picture tube, which was replaced when I had it repaired).
In any case, I now have a dual Eizo CRT setup, which cost me practically nothing.
Dual Eizo monitor setup
Edit: I use this image for calibration:
hey
care to share some pointers as how to calibrate these beasts? i just got a t962, and the automatic calibration on it just makes people green. adjusting gain and cut off manually on the other hand is too tricky for me.
unless i get the cut-off to some really high levels by the way the whole display is really bright, there is no real black point.
i got the drivers from eizo’s site and installed their icc profile, but still quality is worse than on my 10 year old 17″ cheap samsung. thanks a lot for help.
I attached the image I used for calibration. With that, you should be able to calibrate quite nicely.
You can always reset to factory settings if you mess things up.
Should the screen be too bright or too dark for calibration, you can adjust the G2 voltage (screen voltage) on the flyback transformer (there is a control for that on it). Be careful when you have it open though, because as you know, the insides of a CRT monitor are quite dangerous.
Also remember that the screen has to warm up an hour before you perform the calibration.
thanks. the instructions on image look simple enough, i’ll see what happens when i try to follow them. the g2 voltage adjustment you mention – i understand this requires opening the monitor and fiddling with the insides?
cheers
Yep, to adjust the G2 you need to open it up. Be sure to use a fully insulated screwdriver when you turn the potmeter, to avoid risking a short.
I don’t know how much you know about electronics, but it’s simpler than it appears. If you’re really uncomfortable with it, maybe you can let someone else do it.
Also, when you need to adjust the G2, it indicates that the picture tube is kind of worn down. You can still get years out of it sometimes, but it’s not a miracle cure.