I guess I've never posted in this thread yet, despite the fact that I have many CRTs.

Current set up with Samsung SyncMaster 763MB. Fantastic monitor, original owner apparently barely used it before upgrading to an LCD. And it shows, as it is by far the brightest monitor I own.

Older set up from 3 years ago, showing my Sony Trinitron CPD-100SX. I like the monitor, but it is clear that it was well used previously. Have to turn up the brightness all the way to get a "normal" looking picture. Still too dark, as evidenced in dark games like Doom where I am forced to increase the gamma ingame, whereas with the previous Samsung monitor, I can leave it at the default with the monitor at much, much lower brightness setting.

And a bunch of PVMs too... yeah I may have a bit of a problem.

so that's where all the PVMs are hiding!

that small 15" sony is lovely though :3

I may finally post some pictures when I get to set up the basement later this month... I hope...

Samsung SyncMaster 550s
Nothing fancy, just a small 15" CRT for playing DOS games (70Hz on 17" kills my eyes 😀

Currently my only CRT, I rescued it (a 17" Viewsonic A70) from a local electronics recycling yard. Pretty run of the mill, and non-flat, but it's doing the job for now. Been on the lookout for a 19-21" flat screen, fingers crossed I'll get lucky soon. 😀

I prefer non-flat for retro stuff ^^

imi wrote on 2020-09-03, 23:02:

I prefer non-flat for retro stuff ^^

I definitely get you. I do too, except in the case of a lot of Win 95/98 games (which that particular work in progress is aimed at). For DOS games, and especially 80s titles, the curved screen is part of the charm.

This particular build is aimed more at like Mechwarrior 2, Freespace, Wing Commander IV & Prophecy, etc. 😀

I will begin with this. Perhaps I am the first to submit a broken monitor for review. Dumb, I know. Now then. This monitor I purchased in 2005 from a second hand shop. I had had a 19" flatscreen ViewSonic. Well, to make a long story short, phosphor damage occurred, sent it back to ViewSonic for $75 shipping, they sent me back broken trash, and I chose to put the next $75 into this instead.

The shop didn't have any 19" flatscreens, so I went with this 17" and I thought, other than it looking a little red (which it always did) it was a fine picture. If anything, a little finer than the ViewSonic although smaller obviously. I used it until 2007 and moved away. My stepmother at some point "salvaged" it from my belongings and used it until 2013. Then I took it back. Was still fine.

Around this point the case began to crack apart. Never seen this happen on other monitors. I guess it's just part of the curse of being me for this to happen. Pictures tell the story. It's like the tube will fall out of the case! Then, while transporting it, I reached across the monitor and foolishly used the grill to support my hand. **CRACK** That was a bad night.

I briefly used it for maybe 6 months or a year afterwards. Always seemed too red or the colors were washed out if not. Then I put it in a closet which got a little damp. I pulled it out one day for something. Turn on. I saw the screen appear, and then quickly dim until there was no backlighting left. In shadow, I could just make out the screen. That's it, I guess. Even if it could be fixed, the case is broken!

Bleh.

Viewsonic PF790

hwh wrote on 2020-09-04, 03:49:

Well, to make a long story short, phosphor damage occurred, sent it back to ViewSonic for $75 shipping, they sent me back broken trash

What's the story behind this? I just can't imagine how a warranty service could function like that.
In Hungary the vendor/manufacturer pays all shipping costs under warranty. From there they:

- repair the hardware and return it to the customer (if it has to be repaired 3 times with the same problem the customer gets full refund)
- give the customer a new unit if the defective one is irrepairable
- give full refund if the irrepairable unit can't be replaced with the same model

So how come you had to pay for return shipping and still got a broken unit back?

Miphee wrote on 2020-09-04, 07:21:

What's the story behind this? I just can't imagine how a warranty service could function like that. In Hungary the vendor/manufa […]
Show full quote

hwh wrote on 2020-09-04, 03:49:

Well, to make a long story short, phosphor damage occurred, sent it back to ViewSonic for $75 shipping, they sent me back broken trash

What's the story behind this? I just can't imagine how a warranty service could function like that.
In Hungary the vendor/manufacturer pays all shipping costs under warranty. From there they:

- repair the hardware and return it to the customer (if it has to be repaired 3 times with the same problem the customer gets full refund)
- give the customer a new unit if the defective one is irrepairable
- give full refund if the irrepairable unit can't be replaced with the same model

So how come you had to pay for return shipping and still got a broken unit back?

Well that's a good question. For one, I lived in Hawai'i and the ViewSonic RMA address was in California, and they (everyone) loved to refuse all shipping options that weren't 2-day. As you can imagine that's outlandishly expensive. You pay more for shipping than the items being shipped. It's air mail. And do you think items arrived in 2 days? Hell, no!

ViewSonic for whatever reason required me to pay for shipping there, and then they pat themselves on the back for paying the return shipping. They didn't ship me back the same monitor - or even the same model. It was another 19" flatscreen. I got it and it worked, although IMO it looked less sharp and just more meh overall. It worked for a day or two. Then it wouldn't stick v-hold and turned to a chaotic, garbled mess when it turned on. It would have been better for me to keep the screen with the dead phosphors. One reason I didn't though was the damage was RIGHT IN THE CENTER of the screen where crosshairs go in games and I couldn't see a thing.

This process took two weeks. For them to send me someone else's broken monitor. Now, I didn't ask or try, but at that point I lost all confidence in/respect for ViewSonic's practices if not their products. I figured they would hold to policy and insist the next monitor be shipped back. So I can play fucking monitor roulette with another $75 bet and see where it lands. Also, I was very unhappy with the idea of waiting another 2 weeks using some random 15" screen while they did that. So, it was a preponderance of factors that led me to look for a used screen elsewhere - and I did feel, whatever the shortcomings of the screen I got was, that the Trinitron was sharper, had better geometry, and was actually a very nice monitor of a reasonable size. No giant "luxury" screen, but, well, I left it there, having spent too much time and money on it already.

It's a sad story :p

hwh wrote on 2020-09-04, 08:11:

It's a sad story :p

Thanks for clearing that up, it's a true horror story. I hope companies like that are all gone in 2020.

Miphee wrote on 2020-09-04, 08:57:

hwh wrote on 2020-09-04, 08:11:

It's a sad story :p

Thanks for clearing that up, it's a true horror story. I hope companies like that are all gone in 2020.

Well...it was pretty lame, but it wasn't like something vintage being wrecked. I never bought a ViewSonic again. I always liked them though. I don't know if it was "my fault" it got damaged, but it was the monitor I picked out for my all new build in Dec. 2003.

Which reminds me...I took a picture of it back when the Sony was working in 2006. It's funny how you never think to take pictures of your own place, and years later all that remains of it is your memories.

hwh wrote on 2020-09-04, 03:49:

Around this point the case began to crack apart. Never seen this happen on other monitors. I guess it's just part of the curse of being me for this to happen. Pictures tell the story. It's like the tube will fall out of the case! Then, while transporting it, I reached across the monitor and foolishly used the grill to support my hand. **CRACK** That was a bad night.

I still own the CRT I bought in 1998, it's a generic "Diamond" branded (not Mitsubishi iirc) 17" and the case developed fine hairline cracks all over the place just sitting in storage for the last two decades... I'm a bit scared to move it around ^^

Bought a new in box LG F700B. I wrote in the "Bought this hardware today" -thread that I couldn't wait to unbox this thing, and quite literally I couldn't. Had to unbox this in the middle of a working day 😁

I really like how it looks. There's something about these flat CRTs that I like 😀

That is an excellent find and it looks like a nice monitor

It's shiny! You are lucky to find a new one. These are slot mask, quite bright even with age. I am using one though mine's OSD is worn out.

CrFr wrote on 2020-09-07, 14:07:

Bought a new in box LG F700B. I wrote in the "Bought this hardware today" -thread that I couldn't wait to unbox this thing, and quite literally I couldn't. Had to unbox this in the middle of a working day 😁

I really like how it looks. There's something about these flat CRTs that I like 😀

there's just something special about a NIB CRT 😁

That LG was actually the second new-in-box CRT I got from the same webshop. About a year ago, I bought this Hyundai ImageQuest V995 19". It can do 1600x1200@75Hz, and is very sharp at it. Overall, it is very enjoyable monitor. I always thought that one was a bit overkill to be used with 486, so I think I will replace it with this new LG, and maybe use the 19" one with Pentium III machine or something.

I didn't really need that LG right now, but it seemed that the shop might run out of stock quite soon, so I decided to buy one just in case. I don't think they are getting any more of these 😀

CrFr wrote on 2020-09-07, 14:07:

The attachment IMG_0998.JPG is no longer available

That looks like a pretty serious ?hamster? cage back there. Guniea Pig maybe? Looks like a nice custom job.

liqmat wrote on 2020-09-07, 15:17:

That looks like a pretty serious ?hamster? cage back there. Guniea Pig maybe? Looks like a nice custom job.

It is home of two degus. They require plenty of space, despite being small animals.