xbrite / opticlear etc...

[hans007]

i was at frys the other day and i was marveling at the xbrite / opticlear lcds.


i currently have a planar pl201m monitor (20" dvi lcd, 500:1 contrast, 25ms)

and its a great monitor, but the new LCDs with this glossy surface are much nicer.


i was wondering if any of you guys have them or know what models of what brands of monitors have that technology.

i've heard that the viewsonic vp191b has it, but i have seen a vp201b and it doesnt. so i am not so sure. can anyone confirm what lcd panels have this?

are there any drawbacks to these panels? in a store they look gorgeous. also are there any made by like acer or something, that dont cost ridiculous amounts. it costs more to get one of these in 17" than 2 of some budget 17 " lcds

 

[bigillz]

i saw the Sony XBRITE LCDs at the store the other day too, and have been researching ever since. The displays look extremely nice, far better than the typical "matte" LCD.

however, I need something bigger than 19" / 1280x1024. I've been using Mitsubishi Diamond Pro 2060U/2070SBs for years and won't go with a lower quality, far lower resolution display for my multimonitor setup.

so my question -- do other companies make displays with the Sony XBRITE technology under a different name? These screens look remarkably different than normal LCDs. I have refused to go to LCD screens until now because of the lower visual quality. They finally seem to be approaching CRTs with tech like this though.

The largest display Sony makes right now with this tech is the SDM-HS95P/B, a 19" 1280x1024 panel. Anyone know or have sources to find out if 20-24" panels with XBRITE are on the horizon? Sony tech support wouldn't say, and their last press release on XBRITE was in 2004.

I'm desperate to find a 1600x1200 20+" panel with this tech. Any info would make my day!

 

[BillyBobJoel71]

i don't like the glare, although they are beautiful.

 

[bigillz]

Originally posted by: SuperTyphoon
i don't like the glare, although they are beautiful.

I read that the new displays, in the Sony laptops at least, are getting a polarization that eliminates the glare. When I was checking out the displays in-store, I noticed no glare despite the blazing overhead flourescents. That was one of the things that impressed me most, that it had a huge viewing angle range and was remarkably glare-free despite its very deep glassy appearance

 

[hans007]

the only ones i've seen though are the sony xbrite series, the viewsonic vp191 and the nec 1770/1970 gx . they are really expensive though. i was hoping someone knew of some other brands.

 

[JackBurton]

I fell in love with Sony's XBrite LCDs when they first hit the market. They just make all the others pale in comparison. Hopefully they'll come out with a 24"+ version.

 

[bigillz]

Originally posted by: JackBurton
I fell in love with Sony's XBrite LCDs when they first hit the market. They just make all the others pale in comparison. Hopefully they'll come out with a 24"+ version.

that's what i'm sayin. the way their site advertises it, it's only a coating for the screen. i don't see what the holdup is on getting it on their bigger displays, and like i mentioned before, their press release about it was from 2004 HURRY IT UP SONY!

 

[n7]

I too have been searching for a 1600x1200 LCD with Opticlear/X-brite/etc....but there's nothing out there.

Hopefully LCD manufacturers will get on this soon, since the notebook market is nearly entirely using those screens now, & they look so much better than regular LCDs.

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: n7
I too have been searching for a 1600x1200 LCD with Opticlear/X-brite/etc....but there's nothing out there.

Hopefully LCD manufacturers will get on this soon, since the notebook market is nearly entirely using those screens now, & they look so much better than regular LCDs.

yeah the entire notebook market seems to be using them and only charging a $25-50 premium for it. if the premium was only that much for a desktop lcd i'd get one in ahurry.

 

[n7]

Yeah, right now where i work, the NECs are selling like crazy since we carry no others with that screen finish.

I don't understand why it's taking the manufacturers so long to get on the ball, since 80-90% of people will gladly pay extra for the Opticlear-style finish, myself included (if they make a 20"+ one).

 

[bigillz]

well i'm happy i'm not alone in this, but not too happy to find i was right in that there aren't any 20+" screens on the market. slackers!

 

[Auric]

I don't get it 'cause this schtuff is supposed to be anti-reflective/anti-glare but has the opposite affect.

 

[n7]

Originally posted by: Auric
I don't get it 'cause this schtuff is supposed to be anti-reflective/anti-glare but has the opposite affect.

I notice all the people who haven't actually used the screens complain about the glare.

In a retail store, you always have bright fluorescent lighting on all the notebooks & LCDs, so yes, there is slight glare.

But in a normal environment, that is rarely an issue.

Take this from my own experience with them:

When we first started carrying them, i wasn't very impressed...they seemed to have a bit more glare.
Then i started playing around with them all the time...& after a few days, i knew they were going to be a success.
Once you get used to it, it's so much better than the dull matte finish the normal LCDs have
BTW, for those of you who think there is bad glare from them, look at your CRT if you have one.
A CRT has far worse glare than these or normal LCDs do, yet i don't hear you complaining about their glare.

I think that i have had one complaint from a customer after buying a laptop with the Tru-Brite finish.

One complaint since it's come out. And i don't know how many hundreds of extremely happy customers who often chose their laptop because it had BrightView or Tru-Brite, & the other model they looked at didn't.

It is the future for LCDs, no doubt about it.

 

[hans007]

i tend to use my lcds at night, so i dont think glare would be much of an issue. the much more vibrant colors on those screens (or at least it seems like it) seems to be worth it.

supposedly the sony ones have 2 backlights too, so maybe that is part of the better looking quality.

 

[VIAN]

are there any drawbacks to these panels?

They glare like nobody's business.

BTW, for those of you who think there is bad glare from them, look at your CRT if you have one.
A CRT has far worse glare than these or normal LCDs do, yet i don't hear you complaining about their glare.

Those LCDs glare more and they don't glare flat, they have groves that is noticeable when you see the glare.

I agree that it looks amazing, like a CRT, great contrast and deep colors, but for nighttime play only, not any other way.

 

[pulsedrive]

Personally, having sold those damn things at Bestbuy for almost a year, I don't like them. Yeah, I always push it to the customer, because frankly, they probably won't ever notice a difference, since they are coming from a CRT anyway. But frankly, the monitors are FAR to expensive for what you get, the panels aren't that great, and what you end up paying for is the "oooooh, SHINEY!" effect. I mean hell, I can get that from a sacajaweia dollar. *shrugs* I wouldn't ever trade in my 2005FPW for one with that shiney crap on it, because just because you don't have giant flourescents above it, doesn't mean it won't glare, ever heard of track lights, pretty popular, and just as much of a pain for glare, if not more so, which is my personal problem in my computer room. *shrugs* not an issue with a non xbrite/tru-brite/opticlear monitor though.

 

[n7]

Weird...where i work, we don't push those monitors...they push themselves...

If you've worked selling those for a year, you'd have likely noticed that they have improved some of the glare issues as well.

We'll see. It still reamins to be seen if they will take over the desktop LCD market like they have the notebook market.

 

[bigillz]

Originally posted by: n7
Weird...where i work, we don't push those monitors...they push themselves...

If you've worked selling those for a year, you'd have likely noticed that they have improved some of the glare issues as well.

We'll see. It still reamins to be seen if they will take over the desktop LCD market like they have the notebook market.

it pains me having to wait for them to show up in the 22" range. i just dont like the look of the 2005FPW/planars/etc

 

[hans007]

Originally posted by: bigillz

Originally posted by: n7
Weird...where i work, we don't push those monitors...they push themselves...

If you've worked selling those for a year, you'd have likely noticed that they have improved some of the glare issues as well.

We'll see. It still reamins to be seen if they will take over the desktop LCD market like they have the notebook market.

it pains me having to wait for them to show up in the 22" range. i just dont like the look of the 2005FPW/planars/etc

i would too like a very stylish lookng one with a xbrite screen. the sonys that are out look fairly ok, but yeah. most of the good monitors out there are pretty boring looking and have no gloss. hopefully soon benq or something will come to the rescue with cheap true brite.

 

[Cloudius]

I currently moved from my old CRT to the SDM-HS95P/S b/c it just was the first LCD that could beat my CRT color and contrast wise, 19" is enough for me and the glare isnt that bad i only see it if i have one hell of a bright light behind me. Great monitor and it dosnt ghost, would recomend it to anyone, I dont know why ppl bitch about the glare so much i used at Best Buy and the glare from the CRT's is much worse than the Sony. I hate the grainy feel of the other LCD's

 

[tjaisv]

Any updated info on when the 20"+ xbrite/opticlear LCDs are coming out? Hopefully by the holiday season.

And hopefully we'll see some widescreen versions too.

 

[JackBurton]

Originally posted by: tjaisv
Any updated info on when the 20"+ xbrite/opticlear LCDs are coming out? Hopefully by the holiday season.

And hopefully we'll see some widescreen versions too.

:beer: Here's to hoping for this holiday season!

 

[Nextman916]

I always hear of people going to fry's and picking up comp hardware/accessories really cheap but there are none in Florida. Do you guys have any recommendations on where i can get stuff cheap around here?

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: n7
Once you get used to it, it's so much better than the dull matte finish the normal LCDs have
BTW, for those of you who think there is bad glare from them, look at your CRT if you have one.
A CRT has far worse glare than these or normal LCDs do, yet i don't hear you complaining about their glare.

I did hate the glare on my old CRT, and I never got used to it. So I'm a happy owner of a normal LCD. I have a huge window in the family room where my PC is and tons of light comes through so that's an issue for me. I assume some people may be in the same situation. In the store, the coated NEC screen's glare seemed worse than a CRT to me, but that was a long time ago that I checked. It also made finger oils/smear show up like a sore thumb.

 

[hans007]

i gave up on my quest to buy one of these screens.

even the cheapest 17" ones with the glossy screen was like $300. i ended up buying TWO brand new 17" planar normal anti glare screen ones for about $400 and think it was a better value.