Post your recent purchases (with pics)

[Silenus]

I need to hang out with Phil, he gets amazing deals.

Just bought an Isimple ipod and bluetooth kit for my Murano.
Able to control all ipods/iphones, aux mp3, rca and bluetooth though the original stereo is very appealing.

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DELL XPS 13 ULTRABOOK

...Mis sueños son mentiras que algun día dejarán de serlo...

[redlofredlof]

I will never buy an ipod
smartphones these days are better

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[Phil]

Originally Posted by Princess Garnet

Pictures from a camera aren't necessarily indicative of the whole (it's not helping when that other monitor is a TN panel and shot from a different angle too, so consider the comparison you're making), and brightness itself does not equal better anyway. That type of perception is the one showrooms feed by turning everything to it's vivid presets. I prefer more subtle displays. When I got my HDTV, the first things I did was disable all the "features", especially that horrid variable contrast that the multimedia and gaming modes usually have active, turn down the backlight/brightness/sharpness, etc.

The Ultrasharp has more accurate color controls, the Samsung needs lots of tweaking to make everything look as good. On movies the TV looks better, as well as games. On web pages (on which I use the Ultrasharp for) the TV is average, possibly due to the low ppi.

And even though the Hanns G is TN, it still reproduces reasonably accurate color. I use it as a reference. To be honest the gap between TN and IPS on consumer grade monitors is not as large as some claim them to be. Sure there is a variance of color when you move the monitor down, but on a very good TN, as in some Samsung panels, that's even minimized. The only IPS I have seen personally that murders TN is NEC, Eizo and LaCIe models, which have the real color engines instead of LG's lower grade crap (which unfortunately is in the majority of IPS monitors, including all the Dell's.)

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Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others

[ElijahTW]

Originally Posted by Silenus

I need to hang out with Phil, he gets amazing deals.

Just keep your eyes open. Good deals are fairly easy to come by if you look around.

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"I used to think gas was expensive, then I realized we're buying liquid exploding dinosaurs."

[Princess Garnet]

Originally Posted by Phil

To be honest the gap between TN and IPS on consumer grade monitors is not as large as some claim them to be.

The colors are one part of it; the viewing angles are another (the shifting drives me insane; just knowing you don't have a uniform reproduction makes it an unfortunate display in my eyes), and people will always say "it's not that big of a deal", but I don't let stuff slide on that. That's the same stuff that was parroted about ghosting, colors, and viewing angles of the TN panels when LCDs first started taking over. Given how long it took me, yes, it's a big deal to me, and yes, the UltraSharp U2410 didn't have colors that matched my CRT. It's a shame you have to spend ten grand for a good LCD. Good CRTs weren't cheap in their day either though.

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"The heart has it's reasons that reason knows nothing of."

[Silenus]

Originally Posted by ElijahTW

Just keep your eyes open. Good deals are fairly easy to come by if you look around.

The most important part of getting deals is to have money on hand.

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DELL XPS 13 ULTRABOOK

...Mis sueños son mentiras que algun día dejarán de serlo...

[ElijahTW]

Originally Posted by Silenus

The most important part of getting deals is to have money on hand.

That's also helpful.

Or you could always build up a massive wall of credit card debt you could never afford to pay back in a million years.

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"I used to think gas was expensive, then I realized we're buying liquid exploding dinosaurs."

[SCHUMI_4EVER]

Crappy new speakers to replace my busted ones.

Could have bought Logitech X-530s since they were going ultra cheap but 97% of the time I don't even use speakers so despite the massive bargain (they were 50% off and cheaper than many 2.1 sets) I got these ones instead.

I absolutely can't stand how they look (what you see is what you get on the box so no need for further pics) and they've got like 14W max power but they're loud enough for my needs and I guess that makes them good enough.

Also had the option of getting Creative SBS A320s but I could find any mention of a headphone jack and the dude wasn't willing to open the box so I can look. Also quite dinky when it comes to power but at least they look better than what I got.

Bah, it's killing me that I didn't get the X-530s, such a good deal even if I don't have any need for 5.1 speakers or even the necessary outputs or even enough room on my desk as things are.

The headphone jack and volume dial being separated from the speakers is quite nice though.

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Intel Core2Quad Q9550 (2.83Ghz stock) | ASUS P5Q | 2x2GB Transcend JetRam DDR2-800 | ASUS ENGTX260\HDTP\896M | Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1

The Champ has retired but may his Legacy live on FOREVER !!!!

No$GBA DS FAQ 2.0

Get it right fools! The glass is HALF-EMPTY, not half-full!!!

!!! WARNING: Emulation requires a brain !!! WARNING: Emulation =/= Piracy !!!

[Phil]

Originally Posted by Silenus

I need to hang out with Phil, he gets amazing deals.

Just bought an Isimple ipod and bluetooth kit for my Murano.
Able to control all ipods/iphones, aux mp3, rca and bluetooth though the original stereo is very appealing.

Just get a Craigslist app and be diligent.

Originally Posted by Princess Garnet

The colors are one part of it; the viewing angles are another (the shifting drives me insane; just knowing you don't have a uniform reproduction makes it an unfortunate display in my eyes), and people will always say "it's not that big of a deal", but I don't let stuff slide on that. That's the same stuff that was parroted about ghosting, colors, and viewing angles of the TN panels when LCDs first started taking over. Given how long it took me, yes, it's a big deal to me, and yes, the UltraSharp U2410 didn't have colors that matched my CRT. It's a shame you have to spend ten grand for a good LCD. Good CRTs weren't cheap in their day either though.

If you just want colors, get a plasma display. I haven't experienced any display that can match a plasma color wise, it's one of the few displays that can produce deep color. LCD's or IPS's panels cannot match them. The only thing that comes close is aperture grill CRT's, and they tend to lack true black.

To put things in perspective, only a handful a LCD based panels sport full 10 bit color (1.3 billion colors). Plasma displays tend to be 12 bit, 16 bit and up on the good ones. They are just not good for computer monitors for a verity of reasons. To put thing in perspective a top of the line plasma has to grunt to pump out a theoretical 68 Billion colors. Anyone who says LED is better than a plasma is a complete idiot.

Blu Rays are encoded in 8-Bit so all those extra colors are wasted.

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Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others

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Last edited by Phil; June 18th, 2012 at 23:53..

[Fadingz]

OLED and QLED are better than plasma is, just not on the market or at an affordable price yet.
LED is a lot cheaper than plasma is, nonetheless.

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[Phil]

Ive seen OLED, and they are good. LG has a set out, and Sony has had an OLED set out since 2008. Expensive. But still, not outright better than plasma. Come on, the Kuro still has not been clearly surpassed on the color front. And that's just sad. And OLED's degrade like hell, just when displaying blue. They also require like twice the juice when pumping out white on the screen. The only thing wrong with plasma is the horribly slow input lag and the oversize dot pitch.

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Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others

[Yeloazndevil]

Originally Posted by SCHUMI_4EVER

Crappy new speakers to replace my busted ones.

Could have bought Logitech X-530s since they were going ultra cheap but 97% of the time I don't even use speakers so despite the massive bargain (they were 50% off and cheaper than many 2.1 sets) I got these ones instead.

I absolutely can't stand how they look (what you see is what you get on the box so no need for further pics) and they've got like 14W max power but they're loud enough for my needs and I guess that makes them good enough.

Also had the option of getting Creative SBS A320s but I could find any mention of a headphone jack and the dude wasn't willing to open the box so I can look. Also quite dinky when it comes to power but at least they look better than what I got.

Bah, it's killing me that I didn't get the X-530s, such a good deal even if I don't have any need for 5.1 speakers or even the necessary outputs or even enough room on my desk as things are.

The headphone jack and volume dial being separated from the speakers is quite nice though.

I used to have those speakers before I just connected the damn pc to my a/v receiver. They are decent speakers

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Nintendo Network ID: Yeloazndevil

[SCHUMI_4EVER]

They're decent yeah but I can't stand the way they look. That chrome plastic where the driver sits is just hideous.

And I still regret not getting the X-530s, such a damn good deal.

__________________

Intel Core2Quad Q9550 (2.83Ghz stock) | ASUS P5Q | 2x2GB Transcend JetRam DDR2-800 | ASUS ENGTX260\HDTP\896M | Windows Vista Home Premium 64bit SP1

The Champ has retired but may his Legacy live on FOREVER !!!!

No$GBA DS FAQ 2.0

Get it right fools! The glass is HALF-EMPTY, not half-full!!!

!!! WARNING: Emulation requires a brain !!! WARNING: Emulation =/= Piracy !!!

[Princess Garnet]

Originally Posted by Phil

If you just want colors, get a plasma display.

Find me a 24" 1920 x 1200 one under ~$500. If not, the UltraSharp U2410 was a better choice.

Color bit is but one metric of a display, and having 12+ bits means little. Having more than 8 is actually the very reason I wanted to rid myself of the UltraSharp U2410. Wide gamut is a pain when not used right, or at best, wasted and useless.

Originally Posted by Phil

I haven't experienced any display that can match a plasma color wise, it's one of the few displays that can produce deep color. The only thing that comes close is aperture grill CRT's, and they tend to lack true black.

That's not unanimous fact. I could just as easily say the better CRTs are considered the real measuring bar for Blacks because I'd say you have it backwards on the "comes close" part". There's testimonials from people moving from Trintrons to them (including the Kuros) and they weren't too impressed, even if the plasma was still very good/close. Some may have liked the plasma, but they're not outright superior. The only thing they are to is LCD, but anything is better than LCD at Blacks. CRTs don't actually lack Blacks; it's that ambient light destroys it. If I remember right, isn't plasma not too dissimilar? Isn't that why both shine in darker rooms?

Also, it's subjective, but Plasma has that electronic look like LCDs do to me; CRTs don't. They're also heavier and bigger on power, the very opposite the thin trend went for. You may say they're a good middle ground then between thinness and IQ, and they are, but they're also expensive and have a higher dot pitch. That's why they're mostly good for those with disposable income for dedicated theater rooms of bigger displays or IQ junkies and that's about it.

Plasma isn't as perfect as you make it sound. Picture quality is greatly variable between models just as it is for other types.

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"The heart has it's reasons that reason knows nothing of."

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Last edited by Princess Garnet; June 19th, 2012 at 01:55..

[Phil]

Originally Posted by Princess Garnet

Find me a 24" 1920 x 1200 one under ~$500. If not, the UltraSharp U2410 was a better choice.

Huh? I didn't mention them at all being good for a computer monitor, unless manufactured for that purpose. Plasma's cannot be made smaller than 32" anyway. I was speaking rhetorically.

Color bit is but one metric of a display, and having 12+ bits means little. Having more than 8 is actually the very reason I wanted to rid myself of the UltraSharp U2410. Wide gamut is a pain when not used right, or at best, wasted and useless.That's not unanimous fact. I could just as easily say the better CRTs are considered the real measuring bar for Blacks because I'd say you have it backwards on the "comes close" part". There's testimonials from people moving from Trintrons to them (including the Kuros) and they weren't too impressed, even if the plasma was still very good/close.

Having more colors does not make a monitor or display "wide gamut". Wide gamut deals with primary colors along the color space of visible colors.

Plasma's use "shades", like a a plasma can have over 4000 shades of gray. The blending affect make pictures look more vibrant even under "normal gamut".

Instead of listening to me, simply do a test. take the best Trinitron you can, and put one along side a high end plasma and see which one wins out in color. Most of the people that were not impressed had first gen plasmas (which are horrible) or just plain old fashioned. "I want my 4:3!! I hate widescreens!" I get that alot

Some may have liked the plasma, but they're not outright superior. The only thing they are to is LCD, but anything is better than LCD at Blacks. CRTs don't actually lack Blacks; it's that ambient light destroys it. If I remember right, isn't plasma not too dissimilar? Isn't that why both shine in darker rooms?

Shine? The pixel in a plasma has to be per-charged to produce visible light, so black is not true black as there is light emitting, but that's not what I would call shine. On good plasma's, especially 8G Kuro's, a black screen in a black room is hardly perceptible.

Also, it's subjective, but Plasma has that electronic look like LCDs do to me; CRTs don't.

? A plasma has a high dot pit with a fast refresh, making them look very similar to a CRT screen. The plasmas you have seen must be low grade or non calibrated. People actually by Plasma's because they don't look electronic and soap opera-y. They are more natural on the eyes.

They're also heavier and bigger on power, the very opposite the thin trend went for.

Plasma's was the original thin TV's, and most high end ones can be one inch thin or less. As for power consumption, it depends on the mode, and what you are viewing. As with other phosphorus based panels such as OLED, white takes much more energy to reproduce. A good plasma takes 170-300 watts to run for a 50". On vivid mode, it takes up to 650w or more for a 65". Smaller screens use less. An LCD screen can use up to 290w or more depending on size.

You may say they're a good middle ground then between thinness and IQ, and they are, but they're also expensive and have a higher dot pitch. That's why they're mostly good for those with disposable income for dedicated theater rooms of bigger displays or IQ junkies and that's about it.

Exactly. I never said otherwise. They should not be used for computers, unless running HDMI. If you run VGA, it can bypass a certain chip on the board that refreshes the screen to prevent burn in.

Plasma isn't as perfect as you make it sound. Picture quality is greatly variable between models just as it is for other types.

It's not perfect, and I never said it was. They plenty of drawbacks, and I named a few.

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Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others

[Princess Garnet]

Originally Posted by Phil

Plasma's use "shades", like a a plasma can have over 4000 shades of gray.

All displays work that way, in effect, no? They have a part of a pixel that makes up a pixel that lets a certain amount of light through (producing White on one end, Black on the other, and Grey between), and the different values make different colors.

Originally Posted by Phil

Instead of listening to me, simply do a test. take the best Trinitron you can, and put one along side a high end plasma and see which one wins out in color. Most of the people that were not impressed had first gen plasmas (which are horrible) or just plain old fashioned. "I want my 4:3!! I hate widescreens!" I get that alot

Like I have those just laying around... (!)

Maybe it's that most people don't just all think the same thing because it's subjective?

For example, remember that you're the one who had to go buy a CRT to see what I was always clamoring about, and then you didn't like it so much, perhaps since you were already raised in on the look of LCD and plasma, so that's what you like?

To each their own, but CRT is generally more heralded for it's Blacks than Plasma is. Don't try the "that was older plasma stuff"; that may be true to a degree but Spyhop tried the same line when arguing LCDs as overall superior so I'll only let that slide to a degree. Perhaps a large reason you hear plasma is so great is because A) it can come very close to a good CRT, and B) CRT is practically out of the picture, so compared to the other standard (LCD), it's no contest that plasma wins that out.

Originally Posted by Phil

Shine? The pixel in a plasma has to be per-charged to produce visible light, so black is not true black as there is light emitting, but that's not what I would call shine. On good plasma's, especially 8G Kuro's, a black screen in a black room is hardly perceptible.

I don't know, hence I was asking. I was just saying that CRTs have truer Blacks but because they don't look it in higher ambient light that they can appear Greyer than they can be (some people even take pictures to try and make LCDs look better at Black, and considering how poor LCDs are at Blacks but that a picture can make it look better shows how bad it can otherwise seem from how good they are, especially in darker lit rooms). Your last line, saying it's hardly perceptible in a dark room, seems to suggest an answer to my question that plasma has similar weaknesses in more light?

Originally Posted by Phil

? A plasma has a high dot pit with a fast refresh, making them look very similar to a CRT screen. The plasmas you have seen must be low grade or non calibrated. People actually by Plasma's because they don't look electronic and soap opera-y. They are more natural on the eyes.

We must be talking about something else. There's something about modern displays that make them look more electronic to me than CRTs did.

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"The heart has it's reasons that reason knows nothing of."

[snickothemule]

Nice tv Phil.



Got my stupid Yamakasi today.



Looks like I got a model that shows reflections. Ah, no matter.



Camera flash behaviour.



Pretty much what I see.



Led torch pointed directly at the screen.



Torch on an angle to the screen.

Am I satisfied with what I got? In my mind I was going to accept whatever I got as this whole exercise was directed on impulse. I won't use it at work as that would be problematic with the lighting, but for home it's great as the screen doesn't face any windows. I'll use my existing monitor as a second screen at work and leave it at that.

There doesn't seem to be any dead pixels which rocks, and predictably the stand is rubbish. Overall for 320 wing wangs I'm more than satisfied, I would be ecstatic with a model that didn't reflect as much as it does, but for my needs I'm fine with it.

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My grass is the greenest.

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Last edited by snickothemule; June 19th, 2012 at 09:12..

[Princess Garnet]

It's risky removing AG coating, but if you fancy disassembling it a bit, I think you can buy material (perhaps light AG coating) and put it in? That is, if it bothers you enough.

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"The heart has it's reasons that reason knows nothing of."

[snickothemule]

I've looked at what's involved and have decided against it. Now I have to get used to a big **** off screen in front of my face. Gonna have to readjust my desk to suit.

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My grass is the greenest.

[Phil]

Looks good And thanks.

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Vision is the art of seeing what is invisible to others