Dell Trinitron / 19-Inch /Pure Flat CRT Monitor...$70!

[TechHead87]

http://www.tigerdirect.com/applications...tem-details.asp?EdpNo=615107&CatId=169

I'm seriously thinking about it! Anyone know how good the Dell brand is?

 

[imported_Bleh]

Its a sony trinitron crt just rebaged as dell so its a good monitor.

 

[mordantmonkey]

i'm still using the used dell monitor i got 5 years ago. still works perfectly. though it had only been used for 6 months and wasn't a refurb...

 

[mshan]

I bought 3 used Dell P991 (rebadged 19 inch Trinitron) monitors on eBay in the past (one for myself, two for my dad's video editing computer). One was fine, the other's blacks weren't quite right, and the third one had this awful red hue (some calibration was off and the only way to fix it would be to pay a technician to open it up and recalibrate it's internal, non-user accessible controls).

Overall, I'm happy because my purchase price was low, but if I had to do it again, I would only purchased an used CRT monitor that I can personally physically and visually inspect (i.e. Craigslist.org for your town) or get it from somewhere that has recalibrated it to original spec (I think there was an ebayer named cosmicdallsd or something that does that).

Otherwise, I would just buy an LCD (lower power consumption may save you some money long term).

EDIT: the Dell P991 Sony Trinitron rebadge does have a potentially beautiful picture, but remember that CRTs degrade with age, and unless it is packaged correctly, it will be damaged in transit (e.g. the plastic base of one of mine was cracked).

 

[TechHead87]

I heard somewhere the CRT's were better for vido editing than LCDs...is this true?

 

[mordantmonkey]

Originally posted by: TechHead87
I heard somewhere the CRT's were better for vido editing than LCDs...is this true?

dollar for dollar you get better IQ with CRT's. However many (most?) major motion pictures are edited on high dollar LCD's.

 

[Aztech]

I had a 19" DeLL (P992?) CRT. The picture was gorgeous! I was never gonna trade it in for an LCD unless something happened to it. Now it has been claimed in the floods of Katrina. LCD Time! Seriously, other than the bulk and weight of it, it could be a hot buy if it still works right.

 

[Eureka]

Originally posted by: TechHead87
I heard somewhere the CRT's were better for vido editing than LCDs...is this true?

Generally yes, smoother images, better colors, better blacks... and cheap too. However, LCDs are getting better with time, but now is not the time.

Norm

 

[mshan]

I believe that there is no geometry distortion with LCDs and my dad's dell 1905FP has colors that seem a lot more accurate and vibrant than his Dell P991.

Photos look awesome on that display, that dvds aren't as great because of the lack of shadow detail in the blacks and overall the image just seems more 2d than a good crt.

 

[Eureka]

Not with blacks though.... LCDs don't have real blacks.

Norm

 

[Macro2]

Are these new or refurb?

Dell (sony) trinitrons are the best there is.

 

[mininuke]

what is better iq mean
thank you

 

[dud]

Is your desk deep enough to fit this unit? I games my older 19" CRT to my son and replaced it with a 19" Samsung LCD and rediscovered my desk.

 

[PandaBear]

The shipping is going to kill you. My personal opinion at work is that DELL CRTs don't last as long as other brands.

 

[Inappropriate4AT]

In my experience LCDs have always looked better in their native resolution than any CRT I've owned. General picture quality is overall much better, the only 2 areas I would consider CRTs to have up the upside on are resolution scaling (beyond a certain point, typically 10x7 looks fine on a 12x10 LCD, and 8x6 and below looks like crap) and black levels in some games/movies. Depending on what kind of material you'll be working with it could go either way.

 

[mshan]

Quality LCD blacks are slightly milky black, but more importantly, they don't have the shadow detail (i.e. seeing nuance in really dark, blackish areas) that CRTs can have.

Colors on my dad's LCD really are vibrant and have tremendous pop to them with quality digital photos and, at least to me, seem more accurate than those on my Dell.

I think an LCD would be fine for video editing. If you're producing stuff that will be viewed on a CRT television, you can always connect a tv via your computer graphics card's S-video output and mirror what ever's on your LCD screen.

My only hesitation in recommending an LCD monitor would be for home theater uses (or if you use the display primarily for watching tv or dvds), but then again you aren't really going to use a 19 inch screen for serious home theater uses.

EDIT: Did you look at Craiglist.org for your area. If your budget can't afford an LCD, at least get a CRT locally, so you don't have to pay shipping costs, and more importantly, you can see if there are any problems with crt degrading with age.

 

[JBT]

Have you checked the shipping on this thing? UPS ground to AZ costs $56 bucks....

 

[aatf510]

These are the cheap Sony E-Series models, and from that design, it looks like an old model as well.

 

[itakey]

I've had a Dell Trinitron P991 for probably about 6 years now and I still use it every single day in conjuntion with a Dell LCD. Both are good for different things. I always find myself relying on the CRT for Print work and true colors. I keep it calibrated very close to real printer colors and it does a great job overall.

If their monitors are in good condition and are the same as the one I got, I would buy another today! For the price you can't go wrong....as long as shipping isn't an arm and a leg

 

[jagec]

I loved my refurb Dell P1110 (21" Trinitron)...it lasted about three years before crapping out. That thing sure was heavy though. Wow. It was awful to move it at the start and end of every school year

 

[nyker96]

sounds like a decent deal, in the old times 19 trinitron is like 400 bucks each

 

[jjmIII]

Buy my flat 19" CRT instead

 

[MrBaseball]

Do not buy any of the refurb monitors at Tiger Direct that start with the part number J156. Ive been buying lots of refurb monitors for work and we used to get great refurb monitors until Tiger switched vendors. Every monitor we have received from this new vendor with the J156 part number has been crap. Blury picture, big gashes out of the case, part of the anti glare coating gone....stay away.

 

[cordite]

Definitely make sure you have a TV or video monitor connected to your editing system for evaluating the image regardless of whether you're using a CRT or LCD as a primary display.

 

[cremefilled]

If you have an LCD, try setting your desktop background as a solid color, like light blue or peach. You'll notice that it appears lighter in some portions of the screen, and that these portions shift around as you move your head. This is because A) an LCD is using 2 or 3 backlights, which can't be perfectly diffused, and B) an LCD simply looks different at different angles. Another test would be to set up identical LCD's side-by-side and see if they continue to look identical as you shift your head slightly. (They won't.)

And as noted, LCD's don't have true blacks. They block out "most" of the backlight, but are still somewhat translucent. This is very different than the tube monitor simply not lighting the raster grid for black.

I'm not a graphics artist, but I know a few, and they all use high-end tubes.