HP A7217A vs Sony GDM-FW900: is there any difference?

[thedingus05]

Howdy,

I was wondering if anyone could tell me if there is any difference between these two monitors aside from the case color. The specs seem the same and I have heard that the HP is merely a rebranded Sony but no one has ever been very definitive about the whole situation. On ebay there is a $75 price difference and something inside me wants to believe this is more than just the color of the plastic.

Also, what if any monitor testing software should I use to check these suckers out if I try and buy one? I don't need it to be impeccably perfect or anything, I just want to know thats its not screwy.

Thanks for any help.

GDM-FW900

HP A7217A

 

[Mojoed]

They are electronically identical. The only differences are in the cosmetics and branding. I bought my A7217A from the same people you linked. I chose it over the Sony simply to save $75.

Best $225 I ever spent. The monitor is simply gorgeous.

Those guys are great by the way. I actually picked my A7217A up to save the $100 shipping charge. They even let me take my pick from a bunch of them, which turned out to be moot because they were all virtually perfect.

If you are also local, give them a call and ask for Lou. PM me if you want his direct line.

Good luck.

 

[Mojoed]

Oh, and 2048x1280 @85Hz on this monitor looks incredible. You won't be disappointed.

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: Mojoed
They are electronically identical. The only differences are in the cosmetics and branding. I bought my A7217A from the same people you linked. I chose it over the Sony simply to save $75.

Best $225 I ever spent. The monitor is simply gorgeous.

Those guys are great by the way. I actually picked my A7217A up to save the $100 shipping charge. They even let me take my pick from a bunch of them, which turned out to be moot because they were all virtually perfect.

If you are also local, give them a call and ask for Lou. PM me if you want his direct line.

Good luck.

Sounds nice...for $325 that's actually pretty tempting!

 

[dug777]

i wonder how much shipping to Perth, Western Australia, would be

 

[SynthDude2001]

Originally posted by: dug777
i wonder how much shipping to Perth, Western Australia, would be

Probably somewhere on the order of eleventy billion dollars

How about I buy one for you and you pick it up when you come visit me in Texas

 

[dug777]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001

Originally posted by: dug777
i wonder how much shipping to Perth, Western Australia, would be

Probably somewhere on the order of eleventy billion dollars

How about I buy one for you and you pick it up when you come visit me in Texas

hehe, now that would be expensive shipping

 

[Mojoed]

Originally posted by: SynthDude2001
Sounds nice...for $325 that's actually pretty tempting!

$225 for me, I picked it up. Still a good deal for you at $325 though.

I guess I'm lucky to live within 20 miles of the company selling these things.

 

[JRW]

I figured both were the same but gotta admit I wasnt 100% sure, I bought the Sony version from the same seller and its by far the best monitor I've owned. Definately a very high quality CRT.

Also, what if any monitor testing software should I use to check these suckers out if I try and buy one? I don't need it to be impeccably perfect or anything, I just want to know thats its not screwy.

I used the program located here to test my monitor: http://www.softpedia.com/get/Multimedia...r-VIDEO-Tools/Nokia-Monitor-Test.shtml ,once you select a pattern such as geometry you can left click the mouse to cycle through various patterns on most tests.

I was pleased to find the geometry & convergence very close to perfect, something I wasnt expecting from a 3 yr old widescreen CRT.

The only downside is the seller uses DHL for shipping which from my experiance is the worst of the 3 main companies when it comes to delivery speed (dhl / fedex / ups) ,even tho the monitor was shipped the very next morning DHL didnt actualy get it here until 10 days later, The seller packs the monitor extremely well and although mine arrived unscathed it looks like at least one person in this forum thread wasnt so lucky.

 

[Sonikku]

My FW900 has horrible geomtry. It doesn't look very sharp cosmeticly either.

 

[JRW]

Originally posted by: Sonikku
My FW900 has horrible geomtry. It doesn't look very sharp cosmeticly either.

It varies from unit to unit and usualy ends up being due to mishandling

 

[thedingus05]

Thanks for all the help guys, I think I'm gonna go grab one.

 

[ITPaladin]

Originally posted by: Mojoed
Oh, and 2048x1280 @85Hz on this monitor looks incredible. You won't be disappointed.

my 9600xt doesn't support that res

I don't know if it just me or what but it seems my HP just doesn't get bright enough.

Perhaps mine was a bit old on the tube, or I am missing something, or I got spoiled by the brightness on my 2005FPW sitting next to it.

I usually have to use the video player's (WMP, Core, etc) brightness / contrast settings to bring up what I am watching to a better viewing level.

I was told they are both the same except for color by them.