Wonder why Sony stopped making the FW900 CRT monitor...

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imaheadcase

Diamond Member
May 9, 2005
3,850
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Uhm, 20 years ago there really was no GPU acceleration. There was like the MACH64 and such from ATI, but it was for 2d acceleration. Mostly to aid in doing graphics work on a computer.

15 years ago 3d GPU's started to take off. 3dFX was in their hay-day, and there was about 20 other GPU companies. However, games were very simple. Quake 1 was not a game that required huge amounts of processing power. I remember playing Quake World (Damn I miss that game) on a ATI Rage Pro Turbo with 6MB of RAM. Then I upgraded to a 8MB Voodoo II and the game would peg out the 72fps game limit at 1024x768.

However, games keep getting more and more advanced. And screen resolutions keep going up and up. 1024x768 has 786,432 pixels. 1920x1080 has 2,073,600 pixels. So obviously 1080 is going to require more hardware. And so long as games keep getting better looking, they will require more GPU power to run.

However it should be noted that todays top GPU's use less power than top end GPU's from a few years ago, yet are way faster at the same time.


I realize that, but the fact remains you didn't need all the "extra" stuff that goes into a card today that you did then and still have a awesome card. Most people don't care about all the extra "fancy" stuff that game engines use nowadays, heck competitive players turn most graphic settings off. The "Problem" is that games now will require you to have a card that will use the extra features to even play it now. Which is really sad.
 

paul878

Senior member
Jul 31, 2010
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It takes 2 IT guys to swap out one of those monitor back in the day, and no one wants to do it. Just Imagine you have to swap out a dozen of those on a bad day.
 

Makaveli

Diamond Member
Feb 8, 2002
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It takes 2 IT guys to swap out one of those monitor back in the day, and no one wants to do it. Just Imagine you have to swap out a dozen of those on a bad day.

lol I couldn't imagine how many people pulled a muscle in their back lifting this monitor back in the day.
 

Stuka87

Diamond Member
Dec 10, 2010
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It takes 2 IT guys to swap out one of those monitor back in the day, and no one wants to do it. Just Imagine you have to swap out a dozen of those on a bad day.

This reminds me of a funny story. Back when I was a senior in high school (98-99), our school got a grant to update a computer lab. So they replaced the aging Macintosh LC520's with new G3 desktops. So some of us came in on a Saturday to set them up with the teacher who admin'ed the labs.

So the truck shows up, and has fourty of everything on board. It took us about 10 seconds to realize they sent us the wrong monitors. Instead of the 17" ones we ordered, they sent us 21" displays. So we carried all *FOURTY* 21" CRT's up into the computer lab. The boxes those things came in were HUGE. They were so big once setup they only had about one inch of clearance between each station. Those things were amazingly heavy. After contacting Apple they said to keep them, too much work to swap them out.

Three months later they started failing one by one due to the magnetic field around them hitting the displays next to them. So they had to be swapped out to 17's after all.

Amazing what a high schooler will do for free pizza.
 

nitromullet

Diamond Member
Jan 7, 2004
9,031
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I guess another reason they stopped making them is because a 24" screen really isn't anything special anymore. Back when the FW900 came out 21" 1600x1200 CRT's were already not terribly commonplace due to their price tag, and something like the FW900 was incredibly expensive and rare. I've actually never seen one in real, but remember the first time I saw one online I think my jaw literally dropped.

Fast forward to today, 23-24" screens are the norm, 27" displays are pretty common, and I imagine that there are more people running 30" LCD's than there ever were people with an FW900. Those 30" screen owners were once the FW900 customers, and there is no way you could get any of them to use a 24" screen anymore.
 

blackened23

Diamond Member
Jul 26, 2011
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lol I couldn't imagine how many people pulled a muscle in their back lifting this monitor back in the day.

Yeah. And this is probably one of the biggest reasons that CRTs went out of favor. I've said it before and i'll say it again - every panel technology has draw-backs, and nothing is perfect. While CRTs had great black levels and good motion fluidity, the trade-offs were heavy weight, excessive heat output/power consumption, geometry issues, convex (ie not flat) screens on many smaller CRT models (and yes I know most Trinitrons were flatscreen), convergence, etc. CRTs were hardly perfect, and in the end people just don't want to lug around a 60 pound 19 inch CRT when you can get a 27 inch IPS panel that is literally effortless to lift and weights like 10 pounds. And uses much less power, with no geometry errors, trinitron dampening wires, or convergence problems.

Again, LCDs aren't perfect either. But the trade-offs are worth it in comparison to CRTs, IMHO. Aside from this, OLED is the most promising new technology on the horizon but alas, it is also not perfect. I guess we'll have to see what manufacturers come up with.
 
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Sheep221

Golden Member
Oct 28, 2012
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I still have my old CRT stored in the closet as necessary backup if anything would happen, maybe it will get some use again in distant future in some project but not right now, I have 3 22" LCDs in my room now and they are great, all are TNs, I'm not heavily relying on color retention.
 

Destiny

Platinum Member
Jul 6, 2010
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I think Sony found out that the Fragile sticker means nothing to FedEx and UPS when their customers were receiving damaged 90lb monitors...

D:
 

Cadarin

Member
Jan 14, 2013
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LCDs are good for offices. I'd buy a new CRT in a heartbeat though if they were still being made today. I also think its safe to say that there would have been tons of improvement in regards to heat output and design if CRTs had continued to be developed over the last decade. In return for costing you more space, you'd get better image quality, vastly better motion representation, unlimited resolution options, minimal lag, and bigger biceps. Definitely worth it in my eyes.
 

Via

Diamond Member
Jan 14, 2009
4,670
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I still have my best CRT from back in the day sitting in the garage.

I can not get myself to get rid of it for some reason. I guess I figure maybe I'll use one day to properly replay all of those old games I loved from the late 90's and early 2000's. Some of that stuff just doesn't look right on LCD screens.
 

Madpacket

Platinum Member
Nov 15, 2005
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There is a sense of purity when playing old school FPS like Quake on a CRT that is completely lost when moving over to newer technology today. I'm very fortunate to have picked up a nearly mint FW900 a few years back for 50 bucks and honestly the difference is night and day compared to my "2 ms" 27" LCD's collecting dust.

Modern games have terrible latency built in that somewhat mask the need for lower latency peripherals and display units and they are frankly less enjoyable (at least for twitch) games.

I do hope some technology does come along that reconnects the gamer to the game but with the emphasis on touch screens and remote gaming this seems to be moving in the opposite direction.

Now get off my lawn!
 

sxr7171

Diamond Member
Jun 21, 2002
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I've often wondered why Sony stopped production on the FW900 wide screen CRT monitor.

(I own and still use daily a 2003 HP A7217A,it's basically a re-badged FW900-the best monitor I've ever personally used.)

I think it would be cool if Sony started making the FW900 again.(brand-new 2013 wide screen CRT monitors.)

Don't think they'd sell very well,as people are obsessed with LCD monitors now..but I would buy at least 2 more brand new (built in 2013) FW900 CRT monitors.


(Have no idea where I would store them,but it would personally be worth the size and weight for me having backup wide screen CRTs on hand.)


I'm a old-school kind of guy with computers-still use the venerable IBM Model M keyboard on both my desktop PCs.

It's a great monitor and I wish I could have afforded it. If they made it now I'd imagine it would cost $3k. I don't even think they have CRT manufacturing anymore. The market for it is so small that it would cost a lot to supply it. It's like asking why they don't make or service the Concorde anymore.
 

Zorander

Golden Member
Nov 3, 2010
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From manufacturers' pov: Too big and heavy (Logistics costs). Target market too small/few (not profitable).

From users' pov: (As already stated in many posts above).

From personal experience, I swapped my Sony CRT with a Dell LCD for the built-in USB 2 ports and memory card readers on the latter. Having the monitor well away from the HTPC and needing to use USB dongles a lot, those features are a godsend. Sure, I (kind of) miss the more natural colours on the CRTs but PVA/IPS panels are also good IME.
 

Black Octagon

Golden Member
Dec 10, 2012
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I agree with the comment about black levels. Playing Doom 3 on a Trinitron CRT back in the day was terrifying. Today, playing the BFG Edition on a high end IPS is ok but more frustrating than impressive
 

tweakboy

Diamond Member
Jan 3, 2010
9,517
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www.hammiestudios.com
I don't think it's that people are obsessed with LCD monitors. People now expect to have LCD monitors. I'd never ever trade my 30" IPS LCD for an old CRT.

Your monitor has 12ms response time .. That is horrible. with vsync on 120hz means nothing with 12ms lag, ghosting not smooth. IPS lol

I got my monitor at 70Hz ,, but more importantly its 1ms , worlds first 1ms lcdmon...

You guys never talk about resolution I see

I use a FW900 from 1999 to 2011 . sucker still worked lol except you couldnt shut it off then problems occure. It had to run taking 300w ?

2304x1440@ 80hz ...... One day IPS will be 1ms response at that point you will stick a dagger in your left arm.
 

Avalon

Diamond Member
Jul 16, 2001
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lol I couldn't imagine how many people pulled a muscle in their back lifting this monitor back in the day.

Pulled a muscle doing exactly that, lifting 21-22" CRTs all day long when I worked IT several years ago. Back is still messed up today :(
 

Jacky60

Golden Member
Jan 3, 2010
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Cheap real estate, LCD's went from being very expensive to cheap, a 21inch CRT or a 28inch LCD for less than half the price the :rolleyes:CRT cost. I always wanted FW900 and would see them in design/GFX studios in late 90's early/mid 2000's then the world moved on!
 

JimmiG

Platinum Member
Feb 24, 2005
2,024
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CRTs are too big and heavy. People want sleek, thin and light. Who cares about viewing angles and color accuracy?

Wouldn't be surprised if 5 years from now, 27" LCD's will be viewed as equally obsolete, as everyone is busy fondling their 7" tablets. The desktop computer is dying - the move from CRTs to LCD's was just the beginning of a long, painful decline.
 

vmarkx3

Member
Sep 19, 2001
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Enjoying my FW900 since 2005, playing COD2 rifles and other FPS games.

Bought it for whopping $150 locally. Calibrated it and has been solid ever since.

Couple months ago bought for one of those LPS LCD by Samsung from Korea for $300. really like it for web and apps with its 1440P resolution @ 90Hz and 50+ms latency, but no match for gaming 1200P @ 85Hz (16:10) with ZERO lag.

Want to switch back and forth between them, but dam these take up so much desk real estate. Going to have to be pretty inventive to make it work.
 
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zephyrprime

Diamond Member
Feb 18, 2001
7,512
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You already know the answer. There is no market. It would be a huge money loser. Sony pulled out of the CRT market a long time ago when it was clear that is was a dead end industry.
 

Peter Nixeus

Senior member
Aug 27, 2012
365
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www.nixeus.com
You already know the answer. There is no market. It would be a huge money loser. Sony pulled out of the CRT market a long time ago when it was clear that is was a dead end industry.

Sony must still have some left collecting cobwebs for safety stock/RMA Warranty purposes when the monitor was still selling back in the days. Whom ever finds them will hit the lotto.