Monitor Concave

[Phil Rabichow]

I just bought a new monitor & have two questions. The monitor is a refurbished Dell with a Sonly Trinitron tube. It's a Dell P780...a CRT flat screen. There is no instruction manual & the onscreen help is minimal.
1. The display appears concave, like I'm in a Cinerama theater. Does anyone know what, if anything, would adjust that? I would have thought it was the geometry, but I can't seem to adjust it properly.
2. The display doesn't look crisp, the colors are subdued, & I don't see a control to adjust that. Any ideas?

I'm strongly debating about taking this monitor back. <img src=/S/sad.gif border=0 alt=sad width=15 height=15>

[viking33]

Phil,

I assume you have the latest drivers, have checked the Manufacturers websites and have a Video card that is compatible and up to date with the specs of the monitor?
Was the monitor a MANUFACTURER refurb or refurbed by a third party outfit? I have a refurbed SONY Trinitron, that was checked by Sony itself and couldn't be happier with it. OEM refurbs can be a great buy becuase they are given an individual going over by the maker, rather than a spot or numerical QC given to assembly line units. I'm afraid that some of the third party reconditioners just look to see if the screen is illuminated and then box the unit up and sell it as refurbed.

Having all that, I would also consider the return route.

Bob

[Phil Rabichow]

<hr>I assume you have the latest drivers, have checked the Manufacturers websites and have a Video card that is compatible and up to date with the specs of the monitor?<hr>

Hi Bob:
Well, I honestly haven't checked that. I got it at Fry's & I assumed it was compatible. My wife started playing around with some of the geometry controls (her eyes are better than mine) & it actually is a little better. I wonder if there's a website that helps you align everything. Part of my problem is I can tell when things are off but when I make an adjustment, I'm not sure whether it's better or worse (sort of like being at the optometrist).

I will check Dell's website though. If you or anyone knows of a website that helps me align everything, I'd appreciate it.
Thanks,

[JohnGray]

Phil

You might find a user guide for the monitor on the Dell website, which might say about curing the "pin cushion effect" you seem to be getting.

Otherwise it's back for a replacement!

John

[Bob Archell]

Try the Dell P780 User Guide

Cheers,

Bob

[Phil Rabichow]

Thanks, Bob & John. That site was helpful. Nevertheless, with all the adjustments, etc., I can't get rid of the "cinerama" effect. I'm going to let me wife try (she has more patience than I do) <img src=/S/laugh.gif border=0 alt=laugh width=15 height=15>. If that doesn't work, it's back to Fry's.

[viking33]

Phil,
Do you what video card you have in the system?
For instance, Nvidia has it's own large group of adjustments over and above the "normal" supplied by some other cards.
I'm just wondering about the capabilities of the existing Vcard as applied to your new monitor.

Bob

[Phil Rabichow]

Hi Bob:
I have a Diamond Viper V770 Ultra. The actual description on the computer packing slip says
32MB Diamond Viper 770 AGP SDRAM 183mhz TNT2 Ultra

However, to my knowledge, there are no additional controls. While the website mentioned tells what all the controls are for, including pin cushion, I can't seem to adjust it properly. I even tried resetting everything to factory specs. I think I'll have to let my wife try. <img src=/S/blush.gif border=0 alt=blush width=15 height=15> I hope we can get this working, because it sounds like it's a good monitor & the price is right.

[viking33]

Phil,

I don't know about the Diamond Viper V770 Ultra, But with the Nvida card I have, if you right click on the Desktop, then click on Advanced, there is an additional Tab with a TON of adjustments you can make .

Bob

[JoeP517]

Phil, Are you running the Nvidia drivers? I'm pretty sure you can with that card. The current version on the Nvidia site is 53.03. I'd also make sure that I have the most recent monitor dirver from Dell.

Joe

[Phil Rabichow]

Hi Bob, Joe:
Bob: I don't have those adjustments on my computer, at least not through my video card.
Joe: I don't have the Nvidia card. Are you saying I should still get the Nvidia drivers? I looked on the Dell site for driver downloads, & have downloaded a driver for the P780 from 2001. Hope this works.
Thanks guys,

[JoeP517]

Phil, The TNT is an Nvidia chip. I have a 32MB V770D from Dell and run the Nvidia drivers. Currently running the 53.03 version on XP Pro. Those drivers are how you'll get all adjustment opportunities that Bob posted.

Joe

[Phil Rabichow]

Hi Joe:
Thanks for all the information. One more (I hope) question. I've now downloaded from Dell "delmon0_(P780 Driver from Dell).exe" & I've downloaded from Nvidia "53.04_win9x_english(NvidiaTNT2 Graphics Card Driver).exe". (The stuff in parenthesis is my own explanation.)

Which should I update first? I'm a little nervous because when I updated driver from Diamond Viper one time, I had to uninstall it because it screwed up my entire display. I think I had to do a complete backup & restore.

[JoeP517]

Phil, I'd update the Dell monitor drivers first. You'll probably have less chance of a problem with those. Then I'd uninstall the current video card drivers. Re-boot. Then install the Nvidia drivers. BTW, backup before anything.

Joe

[Phil Rabichow]

First, thanks to everyone for their help. Here's an update. The monitor driver seemed fine when installed, but graphics driver (Nvidia) caused the display to be smaller & the print in dialog boxes to be lighter & harder to read. It did have numerous adjustments. The monitor itself has adjustments, though...& I was able to reduce the cinerama effect. I just can't get rid of it completely. The new driver also changed all my icon spacing & size. As a result, I restored the Drive Image backup.

Again, thank you all.