Slashdot Mirror
Budget 27" IPS Displays From Korea Are For Real
crookedvulture writes "Giant, high-resolution LCD monitors have been around for years, but they've always been prohibitively expensive. Good displays based on IPS panel technology command upwards of $700 for 27" models and closer to $1200 for 30-inchers. However, Korean vendors have started selling similar screens on eBay for roughly half the price. These off-brand models purportedly use the same panels as pricier alternatives, and in practice, they appear to be nearly as good. There are some caveats, of course. The number of inputs may small, HDCP support isn't guaranteed, and user controls can be limited. Those may be deal-breakers for some, but getting a 27", 2560x1440 IPS display for well under $400 will be a deal-maker for others."
lack of hdcp support sounds GREAT to me. no license fee, no contribution to the bad ways via my purchase! no supporting a bad regime (hdcp) with my dollars.
I watch using a pc and I never care about 'protected path' content. my dvd's are ripped and saved on a nas, drm-free. I could give a shit about hdcp!
sign me up!
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
I assume these are screens that where rejected for minor defects by their intended brand and resold. This happens a lot, even with name brand products such as CISCO network gear.
"Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
I have, more than once, ordered something cheap that turned out to be good, then ordered a 2nd or 3rd copy, only to have the later ones (branded the same) be.... different.
Latest case in point: $90 7" tablets - first one: 4.5 hour battery life, second one: 2.0 hour battery life.
For "real" 27" displays that have 2560 x 1440, and not just full-HD, the experience is really good. I first regretted shelling out for a Dell UltraSharp U2711, but after connecting it and seeing the amount of screen real estate I eventually bought another one for my second computer. 2560x1440 eliminates my need for an extra monitor completely, and by using the Windows+(left arrow|right arrow) function in Windows, or Divvy on Mac, I can easily fill the browser on one side and the application I work with on the other.
Dvorak on Doomtech
Only 1920x1080, and four inches smaller... it's a completely different product.
At the end of the article there's a link to the AURIA EQ276W 27" LED Monitor, which is in stock at my local MicroCenter. It's 27" and 2560 x 1440 like the model reviewed and a bit more expensive, but it also has more inputs (VGA and HDMI).
16:10 instead of 16:9. [/obligatory post]
for set-top boxes or dvd players or, for sure, bd players, it matters.
for pc based playing, it should *not* matter. that is, if you drm-stripped your media (anydvd, or similar).
btw, the lack of hdmi inputs is no big deal! for $10 or less, you can find 3 input (and more) hdmi switches with a single hdmi output. these days, the chipsets are pretty stable and interoperable (not true 5 or so years ago).
my favorite is the hdmi switch that has a cord/jack for an 'eye' IR remote sensor. the secret is that you can have a sender create IR streams to switch channels for you. regular old 38khz ir stuff. arduinos can handle this (hint hint). in this way, you can have a remotely (via pc) controlled hdmi switch.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
too bad that, just 2 days ago, microcenter in the bay area CLOSED.
still upset about that....
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Yes. This has higher resolution, better DPI, better color reproduction, less input lag, etc. than your TV.
Yep they are for real. Sold on Ebay mostly. You can read all about people's buying and ordering experiences at overclock.net:
http://www.overclock.net/t/1232496/crossover-27q-led-led-p-27m-led-2720mdp-gold-led-monitor-club/1800
My experience:
1) Bought a Crossover 27" IPS with swivel stand from S. Korea over ebay - $420 (Canadian) shipping included
2) Arrived in 3 days in Canada from Korea (If only Canada Post was that efficient)
3) Seller filled out customs form saying it was worth $150, I paid next to nothing in duty fees.
4) Monitor is freakin' awesome in display quality
5) Had 1 red stuck pixel that shows up in black background, but that you won't even notice unless you go hunting for it.
6) Monitor has no warranty, but at less than 50% of the cost, it's a risk you take. That said, seller did say he'd take it back if there was a serious defect/damage in shipping.
7) The IPS panel is the same one they put into Apple's 27" Cinema display, but didn't make the cut for some reason. I can't see anything wrong with it.
8) WARNING: There are practically no button controls on the monitor. Only brightness up/down and on/off. That's it!
9) The build quality of the 27" Crossover casing is superior to that of even Dell (read the forums above if you don't believe me). It is solid metal (not cheap plastic), and looks very stylish. That said, a word of warning, the monitor gets almost too hot in the back during hot summer days if I don't open the office window.
For $500-$700 discount, I accept no warranty, slight overheating on hot days, 1 stuck pixel, and only 2 control buttons.
to sell here, you MUST implement 'display protection' (its not copy protection; lets call it what it really is).
but, if they sell direct from overseas, they can skip this.
its a known loophole in many areas. you can even bypass U/L style testing (or CE testing) if you are just selling stuff over direct mail or ebay.
some of the stuff I've gotton direct from china would NOT NOT NOT pass U/L if its life depended on it. I stopped using some gear since, when I opened it, I found the wiring and parts locations to be unsafe (heat buildup, etc).
and so, you take a greater chance when you bypass some of the 'manuf standards' that are enforced on local sales.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
They can take their huddlecup DRM and shove it up their arse, do not want precious silicon I'm paying good money wasted on features aiming to restrict me and make the MPAA more money.
I'm glad I found this thread because I might well be going to Korea in september so I'll bring one of these monitors back with me and not pay for shipping. Once again "fuck you" to HDCP and its supporters.
These monitors (according TTFA) have no image processor and therefor have a fast response and are good for gaming.
to sell here, you MUST implement 'display protection' (its not copy protection; lets call it what it really is).
[citation needed]
IANAL, but to my knowledge selling a display without HDCP or whatever isn't in violation of the DMCA, it just won't be able to display content that requires HDCP. That's different from actively circumventing HDCP.
(Also "display protection" isn't any better a term.)
What a load of BS. The Auria EQ276W doesn't have HDCP and is sold in the US.
Microcenter Specs page for the EQ276W claims it supports HDCP. The one reviewed in the article did not...
"There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
"I bought a simian two weeks ago, it has hdcp."
Do you get a discount when buying a handicapped monkey?
"National Security is the chief cause of national insecurity." - Celine's First Law
The one that I got gave a phone number and the address of the manufacturer (Yamakasi) in the back of the user manual, along with a map so you could drive up to the manufacturer and get a replacement.
In my case, it didn't even work out of the box, though. I sent it back to the Ebay seller, who claimed that it worked for him, but then stopped responding to my messages. I just filed a Ebay case, and got a full refund, but that same guy is still the main person selling these on Ebay.
Free unix account: freeshell.org
I'll make this short and sweet.
I got mine here:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=230774446127&ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:US:3160
It is the most amazing and beautiful screen I've ever owned, and I've actively been a computer geek for 34 years. It arrived in 2 days. There are no dead pixels. I've used it for hours daily since mid-April with no problems.
Have a nice day.
You can thank Samsung for your high quality iPad display. They designed and built it.
And Dell is currently selling the U2412M, a 24" IPS display with 1920x1200 resolution, for $250... What's your point? A 23" 1080p ASUS IPS for $270 isn't a good deal.
Can't wait to have one of these on a phone or tablet.
Are you happy to see me or is that a 27" screen in your pocket?
I bought a Yamakasi Catleap 27" screen from bigclothcraft on Ebay, $330 Australian dollars delivered to my door by courier. Took only about 4 days from Korea.
I could not get the screen to work with either of my two PCs. I tried different DVI cables, different PCs, different video cards, no joy. All video cards detected the new screen, just nothing actually showed up on the screen. I eventually complained to bigclothcraft and they offered to pay for the return of the screen using their courier service account, which I thought was decent of them, however they did say that if it worked on arrival back in Korea they would charge me for the return courier service.
I then had one last go at getting the screen to work, this time using their supplied DVI cable rather than my own cables I had been using up to this point. Somehow this disabled the video drivers for my card (NVidia GTX560) but at least the screen illuminated and showed a low-res image. After reloading the drivers for my video card, the screen worked. Absolutely gorgeous picture, colours are great, haven't noticed any dead pixels.
Another oddity is that it will NOT work as a dual display, as soon as I have another screen plugged into my video card the Yamakasi goes blank. Since I only want a single display this is not an issue for me, but still it's a bit odd.
Last gripe is that the base seems a bit plasticky and flimsy, but I can live with that.
For way less than half the price of a 27" 2560x1440 bought locally, I am very happy with it, but be advised there are a few non-critical weird issues. YMMV.
Cheers,
John
Could it be that your cables were all single-link DVI and your video card doesn't support multiple monitors when connected to a dual-link monitor?
...and four inches smaller... it's a completely different product.
That's what she said.
ok. can i suggest that you actually get three 1280x1024 4:3 aspect ratio monitors instead? if you don't like 3, get 4 instead. the reason is very simple: after working constantly at my usual 10-12 hours per day in front of an apple 22in 1920x1200 LCD for 18 months, i now have severe "prism" on my eyes. that means that in the dark if i look at a point of light more than 2 metres away i *cannot* bring it into focus: i see 2 dots about 4 inches apart (at 2 metres).
my eyes have always "adjusted" to the LCDs/CRTs that i use (25 years so far), and so i was quite pissed off to learn 10 years ago - a long while before computer usage was as common as it is now - that opticians go "oh we hear that people with short-sighted glasses tend to be used to having clear vision, so we always add -0.25 diopters on just to be cautious" and fuck me if the fucking morons didn't make my eyes *worse* by 0.25 diopters every time i got new glasses.
why is that? well it's quite simple: looking at the screens, my eyes adjust to look at the screens. then the moronic opticians slap another -0.25 diopters on the prescription and my eyes... adjust accordingly. by age 36 i had -4.0 in both eyes, put on the new glasses and drove at night to where i was staying, and they were so bad that i had an instant headache that lasted for something like a day and a half. that was money well spent: i had to use the older glasses.
so the same thing has happened here, with this 22in mac (which is of course running debian gnu/linux, what else would it be running, duh??) - because i have been sitting in front of it for 18 months at a distance of only about 15in. my eyes can perfectly well flick to the left corner or the right, and get the correct focus instantaneously.
but if i put my glasses on and look out the window into the distance, and roll my head one way and then the other, still looking straight out the window, you can literally see my eyes "jump" as one of them moves faster than the other, and i cannot pull them together into focus. the reason is because my eyes were *expecting* to be focussing (at 45 degrees or so) on something at only about 16-18 in away, but i asked them to look instead (at 45 degrees or so) at something 20 metres away: they can't do it. it also turns out that it's not just the muscles / reflexes that have adjusted, it's the actual shape of my eye lenses. they literally point sideways (inwards - aka "prism") now, not straight ahead.
the bottom line is that you really REALLY have to watch out for these kinds of effects which _are_ reversible... you just have to quit your job as a highly-paid computer professional and go do something like work behind a cash register, or go be a farmer or a common labourer or god forbid a politician - *anything* but stare at screens from a distance of under 2 metres, and you'll get your eyesight back to normal after a couple of years.
when did cables got so retarded?
about 1 minute after cables were invented and the person realized they could use either the same or different cables for different things, depending on how cheap or specific they wanted the cable to be to their application
To answer your followup question, regarding connectors, see my answer for cables.
I especially love how my APC BX1300G UPS is described as having an "Interface Port USB", which in reality, the device has an Ethernet connector [but does not support any networking protocol], with a cable that has a ethernet plug on one end and a USB plug on the other. I'm sure to be able to run down to the local store and replace it if this one ever gets damaged or lost.
Sleep your way to a whiter smile...date a dentist!
Idiots like you who refuse to read the manual. High-rez monitors require dual link DVI. You used old single link DVI cables instead of the supplied dual link cable.
Rather then just think or do some research, you cost the company support costs that everyone has to pay for even if they are not as stupid as you.
I really wish support costs were simply done through the costs of the phone call or paid for emails, so people who can read don't have to pay for the terminally stupid.
It is the main reason Dell isn't really cheap, all the support costs people generate is what separates hardware costs from the selling price. Yes, your printer doesn't work? Did you plug in the power? No? That will be ten dollars please to pay the poor guy having to deal with it.
MMO Quests are like orgasms:
You may solo them, I prefer them in a group.