Monitors Hp zr30w

Doug Nelson · #1 09-15-2010, 12:15 PM

Fedex just dropped off my two new HP ZR30W monitors, but I can't install them until tomorrow

mistermonday · #2 09-15-2010, 12:55 PM

Well, that should give you 24 hours to calibrate them beforehand

Please let us know how well they work.
Best Regards, Murray

mistermonday · #3 09-15-2010, 08:59 PM

Doug, when you do get them up and running, I would be interested to know how easily / well they calibrate. The specs look good. The only strange thing is HP's very vague Pixel Quality Policy. It states that all LCD's have bad pixels, describes how to find them, and says it hopes that as time goes on that quality will improve. However, they do not quantify how many defective pixels is acceptable before they consider the display user returnable.
Regards, Murray

Doug Nelson · #4 09-15-2010, 09:43 PM

I had some unexpected time today and got things set up. The actual monitor setup was a breeze, especially compared to the 80lb CRTs I am replacing.

For critical calibrators I don't know if I'd recommend this model. One of the cost-saving moves was to remove the OSD and its dedicated chip. My i1 calibrated both just fine in "easy" mode, but I would not be able to use the advanced mode with this model. At least not without digging into the vidcard's controller app (which is very possible, but I don't even have that app installed). More modern calibrators might fare better (mine is as old as my CRTs).

So the only direct control you have is brightness. And boy, are these things bright!! I keep turning the brightness down, but it is still giving me a bit of a headache. I suspect I'm just used to my dim old 7-year-old CRT.

The warranty seems fair, 3 year in-house, and has a good reputation. I haven't dug through the fine print, but I read on the internet HP claims 3 dead pixels is acceptable. But the pixels on this thing are so small I don't know if I'd notice a dead pixel (at least I haven't so far). And one of the reasons I went with this model was the excellent reviews, including the lack of dead pixel complaints.

The stands are very sturdy, but lack a vertical position lock except for the very lowest position. And one of the stands sinks down if I breathe too hard towards it. I suspect a bit of room dust will straighten that out, but it's the closest thing I have to an actual concern this early on.

At the native resolution (2560 x 1600) just about all type was uncomfortably small, so I used the control panel to adjust to 125%. But younger eyes probably could skip that step.

Watching movies is glorious. At 2-3 ft away the screen is effectively larger than my 52" living room TV. I had a moment of panic when I thought the upper edge was blurry, but it turned out to simply be out of the range of my bifocals. Lifting my head a smidge sharpened it right up.

With the exceptions (so far) of movies and Photoshop, using apps in full-screen mode is ridiculous. This website appears as a thin white strip down the middle of a black field, and my email and RSS clients appear as mostly blank white in that mode. So I'm learning to adjust (as of this morning I ran virtually everything full-screen).

I'll post more as it comes to mind, or if anyone has questions I'll try to field them.

mistermonday · #5 09-15-2010, 10:14 PM

Those are great inputs, thanks. The reviews I read also noted this model has incredible brightness and only one user claimed to have one single bad pixel, which is well within acceptable range for a monitor of that size. I have had the vertical slide problem before. A set screw and a dremel tool fixed that problem in short order.
I look forward to hearing how it fares after a couple of weeks.
Best regards, Murray

Doug Nelson · #6 09-16-2010, 01:05 AM

Some review notes I doubt you'll find elsewhere:

I solved the white glare problem by setting Windows' default window color to a pale gray.

An unexpected side-effect of sitting behind two huge monitors: it gets a bit stuffy. They block the airflow.

I have no idea why, but the new monitors seem less attractive to bugs. I use a window air conditioner, and there's usually a bug or two that gets around it (usually a ladybug for some reason). So every night I'd have to wave them away from my screen (the non-ladybugs weren't treated so nicely). But it's been night for 6 hours here, and there is at least one bug around, but he(?) is circling the room lights, leaving the monitors alone.

Doug Nelson · #7 09-16-2010, 08:32 PM

In case anyone is curious what Photoshop looks like at this resolution, here's an actual-size screencap. The forum viewer will resize it, so click it again.

Flashtones · #8 09-20-2010, 06:47 AM

Doug, how is the panel uniformity? When you have that gray desktop setup is there much variance in tone or color from edge to edge?

Doug Nelson · #9 09-20-2010, 10:45 AM

At this point I'm not noticing any variance at all. I phrase it that way because I thought I was seeing such a thing, but it turned out to just be the Windows wallpaper fooling me.

That's actually one of the reasons I bought an IPS monitor.

Flashtones · #10 09-20-2010, 11:37 PM

That's encouraging. I've seen significant shifts in either color or tone in many 30" screens. I'm not talking about from viewing angle either, I mean viewed from straight on and remaining consistent as you shift your head side to side. Seems the larger the real estate the harder it is to evenly backlight.

Pictus · #11 09-22-2010, 05:23 AM

Congratulations for the new “toys”!

BTW, what software are you using to calibrate?
Try Argyll http://www.argyllcms.com and the front end http://hoech.net/dispcalGUI/
It is the *best* and *free* software for calibration, works with almost all devices and operational systems.

Doug Nelson · #12 09-22-2010, 06:36 AM

I use the Match 3 software that comes with the i1.

Pictus · #13 09-22-2010, 07:10 AM

Argyll is the "ONE"!
Try and you will see...