2007WFP gradient banding

[oddity]

BTW against, I saw you posting on the Dell forums as well against- I've asked the person I talked to to include in his report that there is a thread about the issue on the Dell forums... soo hopefully they'll realize it is NOT an isolated incident. If they are made aware enough of it there is always the chance that they may fix the issue and build the same monitor with new equipment (ie, they won't recall ones but ones that are returned may be replaced with a new one that DOES work.) At least, I hope that's what happens and it is a possibility.

 

[against]

Sounds good, i just spread the word over at driverheaven also and included a link to this thread.

As far as replacing the 2007, i'm not sure...they are getting it back and i'll play wait and see if Dell fixes them or not.

 

[oddity]

Yup. I've been looking around for other monitors in the price range and I just haven't found one I like which is the biggest let down.

Most of the others I've seen have poor quality picture or real crappy mounting systems that wobble all over the place.

*sigh* The hunt for a good widescreen LCD continues...

 

[Tweakin]

Originally posted by: JMWarren
I got my third 2007FP today. Still has banding issues. It looks like it's going back. This is simply not good enough.

Anyone got any last ideas?

I would tell you no to buy another dell. I sent back 3 2005's for banding (and bleeding), tried the new Gateway and it was worse, almost went postal when the Apple cinema failed, tried a NEC GX and loved it but couldn't stand the glossy finish (too much reflection) and now I'm using a Samsung 215tw that has no banding issues, but the color is not as saturated as the Gateway or the NEC.

 

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: oddity
Heres the screenshot of the same area of EVE for those of you who want to compare it on your CRT's.

Link to camera picture from EVE

Link to screenshot from EVE

Thats actually not the LCD's fault. It looked very banded on my LCD too, and looked fine on my CRT - until I took the png and upped the gamma. Now its very easy to see the banding on my CRT too. The banding is coming from the game, not from the monitor (at least in that instance). The only reason you can't detect it on the CRT is because LCD's tend to be a good bit brighter than a CRT and it brings out the imperfections (in this case banding).

 

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: xtknight
Here's another battery of tests you guys can run: http://xtknight.atothosting.com/lcdtest/ (all 1024x768 created in GIMP)

The purple-green ones are good tests.

Its also interesting to note that if I up the gamma for these images (especially the grey ones), then I also notice the banding on my CRT. Is it possible that all we are noticing is the increased brightness/gamma of these new LCD's which is bringing out the imperfections in the source material?

 

[oddity]

Originally posted by: DOACleric

Originally posted by: xtknight
Here's another battery of tests you guys can run: http://xtknight.atothosting.com/lcdtest/ (all 1024x768 created in GIMP)

The purple-green ones are good tests.

Its also interesting to note that if I up the gamma for these images (especially the grey ones), then I also notice the banding on my CRT. Is it possible that all we are noticing is the increased brightness/gamma of these new LCD's which is bringing out the imperfections in the source material?

Gradient banding is an issue with all LCD's, however, it is particularly bad with the 2007WFP, as in, it's banding a hell of a lot more than it should be. It isn't even close to being reasonable.

It's quite upsetting that this monitor has the banding issues and I'm crossing my fingers that they release another revision of them that doesn't have them. I love the monitor in all other aspects except for this one breaking issue. =(

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: DOACleric
Its also interesting to note that if I up the gamma for these images (especially the grey ones), then I also notice the banding on my CRT. Is it possible that all we are noticing is the increased brightness/gamma of these new LCD's which is bringing out the imperfections in the source material?

That's probably right. LCDs have a higher gamma than CRTs. Truth is, no source material is going to be perfect. Since all video played off disk or memory is in some kind of digital format, there will always be a little something separating colors. So if you see banding (or should I say, "any type of separation") in these tests, you would also in real material given the right situation. H.264 employs some banding/dithering to compress the video, at least from what I could tell watching the King Kong trailer. The banding in the sky in one scene was ridiculously awful, and many people don't have post-processing enabled.

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Originally posted by: yacoub
Well it's certainly not "omg end of the world". Yeah it sucks and needs to be fixed but if you are THAT anal about the sky that you would act like it's the end of the world, you must spend your time stargazing in WoW. Do they give skill points for that? ;P

I was just using that as an example of the problem. :roll:

 

[oddity]

Hrm, I'm finding that the VGA port is better than the DVI port for the banding issue, and I think I am going to hold onto the monitor for a week or so until I can talk to a higher level dell tech support and see if they plan to resolve the issue. If not I'll return it and look for another monitor.

 

[yacoub]

Is there any downside to using the VGA port? I thought DVI gave LCDs a much sharper image or something...? Like, what is lost if we decide to use the VGA input instead?

 

[yacoub]

Hey, here's a question for you 2007 owners: Do solid gray images "swim"? I'm getting waves sweeping down the screen when I view a solid gray image, like in MonitorTest, or the background of Excel 2003 w/o a sheet open.

I can tell if I look very carefully that this is occuring all the time, but it is more noticeable on a solid color that isn't bright.

update: It does it in VGA also. Fuggit, I'm sending it back.

How do I properly RMA a monitor w/ Dell? I guess I'll call them up...

 

[yacoub]

hey it'd be really helpful if someone posted the RMA process and phone numbers here to make it easier for everyone

 

[against]

You can set the whole thing up via their website.

And yes, i know what you are talking about. When i hooked up the 2007 to the VGA port and ran some tests i noticed something strange when it was displaying greys.

Make sure you tell them the problems with it when you send it back.

 

[yacoub]

yeah i just submitted the form and in the Notes part i put both issues - severe banding on gradients and the swirling/wavy constantly though most noticeable on solid colors like gray.

dammit. now i'm going to have to buy something else and not any of the ones that look ugly. it has to look close to or as nice as the Dell. i guess i might end up with the now-getting-kinda-old Sony P234 that I was initially looking at a couple months ago. i just dont want to spend that much when I got the Dell for ~$500 shipped after the $60 coupon and free shipping.

 

[yacoub]

actually i may just keep it now that i realize there's nothing better out there for my needs. most of the options lack too much in some way, most in asthetics, and i dont want to spend the $$$ for a Sony or even a 2405.

Besides it has a 3-year warranty so maybe in a year when they release a revision that fixes the problem I'll send it back for a replacement.

plus returning this thing is just SO inconvenient. >:[

 

[against]

Depending on how long you have had it, they should send UPS to your door to pick it up.

This is from my e-mail:

The return of the Monitor has been authorized under reference number XXXXXXX UPS will pick up the package(s) via a Dell paid pick up within 48 business hours. UPS will have the necessary return labels. Please be aware that this is business days only. Pick ups will not be made on Saturdays, Sundays or holidays. You can contact UPS at 1-800-742-5877.

Your reference number for the pickup is XXXXXXX.

UPS is scheduled to pick up the returning product from:

 

[yacoub]

hmm ok thats not too bad i guess. still, considering i cant find anything else to replace it with...

 

[Dethfrumbelo]

Originally posted by: yacoub
hmm ok thats not too bad i guess. still, considering i cant find anything else to replace it with...

Viewsonic VX2025WM @ $400, NEC 20WMGX2 @ $700-$800

 

[BroadbandGamer]

Originally posted by: yacoub
hmm ok thats not too bad i guess. still, considering i cant find anything else to replace it with...

I'm in the same boat. I already gave my 2005FPW to my 14 year old son and there's nothing out there I can replace this with. THe 2007WFP is the best looking 20" widescreen LCD out there and there's no way I'm buying an ugly LCD.

I guess I'll just keep it until a new revision comes out that fixes these problems. Then I'll just RMA this one.

This really sucks because I love everything else about the monitor. Also, I lucked out and got one without any dead/stuck pixels! My luck, the replacement will have dead/stuck pixels.

 

[JMWarren]

If your outside of the 30 day return the replacement will be a REFURB! Probably one of the ones i sent back....

 

[yacoub]

Whatever. I'd rather keep this one and put up with its downsides - it's still much preferable to an ugly display or a more expensive one.

 

[VV1920]

This question is for the owners of 2007WFP.
I'd like to know the panel of this monitor as you can see it from the OSD.
It should be an LG.Philips S-IPS LM201W01.
Can you confirm it?
Thank you very much

 

[spronkey]

I'm waiting for two of these (2007wfp) to arrive, after having sent back the one 2005fpw i had (starting to regret that - i wanted two of them, but dell didn't have any left ), and I have a number of questions for 2007wfp owners.

Firstly, I've created a test image in PNG and TIFF forms (to ensure that PNG and it's own colour profiles aren't the problem, make sure they both display the same). The URLs:
TIF: http://www.spronkware.com/spronkey/sdc-testchart-gradientbandi.tif
PNG: http://www.spronkware.com/spronkey/sdc-testchart-gradientbandi.png

Secondly, could you please put your monitors into DESKTOP mode.

Thirdly, could you ensure that NO OTHER INPUTS are connected to your LCD at the time of testing.

(this is my attempt at a controlled experiment)

Could a few please post some photos of their 2007wfp's displaying this test image in the following configurations (all in desktop mode):

- VGA mode, Default colour settings, Default contrast/brightness
- VGA mode, Lowered colour settings (30, 30, 30), Default contrast/brightness
- VGA mode, Lowered colour settings, Lowered contrast/brightness (30, 30)
- VGA mode, Lowered colour settings, Lowered contrast/brightness (30, 30)

- DVI mode, Default colour settings, Default brightness
- DVI mode, Lowered colour settings (30, 30, 30), Default brightness
- DVI mode, Lowered colour settings (30, 30, 30), Lowered brightness (30)
- DVI mode, Default colour settings, Lowered brightness (30)

With the test images above, you should see smooth gradients with dither on both horizontal and vertical, followed by smooth gradients (which are mapped at one 1px line per colour, unlike some of the test gradients around). The lower saturation gradients should also be smooth with no banding.

The six diagonal gradient squares should be smooth, the top 3 use dithering, the bottom three use flat lines.

The RGB squares should also be smooth.

Hopefully the following tests above will provide some sort of insight into where the problem lies. I'm thinking the digital logic chips inside the monitor might be clipping certain signals because they are slightly too strong, or some other strange phenomenon.

Anyhow, photos of these test images in the 8 above modes would be appreciated, and hopefully should prove helpful.

 

[TurboJAzn]

Originally posted by: VV1920
This question is for the owners of 2007WFP.
I'd like to know the panel of this monitor as you can see it from the OSD.
It should be an LG.Philips S-IPS LM201W01.
Can you confirm it?
Thank you very much

http://i45.photobucket.com/albums/f90/T.../Dell%20VS%20Viewsonic/ServiceMenu.jpg