I know very little about color monitors, but people keep asking me to recommend
one. Tom Robson of Cambridge Research Systems gave me a brochure for what
appears to be a rather nice color monitor: Sony 20-inch Trinitron Multiscan
GDM-2038. Field rate of 50 to 160 Hz. Max luminance 160 cd/m^2. Costs $2,500.
"We have new Sony GDM-2038 20" Trinitron monitors available at $1599 with a one
year warranty."
Relax Technology, Inc.
3101 Whipple Rd.
Union City, Ca. 94587
Attn: Frank Gabrielli
510-471-6112 phone
510-471-6267 fax
John Troy, jbtroy@casbah.acns.nwu.edu, writes, "We are using a Sony Trinitron
Color Display Multiscan. The model we use is the GDM-17SE1 (a 17" monitor). There
is a sister 20" monitor (GDM-20SE1) whose properties are presumably similar.
Although ours is a color monitor we have only used it so far as a white stimulus.
(We've made accurate measurements of chromaticity.) We run the refresh rate at
153 Hz (Line rate: 82.3 kHz, Dot rate: 108 MHz); the capacity to run this fast
was what attracted us to the monitor. [John is not using a Mac--he's using a
Cambridge Research Systems VSG board in a PC.] At that rate, in our hands, the
mean luminance is 82 cd m^-2. At that luminance with a 5 mm diameter pupil we
find that the cat ganglion cells we've studied so far resolve around 70-75 Hz; if
the screen luminance were higher, we'd need a faster frame rate to satisfy the
Nyquist criterion. According to the Sony spec-sheet, at 155.30 Hz the display has
640 dots X 480 lines (82 kHz line rate). We have currently only displayed
one-dimensional patterns (e.g., sinusoidal gratings, edges). We've achieved very
good control over stimulus contrast and accurate generation of sinewave gratings.
We are very satisfied with it. It was priced quite reasonably at $999."
We bought Apple's 17" Multiscan for about $900. It's a Sony Trinitron. Peak
luminance is about 100 cd/m^2. Using the Monitors control panel, or the new
Display Manager, you can select among several resolutions.
Does anyone know what the differences are between the Sony GDM-2038 and the
GDM-20SE1? They're both 20". Apple's 17" and 20" multiscan monitors are
made by Sony. Does anyone know whether they'll run at 150 Hz, like the
Sony GDM-2038 and the GDM-20SE1?
John Troy, jbtroy@casbah.acns.nwu.edu, writes, "I came across a new monitor,
Optiquest 2082DC, this weekend which might be better than the Sony. It is a 20
inch color monitor with an advertised price of $1399. It has a 90 MHz dot rate.
Like the Sony, it has a shadow mask and various energy-saving features that may
be troublesome. I don't have much information yet. Optiqest Inc., Walnut, CA
91789. (909)-468-3750."
MacLiberty Adapter is a small 15-pin-D to 15-pin-D adapter that programs the
video sense lines to mimic any monitor, to fool your video card. (Costs ten or
twenty bucks; I forget.)
Enhance Cable Technology
730 North Ninth Street
San Jose, CA 95112
800-343-2425
408-293-2425
408-293-2468 fax
I bought my MacLiberty Adapter from Enhance Cable Technology, but apparently they
are now strictly wholesale. Tom Busey writes, "The only dealer I found is
MacMall, at 1-800-222-2808. I would advise people to be very clear about what
they are ordering. I have yet to receive a correct order from them the first
time, although they do always eventually get it right."
MacWeek (4/10/95) says, "MacFly is a $25 universal adapter that allows users to switch on the fly among all supported Mac and VGA resolutions. [It] has single switch for moving between Mac and VGA resolution families; all changes within a family are handled by the standard Monitors control panel.... works with all third-party cards that support the Mac Display Manager and the Apple Multiple Scan 20 Display."
MacAdapt, El Cerrito, 510-525-0789, 510-525-5740 fax, jzjames@nuc.berkeley.edu
LCD GLASSES:
Stereographics Corp. sells LCD glasses.
(415) 459-4500
stereo@well.sf.ca.us
"CrystalEyes is a high-quality (60 frames per second per eye) product with good
transmission and blocking characteristics, and it's light-weight, too. Silicon
Graphics bundles them with their 3D workstation packages so I guess I'm not the
only one who like them."
Lafayette Instruments
Sells LCD glasses.
3d-tv
Michael Starks, President
415-479-3516
Sells a variety of different kinds of LCD glasses.
"The archive for the virtual reality newsgroup has more information on other
manufacturers. It's a bit out of date, but it still has good pointers to
