1801FP vs. 1901FP

You might want to check this out for both monitors.

http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/cleartypeactivate.htm

ty

Message Edited by delta7000 on 02-29-2004 07:55 PM

I appreciate your input, but even going through those steps, the appearance of the text hasn't gotten any better.

I know it doesn't make sense, since the two PCs are using the same video card and the only difference between the two monitors is that one's an 18" and the other (the one that's displaying fine) is a 19"

Any other ideas ?

I'm not impressed at all with this 18" monitor, and if I can't get it corrected, I'll be sending it back to Dell.

Frank

One thing to note is that the 1901FP has a contrast ratio of 600:1 while the 1801FP has a ratio 400:1. All other things being equal, this could account for the differences you see. Also, I know that the 1901FP is a very good monitor... a friend has one and the image and text quality is excellent. I don't know anything about the 1801FP but it may that monitor panel quality may not be as good (different panel mfg, etc.). Bottom line is that if you're unhappy with it for whatever reason and are still within the 30-day return period, send it back and get another 1901FP...I think they're only ~$100 more than the 1801FP.

You must've been reading my mind (which is a scary thought ;-)   I was just about to check the specs between the two monitors to see the differences.  Though I've only had my system (with the 1901FP) since Friday, I have no complaints about the quality of the monitor.

Last night, just for giggles, I swapped the monitors, not changing anything at all on the PCs, and the 1801FP didn't look great on MY pc, so I know it's not a settings issue (my 1901FP looked good on my daughter's pc).

I'll be calling Dell this morning and getting the process going with swapping the 1801FP with another 1901FP.

Thanks for your input.  It's much appreciated.

Frank

I had similar symptoms in my 1800FP. I never got this cleartype working correctly till I read this post(thank God, I saw this post today). Thanks to Delta7000 as well, his link to Microsoft site helped me to solve this problem.

It seems most LCD monitors have RGB striping order and a very few like mine have BGR striping order. Check out this link http://www.microsoft.com/typography/ClearTypeFAQ.mspx. This faq talks about RGB and BGR issue under a question "Will ClearType look okay if the color striping on my screen is BGR instead of RGB?". And also it has couple images on seeing them you can make out if your monitor is RGB or BGR.

The above link given by Delta7000, has the option to set cleartype for your monitor if it is RGB or BGR.

I'm so happy today that I bought this monitor. It never looked as sharp as it is today.

Thanks for starting this topic.

Here is a link http://www.microsoft.com/typography/cleartype/tuner/1.htm?fname=%20&fsize= to install ClearType tuner for your windows XP. This link seems to install an ActiveX control and guide you to set up ClearType font for your display. This also helps you to identify your monitor type if it is RGB striped or BGR striped. Mine is 1800FP and it is BGR type (which is very rare), I don't know if all 18" monitors are that type!

-MiruSen

Message Edited by MiruSen on 03-02-2004 01:09 PM

Message Edited by MiruSen on 03-02-2004 01:09 PM