HG281D (NOV LC28D) 28" monitor

[smeggy]

Hello.

I'm interested in purchasing the novatech beastie (http://www.novatech.co.uk/novatech/specpage.html?NOV-LCD28D), I would but I have one key issue which needs resolving.
I currently have a large Dell monitor. Generally it is great but I hate it because it doesn't support 48/50Hz vertical scan rate, it only takes in 60Hz (actually 57-63) and gives me two fingers if I input any other refresh rate. This makes watching DVDs a nauseating experience (there's so much judder).

The question is: what vertical scan rates does the HG281D support (at full resolution) ? Specifically, what rates can be displayed? (as opposed to as well as what input it can take); is it crippled for operation at a refresh rate of 60Hz only?
I've looked around the web (including on the Hanns G website) but I can't find any relevant information.

Please note: I'm not talking about pixel response time, and flicker is not an issue (I got my brother's smaller LCD monitor to synch as low as 24Hz and it looked great, so I know it can be done).

I'm willing to look further afield, so any other recommendations that fit the bill (1920x1200 @ ~50hZ) would also be appreciated. Thanks.

[TheMadDutchDude]

The higher the Hz the better, it means that your monitor can display more images per second, but the max on LCD's is 75Hz from what I have seen so you won't be able to feel anything above that.

I play movies on mine some times, and it is set at 75Hz and the picture quality is very good on the monitor itself for everything, the Hz does NOT make a difference. Why do you want to get it so low?

It is a beaut of a monitor, I was admiring it today at Portsmouth.. I really would love to get one but the money doesn't allow it.

If I was you, go for it! It is a beaut of a screen and don't be put off by the HansG brand, it has actually scored 88% by CustomPC's (I think) and the only thing that got it down to that is the fact that be bezel isn't the nicest looking though I think it isn't actually that bad!

[system7]

On the subject of the Dell judder, I'm surprised you put it down to refresh rate. Most monitors do 60 and 75 Hz without issue on DVD and HD playback. There is no need to go above 60 Hz on a TFT monitor, they don't flicker like CRT types and you are simply making your graphic card work harder.

Wonder if you need a graphic card with more memory to cope with 1920X 1200, or an updated DVD player like Power DVD which is available at Nova for a fiver, OEM?

[smeggy]

Thanks for the replies guys. Unfortunately, refresh rate is very important (to me at least anyway). I watch a lot of movies via my Dell 2405 (not a bad monitor in itself), but it is stuck at 60Hz (I wish I knew this when I bought it); I can set my graphics output to other rates but the monitor turns off when I do so :(


but the max on LCD's is 75Hz from what I have seen
I saw that somewhere too, but it didn't say if that was at full resolution, do you know if it is? If so, (and if that’s via the HDMI) then I’ll go get one.


I play movies on mine some times, and it is set at 75Hz and the picture quality is very good on the monitor itself for everything, the Hz does NOT make a difference. Why do you want to get it so low?
I don't need it low, what I want is to be able to set it near to a multiple of the frame rate of the source video (in the UK is 25Hz [most movie sources aren’t interlaced], so 25, 50, 75Hz or even 100Hz would do) when running at full native resolution. This is what you are doing with your setup and it is the right thing to do; I need to know of the 28" beast does it too. If you want so see what I see with my Dell (and what I fear seeing with the beast), try adjusting your current setup from 75Hz to 60Hz and see take note how un-fluidlike the movements/panning has suddenly become when viewing UK movies (gaming will still be fine).
Doing exactly this on my brother’s monitor shows that Hz does unfortunately does makes a huge difference, he agreed. Having a mismatched framerate is like tearing, only I reckon the mismatched rates is worse.


... don't be put off by the HansG brand, it has actually scored 88% by CustomPC's (I think) and the only thing that got it down to that is the fact that be bezel isn't the nicest looking though I think it isn't actually that bad!
Like you, I'm pragmatic when making such choices. The image on the pixels is what is important; we won't be spending our time looking at the bits around the monitor :)

Being as you like to watch movies too, I strongly recommend you hold back buying this monitor until you know for sure it supports the framerate at the resolution you need. Alternatively, try watching video with your setup at 60Hz to see if you can live with it.



On the subject of the Dell judder, I'm surprised you put it down to refresh rate. Most monitors do 59, 60 and 75 Hz without issue on DVD and HD playback.
Unfortunately, my Dell only does 60Hz at running at full (1080P) resolution.
In fact I’ve just now tried lower resolutions, it still displays at 60Hz even when I give it a 75Hz signal (it does the same when using the component inputs).


There is no need to go above 60 Hz on a TFT monitor, they don't flicker like CRT types and you are simply making your graphic card work harder.
I agree, one won’t see flicker on an LCD (although that’s not technically true either at certain settings due to PWM backlighting – I can see my Dell flicker). Like I said, flicker is not my problem, movie judder is.


Wonder if you need a graphic card with more memory to cope with 1920X 1200, or an updated DVD player like Power DVD which is available at Nova for a fiver, OEM?
I have a 256MB 8800GT with an AMD 6000+, those aren't a problem. My setup will play 1080P with ease, even when the framerate is increased to 30fps [forced using Reclock] - which unsurprisingly makes video appear smooth. The DVD player software isn't the problem (I get the same problem with AVIs and MKVs)- the inability to match the framerate between the monitor and video is the problem.

I do appreciate the answers given, unfortunately so far they haven’t helped me. Can you give other advice?

[system7]

Smeggy, I just did some testing at various refesh rates and I couldn't reproduce any juddering. Enabling Hardware Acceleration may have sharpened the picture slightly, but Power DVD 6 behaved impecably at all settings.

What does cross my mind is there were some reported NVidia driver issues to do with movie playback a while back. Might be worth uninstalling the drivers in control panel, rebooting and installing latest 175.19 from NVidia. I can't remember which cards were affected, but 8800GT sounds about the right roll-out time for this issue.

[smeggy]

Smeggy, I just did some testing at various refesh rates and I couldn't reproduce any juddering. Enabling Hardware Acceleration may have sharpened the picture slightly, but Power DVD 6 behaved impecably at all settings.
Wow, thank you for going the extra mile.

I'm sorry to have to say this:
It is inherent that judder occurs when the display framerate isn’t a multiple of the source, so I can only conclude that your not noticing it was due to your monitor being 'stuck' at a particular framerate (just like mine) especially if PDVD takes control of the framerate, or that you didn't notice the judder. My brother didn't notice tearing until I pointed it out to him, now he’s a PITA about it.


What does cross my mind is there were some reported NVidia driver issues to do with movie playback a while back. Might be worth uninstalling the drivers in control panel, rebooting and installing latest 175.19 from NVidia. I can't remember which cards were affected, but 8800GT sounds about the right roll-out time for this issue.
36MB, blimey! Thank goodness for fast broadband. I normally wouldn’t have done this because I know the problem is within the monitor, not my PC (which works absolutely fine with my CRT, something I perhaps should have said earlier). However, you’ve gone the extra mile for me so it’s the least I could do.

After installing 175 (from 169), I went to nVidia control panel, found it didn’t offer 50Hz (no surprise) so I made a new profile with the refreshrate of 50Hz. I pressed the button, only to find my monitor is still showing an input rate of 60Hz (via the OSD). Delving deeper within the advanced pane of custom resolutions shows the actual rate is stuck at 59.95; it stays that was no matter what setting or timing standard I try (oddly enough, 169 allowed me to do what I want). This is no surprise to me because I am convinced the software is designed to reject such settings because the monitor will fail, hence it disallows it.


OK, I just searched through the Dell site to show you exactly what I mean about my monitor:


Vertical scan range: 56 Hz to 76 Hz, exception 1680 x 1200 & 1920 x 1200 at 60 Hz only
My bold.
As you can see, my Dell monitor only supports 60Hz at native resolution (I have seen the specs of many high-end monitors, even 30"ers, stating such a limitation).
Hanns G doesn't give this information; this is what I need before I can commit.


I am still open to other advice.

[smeggy]

spam
****, and I thought someone had an answer :(

An update: I phoned Hanns G, the best advice they could give me was to 'search the internet'. I also phoned the Novatech helpline who eventually responded with 'well, it's not a TV' - thanks!

I have given up hope that this thing does 48/50Hz at native resolution, so now I'm looking elsewhere.

Thanks for all the comments.