[comp.sys.mac.hardware] 8-bit 19" color for $999

bh11+@andrew.cmu.edu (Braddock John Hathaway) (05/19/91)

Does this sound too good to be true?  I think so too, which is why I am
posting to the net.  There is a company that is offering a 19 inch color
monitor w/8-bit card for $999 + shipping.  The name of the company is
"Relax Technology."  Has anyone ever dealt with this company?  What kind
of 19" monitor do you think one would get for such a price?  I'm really
curious but really skeptical as well.

Any thoughts on this would be welcome.

--Brad

vakselro@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Vadim Josh Akselrod) (05/19/91)

In article <4cBP4S600WBLA1o0UE@andrew.cmu.edu> bh11+@andrew.cmu.edu (Braddock John Hathaway) writes:
>Does this sound too good to be true?  I think so too, which is why I am
>posting to the net.  There is a company that is offering a 19 inch color
>monitor w/8-bit card for $999 + shipping.  The name of the company is
>"Relax Technology."  Has anyone ever dealt with this company?  What kind
>of 19" monitor do you think one would get for such a price?  I'm really
>curious but really skeptical as well.
>
>Any thoughts on this would be welcome.
>
>--Brad

I saw this beast at MacWorld in SF last year.  They were trying to pawn them
off for $1399 each then.  The contrast on the tube is horrible.  I could not
read 9-point type unless it was on the center of the screen, and reading
bigger text gave me headaches (from just 5 minutes of reading!).  I tried
some test patterns on the screen and they all looked bad.  It was not very
bright, but not too bad.  I could not see a functional use of the corner 
areas though - they were complete blurs.

The really usable area of the monitor was about 13" in the middle, and I'm
sure you can get a better 8-bit monitor/card combo for $999.  This might have
been the single monitor they brought to MacWorld, but one would suspect that
they would show off their best display.  If so, I'd hate to see the worst.

Just my $.02 worth (maybe).  Cheers,

-Vadim "Josh" Akselrod

brod@jessica.stanford.edu (Brodie Lockard) (05/20/91)

I don't think you should ever buy a monitor that you haven't sat in front
of and used for at least 15-30 minutes.  Anyone ordering a monitor sight
unseen could be in for a big disappointment.

Brodie Lockard
brod@jessica.stanford.edu

pejacoby@mmm.serc.3m.com (Paul E. Jacoby) (05/20/91)

In article <1991May19.215507.3687@leland.Stanford.EDU> brod@jessica.stanford.edu (Brodie Lockard) writes:
>I don't think you should ever buy a monitor that you haven't sat in front
>of and used for at least 15-30 minutes.  Anyone ordering a monitor sight
>unseen could be in for a big disappointment.

Let me echo this.  I found out be experience that you really have to SEE
it with your _own_ eyes to know if it will work for you.  I bought a NEC
MacSync after some other raved about it (and the price was great).
After a weeks use, I found myself squinting and generally not being able
to focus properly.  The monitor had a definite blur to it, one that I
could not correct with any combination of brightness or contrast.  I
sent it back.

My Seiko CM1445C works great.

-- 
| Paul E. Jacoby, 3M Company     |                                   |
| Maplewood, MN   55144-1000     |  Parachuting?  Why jump out of a  |
| => pejacoby@3m.com             |  perfectly good airplane?         |
|                 (612) 737-3211 |                                   |

lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke) (05/21/91)

bh11+@andrew.cmu.edu (Braddock John Hathaway) writes:

>Does this sound too good to be true?

Yes...

>I think so too, which is why I am
>posting to the net.  There is a company that is offering a 19 inch color
>monitor w/8-bit card for $999 + shipping.  The name of the company is
>"Relax Technology."  Has anyone ever dealt with this company?

Yes, a friend of mine bought a Quantum 40mb drive from them and it seemed to
work ok without any problems.  That's about all I know about them as a company.

>What kind of 19" monitor do you think one would get for such a price?

A stolen one?  :-)

>I'm really curious but really skeptical as well.

I don't know of any major companies that sell even JUST a monitor for $999,
let alone a monitor AND a card for $999.  I haven't seen the ad, and I don't
know anything about this particular case, but buyer beware...

Remember, "You get what you pay for" really applies in most cases with Mac
hardware.  I can't tell you how many people have echoed this to me as well.

If you're in the bay area, I would recommend you try to take a look at this
monitor before buying it.  I always recommend to anyone who asks about Mac
monitors that they should always try to spend some time with any monitor
they are considering buying BEFORE they plunk down the money.  After all,
you're the one who's going to have to look at the thing, day in and day out.
Make sure you're happy with it before you make the decision to buy.

>Any thoughts on this would be welcome.

It's your eyes...  Be nice to them - they're the only ones you have!

-- 
----- Steve Lemke, KC6QDT - Software Engineering, Radius Inc., San Jose -----
----- Reply to: lemke@radius.com -- U.C. Santa Barbara ECE Class of '89 -----
----- "I'm not a UNIX wizard, but I play the Postmaster at radius.com." -----

barry@world.std.com (Barry L Wolman) (05/21/91)

lemke@radius.com (Steve Lemke) writes:

>bh11+@andrew.cmu.edu (Braddock John Hathaway) writes:

>>Does this sound too good to be true?

>Yes...

>>I think so too, which is why I am
>>posting to the net.  There is a company that is offering a 19 inch color
>>monitor w/8-bit card for $999 + shipping.  The name of the company is
>>"Relax Technology."  Has anyone ever dealt with this company?

>Yes, a friend of mine bought a Quantum 40mb drive from them and it seemed to
>work ok without any problems.  That's about all I know about them as a company.

I bought several hard drive cases from them over the last year.  The seem
like a reputable company.  The delivered when they said they would, the
person I spoke to when placing the order seemed to know the technical details
in which I was interested.

>>What kind of 19" monitor do you think one would get for such a price?

>A stolen one?  :-)

It's unlikely to be a Trinitron.  The picture tube is probably a Taiwanese
or Korean import.  It might be nice, it might not be.

If anyone checks out this monitor I'd like to hear their impressions.  I
was planning to get a Seiko for my new IIci, but  19" color for $999 sounds
quite nice.

Barry Wolman
-- 
Barry Wolman
159 Oxbow Road
Needham, MA 02192
617-449-3874

vakselro@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Vadim Josh Akselrod) (05/21/91)

barry@world.std.com (Barry L Wolman) writes:
>It's unlikely to be a Trinitron.  The picture tube is probably a Taiwanese
>or Korean import.  It might be nice, it might not be.

The tube as of one year ago was an Ikegami non-Trinitron.  I don't have the
specs for it, but it looked horrible.

-Josh

philip@pescadero.Stanford.EDU (Philip Machanick) (05/21/91)

In article <12162@jarthur.Claremont.EDU>, vakselro@jarthur.Claremont.EDU (Vadim Josh Akselrod) writes:
|> barry@world.std.com (Barry L Wolman) writes:
|> >It's unlikely to be a Trinitron.  The picture tube is probably a Taiwanese
|> >or Korean import.  It might be nice, it might not be.
|> 
|> The tube as of one year ago was an Ikegami non-Trinitron.  I don't have the
|> specs for it, but it looked horrible.

Their Ikegami trinitron for about $2200 isn't too bad - some imperfections.
If interested, send e-mail and I'll send you a review. If there's enough
interest, I'll post.
-- 
Philip Machanick
philip@pescadero.stanford.edu