DF-21 Forums

[Llyren]

The contrast and brightness on my monitor are already set as high as they go, but my screen is still abnormally dark. Is there any way to get it any brighter?

[Mattias Welander]

If your graphics card support brightness control, that's one way to go.

[Taton]

Get a new Monitor.

_________________
"A fight should be clean and elegant, without waste"
-Asuka Langley Sohryu, Evangelion

[japh]

Check your OS's gamma setting, that might help.

Note that I'm talking through a hat here, I don't actually know if that'll work. But the word 'gamma' is involved, I think.

[Mattias Welander]

Well, he either has a problem with his contrast and brightness, or with the gamma, or with both. But since he said it was a brightness/contrast problem, I assumed it was a brightness/contrast problem. Gamma correction is good, but it won't help him if that's not the problem.

[Llyren]

I believe it's a gamma correction problem, since the monitor is too dark even with the contrast and brightness up all the way. Anybody know how I can access my gamma settings? I'm running Windows 98 and have a Voodoo 3000. (I tried turning up the gain on the primary colors from the monitor menu, and while that increased brightness a little bit, it put in way too much contrast, so that's not what I'm looking for.)

[Mattias Welander]

From what I heard, 3dfx never implemented hardware gamma correction in their cards. I could be wrong - I abandoned 3dfx quite early.

[Llyren]

I wouldn't be surprised - I looked through the advanced display options and there's nothing listed.

What are "color profiles," and might those do anything to fix the problem?

[Mattias Welander]

Color profiles are different curves for the three color channels used to compensate for different color implementations between different cards and monitors. If the card doesn't support hardware gamma, it most certainly will not support hardware color profiles. And no, even if it does support hardware color profiles, it won't help you, because they're not the problem.

[Llyren]

Well, my card supports them... fat lot of good they'll do me, I suppose. Thanks for the info, Mattias.

[Mattias Welander]

Well, it has to be hardware color profiles. Windows supports software color profiles on all graphics cards.

[Burning Gundam]

How old is the monitor?

I had an old 7 year old monitor that was abnormally dark and blurry. I had to have the tint and brightness set to the max to get it even remotely right. Then I made a custom color profile which helped a little bit. Then the whole thing went berserk on me and started acting like an old Television and started making weird noises and went all fuzzy. Then finally, after about 2 weeks without a computer, I got a new plasma flat screen. It was heaven! Not only is it clearer and cleaner looking, but it actually fits on my tiny desk.

So with that story, I can only think you may be headed down the same road as me. So here are my suggestions.

1. Deguasse the screen (should be an option on any screen)
2. Change Brightness and Tint
3. Change color profile to fit the screen
4. Just buy a new monitor. It's only gonna crap out on you eventually.

_________________
I don't think outside the box... I customize it.

[Mattias Welander]

A plasma screen? Are you a billionair?

[Tom Manning]

Are you talking about one of the Apple flat screens? I think a plasma would be terribly expensive, do they even make Plasma moniters?

_________________
Tom Manning
For all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you, Stand, Men of the West!
Aragorn: Return of the King

[Mattias Welander]

Yeah, they do, but they're in the 12500 US$ range, larger than 20" in size, and with very low resolution. Or something like that - I've not exactly looked deeply into buying one.

[Nottheking]

Even the Mac Plasma screen is a few thousand US dollars, isn't it? And if it fits on your "tiny desk", I suspect that it may be a different type of flat screen, such as a TFT display, which come far cheaper, and still have good quality, while allowing for decent resolution.

_________________
Wake up, George Lucas... The Matrix has you..

[Mattias Welander]

Hm... you're saying they've succeeded in making a small plasma screen now?

[Tom Manning]

King, I don't think you fully understand Plasma. I don't know exactly what it means, but not every flat screen is a plasma screen.

Also, I agree, I don't think that the reselution would be good enough for a computer moniter.

_________________
Tom Manning
For all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you, Stand, Men of the West!
Aragorn: Return of the King

[Tom Manning]

King, I don't think you fully understand Plasma. I don't know exactly what it means, but not every flat screen is a plasma screen.

Also, I agree, I don't think that the reselution would be good enough for a computer moniter.

_________________
Tom Manning
For all that you hold dear on this good Earth, I bid you, Stand, Men of the West!
Aragorn: Return of the King

[Llyren]

Wow, it sure looks different around here... I found a toolkit on the install CD that had the gamma options I needed. Yay!

[Burning Gundam]

Mine is actually fitted for both PC and Mac. It's a Hercules 12" X 14" and it was around $400 US.

_________________
I don't think outside the box... I customize it.

[Nottheking]

[Nottheking]

[Nottheking]

[Llyren]

You can fit all that in one post, NTK.

[Tom Manning]

[Burning Gundam]

Ahh, I don't care. It's a flat screen that works and fits nicely on my desk. What more could I want?

Besides, we do have a plasma screen, but I don't use it. And you're right. It was very expensive. About $1000 when we bought it.

_________________
I don't think outside the box... I customize it.

[Nottheking]

I wonder if plasma screens will actually have a chance to become mainstream? However, that gas cell construction is going to remain expensive for a long time...

_________________
Wake up, George Lucas... The Matrix has you..

[The MAZZTer]

[Llyren]

I did, but it got too dark... long story. My monitor's weird.