Conference hydra::amiga_v1

    I paid $1625 for the basic 1 meg/1 floppy model at the Software
    Shop.
    
    Ed.

    How much for the additional goodies?

    .1
    Is that a mailorder price Ed? Or, did you pick it up there? I checked
    with memory Location and the lowest they would go is $1750.

    The $1625 is mail order, since while I was there he quoted it out
    over the phone several times.  His system price for:
    
    1 meg A500
    Amiga 1084 0r 2002 monitor
    external drive (Amiga or ProDrive)
    
    $1025 for the total package.  It's a pretty good price.
    
    The additional prices I paid were....
    
    MicroWay deinterlacer:		$495
    Princeton Ultrasync 800 x 600:	$569
    NEC 2nd internal floppy:		$155
    Seagate 65 meg & C Ltd SCSI		$800
    
    I don't know if this is the best price, but I did get to make sure
    that all the pieces played together before I brought them home.
    It's been working great... the Seagate is fast and quiet.
    
    All in all, I'm very pleased, especially with the display quality.
    
    Ed.
    

    Ed, what can you tell me about the Princeton Ultrasync monitor?
    What are its features and how does it work with your Amiga?
    
    Thanks,
    Dan

    The Princeton Ultrasync is a multiscan type monitor.  It can handle
    horizontal scan rates from 15.75 KHz to 45 KHz, and verticle scan
    rates to 70 Hz.  ~rI hope these figures are accurate; I'm quoting
    from memory, since the paperwork is under 400 pounds of boxes and
    cartons. :^)                    
    
    The standard Amiga video output is 15.75 KHz, which I believe is
    the NTSC standard.  The Princeton will work fine at the frequency,
    but don't expect the 400 line mode flicker to go away.  That problem
    is caused by the Amiga's use of an interlaced display to provide
    NTSC compatibility and to minimize loss of clock cycles available
    to the CPU, as Randy Meyers so eloquently explained elsewhere.
    
    The reason I needed a multiscan monitor, and why I suggest that
    people who are in the market for a new monitor check them out, is
    that the MicroWay de-interlacer board that I also bought combines
    two interlaced frames in it's own RAM, and then converts the video
    signal to a 31.5 KHz scan rate.  So, the MicroWay board absolutely
    needs a multiscan, or at least a 31.5 KHz fixed scan rate monitor.
    
    The Princeton has some nice features; for one, it's absolutely
    beautiful to look at, ergonomically.  It comes with a slick tilt
    and swivel stand.  The screen is etched to reduce glare.  There
    is also a button on the side which can toggle the display tint from
    amber, paper white, blue, and green, so you can select whichever
    mode you're most comfortable with.  
    
    There is also a button on the side which basically compresses or
    expands the screen display area.  You can place a black border around
    the display, or you can expand it horizontally and vertically so
    that text goes right up the the plastic bezel.  
    
    You can easily expand or compress the image horizontally and vertically
    with knobs on the back.
    
    I had my brother-in-law, an Apple employee/snob extraordaniare,
    over for a look.  Over the phone, he was emphatically convinced
    that an Amiga could never approach a Mac for display quality.  He
    has an SE and a color Mac II at home.  He sheepishly admitted that
    the display was as good as the Mac II.  I think it's better.  I
    have my color settings set up similar to a Mac, with some light
    tinting for color registers 3 and 4.  It's like looking at a piece
    of paper.  No kidding.
    
    On the negative side, the screen is curved in both planes, unlike
    the Sony, which is only curved in the verticle plane, or the Zenith,
    which is a flat as pancake.  I'd check out the Sony for myself,
    since it's universally praised, and does have a slightly tighter
    dot pitch (.26 mm vs. .28).  However, every Sony I've ever seen,
    and I've owned two of them, suffer from a slight pincushion effect,
    where the verticle screen borders are bend inwards a tad.  The
    Princeton has no such effect.
               
    I paid $569 for the Princeton, but I've seen mail-order prices as
    low as $500 in Computer Shopper.  Monitor tastes are a pretty personal
    thing, so I'd always recommend looking before you buy.
    
    Ed.
    
    
    
    

    Thanks for the info!  Sounds like it look nice.
    
    dan

    The KV1311CR from Sony is not a multiscan type monitor.  The price
    of $500. is high.  Lechmere often has them on sale for less...unless
    the yen/dollar shift has driven prices higher.
    
    The KV1311CR used to be 'the monitor of choice' for the Amiga, because
    of it's excellent display and capabilities.  It's also a television
    with a remote control.  I've had mine for two years, and am still
    delighted with its performance.
    
    If you are looking for jitter-free hi-res images, you will still
    need a long persistance monitor or a multiscan monitor combined
    with a de-interlacing board, or a good pair of dark glasses.  I
    have the brighness turned down on mine when using Professional Page
    and the flicker is minimal.  The Professional Page display is black
    on white, so screen flicker would normally be at it's worst.
    
    Randy
    

    re: .12--
    
    The resolution numbers don't say all that needs to be said about
    monitor quality, by a long ways.  You should do a side-by-side
    comparison of monitors before buying, no matter what their specs.
    
    By the way, which Lechmere did you have this experience at?  I want
    to avoid it.
        John Sauter

re:         <<< Note 1321.12 by ANGORA::JANZEN "Tom LMO2/O23 296-5421" >>>
                              -< monitor madness >-

:Also, Memory Location says the modulator was $59 last week and is $79 this week,
:and they're out.
:Tom

I was at Memory Location on Thu. 4/21 and I thought I saw 5-6 of
these with the price marked $59.  I could be confused, I wasn't 
really looking for a modulator, but it might be worth another 
call.

<JWH>