PlayStation 3D Monitor

[NayusDante]

I looked for an existing thread, but didn't see one. Forgive me if a thread exists somewhere.

I saw these at Best Buy for $299, and I'm wondering if anyone can comment on them. I'm considering the possibility of replacing my secondary computer monitor with one of these. Actually, my primary 23" 1080p monitor would become the new secondary, and I'd use the PS monitor as a primary. I'm not sure about color accuracy, brightness, overscan, and all of that since the store display's PS3 wasn't on to output a signal. I've seen reviews talk about the glasses being too dark, but I'd be using the 3D in a dim room anyway. Does anyone have one, or has anyone had experience with one?

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

Tony the Tiger and KillerSquirel each have one.

I'll see if I can wrangle them to comment.

[TonyTheTiger]

I'd say it's worth it for $299 provided you're ok with paying a premium for the brand name when higher quality options exist. That's what I paid and I doubt I'd pay more for it. It's a nifty little screen with a good picture. It can have issues with glare if that's something that really bothers you. And it leaves something to be desired as far as inputs go. You get 2 HDMI ports and 1 component. No VGA, no S-video, no composite. That might be a problem for people looking to use this as a general gaming screen. It also doesn't come with a remote.

If all you want is a really great 24 inch monitor there are better and less expensive options out there. But the PlayStation monitor does perform admirably. It's one of those things that isn't the best on the market at what it does but has that kitschy conversation piece appeal that attracts many a DPer.

There is one glaring issue, however, and this might be a deal breaker for many people. The damn things have a tendency to black out. There's no rhyme or reason to it. Some of them will randomly go completely dark for a split second every so often. Sometimes days go by without it happening and sometimes it happens three times within a single hour. Others will flat out stop working altogether. Some people have posited that it has something to do with the HDMI "handshake" being mishandled although Sony hasn't commented one way or the other. From what I understand, Sony has had similar issues with other TVs and fixed them via a firmware update. There's been no such update for the PlayStation display as far as I'm aware.

[Frankie_Says_Relax]

From what I understand, Sony has had similar issues with other TVs and fixed them via a firmware update. There's been no such update for the PlayStation display as far as I'm aware.

Yup. Had the strange "blanking" issue, which I believe was mainly an HDMI handshake issue on my Bravia.

They released a firmware update, which when applied correctly via USB key solved the problem.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?157230-Fixing-intermittent-HDMI-drop-out-on-a-Sony-Bravia-LCD

TonyTheTiger, I know we've discussed this before, but on the Sony 3D monitor, there are no settings where you can turn on/off the ability for the thing to auto-switch to active HDMI ports? That was ultimately a large part of the blanking for me I think. The HDMI port picking up false "actives" from the other ports.

[NayusDante]

What about 3D performance? Is the color decent? I'm primarily interested because it's 3D at a decent price. The inputs sound fine for what I'd use it for.

[TonyTheTiger]

Yup. Had the strange "blanking" issue, which I believe was mainly an HDMI handshake issue on my Bravia.

They released a firmware update, which when applied correctly via USB key solved the problem.

http://www.digitpress.com/forum/showthread.php?157230-Fixing-intermittent-HDMI-drop-out-on-a-Sony-Bravia-LCD

TonyTheTiger, I know we've discussed this before, but on the Sony 3D monitor, there are no settings where you can turn on/off the ability for the thing to auto-switch to active HDMI ports? That was ultimately a large part of the blanking for me I think. The HDMI port picking up false "actives" from the other ports.

There is a hidden USB port on the PlayStation display, presumably for just that same thing. There just hasn't been an update specifically made for it. As far as the auto-switch setting, not that I know of. The menu is ultimately very simple and lacks most of the bells and whistles actual LCD TVs tend to have. I'll double check, though.


What about 3D performance? Is the color decent? I'm primarily interested because it's 3D at a decent price. The inputs sound fine for what I'd use it for.

I'm the last person to ask about 3D since it starts to bother my eyes after about 20 minutes. I never use it. What I can say is that the PlayStation branded glasses are very dark. You'll want to fiddle with the brightness when switching back and forth from 3D unless you can find a sweet spot that looks right to you in both normal and 3D mode. Other than that, I don't notice anything outright inferior about it when compared to other 3D TVs I've seen.

[Bojay1997]

I would absolutely not recommend this monitor. I bought one a month or so ago when Sony was running the promotion with the second set of glasses and an extra game in addition to the set of glasses and Motorstorm game already included all for $299. While I haven't had the technical problems that many other owners have (i.e. the monitor completely dies within a few weeks of purchase or does weird screen flashing to black), I own a good midrange Sony 3D TV and the pictute quality on this monitor is not even close. In addition, as someone already mentioned, the glasses cause a loss of brightness on what is already a not very bright monitor. Moreover, the monitor itself is really tiny. I thought it would be ok for a bedroom monitor for our second PS3, but it really is hard to see from any distance. I would assume that the dual player mode is even worse with two people sitting up close, but quite honestly, I've never gotten around to trying it.

If you want a good 3D display, stick with a TV by Sony, Panasonic, Samsung, etc...This is a total waste of money.

[NayusDante]

Thanks for all the feedback, I guess I'm just going to hold off.