Acer AT3705-MGW 37" LCD TV

[Gavern]

Yeah I've got 1919x1080@60hz running very well through a Ti4200. Gonna stick my 6600GT in it when I upgrade which should be good for gaming.

Cheers.

Only bugger I am going to have is that the lounge where the DTV is going to end up has a entertainment recess with a unit there and our 68cm CRT... this unit will not fit the DTV and we will have to buy a new one unit. This is where my main PC is (with the 4200Ti in it) So the DTV will go into my theatre room that has the second PC but only an MX440 in it.... so I am most probably not going to get the full impact of the DTV's resolution till we get a new unit and the DVT gets moved....

Hence wanting a XBOX component cable tonight to really impress the missus. I can just imagine her tonight when I can only get 1024x768 res running on the MX440, wanting to know why we spend this money on a TV that isn't performing as well as I had explianed to her that it would (when we went to the bargaining table with me wanting to buy the new TV)

ALTHOUGH... I do have a 6600GT in for RMA for a friend's PC that I may be able to score. But THAT card is PCIe which means a possible PC upgrade...!!

[fobfob]

Is anybody yet to have the 50hz horizontal lines issue repaired by Acer? I didn't think so....

If so did they fix it and do you know if they replaced the pannel or what else they did....?

I have not heard that anyone had the lines problem fixed. I haven't bothered myself. In fact it seemed the problem has lessoned, or else I've become used to it. That was until the last few days, when it seems to have become worse, or else I'm noticing it again

[Jocko]

- Has anyone tried using this as their main PC monitor running windows?

I'm keen to understand how you found it for eyestrain, brightness, general functionality etc...

.

[keygar]

I just got my TV back from the acer service centre and the software it now has are as follows:

appc: VWe7_eu_cm037_v1.012

boot: opaB_01_c1-ve7

DTV: dvwex_au_v1.08R2

It also has a menu item that has hdmi detection disable in this service menu that im not sure was there before

Just wondering how the version number compare to some of you who also recently got your tvs updated.

Same version after I had mine fixed.

At first I thought it was a step backwards as firmware number was lower but all seems good now.

[SkadollaX]

I have not heard that anyone had the lines problem fixed. I haven't bothered myself. In fact it seemed the problem has lessoned, or else I've become used to it. That was until the last few days, when it seems to have become worse, or else I'm noticing it again

Yeh I stopped worrying about it until one day I noticed it running my xbox 360 at 1080i 60hz.

Not as prominent as the 50hz signal via DTV or other 50hz signals but noticeable all the same. What I don't know is if the 360 is causing interference...? But I don't see it on my other LCD so that kinda cancels that out.

I have also noticed it when running my laptop over DVI at 1920 X 1080 - 60hz (funny though the tv sees it as 24hz) but when I switch to 30 interlaced it goes away. If I then switch back and forth several times I can force the problem to go away (when DVI - 60hz - tv sees as 24hz) for a while. It's as if the switching of resolutions\refresh rates can stop the horizontal mess.....

FOFOB - what do you think...? Should I risk it...? take one for the team maybe...?

[Gavern]

Guys... I am impressed.

Please excuse the follwoing if you have all "been there, done that" as I have only manage dto get form pages 1-30 and 50-60 in this thread. So far.......

Anyhow.........

My 64MB GF440MX 8X AGP card (Celeron 2.6, 512MB) pushed the LCD to 1920x1080 @ 30Hz with very little effort. WIth VGA Cable (that PC is low profile and only has VGA + S-Video). I ran out of time to play further and see what comes of it... but here's what happened last night:

I plugged the PC in via VIA (It had been connected to the TV with S-Video at 800x600... I also connect the projector but change the res to 1024x768 when I do this)... funnily enough, the LCD wouldn't sync at 800x600..!! After a reboot and run in VGA mode, I could run 1024x768, 1280x720/900/1024, 1360x768 but when I hit 1600x900, the screen would only register it to be 1440x720.

Using the standard video settings control panel (or the nVidia system tray icon quick settings) I could go no further than 1440x720. AND the lowest I could set the refresh rate was 60Hz........ I had a selection from 60Hz right up to something like 125Hz in 5 Hz steps I believe...)

Then on my initial forays into the Advanced Timings of the nVidia control panel, I simply set the mode to interlaced and then adjusted to res to 1920x1080..... this came up immediately to 1920x1080@25Hz... but you could tell it was interlaced (or something equally sinister) as there was a series of feint wavy lines running up ths screen.. unless this is ths PAL LINES you have been talking about..?

Anyhow.. after a couple of further unsucessfuly attempts at changing the resolutions I went back into the Advanced Timings and only then noticed the first pulldown menu item, something to do with Custom Resolutions. (From memory, I think the second below that was Custom Timings). On opening this I found a list of standard resolutions and frequencies... 1440x720@25 (p), 1440x720@25 (i), 1440x720@30(p), 1440x720@30(i), 1920x1080@25(p), 1920x1080@30(p),1920x1080@50(p), 1920x1080@60(p) etc ...... all with standard resolutions in the range of 1024x768, 1440x720 and 1920x1080 with timings like 25/30/50/60 AND I can only assume the (p) and (i) are the progressive & interlaced modes....

Now, at this point I set it to and left it at 1920x1080@30(p) and the thing ran rock solid - great picture and colours. All on my cheapie 440MX. Just have to see how well the PC handle sthat resolution with teh HD TV card and HD demos.

And that was where I had to leave playing with the toy.. as the missus had already already showered and readied herself for bed and told me in no uncomplicated ways that I had better things to play with than a television that late at night.

And as right as she may have been (only by a damn fine whisker I tell you...) I had her commenting this morning on just how high the WAF was of the new LCD...!!

Now.. just to download all those MS Hi Def trailers and demos..!!

Oh.. and one more thing - The Warranty card still says that the TV is covered by an on-site warranty (and for those out of the metro area, a courier would be organised for a pickup)

[SkadollaX]

Oh.. and one more thing - The Warranty card still says that the TV is covered by an on-site warranty (and for those out of the metro area, a courier would be organised for a pickup)

Even though it says onsite warranty not all problems will be attempted on site. Probably the only one is firmware update, everything else is going to the repair centre?

Im in inner city and it's getting picked up today for a trip to flemmington

but you could tell it was interlaced (or something equally sinister) as there was a series of feint wavy lines running up ths screen.. unless this is ths PAL LINES you have been talking about..?

Had that exact same thing and yes what you see there is what you get on Pal 50hz....

[Gavern]

With regards to Warranty returns....

Has everyone kepth the box the TV is packed in....?

Or tossed it out and if the TV need off-site repair then packiong with something else.... like what..??

In fact, I am having my BRAND NEW LCD picked up and exchanged on Tuesday morning - there was slight rubbing of the paint away form the casing, 40mmx20mm, just below the on/off switch. Retras offered a discount or straight swap. In my haste I took the straight swap (they will drop a newie and replace on the spot) but I am left wondering how much of a cash repayment they would have offered..!!

Still... after having had to convince the wife on how good the TV is before we bought it, the last thing I want is a tiny blemish to detract from the WAF....

[double07]

With regards to Warranty returns....

Has everyone kepth the box the TV is packed in....?

Or tossed it out and if the TV need off-site repair then packiong with something else.... like what..??

In fact, I am having my BRAND NEW LCD picked up and exchanged on Tuesday morning - there was slight rubbing of the paint away form the casing, 40mmx20mm, just below the on/off switch. Retras offered a discount or straight swap. In my haste I took the straight swap (they will drop a newie and replace on the spot) but I am left wondering how much of a cash repayment they would have offered..!!

Still... after having had to convince the wife on how good the TV is before we bought it, the last thing I want is a tiny blemish to detract from the WAF....

Yeah I tossed the box.

I'm getting ours picked up on Tues for a firmware upgrade and the Acer tech guy said that the courier (AirRoad) are specifically trained in how to handle the tv and will wrap it up to protect it (don't ask me how or what with though).

Cheers.

[SkadollaX]

Yeah I tossed the box.

I'm getting ours picked up on Tues for a firmware upgrade and the Acer tech guy said that the courier (AirRoad) are specifically trained in how to handle the tv and will wrap it up to protect it (don't ask me how or what with though).

Cheers.

well just to let you know airoad just showed up to pickup my acer 2 hours ago but the box they had was too small and that's without the speakers. Lucky I still had my box because their box is just that a box.

They bubble wrap your TV and stick it in a box, no foam or anything special. Not that it's such a big deal but when you see your baby go you want to know it's in good hands.

I'm just glad I still had the box.

Finders crossed now X

Will they or wont they fix the 50hz issue....we will soon find out.

ps. airoad guy was a really good bloke.

[Gavern]

Yeah I tossed the box.

I'm getting ours picked up on Tues for a firmware upgrade and the Acer tech guy said that the courier (AirRoad) are specifically trained in how to handle the tv and will wrap it up to protect it (don't ask me how or what with though).

Cheers.

Good to know.... was looking at a big tip-run on Sunday but was worried about needing the box again. But seeing that I am getting the unit replaced (hope they give me another 100%% pixel panel) on Tuesday, then I suppose I had better postpone the tip..!

Oh well.... come Tuesday the kids will have a few days to play in the box til I chuck it..!

[fobfob]

FOFOB - what do you think...? Should I risk it...? take one for the team maybe...?

Good luck! We salute you!

I kept the box for ages thinking I might either complain about the 50Hz lines thing and get a fix or refund or maybe just so I can use it when I move next time. But it was taking up too much room. Two weeks ago I threw it out but I couldn't bear to toss the white foam ends which should come in handy if I need it moved.

[griff2]

Does anyone know if there is a list of the menu functions of the AT3705? I'm talking about the 'hidden' ones.

[BB88]

Does anyone know if there is a list of the menu functions of the AT3705? I'm talking about the 'hidden' ones.

It's on page 4x in this thread.

[griff2]

It's on page 4x in this thread.

Thank you very much for that, BB88. The list was on page 46, and was made by 'gsrider' who is in France (like me strangely enough.) Many thanks to him.

I'd also like to add my vote of thanks to all the people who have, and are sharing so much information on this thread. It really is excellent work.

FWIW: It appeared to me, in a brief test I carried out earlier today, that the 'brightness' setting in the menu obtained from =Press ch + and ch - on the TV for three seconds= appeared to have an effect on the backlight - at least, when I lowered it to 45, the over illumination in the corners of the screen that I had seen were no longer there. That's just my initial thinking, as I didn't have that much time to play before 'she who must be obeyed' required to view.

As a matter of interest: does anyone know if these settings are attributed to the particular input the TV is in when the menu is accessed?

Thanks once again.

griff2

[fobfob]

obtained from =Press ch + and ch - on the TV for three seconds= appeared to have an effect on the backlight - at least, when I lowered it to 45, the over illumination in the corners of the screen that I had seen were no longer there.

As a matter of interest: does anyone know if these settings are attributed to the particular input the TV is in when the menu is accessed?

Sorry, can't help you with the question as I haven't played with that menu much. However, regarding brightness, my impression is that the 'black level' or back light brightness does increase after a certain point, around 50 on the regular video options menu. Below that, from 0-45 or so, there is really no difference. But as you reduce brightness, it affects gamma and you'll lose shadow detail. So I set my brightness around 45.

The screen seems to have very poor colour dynamic range, perhaps something like 16 bit on a computer (ie. 65535 colours). Once the colour tones that make up the picture fall outside the range that can be displayed (and this range is shifted up and down by the brightness control, at least) those areas outside the range will be black or white.

Personally I believe this is a major failing of most, if not all LCDs at this point. Absolute black level is one thing but if your picture is dropping to black below a certain brightness level, you lose all detail and the picture really is sub-CRT in quality. This problem is due to processing, not the panel itself. After all, my computer LCD can display a huge range of colours and doesn't suffer from this problem, well not as much anyway.

Sorry for the rant! bon chance!

[PeterSt1503560564]

All,

I came across my technical manual again, and saw something I overread before :

Overscan :

Video source is with overscan supported.

Graphic source is without overscan supported.

Video source = ATV, Scart1-4, AV1, AV2, DTV.

Graphic source = Component1, Component2, VGA, DVI, HDMI, MGW/Cardreader.

[griff2]

Sorry, can't help you with the question as I haven't played with that menu much. However, regarding brightness, my impression is that the 'black level' or back light brightness does increase after a certain point, around 50 on the regular video options menu.

...FRIENDLY SNIP...

This problem is due to processing, not the panel itself. After all, my computer LCD can display a huge range of colours and doesn't suffer from this problem, well not as much anyway.

Sorry for the rant! bon chance!

Thank you, fobfob. I think you are correct. I had another look at this and it does seem that below around 44 there is no appreciable backlight reduction, but gamma,yes, exactly as you say.

Again I have this suspicion that this setting may possibly be stored against input, or group of inputs. But I'll test that out further.

No, rant away, that was very interesting. Cheers!

[fobfob]

Again I have this suspicion that this setting may possibly be stored against input, or group of inputs. But I'll test that out further.

My guess is yes!

[Gavern]

HEADS UP LADS....!!

My AT3705-DTV is going back to the store today and they are dropping of a brand newie. The original was all good on delivery except for a slight rubbing of the case below the power button. About 2" wide x 1" high. Nothing drastic at all, but the missus wanted it to look just right for a new purchase... And rightly so..!

Retravision was more than accomodating in replacing the unit, so no qualms with them.

The heads up is for anyone in the market for a reduced AT307-DTV: Keep an eye on the Acer factory outlet

http://www.shopacer.com.au/ecprod/XConnect...anding.html?afo

For my TV as a refurb.

(Although, I believe they only offer a 12 month warranty)

I saw a 66cm LCD for under $800 in there last week.

You never know.

Cheers,

Gavern

[Slangaren]

Hi,

Has anyone tried another UPnP server software? I have tried serveral and most of them works. But I am looking for one that can play DVD's with menues over the network.

The only one I have seen is uShare http://ushare.geexbox.org/ that should do this, but I don't know or have Linux..

Anyone tried it or have any other suggestion on Server that does it.

Ciao

[fobfob]

I recently purchased a Harmony 520 remote and I'm using it to control the Acer 3705. When you set up the Harmony, it asks you to enter the name and model number of the tv. It doesn't let you choose it from a list. Having entered the info, it never complained, meaning, I thought, it was in the database. However, when you force it to select from a list in a different part of the wizard, the AT3705 is not listed.

Anyway, the device model they have for the 3705 is incorrect. The main problem is the inputs are incorrect. I had to spend quite a long time to "repair" them. The button codes are correct but the actions to perform in order to select each individual input (eg AV1, AV2 etc) are all wrong. In the end, I've got it to work well.

Just thought I'd share for anyone contemplating this device. Has anyone else tried the Harmony with the Acer?

[cnikiel]

Yes me with more or less the same result.

Problem seems to be sometimes that you can not set one specific output.

Like going from the scart1 to HDMI directly seems to be cumbersome.

You need to hit the AV a couple of times to get there.

Or have you found a direct way to enter the correct output?

Has anyone else tried the Harmony with the Acer?

[fobfob]

Yes me with more or less the same result.

Problem seems to be sometimes that you can not set one specific output.

Like going from the scart1 to HDMI directly seems to be cumbersome.

You need to hit the AV a couple of times to get there.

Or have you found a direct way to enter the correct output?

There is no direct way but the existing 3705 in the database does know about this, there are "AV1", "AV2" etc and some of them hit the corresponding button more than once, but still wrong.

But the Harmony wizard understands that many devices do not have direct input selection codes. So it gives you the ability to select various methods including cycling and menu selection. Even playing with this wouldn't work because something inside the database codes won't let them be repeated (unless you hit the help button, go figure that one...). So instead, I learnt the codes manually and then set the inputs to cycle through them. This worked, but then the Harmony lost the knowledge of which input it was on. Again, something embedded in the database code. So, I tried making one iteration of the cycle actually the original database code, and it works perfectly! It always was able to hit the key once, just not more than once. This way it remembers which input its set, and also hits the key the right number of times.

I'm sure no one can follow that but anyway, if anyone is using the Harmony with the Acer, gimme a yell cos I managed to get it to work

[MelwayMan]

Hi Guys,

I've been having similar problems with my Harmony 880. After actually getting the inputs correct on the template (several were missing), I have done manual step by step overrides for each activity. For Component 1 (AV3), I have set:

SCART, AV, AV, AV.

DVI: SCART, PC, PC

And so on... I don't have anything on my SCART inputs, so it's an easy way to do it. I think the longer term plan is to get a new HDMI receiver and run everything into the TV via a single input. (Just waiting on the HDMI 1.3? receivers and support for the new Dolby and DTS HD audio standards)

Tim