Dell u2711 and DoubleSight DS-275W - HOW IS THIS POSSIBLE ?

[jmm5351]

I am currently interested in buying a new monitor possibly. My interests are in the Dell u2711 27" monitor and in the DoubleSight DS-275W 27" monitor. Now I know the Dell is most likely the better candidate but the DoubleSight is around $800.00 and the Dell is around $1,100.00. So I am thinking of buying the DoubleSight but my question is this. The Dell and DoubleSight both have a resolution of 2560x1440 pixels, both have the same 0.233 mm Dot Pitch/Pixel Pitch size, but the Dell has an aspect ratio of 16:9 and the DoubleSight's aspect ratio is 16:10. How is it possible that they have identical everything but their aspect ratio's differ from one another? Is this even possible? I can't find any legitimate reviews for the DoubleSight and I am afraid that DoubleSights specifications may be wrong or something. I just don't want to get stuck with an $800.00 monitor that is different than what was advertised.

Here are the links to the manufacturer's specifications of both monitors.

DoubleSight - http://www.doublesight.com/product/?idx=16

Dell - http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=U27113Y

Thanks for any advice :yepp:

[Sam_oslo]

Both got IPS-panel and same resolution, and that counts most.

I don't know anything about DoubleSight, but if the image quality, and other stuff are the same, the price is really good compared to Dell.

[jmm5351]

Both got IPS-panel and same resolution, and that counts most.

I don't know anything about DoubleSight, but if the image quality, and other stuff are the same, the price is really good compared to Dell.

Thanks for the quick reply.

Yea the price is fantastic, but I am not sure about the image quality of it. But the dell is 27" and it says that the DoubleSight is 26.96". That is only a mere difference of 0.04" which is only 1.016 mm. I think Dell too is probably 26.96" but they just rounded it to 27". That is such a negligible difference don't you think. And besides all that, the DoubleSight states it has a 16:10 aspect ratio so it technically should have a slightly larger diagonal size than the Dell which is stated to be 16:9. I thought 16:10 had around 100 more vertical pixels compared to 16:9. But if they both have the same resolution and pixel pitch wouldn't they have to have the same aspect ratio also. I am a little confused by this and it makes me tend to believe something is wrong on DoubleSights Specifications. If the aspect ratio is wrongly listed then maybe other specs too maybe wrong and I don't want to risk it until I figure this out or someone helps me.

[ripken204]

i just ordered the U2711 last night from an ebay seller, $900.
he has apparently sold a lot of them and i have found good comments about the seller in computer forums.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-DELL-u2711-27in-WQHD-LCD-Monitor-TOP-RATED-/170544774549?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item27b542bd95#ht_3137wt_885

[Frag Maniac]

I'd say there's cause for concern there, the only exception being if there's a typo or incorrect pic shown on the DoubleSight. You can tell the one shown in the pic is 16:10 shape. If it were to have a res of 2560x1440, which is 16:9, there would be a noticeable distortion of shapes in the image or black bars top and bottom. DoubleSight has been known in the past to source their panels from the same supplier Planar has. Planar is a pretty good brand whom made a name for themselves in the commercial grade display industry supplying hospitals and such. At one point I'd read DoubleSight acquired either Planar or the company that makes the panels, don't recall which.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the DS 27" is the same AR and res as the Dell U2711. DS' site commonly shows pics and ARs that don't appear to match. They may not be the most organized or hire the most knowledgeable CS staff, but they are among the best for bang for buck on displays that use high end panels.

Things to note on DoubleSight:

Although their prior 26" (25.5 actual) IPS monitors used the same panels as the Planars, their pixel warranty on them was minimal by comparison. The stand was also lacking the adjustability the Planar had. Input lag on the 26" DS and Planars was less than one frame though, which is very good. I have also found DoubleSight's phone staff are not all that knowledgeable, but then that's true of a lot of big manufacturers anymore, including Dell. Back when large 26 and 30" IPS monitors were really starting to get popular among consumers, there was a lot of buzz on [H]ardlforum, with some raving about the DS. Might want to stop by there and ask ToastyX if he knows anything about these 27" ones, he's their display guru there. I seem to vaguely recall there being talk of a lottery on whether the 26" DSs came with a polarizer filter though.

[jmm5351]

i just ordered the U2711 last night from an ebay seller, $900.
he has apparently sold a lot of them and i have found good comments about the seller in computer forums.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-DELL-u2711-27in-WQHD-LCD-Monitor-TOP-RATED-/170544774549?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item27b542bd95#ht_3137wt_885

I wouldn't mind paying an exta 100.00 bucks if I am already paying 800.00 and it's Dell quality which is also a plus. Let me know how the packaging holds up during shipping and your thoughts on the monitor you got from ebay. Seems like a good deal.



I'd say there's cause for concern there, the only exception being if there's a typo or incorrect pic shown on the DoubleSight. You can tell the one shown in the pic is 16:10 shape. If it were to have a res of 2560x1440, which is 16:9, there would be a noticeable distortion of shapes in the image or black bars top and bottom. DoubleSight has been known in the past to source their panels from the same supplier Planar has. Planar is a pretty good brand whom made a name for themselves in the commercial grade display industry supplying hospitals and such. At one point I'd read DoubleSight acquired either Planar or the company that makes the panels, don't recall which.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume the DS 27" is the same AR and res as the Dell U2711. DS' site commonly shows pics and ARs that don't appear to match. They may not be the most organized or hire the most knowledgeable CS staff, but they are among the best for bang for buck on displays that use high end panels.

Things to note on DoubleSight:

Although their prior 26" (25.5 actual) IPS monitors used the same panels as the Planars, their pixel warranty on them was minimal by comparison. The stand was also lacking the adjustability the Planar had. Input lag on the 26" DS and Planars was less than one frame though, which is very good. I have also found DoubleSight's phone staff are not all that knowledgeable, but then that's true of a lot of big manufacturers anymore, including Dell. Back when large 26 and 30" IPS monitors were really starting to get popular among consumers, there was a lot of buzz on [H]ardlforum, with some raving about the DS. Might want to stop by there and ask ToastyX if he knows anything about these 27" ones, he's their display guru there. I seem to vaguely recall there being talk of a lottery on whether the 26" DSs came with a polarizer filter though.

Ok, I thought it too looked like 16:10 but again everytime I take another look I became more unsure. I agree about companies techs these days. I was thinking about calling in and asking, but decided to scrap that because they will look at the specs on their website and tell me what I already know.

[ripken204]

well it's 1100+tax from dell, thats a good amount over 900 shipped.
i will let you know how it goes.

[Sam_oslo]

i just ordered the U2711 last night from an ebay seller, $900.
he has apparently sold a lot of them and i have found good comments about the seller in computer forums.

http://cgi.ebay.com/BRAND-NEW-DELL-u2711-27in-WQHD-LCD-Monitor-TOP-RATED-/170544774549?pt=Computer_Monitors&hash=item27b542bd95#ht_3137wt_885

That sounds like a good deal.

@jmm5351
If you are not sure about the image quality on DoubleSight, then you shouldn't take the chance. Dell U2711 is getting a lot of positive reviews, and with this price, the $100 (~10%) difference is not worth taking the chance.

A couple of my local dealers (in Norway) are selling U2711 a good deal cheaper then Dell too, so maybe you could look around and see if you can find better prices.

[jmm5351]

That sounds like a good deal.

@jmm5351
If you are not sure about the image quality on DoubleSight, then you shouldn't take the chance. Dell U2711 is getting a lot of positive reviews, and with this price, the $100 (~10%) difference is not worth taking the chance.

A couple of my local dealers (in Norway) are selling U2711 a good deal cheaper then Dell too, so maybe you could look around and see if you can find better prices.

I absolutely agree with you Sam. That's what I was telling Ripken204, if I am already going to spend 800 bucks then I wouldn't mind spending another 100 on a much better monitor. I am awaiting the news from Ripken204. I just wanted him to let me know how the monitor arrived (like how beet up the box is or how it is packaged) and some other things like that. Any dead pixels and etc...

[ripken204]

i will make sure to take pictures of the whole unboxing then haha, all the reviews i have read from this place have been very good, at these include reviews in hardware forums, not just ebay.

the seller claims the full dell warranty which is pretty amazing for these ultrasharps, that's another reason i wanted a dell

[jmm5351]

i will make sure to take pictures of the whole unboxing then haha, all the reviews i have read from this place have been very good, at these include reviews in hardware forums, not just ebay.

the seller claims the full dell warranty which is pretty amazing for these ultrasharps, that's another reason i wanted a dell

If you want man you can take pictures that would def be a plus. I just would like to know the condition it is when it arrives and how it was packaged. I live in PA and I see the person on ebay who is selling this beastly monitor is located in CA. That is a pretty long ways to go for something that is pretty large in size and some what heavy. Especially when you factor in how many times the monitor is processed at different locations until it finally arrives at my place in PA (That is going to be a lot of people throwing around my package) HAHA that sounded wierd - didn't mean it to be :D

My major concern is Shipping and dead pixels. And how much heat is transferred from the monitor to the surroundings. My room is already super hot all the time with my computer pumping out hot air, my xbox 360 running all the time, my lg 47" running, etc. My room gets hot and I would like to know how hot the monitor is after its been running for a while.

And was wondering some other things about it like: even light distribution, of course scratches or anything like that, etc...

And what is the difference between U2711 revision A01 compared to U2711 revision A03?

[jmm5351]

i will make sure to take pictures of the whole unboxing then haha, all the reviews i have read from this place have been very good, at these include reviews in hardware forums, not just ebay.

the seller claims the full dell warranty which is pretty amazing for these ultrasharps, that's another reason i wanted a dell

so did you get it yet man, whats the word?

[ripken204]

arrives tomorrow. i ordered it friday night.. so didnt ship out till monday. and it's going from cali to ny
i will post pics/first impressions tomorrow night

[jmm5351]

arrives tomorrow. i ordered it friday night.. so didnt ship out till monday. and it's going from cali to ny
i will post pics/first impressions tomorrow night

Sweet man. I wish I had a U2711 coming to my house tomorrow :D

[clown6magic]

2560x1440 pixels ，the aspect ratio of 16:9! 16:10=2560x1600

[ripken204]

well this monitor is awesome.
packaging was perfect, it was the dell packaging.
no dead pixels.
the color is great on it, i am truly amazed. photos in lightroom are so nice now.

the monitor on the left is a :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty samsung 24"
only reason i have it is for it's tv tuner.

coding is great too, soo much space.
time to play some fallout and watch my 4850X2 die

sorry for the :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty pics, i just wanted to get this thing unboxed :D

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44334.jpg?t=1288381140

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44337.jpg?t=1288381140

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44338.jpg?t=1288381139

[jmm5351]

well this monitor is awesome.
packaging was perfect, it was the dell packaging.
no dead pixels.
the color is great on it, i am truly amazed. photos in lightroom are so nice now.

the monitor on the left is a :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty samsung 24"
only reason i have it is for it's tv tuner.

coding is great too, soo much space.
time to play some fallout and watch my 4850X2 die

sorry for the :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty pics, i just wanted to get this thing unboxed :D

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44334.jpg?t=1288381140

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44337.jpg?t=1288381140

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44338.jpg?t=1288381139

Dude, that thing looks :banana::banana::banana::banana:ing sweet man. I can imagine how eager you were waiting for it to arrive today. I know if it were me that would be all I could think of. It makes the 24" panel look washedout and dainty. The vibrant screen looks amazing on the U2711. Glad to hear that it has no dead pixels and arrived in good shape. Thanks man for taking your time and posting those pics. I appreciate everything you've done. Get back to me after you play some Fall Out and let me know if you experience any input lag or ghosting. Great monitor dude, it makes me really want to get one now. :D

[ripken204]

so ive been playing fallout for a cpl hours, no ghosting which is a relief. but my overclocked 4850X2 isn't quite up to the task...
cant wait for 6900 series

[slowfreight]

well this monitor is awesome.
packaging was perfect, it was the dell packaging.
no dead pixels.
the color is great on it, i am truly amazed. photos in lightroom are so nice now.

the monitor on the left is a :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty samsung 24"
only reason i have it is for it's tv tuner.

coding is great too, soo much space.
time to play some fallout and watch my 4850X2 die

sorry for the :banana::banana::banana::banana:ty pics, i just wanted to get this thing unboxed :D

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44334.jpg?t=1288381140

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44337.jpg?t=1288381140

http://i1116.photobucket.com/albums/k573/ripken204/20101029_44338.jpg?t=1288381139

Nice man! My wife gave the "go ahead" and I do believe I'll be getting one of these...not the samsung.

[jmm5351]

I know this thread is basically dead now but I just wanted to update. I actually held off on buying a monitor last year discussing weather to buy the u2711 dell or the ds-275w doublesight. Well I just bought a new monitor about a week and a half ago and I couldn't be happier. It is the new ds-307w doublsight. All I can say is wow and having 30 inches of real estate is awesome. I was worried it may be too big and cause me to have to move my neck around a lot to see the whole screen and that's not the case at all. It's a wonderful monitor I bought it from Walmart and got overnight shipping via FedEx for only 9 bucks. There were no deal pixels and the box it arrived in came in perfect shape. Not beet up at all. If anyone is interested I can take some photos but just tell me what you want me to take pictures of and I will. The bezel and housing of the monitor is all aluminum and I know with doublesight older models they said the doublesight logo was peeling off and the bezel sometimes was not attached completely. I know on the new model I have the bezel is secured everywhere and the logo is also secured and its not going to peel off. The picture looks amazing and the monitor is very solidly built. I like the aluminum because it looks fantastic and also aids in heat dissipation. If you have any questions or want some photos taken just ask. I know I was a little hesitant to.purchase the monitor because there aren't any reviews of it anywhere and the only pictures I could find were all the same and it only showed the front of the monitor. Oh and there's also no electrical humming either coming from the monitor or the power brick. I know some people said they heard this on the older doublesight monitors. Cheers :up:

[Frag Maniac]

I don't recall if anyone here mentioned it, but the U2711 can be commonly seen on eBay via top rated sellers for $840 to $870, and Dell honors the full 3 yr warranty when buying them that way. Sounds like you got a fairly good DS, but what did you pay for it and are the settings buttons a pain to use like on many DS displays? Quite frankly I'm surprised it would have an alu shell. Hazro displays made in the UK have alu shells and they're well built, but fairly expensive.

I've been toying around with the idea of getting a U2711, but I worry about minimal 2560x1440 support. Some here in the past have claimed as long as you have a GPU that supports that res, you're fine, but I'm still seeing some games, like Brink that just released, being patched for 2560x1440 support. IMO 16:9 is better for movies, but I'm wondering if I'd prefer 16:10 for gaming even though you get a bit more peripheral view with 16:9.

16:9 because of the mass console to PC porting seems to be the most commonly support AR anymore, but it can make your vertical view feel cramped in some games and the FOV in 16:9 often leaves the behind view in race games (which is the view I prefer) feeling too far away and not as responsive. The U2711 does have a fairly tight pixel pitch even at 1920x1080 though, so it's a bit more versatile than a 30".

The U2711 has also proven to have excellent colors, contrast, brightness and detail. The comparison shots above verify it. So if you want to show some pics, a good start would be putting it side by side to your previous display and showing a similar comparison shot.

[jmm5351]

I payed 1,199 for it at Walmart. And like I said overnight shipping via FedEx was only 9 bucks which was awesome. I don't have my older display anymore because I sold it so I can't take comparison shots. It was an acer 24" though. I do have a little laptop its an HP dm1z with the AMD e-350 CPU in it and has a 11.2" screen. If you want I can take comparison pictures of the laptop and ds 307w. There is absolutely no input lag or no hosting at all. It's a lovely screen and yes it is all aluminium housing. I won't be home till later tonight and prob going out to drink so it may not be till tomorrow. Let me know about if you want comparison pictures of the two screens though. I know it uses an LG panel but not sure which one. When I get a chance tonight or tomorrow I will open Jul the service menu and look at the panel it uses and tell you. And I love having the extra vertical lines of resolution. I know what you mean about how you see more in a game with the u2711 or ds-277w but I think it would be hard to see text on webpage unless you zoomed in. The 2560 x 1600 is a little bit smAll when viewing webpage. I actually think its perfect but its def smaller than a 24" 1080p monitor. Let me know if you have any questions or pictures you want me to take.

[Frag Maniac]

...I think it would be hard to see text on webpage unless you zoomed in.You don't HAVE to use the native res just for desktop and net surfing though. If I had a U2711 I'd probably use 1920x1080 for a desktop res. At that res it would have a .31 dot pitch, same as the pitch I'm getting on my 20" viewable 4:3 CRT at 1280x960, and the font size is perfect and there are no problems with AA or sharpness of text.

On pics, I don't know, maybe just take a shot similar to what's shown on the U2711 above, both on axis and at a slightly wider angle. You have to be wary of room lighting of course though so as to not have glare onscreen.

That display should have an S-IPS panel according to Doublesight. As far as I can tell the only differences from it and the 305W is the addition of height and swivel adjust on the stand and built-in speakers.

[LinusTech]

You don't HAVE to use the native res just for desktop and net surfing though. If I had a U2711 I'd probably use 1920x1080 for a desktop res.

Text will look horrible on an LCD at anything but native res...

Personally I don't mind non-native resolutions in games, but for the desktop the only solution I can think of is "sit closer"

[Frag Maniac]

Text will look horrible on an LCD at anything but native res...Depends a lot on the quality of the display, pixel pitch, and it's ability to scale. These are high quality units, not TN cheapies. Even if one were to use the native res for web though, your browser should retain what zoom setting you use for each site, so it's not like you'd be constantly zooming as suggested.

[jmm5351]

You don't HAVE to use the native res just for desktop and net surfing though. If I had a U2711 I'd probably use 1920x1080 for a desktop res. At that res it would have a .31 dot pitch, same as the pitch I'm getting on my 20" viewable 4:3 CRT at 1280x960, and the font size is perfect and there are no problems with AA or sharpness of text.

On pics, I don't know, maybe just take a shot similar to what's shown on the U2711 above, both on axis and at a slightly wider angle. You have to be wary of room lighting of course though so as to not have glare onscreen.

That display should have an S-IPS panel according to Doublesight. As far as I can tell the only differences from it and the 305W is the addition of height and swivel adjust on the stand and built-in speakers.

There are more differences than that. The DS-307W supports 1.07 Billion colors (10 bit) but the DS-305W only supports 16.7 Million colors (8 bit). Also the DS-307W has an OSD now, the DS-305W does not. The DS-307W now has more inputs as well, the DS-305W only has a Dual Link DVI. The DS-307W has a Dual Link DVI, 2 VGA, HDMI, Component Video (Y, Pb, Pr), Sound Connector (Red/White), PC Audio In and Out, SPDIF Digital Audio Connector, and has a USB input supposedly just used for future firmware updates (I have not tried using the USB port so I don't know if it will function as a normal USB port). Well on Doublesight's webpage they claim the monitor is S-IPS but it is not. I took a few pictures of the pixels and you can see that the DS-307W uses H-IPS which doesn't bother me any since H-IPS is a newer variant of S-IPS and H-IPS is suppose to provide more accurate, or better, contrast ratio's over S-IPS and both types basically have the same viewing angles. I do not know how to bring up the service menu of the monitor, I tried almost everything. It doesn't show how to anywhere in the user's manual included with the monitor (The user manual can be downloaded from DoubleSight's webpage, it is too large to attach it here on the forum) so I don't know the model number or who makes the panel. Just know that it's H-IPS. The entire housing of the monitor is all aluminum and also the bezel is aluminum. Its a nice feature to help keep the monitor cool (its like a giant heat sink) and it also looks aesthetically pleasing. As far as the touch buttons go, they are very nice to navigate with. They are super sensitive though but it doesn't make them hard to use. It takes about a minute or so of pressing them to get used to their responsiveness. They are so sensitive that sometimes your finger could be a millimeter from the button and that is enough to activate the touch button. This doesn't happen all the time but sometimes it does. But again I have used many monitors with touch buttons and these are definitely the nicest I have ever used. They press every time you touch it without a hitch. I normally hate using touch buttons because as you all know they are just crummy, but the touch buttons on this monitor are indeed very nice. I did not have another monitor to compare it to, so I used my HP-DM1Z w/AMD-E350 CPU/GPU laptop just so you have an idea. I know this is not an ideal comparison but it is something. The brightness and vibrancy is cranked all the way up on the HP laptop and the brightness on the DS-307W is set at 26%. The height adjustment works very well and it is very easy to adjust the monitor height. It feels very smooth and to put it in other words it feels perfect. Same thing again for the swivel feature, it also feels natural and perfect. DS did a great job with monitor adjustments. My friend has a Dell-U2711 and the DS height adjustment feels better than the Dell. Just more smooth while moving it up or down. The Anti-Glare coating on the monitor seems like it isn't even there which is great. I am not sure if it works or not because my room doesn't have much sunlight at all, but I know the coating seems like its not present on the screen. It doesn't at all change the way how things look when viewing the screen. There is absolutely no input lag or any ghosting at all. NONE! I play Crysis 2, StarCraft II, Civilization V, Call of Duty MW2, and more and the monitor is fantastic. There were no deal pixels either, and text is not too small when viewing webpages on native resolution. I would say it is actually just right. It is a little smaller than a 24" 1080P but not too small that you have to squint or try hard to read text. This monitor also does get very bright and in the OSD you can change the back light brightness, can set the sRGB levels, has preset color temperatures, can change contrast and sharpness, has built in speakers with volume adjustments (I can't say how well they work because I am using other speakers and have a dual link DVI cable connected to the monitor), can change the aspect ratio, it does have a sleep timer you can set, you can change the OSD horizontal and vertical positioning on the screen, how long the OSD menu takes to disappear off the screen, you can turn on/off Dynamic Contrast Ratio, has an Economy Mode, and more(Everything is in the user manual you can download from their site). There is also very minimal back light bleed as you can see from the photo. My room was in complete darkness when I took the picture of the screen to show the back light bleed. It is negligible. But this is what I would expect of a more expensive monitor as this one.

Here is the link to the photos I took. They were too large to post here on the forum >https://picasaweb.google.com/115110906636887719853/DS307WMonitor?authkey=Gv1sRgCLT93LWRmovyPw#

The camera that I used made the picture of the monitor look sort of saturated. This is not the monitor it is definitely the camera that I used. It is a Canon PowerShot G9 so it isn't the best camera but a decent one. The colors of the monitor are not the slightest bit over saturated. And I did not use anything fancy to color calibrate this monitor, I just used the native tool that is a feature of Windows 7. The monitor is super close to being perfectly calibrated for color. If you put it next to a monitor that was professionally calibrated, you more than likely wouldn't spot any differences.


Let me know if you want any other photos or have any questions, I may have forgot to include something you may want to know about.

I also started a new thread on this monitor here since this thread was made for a different reason and an older DS model.
http://www.xtremesystems.org/forums/showthread.php?p=4849476#post4849476