XHD3000 Calibration and Bench Testing
I was excited going into this review that someone had finally combined the best of both worlds: a slamming computer monitor and a high-quality display. Once the honeymoon was over I settled down to do some evaluations
I began by configuring white and black levels. There is no backlighting control (ouch) so you can't dim the panel to allow for deeper, darker blacks. This would be very useful – especially for nighttime viewing (see below) I also played with the Video Adjust settings to see how they interacted with the different inputs. I do this to see what, if any, controls are shared and which are independently controlled by each of the inputs. What I found was that the Theme Mode and Color Temperature are shared by the composite, S-video, component and HDMI inputs. Settings like Film Mode detection are separate for each input.
You can set the Red Green and Blue levels on the display, so fine tuning is possible and you can eventually dial in the color temperature. I found that the 'Warm' setting worked best for me as a starting point. Overall the system is easy to use and has enough calibration options to make it effective.
Audioholics/HQV Bench Testing Summary of Test Results
Perfect
SD Score is 130
Perfect
HD Score is 123
(nearly perfect)
Gateway
XHD3000 Benchmark SD Score: 80
(you are going to get an excellent picture)
Gateway
XHD3000 Benchmark HD Score: 80
(you are going to get an excellent HD picture)
| SD Test | Max Points |
Results | Pass/Fail |
| Color Bar | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Jaggies #1 | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Jaggies #2 | 5 | 3 | Pass |
| Flag | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Detail | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Noise | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Motion adaptive Noise Reduction | 10 | 5 | Pass |
| Film Detail | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Cadence 2:2 Video | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Cadence 2:2:2:4 DV Cam | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Cadence 2:3:3:2 DV Cam | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Cadence 3:2:3:2:2 Vari-speed | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Cadence 5:5 Animation | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Cadence 6:4 Animation | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Cadence 8:7 animation | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Cadence 3:2 24fps film | 5 | 5 | Pass |
| Scrolling Horizontal | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Scrolling Rolling | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Total Points | 130 | 123 |
The XHD3000 was sent 480i via component from a Helios HVD2085.
| HD Test | Max Points |
Results | Pass/Fail |
| HD Noise Reduction A & B | 25 | 25 | Pass |
| HD Video Resolution Loss | 20 | 20 | Pass |
| Jaggies A & B | 20 | 20 | Pass |
| Film Resolution Loss | 25 | 25 | Pass |
| Film Resolution Loss Stadium | 10 | 10 | Pass |
| Total Points | 100 | 100 |
The XHD3000 was sent 1080i via HDMI from a Sony PS3 Blu-ray player.
Comments on HQV Testing
There were few surprises with the results of the onboard HQV Realta video processing. The only question I had going in was how well the scaling would work since the native resolution of this monitor was so high. It turns out that my fears were unfounded – mostly. The patterns technically passed both jaggy tests as well as the flag test, however it was apparent that scaling to 1600p wasn't as smooth as many 1080p monitors I've seen. I utilized both 1:1 mode as well as Wide (we recommend 1:1 if you want the correct aspect ratios.) Those extra scaling steps to 1600p yield the occasional rough edge. The other anomaly involved Motion Adaptive Noise Reduction, which I know HQV's Realta is proficient at. We noticed some minor streaking in the picture and felt that we could quite give it a full score. I'd hesitate to assign a reason for this, but we wanted to note it.
See also:
I have contacted HSN.com but my 12 month warranty has expired and I am awaiting Gateway USA response as Gateway UK no longer exists. But due to my previous contacts with their USA customer support and technical department I am not hopeful of their cooperation in supplying a replacement TFT monitor as they seem to want to wash their hands of any responsibility for this monitors failing hardware.
Has anybody been able to source a original or alternative comparable replacement 30 inch screen from a reputable third party OEM manufacturer or supplier, preferably in the UK or European market? If not I would consider a USA or Taiwanese supplier because looking at the current crop of 30 inch monitors nothing seemed to be close to this monitor with regards to its dual PC display /HD TV credentials even two years after its release. Unless anybody knows that this is not the case with a current or up and coming alternative model am prepared to repair this model at a reasonable cost.
Any arguments for or against repair will be gratefully considered, thanks in advance. :-)
bmoshier;395473
Hello,
3) When I boot my Windows XP Pro x64 system, Windows' Plug & Play asks me to provide the "Gateway XHD3000 driver." Contacting Gateway results in talking to people who simply say "monitors don't need drivers." Yet, I keep getting this message whenever Windows scans for new hardware. So, there are two issues: (A) The software issue with the driver and (B) Gateway is unable support this monitor.
After searching on my own, I found USB device drivers for the XHD3000. When I try to install the driver, Windows says it can't find the hardware associated with the software from Gateway. I pointed this out to Gateway support. Their response was to say they don't know what to say.
At this point, I'm at a loss for where to go for help.
Do YOU know someone at GATEWAY who is willing to take ownership of technical support? If so, please, send them my way. (Major / Critical issues)
Bert.
I too own this monitor and overall I am happy with it. However about your driver issue with USB and XP 64-bit I can concur that I had the same problem with Vista 64-bit until I upgraded the bundled "EzTune CD" software that came with the monitor. I hope you have already solve this problem if not this solution should help.
I myself have a new problem and I was hoping that you could tell me if you have such a problem as well.
When I initially turn on the monitor, for TV or computer use, I get a green single pixel vertical line 1 inch from the right hand side running straight down top to bottom. Although this line disappears after 15 to 20 minutes of use I can't ignore it any longer because as of today it is now joined by a single pixel red vertical line very close to it but not quite next door to the green pixel. Both lines seem to be present with a general shower of red single pixels randomly presenting on and off erratically all over the screen which are visible in black background areas mostly.
I've had the monitor since November 2007 and I'm hoping that this isn't the end for this monitor.
I have had absolutely no joy from Gateway technical support, as they seem to be clueless as many other people have testify to. My problem is also compounded as this model of monitor never sold in the United Kingdom so I had to get a friend to exported it from the States to me in the UK. This also gave Gateway the excuse of washing their hands of any after sales support even under warranty. As you can imagine this is the last Gateway product I will ever purchase which is a shame as this product still has very many unique features like 1080p to 1600p upscaling which the competition still hasn't emulated.
In the meantime I would be grateful if any one who has knowledge of such an issue as the red and green vertical lines and also the cascade of red pixels appearing and disappearing in the warm up time could advise me as to the cause. Here's hoping that I need to upgrade my cabling rather than replace the LCD, fingers crossed.
Cheers :-)
I purchased this monitor 4 days ago and have had both joy and pain with it since.
Pro: I love the PIP support, such as sizing the window, moving, and transparency. While there are limits when using 2560x1600 mode, Gateway denotes these limits up front and discusses how to work around them.
The 2560x1600 is wonderful. The color width / saturation could be better (e.g. like the Dell 3008WFP, but you can't have everything).
The multiple input support works very nicely.
The Con, though, are significant, IMHO.
1) Lacks a Media Card Reader as the Dell 3008WFP or 3007WFP provide. (Minor nit)
2) The color width / saturation is not as good as the Dell 3008WFP (which is at 117% of NTSC and shows it). (Moderate)
3) When I boot my Windows XP Pro x64 system, Windows' Plug & Play asks me to provide the "Gateway XHD3000 driver." Contacting Gateway results in talking to people who simply say "monitors don't need drivers." Yet, I keep getting this message whenever Windows scans for new hardware. So, there are two issues: (A) The software issue with the driver and (B) Gateway is unable support this monitor.
After searching on my own, I found USB device drivers for the XHD3000. When I try to install the driver, Windows says it can't find the hardware associated with the software from Gateway. I pointed this out to Gateway support. Their response was to say they don't know what to say.
At this point, I'm at a loss for where to go for help.
Do YOU know someone at GATEWAY who is willing to take ownership of technical support? If so, please, send them my way. (Major / Critical issues)
Overall:
This really seems to be a 21st monitor but the support is almost 1980 Microsoft with no one wanting to take ownership and/or help.
Bert.
I had a feeling it might invoke such a responce, and I have no clue why. I assumed everyone read your reviews.