XHD3000 Remote Control and Menu System

The Gateway remote does it's job... barely. It has no discrete input buttons and also lacks discrete power on/off buttons. It is not backlit. It is a programmable remote so you can, if you're a masochist, program other device remotes into it. There is no learning possible with this remote. I'd love to say more, but after using it for a little bit I put it down and played some more with the cool blue buttons...

If this LCD display is close to your sitting position as it is with me, I think you'll do the same. If you are using this as a main display and are sitting on a couch (aside form being crazy since all that high-resolution is wasted) I'd recommend a universal remote to accompany your purchase.

One nice associated technology is the IR emitter that comes with the display. The IR "Blaster" allows control of a device that may not be in direct IR range. It works by relaying the IR information from the monitor to the connected emitter (included) thus allowing you to control a single device that may be, for example, under your desk.

The Menu System

I loved the contextual menu system. I think I really liked not having any physical buttons to press. You have no idea how frustrating it is to click-click-click forever to get where you need to be. On the Gateway XHD3000, you simply slide your hand around or casually brush a button area to select the option you need. And it's laid out in a fairly intelligent manner. Once I got into the PIP functions, I found that the first menu enabled me to activate or deactivate the function – I didn't have to drill down 3 levels to turn it on or off. They obviously did some human testing on this product to check ergonomics.

With regard to the buttons, I found myself noticing that I had 4 different styles used for activating the illuminated touch controls:

• The Run
  Used for quickly running your thumb along the slider buttons in order to increase or decrease a variable like Volume or PIP Size.

• The Swipe
  My most common 'move' The Swipe is a casual flick of the finger across a particular control. This was most typically used on the Power button to boot up the display.

• The Tip-Tap
  This was the lackadaisical tapping of multiple buttons as needed to navigate up and down through the menu system to get to a more obscure area and make adjustments.

• The Push
  On those rare occasions where I got serious about my button-pressing I would utilize a more firm command of my finger to ensure that activation occurred as expected and without delay.

The first time you select the menu you'll be presented with the ability to adjust the volume, mute the system, control PIP functions, select a different input and also advance to the Main Menu. This method of giving you instant control over the most used-functions is a great, practical solution that ensures you're not wasting time clicking around menus to get the most basic tasks done.

Main Menu

Here you can adjust picture settings (limited to Brightness with DVI-D input), PIP settings, Geometry, Audio settings and access Advanced menu controls.

Advanced Menu

Color adjustments can be made here (though not when using DVI-D) and it is here that you can set the front panel LED mode to Day or Night which makes sure those blue lights aren't blinding you at night. Some housecleaning functions are also located here, including the Resolution Reminder, IR Training, Input (auto)Search, Integrated Product Tour (turn this OFF quickly!), and Information (shows current input and frequency). You can also reset the display here and change the Language.

Picture Settings

Brightness, Contrast, Sharpness, Gamma, Black Level, Hue and Saturation can all be adjusted here. With DVI-D you can only adjust Brightness, however.

PIP Settings

The PIP Settings menu is where the magic happens. The PIP features of the Gateway XHD3000 are only available when 2560x1600 PC video over dual-link DVI-D is selected as the primary video source. Those options, however are very cool. Users can select the PIP source (ANY of the remaining inputs) to be overlaid over the DVI-D input, vary the position (Upper Left, Upper Right, Lower Right, Lower Left) and even vary the Size and Transparency of the PIP window. Varying the size and Transparency of the PIP utilizes the top touch control which operates in a slider mode, allowing you to quickly adjust the parameters smoothly and in real-time.

The guy in The Matrix could have used this screen instead of the 9 scattered 15-inch monitors...

Video Adjust

This menu function only applies to standard definition sources (480i signals). The options include a Theme Mode which is your picture modes for automatic preset color settings (there are 4 presets and a Custom mode). Color Temp allows you to flip between Cool, Neutral and Warm. A Sharpness control is there (leave it at it's lowest setting) and Film Mode Detection enables 2:3 pull-down correction for 24 frame film sources like DVDs. Scaling options include Wide Mode (fits to width), Zoom (good for 2.35:1 anamorphic film material), and 1:1 mode which is good for 4:3 aspect ratio sources. Noise Reduction was decent, however I'd keep it at the lowest setting in order to reduce “floater” artifacts which arise from the edges of objects being artificially protected from the removed noise. The last feature I found useful was Overscan, which I left off for most sources I utilized.

Geometry

Sometimes an image needs to be moved right or left, possibly due to a mismatch of the video signal or some other anomaly with respect to a source or a piece of software. The Geometry menu lets users alter the horizontal and vertical position of the on-screen image. There are also Clock and Phase adjustments which, as Gateway actually recommends in their manual, should probably not be utilized unless you really know what you are doing.

Audio

Under the Audio menu you can adjust Bass and Treble and also enable 3D Audio, a DSP-based pseudo-surround mode that gives depth to two-channel soundtracks. This type of phase-based DSP, while nifty in small doses, tends to give me a headache so I left it off. The audio menu also allows you to switch the Audio Source from the Main source to the PIP audio. This is beyond cool as it allows you to work while watching AND listening to the television... not that I'd ever do that while writing a review (Go Eagles!) The last two options in this menu involve audio and video sync. Auto Delay (on by default) adjusts the audio to be in sync with the video – compensating for advanced video processing which often introduces delays. Manual Delay allows you to manually delay the audio in ms.