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Offline barneyTopic starter

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1080 vs 1084
« on: May 12, 2009, 11:30:41 PM »
Hello, I was just wondering which of these Amiga monitors is higher quality: the Commodore 1080 or Commodore 1084.  I know they have some obvious physical differences but which one in your opinion is sharper/clearer/higher quality/more solidly built?  Thanks.

Barney
 

Offline save2600

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2009, 11:33:07 PM »
1080 is superior IMHO. Darker tube = better contrast. Blacker blacks, whiter whites kind of thing. Tube had a matte finish also, 1084 is glossy and comes with all the glare a glossy screen is known for. 1080 was built better too, as far as I can tell. I've seen way more blown up 1084's comparatively. Iffin' I'm not mistaken:

1080 - mono and made by Goldstar (later made tubes for Zenith)
1084 & 1084s - the 's' is for Stereo and made by Philips of Philips/Magnavox fame
1084SD1 - stereo, last of the reg. Commodore RGB line and made by Samsung

Oh - but the one thing that SUCKS about the 1080: it's either PAL or NTSC. Cannot switch to either, unlike the 1084+'s  :-(   Many, many, many Philips tubes were shipped misaligned. Their RGB guns as it were. Not a seriously huge problem if you know how to calibrate, but still. I'd also say that the image might have appeared sharper on the 1084, almost as if the dot-pitch spec was higher, but not until you properly aligned her. I'll always have a penchant for the original 1080 though  :-)
 

Offline barneyTopic starter

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2009, 11:48:19 PM »
Thanks for the info save2600, that was interesting.  Just curious as to how one calibrates the 1084.  Does the cover have to be removed to re-calibrate?

Barney
 

Offline save2600

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2009, 11:57:32 PM »
Oh yeah, it requires you to remove the back all right. Not a bad idea to use a large mirror as you're adjusting also. There are several convergence adjustments that need to be made on the yoke of a picture tube. They're ALL glued as to not be shaken loose, but as quality control has progressively blown chunks throughout the years (can you say unfair_trade_practice or 'sweatshop'?), I do not recommend just anyone try this though. Major shock risk if you've never attempted before and/or are a clumsy oaf. Here's some great info in layman's terms what we're talking about:

Linky to monitor FAQ's
 

Offline impactor

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #4 on: May 13, 2009, 12:04:42 AM »
Quote

save2600 wrote:
1084SD1 - stereo, last of the reg. Commodore RGB line and made by Samsung


I have a 1084S-D2, any info on this one?

Thanks.
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Offline save2600

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #5 on: May 13, 2009, 12:10:34 AM »
Looks like the BBOAH has some more info. Quite surprised to see a few other manufactures made tubes (Hitachi, Toshiba, etc.) as I've only seen Philip's & Samsung's. Perhaps the others were produced for Europa, etc. Never heard of the SD-2.

Linky to BBOAH
 

Offline TjLaZer

Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #6 on: May 13, 2009, 02:40:10 AM »
The 1084P (boxy version) is nice as it does PAL and NTSC well.  Where the others do not as they don't resize nicely.  1084D2 is pretty much the same as D1 but white to match the 600/1200/4000 series...
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Offline save2600

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #7 on: May 13, 2009, 03:27:13 AM »
Ahhh... makes sense. The SD1 is more cream or egg-shell white to match early Commodore A1200's and late A500's. I had an A500 when I bought my first 1084SD1. Loved the styling and feel of it compared to a Philips 1084s that was replaced (which as you say, was boxy and kinda cheap feeling). Boy... this conversation is really bringing back the Commodore-era memories! $300-$400 (actually, most of the time it was around $329) was A LOT of money for a frickin' RGB monitor back in the day. Even then, I knew Amiga stuff was kinda expensive comparatively. VGA and the soon to follow SVGA monitors were already out. The fact we had to purchase a (expletive) 3rd party, warranty voiding FF/SD back then and ONLY for use with Workbench compatible software put a REAL damper on Amiga purchases for me. And then there was this filter you taped over the God forsaken 15khz monitor that "reduced" the flickering. LOL!  You had to crank the brightness and contrast waaaaay up though to compensate. No wonder many of these Philips made 1084's were crap-ola before too long!

Still, we made do with what we could afford and by gum... wouldn't think of trading the experience in for anything  :-)  
 

Offline JimS

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #8 on: May 13, 2009, 03:40:27 AM »
Keep in mind that the 1080 is older than the 1084... So it's likely to be closer to it's death than a 1084. I had a 1080 that I got with my original 1000 back in 87 or so.... it died a bizarre death before all of my newer 1084s. On the other hand, I never saw a 1080 in the shop, lots of 1084s though.
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Offline TjLaZer

Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2009, 03:48:45 AM »
Yeah back in the day I had to buy a used 1080 monitor (from the classifieds lol) for my A500 as I could not afford a new one (commodore 1084 or 2002 at the time, both with the same styling as the 1084.)  Ah memories!
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Offline save2600

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2009, 03:54:46 AM »
@TjLaZer:

I remember the good old 'Advertiser' days! Would scour those every Wednesday and Sunday, looking for Amiga goodies. But alas, was always forced to buy new as everyone in my community had the gee-whiz enough to not sell their wares! lol   We had a few Amiga shops semi-near us where I bought my first A1000 from, but they were priced at strict MSRP's on their new stuff. Soon after I discovered I could not afford to upgrade my A1000 (it really did not make monetary sense to upgrade those machines back then), ended up getting an A500 & 1084 from Montgomery Grant. Amiga in 1988... packaged in those sleek lines of  patriotic red, white and blue. Delivered straight to the door. Ahhh....   :pint:


 

Offline stefcep2

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2009, 04:26:45 AM »
Quote

TjLaZer wrote:
The 1084P (boxy version) is nice as it does PAL and NTSC well.  Where the others do not as they don't resize nicely.  


what do you mean?
 

Offline save2600

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2009, 04:47:05 AM »
It means if you have a 1080 monitor designed around a 50hz supply, and you're in Aussieland viewing NTSC images, the total image is never going to fill the entire screen.

Just as in the U.S. when viewing PAL images on our 60hz NTSC system. This is why we all want Fat 1MB Agnus's in our A1000's and a nice, crisp 1084 (or an OCS/ECS Indivision) so we can have the best of both worlds  :-)  
 

Offline mr_a500

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2009, 05:22:51 AM »
Quote
Oh - but the one thing that SUCKS about the 1080: it's either PAL or NTSC. Cannot switch to either, unlike the 1084+'s

I don't know what you mean. I've got a 1080 and I regularly switch between PAL and NTSC with no problems.

I like the 1080 better than the 1084. The matte finish makes a big difference. I think the 1084 is a bit brighter though.

Offline save2600

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Re: 1080 vs 1084
« Reply #14 on: May 13, 2009, 05:25:50 AM »
You don't notice 1/4 of the screen missing? Chopped off?