Cintiq 24HD: new unit comes!

I have received yesterday a new Cintiq 24HD. Wacom swapped my defective unit, and I have a new unit. I am very happy for this replacement, I didn’t have to wait for a new unit, since the same courier that took the defective Cintiq 24HD brought me the replacement unit. Good.

I was lucky enough to get a 0 bad pixel unit, and this is again good.

Ok, now the bad news:

1) The fan noise is present, also if it regular and not “un-continuous” like the one I had with the first unit I received. I have to report that if you have a quiet PC, and/or if you work in a silent workspace, than you will clearly hear the Cintiq 24HD when you are working with it. I really don’t like this, and I think that more Wacom could have done more efforts to reduce the fan noise. I have to listen some music while working to forget about this noise. Anyway my unit was defective, so I can confirm that the fan noise that I have reported some days ago is not normal.

2) The ArtPen is not working. Anyhow, Wacom finally confirmed (through the WacomForum) that this is a driver problem and that the ArtPen is not working. They told me that the problem is only a Photoshop problem, I have experienced a more general problem. Anyhow they now have both my ArtPen and my old Cintiq, so maybe they could do more tests and tell me if also my ArtPen was defective.

It is good to have a confirmation from Wacom (maybe they could have emailed me before). I hope that new drivers will soon fix this.

I really liked the fast Wacom swap service, but I have to report that they didn’t tell me anything about this (I was not present when the courier came the first time) and that there was some confusion about should be shipped back to them. I was told to ship only the Cintiq 24HD and the ArtPen without accessories. Then I discovered that I should have shipped the Cintiq 24HD with all accessories and not the ArtPen. Anyway I should get back the ArtPen again, and UPS will come again to pick the accessories.

Cintiq 24HD: update.

No big changes, one week more on the calendar, no real solution for Cintiq 24HD problems.

I am waiting for an official answer from Wacom to the fan sound problem. Other people have reported in my blog and in other forums that the fan noise is clearly audible,  some of them reported that they have an “irregular, scratchy, noisy sound” like the one that I have reported.

I am also waiting for an official (and also an unofficial) answer to the Art Pen problem. Nobody in all the forums that I have checked and on YouTube seem to have tested the Cintiq 24 HD with an Art Pen. I really don’t know if my unit was defective, if it is a driver problem, or if it is an ArtPen problem. Only time will tell us.

I am starting to get disappointed with Wacom support. I have emailed them several times and I have also asked for a telephone number, but I never got an answer. They told me that my Cintiq 24 HD will be replaced. Today at 3:00 pm an UPS courier tried to retire a package but I was outside. I was waiting for an email from Wacom to know some basilar things such as:

1) When the courier was coming.

2) What I should put inside the box (only the Cintiq 24HD, the tablet with all accessories?).

3) Time to have a replacement unit.

4) Type of replacement unit (used, new?).

I really don’t understand why they didn’t answer my questions. My first email was sent on the 5^th, then I sent an email on the 7^th, then another email on the 10^th. Never got an answer.

Meanwhile I found the Wacom policy for bad pixel: There is a detailed European ISO norm 13406-2 regarding pixel default classes. We apply class 2 rules and additionally we do not accept any panels with a fully black or fully white pixel. This seems very unreasonable to me. We are paying perfectly working and flawless 2300 euros for this tablet. We expect a perfectly working tablet. I would be happy to pay more to have a 0 bad pixel warranty. You can find it on many low-cost monitors nowadays! I have already reported that in 2006 I purchased a 1200 euro monitor with this kind of warranty. We are in 2011 and we are talking about a product that is almost two times more expensive. Wacom should really work on this. A single bad pixel in the center of the monitor can really ruin the working experience with this product.

Other problems that have been reported are:

1) Red cast: I think that this is more a colorimeter problem, I will let you know if any update is available.

2) Color “gradient” from side to side (with a gray background one side is magenta and the other is green). This is absolutely normal if the color difference is below 2 DeltaE 2000(1.5 DeltaE 2000 would be better). You have this kind of gradient also on very expensive Eizos and NECs monitors. A perfectly uniform panel.

That’s all for now. I hope to receive a response to my emails soon.

Cintiq 24HD: current situation.

As readers of this blog may already know I am experiencing some problems with my Cintiq 24HD. Don’t misunderstand me: I really like the Cintiq 24HD and how it feels to draw on it, but the problems I have are compromising my experience with this nice piece of hardware. 

The first problem is a  fan noise that maybe will require my unit to be changed, but I don’t know how much it will take. I am waiting for a confirmation from Wacom. 

Then a problem with the Art Pen that is not working properly (for me is not usable at all). I have been told (it was the supposition of a YouTube user, nothing from Wacom) that my problem is only a driver problem. I really don’t know if this can be true, I am waiting for an answer from Wacom. 

Other problems that have been reported by user are:

 

1) Bad pixel (2500€ but no 0 bad pixel warranty, that nowadays you find on many monitors. I got my Eizo replaced for one bad pixel in 2006 (5 years ago) and it was a mid-level monitor (S2410W). On my blog I got one comment from an user with a bad pixel and I know about one more case. It seems that there are no standards for bad pixel. Read this topic on Wacom European Forum.

2) Driver problems in “remembering” settings: read this topic. I reported this in the Wacom Forum, I hope that they can do something. At the moment the solution is to use the preference utility to backup and reload setting each time you restart the computer. Not a very user friendly workaround. I had also some problems with the driver (the Cintiq 24HD a couple of times was not recognized correctly) but this could be a problem of my computer (also if other user have reported a similar problem and I am not experiencing problems with all the other hardware that I use, including the Wacom Intuos 4 Wireless).

3) UPDATE 6^th October 2011: Some user reported a flickering problem of the screen. You can read here and here (two different link). The problem is described in this way: the display flashes off and on again for about a second at random intervals. 

In Europe getting customer support seems a bit tricky. I wrote to the support on the 30^th and I got incomplete email as answer. In Wacom Europe they are all very kind, maybe they are busy because all the 24 HD are sold out, but the service starts to seem to me slow. You can read the story here.

On my blog you will find more information and a review of the Cintiq screen review of the Cintiq 24HD screen and a review of the moving and locking mechanism.

Other things that I need to say (some of them where already described in this blog) are:

The screen is hot (maybe related to my fan issue). I am working in an air conditioned room and I can feel that the screen is a little bit too hot for my taste. After some hours of work I started to really hate the temperature of the screen. Very sad, because otherwise working with this product is a fantastic experience.

If you scratch the screen you will have to pay several hundred euros to get it replaced. It is recommended to clean it only with soft cloths, using only water,  no solvents. But you never know. I was more than one picture of a ruined Cintiq 21UX. Consider that is suggested not to use screen protector because they will compromise quality.

I love felt nibs, great feeling, but you will really need many of them, they seem to consume even faster than on the Intuos surface.

I bought the product because I always loved Wacom products, I hope that they will quickly solve my problems. I will keep you updated. Any comments are welcome.

Fan sound problem on the Cintiq 24HD

I am experiencing a sound problem from the fan of the Cintiq 24 HD. It seems to me that the fan is not working correctly.  I am getting a very disturbing sound from my Cintiq 24HD. I have customized my workspace to make it as quit as possible (using water cooling and specific fans to reduce the sound from the computer, for example) and I can clearly hear a “strange sound” coming from the back of my Cintiq 24HD. 

I reported to this to the Wacom European Forum. Please read post number 15 of the linked discussion. 

I tried to describe my problem on the forum in this way: 

I am a bit scared about the fan because the sounds it produces is not “regular” but, randomly, it produces a metallic and creaky sound. The sound that, in my experience, is produced by a fan that is not working properly. It is usually produced by a fan that is not spinning correctly, but which is moving a little bit around the rotation axis. Not easy to describe with words. I have emailed the support and I hope to get an answer. I can make an audio/video recording to show the problem if needed. 

I tried to make a sound recording but I don't have a good microphone. Anyway you should be able to hear something in this registration, that could help to understand what problem I am reporting: 

Audio Recording (Download) 

It seems that I am not the only Cintiq 24HD user that has this problem: there is another topic on the Wacom European Forum of an user that is reporting a "noise issue".

I sent an email to the Wacom Support (support@wacom-europe.com) and they told me that have to compile the return module. I have been told that Wacom does not have technicians that can come and check the unit in your working place or home, so you will always have to send the unit back to them in Germany if you have a problem or need a repair/replacement. The good thing is that they are going to pay for the shipping. The bad thing is that the Wacom 24HD is sold out at the moment and they don’t know when a replacement unit will be available.

I am happy with the Cintiq 24HD but the fan sound is very distracting. I have some experience with electronic devices. I don’t have any technical details of the fan that is installed (maybe is more than one) in the Cintiq 24 HD. Maybe Wacom should have chosen a better fan like the Noctua that I am using to keep my PC cool?

 UPDATE (13^th October 2011): My unit wasreplaced. Noise is present but this times it is “uniform”.