Broken monitor

fingerz

fingerz

Messages
1,100
Edit My Images
No
Short version
While browsing the web last night my left monitor suddenly went black (right one stayed on as normal) and has stayed like that since. The power light stays green, as if it's getting a signal, but the screen is black.

Long version
I have a dual monitor setup. Both are CRTs. The left monitor is an iiyama 19" diamondtron-type-thing (flat glass, basically) that I bought about four years ago. The right monitor is a Belinea 19" non-flat (curved glass) job that I bought about seven years ago.

Last night the left one (iiyama) went black all of a sudden. I didn't hear a pop or click or anything that would normally indicate the tubes dying.

The right one (Belinea) was still displaying my normal desktop stuff so I moved the mouse cursor over and it appeared on the screen fine. I thought the iiyama's VGA cable might have come loose so I checked it and it was still attached fine.

I looked at the power light and it was still green. When there's no signal it goes orange and the monitor clicks and switches off (well, standby mode type thing). But now the light is green all the time as soon as you turn it on. Even when the PC is still turned off.

I left it overnight in a last-ditch hope that it might be ok in the morning but it isn't. It's still the same.

So...

What do you lot think I should do? Is the cost of repair likely to be more than the cost of replacement, or close to it? If I decide to replace it I'll probably go down the flat panel route as they're good enough for graphics work now. But I'd need to buy two. I don't really want one TFT/LCD and one CRT. It'd just annoy me too much.

Also, if I go the repair route (or even just get a quote), where should I be looking? Normal TV repair places?

Steve
How far did you get with your research into flat panels? Any joy? If I did go that way I'd be tempted by either of the cheap(er) LaCies, but they're out of stock at the moment.
 
fingerz said:
Steve
How far did you get with your research into flat panels? Any joy? If I did go that way I'd be tempted by either of the cheap(er) LaCies, but they're out of stock at the moment.
Click to expand...

I have decided to buy a Belinea 102035W 20" which uses a P-MVA panel (the same that is in the Eizo's). The build quality is not quite as high and it is not as well calibrated out of the factory but it does come with a three year on site swap out warrantee and is available for about half the cost of the Eizo's.

For correct colour calibration I am going to buy a Spyder 2 so that should sort out the issues there. I will also be able to match the other three screens in the house to make things easy.

HTH
 
Thanks Steve. Very helpful.

Looking at the connectors, My graphics card has one VGA connector and one DVI connector (not checked what type of DVI yet) so I'm not sure I'd be able to use two of those, would I?
 
Oh really?

So would I need a VGA -> DVI converter for the second monitor? By which I mean a converter that allows the monitor's DVI cable to be plugged into the VGA port on my GFX card.

I already have a converter to do the opposite (so I can plug the old Belinea CRT into the DVI port) but I didn't know the other kind existed.
 
No the Belinea accepts both DVI and VGA so if you bought two you would connect one through DVI and the other through VGA
 
You will also need to buy a seperate DVI cable (if you don't already have one) as the Belinea does not come supplied with one. At this price though you can't really complain ;)
 
fingerz said:
Thanks Steve. Very helpful.

Looking at the connectors, My graphics card has one VGA connector and one DVI connector (not checked what type of DVI yet) so I'm not sure I'd be able to use two of those, would I?
Click to expand...

I am not sure I would want to run two wide screen monitors though...maybe consider buying two standard 20" screens instead? I can't help you much there though as I have been looking for widescreens myself so don't have any info.

What resolutions did you run on your two CRT's?
 
I think I use(d) 1152 x 864 on them. I hear your point about two widescreens but even so that monitor looks hard to beat. The LaCies have much slower response times (20ms) and they're only 19". And I can't see anything else that looks as good for the price. Unless Belinea do a non-widescreen version at the same price?
 
They do two different 20" models but both are slower and use different panels. They also cost slightly more too.

if you have the desk space for two 20" wide monitors then it shouldn't be a problem. You Graphic card may struggle to run both when doing intensive work though...bear that in mind.
 
The GFX card's an X800 XT (I'm into my games) so it shouldn't be too bad. And I've got the space so I think it'll have to be two of the wide jobbies as the others don't seem to be able to touch it for value (just had a look).

Do they have any kind of dead pixel guarantee? I'm guessing not (couldn't see it mentioned) but you never know.
 
Nope they are class II, so my advice would be to order by phone/internet that way you have the distance selling act to protect you ;)

Alternatively find a retailer that offers a pixel check option. I have managed to find one here in Germany that stocks the Belinea and although it adds to the price, it is certainly cheaper than the cost of return postage and won't constantly annoy you.
 
Thank you. Will have a look for one.

Does the distance selling act allow you to keep asking for exchanges until you get a good one or can you just send it back and buy elsewhere?

Edit - nm, I just checked. I'm being thick. There seem to be surprisingly few Belinea retailers here. The only ones I found on the net (Froogle search) are these people:
http://www.eclipsecomputers.com/product.aspx?code=MOB-2035&af=50
 
No the distance selling act allows you to return goods without a reason. It is there to protect you should the goods not be suitable for your purpose as you had no way to test/evaluate before buying due to the distance. It is not a guarantee and due to that you will have to pay for the return shipping, as you are not saying that the goods are faulty but that they are unsuitable for your purposes.

As it is not the retailers fault they will not bear the cost of shipping.

In all likelihood if you return something under the distance selling act for being faulty you would then need to place a separate order with a different retailer otherwise they could legitimately refuse to accept the return..

Remember also that you have a three year warrantee with Belinea that is very good, but it will not cover one or two dead/stuck pixels as this monitor (and most) are class two devices. You either need to buy a class one device, find a retailer that does pixel checks or a manufacturer that guarantees no dead pixels.

I know that Aria computers offer a pixel check/guarantee for a little extra on any of their monitors. I don’t know if they stock Belinea though.
 
You realise of course that it might not be the monitor thats at fault. It could be the video card. I'd look into this before splashing out on a new monitor. You might find it doesn't work any better than the one you've already got.
 
It's definitely the monitor. I've got the right CRT plugged into the other port now and it's fine.

I'm going to see about repairing it first as it may only be a £40 job.

Cheers again for all the help Steve.
 
 
Thank you. Checking them now. Where did you find them? When I checked the Belinea site it was rubbish.

Edit - have now emailed all of those people to ask if they offer a 'no dead pixels' guarantee. None of their sites seemed to mention it so I'm guessing they don't but you never know.
 
I have a IIyama 21" that I use at work. Occaisionally it does exactly what you describe. Only way to reset is to unplug the vga and pull the mains plug from the socket on the back. leave it 10 mins and it works again.

First time I spent ages trying to get it working. Gave up and carried it to another PC and was amazed when it worked.

you may have already pulled the mains plug but it may be worth a shot if you left it powered up and only used the power button on the front.
 
No problem Jamey, glad I could help.

I have just ordered the Belinea monitor, so if you can wait a few days I will be able to give you a honest review once it arrives.
 
Lovely. I've got to try the repair route yet so I'll still be 102035W-less when yours arrives. Thanks. Had a reply back from Phoenix Computer Systems saying they'll offer the same dead pixel check as Aria for the same price.
 
Thats good news then if you decide to buy.

I'll let you know when mine arrives.
 
On the dead monitor check that the brightness hasnt been turned right down... I frequently go to see users with dead CRTs who have moved something under the monitor and accidentally rolled the brightness/contrast control so that the screen goes black :doh:
 
Mine will be here tomorrow.

My son is getting the Samsung LCD TV Monitor I've been using as one of his xmas pressies.....but keep it quiet.

:snowman::snowball:
 
You'll have yours before mine arrives then. I will be interested to read your thoughts on it.
 
evilowl said:
On the dead monitor check that the brightness hasnt been turned right down... I frequently go to see users with dead CRTs who have moved something under the monitor and accidentally rolled the brightness/contrast control so that the screen goes black :doh:
Click to expand...

Heh. Sounds like fun.

Doesn't apply to me though as the brightness controll is part of the OSD and the screen just flicked into black without me doing anything. Like a screen saver except the other monitor was/is fine.
 
:) In that case is the VGA lead fixed at the back of the monitor (ie can you replace the entire VGA cable to test)
 
It's one of those monitors with a hard-wired VGA cable, I think. Pretty sure but will check anyway.

It's very rare for cables to just die mid-use. They might develop a loose connection and need wiggling but I've given it a good wiggle and it didn't help, sadly.
 
Took the iiyama to a local repair shop today. The guy was friendly and helpful and deduced that it was the high-voltage transformer that had gone. He had a check to see if he could get another one but he couldn't (he said iiyama were notoriously bad at supplying parts) and he also said that it wouldn't be cheap, even if he could source one. To cut a long story short, the monitor was pretty much beyond economical repair so I took it down the dump.

I'm now about to get a pair of the Belineas (subject to Steve and Matt's assessments first) and wanted to check this DVI business here first. Here's the DVI connector on the back of my GFX card:
x800_dvi_port.jpg



Now according to this helpful page it's a Dual-link DVI-I type connection. So what I want to know is:

1) Is the port on my GFX card compatible with the DVI connection on the Belinea?

2) If it's a Dual-link DVI-I socket (as looks to be the case), does that mean I can run both screens using DVI (digital) connections? If so, how do you connect two screens to one port? Do I need some sort of splitter?

Cheers.
 
Can't comment on the specifics of your monitor and card but I know we have machines at work that are duel headed and are driven off one card. The cable is Y shaped IYKWIM.

:)
 
Yes, but not had the chance to anything with it yet, except for connecting it up and powering it up.

I'll feedback when I can, first opinions:thumb:
 
fingerz said:
Now according to this helpful page it's a Dual-link DVI-I type connection. So what I want to know is:

1) Is the port on my GFX card compatible with the DVI connection on the Belinea?

2) If it's a Dual-link DVI-I socket (as looks to be the case), does that mean I can run both screens using DVI (digital) connections? If so, how do you connect two screens to one port? Do I need some sort of splitter?

Cheers.
Click to expand...
To answer your questions
1) Yes, it will work through DVI-I

2) No sorry. Dual link DVI means that it can support a higher quality digital signal so will be able to display higher resolutions. If you want to run two screens then your graphics card will need an additional DVI or VGA output.

The difference in VGA and DVI is startling though, and not something I could live with personally if you have to run an analogue cable and a digital cable to two panels on the same pc - the DVI signal is far superior.
 
Thanks evilowl.

I will end up having to run one panel (the right-hand one that I use for odd windows) from the VGA output but I think I can live with it for the time being.

One thing you've got me thinking about though... If the DVI signal is so noticeably sharper, will it affect the way I process images? Specifically how much unsharp mask I apply? Will I start under-sharpening simply because my display is doing a good job?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top