WTF is up with my monitor? (warning: large pix)

Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
edited September 2003 in Hardware
Ok, so this problem showed up first on the secondary input, and now it's on both and it's worse than ever. I know it's a monitor issue because it does it on all 4 computers (ATi R128, ATi R8500, ATi R9700 Pro, ATi R7500m) and it does it both with and without the KVM switch. It does it with multiple cables as well, so the only thing that hasn't changed is the monitor. Please please please don't tell me the monitor is fubarred because this was a friggin' $900 monitor and I don't want to drop another $1k on a monitor :bawling:

Look at the edges of everything. See the blurring? that's the issue. As I'm typing this, the smilies are all almost doubled :eek2:


BTW, the monitor in question is a Sony CPD-G520 21" Professional series monitor that's about 3 years old... it's been pretty lightly used (turned off when not in use usually, used maybe 3-4hrs a day at most usually)
Pic 1:
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Comments

  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Pic 2:
  • shwaipshwaip bluffin' with my muffin Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Format and reinstall ;)


    Try degaussing mebe?

    However, i'd say it's on its last legs
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    One more- it's a bad shot, I know, but it clearly shows the dark band on the lefthand side of the screen.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Shwaip- I was gonna try formatting and reinstalling, but I couldn't find a hole on the monitor that's big enough to fit a CD in ;D

    Tried degaussing, no effect. It's degaussed regularly (like once a week) anyhow. Also tried playing with the convergence, which also had no effect.
  • qparadoxqparadox Vancouver, BC
    edited September 2003
    It doesn't happen to be a Trinitron does it? all the Trinitrons @ our school do this although they're about 10 years old.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Yes, it's a sony monitor, so it's got a flat-screen, aperture grille trinitron tube.
  • MancabusMancabus Charlottesville, VA
    edited September 2003
    So which is the problem, the dark band or blurring?
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    both. They're part of the same thing- the dark band is blurring of the background.
  • MancabusMancabus Charlottesville, VA
    edited September 2003
    What about messing with the horizontal and vertical size in the OSD of the monitor?

    Does it do this on all resolutions, other than 1600 x 1200?
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Tried messing with the size and orientation in the OSD, and that did nothing. It does improve as the resolution gets lower, but by 1024x768, it's noticeable, and there's no way in hell I'm running a 21" monitor at 800x600 (or any other size monitor for that matter...)
  • WuGgaRoOWuGgaRoO Not in the shower Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    i had the same problem with my dell monitor thqats quite old...hit it on both sides at the same time...it worked for me (the left and right now front and back)
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    ;D lol. Ok... at this point, I'm open to anything since I'm going to have to RMA it if it doesn't get fixed anyhow... just a sec...
  • MancabusMancabus Charlottesville, VA
    edited September 2003
    You may want to get it professionally degaussed, by a TV repairman.

    Also you haven't recently put any magnetic devices, like large speakers, close to the monitor have you, that messed with my dell branded sony 19", but mainly with funky ass discoloration.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Wug: Nope. Unfortunately, if anything that made it worse, so apparently this is the one time where smacking it around won't work...

    Mancabus, no I haven't put anything magnetic in the area of the monitor... I'll look into having it degaussed professionally, but I think this is actually a problem with the cathode ray gun not being properly aligned...
  • MancabusMancabus Charlottesville, VA
    edited September 2003
    Geeky1 said
    Mancabus, no I haven't put anything magnetic in the area of the monitor... I'll look into having it degaussed professionally, but I think this is actually a problem with the cathode ray gun not being properly aligned...

    The TV repairman could probably help you with that as well, if he were at all competant.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Very true.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Anyone else got any ideas?
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited September 2003
    The best advice is to get a professional to look at it. Most (reputable) computer shops will diagnose it for a flat fee.

    There is stuff inside which can kill you, even with the power off and the monitor unplugged. (Big-ass capacitors, etc).

    I have worked on monitors and any fairly recent model has tons of things to adjust inside - way more powerful than the color/contrast/brightness controls you get to mess with on the outside (they are basically for fine tuning, not major adjustments which are done at the factory).

    It looks to me like you need to tweak the focus potentiometer (pot). I have "fixed" many monitors with a little plastic screwdriver by finding the focus pot and adjusting it. All the different pots are usually marked on the circuit board as to what they are.

    Professional degaussing might help, since it's much more powerful than the built-in degaussing feature. The gadget used looks like a hula hoop. Watching someone who knows what they are doing use one is like watching a mystic ritual. You have to approach the monitor at a certain angle, power on/off the degausser at the proper times, etc. If you do it wrong you can actually magnetize (the opposite of degaussing) the thing.

    If you just can't resist opening the cover be very careful, stand on a rubber mat, and keep one hand in your pocket (use the other to adjust the focus pot with an all plastic screwdriver. Don't even think about using metal tools once the case screws have been loosened. Stay away from the thing that looks like a rubber suction cup on the top of the CRT!

    But pay the money and have a pro look at it - just make sure you get a reputable repair shop and ask about all the fees beforehand. Years ago I used to work for a crook (out of business now) who would tweak the focus pot (five minutes) then bill the customer for $250 in parts plus an hours labor at $80.

    (Also - if it's gone that far out of focus that quickly it may be a sign that a component is failing. You might be able to get it back to normal, only to see it continue to go fuzzy later on).
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    prof, I'm probably going to call Sony later this morning (like after their service staff gets there... I don't think 12:27 AM is a good time... ;D) and talk to them about it. I don't particularly feel like opening up a large crt monitor, considering the kind of voltage the stupid thing has across the cathode and anode (on this 21" it's probably over 20,000v...). I've electrocuted myself twice already. I don't need to do it a third time. Especially not with 20kv... I don't need a haircut that bad.
  • profdlpprofdlp The Holy City Of Westlake, Ohio
    edited September 2003
    ...I forgot to mention that they usually drip paint over the pots so they know if anyone's been fiddling with them - bye bye warranty.

    Good Luck! :wave:
  • CBCB Ƹ̵̡Ӝ̵̨̄Ʒ Der Millionendorf- Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Did you degauss the monitor more than once in a short period of time? This can throw off something in the monitor, and cause blurring. This happened to one of my monitors (it wasen't MY fault). and I couldn't justify replacing it right away, so just lived with it for awhile. It was definetly the monitor's problem, I ran through the same trouble-shooting steps that you did.

    After the monitor was finaly replaced, I set it asside to possibly use in the future (just a little fuzzy in no reason to toss it).

    A few months later, I hooked it up to a computer in the office, and it works just fine now. I'm not sure if it's because it was off for so long, or if time would have healed it either way, but it seems that it was not a permanent problem.

    Of course, your problem could be totaly different.
  • a2jfreaka2jfreak Houston, TX Member
    edited September 2003
    I cracked the case on an AST Vision 7L I used to have and got about 18-24 months extra time out of it. Still sucked, but was TOLERABLE. Your monitor looks like a display unit Sony would be proud of compared to my 7L. ;D
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Ok, whatv that does look like is a mis-aim. BUT, have seen a mode mismatch with card drivers picking wrong mode, I have had the PNP monitor mode file get fubarred and do similar and worse things,and have had on-24-7 monitors overheat.

    Have you tried:

    On the onscreen display, shift picture LEFT (aim is to right of center from picture's point of view). IN XP, autoarrange desktop ICONS then sort by name.. Then change width a bit to suit, narrow and widen.

    I also have had boxes not maintain V & H sync on wakeup. Can you power down just monitor for 3-4 hours and leave machine on and eithre get a replication or a correction, if so which???

    Has monitor been jostled or bumped hard??? That can throw aim off. OSD width and aiming could be off. Too WIDE for res and refresh rates and syncing plus a slight misaim can do this. COMBO effect, not single issue only. This does not look like just a misaim. Also, aim is a tib high, the whitish line at top of pic tells me this.

    Otherwise RMA the thing.

    John.
  • mmonninmmonnin Centreville, VA
    edited September 2003
    Its not the voltage that will kill you its the amps that will run thru your body that does harm. Altho 20kV is a lot of power behind thos Amps.
  • NecropolisNecropolis Hawarden, Wales Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    I had this with the 21" Sony that I got (well, thinking about it, this is how I got it for free ;))

    I spent about 4 hours pissing round with the controls on the monitor adjusting everthing on it, eventually I sorted it. Dont give up hope ;)
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Right. Wattage (with weighing heavily on amps versus voltage) is the killer, and the amperage and voltage are very large. Opening it and discharging the larger caps that power the gun are a requirement before working on it unless you are playing with simple plastic alignment tools (use NO metal screwdrivers for fine tuning) inserted through the provided holes and into pots aligned with holes and that is a tech's job as tiny amounts go a long way to alter settings, we are talking 1-10 degrees of turn in most cases to fine tune, and less than 45 for a gross turn which I would do only on an open and discharged CRT with a start point mark to allow one to judge pot rotation for each paot and to be able to read the circuit diagram to figure out which pot is what (many times CRTs have circuit diagrams inside case, and those that do not frequenly have pots labelled, and reading that PCB marking coding is a video tech's job).

    Vsync can be refresh rate for frame, H sync is Horizontal Sync, H size should be on OSD, V size shuold be OSD only, VPos is vertical aim fine tuning, HPos is horizontal aim fine tuning, and real fine tuning used to be done with the monitor LIVE and calibration displays running.

    In this case, one unfortunate possibility is that the monitor MIGHT faintly possibly have been surged and have a damaged power circuit. I have seen similar results to that when the gun is not getting nearly enough power as well as what was talked about above.

    John.
  • Straight_ManStraight_Man Geeky, in my own way Naples, FL Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    One other set of things I have seen that might or might not relate:

    A large magnet, like that in a BASS speaker, can toss a monitor for a loop if within 2-3 feet of a monitor. Ideally the BASS speakers in computer speakers should be 3-4 FEET minimum away from monitor. STEREO BASS speakers should be 6 feet or more away from monitor, ditto the deep BASS computer speakers in 5-speaker high-end computer sets.

    Put one in front or to side and you will get distortion of major sorts, so if you have a BASS capable speaker with the magnet in front and to LEFT of monitor or on left SIDE of monitor power it and monitor down, let monitor be off for 3-6 hours and with speaker still powered down try looking at live (now powered up) monitor and see if OSD will let it adjust right with speaker off. If so, you got large external mag field (EFI) tossing your monitor's circuitry out of kilter, possibly including the power circuitry with EFI riding on power cycling inside monitor.

    I can take a large magnet from a BASS speaker and replicate this on my monitor for a VERY short time (3-4 SECONDS-- keep it near for a long time (more than 4-5 minutes) and 3-4 total degausses AND a gun circuit drain will be needed, an hour or more apart for degausses, to get the monitor to recover and long term mag field exposure will TRASH a monitor as the circuits will be mis-compensating in many ways and might be damaged also internally from both heat and intense EFI exposure).

    John.
  • Geeky1Geeky1 University of the Pacific (Stockton, CA, USA)
    edited September 2003
    Ageek:
    Tried resizing the image, which doesn't have any effect.
    Leaving it off for several hours (with one of the computers still on) doesn't have any effect.
    There's nothing magnetic around the monitor except the dinky (3") satellite speakers for my speaker system, and those are magnetically shielded, and don't bother the monitor a bit.
    It's most definitely an issue with the monitor itself- I've used 3 different cables, 4 different computers, and it has the issue with all of them. I bought a KVM switch on Friday, but the monitor has been doing this for a month or more (on the second input anyhow) and the KVM switch has no effect, either. So, since everything else has been changed, it's got to be the monitor.

    Necropolis:
    How did you manage to fiddle with the damn OSD controls for 4 hours without going totally insane? The stupid rocker switch for the OSD is one of the most irritating things I've ever seen. :rolleyes2

    mmonnin:
    You're right that it's not the voltage, but the amperage that'll kill you. However, 20kv is enough voltage that it doesn't take much amperage, and CRTs have a pretty high amperage (relatively speaking, that is) in addition to the high voltage.
  • NecropolisNecropolis Hawarden, Wales Icrontian
    edited September 2003
    Geeky1 said

    Necropolis:
    How did you manage to fiddle with the damn OSD controls for 4 hours without going totally insane? The stupid rocker switch for the OSD is one of the most irritating things I've ever seen. :rolleyes2

    May not be the same model as yours but the incentive for playing with it for 4 hours was I knew if I got it working I would have got a 21" monitor for free :D:thumbsup:
  • MediaManMediaMan Powered by loose parts.
    edited September 2003
    First: Do you get this effect in safe mode?
    Second: Do you get this effect at the post screen and in BIOS?

    If you do then it is most likely the monitor itself that needs to go in for warranty work. The other test would be to try a different video card.
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