Ghosting of Text – Sign of Monitor Going Out?

DP
Posted By
Daryl_Pritchard
Apr 20, 2004
Views
322
Replies
5
Status
Closed
Hello all,

I think I already know the answer to my question but thought I’d get a few extra opinions. The topic says enough, but I’ll elaborate by saying that on my now 6-year old Iiyama Vision Master 450 shadow mask monitor, which I’m running at 1280x1024x85hz (75 hz not helping any), I have recently begun to see faint shadowing of text. It’s not so bad that I can’t deal with it for a while longer yet, and images look fine when editing, but does anyone know if ghosting is an indication of the monitor going out? Is there anything that can easily be done to remedy the situation other than running a lower resolution setting, which I have seen does help somewhat. From comments I’ve seen in here on other monitors, I feel I’ve been well served to have this monitor hold up as well as it has for 6 years. But, given that I’m not using it frequently throughout the day as some of you pros are, I also wonder if even a longer life should be expected. I’m not sure how longevity of monitors compares to TV tubes, but I’m guessing it is less since they are driven harder. I know some TV tubes can well last 10 years or more.

Thanks,

Daryl
Related Tags
ghost monitor sign text

Must-have mockup pack for every graphic designer 🔥🔥🔥

Easy-to-use drag-n-drop Photoshop scene creator with more than 2800 items.

GH
Gary_Hummell
Apr 20, 2004
There is a simple test program available for free:
< http://www.construnet.hu/nokia/Monitors/TEST/monitor_test.ht ml>

It might give you an idea of the nature of the problem. Then I suppose contacting a technician and inquiring as to whether this might entail an inexpensive adjustment or a new monitor.

Gary
P
Phosphor
Apr 20, 2004
I’d always heard from people I know who work in TV broadcast engineering that Iiyamas were renowned for their reliability.

Now, I don’t know enough about their computer monitors (are they as pricey as the broadcast monitors?). I’m wondering if a technician could bring your image back into convergence. This is done on a regular basis with broadcast Iiyamas, perhaps this could also be done to yours to keep it running well for you. Should certainly be cheaper than a new monitor (especially if they ARE as similarly pricey as their broadcast brethren).
DP
Daryl_Pritchard
Apr 20, 2004
Thanks for the link Gary. I gave that Nokia test program a quick run-through and at best, what I may be seeing is that the focus is off somewhat. But, that doesn’t appear so true when I’m viewing graphics. I’ll have to dig into this when I’ve got more time…I should’ve left for work by now. That test is similar to DisplayMate, but pared down quite a bit. It’s a good free resource though for anyone checking out their monitor. I paid for the full version of DisplayMate.

Phosphor, before I bought this Iiyama, I’d never heard of the brand other than seeing one as part of some special test equipment at work, where I thought some "no-name" brand had been bought to save a few dollars. Needless to say, I’ve learned more to the contrary and my own experience echoes that as well…this has been an excellent monitor. In ’98 it was about $700 as I recall for a 19" monitor; that was pricier than some, but not by a significant margin. I’d first bought a short-tube design Viewsonic by mail order, and it was crap…a wave of uncorrectable distortion along the top edge and something else that I don’t recall. I shipped it back and learned the lesson of buying only those monitors that I can physically see on display locally, and avoid pricey shipping costs. Fry’s had this Iiyama, and a shelf model was connected to a PC where I was able to run DisplayMate from a floppy I had. Geometry was excellent, as was all other aspects. I do recall even then that the text wasn’t quite as sharp as some monitors, but it’s never been too much of a problem. But things are looking a bit worse now. I may open the cabinet and look for focus adjustments to see if there’s anything I can fine-tune myself before having to seek out a service shop.

I’ve wondered about prices of monitors these days being even cheaper for what you get versus the cost of servicing a monitor. I seem to recall someone quoting a 19 or maybe 21-inch LaCie as around $600, which sounded pretty darn good. I’ve not shopped the Iiyama products lately thought, and I’d give them strong consideration again if I really do wind up pursuing a new monitor.

Thanks,

Daryl
P
Phosphor
Apr 21, 2004
DARYL!

I hope you know that you can be getting into a VERY DANGEROUS nest of vipers inside a monitor!

Even after being unplugged, the capacitors inside a monitor can hold on to very high voltages voltages, pushed at high amperages, for quite a long time. Enough to be deadly or seriously injurious.

If you don’t really know what you’re doing inside a monitor, I’d suggest putting on an experienced tech’s bech and paying them the money to tune it up, if it’s even possible.
DP
Daryl_Pritchard
Apr 21, 2004
Phosphor,

Thanks for the words of caution, but yes, I’m fully aware of electrical hazards. I’ve been inside a TV or monitor before, with prudence taken in just how far I ventured. Being an Electrical Engineer by profession doesn’t mean that I’m exactly skilled with this sort of task, but I know my limits. All I’m after in the case of this Iiyama monitor is to see if there are any obvious alignment or focus pots available to tweak the image a bit. As there are no service ports on the cabinet for inserting an alignment tool, I don’t expect to find much, but it’s worth investigating before I spend too much on a service call. I’ve seen that the new Iiyama 19-inchers with a Diamondtron tube run in the $350-400 price range, so it would’t take too much to just dissuade me into buying a new monitor.

First things first though…I’ve yet to run DisplayMate on it and recheck all the convergence tests and such. Fine tuning-those via the OSD could be all that is needed.

Thanks again,

Daryl

How to Master Sharpening in Photoshop

Give your photos a professional finish with sharpening in Photoshop. Learn to enhance details, create contrast, and prepare your images for print, web, and social media.

Related Discussion Topics

Nice and short text about related topics in discussion sections