Author Topic: Monitor problem (Read 655 times)

Kaz · « **on:** August 09, 2005, 03:20:41 PM »

I have a KDS Visual Sensations model VS-7i
It's about 5 years old. For the past few months it's been flickering for a few seconds but then it would go away. Didn't happen everyday but often enough. I didn't pay much attention to it though. I just figured it was the heat or maybe some magnetic interference from my cheap unshielded speakers that are beside the monitor.

Anyways, two days ago I got a nasty surprise. While gaming the monitor suddenly went blank, power switch still showed full power but it gave a sound like it was going into power saving mode. Moved the mouse, switched it on and off, no luck. There was also no monitor pre test(or whatever it's called when the monitor is on but not connected to the video card.

So now this is happening every few minutes. Sometimes it can be perfectly normal for 20 or so minutes then without warning it goes blank. Other times it's on for just a few minutes before it goes. Letting it go into power saving mode and leaving it for 10-20 maybe more minutes and it comes back on fine but I never know how long before it will go blank again. Like I said, it gives no warning and hot weather or no hot weather.

Has anyone experienced this before? Any suggestions? Is it dying?

Thanks in advance!

Krusty · « **Reply #1 on:** August 09, 2005, 04:08:31 PM »

It might be dying. I have a 5 year old gateway EV700 and had something similar happen a month ago... The monitor put itself into a permanent loop of mode changing, even when totally disconnected from the computer. I left it off for a day and its been working fine since then. Hell if I know what it was. But unplug it and let it sit for at least a few hours. If you leave it plugged in it still has juice running through it.

Make sure you have the right monitor drivers installed (don't leave it to just "plug and play monitor" unless you can't find specific drivers anywhere).

Kaz · « **Reply #2 on:** August 10, 2005, 12:32:11 PM »

Thanks for the quick response Krusty, I already had the right drivers installed. I usually have it plugged in but with the wall socket switch off overnight(whole system is on this switch).

Krusty · « **Reply #3 on:** August 10, 2005, 12:46:26 PM »

Kaz, other than that, I'm not sure what to suggest. Maybe contact the manufacturer, send an e-mail or something. If you don't have a warranty maybe they can at least say "Oh, yeah, we've heard that before. It sounds burnt out." or "That doesn't sound too bad, you might be able to do this....."

gunahurl · « **Reply #4 on:** August 11, 2005, 10:56:20 AM »

It's just a suggestion, But have you checked the cable connections to your monitor and from your computer? Sometimes you can have a bad pin, or just a loose cable. I have had this happen to me in the past.

Gunahurl

Kaz · « **Reply #5 on:** August 12, 2005, 05:26:51 PM »

Thanks Krusty and gunahurl, will try those suggestions. Just got a temporary replacement, much less hassle to read and respond.

WindX · « **Reply #6 on:** August 13, 2005, 07:51:49 PM »

That particular model only had a 3 year factory warranty. You might try going into your OSD (on screen display) or menu options and looking for a feature called "reset defaults" and "degaus". If available reset the monitor then degaus it. Now shut it off and unplug and let it set for 1 minute while holding the power button down to drain any residual power. After this plug it back in and turn it on and see if it helps. But to be honest it sounds like you have a relay switch with bad contacts in the monitor. They can be replaced but it would probably be cheaper and more pheasable to just replace the monitor. You can get 21" flat screen crt monitors for as little as 79 bucks now days. If you do end up replacing the monitor with a flat panel make sure you get one that has a 600:1 contrast ratio and no more than 16ms response time. The lower the response time the better as it will prevent ghosting. Hope this helps.

Silat · « **Reply #7 on:** August 13, 2005, 07:58:50 PM »

Quote

Originally posted by WindX
That particular model only had a 3 year factory warranty. You might try going into your OSD (on screen display) or menu options and looking for a feature called "reset defaults" and "degaus". If available reset the monitor then degaus it. Now shut it off and unplug and let it set for 1 minute while holding the power button down to drain any residual power. After this plug it back in and turn it on and see if it helps. But to be honest it sounds like you have a relay switch with bad contacts in the monitor. They can be replaced but it would probably be cheaper and more pheasable to just replace the monitor. You can get 21" flat screen crt monitors for as little as 79 bucks now days. If you do end up replacing the monitor with a flat panel make sure you get one that has a 600:1 contrast ratio and no more than 16ms response time. The lower the response time the better as it will prevent ghosting. Hope this helps.

WindX do you recommend flat panels for gaming yet? Are they as good as CRTS yet? Of course I mean reasonably priced too:)

ALF · « **Reply #8 on:** August 13, 2005, 09:54:59 PM »

The latest generation of LCD are very good for gaming. There are a few words of caution to observe before buying ANY LCD. You can get a good 17" LCD for $200 on sale, and remember thats as big as an 18" CRT would be. 19" LCD can be had for $300-$350 for a nice one....now thats cheap! Word on the street is 19" prices wil plunge by the end of the year.

#1) Specs from manufacturers are NOT standardized. One companies 400:1 contrast ratio looks better than another companies 500:1 Same with Brightness and ESPECIALLY response time. A LCD rated by the manufacturer at 12ms panel may AVERAGE 25 ms in most situations, while another rates at 16ms may average only 20ms. You cannot trust just reading the numbers, several good review sites have excellent ratings for many common pannels giving true preformance comparisons. IN ANY CASE its always best to look at the panel yourself IN PERSON before making the purchase.

#2) If you do any high end graphics work, be sure you panel is not a 6bit panel...these often have insanly nice response times, but do not display true 24bit color 8-8-8 (they only do 6-6-6). Its not a big deal for gamers, but its a little bit of an issue for high end graphics editing. Finding out if a panel is 6 or 8 bit color can be difficult (its almost never on the box)...when in doubt, ask the manufacturer.

#3) Unless your savings insane amounts of $$$ and are willing to role the dice, its not a good idea to but an LCD online. DEAD PIXELS isnt a huge issue, but it can crop up on even the best manufacturers panels. Many online retailers will not accept returns/refunds for panels unless there are MANY MANY bad pixels. Buying at a local store gives you the ability to bring it right back or better yet, check it out in the store. (all white/all black/red/Green/blue screens and look for problems).

#4) An LCD pretty much locks you into a resolution. 99% are 1280x1024, a few large panels are 1600x1200. Either way, lowering the resolution will make tings look pretty bad as pixels are interpolated. unlike a CRT the LCD only looks good at one resolution. If you cant play a game smoothly at your LCSs native resolution, you may not be able to effectivly lower the resolution without making things look like crap.

Ahh well...aint life fun!

BTW I love my LCD, Ive got an overpriced 19" sony that I found with a huge discount.