Dieing 21" Hitachi 802 plus What to replace it with?

[Santilli]

Hi

My 21" Hitachi is now displaying pretty much nothing but blue. Switched channels on the video card, so, I'm pretty sure it's the monitor, since the 19 inch Sony worked fine on that same channel.

Any suggestions for a LCD that does NOT have speakers, since I'm likely to move the LCD to the gaming machine, and put the 21" Dell on the server rig?

Thanks

GS

 

[Santilli]

WEIRD. Monitor starts up fine, sometimes. The will go blue only, and, now it just switched back to perfect.

Any ideas why it's doing this?

 

[ddrueding]

The most common cause is a poor VGA connection. Are you using VGA or DVI?

 

[Fushigi]

Sounds like a short somewhere or a color gun is going out.

As to a replacement, if you have $600 how about the Dell 2408WFP?

 

[Santilli]

The most common cause is a poor VGA connection. Are you using VGA or DVI?

I've tried both sides. Currently the best result is plugged into an adapter, and in the DVI. Prior, it was nothing but blue, plugged into the VGA. However, the Sony is now plugged into the VGA and appears to be working perfectly. I guess it could be the cable.

Any idea where to get a new cable, or a way to test, and find out if it's the cable or the gun in the monitor?

Costco had an Envision that was 200 bucks, and it was 22". 1000:1 contrast. 600 bucks is a bit more then I want to spend...Still, that looks like a very nice monitor, and, it changes the bar on what might be possible...Frankly, a 24" for 600 dollars seems way over priced, when you can get 22" monitors for 200 dollars that appear very nice...

 

[Bozo]

I just purchased one of these at Circut City. ~$450.00.

http://www.lge.com/products/model/detail/l246wp.jhtml

The picture is fantastic when connected to a DVI video card output. I used a DVI to HDMI cable. There is no way to describe how awesome the picture is on this monitor. You have to see it.

Bozo :joker:

 

[Fushigi]

Somewhere around here you'll find some rants about the various types of display panels. Many of the inexpensive flat panels use a cheaper panel type-PVA I think it was-that has a more limited viewing angle when compared to TFT. Possibly other drawbacks. Also, the inexpensive panels tend to be lower resolution.

As far as the Dell I linked to goes, it is simply a gorgeous display. Well, the 2407 is anyway. Within Dell's lineup I'd always go with the UltraSharp displays. They do have a 20" for $260 that still includes the USB hub.

That Envision has a resolution of 1680x1050. I consider that res borderline on a 20" panel and simply insufficient pixels for a 22" display. Costco only lists a VGA input; you should really get VGA & DVI at a minimum nowadays. In my admittedly limited experience LCDs look better via DVI.

I took a moderately close look at 19-20" panels before buying a new display for my wife's PC a few weeks ago. Wound up with an Acer AL2016WBbd 20" at 1680x1050 for $180 at Microcenter. It runs $200 at Newegg although shipping is another $15. It might make for a decent alternative for you. The other mainstream brands tend to use the cheap panels at this price point so take a good look at the specs before you make your decision and if possible, try to see the monitor in person. I found many of the store display units to have fuzzy text and dull colors. Microcenter was actually using the Acer on their clerk's PC so I could see it in action.

The Acer doesn't rotate; the Dell does. I've quickly adopted the rotated display format. 1200x1600 at home (Samsung 204B); 1200x1920 at work (Dell UltraSharp 2407). Long displays are great for reading since web pages, PDFs, and regular documents are all designed around length, not width.

 

[Santilli]

Now the darn thing is working fine. Wonder if cat hair got in the top, and caused a short?

 

[LunarMist]

I just purchased one of these at Circut City. ~$450.00.

http://www.lge.com/products/model/detail/l246wp.jhtml

The picture is fantastic when connected to a DVI video card output. I used a DVI to HDMI cable. There is no way to describe how awesome the picture is on this monitor. You have to see it.

Bozo :joker:

Better than a calibrated Eizo?

 

[Santilli]

That actually brings up a really good point. What do you need to play HD, like ESPN HD, on a computer, and screen?
Also, is a 1 mb/sec connection fast enough for an HD feed?

 

[Clocker]

I just purchased one of these at Circut City. ~$450.00.

http://www.lge.com/products/model/detail/l246wp.jhtml

The picture is fantastic when connected to a DVI video card output. I used a DVI to HDMI cable. There is no way to describe how awesome the picture is on this monitor. You have to see it.

Bozo :joker:

That's a very good price for an S-MVA monitor. Would be tempted to buy one but the best price I can find online is about $620. :-(

 

[time]

Frankly, a 24" for 600 dollars seems way over priced, when you can get 22" monitors for 200 dollars that appear very nice...

Spot on, Greg. 22" widescreen (or as Tannin accurately calls them, "shallow-screen") is probably the best price-point right now. It's also a good replacement for your 21" CRT monitor, in that it should have about the same vertical height, but more width. There's always something better out there, but the Samsung 226BW isn't half bad (and supposedly 24-bit color).

Unfortunately, I can't agree with some of what Fushigi said:

I consider that res borderline on a 20" panel and simply insufficient pixels for a 22" display.

Bollocks. IMO, the 20" display is just too damn small for desktop (as opposed to laptop) use. A 22" has about the same pixels per inch as a standard 19" (LCD) monitor, so presumably you're making the same statement about what most of us would call a 'standard' monitor. Just push it further away, or wait for your eyesight to inevitably decline a little with advancing age.

Also, PVA is a more expensive technology - 24-bit color, wide viewing angles, high contrast - that has all but disappeared in favour of cheaper TFT. I notice that someone is suing Apple because like most TFT, their monitors can't really display the full gamut of 16 million different colors.

 

[Fushigi]

Time, I presume you're considering the 19" runs at 1440x900, in which case I agree the pixel density is about the same as a 22" @ 1680x1050. But 1440x900 @ 19" is not sufficient pixel density for me.

For me, 1440x900 is also simply not enough resolution. Not enough data fits on the screen. I'm talking clear, legible text of reasonable size like web pages, Word & PDF documents, and Excel spreadsheets. Not videos or games. And as I mentioned some of those displays when viewed in person were fuzzy & dim. It could have been the store display setup & not the monitor but what they presented is all I can go by for an in-person inspection. And those results were repeated at different stores.

While I've thankfully not experienced any dead pixels so far, I'd also look for manufacturers that don't have a 6 or 8 pixel minimum before they'll replace a unit. And offer better than 90 days.

That advancing age is all too true. While my vision remains 20-20 at age 41, with my next birthday I'll be basically half dead (average lifespan is 84 nowadays).

I doubt the lawsuit against Apple will bear any fruit. :lol:

 

[Bozo]

That's a very good price for an S-MVA monitor. Would be tempted to buy one but the best price I can find online is about $620. :-(

Actually I paid (stole it for) a lot less. The store had it marked at $239.00. (a mistake) When they refused to sell it to me at that price, my wife got in the managers face (hell has no fury as a women scorned or bargan hunting). After about 30 minutes of haggling, I paid $229.00 for the floor model.
In our state (Pa) the price on the shelf is THE price, or it is considered Bait-n-Switch.

LG Flatron list price=$695.00
Circut City regular price=$495.00
Circut City sale price=$449.00
Wife's price=$229.00
Sticking it to Circut City=priceless

Bozo :joker:

(The above prices are what the manager said it should sell for. I really don't know for sure.)

 

[timwhit]

Actually I paid (stole it for) a lot less. The store had it marked at $239.00. (a mistake) When they refused to sell it to me at that price, my wife got in the managers face (hell has no fury as a women scorned or bargan hunting). After about 30 minutes of haggling, I paid $229.00 for the floor model.
In our state (Pa) the price on the shelf is THE price, or it is considered Bait-n-Switch.

LG Flatron list price=$695.00
Circut City regular price=$495.00
Circut City sale price=$449.00
Wife's price=$229.00
Sticking it to Circut City=priceless

Bozo :joker:

(The above prices are what the manager said it should sell for. I really don't know for sure.)

What was the one thing that your wife said that helped the manager change his mind?

I would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes.

 

[Bozo]

What was the one thing that your wife said that helped the manager change his mind?

I would have done the same thing if I was in your shoes.

That she is the manager of a retail store (she is) and that it is the law here that the item must be sold for the price that it is marked as.
There was a long silence...and then he started to negotiate the price. We got down to $249.00. Then he informed us that he didn't have any in stock. My reply was "How conveinant. I'll take the one off the shelf." My wife then replied "and at a lower price because that one is used". Hence, the $229.00 price. Which was $10.00 lower than the price that is was marked as to start with. :thumbleft:

Bozo :joker:

 

[time]

Hmmm, I thought I had my acronyms muddled, I meant TN rather than TFT.

As for the lawsuit against Apple, I imagine their only defense is their deep pockets (which of course in the legal world is the best defense). I see they settled a similar suit a couple of months ago.

They advertised "displays millions of colors", not "appears to display millions of colors". And you can't dither without reducing the advertised resolution, which is a sore point when compared with a printer.

Fushigi, I meant a bog standard 19" 1280x1024 monitor. At a standard desktop viewing distance, I think this height (300mm) should be the minimum, regardless of resolution. In other words, I think both 17" 5:4 and 20" 8:5 (270mm) are too small in an office environment.

Of course, I'd prefer a 30" (400mm height) 2560x1600 like DD's.

 

[ddrueding]

Of course, I'd prefer a 30" (400mm height) 2560x1600 like DD's.

I'm afraid you have me confused with someone else. My displays are a 42" 1920x1080 and a 22" 1600x1200. The 42" is almost big enough for that resolution. Photo editing on it is awesome (queue color accuracy comments). You can actually see every pixel; so working on images at 100% zoom is plenty to catch all the detail.

 

[mubs]

Guys, guys, guys! How the heck do you manage to use such large monitors? I have a 20" widescreen, and pretty much have to move my head from side to side to read the whole width. A 22" or 24", or god forbid, a larger one - I'll have to wear binocs then. If you'll tell me that I'm too close to it, then I'll need to increase the font size of everything. Unlike Fushigi, I don't have 20-20 vision. Been wearing glasses for 38 years. (sheesh, I've been wearing glasses longer than the young 'uns like DD and Merc have been alive!)

... at age 41, with my next birthday I'll be basically half dead (average lifespan is 84 nowadays).

Interesting way to look at it! Now I'll have to figure out how much % of me is alive...

 

[ddrueding]

Well, you can either have a small screen really close or a large screen farther away. Unfortunately for me, my vision gets worse at any distance more than one foot; so the size does not scale linearly. The 42" 18" away is about the same as the 22" 6" away.

 

[timwhit]

I have 2 19" LCDs (1280x1024) at work. This is the configuration I prefer most.

 

[Santilli]

DT

 

[Santilli]

OK:
Let me get this straight:
The ATI 1650 series card I have is good at displaying HD quality digital, like ESPN360 stuff, but, it does, or doesn't
display it at it's maximum ability, just does a good job, after the signal is graded down, because the card doesn't have HDTV protection chips, or whatever???

Even though it has a DVI output, it won't display HDTV on a regular monitor????

It won't display HD on the monitor that is connected to the analog output????

Now, other then espn360.com, why would I bother buying a HDTV compatible video card, and monitor, and cable, when the format is supposed to be dead?

OK:
Despite all this, there is a HUGE to large difference in visual quality between watching the same espn360.com input, and, watching it in espn360HD.com, on the same cable, etc.

WHY?

 

[ddrueding]

Some content is protected so it won't display unless the signal from source to screen is encrypted using HDCP. HD-DVD and BlueRay both require this, but can be bypassed with appropriate software. I haven't heard of online video sources locking it down in a similar fashion.

Where did you read that HDTV is dead? I don't think that could be further from the truth.

 

[Santilli]

Since I posted that, I figured that out, by looking at the ESPN HD offering. It's clear that it's much better then standard. Also this video card plays the HD trailers with no problems, and very well. Have to try it on the Athlon you built in the other room.

I was refering to the HDCP requirements for computers that no one seems to have enabled on their video cards yet.

 

[Stereodude]

I was refering to the HDCP requirements for computers that no one seems to have enabled on their video cards yet.

I'm not sure what you're talking about. You can buy HDCP enabled video cards. I have two of them at home in two different machines.

They're basically only needed if you want blu-ray or HD-DVD playback over a digital connection.

 

[ddrueding]

They're basically only needed if you want blu-ray or HD-DVD playback over a digital connection.

...without cracking the protection, which is also possible.

 

[Santilli]

Update: Now the monitor is fine, and has been for near 2 months????? Cat hair?