Monitor scratch-like issues, advice please.

L

LazerGuidedFingers

n00b
Joined
Jul 1, 2010
Messages
9
Hello,

I've had this BenQ FP241W for a couple years and I love the monitor so of course it started developing a strange issue last year. I can't describe it so I'll put up pics..it's the scratch like marks running at vertical angles. It's really bad in red screen or grey so I opened up Studio Artist Pro a DAW to show the effect.

BenQscratcheffect.jpg


The scratch-like issue starts at center right side and continues towards the right side of the screen. If you look closely they run vertical and one after the other. It's alot worse in person. The screen itself is in great condition, this is coming from inside the panel.

BenQdefect.jpg


It might be difficult to see but they're there and it's bad. Any advice or idea as to what this is and can it be fixed?

If it can't be fixed, I noticed there's alot of people here that know about monitors and alot like me that can't stand the cheap garbage monitors. I ordered a Samsung XL2370-1 and tried to tweak it and see if I could make it seem at least decent for me but I had to wrap it up and return it immediately because I wanted to destroy that piece of crap. What a horrible monitor and waste of money but I ordered not knowing about the different panel types..TN, IPS, VA.

Now I know, and I couldn't justify $20 for a ridiculous TN panel, you see my first lcd monitor was this BenQ fp241w and it had good viewing angles and no backlight bleeding. The Samsung was pathetic with just a slight tilt of my head and I constantly move because I record and play guitar all day and teach so I have to move around in my seat alot.

Can you guys recommend a monitor that has most importantly good viewing angles and second but still very important, as little backlight bleeding as possible. Backlight bleeding drives me nuts too. I really don't care about price since I should have known better what happens with cheap stuff and how it's made. Even my gf told me, "that samsung is cheap..are you sure it'll be good?". Like a retard I followed the reviews on newegg and bought it.

I heard good things about the Nec PA241W but also saw a review talking about it having bad backlight bleeding. Is there a monitor that has both good viewing angles and very little bleeding? That's all I care about.

Thanks in advance.
 
Hi,
Yeah it is easy to see from the pictures that it's gone bad. I'm not sure of the cause, but it looks as if one or more polarizer films inside have become very uneven for some reason and now ripples. Has soneome pushed hard on the LCD surface, or was it subject to extreme amount of heat in this region?

I don't think you can repair this - taking the lcd panel apart is possible, but not recommended, and you'd end up with the problem of identifying what is wrong and find a supplier for the parts that are bad.
Didn't BenQ offer 3 years of warranty coverage? Maybe they can help you, if this is the case.

Like you, i just can't tolerate TN. Even though people have told me that this TN panel X is much better than Y, since it is of a more recent generation, it still looks horrilbe, only slightly improved. What i came from was CRTs - The TNs i've tried have been a far cry from these, at least from those i've seen.

Backlight bleeding also drives me nuts. Just a tad of it, and i'd focus at the area where it bleeds. I believe to a certain extent that the amount of bleeding can vary within the same panel model number. I haven't heard about PA241W bleeding, but it could well be possible. For cheap LCDs the backlight bleeding is caused by consistent imprecise alignment of CCFL/LEDs with the back polarizer and will always exist no matter how many sample lcd panels one buys/tests. For more expensive panels, the manufacturers atleast tries to minimize the bleeding completely, but some turns out a little less fortunate than others.

I was in the same boat as you, looking for a good LCD with wide viewing angles - been used to CRTs and the old type of IPS-panels, where black does not become white when viewing at fairly large angles (rather dark puple). I ended up with the NEC lcd2490wuxi, which i bought as slightly used. I didn't need more than sRGB color space, so it was enough for me. The important aspect was the feature of the A-TW polarizer, so that the blacks dark purple when viewing from any direction. If you don't need a larger color space, then this would be my recommendation - especially as you might be able to find it used for a decent price, and the seller could take pictures to verify whether backlight bleeding exists or not.

I don't have any experience with P-MVA panels like in your BenQ, but i don't think you will be disappointed with IPS (H-IPS) panels.
 
tk-don said:
Hi,
Yeah it is easy to see from the pictures that it's gone bad. I'm not sure of the cause, but it looks as if one or more polarizer films inside have become very uneven for some reason and now ripples. Has soneome pushed hard on the LCD surface, or was it subject to extreme amount of heat in this region?

I don't think you can repair this - taking the lcd panel apart is possible, but not recommended, and you'd end up with the problem of identifying what is wrong and find a supplier for the parts that are bad.
Didn't BenQ offer 3 years of warranty coverage? Maybe they can help you, if this is the case.

Like you, i just can't tolerate TN. Even though people have told me that this TN panel X is much better than Y, since it is of a more recent generation, it still looks horrilbe, only slightly improved. What i came from was CRTs - The TNs i've tried have been a far cry from these, at least from those i've seen.

Backlight bleeding also drives me nuts. Just a tad of it, and i'd focus at the area where it bleeds. I believe to a certain extent that the amount of bleeding can vary within the same panel model number. I haven't heard about PA241W bleeding, but it could well be possible. For cheap LCDs the backlight bleeding is caused by consistent imprecise alignment of CCFL/LEDs with the back polarizer and will always exist no matter how many sample lcd panels one buys/tests. For more expensive panels, the manufacturers atleast tries to minimize the bleeding completely, but some turns out a little less fortunate than others.

I was in the same boat as you, looking for a good LCD with wide viewing angles - been used to CRTs and the old type of IPS-panels, where black does not become white when viewing at fairly large angles (rather dark puple). I ended up with the NEC lcd2490wuxi, which i bought as slightly used. I didn't need more than sRGB color space, so it was enough for me. The important aspect was the feature of the A-TW polarizer, so that the blacks dark purple when viewing from any direction. If you don't need a larger color space, then this would be my recommendation - especially as you might be able to find it used for a decent price, and the seller could take pictures to verify whether backlight bleeding exists or not.

I don't have any experience with P-MVA panels like in your BenQ, but i don't think you will be disappointed with IPS (H-IPS) panels.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply.

Sadly, I never got a warranty for it. I couldn't see it breaking down on me this fast. I've looked at the NECs and will take your advice on the wuxi but I want it new..don't want to risk anything going bad with it in the near future.

Do you have any experience or know anything about the Nec PA241W? Haha, I do the same thing and focus on the light bleeding parts, I try to ignore it but can't. :(
 
Hmm, yeah and even if it was refurbished it would be 90 days warranty or something. I don't think it's possible to find a new one.

I don't know about the PA241W, i bought the wuxi just about when a leaked slide show presentation from NEC mentioning the PA241W appeared on the net, but i prioritized the A-TW polarizer higher than wider gamut. Reviews of the PA241W generally looks good, but having no first-hand experience with it, i think someone else who have tried more high-end monitors in general should chime in.
 
I went with the PA241W. We'll see how it is in a few days, I know it has good viewing angles the only thing I'm concerned about is the backlight bleed but now more reviews are putting up pics of it in a dark room and I'm very impressed from the pics so we'll see.
 
i could probably repair that. its not too difficult
i have taken apart laptop lcds which are manufactured thinner. diffuser and polarizer sheets are simple stuff, less computer related than a lot of things.
there are definitely a lot of places you can buy the same type of thing but higher quality and cheaper.

you can also easily replace CCFL lcd backlights with high-powered LEDs.
 
niffcreature said:
i could probably repair that. its not too difficult
i have taken apart laptop lcds which are manufactured thinner. diffuser and polarizer sheets are simple stuff, less computer related than a lot of things.
there are definitely a lot of places you can buy the same type of thing but higher quality and cheaper.

you can also easily replace CCFL lcd backlights with high-powered LEDs.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply. "probably" to me is not saying much or too ensuring.

You sound like you know what you're talking about but myself I have no idea of what the problem is with the lcd or where to begin.

Are you saying it's the polarizer sheet? I don't know what that is or where it's located. :D
 
chong67 said:
I cant see a darn thing. Looks normal.
Click to expand...

Took the courtesy to enhance contrast of one of the above images. The result is this: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/1272/benqdefectenhanced.jpg - hope this makes it clearer.

LazerGuidedFingers, i think you made the right choice - but yeah, please report back when you receive it.

niffcreature,
Having also repaired many laptop LCDs and wiped a few polarizing sheets from dust specs and replaced even more ccfls, i wouldn't recommend it to others i don't know, especially considering that a clean room is required and the heatseal tape bonds are often in the way and easy to wreck.
LEDs sound quite risky to current limit at those voltages and component tolerances, but sounds interesting. Any available kits, or is it completely DIY from scratch? :)
 
tk-don said:
Took the courtesy to enhance contrast of one of the above images. The result is this: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/1272/benqdefectenhanced.jpg - hope this makes it clearer.

LazerGuidedFingers, i think you made the right choice - but yeah, please report back when you receive it.
Click to expand...

Damn, that was a very good idea. Thanks.

That's exactly how it is in person but mostly with red or grey backgrounds.

I will, I'll let you know how the Nec is.
 
LazerGuidedFingers said:
Thanks for the reply. "probably" to me is not saying much or too ensuring.

You sound like you know what you're talking about but myself I have no idea of what the problem is with the lcd or where to begin.

Are you saying it's the polarizer sheet? I don't know what that is or where it's located. :D
Click to expand...

actually, whats strange is the "probably" part has to do with it being a less abstract thing. since its less absolute like actual circuit boards, you'll just be able to tell what the polarizer is, get an idea what all the layers do and basically mess with it to see a difference.

whereas when something goes wrong with a circuit, its just not obvious whats going on.

tk-don said:
Took the courtesy to enhance contrast of one of the above images. The result is this: http://img685.imageshack.us/img685/1272/benqdefectenhanced.jpg - hope this makes it clearer.

LazerGuidedFingers, i think you made the right choice - but yeah, please report back when you receive it.

niffcreature,
Having also repaired many laptop LCDs and wiped a few polarizing sheets from dust specs and replaced even more ccfls, i wouldn't recommend it to others i don't know, especially considering that a clean room is required and the heatseal tape bonds are often in the way and easy to wreck.
LEDs sound quite risky to current limit at those voltages and component tolerances, but sounds interesting. Any available kits, or is it completely DIY from scratch? :)
Click to expand...

YES, youre right, disassembly isnt easy, one needs a clean room etc. Im just saying I did it fine with a laptop lcd on my first try. somehow it didnt particularly bother me, although i knew i had to be very carefull.

as for the LED thing - i dont know why it would be risky. if you tried to run them with an inverter then wow yeah 500v for LEDS would be pretty scary :D
I have never seen a DIY kit but that would be awesome. the first time i saw someone do this, they did a pretty bad job on a number of things that could have been easier, but it really yielded some great results for cost effectiveness. he used about 40 rounded LEDS in parallel without resistors and drilled a ton of holes in the reflector metal for them.
http://www.keithwakeham.com/lcd.htm

a thin and high output LED strip would be optimal, and could work extremely well i think. you could probably run them off of a power supply with a controller. even get RGB LEDS if you wanted ;)
 
niffcreature said:
as for the LED thing - i dont know why it would be risky. if you tried to run them with an inverter then wow yeah 500v for LEDS would be pretty scary :D
I have never seen a DIY kit but that would be awesome. the first time i saw someone do this, they did a pretty bad job on a number of things that could have been easier, but it really yielded some great results for cost effectiveness. he used about 40 rounded LEDS in parallel without resistors and drilled a ton of holes in the reflector metal for them.
http://www.keithwakeham.com/lcd.htm

a thin and high output LED strip would be optimal, and could work extremely well i think. you could probably run them off of a power supply with a controller. even get RGB LEDS if you wanted ;)
Click to expand...

Heh, i meant running them off 500V and just leave them current limited by resistor(s), but due to fluctuations and resistor tolerances would likely introduce relatively large, visible, variations in luminance.
What i would like to to is to transform a latop that if using a CCFL backlit LCD (IPS) into an LED backlit one - but i'd have to do something about the inverter board, which by coincidence also contains status LEDs for the laptop - i.e. hdd activity, wlan, bluetooth etc. In practive this is probably not even possible.

Thanks for the link - the idea is good, i'm a bit impressed by how well that diffuser diffuses light from point sources. :)
 
tk-don said:
Heh, i meant running them off 500V and just leave them current limited by resistor(s), but due to fluctuations and resistor tolerances would likely introduce relatively large, visible, variations in luminance.
What i would like to to is to transform a latop that if using a CCFL backlit LCD (IPS) into an LED backlit one - but i'd have to do something about the inverter board, which by coincidence also contains status LEDs for the laptop - i.e. hdd activity, wlan, bluetooth etc. In practive this is probably not even possible.

Thanks for the link - the idea is good, i'm a bit impressed by how well that diffuser diffuses light from point sources. :)
Click to expand...

haha. i dunno really what 500v could do to LEDS honestly :eek:
I think it would be a better idea to find the input before it was inverted, it will probably 12v and all the current you need.
Im going to do this with RGB LEDs on a 14" screen. I think it is entirely possible. LEDs take up such a small amount of energy relatively.
 
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