Possible solution/improvement for Dell 2005FPW Backlight Issue

[B_Damon]

Well, I had made up my mind to send the monitor back and I disconnected it and had boxed it up in the original box where it sat (face down) for a few days. But, after hooking the 17"crt back up, YUCK! I had to dig the 2005 back out and give it another look to make sure it was'nt something I could live with. After setting the 2005 back up I noticed right away the problem seemed non existent after startup and after being on for 3-4 hours the backlight problem was barely noticable. So, what happened?

My theory is that during shipping the seal around the lcd may have been broken and when I put the unit back in the box, warm and face down, it may have allowed the lcd to reseal itself, reducing the effect of the backlight leak. I'm going to continue monitoring this and would like to hear if anyone can duplicate this result.

Obviously, this may not satisfy everyone. But, if your on the fence about keeping your monitor and you can get the same result it may help you decide that this otherwise wonderful monitor is worth keeping. I look forward to hearing if this works for anyone else.

 

[ClockerXP]

Are you sure there was really an improvement by doing that?

CxP

 

[ajabbari]

That's interesting.

There is photographic evidence in the A01 poll thread of at least one 2005FPW where the leakage faded away with use and cleaning/massaging over time. I personally think that I'm noticing that the leakage on my own 2005FPW may be getting less and less with use (though this decrease is very gradual). I think that it is possible that over time as the diffuser layer warms up and cools down it will gradually even itself out (cleaning/massaging it when it is warm may help facilitate this process).

Of course, this is all pure speculation, and it may only apply to certain 2005FPWs with milder forms of this problem. B_Damon, did you let it warm up for an hour or two before checking it for leakage the second time?

 

[B_Damon]

I left the monitor on for 10-12 hours after making the post and while I noticed a marginal increase in the backlight bleed, it was nowhere as severe as it had been previously. What had been bleeding of several inches into the screen is now just minor leakage along the edges. I haven't done any massaging or cleaning, actually a bit nervous to touch the screen LOL, but I can say that the monitor seems to be getting better as time goes by. Of course, I could just be getting acclimated to it.

After seeing the improvement, I'm a lot less nervous about keeping it. I've looked around and it seems that a lot of the larger LCD's in this price range have similar problems to one degree or another and I've found some level of leakage on every LCD I've looked at, using the blank screensaver. The improvement along with the features of the 2005FPW is enough for me to keep the monitor, but as they say "Your mileage may vary". I hope it works for someone else and that this unit, like a fine wine, will get better with age. Of course, I may run the risk of it being like cheese and it will start to stink after a bit!

 

[fusionrs]

Very interesting...

 

[smoothness]

i think those who have screens who only have backlighting issues (and no noticeable dead pixels) have become slowly acclimated to the difference in brightness, and therefore no longer notice it. i say this from experience, because after going through 2 replacements, one of which was the jan a01 revision, i just decided to keep my pixel free original. i'm happy to say i'm thoroughly satisfied with my purchase.

that idea about the bezel sealing itself back to the screen is novel, however, i don't know if that's actually the case. i would think it's more a hardware thing ie: the screws that keep the backlight next to the lcd are screwed on unevenly, due to the nature of production plants and power tools. anyone want to take a giant leap and take apart the housing, and see if there are any screws to fix the problem?