Purple Fuzz?

[haku]

Hello,

I hate to be the kind of user that shows up and asks a question without first giving anything to the board, but I'm in sort of a pickle, so I've got to.

Here goes:

Every once in a while (once every two months or so) my Sony LCD monitor gets these purple pixles all over it. I'm not quite sure what it is, but whatever it is it only reacts to certain colors, then seems to go away.

When I change my monitors gamma settings, the purple dots seem to change positions and intensity, but they don't go away. I contacted sony, and they offered to repair it free of charge, but only if I could provide proof that I bought it from an authorized retailer. Being that I have no proof, they want to charge me 300 dollars to repair it (that's what I paid for it, and what I could pay for a brand new one).

I'd really rather just find a solution to the problem than go through buying another one, so if you all could help, I'd really appreciate it.

Thanks in advance,

Haku

P.S. A link to a picture of the anomaly is below.

http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jsbarone@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=/My+Photos&.dnm=ex1.jpg
http://f1.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/jsbarone@sbcglobal.net/detail?.dir=/My+Photos&.dnm=ex2.jpg

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[CF Tech]

Can't open the linked images.

Is this an LCD or CRT?

Can you take a picture of that a "known" screen looks like? Maybe open up "yahoo" or "CNN" in IE and take a shot of that.

 

[haku]

It's an LCD (Flat Panel, 15.1 Inch Viewable)
I tried to take some good pictures, but the camera doesn't really
do it justice.

(It seems to happen to lighter colors. When I lower the brightness
and gamma on my monitor/display settings, it goes down in intensity)

 

[haku]

Ex2

 

[haku]

Ex3

 

[haku]

Ex4

 

[CF Tech]

I do not know what would cause that.

If it is an "analog" connection to the computer (15-pin HD "vga") connector, then it could be a bad connection.

Other than that you would have to try to take it back to the seller or try to get some service from thr manufacturer.

 

[haku]

I think it's an hdtv connection

It's got a bunch of pins,
and then four flat kind of pins off to the left.

So, you don't know what would cause it?

It fades in and out (it'll jump in intensity)
It doesn't do it most of the time, but every once in a while
it'll just spaz out and be purple for a while.

 

[CF Mark]

You mean a DVI connector?

It could be the video card or the monitor.

Got another PC with DVI out that you can try it with?

 

[haku]

Yep. What should I do, just hook it up and see if it works?
I tried it on a POS laptop I had a while back, and still god the purple dots,
but maybe it was just a fluke.

I'll try it, and get back to you.

 

[haku]

Nope, still purple.

If it was a permanent defect in the monitor, why would it appear and dissapear? It's happened a few times (each set lasting for a day to a week) but then it goes away and doesn't come back for a month or more. I don't understand it.

 

[CF Tech]

Something is not right in side the monitor . . . bad chip or more likely a bad connection or intermittent solder joint somewhere.

In reality though, it might well cost $300 to have someone who really knows what they are doing to track it down and fix it. Sony's manufacturing cost is probably than $300, so there is a good chance they will just send you a new "white box" replacement for your $300--and not even actually look at what you send them.

At some point, "write it off", then take it apart and unconnect and reconnect any connectors you can find. Put it back together. If it works the same as before, well now you at least know what the insides look like--go buy a replacement. If you break it, drop it in the trash can on your way to get a replacement. If it happens to work better, then the gample of taking it apart was worth it.

 

[haku]

So, I took it all apart, and then put it all together (as well as I could. Some things don't want to come apart) and nothing changed. Still purple dots.

I ran through all the settings, and found that when I turn down the brightness on my graphics card, the pixels seem to go away for the most part, making it a little easier on me.

In the process of doing so, I also found that the color the monitor seems to react to the most is green. As I type this message, I'm looking at a completely clear screen, with a heavy purple tint (because of the absence of the color green) and although it works at subduing the dots, I'd still prefer not to have to look at it.

The fact that it reacts to the color green must mean something. What could it be? Any ideas (and if so, how would I fix it?)

Just in case, here are my stats:

Custom PC
1024 MB DDR PC2700
120Gig 7200 RPM WD HD
nVidia GeForce 4 Ti4600
Asus P4s8x MB
Intel p4 2.53
Sony SDM-M51 Flat Panel LCD monitor

That's all I can think of.

Your help is appreciated.

Jarrad

 

[CF Mark]

Sorry... but your looking for an exact answer, and we cant give it without seeing it with our own eyes.

Youll have to take it back to Sony, or a TV repair guy to fix it or buy a new one.
There is no cheap way out of it