New monitor problem - any advice?

Factual Questions
1

My 7 year-old flatscreen monitor died suddenly yesterday. Kaput. So I went to my local computer store for a new one.

I live in a very small town with only one independent dealer. I wanted another 19" 4:5, but his stock was limited to widescreen HD’s.

Closest he had to 19" “square” was a Viewsonic VX2253mh-LED, a 22-inch “full HD widescreen LED backlight LCD.” I’ve used Viewsonic monitors exclusively for the past 18 years with no problems worth mentioning, so I didn’t hesitate to get this one.

(DEFENSIVE DISCLAIMER: The store is small, with no floor model monitors on display. Besides which, although all of my previous Viewsonics were purchased from superstores when I lived in a big city, I never floor-checked any of them. Maybe I was just lucky.)

So I plugged the new one in last night and was shocked. With default/AUTO IMAGE settings, the colors are terrible, with a strong yellow hue skewing all others. Yellows are much too intense, blues are purple, and so on.

I’ve futzed around with practically every possible combination of adjustments on the monitor, and although the results are different, none of them are any better than the defaults.

Updated my graphics drivers just to be sure- no difference. Also tried adjusting display colors using the drivers software; same results- different, but still terrible. (BTW, graphics card is a two-year old Nvidia GeForce 8600GT.)

Needless to say, the monitor that croaked yesterday looked nothing like this. In fact, I’ve never seen a monitor on any computer (even ultra-cheap ones) that looked like this one.

So here’s what I’m wondering.

I simply can’t imagine that these colors are a matter of preference, and I’m assuming this unit is defective. However, I don’t know how receptive my retailer is going to be. Small store, limited inventory and turnonver, small town.

Any experts care to comment?

Thanks in advance.

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2

Hmm… Well to start, what sort of connection did you use between your computer and new monitor? VGA plugs (look like this) transmit an analog signal, with each color in a separate channel. I’ve seen loose plugs produce a similar sort of discoloration, if a pin carrying one of the color channels isn’t connected. If you’re lucky it could be just loose plug or bad VGA cable.

However, it’s possible that you instead used a DVI cable (looks like this), which digitally transmits the entire image*, without color separation. If you have the described symptoms over a DVI cable, you have a badly miscalibrated or defective monitor.

*technically DVI can carry an analog signal, but I haven’t seen anything with a DVI input or output that doesn’t use the digital signal…

3

If the colors are way off in the default mode it would be better to get a different monitor vs trying to correct them,

I’m not sure I understand your hesitancy re returning the monitor. Almost any electronics store is going to have a 1-2 week return period. LCD monitors that are color inaccurate is hardly an unknown phenomenon. Explain that the colors are way off and it’s just unsatisfactory. Would he actually fight you on this return or charge you a re-stocking fee?

RE 19" 4:5’s these are way old tech and are best found in thrift stores at this point. Are they even made any more?

4

I agree with the suggestion to check if the VGA cable is loose. If that’s not it, disconnect the monitor from the PC and see if there’s any sort of onscreen menu. If so, how are the colors there? If they’re OK, then the problem is almost certainly the cable or the video card on the PC.

5

VGA. Using the new cable came with monitor. Good and tight at both ends. I’ll try the old cable to see if it makes a difference.

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6

My thoughts exactly. Other than minor tweaks with brightness and contrast, I’ve never had to make minor changes to a monitor before.

I’m afraid he might, based on a somewhat similar event a couple of years ago regarding a much lower cost item. Because of unrelated family turmoil, I’m feeling rather brittle and overwhelmed these days, and I would much rather avoid such unpleasantness if possible. But I’m not too concerned about it- worst case scenario will be to file a dispute with the credit card, which I’m sure he’ll want to avoid.

But that’s why I posted this thread- hoping to make sure I know what I’m talking about. Your statement “LCD monitors that are color inaccurate is hardly an unknown phenomenon” answers my biggest question. (Although this is an LED display with LCD backlight, if that makes any difference.)

Viewsonic still makes a couple, also Samsung.

My wife and I love our widescreen TV, but we don’t need or much care for widescreen computing. Also, 19" 4:5’s have the smallest native resolution our eyes are comfortable with. In fact, even 1280 x 1024 is a bit of a strain. (We’re both in our 60’s.)
Tom

7

What you are seeing is consistent with a bent pin in one of the VGA cable connectors. Or a failed connection inside the monitor.

Don’t be too down on widescreen monitors: just get one you can rotate 90 degrees. Or run them at a lower resolution: there’s nothing stopping you running that 1920x1080 monitor at 1280x768.

8

Tried two different VGA cables, including one that was fine yesterday with the old monitor. Made no difference.

I tried that just to see. The picture clarity was significantly reduced. Text looked like the pencil needed sharpening.

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9

When I had this problem on my mum’s PC, the VGA IN on her video card was too close to the screw, so I could never get it tight enough for the picture to appear normal.

Do you have the OPTION of plugging it in through a DVI jack, or does your video card not have one?

10

Then you likely have a faulty monitor.

This may be partially due to the monitor being faulty, of course, but you can increase the default sizes in Control Panel, Display. Go to the Make it Easier to Read… section and select Larger. If that’s not enough, you can set a custom text size by changing the DPI.

With regards to dealing with your dealer, I suggest you take in your system unit so you can demonstrate the problem to him. And do consider a rotated display as a replacement - if your video card doesn’t support this, it is an opportunity to smooth ruffled feathers by buying a suitable (cheap) video card from him.

11

If you’re convinced that you have solid connections and the only problem is getting all of the colors right, you might consider getting the Pantone Huey or Huey Pro - PANTONE Huey Pro - Newegg.com

I have the regular Huey and it reset my color palette with only a small amount of effort on my part.

Newegg does carry the Huey any more, only the pro model but you might still be able to find it on ebay.

Of course if the monitor is bad it would be a waste of money.

12

I finally had a chance to plug the monitor into my laptop. Very little difference. Definitely the monitor.

I’d say it’s settled. It goes back for refund.

Thanks all.

13

Wow. I had no idea calibrators had gotten that cheap.

14

A few things.
1: “LED” simply refers to the fact that it is using more reliable, better performing LEDs for the back-light vs the older style fluorescent tube(s). The screen is still LCD technology.

2: I’m 52 and I understand your visibility issues. You REALLY need to delve into the monitor settings for adjusting native Windows icon and text sizes. Regardless of the native resolution you can easily size icons and text size to exactly the size you desire for maximum visibility. I never keep icons and text at the teeny, hard to see default sizes, I generally size them up substantially for best visibility. I don’t know your OS so I can’t give you a step by step guide to get to these adjustment menus.

Assuming you’re using IE 8 or better you can set default magnification/zoom sizes for your browsers. I never use the default 100% size in IE or Chrome. I’m always at 125% or 150%.

15

I’ve been using all of these methods for at least ten years, and they help immensely but never apply globally. There are always aspects within various programs that remain microscopic, and aspects that get skewed (text overlapping graphics, for example). For me, the only satisfactory solution is old-fashioned lower native resolution, unless the newer monitors can now be set to lower non-native res without degrading display definition.

But thank you for the input, and if you think I’m still overlooking something, please say so. I never know as much as I think I do, and remain open to all suggestions.

Cheers.
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16

If the monitor is not connected to any computer, is there any onscreen menu or a window that appears complaining of a lack of input? If so, how do the colors looks? Because that would tell you fairly certainly that the problem is internal to the monitor.

17

Today’s update. The dealer surprised me.

After hearing my deposition, which I kept brief and to the point, he informed me that “I just don’t like it” would have been reason enough for a refund, which he offered without hesitation. We then had a pleasant conversation about what I’d liked and disliked, and other things computish. It couldn’t have been any easier or more pleasant. It’s so refreshing to treat someone with friendly courtesy and have them give the same right back to you.

I grin.

For him this was a return to his earlier form, a retailer who treats you exactly as you would hope to be treated, and I’m assuming the more recent minor unpleasantness, over a rather low-price exchange, was simply him having a bad day.

So for now I’ll stick to the laptop while I consider all of the advice and comments you guys offered. It is very much appreciated.

Buh Bye for now.

Tom