[Discuss] Weird issue with my Sony Trinitron CRT monitor in console mode

[David Bronaugh]

Alan W. Irwin wrote:
> My Sony Trinitron monitor has recently developed a strange symptom. I use
> the startx command to start X so it is straightforward for me to 
> switch from
> X to the Linux console and back with the ctrl-alt-F1/alt-F7 sequence. The
> weird symptom is that in console mode the screen is beginning to bounce
> around with an amplitude of roughly a tenth of a character size with a
> frequency of roughly 3 Hz or so, while in X it remains rock solid. I have
> the following questions/comments:
>
> * What kind of monitor hardware problems would only show up for the Linux
> console (I think that is a VGA mode), but not for X (at least not yet)?
> Could this be a software problem or video chipset (Intel G33 in this 
> case)
> problem instead?
Depends on the timings and exactly what circuit things go through. Also 
can depend on how warm the monitor is and a bunch of other factors.

I've seen a lot of freaky stuff with old CRTs.
> * I guess I can live with a "moving" console for a while, but if it is a
> hardware problem then I assume it will eventually affect X, and that 
> brings
> up the repair or replace issue. Trinitron monitors are pretty high 
> quality
> so we opted for repair when Barbara's Trinitron monitor crapped out 
> about 5
> years ago.  That was a good choice. PangCo Electronic services charged 
> us a
> minimum charge (less than $100 at the time), and that monitor is still 
> going
> strong in its 12th (!) year. However, it looks like repairing my own 7-yr
> old Trinitron would not be a good choice in this era. For example, I just
> talked with John Pang of PangCo. He gets little call any more to 
> repair CRT
> monitors so his labour/parts costs are higher. Thus, because the LCD
> alternatives are so cheap he could not recommend repairing even 
> high-quality
> monitors any more.  I really appreciated that advice, and I have to 
> admire
> the integrity of a businessmen willing to give such advice when it 
> means he
> is turning down repeat business.
>
> * When I do need to replace, what LCD monitor company has a good 
> reputation
> for long-term reliability?  I doubt I will get 12 (or even 7) years 
> out of
> an LCD monitor, but I prefer to minimize wasting my time taking things 
> back
> to the shop so long-term reliability is important to me.  Also, in the 
> old
> days I heard that LCD screens were sometimes sold even when they had 
> up to 5
> bad pixels.  Are a small number of bad pixels still the norm or are most
> LCD's that are sold now free of such defects?

I've had my Samsung 172T (17" PVA LCD, 25ms response time, 500:1 
contrast, VGA+DVI) for about 5 years now. I've never taken it in for 
service or anything of that ilk.

Issues:
 - Non-uniform backlight brightness (I think this is because some monkey 
poked at my screen too much)
 - It's not as bright as when I bought it
 - It's technologically outdated

Despite all of these issues, it's still a fabulous monitor. I paid $925 
for it when I bought it in early 2003 (mucho dinero) but it hasn't been 
a bad investment. The colour rendition on it is quite good.

I'm thinking about replacing it because it's comparatively small and not 
widescreen, and thus isn't very good for movies. It still works fine as 
a computer monitor, though I do prefer my 22" at work.

There's a few things to look for (and possibly wait for):
 - Look for LCD panels with either CCFL backlights with a good colour 
rendition index (97% CCFL is Samsung's stuff) or LED backlighting. Much 
better colour, apparently.
 - Considering what I believe your use cases are, S-PVA is probably the 
best choice (very good contrast, good colour, less BS than the common 
TN+Film panels). However, the cost is also higher. You won't be 
disappointed with TN+Film; but you'll be more impressed with S-PVA or 
S-IPS panels.

David