CRT is way too bright??!

[yhelothar]

The 997MB is a shadowmask monitor. Shadowmask monitors' contrast and black levels are not as dark as aperture grills.
The only way to get the blackness levels down is to turn down the brightness. You will not get a true black that you would get on an aperture grill. But on the light side, you get more shades of gray and more accurate colors than aperture grills.

 

[BWX]

I tried some of those tests with my current cheap KDS X Flat 17 CRT.. I get true blacks.. and quite vivid colors.. But I am sure this won't look near as good or impressive as the Samsung (but the blacks probably will look better)...

But for what this thing is it is great.. I will use it along with the Samsung as a dual display system.. for menus in photoshop/etc..

http://img376.imageshack.us/img376/6160/nagtmonwall25pv.jpg
http://img456.imageshack.us/img456/8174/dtnov100yr.jpg

 

[Aja27]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
The 997MB is a shadowmask monitor. Shadowmask monitors' contrast and black levels are not as dark as aperture grills.
The only way to get the blackness levels down is to turn down the brightness. You will not get a true black that you would get on an aperture grill. But on the light side, you get more shades of gray and more accurate colors than aperture grills.

That doesn't make sense - a true black on a CRT is simply the absence of light. I have a 15" Compaq MV500 monitor that I'm pretty sure is not an aperture grille (I can see no lines when the screen is white), and it can do a perfect black - that is, it can display portions of the screen with no light at all. In a dark room, this looks like true black. It's a crummy picture otherwise, but the contrast is great.

The Samsung, for some reason, is putting small amounts of light on the screen even with the brightness at zero, and even in the darkest portions of the screen.

I hope it's merely a quality control issue (which I hear are frequent these days), and the tech can correct it.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Aja27

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
The 997MB is a shadowmask monitor. Shadowmask monitors' contrast and black levels are not as dark as aperture grills.
The only way to get the blackness levels down is to turn down the brightness. You will not get a true black that you would get on an aperture grill. But on the light side, you get more shades of gray and more accurate colors than aperture grills.

That doesn't make sense - a true black on a CRT is simply the absence of light. I have a 15" Compaq MV500 monitor that I'm pretty sure is not an aperture grille (I can see no lines when the screen is white), and it can do a perfect black - that is, it can display portions of the screen with no light at all. In a dark room, this looks like true black. It's a crummy picture otherwise, but the contrast is great.

The Samsung, for some reason, is putting small amounts of light on the screen even with the brightness at zero, and even in the darkest portions of the screen.

I hope it's merely a quality control issue (which I hear are frequent these days), and the tech can correct it.

Well it's said that you can get a perfect black with your monitor too, if you turn the brightness down to 0.

 

[Aja27]

True, but that is the problem - zero brightness is not actually zero brightness for some reason. Brightness at zero on this monitor is akin to brightness at about 35 or 40 on other CRTs I've seen.

 

[xtknight]

Brightness (black level) at 0 was never black on my previous 15"/17" NEC MultiSync, KDS, or eMachines (shut up it was $99 and was my dad's idea ) shadow mask CRTs either. Nor is it on my LCD, which is quite odd, because the backlight should be able to be turned off, not that you'd ever want that though.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Aja27
True, but that is the problem - zero brightness is not actually zero brightness for some reason. Brightness at zero on this monitor is akin to brightness at about 35 or 40 on other CRTs I've seen.

Yeah 35-40 on an aperture grill CRT. You have a shadowmask. That's a con of shadowmasks.
But then again, I'll have to see your monitor with my own eyes to tell if they're defective.
Another thing you can do is to make your room brighter, then your monitor will look darker in comparison.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
Yeah 35-40 on an aperture grill CRT. You have a shadowmask. That's a con of shadowmasks.
But then again, I'll have to see your monitor with my own eyes to tell if they're defective.

Why would the aperture grilles' black level setting be any different than its shadow mask counterpart? They use a different method to filter the light, but still, any ideas? Well obviously AG CRTs are brighter, but can't shadow mask CRTs be black at 0 brightness as well? Why would they make that different? I know they wouldn't be as bright as an AG CRT at 100%.

 

[xtknight]

Originally posted by: Avalon
And if I put the brightness up to 100% on an almost white page, my monitor buzzes.

Heh, I hope it's not related to the same thing I did that caused buzzing. That reminds me of a horror story ....My dad had one CRT with bad tube, good electronics and another with good tube, bad electronics, so naturally he put the good tube in the one with good electronics (they were both the same KDS model so it worked). So that CRT turned out fine. Mistakingly thinking the leftover CRT was my old one, I turned it on (electricity was disconnected from tube neck and everything) and it made a loud buzzing noise. LOL that wasn't the best idea, turning on a CRT with parts dangling around inside. I'm still alive though. Just a wild guess but maybe some wire within the CRT is loose. Not that I know CRTs inside out or anything...

 

[BWX]

What if you mess with the custom color temps? And adjust contrast to 95% or something? It seems like there must be a balance there somewhere while still attaining satisfactory brightness..



Now I am really curious about what I will get..

Replying to this thread will be the first thing I do when I get this monitor.. hopefully wednesday.




EDIT- BTW

When I called Samsung before I ordered this monitor to see about warranty..


The guy said to get a new monitor (if yours is defective) you MUST ship it out on your own dime and it cost 40 dollars no matter what. That is within the first 90 days. Even if there isa service center within walking distance..

Another option is to take it to a local service center- even within the first 90 days and get it repaired or get a refurb..

I happen to have a service center right near me- 5 miles away.. If my monitor is messed up, and I take it down there, I cannot get a bran new monitor through the warranty without paying 40 dollars shipping is what he said.

I figure a known good refurb is better than paying 40 bucks for taking a chance on another new one anyway, especially since the warranty lasts for 3 years. I was just trying to avoid shipping the thing around if it was messed up.. That is why I decided to get it.. Either way I am protected. I will keep taking it back there until I get one that works regardless- with no shipping.

Did original poster find out if a service center is near him within driving distance?

 

[Aja27]

There are several service centers within driving distance for me. I've been working on assignments lately and this monitor is useful for Word documents (because of the screen size). As soon as I finish them, I'll be taking it in for service - and while it's gone, using the 15" that I spoke of.

I have tried every setting - colour temp, contrast, magicbrite, RGB levels... that's about all there is. None helped.

I'd accept a refurb, but only if it was in mint condition, and, obviously, worked properly. Like you, I'd be afraid to take my chances with a $40 replacement.

If I were to guess, I'd say that your monitor is probably going to have the same problems mine does, there's a good chance that they won't bother you at all. In 95% of situations, blacks look black - it's only with fullscreen black that I notice anything.

 

[JRW]

Ive never owned a monitor that I've had to set the brightness at 0 to get good black levels ,but ive owned only AG monitors so maybe that has something to do with it , if I set my current monitor on 0 brightness the entire screen is way to dark(just tried it), I currently have it set at 28 and have pitch black levels without losing detail with darker shades, if I were to display a blank black screen at night with the lights off in my room you wouldnt even be able to tell it was powered on.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Aja27
There are several service centers within driving distance for me. I've been working on assignments lately and this monitor is useful for Word documents (because of the screen size). As soon as I finish them, I'll be taking it in for service - and while it's gone, using the 15" that I spoke of.

I have tried every setting - colour temp, contrast, magicbrite, RGB levels... that's about all there is. None helped.

I'd accept a refurb, but only if it was in mint condition, and, obviously, worked properly. Like you, I'd be afraid to take my chances with a $40 replacement.

If I were to guess, I'd say that your monitor is probably going to have the same problems mine does, there's a good chance that they won't bother you at all. In 95% of situations, blacks look black - it's only with fullscreen black that I notice anything.

I've personally used a lot of refurbs, and finally got a new one.
New monitors generally are much higher quality than the refurbs, even if they are direct from the manufacturer.
There's a reason refurbs cost a lot less.
It may be different for this monitor though.

 

[Aja27]

If I was given the opportunity to try a refurbished monitor (in store), would the difference in quality be apparent? I mean, would I be able to tell if it was good or not by viewing it at the service center? What kinds of things would I be looking for?

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Aja27
If I was given the opportunity to try a refurbished monitor (in store), would the difference in quality be apparent? I mean, would I be able to tell if it was good or not by viewing it at the service center? What kinds of things would I be looking for?

The problems I had with my refurbs were specific to aperture grill monitors, so I do not know what problems a refurb shadowmask would have. I've tried 4 of the same model before I gave in and got a new one, so they are not specific to one refurb, all 4 had the same issuess. I've also tried refurbs from two other brands. They were all sony trinitron tubes. BenSkywalker says his diamondtron has none of those issues, so they may just be exclusive to Trinitron tubes.
For my refurb trinitrons, the text and lines that are horizontal would get progressively more blurry with a brightness and contrast higher than 30 and 85 respectively. Another problem was I am not able to completely correct the convergence. On the brand new one, there was no convergence issues at all, and I can get it sharp at 50 brightness. The new monitor was pretty much perfect.

 

[Aja27]

Well I'm hoping that I won't have to accept a refurbished model, but thanks for the advice - if the opportunity comes up I'll be sure to give it a close inspection.

 

[BWX]

Remember to let it warm up for 20 minutes... ;-)

-woe- why is my post so huge?

 

[LiekOMG]

Originally posted by: BWX
What if you mess with the custom color temps? And adjust contrast to 95% or something? It seems like there must be a balance there somewhere while still attaining satisfactory brightness..



Now I am really curious about what I will get..

Replying to this thread will be the first thing I do when I get this monitor.. hopefully wednesday.




EDIT- BTW

When I called Samsung before I ordered this monitor to see about warranty..


The guy said to get a new monitor (if yours is defective) you MUST ship it out on your own dime and it cost 40 dollars no matter what. That is within the first 90 days. Even if there isa service center within walking distance..

Another option is to take it to a local service center- even within the first 90 days and get it repaired or get a refurb..

I happen to have a service center right near me- 5 miles away.. If my monitor is messed up, and I take it down there, I cannot get a bran new monitor through the warranty without paying 40 dollars shipping is what he said.

I figure a known good refurb is better than paying 40 bucks for taking a chance on another new one anyway, especially since the warranty lasts for 3 years. I was just trying to avoid shipping the thing around if it was messed up.. That is why I decided to get it.. Either way I am protected. I will keep taking it back there until I get one that works regardless- with no shipping.

Did original poster find out if a service center is near him within driving distance?

Odd, has their service policies changed? About 4 years ago my Samsung Syncmaster 900P started to get a pink tint, and the only way to fit it was to smack the monitor on the side. Obviously something was wrong inside, so I called them up and asked what could be done (the monitor was still under warranty). Although I had to drive the monitor down to a nearby shipping store about 5 min away, they sent me a new replacement for free, and they even paid to take back my defective one. Overall I was very pleased with the service.

Although I don't have the same monitor as you do, I am also very picky about my black levels. I noticed that at my usual resolution of 1280x1024, the black levels are great and I can get a pure black image in a dark room (I also love to play Thief). However, other resolutions, name 1024x768 and 800x600 don't have the same black levels - its more of a grey black. I don't know why a resolution change would affect this, but thats what i've noticed on my Samsung.

 

[yhelothar]

Originally posted by: Aja27
Well I'm hoping that I won't have to accept a refurbished model, but thanks for the advice - if the opportunity comes up I'll be sure to give it a close inspection.

Get an IBM monitor next time
Best service ever. Call them up, and they'll ship you a replacement IMMEDIATELY with 2-day air, no questions asked. Then it comes with a prepaid postage, so all you have to do is put your old monitor in the box, and call up fedex to arrange a pickup. Don't even have to leave the house. Replacement comes in 2 days. Don't have to pay a dime. Plus if you ask for a replacement within the first month or two, they'll replace it with a brand new one instead of a refurb.

You pay a little more for the service. Plus IBM monitors are high end Trinitron tubes. You won't have to deal with the crappy black levels.

 

[CheesePoofs]

I've got a 793df, and I think I have similar problems. I have my monitor go black after 4 minutes of comptuer idleness, and that "black" isn't black at all. Also, whenever the sun shines on my monitor, all the colors get really washed out and its hard to read anytning on it.

I have tried to get a replacement for this monitor for other reasons, and in the end I've just decided to keep it. Samsung's support absoultely sucks. After telling them how my brand new monitor had a bunch of issues, they offered to replae it with a refurbished one. I didn't want a refurbished model, cause it could have been a year older than mine, so after some talk I was told they'd call me back with information on how I could get mine replaced with a new one. They never called and when I called back they would only offer me a refurbished monitor, not the new one they promissed.

 

[BWX]

Originally posted by: CheesePoofs
I've got a 793df, and I think I have similar problems. I have my monitor go black after 4 minutes of comptuer idleness, and that "black" isn't black at all. Also, whenever the sun shines on my monitor, all the colors get really washed out and its hard to read anytning on it.

I have tried to get a replacement for this monitor for other reasons, and in the end I've just decided to keep it. Samsung's support absoultely sucks. After telling them how my brand new monitor had a bunch of issues, they offered to replae it with a refurbished one. I didn't want a refurbished model, cause it could have been a year older than mine, so after some talk I was told they'd call me back with information on how I could get mine replaced with a new one. They never called and when I called back they would only offer me a refurbished monitor, not the new one they promissed.

They told me that you could only get a new replacement up to 90 days after your purchase.. If you have had it longer than 90 days, that makes sense to me.

If you have had it for less than 90 days you should be able to get a bran new replacement.

(I just hope when I get mine on Wednesday it works perfect of course)

 

[Pete]

Aja27, have you tried what BenSkywalker suggested and adjusted your video card (not monitor) brightness levels via Control Panel > Display > Settings > Advanced? What video card do you have, and if it has two outputs, have you tried both (e.g., using the DVI output with a DVI-VGA adapter)? (I skimmed the thread, sorry if you've already answered this.)

 

[Aja27]

I have a 9800 Pro, and I have tried that already. No matter what I use (including external software), there black level always stays a certain brightness.

If I use ATI Tray Tools, for example, I can lower the brightness so that I can barely read anything on the screen - BUT the black level doesn't change.

There is only a VGA output, so I have to use it.

 

[washburn]

Aja27, do you think this too bright problem is because of a defective monitor? maybe thats why they called the monitor 997MB (MagicBright) because CRTs are known to be dark and tend to lose brightness over period of time, so they designed this monitor for strong brightness...

are you going to try and go through a bunch of 997MB's to find one with a perfect black? you're a noob

 

[BWX]

Originally posted by: washburn
Aja27, do you think this too bright problem is because of a defective monitor? maybe thats why they called the monitor 997MB (MagicBright) because CRTs are known to be dark and tend to lose brightness over period of time, so they designed this monitor for strong brightness...

are you going to try and go through a bunch of 997MB's to find one with a perfect black? you're a noob

Adding "you're a noob" adds so much to the conversation.. bravo. :roll: