NEC FP1350 - blurry / weird

[450R]

Hi,

I picked up this monitor last weekend from a friend ... brand new, never opened (sat in his basement for a few years). Something was bugging me from the start - the text seemed blurry and my eyes were definitely feeling strained. I finally got some time tonight to take a closer look at what was bothering me.

It looks as if everything has a shadow of some sort. I've tried going through the manual and the options but nothing seems to fix it. It's disappointing because I'm coming from a crappy 17" Dell monitor that has to be at least 7 or 8 years old, and it was easier on my eyes than this 'professional' 22".

Edit: The effect I'm talking about is the outline on the right side of the icon.

Here's an image: FP1350

It doesn't look so bad there but the overall effect on EVERYTHING (including text) is giving me headaches. If you have any ideas on how to fix this, please do let me know!

Thanks!

 

[Conky]

Sounds damaged. Not sure there is anything you can do to fix something like that... not anything worth the trouble anyway.

 

[CP5670]

I think the problem is either electrical interference or poor focus. The interference might be fixed by changing the cable or video card. The focus can be harder to correct, but see if that monitor has any small holes somewhere on the sides, which let you access the focus knobs with a screwdriver without opening up the cabinet. The newer NEC/Mitsubishi CRTs have these holes, but I'm not sure about the older ones.

 

[450R]

I didn't know you could adjust the focus on a CRT! You really do learn something new every day.

I looked it up on NEC's website and it does say this model is adjustable. There are two small holes on the left side but when I stuck the flat screwdriver in them, it didn't feel like there was anything for it to grab. Is there a trick to it?

Also, NEC said to use a "plastic alignment tool" ... whatever that is. Is it at all dangerous to be sticking a metal object inside the cabinet while the monitor is on?

Thanks again!

 

[450R]

Alright, I guess they're more like knobs than screws in there because I'm basically pushing them around. Unfortunately, this doesn't seem to be the problem. I'll take everything off my desk, move the PC further away and try different cables tomorrow to see if it's an interference issue ... I'm hoping it is because other than this, it's a really nice monitor.

Thanks.

 

[CP5670]

I didn't know you could adjust the focus on a CRT! You really do learn something new every day.

I looked it up on NEC's website and it does say this model is adjustable. There are two small holes on the left side but when I stuck the flat screwdriver in them, it didn't feel like there was anything for it to grab. Is there a trick to it?

Also, NEC said to use a "plastic alignment tool" ... whatever that is. Is it at all dangerous to be sticking a metal object inside the cabinet while the monitor is on?

Thanks again!

This is actually a little tricky. You basically need to insert the screwdriver in at exactly the right angle. It's much easier to do if you shine a small flashlight through one hole, see where the screw is and then stick the screwdriver in that direction through the other hole. I used one of these, as the light bit fit perfectly through the holes and gave a clear view of the inside, but a small LED or something like that would also work well. Once you are able to connect the screwdriver to the focus screw, it will stay in place and you can slowly turn the thing and see the effect it has on the picture.

If it feels like you're pushing them in and out you probably haven't actually touched the screws with the screwdriver (I spent quite a while with this crap and that kept happening to me too ).

As for the tool, I just used a phillips screwdriver with a long 8" metal shank and a plastic handle that I had lying around. I think a fully plastic one might be safer, but I'm not sure where you can get those and you should be okay if you only touch the handle while the screwdriver is inserted into the monitor.

 

[450R]

Thanks for the help. I actually did manage to adjust it last night, but it didn't help the problem I was describing ... focus was already good. Doesn't seem to be interference but I still have a few things to try for that. I think it's just a lemon.

I guess you get what you pay for ... and I got this for free.

 

[450R]

I just reinstalled the video drivers to see if they had any effect. They didn't, but when I was stuck at 640x480 I noticed the problem didn't exist; 800x600 didn't show it either. It starts to be noticeable at 1024x768, and gets progressively worse as the resolution is increased.

Could this be a crappy cable showing its flaws at higher bandwidths?

Edit: Have you ever heard the term "resolution ghosting" or just plain ghosting? I saw this on one site while looking for cables:

Ghosts, shadows, or streaks in picture adjacent to vertical edges may be a cause of faulty cables/termination. VPI cables are manufactured with the highest standards and provide a solid image with no ghosting & no degradation ? guaranteed.

Sounds eerily similar to what I see.