NEC Multisync FP2141-SB help!

[Quickstrike]

I have owned this monitor for about a year now. I love the look of it for the most part, but I do have a problem (since day one).

The problem is that some areas of the screen are darker than others. I don't know if it is a bulb problem or something else, but the dimmer picture in areas is noticeable and irritating!

I took it back within the first month to get the power button fixed (it somehow broke into the unit itself), I also talked to them about "color problems", but realize I was a little too generic in my terminology and they checked everything out as ok.

Now from what I understand this model is now discontinued, correct? I still have 4+ years under warranty and want this monitor looking perfect, the way it should be.

With my problem in mind, do you think this is repairable? Do you know how I can best explain it to the repair ppl, so they can fix it?

I just hate having a faulty product repaired, it would be nice if they could replace it with another model, but it is discontinued?

Another thing, could you guys tell me how you have your monitor configured? I want the best picture possible, and would like to learn from your past experience. Right now I have mine set @:

Brightness- 43.1%
Contrast- 100%
Color 2 @ 9300K
1600x1200@110Hz

Do you guys run your monitor on SuperBright modes all the time? I find it annoying having to turn SB-1 on everytime I play a game, and turn it off everytime I surf websites.. wondering if there were some universal settings that would look good in all mediums.


Thankyou in advance for your help!.
I know this monitor is quite capable and would like to get all faults repaired/replaced.
-Quickstrike

 

[yhelothar]

I'd turn down the refresh rate for one. Using a refresh rate and resolution at the limits of your monitor would cap the video bandwidth, causing blurriness and an inaccurate image. 85Hz would be the highest I would go with that resolution. Heck, I can even notice it getting sharper at 75Hz.
I'm not sure if it would help the colors though, but it'd be worth a try.
Did you adjust the "landing"? That allows you to individually adjust the color warmness/coolness at each of the 4 corners of the screen.

 

[xtknight]

I too say lower your refresh rate and adjust landing settings. Does this happen in every resolution? Does it happen with 640x480@60Hz?

Try degaussing too.

CRTs don't have bulbs (backlights) like LCDs do. That is however a very common problem in sub-par LCDs.

 

[Quickstrike]

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
I'd turn down the refresh rate for one. Using a refresh rate and resolution at the limits of your monitor would cap the video bandwidth, causing blurriness and an inaccurate image. 85Hz would be the highest I would go with that resolution. Heck, I can even notice it getting sharper at 75Hz.
I'm not sure if it would help the colors though, but it'd be worth a try.
Did you adjust the "landing"? That allows you to individually adjust the color warmness/coolness at each of the 4 corners of the screen.

Wow, dropping the refresh rate down from 110Hz, really does help the sharpness! So, you have yours set @ 1600x1200 75Hz? At 75Hz I can notice a little bit of flickering that I can't see from 85Hz-110Hz. The reason I had it set at 110Hz is that I wanted to reduce eye strain, I always hear the higher the refresh rate, the better for CRT type monitors.

By landing did you mean Screen Purity? If so, yes I have done that. It is more in the middle of the screen where the screen is dark. You can really notice it if you drag a white window across the screen slowly.. it will jump up and down in brightness and sharpness slightly.

Do you mind taking the time and posting your brightness, contrast, color stats? Are mine within a range you find best?


Thanks again for taking the time to help,
-Quickstrike

 

[yhelothar]

I used a Trinitron screen, it's a bit different from yours, so my settings may not give the same results as yours.
I personally used 2048x1536 @ 70Hz, it could go up to 80Hz, but the extra sharpness I get over 75Hz was worth it for me for the bit of flicker I get on bright screens.
I used 50 brightness and 100 contrast on my IBM P275 screen(brand new and not refurb, or it'll be a lot more blurry at those settings).
The color was very consistent for my monitor.

 

[xtknight]

Maybe the phosphor coating (which makes the colors glow) on his CRT is uneven or something? I have no idea.

Originally posted by: virtualgames0
By landing did you mean Screen Purity? If so, yes I have done that. It is more in the middle of the screen where the screen is dark. You can really notice it if you drag a white window across the screen slowly.. it will jump up and down in brightness and sharpness slightly.

Yeah, landing is an alias for screen purity. What you describe here makes me think maybe you have a bad cable? Like I said, no idea...but if you have another VGA cable on hand give it a try.

 

[CP5670]

I have the same monitor (the Mitsubishi version). At 1600x1200, there is a very small difference in the sharpness going from 85hz to 109hz, although I have to put my eyes up pretty close to the screen to notice it. However, I actually went through three defective ones before I got this one, and two of those had the same problem you are describing; the focus was good up to 85hz and declined quite noticeably at anything over that at any resolution. You may want to try a different cable though. The one that comes with this monitor is pretty thin and cheap looking. I didn't bother with it at all and used a much heavier and thicker one I had lying around.

Since you say you have had yours for a year, you might have just gotten in on one of the poor quality ones that they started putting out around October. For the uneven lighting issues, try messing with the "globalsync" color purity settings. You may or may not be able to fix the problem. To tell you the truth, if you were having these issues since you got the monitor, you should have called them up for a replacement right there. You can still send it back to them, but at this point you will have to pay for shipping one way and they will only offer a repair as an option. Although in some sense that's a good thing, since you would otherwise run the risk of getting one of the crap late manufactured monitors as a replacement.

I use 10% brightness, 100% contrast, 9300K color and 1280x960 at 130hz (in windows). However, the brightness and contrast settings don't mean much between different units, as I had them set to quite different values on the other three monitors.

I only use Superbright in games, which benefit immensely from the slightly oversaturated look (mode 1 works for most games and mode 2 looks better in some darker ones like Doom 3). It doesn't really take much work to turn it on and toggling that button when I start a game is a routine thing I have gotten used to by now. Although it would be nice to have an application detector that starts it up automatically. Naviset allows you to turn it on through software, so I suppose it might be possible in theory to have something like that, although I haven't seen any third party program that can do this.

 

[Quickstrike]

Originally posted by: CP5670
I have the same monitor (the Mitsubishi version). At 1600x1200, there is a very small difference in the sharpness going from 85hz to 109hz, although I have to put my eyes up pretty close to the screen to notice it. However, I actually went through three defective ones before I got this one, and two of those had the same problem you are describing; the focus was good up to 85hz and declined quite noticeably at anything over that at any resolution. You may want to try a different cable though. The one that comes with this monitor is pretty thin and cheap looking. I didn't bother with it at all and used a much heavier and thicker one I had lying around.

Since you say you have had yours for a year, you might have just gotten in on one of the poor quality ones that they started putting out around October. For the uneven lighting issues, try messing with the "globalsync" color purity settings. You may or may not be able to fix the problem. To tell you the truth, if you were having these issues since you got the monitor, you should have called them up for a replacement right there. You can still send it back to them, but at this point you will have to pay for shipping one way and they will only offer a repair as an option. Although in some sense that's a good thing, since you would otherwise run the risk of getting one of the crap late manufactured monitors as a replacement.

I use 10% brightness, 100% contrast, 9300K color and 1280x960 at 130hz (in windows). However, the brightness and contrast settings don't mean much between different units, as I had them set to quite different values on the other three monitors.

I only use Superbright in games, which benefit immensely from the slightly oversaturated look (mode 1 works for most games and mode 2 looks better in some darker ones like Doom 3). It doesn't really take much work to turn it on and toggling that button when I start a game is a routine thing I have gotten used to by now. Although it would be nice to have an application detector that starts it up automatically. Naviset allows you to turn it on through software, so I suppose it might be possible in theory to have something like that, although I haven't seen any third party program that can do this.

When I bought the monitor in February, I tried getting a replacement right then when the power button broke (poor soldering points). They refused, saying it is discontinued and that they have no other CRT's that would match its performance. I tried to get it. Maybe I am just not that convincing over the phone.

The store I bought the thing from could've had it hanging around for years for all I know. It was the last one they had in stock. I never knew they were being discontinued at the time I bought it .

I will try a new cable and/or ask them to fix the lighting issue. The good thing is, there is a repair store in my city about 30 minutes away from where I live.. so I don't have to ship it off.

I thought a brand such as NEC, with products made in Japan, would have very few defective products. Especially on one of their flagship monitors.

I know the 17" Samsung I have has sharper text and no light issues. That cost me $110 compared to the $900 CDN the NEC cost.

 

[xtknight]

CRT QC (at least AGs) went to crap the last few months, regardless of the manufacturer. Several reports of half-broken Mistu monitors.

 

[CP5670]

Originally posted by: Quickstrike
When I bought the monitor in February, I tried getting a replacement right then when the power button broke (poor soldering points). They refused, saying it is discontinued and that they have no other CRT's that would match its performance. I tried to get it. Maybe I am just not that convincing over the phone.

The store I bought the thing from could've had it hanging around for years for all I know. It was the last one they had in stock. I never knew they were being discontinued at the time I bought it .

I will try a new cable and/or ask them to fix the lighting issue. The good thing is, there is a repair store in my city about 30 minutes away from where I live.. so I don't have to ship it off.

I thought a brand such as NEC, with products made in Japan, would have very few defective products. Especially on one of their flagship monitors.

I know the 17" Samsung I have has sharper text and no light issues. That cost me $110 compared to the $900 CDN the NEC cost.

I got that runaround once myself, but it was after I had already gotten a replacement (another bad one) just a week earlier so I told the guy he was BSing me. It was one of their evening staff and he didn't seem to be very knowledgable. It seems that it depends on who you talk to, as he told me to call back the next morning and the other CSR promptly sent another replacement my way.

As xtknight said, the quality control on pretty much all the high end AG CRTs went through the floor during their last few months of production.

 

[yhelothar]

IBM still makes the C220p, a very high quality AG CRT.