"Ghosting" problem with Sony 21" trinitron

ksoth

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I have a 21" Sony Trinitron Multiscan 520GS. It's a really nice monitor, but in Windows I notice ghosting to the right side of icons and the mouse pointer. It isn't extremely bad, but it is definately noticeable. Are there any monitor calibration or testing tools that I can use to try and fix this problem? I only notice it on the Window's desktop and not while playing games or anything. Also, I have an older 19" Dragon Sceptre monitor that does the same thing on another computer, but is more noticeable. On my KDS 19" monitor though, everything looks perfect. Any ideas?

"Trying is the first step towards failure."
 

max_clif

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Let me guess, you see either a blue or yellow shadow right? That's a horizontal convergence problem, basically all monitors have controls to change h.convergence, but changing it means you lose convergence on other side of screen.

Is it fixable? Not by you using any control. I suggest that if the warranty is in effect, demand that sony replace it.

All monitors suffer from some convergence problems, so if it's off by 1 pixel I would probably leave it alone but it's up to you. Try downloading a freeware program called monitortest I dont have the link but running it wiill show u precisely how bad the problem is.
 

compuhan

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I don't think it's a convergence issue. I've had a cpd-e540 21" that had ghosting of white and gray shadows to the right of every image especially noticeable in black text on white. This type of ghosting can be due extensions (cable for cards), bad cables, or just bad monitor and usually signals a signal degradation. It's always on the right side and looks like a fuzzy shadow. It's very annoying when dealing with text and can't be fixed, but can be attenuated by lower brightness and contrast.

Most monitors have slight traces of this and go unoticed till you see another monitor with less or absolutely no ghosting (mitsu dp2060u).

I don't know if it is technically considered a defect by sony as i've observed it in a few sonys of different models, but I was successful in returning mine to the store as a defect, but they took it back for another defect (uncorrectable purity), and didn't even notice the ghosting.

It's funny, but at a distance, this ghosting, if minor, "sharpens" black text if looked at from a distance. This has something to do with human contrast perception which is relative to the surroundings.

Quality is better than name brand, even regarding beloved AMD.
 

max_clif

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Compuhan, ok I know exactly what you are talkingabout.

Hrmm might be a coincidence but my sony g500 also has this problem with every image shown against black background, but it doesnt bother me much, it would bug the heck out of any graphics designer probably :p

Think it's about a quarter centimeter ghosting I see
 

ksoth

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No it's not a blue or yellow shadow. It's like you see the icon, mouse pointer, or window, then about 1/8" to the right of it you see a "ghost" of the right side of the image, then another 1/8" to the right, you see another less noticeable "ghost". It is not extremely noticeable, but I can definately tell it is there. I adjusted the convergence, and that does nothing. I switched out monitor cables from the KDS, but the ghosting remains. Maybe I will try to get some warranty replacement on it...

"Trying is the first step towards failure."
 

GoSharks

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Your not using a switch box or extension cable are you?

Jim Witkowski
Chief Hardware Engineer
Monitorsdirect.com

<A HREF="http://www.monitorsdirect.com" target="_new">MonitorsDirect.com</A>
 

ksoth

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No I am not using either. The cable from the monitor is not one that is permanently attached, and is about 3 feet long, and I have tried multiple cables. It seems that no matter what resolution, color depth, or refresh rate, the problem persists.

"Trying is the first step towards failure."
 

compuhan

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Try returning it. It's the monitor as the kds showed up fine on the same system.

There is no control to remove ghosting though you can make it less noticeable by lower the brightness and contrast, which is not a good trade off.

Quality is better than name brand, even regarding beloved AMD.