[mr. burns]

i have a 22" mitsubishi diamond pro 2040u. can't recall how long this has gone on, but every once in a while it starts making a really high pitch sound that i first thought was coming from a fan in my mac pro. turning off the monitor and turning it back on doesn't fix it either. it just comes back after a few seconds. eventually it goes away. i just wanted to know if anyone else has had this happen. is this a sign of the tube dying? picture quality isn't effected. it's just noise, but i have to put on headphones and or music so i can't hear it.

it was hard enough finding this one a few years ago, so i know the next monitor i buy will have to be a flat panel. i've always prefered CRTs over flat panels for my line of work so i was hoping this thing would last a while longer before i have to make the jump.

[ide3308]

yeah, i have had this problem with a monitor too, not sure why...

[Cold Warrior]

I always hear these noises from CRT monitors. I've had success reducing but not eliminating it by going from analog to digital connections to the monitor, but if yours is old, it may not support it.

[ghporter]

CRT monitors depend on an oscillator running at something like 15,000+ Hz. It's within the human range of hearing, but often not really noticed. Sometimes the components that process this signal (the flyback signal) will generate an actually sound (the flyback transformer is the usual culprit) and that is what you hear.

In spite of a mild hearing loss, in a quiet room I can almost always tell when a CRT is operating because I can hear the flyback signal.

[mr. burns]

well, as long as it's not dying, i guess i can deal with it. it doesn't happen too terribly often. mainly when it comes out of being in power save mode for a while. maybe it's just warming up or something.

[ghporter]

When a CRT warms up, it's harder on all the components, so you probably are just hearing that transformer for that reason.

[Cold Warrior]

Surely there are high-end LCDs out now that can replace the CRT's color display range?

[OreoCookie]

Yes, easily. Quality lcds have a larger gamut for quite a few years now.

[ghporter]

Even mid-range LCDs can replace most "high quality" CRTs, and with less energy use and heat production as a really nice side benefit. I can't think of a single CRT application that wouldn't benefit from replacing that monitor with an LCD monitor. Unless, of course, you don't have the money to buy the monitor you want. Then I suggest macaroni and cheese for a few weeks until you save up. I have gone entirely LCD for my computers, and as soon as I can afford it, myCRT-based TV will be replaced with an LCD HD monitor (and not just because movies will look that much better on an HD display).

[mr. burns]

well, it's always been the oversaturation and constant color shifts at different viewing angles that's bugged me. my next monitor will have to be LCD though.

[OreoCookie]

Your information is IMO dated. With a quality lcd (non-TN panel lcd!), this is practically not an issue and hasn't been for years now. (With TN panels, it is). Once you've calibrated it, the image quality will be better than on CRTs.

[ghporter]

What Oreo said. Basically, the technology of older LCDs was pretty poor compared to today's panels, so both the panel itself and the anti-glare coating (which often limited viewing angles) of a modern display are lightyears ahead of even a 5 year old panel.

[OreoCookie]

My current LCD is from 2004, I believe, and blows my ProBook's screen out of the water, the gamut is much larger. It's a 21" quality LCD by Samsung with MVA panel. On my ProBook (with 6 bit TN panel), the colors do shift when looking at it at a slightly different angle, the Samsung starts shifting colors when the viewing angle exceeds 35, 40 degrees (left to right). The top down variation is even smaller and completely negligible in a work environment.

When working on color-accurate screens, you always have to look at it from within a certain range of angles, that's nothing new. It has been the same when CRTs were used.