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iMac screen life ?
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Senior User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: U.K.
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My trusty old G3 was getting to the point, after 7 years of daily use, where the screen was beyond B&C adjustment, and appeared to be going out of focus, despite religious use of screen saver and energy settings in system prefs.
It got to the point where I could no longer trust it for Photoshop and iMovie adjustments.
Previously, using PC's, monitors appeared to last a couple of years, perhaps they were not as good 10+ years ago.
My question, having upgraded to the iMac you see in my sigline, is "how long can I expect the screen to last?"
17-inch (viewable) widescreen TFT active-matrix LCD states Apple spec.
Difficult question, like the proverbial "string" one.
What happens to the screens, does the backlight go first, do they go fuzzy, do they lose adjustment ?
Can the backlight be replaced ?
Does using screensaver, and energy settings actually prolong active life.
I quite like the auto dimming after a short period, presumably this also prolongs screen life.
At least I think that a replacement monitor would sit nicely in front of the iMac, more so than in front of G3, in say 7-10 years time.
My old G3 works fine with external monitors, I've tried 3, just a bulky set-up.
I do appreciate that at 7 years, an iMac upgrade was required anyway.
I note another manufacturer quotes # Mtbf (hr, exclude lamp) 50,000, # Lamp life (hr) 50,000
ie Approx 13 years, with or without energy saving ?
Any pointers welcome.
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iMac Intel Core i5, 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB 21.5" Monitor 10.7.4.
iMac 17" 2.0ghz Intel Core 2 Duo w 3gb memory (White one) 10.6.8.
Internal 500gb / 160gb plus External 500gb x 2 (2x Time Machine)
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Senior User
Join Date: Aug 2007
Location: U.K.
Status:
Offline
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iMac Intel Core i5, 2.5GHz, 4GB RAM, 500GB 21.5" Monitor 10.7.4.
iMac 17" 2.0ghz Intel Core 2 Duo w 3gb memory (White one) 10.6.8.
Internal 500gb / 160gb plus External 500gb x 2 (2x Time Machine)
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Posting Junkie
Join Date: Oct 2005
Location: Houston, TX
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Sounds like your experience is with CRTs, not LCDs. Totally different screens. LCDs don't go fuzzy or purple or lose adjustment or any of that.
Backlight fade and stuck/dead pixels are the biggest problems. Also, the iMacs don't seem to use the best LCDs at times.
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Fresh-Faced Recruit
Join Date: Oct 2007
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Yeah I'm pretty curious about my iMac's expected screen life as well, and if letting the display shut off automatically after a certain time would really make a difference, if dimming would make a difference, etc.
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Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Aberdeen, UK
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I think the real issue with LCDs is the backlight dimming with age. That can be rectified, as an intrepid CubeOwner found out. It does take some technical chops, though.
On a personal note, I have my screen dim after five minutes and turn off after fifteen. That reassures me somewhat, and I feel that I'm preserving the life of my screen that way. Admittedly, my screen does have a few bruises in it, so once I become rich I'll be getting that badboy replaced.
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Originally Posted by Koralatov 
I think the real issue with LCDs is the backlight dimming with age. That can be rectified, as an intrepid CubeOwner found out. It does take some technical chops, though.
On a personal note, I have my screen dim after five minutes and turn off after fifteen. That reassures me somewhat, and I feel that I'm preserving the life of my screen that way. Admittedly, my screen does have a few bruises in it, so once I become rich I'll be getting that badboy replaced.
Can I ask what you mean by bruises?
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Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Aberdeen, UK
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Originally Posted by BoingoBongo
Can I ask what you mean by bruises?
You certainly can. By bruises, I mean slightly darkened patches visible on the screen when a large block of pale colour is display. You can see them in this image here, toward the middle:
They're really not noticeable most of the time, and I was aware of them when I bought the iMac (they were part of the reason I got it so cheap).
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Dedicated MacNNer
Join Date: Feb 2006
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Ok, I see. I have a couple spots on my screen that look like that except they're lighter rather than darker. They've been driving me crazy and I've been trying to figure out what they are.
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Senior User
Join Date: Jun 2007
Location: Aberdeen, UK
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Originally Posted by BoingoBongo
Ok, I see. I have a couple spots on my screen that look like that except they're lighter rather than darker. They've been driving me crazy and I've been trying to figure out what they are.
If it's single pixels, then they might be stuck pixels. Two (non-guaranteed) options for that are a pixel massage (google it) and a program--the name of which I forget; try googling--that might make them become 'unstuck'. If neither of these work, you're SOL and will have to live with them.
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