Samsung 213T problems - possibly defective?

  • Thread starter Thread starter Eric Faust
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Eric Faust

I just purchased my first LCD monitor a week ago (Samsung 213T) and
I'm noticing a flicker problem. It happens:

- When I first turn on the monitor (for at least ten minutes now)
- If the brightness is turned down below '20' (regardless of runtime)

The flicker will mostly go away if I crank up the brightness to '80'
or above, but it's totally unusable at this level.

Sorry if this a naive question but: is this normal, or does it sound
like a defective monitor? I'm also concerned if this is a known problem
with this model. If it is I certainly don't want to exchange it for the
exact same model (i.e. I'll take my chances with the Viewsonic which
seemed almost as good).

Opinions appreciated!
 
Eric Faust said:
I just purchased my first LCD monitor a week ago (Samsung 213T) and
I'm noticing a flicker problem. It happens:

- When I first turn on the monitor (for at least ten minutes now)
- If the brightness is turned down below '20' (regardless of runtime)

The flicker will mostly go away if I crank up the brightness to '80'
or above, but it's totally unusable at this level.

Sorry if this a naive question but: is this normal, or does it sound
like a defective monitor? I'm also concerned if this is a known problem
with this model. If it is I certainly don't want to exchange it for the
exact same model (i.e. I'll take my chances with the Viewsonic which
seemed almost as good).
Click to expand...
LCD displays are backlit by 2 or more fluorescent tubes fed by an inverter.
Sounds like the inverter in your monitor is faulty. I haven't heard of it as
being a "known problem" so an exchange should sort it.
 
This is a known problem (at least it's known to me!)

I have two of these monitors. One was built in August 2003 in Korea
and the other was built in October 2003 in Mexico. Both have the exact
same flickering problem that you're describing.

The flickering on the August 2003 unit is really bad until it warms up
(20 minutes or so), and then it stops. The flickering on the October
2003 unit is not as bad (but still very noticeable) while it warms up,
but even after the unit warms up, there's still some flicker sometimes
(but not always) with this unit. My brightness setting is 45. As you
observed, the flicker goes away at a brightness setting of 80 (which
happens to be the default setting), but that's too bright.

I can live with this problem since the 213T has a beautiful picture
(the best I've seen on any monitor). Somehow it seems that nobody is
able to make a perfect monitor. There always has to be some problem...
My (admittedly uninformed) guess is that Samsung could fix this
problem fairly easily by using a different inverter and/or fluorescent
lights. The problem is not with the LCD itself, but with the
electronics or lights.

Ariel
 
This is a known problem (at least it's known to me!)

I have two of these monitors. One was built in August 2003 in Korea
and the other was built in October 2003 in Mexico. Both have the exact
same flickering problem that you're describing.

The flickering on the August 2003 unit is really bad until it warms up
(20 minutes or so), and then it stops. The flickering on the October
2003 unit is not as bad (but still very noticeable) while it warms up,
but even after the unit warms up, there's still some flicker sometimes
(but not always) with this unit. My brightness setting is 45. As you
observed, the flicker goes away at a brightness setting of 80 (which
happens to be the default setting), but that's too bright.

I can live with this problem since the 213T has a beautiful picture
(the best I've seen on any monitor). Somehow it seems that nobody is
able to make a perfect monitor. There always has to be some problem...
My (admittedly uninformed) guess is that Samsung could fix this
problem fairly easily by using a different inverter and/or fluorescent
lights. The problem is not with the LCD itself, but with the
electronics or lights.

Ariel
Click to expand...

Hi:
I use a 213T also. Built in Korea 2003. The first time I used it,
it was way too bright so I turned it down to a setting of 20.
I have had no problems at all with this monitor. Warms up quick.
No flicker. No ghosting/blur when gaming nor any other issues.
It replaced a 21" ViewSonic P817 shadow mask which was no slouch
for performance.
I'm very pleased with it. It looks and performs much better than
the one (22" ViewSonic P225f aperture grille) I use on the VGA OUT of
my ATI Radeon 9800 XT card. I use the 213T's DVI input at its native
1600x1200 60Hz.
Eric. The Samsung wasn't my first choice. I originally wanted a
ViewSonic VP211b which actually has better specs (more $ though) but
no one had stock and the delivery date seemed iffy.
I don't know about Samsung but ViewSonic has always had what
amounts to a no questions asked return/replace policy. That is
important to me. Monitors (CRTs at least) are really prone to being
screwed up due to rough handling during shipment. Not the mfr's fault,
not the customer's either but they frequently have to go back.

Happy trails,
 
Eric said:
I just purchased my first LCD monitor a week ago (Samsung 213T) and
I'm noticing a flicker problem. It happens:

- When I first turn on the monitor (for at least ten minutes now)
- If the brightness is turned down below '20' (regardless of runtime)

The flicker will mostly go away if I crank up the brightness to '80'
or above, but it's totally unusable at this level.

Sorry if this a naive question but: is this normal, or does it sound
like a defective monitor? I'm also concerned if this is a known problem
with this model. If it is I certainly don't want to exchange it for the
exact same model (i.e. I'll take my chances with the Viewsonic which
seemed almost as good).

Opinions appreciated!
Click to expand...

I have two of these monitors, and the 1 year old version has become very
dim and also flickers on startup for 10-20 minutes. I used to be able
to calibrate the monitor with Optical, but now the blue channel is very
dim.

I have replaced that monitor with a new Dell monitor at 1900x1200. If
you are looking for a nice monitor, the Dell is great. I'm a bit
disappointed in the short lifetime of the Samsung monitor.
 
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