Yesterday the flatscreen monitor on the computer system I use most in my office died. It died in the way I’m pretty accustomed to them dying. I’m virtually certain the problem is a bad inverter and, although it’s something I could probably fix myself, I’m not as handy with a soldering iron as I used to be so I ordered a replacement.
It’s not as though it was a low-end monitor. When new it was fairly expensive. Here’s the thing that bothers me: it was only three years old. Warranty expired in May.
I’ve been using LCD monitors now for about twelve years. During that period they’ve gone down drastically in price (I think I paid a grand for the first one I had). Here’s my experience: they all die at about three years and it’s usually the inverter. True of monitors and flatscreen TVs. The only thing in my home I get the extended warranty on is LCD TVs. Basic warranty usually gets you one to three years. Then you can extend it for another three years. At that point it’s probably cheaper to replace than to buy another extension on the warranty.
I may take this monitor to some guys I’ve used before and see what they’ll charge to repair it. Nice guys, dirt cheap, and they do decent work. Honestly, I think their rates are too low. I understand their business well enough to know what their revenues are likely to be and their hourly rate is really far too low.
I turned the TV on during the hurricane scare, otherwise I live in sweet silence. Well, there are the birds.
Concerning many TVs with power supply issues, it’s usually just the capacitator(s) that go bad, and not the entire board itself. It’s a repair that can be done for a few dollars, with the proper tools and a little research.
For whatever reason, poor quality capacitators were/are used by most of the major manufacturers. Some have even lost class action lawsuits, Samsung being the most recent I believe.
Three years seems be short for an LCD. It will get dim over time as the backlight weakens. Your power could be the problem. Fluctuating electricity will kill electronics, but it may not be noticeable. If it is the power, you will need something to condition the incoming electricity.