My four month old Apple Cinema Display (20") is flashing the trouble
code, wink-wink-blink.
The top of the screen is noticably dim. There's a good chance that the
trouble is a burned out or weak CCFL. Of course it could be almost anything.
It is under warranty, but I would rather not do without it for the 4
days to 2 weeks I was told it would take for the repair. I also do not
like the idea that it will have to be shipped there (where?) and back,
maybe dropped twice in the process.
And it seems (opinions vary) that no one will actually do a CCFL-level
repair, not even Apple. Instead the entire LCD is replaced, maybe put
into the plastic frame I send them, maybe not. I am reluctant to do
this, as I currently have but one dead pixel, and it's in the menu bar.
I do not want to risk getting back a display that is acceptable to
Apple, but not to me.
At
http://www.tomshardware.com/display/20030319/lcd_pixels-02.html
I found Apple's policy, which is not to have a published policy on dead
pixels.
Dave, a technician/salesman at Wegener (www.wegenermedia.com) does not
have a matching CCFL tube and in any case does not recommend that a mere
human attempt this repair. Sadly, LCD panels (by whatever manufacturer)
are not designed to be maintenance/repair friendly, which really sucks
as it seems that it is inevitable that the CCFL tubes are a first
failure point.
Wegener does have LCDs that can be placed in the Apple frame and it
would only be one day more than the shipping time to and fro. And cost
only (!) 600 or so.
Wegener, by the way, is worth noting for replacement LCDs for your
laptops, which I deduce are similar in that they cannot be repaired. The
prices I saw didn't look all that alarming.
A helpful "Apple Solutions Consultant" who works the local CompUSA
pointed out that I should be able to hook a VGA monitor up in place of
the ACD. I have in my hand a short cable that looks like it will do the
trick. I hope so. This would make the part about being without the ACD
for some weeks easier to take.
So I will give Apple a chance to make it good. If neccessary I'll see
how far I get if I am disappointed with the results, but I'm getting a
little old (mellow?) for the squeaky wheel routine.
And I will look into what can be had for replacment display devices,
though it pains me to think it will come to that after only 4 months.
Actually, I am using the display now and even with the top half dim it
is still better than a lot of LCDs I have seen!
-- rob
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