external LCD "waves"???

[wrxguy]

I have a 2405FPW Dell monitor hooked up to my PB and I am using the normal input cable not the dvi (i forgot the name of it) and now when its on there are like waves going down the screen, its all wavy kind of like water...and nothing is solid and all the windows edges are breaking up...any help????? PLEASE?!?!! thanks in advance

 

[ITASOR]

If you're using VGA (which you said you were), try DVI! DVI is much better at higher resolutions and the 2405 has a huge resolution.

 

[FocusAndEarnIt]

No sense in not using the DVI, it has much crisper video. Why use VGA if you don't have to?

 

[OutThere]

You might play with the Focus and Clock settings on the monitor itself...sometimes if they are not set right you can get wave-like appearances (most obvious with lots of text on screen).

 

[crazzyeddie]

Yeah, if you're using VGA then you're going from DVI -> VGA -> DVI... basically digital -> analog -> digital.

 

[Eniregnat]

DVI is much better, something to note. You might notice a wiggle or a phasing of the screen if your using florescent lights near the screen. I know it reads odd, but I have identical screens running off both digital and analogue feeds. Some of the analogue screens have a kind of progressive ripple that is visible when some of the florescent lights are one. I don't know what the lights are set to phase at, as each can has it's own transformer, and I know that some of them were replaced with ones that phased at a faster frequency (as part of an ergonomic effort- full spetrum bulbs etc...) than some of the others.

 

[wrxguy]

well here is the thing, I have the DVI plugged into my PC which I use for gaming and it is quite beefed up and could use the DVI more than my mac ...could the cord be screwed??? sometimes it does this and sometimes it doesn't

 

[Eniregnat]

well here is the thing, I have the DVI plugged into my PC which I use for gaming and it is quite beefed up and could use the DVI more than my mac ...could the cord be screwed??? sometimes it does this and sometimes it doesn't

When you get wiggles on your screen, is there any other appliance running? Ordinarly I would only suggest this if you were using an analogue crt, but it's worth asking. What is the cable running near? Is is crimpt or damaged? Does the problem go away when you are in a dark room?

 

[Makosuke]

Yeah, if you're using VGA then you're going from DVI -> VGA -> DVI... basically digital -> analog -> digital.

Actually, the DVI output usually has a VGA signal embedded in it (some of the pins are reserved) that goes unused if you run DVI-only, so really it's just Analog -> Digital unless you cound the actual computer conversion, but it's no different from a standard VGA out.

That said, I agree that interference is the first place to look--that's usually what I've seen cause issues (had a microwave near a monitor once... man, that caused some weird patterns). If it's definitely not interference of any kind, then really the only other thing to try is replacing the cable. Being that that is a huge monitor, I suppose it's possible that a lower-quality cable just can't handle the data necessary and so you're getting a crummy picture, in which case a high-end cable might help.