A tale of two monitors

So, a while back (just under 3 years ago) I obtained 2 of Hyundai’s W240D monitors. These monitors had (I believe) PVA panels and worked fine for most of their life so far.

A while back they both developed a problem, as evident in the video below:

So, as they were still under warranty I contacted Hyundai/RepairTech and arranged for these to be repaired. Hyundai sent the parts to RepairTech, who collected the units, repaired them and sent them back.

And this was the result:

So quite obviously they have come back with different panels from each other - but also different panels than I sent them in with.

One of them now has a TN panel, and one of them now has a panel that flickers when being videoed.

I sent the TN panel back (as it was clearly no where near what I sent in) and after a while it came back - still with a TN panel, but without a working stand. I sent it back again, and after eventually getting Hyundai involved I now have it back with a PVA panel.

The problem I find now, is that the second one (the one I had considered to be fine after the initial repair) is clearly not using the same panel technology, after searching and discovering the service menu, it became obvious why.

As you can see one of them has an RTC control, for TN or IPS panels, as its not a TN panel we can assume that is is an IPS panel.

So now I have 2 monitors, which previously were able to show images identically, that now show everything (subtly) differently - which isn’t what I wanted. (I bought 2 at the same time from the same place in order to get them the same)

I’ve invested in a colour calibrator to try and bring them closer together, but I know I won’t be able to get them the same. The PVA monitor also has no ability to change the colour values on the monitor itself when using DVI and not in service mode (Video).

For most people, there wouldn’t be any problem with this - not everyone cares about panel technology, or that 2 monitors side by side are the same (not everyone even has 2 of the same model side-by-side anyway), but now I find myself with a dilemma, that needs to be resolved quickly. (The warranty period on the IPS monitor runs out on 2nd December)

  • I could just accept it and move on and let it annoy me. (How often do I have both monitors showing things that are similar enough for the differences to be obvious?)

  • I could contact RepairTech again and request that they swap out the one with an IPS Panel for one with a PVA Panel (Is it really acceptable during a repair to fundamentally change the product? And do I really want the whole hassle of dealing with RepairTech again?)

  • I could sell both of the monitors and buy 2 new different identical monitors (This of course means finding acceptable replacements which is a chore in itself)

Choices, Choices, Choices.

I think I’m going to contact RepairTech to try and get this sorted properly, I had PVA panels, I should have PVA panels, even if it means dealing with RepairTech again. I can then look at the option of replacing the 2 monitors in the future when they have to be replaced, rather than doing it just for the sake of getting them to be the same.