Acer Aspire 5942G display problem

Hello everyone!

I experience the following display problem with Acer Aspire 5942G:

When certain colors are displayed on the laptop screen, thin diagonal lines ( like waves ) start moving all over the mentioned color ( see the attached photo and movie). The effect is very annoying and well seen when You look from underneath the display. The exact color depends on the color calibration and the Acer Cine Boost Color Engine but always exist.

I attach a test pattern of 4 colors - they are light ones. Each color reacts as explained depending on color calibration : default MS Windows 7 calibration , default ATI video driver calibration, Acer CineBoost Color Engine On/Off.

It is not affected by hot/cold notebook, battery/normal power. It does not affect the external display.

Do You experience the same problem ?

How could I fix this issue or it’s a hardware problem and I need to send it for repair ?

 

Hi vazmuten, i have a same notebook and HAVE NOT experienced the same problem but my display has issues of his own.

Sorry that i cant help but you might wanna take your notebook to your retail store and ask them about it or send it to Acer servis

 

Even if you press the Cine Boost you never expirience the mentioned waves over any color ? Could It be the software problem ? Drivers ?

What do you mean by " issues of his own"?

 

Cine Boost works just fine,iv just finished installing Acer Arcade Deluxe (wich did not came with my Acer Cd but our model supports it) and tested it with Cine Boost - fine again.

My problem started when i first connected my Hybrid Monitor over HDMI to neotebook, for some reason on my notebook display refreshrate goes just crazy but new 3.10 beta drivers fixed that.

As for your problem gos try the new drivers and check the voltage of your gpu and see if anything is out of the order. I dont think that any 3rd party software can do that but just to be shure open up Ati Catalyst and set it to default settings.

When did you first notice the problem or was it like this since day one?

Sorry for my bad english, imma lil bit rusty and good luck!

 

I'm also very sorry for my bad english - it's not my native language.

Yes, it was since day 1 and it was not only me - at least 3 other Acer Aspire 5942G sold in Bulgaria and 2 sold in Russa have the issue. I tried booting from Ubuntu in Live CD mode - same issue. I tried all the settings from the Ati Catalyst, tried 3 versions of ATI drivers, tried without ATI drivers - same problem.

Looks like a hardware problem with the hole series. May be they put a deffective elements somewhere.

 

Oh your english is perfect from what i can see.

Back to Acer - then it is a serious problem. Certainly a hardware related problem, do not hesitate to contact Acer service support becouse there is no other solution to fix it and not to violate your warranty.

And please if you do so share with us what did they told you but i hope the real problem is not as serious as it seems.

I live in Croatia and there has been no reports of any kinde of problems with this particular model.

 

. . . . . . . . . .

 

Sorry bothering You again, but could you please check for the last time:

Using the attached thumbnail " cineboost_test_pattern.png"( click on it to open in full screen ) and using color profile default settings ( Start | Control Panel | Appearance and Personalization | Display | Screen Resolution | Advanced settings | Color management | Color management | [Reload current calibration button] OR ATI Catalyst Control Center - Advanced | Graphics| Desktop properties | Color | [Defaults button] and then [Reactivate ATI color controls button]) and Acer CineBoost Color Engine option switched ON, looking from under (lower) part of the display you see NO waves/noise ?

 

Well ill be damned i doo see some kinde of noise defect in a picture

Acer - we have a problem.

I will not send it to repair just yet,gonna wait to see if they will recolle this model for month or two. Ill write them a email today regarding our problem.

If we send it to repair i think they will come up with some lame explenation and sey "that is the way things work on this model becouse this and that bla bla"

 

... this is the result of cheаp elements we put into your laptop.

If You switch CineBoost OFF you will see smaller noise/waves on one of the other colors. I'm also interested what do they answer.

NOTE: May be a similar DELL STUDIO 15 problem causing flickering is discussed here. The solution in this case was that DELL exchanged the AU Optronics display with LG display OR a newer version of AU Optronics. Keep in mind that Acer 5942G comes also with a display from AU Optronics.

 

Hi! Yesterday i became a "happy" owner of AS5942G-434G50Mi notebook. And I have faced with same problem too!
When CineBoost is on, some parts of images begin blinking. And if CineBoost is off diagonal waves appears on some colors (right bottom bar on cineboost_test_pattern.png).

I hope Acer will solve this in future, but this is very unpleasant problem, especially for new model.

 

Hello LordDrago, welcome aboard!

Do You have the Windows Preintsalled version of the notebook ?
If so, please send me (ZIP format) the AS5942G screensaver and the model wallpapers - I miss them !

The rest of the staff could be found here.

 

Give me your contacts, please. And i'll send screensaver and wallpaper.

UPD. Screensaver attached to post. But wallpapper in original size is too big for this forum =)

 

Please, send it to: [email protected] as specified in my profile.

Concerning the "waves accross the screen" I received the following answer from ACER:
----------------------------
Hello, Thank you for contacting Acer.

Regarding your enquiry,

From your description of this fault your machine may need to be brought into our repair centre for further evaluation and possible repair.
----------------------------

 

Acer has removed our model from us.acer product site also same on the acer croatia site and iv noticed that there is a new fingerprint driver out.

 

I see it again at ACER USA site and at acer croatia site. I guess that was a product information update.
There is AS 5942G (Part NumberLX.PMN02.041 ) with different screen - "ekran NLED15.6WXGAGC". Was it there before the update ?!?

 

I sent my AS5942G to Acer repair service. 3 days later I called them and the answer was that a spare part was ordered.

This means Acer accepts this as a display problem and will try to fix it.

I should wait 2 weeks for delivering the spare part from the Europe warehouse ( if it is there at all ). If it is not available I should wait longer or if it takes more then a month they will return my money back.

 

Can someone please download everest and check what kind of display do you have (before and after replacment), I'm also from Croatia, and my friend bought this notebook last week and he noticed the same problems. He bought the model with Core i5, not i7. I'll post his display model as soon as I can.

And did someone with this problem try to update BIOS, I see that in Dell thread it helped to reduce the problem, and for this model there is also newer BIOS on Acer site.

 

Hi Skidac

Everest says this: Monitor ID: AUO22EC, Manufacturer AUO
This is on the model with i5 cpu bought in Superbit/Croatia

My BIOS is 1.03 and that is the latest

 

I have (had - it's serviced now) exactly the same model. The spare part that was ordered was main board. I dought that they will have it in 2 weeks time. I also do not beleive that this will fix the problem. I think it may be not exactly display problem but Cine Boost technology one.

Does anyone received an answer from Acer about this display problem ?

Does anyone else sent the notebook for repair ?

 

My friend didnt want to install everest but I wll eventually install it, I believe that he has the same problem because he has the same wavy diagonal lines on that picture with cineboost on, although only on 2 colors not all four.

 

You should see diagonal lines on upper two boxes if Cine Boost is switched ON. If Cine Boost is OFF you should see smaler lines in one of the other boxes.


UPDATE: I received information from local ACER service representative concerning my 5942G diagonal lines problem. They said that the spare main board was received but it did not solve the problem. Now they ordered LCD module ( LCD panel ) part and I should wait a little bit longer.

I'm interested what will happen if it also does not solve the problem.

 

On notebookjournal they said they have the same display, but they didn't mention any distortions or cineboost. They just said that the display is improvment in comparison with the one in acer 5940g.

http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/notebook-test-acer-aspire-5942g-724g64bn-nkmo-1082/1

You can use google translate if you don't understand german.

 

This looks to me like the effect of over expanding the video signal to improve color saturation and, frankly, showroom impact especially with CineBoost on..

Try turning up the contrast and colour on your LCD /Plasma TV and see what happens. Defaults there are usually brightest most colourful possible for the shop display option and quite painful at home . .

I suspect careful gamma, brightness and colour adjustment in the ATI CCC if you have it or windows "calibrate display colour" would minimise it to the point you don't notice (certainly I can see the issue on the test pic but have never noticed it in real life use).

 

Minimizing the effect will not remove it. Acer service accepted it as a problem - so it is A PROBLEM.

It is not true that the effect is not visible in normal work - I see most of the backgrounds I work with waving. I think the effect (minimized or not ) is enought to put additional stress on your eyes.

I also mention that the effect is also seen without Cine Boost set ON. This means that there is a electrical shema planing problem with this model that should be fixed. Other models like AS5740 do not have this "extra feature".

I have not seen this effect on any other notebook LCD screen - i checked more them 10 different ones in my work, including Lenovo, SONY, Toshiba, DELL, Acer, Asus and HP models.

 

Acer service accepted it as a problem - so it is A PROBLEM.

erm NO. Acer service wanted to take back and repair my Win7 laptop when it actually only needed a Microsoft update. But Good luck with getting the hardware swapped.

My comments are based on the following :
At delivery my 5942, (Mfr 0912) exhibited the patterning on the 4 box test card as have others.

I followed the following process
Update Bios to 1.03 if not already there (Acer site)
Update Video driver to MOBILITY 10.3 This is important. Mobility =laptop, most searches etc take you to a desktop optimised driver !
Get it here for 64 Bit W7 http://support.amd.com/us/gpudownload/windows/Pages/radeonmob_win7-64.aspx?

1) On windows 7 search for and open 'calibrate display colour' but leave all settings at all steps at default and complete the font optimisation at the end too.

2) Then go to ATI CCC, Desktop, Color and press REACTIVATE ATI color controls

Settings are all a trade off and are sure to vary from screen to screen but my best results for normal 'watching', (view eye level to camera sitting back arms length, ! below max brightness, cine Boost off)
Select indivdual channels one by one, adjust and press apply
____Gamma....Brightness...Contrast
Red.....1.15..........-6..........0
Green.....1.2..........0..........0
Blue.....1.1............4..........0

The above adjusted using standard digital photographic colour charts and gamma correctors

Video tab Advanced color Video gamma = 1.3 also improves rendering of dark scenes
Confirmed good for Blue ray and THX tests on ARCADE DELUX 3.1 DVD

Now I only persist in telling you this because I DID have the problem you describe and I now Don't at all. And the fix was software/settings

 

Statement from local ACER service:

The described display problem with Your Acer 5942G COULD NOT BE RESOLVED.
Acer will contact You for replacement with another notebook model.

 

Did you tell them that you aren't the only user with this problem, and that probably all notebooks from this generation are bugged that way but not everyone notices it. Tell them to test the notebook that they are sending before they send it to you.

 

I guess they mean pick another one without CineBoost . .

 

Acer asked me if I want as a replacement Acer Aspire 5740G ( 300 euro cheaper then mine 5942G).

I was shocked by the proposal and immediately declined this unacceptable offer.
I preferred the other solution: to have my money back ASAP.

This means that my laptop Acer Aspire 5942G story is over - NEVER ACER AGAIN !!!

 

I just noticed the same problem.
I have to admit that i was not annoyed be it, until i read this thread.
Sad to know that i have to repair it.

 

Good luck on that . . "Repairing it" is going to involve ripping out the cineboost circuitry which Acer are not going to do IMHO. Acer decided this laptop was to have 'vibrant colours" and the patterning is a by product of the circuitry that delivers that effect. Unfortunately it even has minor patterning from a low viewing angle when switched off - but then the contrast and colours are dreadful from that angle too.

If your laptop is very new and you hate this then try to change it for another model. Personally I take no notice of this effect as it just tells me I am looking at the screen from the wrong angle

 

What you are saying makes sense and describes the problem at hole.
But let me say some things to see if it is the same to me, you and others.
First of all watching the screen at an angle of 90 degrees makes the problem almost go away.
When watching movies or playing games i can not see it even if it is there.
Where is very noticeable is when i open ''my computer'' because it has a white background.
Weirdly, the same does not happen when i open a new tab in firefox, even though it also has a white background.
Also, at forums like this where every post has a gray background, there are some soft vertical lines.
My laptop is some days old only and for psychological reasons i am thinking about repairing.
You know, it is my new ''toy'', i dont want to have any fault from the box.

Are you saying that every 5942g has this?
And that actually is not a bug but a feature?
Also, there will be no repair from Acer but only the suggestion to replace it with another model?

 

The screen on the 5942G appears to be optimised for use looking down onto it or with eye level at camera level. This is not optimum for DVD watching but there it is. Some improvement in both areas can be achieved by playing with the 2D and video gamma settings in the ATI CCC advanced options. This process left me aware of the issue but entirely happy overall.

In a quite detailled review I posted here a while back I suggested, (and others agreed) the particular Screen (while very common in slightly cheaper laptop models) is in my view the main compromise that stops this laptop with it's other lovely features costing a lot more than it does. I imagine Acer knew this too and gave us CineBoost to spice up the picture a bit. . .

I don't know anyone who has had this feature 'repaired' It is more likely to be a bios or hardware fix if one ever exists. One complainant on this forum was apparently offerred a swap to another model. . . without CineBoost

I am a pragmatist. Current Laptop screens are generally poor at something . . as there is intense cost pressure on price points and the technologies to get it right(er) like (HIPS S-IPS, RGB LED etc) are costly and unlikely to be appreciated by the mass market. I am more frustrated by the vertical viewing angle than the patterning but I don't know how to improve on the overall spec without spending a a lot more money.

Such is life

 

Any other member tried to do something to ''repair'' this problem?

 

I reckon giving the screen a good sandpaper should stop you noticing it

 

This problem is on almost all of the 5942G.
But how many of us are disturbed with this problem ?

I always turned off this cineboost because it sometimes causes noticeable flicker at the title bar (with the combination of certain background pictures and aero glass).

Anyway the picture without cineboost is comparable to other laptops. I even think that the picture is better than my secondary monitor (16 inch BenQ at home or LG at the office) which I attached to this laptop, even without cineboost.

So cineboost for me is just something to make the colors more vibrant, I used this only to see my photos or movies.

So because all of this, I'm not disturbed with this problem because without cineboost the picture is still comparable or sometimes better than other laptops/lcd displays in this class.

Cineboost is useful for dynamic images like movies where you wouldn't notice the flicker anyway. That's why they call it cineboost (cine from cinema) i guess

 

What disturbs me is that cineboost is always on by default.
Every restart turns this on, even resuming from hibernate will turn cineboost on.
Is there any way to make the cineboost default to off ?

 

I have not found a way to default Cineboost to off. It seems to sit on a little board behind the buttons rather than on the MB so I don't think it will show up in the bios settings as an option.

To be honest I turn it off anytime i remember or it annoys me . . probably not more than 1 time in 10

 

Problem - '' When certain colors are displayed on the laptop screen, thin diagonal lines ( like waves ) start moving all over the mentioned color ''

Some people in Russia had the same problem. They told to update bios to version 1.05 This can help.

 

Thank you for the notification, this will help a lot. Just to mention that the summary of 1.05 on acer driver page says that it fixes this problem.