What is the lifespan of an LCD monitor?

freelancer · 17th March 2006

I am wondering what is the usable (for photography) lifespan of LCD monitors. My 11 months old Dell 19" Ultrasharp monitor is being replaced (thankfully) under warranty. The monitor looks ok until I ran the calibration using an EyeOne and found that it could not reach the recommended brightness despite setting the monitor brightness to 100% (when I first had the monitor it took 15% to get the recommended value and at the last calibration took 30%). The RGB adjustments, particularly the red color, were way off from my last calibration. I suspect the backlight for red is at end of usable life. Pretty expensive to replace every year if it were not under warranty!

roti_prata · 17th March 2006

30k - 50k hrs

u'll most likely upgrade before it dies

freelancer · 17th March 2006

That was what I thought too. My monitor had around 3k hours when it start having issues with calibration. Now I am wondering whether the 30k/50k quoted are applicable for critical color use?

roti_prata · 17th March 2006

my viewsonic 17" has been running ~6hrs/day for the past 2.5yrs. i nv calibrate it though.

espn · 17th March 2006

Originally Posted by roti_prata

my viewsonic 17" has been running ~6hrs/day for the past 2.5yrs. i nv calibrate it though.

J.C once mentioned that for CRTs, anything > 3 years, it's time to change if you're doing serious imaging work on it. As the age gets older, frequent calibration becomes more necessary.

For LCDs, the lifespan is the time it takes to break down, maybe 2 years I guess, 50K if you calculate, 8hrs/day, can last u for 17 years

however the colours might not reproduce that accurately anymore.

Snoweagle · 17th March 2006

Now computer LCDs usually don't last over 7 years.

freelancer · 17th March 2006

In my case the LCD monitor is quite usable but not for color critical work like photo processing. I know CRTs have a usable life of around 3 years but what about LCDs. 11 months was quite surprising and I am hoping my case is not the norm.

Snoweagle · 17th March 2006

Originally Posted by freelancer

In my case the LCD monitor is quite usable but not for color critical work like photo processing. I know CRTs have a usable life of around 3 years but what about LCDs. 11 months was quite surprising and I am hoping my case is not the norm.

CRTs can last a lot longer than LCDs. CRTs can usually last over 10 years.

17th March 2006	#1
freelancer Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 476	What is the lifespan of an LCD monitor? I am wondering what is the usable (for photography) lifespan of LCD monitors. My 11 months old Dell 19" Ultrasharp monitor is being replaced (thankfully) under warranty. The monitor looks ok until I ran the calibration using an EyeOne and found that it could not reach the recommended brightness despite setting the monitor brightness to 100% (when I first had the monitor it took 15% to get the recommended value and at the last calibration took 30%). The RGB adjustments, particularly the red color, were way off from my last calibration. I suspect the backlight for red is at end of usable life. Pretty expensive to replace every year if it were not under warranty! Last edited by freelancer; 17th March 2006 at 12:59 PM.

17th March 2006	#2
roti_prata Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bt Batok Posts: 769	Re: What is a lifespan of an LCD monitor? 30k - 50k hrs u'll most likely upgrade before it dies

17th March 2006	#3
freelancer Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 476	Re: What is a lifespan of an LCD monitor? That was what I thought too. My monitor had around 3k hours when it start having issues with calibration. Now I am wondering whether the 30k/50k quoted are applicable for critical color use?

17th March 2006	#4
roti_prata Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Bt Batok Posts: 769	Re: What is a lifespan of an LCD monitor? my viewsonic 17" has been running ~6hrs/day for the past 2.5yrs. i nv calibrate it though.

17th March 2006	#6
Snoweagle Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Hougang Posts: 11,828	Re: What is the lifespan of an LCD monitor? Now computer LCDs usually don't last over 7 years. __________________ Canon EOS 5D w/BG-E4, 50 f/1.2 L, 580EX II. Sigma 12-24 f/4.5-5.6, 70-300 f/4-5.6 APO.