Sony PVM-20M2MD test lines

[Hooliganseijin]

Long-time lurker, first-time poster.

I recently picked up a Sony PVM-20M2MD in very nice condition from an electronics recycler.

One problem - it displays RGB test lines across the screen, whether or not I have a signal.

How do I turn this off? I found a reference to a Landing Screen in the manual, but could not find a way to disable it.

Any insight?

[Hooliganseijin]

Updated question - will doing a hard reset via the service menu fix the vertical blanking? Will it destroy my monitor?

[FinalBaton]

You get those test lines on top of your game picture or something?

[Guspaz]

On PVMs there is normally red/green/blue lines that appear above the image. These are supposed to be outside the visible area, and cannot be disabled. Normally, if you set your geometry correctly, they're hidden off-screen. If they're appearing on top of the active image, then that's a problem. There was somebody else who had that problem recently, IIRC.

[Hooliganseijin]

You get those test lines on top of your game picture or something?

That's right. If I overscan, they go upwards and are barely visible. If I underscan, they come down.

The V Blank may have been set that way intentionally by a previous user to test the monitor or to work with whatever medical equipment was connected to it. I'm just concerned about the danger of a hard reset.

[FinalBaton]

What Guspaz said.

If the lines appear on the screen but above the game raster, than use the underscan button or adjust the geometry (picture height). But if they appear on top of the game raster... yeah that's not normal

[Hooliganseijin]

The lines are on top of the game image.

What Guspaz said.

If the lines appear on the screen but above the game raster, than use the underscan button or adjust the geometry (picture height). But if they appear on top of the game raster... yeah that's not normal

[nem]

Can you provide a pic?

You might have a vertical roll over issue. It could be related to caps.

[mikejmoffitt]

On PVMs there is normally red/green/blue lines that appear above the image. These are supposed to be outside the visible area, and cannot be disabled. Normally, if you set your geometry correctly, they're hidden off-screen. If they're appearing on top of the active image, then that's a problem. There was somebody else who had that problem recently, IIRC.

I had this problem. I can "solve" it by going to the service menu and changing the timing for V BLANK but that's really a kludge. It is related to capacitors in the vertical retrace section.

[Hooliganseijin]

I know a guy locally who repairs CRTs, but he is not cheap and hauling this e-carcass around further does not thrill me. Does changing the V BLANK timing result in losing any game image?

On PVMs there is normally red/green/blue lines that appear above the image. These are supposed to be outside the visible area, and cannot be disabled. Normally, if you set your geometry correctly, they're hidden off-screen. If they're appearing on top of the active image, then that's a problem. There was somebody else who had that problem recently, IIRC.

I had this problem. I can "solve" it by going to the service menu and changing the timing for V BLANK but that's really a kludge. It is related to capacitors in the vertical retrace section.

[mikejmoffitt]

It depends on how bad your problem is. For me it's cutting it close, but no image lines are lost.

[Hooliganseijin]

It depends on how bad your problem is. For me it's cutting it close, but no image lines are lost.

What VBLANK settings did you use?

[mikejmoffitt]

The setting was in OTHER --> V BLANKING <60>. For 50Hz it'll be different as indicated.

The other hack is to modify the geometry of the 16:9 mode to stretch it back up to 4:3, which I've seen on some chintzy eBay auctions for 20M2s.

Keep in mind I have a 20M2U, not a 20M2MDU, so the menu may be slightly different. The real fix is a monitor re-cap, which isn't a bad idea anyhow considering the hours these things were used and their age.