Lifespan of an LCD, How long would you expect an LCD screen to last? Options

[TheManFromPOST]

How long would you expect an LCD screen to last?

Big news in the world of pinball at the moment is the use of LCD screens in two new games
One is using a screen in the Backbox, to show scores and animations
The other has a screen embedded in the playfield, it can also sense when the ball is on it so you can ‘hit’ animations (zombies) with the ball

Pinball owners expect their games to last for YEARS (my oldest is from 1964), and if it does break down that we can get spares


How long would you reasonably expect an LCD screen to last for?

Pete

[Mr.Twinkie]

I had one of those first BenQ LCD that weren't widescreen.

Lasted me 3 years then the screen's image started distorting and shaking.

[darklife41]

I think its reasonable to expect any decent brand LCD to last for 5-10 yrs.

We had a single generic 19" wide screen LCD that failed after 2 yrs.

We've sold countless 19" to 24" LCDs to customers (Asus, LG, and BenQ) for the last 5 years and never had one fail yet (knock on wood).

Other than that single failure, all of our own LCD screens have lasted for up to 5 yrs and run basically 24/7 - only the server's 19" square being turned off at night and the oldest being 19" wide screen BenQ and 19" square CMY. My 24" BenQ and the wife's Samsung 23.5" have lasted for 2 years so far.

[thesorehead]

Bought my Samsung 172x in late 2004 (IIRC) for $660. Apart from a very subtle warping of the plastic bezel, and having gone to and from LANs, moving house a few times, and being exposed to a layer of sticky toxic dust and heat (long story), it's still in perfect working order after ~7.5 years of daily use *touch wood*.

I expect my Samsung LCD TV to last at least this long, especially considering I don't use it daily, and I presume that quality/reliability has not dropped by 2010 when I bought it.

I think that for the purpose of pinball machines, as always, the trouble will be the specificity of the parts. If I wanted to replace the panel of my 17" 4:3 monitor.... who even makes those any more?? And that's a pretty common size/ratio. A pinball machine is a relatively specific beast.

[RenascentMisanth...]

I used to own a Samsung 940n (I think) 19" 4:3, bought it in early 2006, still going to this day with its new owner.

The LCD on my brother's 7yr old Acer laptop is still going fine.

This post has been edited by RenascentMisanthropy: Feb 27 2012, 07:37 PM

[AIMBOT]

I've had my Samsung 226bw since about mid-2006, and it's still in excellent condition - crisp, bright and clear. White is still very much white, unlike the 20" Dell monitor I had a work that went yellow in < 6 months!

It was $500-ish at the time, but it's been a solid buy, so I'd expect at least 5 years of solid performance from the next one too (possibly a S27A950D).

[nobody813]

I've got a Samsung SyncMaster 172x here, that was used at my Dad's work 24/7/365 since brand new (2003/2004 I think), and it still works great after I got it a few years ago. Use it as my LAN monitor

Got a newish (2009) 19" 5:4 Samsung that had failed at Mum's work, and I replaced the caps in it and it works great now

I've had a good run with monitors. The only one that failed was on my parents old ME machine. Old Acer CRT just decided to turn off for good when I was playing Age of Empires :-P

Bought my Samsung 172x in late 2004 (IIRC) for $660. Apart from a very subtle warping of the plastic bezel, and having gone to and from LANs, moving house a few times, and being exposed to a layer of sticky toxic dust and heat (long story), it's still in perfect working order after ~7.5 years of daily use *touch wood*.

Another 172x!!! Man they are great

Mum has a MCV also, aka Chiemei or something. Has got 1 dead pixel, but has worked will since 2006. But that PC is rarely used at all anymore

[Harmonic Cacopho...]

My 4:3 19" Viewsonic has been going every day for about 6.5 years. Not a single problem with it. Been through dozens of LANs, moved houses, etc. No dead pixels or anything.

In fact my 16:10 24" BenQ developed a green line down the right side in the last month or two, and that's not nearly as old, nor has it suffered as much abuse.

[TheManFromPOST]

I think that for the purpose of pinball machines, as always, the trouble will be the specificity of the parts. If I wanted to replace the panel of my 17" 4:3 monitor.... who even makes those any more?? And that's a pretty common size/ratio. A pinball machine is a relatively specific beast.

That is my conundrum
Will we even still be using LCD screens in 10 years?

Even the mother board is supposed to be a standard PC of the shelf one, and how much have they changed ove the last 10 years?

I think I am going to have to buy a spare and put it in storage

[Kimmo]

Will we even still be using LCD screens in 10 years?

Consider how mind-bogglingly cheap any alternative tech is going to have to become... a few weeks ago I saw an ad for a 32" 1080p telly - $248. And they're still getting cheaper...

As for durability, as I understand it, LCDs don't have the inescapable shortcoming of limited-life phosphor based (CRT*, plasma) displays, so it should just be a question of how well they're made.

After all, it's not like there's some universal syndrome that affects old calculator displays. Is there?

*If you consider 100,000+ hours limited

Even the mother board is supposed to be a standard PC of the shelf one, and how much have they changed ove the last 10 years?

Pretty sure a mobo from ten years in the future will run software from ten years ago, and any extinct interfaces can be obtained via legacy cards.

That is, if the copyright mobsters don't get their way about breaking the general-purpose computer.

[Moph]

I have a Dell 3007WFP-HC that I bought late '07 from memory ... has run pretty much 18 hours a day ever since and is still schmick. As said by others I'd be concerned re the specificity of pinball machine parts though.

[drago13666]

I don't use it anymore but a laptop I have from school (purchased Jan 2000) still runs fine when I power it up.

A friend was also using a nokia 3310 as their standard mobile up untill last month, can't remember when they stopped being made.

[thesorehead]

...

A friend was also using a nokia 3310 as their standard mobile up untill last month, can't remember when they stopped being made.

(not a 3310, but still ...) :--D

The "Indestructible 3310" meme is well-earned, IMHO!

[Jeruselem]

I'm still using an ancient LG LCD at work, at least 5 years old!

[Virtuoso]

It would depend how much the LCD is protected from heat and mechanical vibration ... both serious concerns in a pinball cabinet.

I think the electronic control components will only be good for a decade, if that. After that for sure some tiny capacitor will leak and the whole board will go.

Even if you buy a spare, the components will degrade over time.

This post has been edited by Virtuoso: Mar 16 2012, 08:23 AM