ColorSync 20-inch Displays: Wave Patterns Across Picture

Vibrations from built-in (or external) audio devices can sometimes cause a wave-like shimmering to appear across the ColorSync 20-inch Display screen. This article addresses the causes and cures of this effect.

Note: The ColorSync 20-inch Display was formerly named the AppleVision 850 Display.
In the AppleVision 850 AV Display (and other AV displays with built-in speakers), vibration from the built-in speakers may sometimes cause the aperture grill on the monitor to vibrate. Aperture grill vibration is visible as a wave-like shimmering on the monitor screen. At normal volumes, this effect should not occur, but at high volume levels it may be noticeable, especially with low-to-mid-range sounds (100-500 hz, most frequent when playing jazz, classical music, male vocalists).

This effect can also occur on the ColorSync 20-inch Display (formerly known as the AppleVision 850 Display) if external speakers are placed too close to the monitor and played at high volume. To eliminate this, move the external speakers further from the monitor and/or reduce the audio volume.

To eliminate the visual distortion in the AppleVision 850 AV Display, reduce the speaker volume. The audio circuitry monitor is high-powered in order to provide excellent sound quality, not loud volume. Reducing the volume setting will prevent the image from being affected by the sound.

To minimize the effect on either display at high volume, adjust the rotation of the screen image so that the picture is as level as possible. To adjust the rotation from a Mac OS computer:

If using the display with a DOS- or Windows-based computer:
Published Date: Feb 20, 2012