uberanalyst
01-05-07, 06:55 PM
Is there way to use a Mac to write EDID information back to a digital display?
I've got a Sharp 45-in Aquos LCD panel (LC-45GX6U) that's been DVI attached directly to my Intel Core Duo Mac Mini, bypassing the Sharp's AVC tuner/scaler box and producing a beautiful 1920x1080 pixel perfect image (1080p60). MacOSX in System Preferences > Displays recognizes the panel as "Sharp 45 in" and offers up 1920x1080 as a native resolution. I can also hook my Powerbook G4 directly to the Sharp panel via DVI and get the same resolution automatically.
All worked beautifully until I had a power outage/brownout. The power flutuation seems to have wiped out the Sharp's internal EDID information, which I understand is stored in EEPROM (erasable read-only memory). Now my Mac Mini and Powerbook simply refuse to recognize the monitor (the Powerbook tries to sync with the Sharp and temporarily blanks its own display, but then gives up.). The monitor still works fine when I connect it to Sharp's own AVC box (it displays hi-def TV, etc.), since the AVC doesn't look for the EDID info when syncing with the display -- so I'm quite sure the hardware is just fine.
Someone on the Sharp message board had exactly the same experience of the EDID PROM being wiped out with similar symptoms, and was able to use a Windows PC application to restore the EEPROM by writing the EDID information back to the LCD panel.
Can I use a Mac to do this (write the EDID back to the panel) using either SwitchResX or a similar software package for the Mac? I've got the EDID .text file needed for my exact model of Sharp LCD panel, so I don't need to mess with custom resolutions, timings, or any of that. I just want to write the text file into the panel's memory.
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
- Dave
I've got a Sharp 45-in Aquos LCD panel (LC-45GX6U) that's been DVI attached directly to my Intel Core Duo Mac Mini, bypassing the Sharp's AVC tuner/scaler box and producing a beautiful 1920x1080 pixel perfect image (1080p60). MacOSX in System Preferences > Displays recognizes the panel as "Sharp 45 in" and offers up 1920x1080 as a native resolution. I can also hook my Powerbook G4 directly to the Sharp panel via DVI and get the same resolution automatically.
All worked beautifully until I had a power outage/brownout. The power flutuation seems to have wiped out the Sharp's internal EDID information, which I understand is stored in EEPROM (erasable read-only memory). Now my Mac Mini and Powerbook simply refuse to recognize the monitor (the Powerbook tries to sync with the Sharp and temporarily blanks its own display, but then gives up.). The monitor still works fine when I connect it to Sharp's own AVC box (it displays hi-def TV, etc.), since the AVC doesn't look for the EDID info when syncing with the display -- so I'm quite sure the hardware is just fine.
Someone on the Sharp message board had exactly the same experience of the EDID PROM being wiped out with similar symptoms, and was able to use a Windows PC application to restore the EEPROM by writing the EDID information back to the LCD panel.
Can I use a Mac to do this (write the EDID back to the panel) using either SwitchResX or a similar software package for the Mac? I've got the EDID .text file needed for my exact model of Sharp LCD panel, so I don't need to mess with custom resolutions, timings, or any of that. I just want to write the text file into the panel's memory.
Any help or guidance would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks,
- Dave