After what does feel like quite some time, we finally have PCHOOD branded
monitor hoods large enough to fit 30 inch screens and beyond. The thing
about these hoods is that while well made and sturdy, they come with
little (read: zero) instructions as to how to actually assemble them. This
article will aim to explain and show how easy these hoods are to
assemble for almost any screen size.
Please note: All photos in this guide are of the 24 - 36 inch monitor hood from PCHOOD, but all sizes are very similar.
When you receive your 30 inch hood (or any sized hood for that matter) from us, it will look some what like this.
What you want to do first is find the 3 rectangular pieces that form the top of the hood. The shorter pieces of the 3 will slide in to the underneath side of the longer piece, as shown. This slides together fairly snugly you will find, but that is a good thing. It should be quite easy, so if it is becoming stuck, do not force it and check to make sure you have it lined up correctly.
You will need a second persons help for this next part. Have them hold the now joined pieces on the top of the monitor. Take the side panels and slide them on to the top pieces as shown. These too are REALLY snug, so don't worry if they feel quite stiff when putting together.
Next, unwrap the straps that come supplied. There are 2 ways that you can use these straps to hold your monitor hood in place. We will show you both ways in the following images.
This first way is some what the lazy option, and more suitable for smaller
monitors or monitors that are moved around a lot (this is the ONLY option for those purchasing the 15 - 25 inch monitor hood).
For bigger monitors, we would suggest the second option to follow.
First Option:
First, attach one end of the strap to the lug located on the top of the hood. Either side can be used for this. This connect requires your to turn the end of the strap on a right angle, push down and then twist it in to place.
Once attached to one lug, run the strap under the monitor stand and around to the lug on the other side of the hood, as shown below.
This is how your hood should now look. While fairly sturdy, you will notice that you now have a spare strap, some screws and some little plastic tabs which one would assume have been supplied for a reason. We will now show you the second option for this hood.
Second Option:
The second option will make use of both straps and lugs provided to securely attach the monitor hood to the monitor providing very little movement.
On each of the side panels you will notice that there are 3 pre-drilled holes (24 - 36 inch hood only, not on 15 - 35 inch hoods) as well as 3 grooves. Now, the grooves are in place so should you want to shorten the side panels to suit your monitor, you can snap them off. Now, while this sounds really easy, these side panels seem rather sturdy, so to do so I would suggest first using a box cutter/scalpel type knife to cut the inner felt lining along the groove you have chosen. Next I would then use the sharpest pliers you can find to snip along the groove. I'd suggest starting from the back to try and get the hang of it and make a clean break. For this example, we didn't need to shorten the side panels, and I would suspect that most people buying this particular hood will have a similar experience to us.
For this example we have chosen the bottom screw hole as the side panels are a perfect length for Pete's NEC monitor. Now, these holes are not drilled all the way through the felt lined underside, so first it is best to screw through from the outside, so that you know where you will need to screw from the underside. Once done, hold a lug in place and screw from the underside in to it. You will need to hold the lug the entire time to be able to screw it in securely. Once done, it should look like the image below. You can attach on end of a strap to the lug and when it "clicks" it is in place. Do the exact same process to the other side panel.
Once both sides are done, you can run each strap back up to the top of the hood to form an "X" on the back of the monitor like below.
Now, sit in front of the monitor and adjust the hood, looking for an gaps letting in light. On our NEC 30 inch test unit we found it fit very snug and no adjustment was needed.
You can place the USB cover on now and using the two small odd shaped plastic pieces supplied, join them to make somewhat of a handle. This "handle" is not really needed, so feel free to leave this out.
You will find that you have the following left over components. The consensus amongst us here is that the screws are purely spares and the black foam are for any gaps letting in light you may find, or they are simply packaging material and NOT meant to be used. Either way, they are in the box.
Lastly, enjoy your stylish new addition to your professional digital imaging set up and should you have any questions or feedback, we would love to hear from you. Likewise, if you would like to submit a review of this product, please do so here.
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