INFOWORLD GRIPE LINE BY ED FOSTER Bookmark this page

  
Replying To:
My Dead Pixel Policy ... (none / 0) (#18)
by DatabaseMX on Thu Mar 30, 2006 at 01:06:15 AM PDT

ZERO dead pixels - that's my policy I don't care what the size of the display (I've had them all since LCD's arrived on the scene). And I don't care what the (computer) manufacturer's policy is or isn't. As mentioned by a couple of people in this thread, once you notice a dead pixel(s), your eye will be locked on it forever! Screw that. The entire deal pixel 'policy' issue is just manufacturers saying "Screw you, we don't want to deal with it!". AND ... just an excuse for poor quality control. And really, it all falls right into place with the basically piss-poor tech support and customer service of most computer (and other) companies today, not to mentioned the multi-tiered phone answering/routing systems wherein you must push 37 buttons to get to a live person (Read: We want you to use our website). Oh, did I mention talking to script reading idiots in foreign countries who barely speak English!!!! We all love that, don't we!

Now, how did my policy come about. Well, about 4-5 years ago, a high level senior manager at NEC who worked in the LCD group told me that even one dead pixel was flat-ass unacceptable! Now, at the time, I believe 17" displays were just coming into play - not sure. And to back up what he said - I called because a 2nd 15" I had just bought had one dead pixel - NEC immediately crossed-shipped me a new, zero dead pixel unit. So, what the hell ... at the point, I decided that ZERO dead pixels would be my policy - FOREVER! BTW, I still have both of those NEC 15" units - still zero dead pixels And about 3 years ago, I bought two 19" NEC LCD's - both with zero dead pixels out of the box. I use these daily!

Now of course, NEC's policy is different today (and admittedly a 24" LCD IS more complex) but not mine! OK, now moving along to Dell.

Circa 1999 or so, my girlfriend and I each bought $3500 Dell Inspiron 7000 laptops (the first laptop with a 15" LCD). It took FIVE total - before we got two with zero dead pixels. As I saw it, $3500 = ZERO dead pixels! I still have the 7000 (don't use it much) - and still zero dead pixels. Of course at that time, Dell's policy was more flexible than today. Mine is still the same - ZERO. Now on to Gateway.

Two years ago, I bought a Gateway M675 laptop with a 17" LCD (1440x900 -- 1.6 : 1). Zero dead pixels out of the box - and zero dead pixels - I use is daily. Then, about 6 months later, I bought a 2nd M675 for one of my boys' business. This unit had one deal pixel out of the box - right in the middle of the display. OOPS!! Unacceptable! I immediately called Gateway. The first tech gave me a lot of BS (as many of you have experienced). I just hung up and called right back - different tech. Well, this guy turned out to be the 'Cool Gateway Guy' - like the cool Dell guy mentioned in another post. He said "Are you SURE ... there is only one dead pixel?" Humm. Upon 'closer' examination with an electron microscope (just kidding) ... dammed if I didn't notice there were actually THREE dead pixels, red white and blue in a close cluster resembling the USA Flag! Imaging THAT - how did I miss that the first time! A brand new M675 arrived a week later - zero dead pixels ... and still in daily use!

More Dell. A few months ago when the Dell 24" LCD came out I immediately bought one to use as a 2nd display (desktop extension) with my Gateway M675 - especially because the 24" is 1920x1200 (1.6 : 1) - same aspect as the M675 - very convenient when running dual monitors. I was using the NEC 15" (mentioned above) - but it's always a hassle - having to resize browser windows when moving onto the 2nd display. Well guess what: Zero dead pixels out of the box! Amazing. Another poster here mentioned they had one dead pixel with their 24" - not bad, but not good enough! A few months later (today) - still no dead pixels! BTW, I believe these 24" units are made by BenQ (?).

Finally, about 3 weeks ago, I bought a newly released Viewsonic 17" with 1440x900 (1.6 : 1) resolution ... to use in a dual configuration with my M675 at my girlfriend's house. Now, I live in San Diego. I bought the Viewsonic at Micro Center up in Orange County CA. Of course I got to fire it up and test it for dead pixels right on the spot. Zero dead pixels. Good To Go! Their policy is ... you pay for it first, then turn it on. Any problem - just grab another one off the self! Worst case, you could get your money right back if everyone had a dead pixel (not likely). Plus ... Micro Center has a THIRTY day - no questions asked return policy. VERY COOL. Too bad there are not more Micro Centers around - they totally blow away CompUSA, for example.

Oh, I am about to buy (I think) a fully maxed out Sager 9750 laptop (about $4500!) which has a 17" LCD - 1920x1200 (wow!). Their current policy is ... you can buy '30 day dead pixel insurance' for $200! Now isn't that special. Well, since I've already been to the Sager factory in LA ... the deal I cut is (if I go through with it) is ... I will personally pick up the unit ... and of course turn it on before I pay for it. Buttt ... they are insisting I still need to pay the $200 ... because of the 'extra testing' they need to do to be sure it has no dead pixels! Right!! So, far, I've stalled the sales guy of about 3 weeks now ... my new plan being ... I will buy the unit RIGHT now - if he blows off the $200 - since I'm picking it up in person! Another tip: Avoid touching an LCD screen (or cleaning it) - especially with a pen or pencil (duh) when it is on! People like to 'touch' the screen when pointing to something. I once saw a deal pixel appear right after a person touched a live screen with a ball point pen!

If dead pixels bother you ... and you are willing to bitch enough ... you can probably wind up with a zero dead pixel unit. Of course, if you are lucky enough to buy what you need at a local retailer and can turn it on before leaving ... obviously that's ideal. I have

So, get your pixels in order ... and make it happen! I have a total of 8 LCD displays - almost 10 million non-dead pixels - do the math!!!

><>><><><



Post Comment

You are not logged in. If you don't have a user account yet, by all means go make one! If you do have one, you can post as "yourself" by filling in your nickname and password below. Otherwise, your comment will be posted as Anonymous User.

Create Account
Nickname:
Password:

Post Comment: Post your comment below and then please answer the security question. I apologize for the inconvenience, but it does help deter spammers. -- Ed Foster
Subject:
Comment:

To post your comment, please answer the following security question:
 Which of the following is not a word?
Mini, Quince, Nevada, WMdYPy, Honda, Black
Allowed HTML: <A [HREF] [NAME]> <DT> <TT></TT> <OL></OL> <CITE></CITE> <CODE></CODE> <I></I> <UL></UL> <BR> <STRONG></STRONG> <BLOCKQUOTE [TYPE]></BLOCKQUOTE> <DD> <EM></EM> <P> <B></B> <LI> <DL></DL>
Menu
· create account
· faq
· search

Login
Make a new account
Username:
Password:

 HOME  NEWS  COLUMNS  BLOGS  PODCASTS  TECHNOLOGIES  TEST CENTER  EVENTS  CAREERS  IT EXEC-CONNECT   About Awards Contact Us 

Copyright © 2006, Reprints, Permissions, Licensing, IDG Network, Privacy Policy.
All Rights reserved. InfoWorld is a leading publisher of technology information and product reviews on topics including viruses,
phishing, worms, firewalls, security, servers, storage, networking, wireless, databases, and web services.

 ComputerWorld :: LinuxWorld :: Network World :: CIO :: PC World :: Darwin :: CMO :: CSO
IT Careers :: JavaWorld :: Macworld :: Mac Central :: Playlist :: GamePro :: GameStar :: Gamerhelp
ITWorld Canada :: Computerwoche :: Techworld UK :: tecChannel :: IDG.se :: IDG.no :: IDG.pl

create account | faq | search