Is dead pixels a big problem?

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Limp Gawd
Joined
Feb 28, 2007
Messages
220
Hey all,

The mother of all newbie questions:

I'm finally going to sell my CRT and buy an LCD, but none of the models I like come with a 0 dead pixel policy.

Since I've never used LCD I started wondering... is a dead pixel such a big problem. Can I live with it if my new monitor has 1-2 dead pixels? Is it really noticeable or do you have to look really careful to notice it?

So what's your experience with dead pixels?
 
1 dead pixel far off corner, i can live with... 1 dead pixel center screen, return that shit.
 
Every lcd that I have owned or used has either had dead or stuck (permanent or temp) pixels to some degree. I guess if it was right in the middle of my line of sight it would bother me more but honestly it's not a huge issue with me. Depending on the color you may only notice it with certain backgrounds..
 
Personally when shelling out so much money for a display I expect it to work perfectly and according to specifications. 1 dead pixel is too much.

If you live in Canada, NCIX has a 0 dead pixel policy where they'll exchange your monitor 3 times if you get a dead pixel, but it costs extra.

Other than that, your only option is haggling with Dell customer service. As far as I know no other store offers a 0 dead pixel guarantee.
 
I agree with spotpuff - my monitor was $900, for that it MUST be perfect!.

Why not buy from a shop instead of online - tell them you want to check for DP's before you leave the shop (hehehe, AND before you give them your credit card...)
 
Ive owned a total of 5 LCDs over the course of 4 years and ive never had a stuck or dead pixel. I guess im just lucky :eek:. If you order from someplace like dell you can just call them and make up some story about the monitor making buzzing sounds or something else was wrong and they will just send you another one.
 
arent we being a little too anal on the whole dead pixel thing?

like say 1920x1200 - we are talking an excess of 2.3million pixels

and people bitch about 5 dead ones?

for real...?

now im sure placement has a lot to do with it - say you have a cluster

or its in a spot your eyes fall on naturally

but with what i use my monitors for - gaming browsing dvding etc

how do a few stuck pixels matter?

hell my psp has like 3 or 4 and thats less than 800k - let alone several million

i dunno, i just dont see the point of sending back several units only to find one with
absolutely zero pixel problems

especially when in a few months or whatever its possible one or more are going to fail
naturally...

and im not harping on anyone for it... but for a new user, or more specifically to the OP

i wouldnt worry about a few stuck or dead pixels

use this test, buy a shiny new lcd - or go to bestbuy and use one there...

game and do whatever else you do, dont actually look for dead pixels

if you cant find any without living out the digital version of where's waldo - then well, things are going to be fine

i specifically set out and looked for them on my new monitor [dell 2407] - i found probably 3-5 total - but i was too jaded by the massivenessfullidity of my display to even consider sending it back

my2cfwiw
 
For me, it's not about 1 or 2 dead pixels in a display with millions. It's about getting a perfect unit after you've spent a huge chunk of change on a large display. If you were buying a car, would you like it if it was scratched already? Buying a suit with a hole in it? A dead pixel might be small, but it means your monitor is not perfect :(
 
Seeing as this is a newbie question, I may aswell join in.

In one of the replies it said that dead pixels will occur over time... Is this correct, and is this always the case?

My LCD would be on 10+ hours a day... after a year I don't want say 10 dead pixels. How long are these types of computer LCD's meant to last?
 
A dead pixel is barely noticable since its usually inactive and not colored. A "stuck" pixel I don't like because who wants a red or green dot glowing in their screen work. A stuck pixel I would return. A few dead pixels I would let slide since I would only notice it when I looked for it - and I generally have to look hard since it often resembles lint or dust.
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Manufactuers have standard they use to classify panels into grades or types based on the amount od dead pixels:

ISO 13406-2 standard

http://smartmicrousa.com/LCD_Quality_Standards.asp
 
I bought a Samsung 226BW and it has one pixel off to the right that's stuck and just won't do a perfect black. It does every other color just fine though. I really don't care. It's all about how picky you are. This type of stuck pixel might go away if I work at it a little, but I don't care to.
 
joemama said:
Every lcd that I have owned or used has either had dead or stuck (permanent or temp) pixels to some degree. I guess if it was right in the middle of my line of sight it would bother me more but honestly it's not a huge issue with me. Depending on the color you may only notice it with certain backgrounds..
Click to expand...

I must have been lucky or something, had two 19" Viewsonics and just got my Dell 2407WFP (which came with a dead pixel policy from the vendor) and had zero dead pixels at all.

We also have about 10 IBM ThinkVision 20" screens in our office at work and the same again HP 17" screens, not a dead pixel on any of them.

I just assumed the manufacturing process was getting better and better.

Mike
 
stormyuk said:
I must have been lucky or something, had two 19" Viewsonics and just got my Dell 2407WFP (which came with a dead pixel policy from the vendor) and had zero dead pixels at all.

We also have about 10 IBM ThinkVision 20" screens in our office at work and the same again HP 17" screens, not a dead pixel on any of them.

I just assumed the manufacturing process was getting better and better.

Mike
Click to expand...
I think the gentleman above ^^ is correct...I forgot to add that on all but one of the five lcd's I owned or used I actively had to search for dead/stuck pixels using programs designed for that purpose. Otherwise I would have been blissfully unaware which would be better I think. Those who use the "new car" analogy simply haven't taken a fine toothed comb and white glove to their new baby..otherwise they would find minor imperfections that are inherent to the manufacturing process but otherwise aren't noticed unless you seek them out. A large dripping run in the paint...or a cluster of dead pixels dead center, would be a big deal but one or two stuck/dead pixels out of several million is not.
 
I just got a new CHI MEI 22" and it has a stuck pixel that is blue at the bottom of the screen, you can only see it on a dark backgrounds. I paid 270 for the monitor and there must be 8 dead pixels for it to qualify for a return so I'm stuck with a blue dot kinda sucks.

Is there no way to fix a stuck pixel?
 
returned my first WFP 3007 after one stuck pixel out of ~4 million

replacement has none and been using it almost a year now
 
stevedave said:
I just got a new CHI MEI 22" and it has a stuck pixel that is blue at the bottom of the screen, you can only see it on a dark backgrounds. I paid 270 for the monitor and there must be 8 dead pixels for it to qualify for a return so I'm stuck with a blue dot kinda sucks.

Is there no way to fix a stuck pixel?
Click to expand...
I've fixed stuck pixels by gently massaging the area with a microfiber cloth...do it while the panel is on and the stuck pixel is visible.
 
Sometimes you can massage the pixel, but most of the time they can't be fixed.

I think even one dead pixel is unacceptable. Luckily my LG L1920P doesn't have any. I can't even stand dust particles on my display.
 
http://www.tigerdirect.com

Last time I checked, they have a 'no questions asked' 30 day return policy on LCD screens. I ordered a bunch of LCDs from them, and had zero problems returning ones w/ stuck pixels. I highly recommend them over the egg for LCD screens because of their wonderful policy.
 
I guess I have been lucky...out of the last 6 LCD's I have bought, I have had a single one come with a single stuck pixel. *whew* :D
 
For PVA and IPS panels that go to black when the pixel dies, it really isn't a big deal on a high resolution display. While no dead pixels is nice, having one is basically the same as having a spec of dust on the monitor. When I got my 24" widescreen I was checking it out for defects. I thought I'd found a dead pixel down in the lower right corner but in fact it was just dust stuck to the monitor occluding the pixel. However I had to actually check on a solid colour background before I even noticed. The pixels are very small.

The more perfect the display the nicer, of course, but I wouldn't be overly concerned about dead pixels. On a large, high resolution display they'd be fairly hard to notice if you weren't looking.
 
Standpoint said:
http://www.tigerdirect.com

Last time I checked, they have a 'no questions asked' 30 day return policy on LCD screens. I ordered a bunch of LCDs from them, and had zero problems returning ones w/ stuck pixels. I highly recommend them over the egg for LCD screens because of their wonderful policy.
Click to expand...

can you post a link to this policy? I couldn't find it.
 
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