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Dead Pixel Identifier

YES, if there is one Dead Pixel - Take it back!

Originally posted by jxyama
... by the way, 90% of end users getting defect free LCD screen does not mean the LCD manufacturing process has 10% failure rate. many, many LCDs screens are thrown away long before they even have the chance to be used on a consumer product. it's 10% of those that pass the manufacturing QA and deemed good for product use that fail, not 10% of all the LCDs made.
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jxyama, you are absolutely right.

You appear to be more tolerant of visual defects than the rest of us, and that is admirable. Unfortunately, it looks like the vast majority of us go nuts over dead pixels, which is why that, except for my iBook, I've refused to buy an LCD... until now.

Just because we have held your feet to the fire (a little) over logic, economics, and statistics (one of my favorite books in college 35 years ago was "How to Lie with Statistics and Get Away With It"), doesn't mean that we aren't impressed with your basic opinion and accepting attitude, we just simply don't share it while slapping down 20 to 30 $100.00 bills for an LCD monitor or a laptop.

My buddy Dennis was an early adopter of LCDs and has owned about 3 NEC monitors. In fact, one of them began to "smoke" after more than a year and BEYOND the warranty, which he quickly unplugged. NEC said, "Yep, it happens. We'll send you a replacement, then use the same box to pack the old one in, and call FedEx for a free pickup". We were very impressed. They also replaced a monitor with an ugly cluster and numerous dead pixels during the warranty period.

I had a similiar experience about a decade ago with a $1,000 17" NEC CRT (yep, that's what they use to cost) which I thought was defective, so they did the same thing for me that they just did for Dennis. The difference is the size of the box and 40 pounds. Upon hooking up the replacement CRT, I found it displayed exactly the same image - so it was my low power MacLC that was the problem, not the 17" CRT. Embarrased, I immediately called them and sent the replacement back. I've been loyal to NEC ever since.

Stick around, jxyama, you are a nice guy. I may like you, but I hate dead pixels!
MERRY CHRISTMAS :p
 
Hello,

I'm one of the developers on Dead Pixel Identifier and I have a little something to say here.

About 6 months ago, both me and a friend of mine wen't to Solutions Inc (Hove, England) where we purchased our first Macs (Powerbook 12"). When we returned home, we whipped them out and turned them on. Mine worked perfectly, and still does. No screen problems whatsoever, however my friends came complete with a dead pixel. He immediatly turned it off, boxed it back up and called up Solutions Inc. They wouldn't do anything about the issue, unless at least 6 pixels were dead. Not satisfied at this answer we continued trying, and wrote a couple of letters to the managing director, only to recieve nothing in return. A few pointless phone calls later we ended up calling up Apple Canada, where we got exactly the same reply. We persisted for weeks, calling and calling, but getting absolutly nowhere. About a month and a half after purchasing our powerbooks, my friend unpacked it, and is still using it to this day, with its dead pixel. They may not see one dead pixel as being a problem, however when, for example, watching a DVD it just sticks right there, glaring at you. Also when doing graphical work, its the same thing.

Not long after this we decided to create a Dead Pixel Identifier, which people could put on a CD and take to the shop with them before purchasing a Mac. If the shop owners don't let you boot it up there and then and use Dead Pixel Identifier then they are not worth buying from, unless you have it in writing that if there is even one dead pixel, then they will replace the defective item.

We spent a total of £3000 ($4500 ish) at Solutions Inc. that day, and you would think that spending a decent amount of money like that then they would do something. Think again!

It wasn't long after we recieved our Solutions Inc. storecards that we cut them up, and sent them back with a letter explaining that we will not be using their services again, and I have since recommended to the company that I work for (American Express) that they do not purchase any more Mac's from that company. Also, my friends company spends a lot of money on a yearly basis with that company, and they are slowly ceasing to use them.

Be warned, make sure your able to test the screen before purchase, or get it in writing that they will replace it should it come with a dead pixel.

They are irritating, no matter what people say.

And as a little plug, Dead Pixel Identifier 4 will be released on Jan 1st 2004 with an attractive set of new features and support.

Regards,

- Keir
 
ha ha, i thought this thread was dead. coming back from the grave, i guess.

i never claimed dead pixels aren't annoying. they are. i was just stating the economics of it.

if you open a box to try out a machine, that machine cannot be sold as new. i think it's a federal regulation. that's why many places, including apple.com, charges restocking fee because they lose some money by selling a computer as a refurb.

so if you can find a place that will let you check for a dead pixel, good for you. dead pixels are annoying, for sure, but that alone doesn't make all those companies and policies regarding dead pixels evil. they are trying to work within their economic reality. whether they are "reasonable" or not depends on your perspective, i guess.
 
I wouldn't REALLY be too bothered if I got a dead pixel on my powerbook considering its perminantl plugged into my 19" Sony Trinatron Flatscreen CRT.

The only thing that displayed on the PowerBook's display are chat clients and Entourage.
 
I think that today's reality is that consumers expect perfection. Although I accept the argument that the LCD manufacturing process is imperfect, frankly, that's not my problem.

If Apple is implementing LCDs in nearly it's entire line of products (excluding, of course, the eMac), they had better make sure that they have a reliable system to manufacture these things. I won't accept any dead/stuck pixels on a new product. I would send it back.

If I'm paying the same money as the next guy, I should get the exact same product, in mint condition.

That's not just for computers either; that's for everything. That's a standard expectation, and I don't think it's an overly high one.

If Apple can't manufacture these things properly, they should stick with CRTs.
 
Although OS X does look crap on a CRT unless its a high-quality one.

Your expectations are in no way too high. I would expect to get the same as the next Joe Bloggs.
 
jamdr said:
Okay, forget about what other people are telling you. If you bought a brand new computer, and it has just a single dead pixel, you better believe that Apple will replace it! Dead pixels are a manufacturing defect, and Apple gets all of their LCDs from high-quality manufacturers. A very small percentage will have dead pixels, but if it does, right out the box, of course Apple will replace it. How can they not? Believe me, I've returned a new computer for that very reason, no restock fee or anything, as have many other people. I'm sorry, but it's incredibly ridiculous and naive to believe that you can't return a product if it has a defect like that.
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wrong! just purchased a new imac yesterday and it has a dead pixel! apple says one dead pixel is acceptable and they will not replace or repair. i was actually told i would "get use to it"?! ah, no! all i do is stare at it! i use final cut at home for editing work and it is seriously going to be a distraction! apple does not care. very saddened by this. i have talked to the store manager twice and four different people at apple and am told the same thing every time. they have a strict policy on pixels and will not replace for one. there has to be a group of pixels next to one another before they will repair.
 
If you have to run a software program to find it, then how much of a problem is a dead pixel? I mean if you couldnt find it with your bare eyes, then why go looking for something to bother you?
 
jamdr said:
Okay, jxyama, you make some good points. But could you please stop stating that LCD prices would increase by $1000 if manufacturers made sure none of the screens were defective, as if that is a fact. You completely pulled that number out of the air, and you really have no idea what you are talking about. To calculate the increase in cost, you'd at least first need to know about what percentage of LCDs have dead pixels, and I don't think you know that. Does anyone out there?
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The fact is that if a manufacturer makes 1000 panels, there will be x of them perfect and (1000 - x) with a small number of dead pixels. The manufacturer can sell them each at a certain price, and each customer has the chance of a dead pixel. Like a lottery. That's how it is done today. The manufacturer could sell only the x good ones and throw away the bad ones. Obviously the price would go up; nobody knows how far. Or the manufacturer could sell "good" ones and "bad" ones. You would have otherwise identical MacBooks at different prices; an expensive one with guaranteed no bad pixels, and a reduced price one with guaranteed at least one bad pixel. I'd be curious what customers would think about that.

plasticparadox said:
f Apple is implementing LCDs in nearly it's entire line of products (excluding, of course, the eMac), they had better make sure that they have a reliable system to manufacture these things. I won't accept any dead/stuck pixels on a new product. I would send it back..
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Fact is, there is no way to produce _all_ LCDs in perfect condition, except throwing all those away that are not perfect. And doing that would increase the price. In some areas you can get around that. For example, when you buy 1024 MB of RAM, the manufacturer actually produced slightly more, like 1040 MB, and cut out up to 16 MB that didn't work (I'm making up the numbers, but the principle is there). You don't notice the little bit of RAM that doesn't work. Same with your processor, or with your hard drive, they all have bits that don't work, but it is invisible to the user. With an LCD screen, you can't do that.
 
epnine said:
wrong! just purchased a new imac yesterday and it has a dead pixel! apple says one dead pixel is acceptable and they will not replace or repair. i was actually told i would "get use to it"?! ah, no! all i do is stare at it! i use final cut at home for editing work and it is seriously going to be a distraction! apple does not care. very saddened by this. i have talked to the store manager twice and four different people at apple and am told the same thing every time. they have a strict policy on pixels and will not replace for one. there has to be a group of pixels next to one another before they will repair.
Click to expand...

Well certainly here in the UK Apple offer a no-quibble 14-day return period. You sure you can't just return it for a replacement?

Vanilla
 
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