to scared to buy a imac...

[panzer06]

There are some reports of people returning many iMacs to get a good one. But the odds of that happening have to be extremely small. Any returned Mac must be refurbished and cannot be sold as new. It's a major drain on profits. Ignoring that people with problems are most likely to post, this thread would imply that 10% of customers have a problem and that 10% of the units are therefore bad. But if that were their return rate they would certainly shut down production!

I'd say that people like Jamooche either have standards that are much higher than average (in which case they probably would be better served with a Mac Pro and a professional grade monitor) or are very unlucky. If there is a 10% failure rate, then returning 5 consecutive iMacs and finding all those in a store (lets say five more) defective would be one chance in 10,000,000,000. To have a 50:50 chance of getting 10 defective monitors in a row would require that 93% of iMacs had bad displays. Now indeed to a critical eye this would be the case -- the design of the monitor with just "white" LEDs for backlights and temperature gradients will keep them from being acceptable, but if most people found them unacceptable then they would have to cancel the product line! The bottom line is that most people find them more than acceptable.

Very good point. I've never had this problems on any on the Macs I've owned nor at the uni I used to work for. I believe some people have a more enhanced level of visual acuity and are able to discern faults not apparent to the general public. This people are very hard to please because they are more sensitive to any visible (to them) defects.

Cheers,

 

[Jamooche]

I'd say that people like Jamooche either have standards that are much higher than average (in which case they probably would be better served with a Mac Pro and a professional grade monitor)

Indeed I do have higher standards. I do a lot of photography and have a calibrated display and printer. If the bottom half of the screen is yellow you can't do any color correct adjustments for photos. 99% of people aren't working in calibrated environments, so they don't notice the problems.

However, the three employees that were looking at the iMac I returned all agreed that it was yellow and their main concern for me was that it was ridiculous to spend $2300 on a computer with a display that looked this bad especially if I'm doing photography.

----------

Very good point. I've never had this problems on any on the Macs I've owned nor at the uni I used to work for. I believe some people have a more enhanced level of visual acuity and are able to discern faults not apparent to the general public. This people are very hard to please because they are more sensitive to any visible (to them) defects.

Cheers,

You don't need enhanced visual acuity. All you need is any point and shoot digital camera and the eye dropper tool in photoshop or lightroom. A white page compared at the top of the screen to the bottom give very different color readings.

If you think that beige or off-white is the same thing as pure white, then I guess a defective screen is ok for your needs. This doesn't work for mine and for many graphic / photo / video people.

 

[panzer06]

snip

You don't need enhanced visual acuity. All you need is any point and shoot digital camera and the eye dropper tool in photoshop or lightroom. A white page compared at the top of the screen to the bottom give very different color readings.

If you think that beige or off-white is the same thing as pure white, then I guess a defective screen is ok for your needs. This doesn't work for mine and for many graphic / photo / video people.

I think that's the point we're trying to make; for most people if they aren't looking for this issue (read what you just wrote - bolded above -- most of us don't have either program and would never bother) they most likely won't notice. For people like you to get so many systems you find unacceptable the problem would need to be very wide spread and it most likely is, however, many of us don't notice or don't care. Millions of users unbox the system, say oooh, ahhh, get on the internet, play a game or type a memo and it works great. Unless the tint is so obvious that a blue sky has a sea form greenish hue toward the bottom of the screen, this is a non-issue for the average person.

Cheers,

 

[heliocentric]

Why should it be ok though? People spend a lot of money on apple products and deserve that they are perfect.

By saying it's ok just because people don't notice isn't a good enough reason/excuse.

 

[Jamooche]

I think that's the point we're trying to make; for most people if they aren't looking for this issue (read what you just wrote - bolded above -- most of us don't have either program and would never bother) they most likely won't notice. For people like you to get so many systems you find unacceptable the problem would need to be very wide spread and it most likely is, however, many of us don't notice or don't care. Millions of users unbox the system, say oooh, ahhh, get on the internet, play a game or type a memo and it works great. Unless the tint is so obvious that a blue sky has a sea form greenish hue toward the bottom of the screen, this is a non-issue for the average person.

Cheers,

I guess we are in agreement on the issue then. I didn't state my last response correctly. However, I do agree with the poster in post #54. Just because you can live with it and maybe never notice it, doesn't mean that Apple shouldn't fix the issue.

 

[panzer06]

Why should it be ok though? People spend a lot of money on apple products and deserve that they are perfect.

By saying it's ok just because people don't notice isn't a good enough reason/excuse.

I guess we are in agreement on the issue then. I didn't state my last response correctly. However, I do agree with the poster in post #54. Just because you can live with it and maybe never notice it, doesn't mean that Apple shouldn't fix the issue.

Ah, now we're straying into different territory; one related to modern manufacturing, acceptable defects as it relates to yields and profitability.

In any mass produced manufacturing process there are ranges of acceptable yield performance (except in the case of medical devices and other items that may cause injury or death). In most cases manufacturers strive for "zero" defects but in reality, understand that "zero" or near zero defects are virtually unattainable and very very expensive. For this reason it has been, and most likely will continue to be, accepted practice to produce items that are just good enough for the vast majority of their target audience. Any glaring defects are caught on the line and those more subtle defects are identified by spot checks of at the end user level. A certain amount of returns are factored in and this is balanced against the cost to product an item that would have less likelihood of generating the defect.

The closer you get to perfect the more expensive the process.

It is unrealistic to believe or expect a perfect anything from modern, mass production manufacturing. The complexity of the manufacturing process and the sheer number of items produced constantly works against perfection.

All you can do is return items that don't meet your expectations. For the most part companies will accept those returns as part of doing business and being a less expensive alternative to creating as near to perfect a component as is humanly possible.

I wish you and the OP all the best in acquiring the high quality goods you deserve and expect; just don't be surprised when it takes some effort to obtain it.

Cheers,

 

[creepy crab]

I hope if i am wrong or this has changed, someone will put me right, but my understanding of apple's pixel policy is as followed, sourced from the link at the bottom.

It is worh baring in mind that if you get an iMac with one or two dead pixels, Apple will replace it for you (which is awesome as most companies would not), however they make it clear that there tolerance of dead pixels is a set figure, dependant on if they are dark or bright. If your replacement iMac has more faults than your previous one, but is within Apple's acceptable limits, they will not replace again.

This is why i am not replacing my 21.5"... it has one microscopic dot, which i can only see if i touch the screen with my nose. Part of me wanted to replace it out of principle, but onc i realised i couldnt actually see it at all from working distance i changed my mind, and the screen is fantastic.

http://www.engadget.com/2010/11/05/apples-dead-pixel-policy-leaks-out-up-to-15-anomalies-accepta/

 

[Wrathh1965]

Picked up a mid-2011 iMac shortly after launch. The only thing I've noted on the display is a single pixel (stuck on red) or possibly a piece of dust under the glass.

For all intents and purposes, the machine has been flawless and runs circles around any other machine I have at home.

 

[talmy]

Why should it be ok though? People spend a lot of money on apple products and deserve that they are perfect.

Probably because there is no such thing as a "perfect display". You could say "no stuck pixels" but other aspects -- color accuracy, bleed through, color shift at different viewing angles, contrast ratio, sharpness, reflectivity... well they are all tradeoffs. You may wish for perfection with a ~$2000 iMac, but all that can be said is that it will be better overall than a ~$1000 computer and not as good a $4000 computer.

 

[creepy crab]

Picked up a mid-2011 iMac shortly after launch. The only thing I've noted on the display is a single pixel (stuck on red) or possibly a piece of dust under the glass.

For all intents and purposes, the machine has been flawless and runs circles around any other machine I have at home.

If the pixel is stuck on red, you can download software which flashes the surrounding pixels, in an attempt to "reset" the one which is stuck. leave it for around an hour and see if it sorts it out, what can you loose?

 

[turbobass]

My 27" '08 has some significant ghosting but the '11 is great! You should notice dead pixels and ghosting immediately and return. If it shows up after 3 years, whelp, that could happen to literally anything.

 

[heliocentric]

Probably because there is no such thing as a "perfect display". You could say "no stuck pixels" but other aspects -- color accuracy, bleed through, color shift at different viewing angles, contrast ratio, sharpness, reflectivity... well they are all tradeoffs. You may wish for perfection with a ~$2000 iMac, but all that can be said is that it will be better overall than a ~$1000 computer and not as good a $4000 computer.

If my relatively cheap 32" Sony Bravia seemingly has none of these problems (that I can see), a decent quality screen on a £1000 computer shouldn't be a problem should it?

Stuck pixels, yellow tinting, back light bleed,banding and dust collecting behind screen...all stopping me from buying at the moment. Looked into mac minis but you just don't get as much for your money (nowhere near spec wise) and end up being more expensive when you add all the bits.

I'm really not trolling btw, just concerned about my future purchase ( a lot of money! )

Not sure what to do...

 

[zarathu]

If my relatively cheap 32" Sony Bravia seemingly has none of these problems (that I can see), a decent quality screen on a £1000 computer shouldn't be a problem should it?

Stuck pixels, yellow tinting, back light bleed,banding and dust collecting behind screen...all stopping me from buying at the moment. Looked into mac minis but you just don't get as much for your money (nowhere near spec wise) and end up being more expensive when you add all the bits.

I'm really not trolling btw, just concerned about my future purchase ( a lot of money! )

Not sure what to do...

I've have 9 mac and apples since 1986. I've never had any problems like these. After awhile some paerts wore out and I either replaced them myself, or somebody else did. This place is where all the problems go. The tens or thousands who never have a problem at all never post here.

 

[bungiefan89]

As a proud owner of one of the new 27" iMacs, I can assure you I've had no problems with MY screen.

This computer has got a gorgeous display, and I don't have any difficulties with dead pixels or the 'yellow tint' problems other people seem to have had.

 

[talmy]

If my relatively cheap 32" Sony Bravia seemingly has none of these problems (that I can see), a decent quality screen on a £1000 computer shouldn't be a problem should it?

My experience with TV displays is that they are inferior to computer displays. They have lower resolution and video tends to hide problems that are easily seen in static displays.