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What's an acceptable level of dead pixels?
Thursday, 03 May, 2007
I purchased Dell Inspiron 600m and noticed a bright speck on the screen. I later realised this was a dead pixel. I tried to get some assistance from Dell who kept saying it was within standards (not within my standards!).
What can I do to fix it? Should I keep trying with Dell? Can you get dead pixels repaired? Has anyone come across this problem before? Do people just put up with dead pixels or am I being too fussy? I actually find it quite distracting when I try to use the laptop. I appreciate any assistance you may be able to give. I thought it may be beneficial for PC User to be aware of this possible issue with Dell seeing as they advertise in the magazine.
Once again thanks for your help.
(Originally posted September 2004)
Quentin Roberts, Mitchell Park, SA
 Dead pixels are a fact of life with today's lower priced LCD screens. Considering the number of pixels contained in an LCD panel, the defective rate should dead pixels be present, is minute.
For a typical laptop screen with XGA resolution (1024 x 768 pixels), there's a total of 2,359,296 red, green and blue pixels (1024 x 768 x 3). So a screen with 5 dead sub-pixels has a defective rate equal to 0.0002 percent.
Most manufacturers regard the system as being up to spec with up to nine dead pixels, before offering a replacement.
There's a useful page which documents the policies of the main manufacturers concerning dead pixels
At the beginning of 2004 Acer Computer Australia made a big play launching a 'PixelPerfect' Guarantee. However there's been no race to match this, and we think that Acer has since withdrawn it for new products.
Looking through Dell's own terms and conditions on the web there's no obvious place where it spells out its dead pixel policy. At the same time it notes "Nothing in this Agreement shall affect the statutory right of a Customer dealing with Dell as a consumer as defined in any consumer protection legislation intended to protect consumers in similar transactions."
In short, it may be an industry standard, but this has not been tested in the courts.
So if that pixel annoys you - say, it's in an obvious area or it's particularly obvious, that it reduces your productivity - I'd persevere and press Dell about this and consider making a claim in the small claims court.
Let us know how it goes.
(All manufacturers of products that use discrete pixels in displays have to have a policy. That includes PC monitors and TV monitors such as LCD, Plasma and DLP. In almost all cases the manufacturer has an internal policy that is never revealed to the customer. In other words, you make a claim, then they decide if it's acceptable or not. This policy is usually quite complicated and includes the number of dead pixels, whether they're turned on or off, if they're scattered or in a clump, and where they are in the viewing area. Regardless of the brand, you have a right to complain. If the manufacturer doesn't spell out the policy, how else will you find out. -Paul Zucker)
John Hilvert
 Reader solutions
P P MukherjeePosted: 09/03/2010 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? Only one, but not in the middle of the screen, somewhere at the side of the screen. ReaderPosted: 14/05/2007 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? Another big-name company stuffing around. Jane HewerPosted: 10/05/2007 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? Hi
We have just come accross the same problem in uk. Unbelievably our trading standards "dont know". We have sent laptop back but we arent sure yet of refund. We have been told by several different retailers that it has to be a minimum of 6 dead pixels (wherever they may be)before a refund is granted. We arent even allowed to check product before taking it home for this fault. As a consumer you would think we had some rights. I am glad dell came through for you. GilPosted: 09/05/2007 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? I mean where the dead pixel is outshone by its surrounding pixels where it's not really noticable which I presume is more likely with very high-res monitor. GilPosted: 08/05/2007 dead pixel & resolution Is there a known resolution for a very high-res monitor where a dead pixel will practically disappear due part to the small size and the colour bleeding effect of the surrounding pixels to the human eye?
(Sorry Gil. I don't understand your question. The word "resolution" has at least two possible meanings here. What are you asking? If the dead pixel is almost invisible, perhaps you can put up with it? -PZ) tingPosted: 07/05/2007 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? I went to a IT retail shop (name withheld) at George St, Haymarket and was about to pay for it when I asked if they had an exchange policy if dead pixels turned up. They told me at least 3 pixels but that depended if the manufacturer will take it back. They refused to exchange it. They said their profit margin was only $10 so they couldn't warranty their products. So I decided not to buy from them. It's bad policy if they can't even be confident of their own products. Well, if the product is under warranty, the manufacturer should replace it. If it means that we have cheaper screens we have to accept lower standards. I think $300 for a 19 inch screen still is a lot of money if it means you don't like it with the dead pixels. What if it is on your Sony $5,000 laptop? Tough luck to the consumer? A sub standard product is still sub standard no matter how they paint the picture. Same goes with expensive LCD tv sets that to use this shrouded policy to sell substandard goods is totally unacceptable. They should be tested prior to sale no matter what.
(Okay Ting. But what if they charged you $50 more and then gave you a zero dead pixel guarantee. Would you pay the extra $50? The simple fact is that as purchasers we're partly to blame because we usually shop on price alone. -PZ) Carlo SchisanoPosted: 04/05/2007 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? I agree with Tony's comment in regards to the analogy with the RAM module, however, I think it is irrelevant if you see a screen or not. I've worked in IT sales long enough to know that an LCD monitor can start developing dead pixels at any second.
I'm looking at getting a (probably Viewsonic as they are the best in my opinion) LCD monitor soon, (22in). Now, I don't care how many, where or when in regards to dead pixels, I will not accept none under any circumstances under warranty. If a monitor is faulty with 5 dead pixels, it is also faulty with 1, end of story, game over. You can't not sell a faulty technology and cover it up with stupid policies. It is a product, not a service where you have a service agreement like Telstra on its broadband, and therefore should work at 100% and 100% of the time. Quentin RobertsPosted: 02/05/2007 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? I am pleased to inform readers that after much persistance Dell did replace the screen and I am back to being a happy customer. Thanks for all the suggestions and assistance.
(Thanks for letting us know Quentin. Dell obviously did themselves a PR favour by doing the right thing. -PZ) Posted: 28/09/2004 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? I haven't purchased but have always remembered these words from a Plasma/LCD TV article somewhere. Negotiate pixel defect free before indicating the deal will go ahead. This must be in writing before payment. The issue is obviously not ratio of defective to good pixels, but ratio of dead pixels to user annoyance. Suddenly the word minescule is erroneous. Consumers need to be vigilant on this one. Manufacturers have not made us aware of this shortcoming in technology which they want use to pay a lot of money for. GeoffPosted: 27/09/2004 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? Here is a little story of our own personal experience. Similar stories has been printed on a few computer magazines in the March-May period.
This year February I went to a local "superstore" to look for a laptop as a present for my wife. After checking out the display quality of the latest and greated 15.4" wide screen, we settled on buying the one we've been checking out just so we can be sure there would be no Dead On Arrival (DOA) pixels.
Lo and behold, 3 hours after we got home, after we started updating windows and norton AV, bang we got a permanently lit, red pixel in the middle of the LCD screen.
A little side note, the manufacturer in the originating country has already introducted last year a "zero lit pixel replacement policy". That is, within 7 days of purchase, even one constantly lit pixel would be replaced, no question asked, in 24 hours.
After doing some research on consumer rights in Australia, these were my statements to the vendor:
1. There were nowhere in the terms and conditions that I signed stating the warranty exclusion (that faulty pixels are not faulty in their definitions).
2. They have displayed no willingness, no good will towards their customers. The only thing they've done so far is to stall.
3. If they truly stand by their claim that the laptop is not considered faulty, why they cannot replace or exchange, or even accept my request to upgrade to another, more expensive model?
You would think it clear enough for anyone that they don't have a legal leg to stand on. After a few days of letters to them in writing, as well as turning up at their store to negotiate face to face, they were still refusing to honour their legal obligation. In fact ever since the problem surfaced the attitude they have shown is that of total indifference.
Eventually, after forwarding an official complaint to ACCC and Victoria Consumer Affairs, and sending their head office the copy of the official complaint form, they rang back and promised to exchange - if I can go from the city to Dandenong to pick it up. I wasn't arguing for their customer service at that point anyway!
So, in the end, you have to keep at it and clearly show you will neither tolerate nor accept any excuses, and be confident in your statuatory right as a consumer in Australia. Also, bring in as many guns as you can muster (write to as many channels of advertising as they have, e.g. computer mags, news paper columns, consumer bulletines, even ring up the radio).
Been there, done that, know the headaches; good luck! KenPosted: 27/09/2004 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? I really feel disheartened that you paid so much money for a laptop or even a TFT screen and it is sold to a customer as new. I did ask the shops selling these screens and LCD TVs about dead pixels and was advised by the salesperson that to have 5 dead pixels was still within the acceptable range as there were so many million pixels in a screen and the tolerances as you mentioned are misniscue. To have dead centre pixel right smack in the middle of your viewing area is not good enough. Tony, it doesn't matter if the shop had the screen you viewed in front before you bought it because dead pixels can happen later on after purchase (but of course you've tried it out to eliminate the cause before paying for it). The warranty issues for more than 5 pixels just isn't fair. Some of these laptops are more than $2500 and above. I have been refraining from buying a TFT screen because of this. I have seen my friend purchase a computer that never worked properly from day one. Ian SmithPosted: 27/09/2004 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? imho,
if a monitor is not watchable or distracts you from doing your work or whatever, because of a manufacturing fault which is apparent (the one dead pixel or nine), the monitor is 'not fit for purpose' and should be replaced or
your hard earned $$ refunded.
At work, we do not accept faulty monitors (we have OH&S issues here with effects on vision) . As a consumer, if it affects you using your PC
and the manufacturer/distributor won't play ball, get your local Consumer Affairs involved.
A call to the ACCC and some extra noise from 'Not Good Enough' will also help you get satisfaction. After all, if they can make 95 out of 100 monitors with no faults, why should you pay for a faulty one?
my 2c
cheers
(Good points Ian. Stick up for your rights. Noisy wheels and all that. -Paul Zucker)
Tony Posted: 27/09/2004 re: What's an acceptable level of dead pixels? Quentin, your mistake was paying for something sight unseen. You should never purchase a monitor of any type without first inspecting it. If that's not possible via mail order (which it isn't) then consider if you really want to take that risk. Why not buy locally and observe the screen in action BEFORE parting with your dollars?
The manufacturer's claim that it's difficult to have a zero defect rate in a product containing 2,359,296 pixels is irrelevant. Consider that a 512MB memory module has at least 4,294,967,296 memory bits - how many defective bits would you accept?
To compound the problem, the manufacturer (in this case Dell) obviously knows before shipping that the product is defective - why don't they identify the faulty units to the customer before sale? Because they know a significant number of their customers would not proceed with the purchase. So it follows that they are selling a product that they know does not meet their customer's expectations - a great way to lose customers.
(We'll get Dell to comment on this Tony. -Paul Zucker)
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