It's the same as when I bought an oven the other day that I wanted to exchange. I was allowed to unwrap it and inspect it but had I installed it the seller were clear that they will take up to 50% off the refund due to loss of value.
It's the same as when I bought an oven the other day that I wanted to exchange. I was allowed to unwrap it and inspect it but had I installed it the seller were clear that they will take up to 50% off the refund due to loss of value.
It's a gamble, only you can decide if the gamble is worth it. Just bear in mind a lot have dead pixels or backlight bleed. Some have dead pixels and backlight bleed. I'm sure there are also some very happy customers that got a monitor with no defects.
Well I've decided I'm keeping mine even with the bit of light bleed from excessive chassis pressure in the bottom corners. When playing games even darked themed ones I can't really see the bleed. I can lessen it even more (almost completely gone) by tilting the panel upwards a few degrees, so the top of the screen is about three quarters of a inch further away from me than the bottom.
I'm sure you could quite legitimately deduct 25% if you wanted to, but to even suggest you would do this isn't the best business practice IMO... especially as you so often go on about the "customer being King". By all means, if someone is taking the **** and keeps returning a monitor seeking perfection (which almost certainly doesn't exist anyway), then fair enough... but to some people it may sound like you're discouraging someone from returning a monitor for any reason, when they are legally entitled to do so within 14 days for a full refund... minus return costs if they simply change their mind, as they are allowed to do. Some may even call it intimidation.
Guys, here’s my take on the whole situation for what it’s worth and some advice from someone who has used hundreds of screens over the years and tested many different IPS screens.
I’ve been through this entire thread from the point at which people started to receive stock from OcUK when it landed. Gibbo said that OcUK had 260 units from Acer and I’ve counted 14 people in total (shown below) who have reported issues with dead pixels and backlight bleed. There are 9 other people who have reported their screens are fine and have no issues and are enjoying their new purchase.
Considering all the back-orders and how many people ordered them when they came in stock, I expect there are far far more users out there who are perfectly happy with their purchase and haven’t bothered to report it on the forums here. That’s always the way with every screen released, you always hear far more of the negative than the positive. Look at any screen released and it’s always the same. 14 out of a possible 260 units with issues is not a massive number. I’m not down-playing the issues people are experiencing at all, just want to try and put it in to perspective.
Backlight Bleed and IPS glow
People do need to make sure they understand the differences between IPS glow and backlight bleed. Nearly every IPS-type panel (LG.Display, AUO, Samsung) will suffer from IPS glow. There’s a few panels and screens out there with low-glow panels and polarizers designed to reduce it, but not many. IPS glow will manifest itself with a white glow on dark content when viewed from an angle. If you’re sat close to the screen on something as big as this the corners will often look more pale because of the angle between your line of sight and the screen. It gets worse the bigger you go with the screen. The corners is also the area where backlight bleed often appears, but you can tell which it is by moving your viewing position. If you move your position back a couple of metres and it reduces the “glow” then it’s IPS glow. If you move your line of sight and face a corner head on and it disappears then it’s IPS glow. If not and the glowing remains constant then it’s probably backlight bleed.
IPS glow is a “feature” of IPS-type panels and a characteristic of them. You won’t be able to reduce it or eliminate it. You will need to decide if it’s something you can live with or not. If not, return it under CCR for a refund. Exchanging it with Acer under the assumption is backlight bleed will only leave you disappointed.
If you’ve identified it’s definitely backlight bleed then you need to decide if it’s a problem to you in your actual uses? Is it something you only notice when you go looking for it with unrealistic dark images, or in your normal day to day uses and games is it something you don’t notice? Levels of bleed will vary as well. If it’s really bad and you can’t live with it, you can try and swap it with Acer for a new unit (on-site swap out) via the CS forum so that’s a good option. If you don’t feel it’s too bad and never really notice it in normal use I would forget about it and enjoy everything the screen offers
Keep in mind that with the lowering of panel production costs has been the primary focus of manufacturers for years now and so unfortunately uniformity issues will affect nearly every panel and every screen on the market. You will see the same issues reported with every screen, no matter the cost or market position (save for some very high end screens perhaps!). As Gibbo has said, some levels of backlight bleed should be expected from most screens, but the severity will vary. Having said that I’ve tested plenty of panels from retail stocks which haven’t shown any major backlight bleed issues (but will still show IPS glow of course).
Dead Pixel issues
In terms of dead pixels, that is of course a more obvious fault. What you need to consider is whether the dead pixels 1) are very obvious and 2) are too many. I know it’s human nature to go looking for dead pixels, but if you have 1 or 2, and you can’t really ever spot them during normal every day uses, are they really that big a problem? I get the whole “it should be perfect for £700” argument, and if you’re really a perfectionist then send it back for a refund. In reality, LCD panel manufacturing costs are always being driven down so that retail prices for screens are lower. Dead pixels have ALWAYS been a problem with LCD’s and if manufacturers were to try and eliminate them completely then it would add a HUGE cost to production and retail prices. £700 is a lot of money, I get that, but it’s one of the sacrifices to have the screens as “cheap” as they are nowadays. If you don’t really notice them in proper use and only when you go looking for them with unrealistic single colour background programs then forget about them and just enjoy the screen. That’s my advice anyway.
For those reporting many dead pixels (>3 – 5) or clumps of dead pixels in one place, I expect there is an issue with trapped dust between the panel and coating. I’ve seen that before and that’s more of an issue and worthy of a return I’m sure. It would be very rare to actually have many dead pixels on one panel, although it’s possible of course. Dust or blemishes on the LCD panel are more likely.
List of people from this thread with and without issues:
Problems
WhiteHawk77 – bleed, no dead pixels
Sylver123 – bleed, no dead pixels
Karlision – 12 dead pixels
CJonny – 2 stuck pixels
Jediben – no bleed but 3 dead pixels
Deks – 2 dead pixels
gt11 – 2 dead pixels
titaniumx3 – 2 stuck pixels, some bleed
Shinobi026 – bleed
Alcran – bleed
BG1980 – bleed
darket – dead pixels and bleed
silverfoxxxx – bleed and dead pixels
Mark_D - bleed
List of people from this thread with and without issues:
Problems
WhiteHawk77 – bleed, no dead pixels
Sylver123 – bleed, no dead pixels
Karlision – 12 dead pixels
CJonny – 2 stuck pixels
Jediben – no bleed but 3 dead pixels
Deks – 2 dead pixels
gt11 – 2 dead pixels
titaniumx3 – 2 stuck pixels, some bleed
Shinobi026 – bleed
Alcran – bleed
BG1980 – bleed
darket – dead pixels and bleed
silverfoxxxx – bleed and dead pixels
Mark_D - bleed
Good post but it could be worth pointing out that those who've said they have no problems just haven't noticed or went looking for it. Or they aren't as picky and have more tolerance to it.
What's fine for one person isn't for another. There's also the fact that multiple people have mentioned theirs getting worse after usage.
Good post but it could be worth pointing out that those who've said they have no problems just haven't noticed or went looking for it. Or they aren't as picky and have more tolerance to it.
maybe that's so, but the same could be said about every screen. Does it matter if the user is happy with it and using it without issue?
all about levels of tolerance and expectations. All versions will suffer from IPS glow. Some will have dead pixels (a hand full so far) and some will have backlight bleed issues of varying degrees.
Also worth keeping in mind, that there are some who won't be in the forums to begin with to either complain or express satisfaction.
Or others who are still weighing up whether or not to give it the heave-ho.......bit of bleeding on my own one, which is probably not as bad as others have said (but still bad compared to other panels I've had down the years), but I'm more concerned with whether I can live with the one stuck dead pixel (might not even be one, could be dust) just off-center.
I fully understand where Gibbo is coming from, but its the manufacturing system that needs changing. I am fed up of receiving PC hardware that has obviously been returned, pre-opened, seals broken and often arrive looking like its been pre packed by an orang-utan. Excitement and anticipation are quickly replaced by a dull thud in the stomach when its obvious someone else has had their hands on your shiny new before yourself. All returns should go back to Acer (at their cost) to be checked and repacked, not hived off to the next unsuspecting customer.
I bought my last monitor from Overclock and it was arrived in a tatty box with fingermarks all over the screen, stand and frame. it was definitely 'a return/DSR/restock' so I duly 'returned it' and received a brand spanker in return. For this reason I was nervous about the same thing happening with such a high price tag so I purchased from another company.
Sorry about the rant but this forum topic is causing undue cardiac arrest.
I received mine tyesterday (another supplier but same batch number) and the Acer Predator XB270HU is by far the best gaming screen I have used since the days of CRT. It really is jaw dropping when gaming. Mine has no immediate dead pixels and the slightest backlight bleed is not obvious unless you shine a torch on the screen with a black background.
In summary... calm down... a good one is a blinder, so return and wait for new stock if not satisfied.
yeah totally agree, i can only count based on people who have bothered to post here and there are always more people who post with negatives than there are who post about positives with anything you ever read online really.
I wonder if this has been tested in court, as to my mind you would expect to be able to see a monitor working in a shop therefore reducing the refund for a monitor that has simply been opened and plugged in would be a very dubious interpretation of the regulations.
On a personal note, I've bought thousands of pounds worth of stuff from OCUK over the years and never returned anything under DSR/CCR but this stance would make me think twice about ordering a monitor, or anything else that may have to go back because of unacceptable quality rather than an outright its-dead-jim fault, in future.
Situations like this put the retailer in a tricky situation and I sympathise with Ocuk's position on this. Additionally, not many retailers would go to the effort that ocuk do to rectify issues with the manufacturer.
That being said, the faults lie in production and while there are constant advances in monitor technology, it seems little to no advances are made when it comes to assembling a plastic border around the monitor that apply pressure and result in BLB.
A bit of BLB is commonplace, but to expect customers to accept what has been demonstrated here and in other similar threads ontop of dead pixels for £700 is a nonsense.
Just an update for anyone else having problems. Acer have just phoned me and my replacement will be getting delivered from the distribution centre on Tuesday with my old monitor being picked up on Wednesday.
The replacement will be brand new and sealed, they won't however be checking the new one before sending out so it may be better or worse.
Was a quick response from Acer so hopefully that bodes well If I have any future problems.
I would also like to point out that apart from the bleed in the bottom right corner that the monitor performs really well so ideally would love one with no dead pixels or excessive bleed rather than a refund.
I'm very curious to know if you could debezel or disassemble the frame/chassis in order to improve these back light issues, not going to be the first to try it but if someone does eventually prove it can be done then I'll probably give it a shot. Also for those with issues, calibrating the display does significantly lessen the effects of the bleed, also as someone else stated earlier, the angle/orientation of the monitor also affects the bleed, I now can barely notice the bleed that I have in my corners after adjusting it's position and calibrating it.
I wonder if this has been tested in court, as to my mind you would expect to be able to see a monitor working in a shop therefore reducing the refund for a monitor that has simply been opened and plugged in would be a very dubious interpretation of the regulations.
On a personal note, I've bought thousands of pounds worth of stuff from OCUK over the years and never returned anything under DSR/CCR but this stance would make me think twice about ordering a monitor, or anything else that may have to go back because of unacceptable quality rather than an outright its-dead-jim fault, in future.
I think we need to make it clear, that I made it clear that anyone who wanted to simply return for a refund for any reason within 14 days under CCR we are happy to do.
What we have issue with is people who want to try like 5-10 different panels looking for the panel with lowest backlight bleed, this would leave us with 9 b-grade panels, at which point we've lost literally thousands of pounds selling them at losses in b-grade, as such OcUK can't fund this or allow this cherry picking as such, no different than the people who buy a VGA or CPU and keep returning and re-buying looking for a good clocker. Something we put a stop to by simply detecting when a customer is on his 2nd, 3rd, 4th return of the same item under CCR, at which point the only way to stop such people is 25% re-stocking rule.
However OcUK understands backlight bleed is not quite the same as someone looking for a good clocking VGA or CPU and then trying to send it back under CCR because it did not clock so well, that is just damn right abuse of the system which is no doubt a big reason why the DSR rules were changed.
As OcUK understands I rang Acer and explained the issues some customers were having and also explained OcUK can't afford to lose hundreds of pounds on each B-grade panel we sell, as once we take a monitor back it is used and as such we cannot put it back into new stock, it has to go into B-grade. So after a conversation both OcUK and Acer agreed it covers OcUK from losing money by Acer dealing with any issues on-site, which also means customer gets better service as well and will hopefully get a monitor with less (acceptable) bleed.
No other retailor would try to negotiate such an on-site swap out service, it might go un-noticed for a while and then they'd make the snap decision to either stop selling or just hitting with re-stocking fees.
Gibbo and BG1980, man, I was going to send a webnote or call for a RMA refund today, been busy so couldn't till now, but after your post and BG1980's post seems like that's the way to go as I would rather have a replacement as I do want this monitor, but how do I get the same result?
With the brightness set at 24, I am seeing very similar backlight bleed to the last
screenshot in the post I have linked to above.
Would this kind of bleed be accepted by the Acer direct swap out service that OcUK are
making customers aware of when contacting them or would I probably have to send the
screen to OcUK for a full refund instead because the bleed not being aggressive enough?
If it would be accepted, how would I go about arranging the Acer direct swap out service?
How do I contact James who has got the details for the Acer direct swap out service?
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