thefishdude said:
yeah dead pixel thing is joke. its new should be perfect but alas the makers can get away with upto 3 dead pixels and its not classed as there problem. thing is most people dont know this and that makes it worse as when they find out its to late.
Monitors with dead pixels is actually a perfectly reasonable thing to sell, for the simple reason that defectless SO 13406-2 Class I monitors are extremely expensive.
What isn't reasonable, in my view, is that this isn't made very clear to buyers before they buy ... and I'm talking generally, not about OcUK. I haven't looked at their website in this regard, so have no opinion on that. But, generally, it's information which, if present at all, is usually only visible if you go hunting for it, and the typical buyer would only do that if he/she already knew of the problem, and if that were the case, he/she wouldn't need information on it in the first place.
The situation is this. ISO 13406-2 provides definitions for what level of pixel, and sub-pixel, defects fall into different classes (I to IV), but different manufacturers interpret those defintions in different ways, so the exact warranty coverage varies from brand to brand. To know what you're getting for a given brand, you have to check with the manufacturer and, as it varies over time, you have to do it just prior to buying. Class III and IV mionitors are sufficently defect-ridden that they aren't consumer items, so if you buy a domestic monitor, it is almost certain to be Class II.
I have considerable sympathy with retailers over this, because they're caught in the middle. They can't replace monitors that a buyer isn't happy with unless it falls within the manufactuer's warranty guidelines, because the manufacturer won't take it back from the retailer, and the retailer can't afford to get stuck with loads of rejected monitors.
If buyers expected dealers to swallow this cost, one of two things will happen. Either prices on alll monitors will rise to cover the cost of the duff ones they're stuck with, or they'll simply have to stop stocking them at all, and we all go back to CRTs.
So while it's extremely irritating to buy one with too many dodgy pixels, or dodgy pixels in very noticeable locations, there isn't much you can do about it short of buyer a wince-inducing, wallet-puckering Class I monitor ..... or buying from a local shop where you can get them to power up a monitor and visually check it yourself before parting with your cash. But, mail-ordering a monitor is, and is likely to remain, rather like buying a pig in a poke. Pot luck.
