Dell U2713HM, use DVI or HDMI ?

PCM2 · 13 Apr 2013 at 17:20

The Matrix said:
Dynamic contrast is off, its one of the first things i turned off, i also turned the brightness and contrast down. A few examples

And 'Energy Smart' disabled? When you said "it goes dimmer and brighter depending what the scene is and how much brightness it needs" it implies that some form of dynamic contrast is enabled. If not, then the monitor must be faulty for that reason alone. :confused:

The Matrix · 13 Apr 2013 at 17:48

PCM2 said:
And 'Energy Smart' disabled? When you said "it goes dimmer and brighter depending what the scene is and how much brightness it needs" it implies that some form of dynamic contrast is enabled. If not, then the monitor must be faulty for that reason alone.

Yeh, Energy Smart was off as default.

Antony101 · 13 Apr 2013 at 18:39

My two Dell ST2220L monitors have always dimmed themselves when I'm in the menus on War Thunder for some reason.

MOOGLEYS · 13 Apr 2013 at 22:15

I have a 2713HM and do not have them issues. Mine has very very minor backlight bleed only noticeable on a completely black screen in a dark room.

If you purchased from OCUK to get Dell to replace you will need to register the monitor with Dell as they will see OCUK as the owner.

https://www.onlineregister.com/dell/?c=uk&l=en

Once you have done this you will be able to raise a return and get the screen swapped out next working day with Dell.

The Matrix · 13 Apr 2013 at 22:30

I'll see what OCUK say as i left a message in the customer service section, they may want to collect this one and send a replacement, if they do and that one is just as bad or worse then i'll take it up with Dell.

One other quick thing while i'm here, this is my first IPS screen, when you look at the screen from any side angle their is a fog across the screen. Is this an IPS thing ? It doesn't look good at all. It seems like you can only view it from head on otherwise the screen has a foggy haze across it.

MOOGLEYS · 13 Apr 2013 at 22:43

IPS screens can suffer from a glow effect but it should only be a minimal amount. It could possibly be your backlight bleed causing the fogging.

If I move around my screen I get a bit of contrast shift that's more noticeable on a black screen but nothing like fogging. This is part of the technology and happens to an extent on all IPS screens.

Mine is the same as this one.

This is how mine looks on a black screen. I have very good backlight uniformity and minimal bleed just a small amount on the bottom left that looks worse in the pic than real life. Tbh if it was not like this I would have had it swapped as backlight bleed really annoys me.

I would register it with Dell and get them to do a swap. This way you will have no time without the screen and OCUK may not see the backlight bleed as a fault and charge for testing and return shipping costs.

The Matrix · 13 Apr 2013 at 23:14

Cheers Moogleys, its appreciated you going to that trouble. I'd love a screen like yours, i understand that with any monitor you will get minimal light bleed, that i can accept. Its when it comes to the point that its spoiling your enjoyment that its a problem, i bought my monitor for watching movies which will be in a dark room as its a better viewing experience, obviously with excessive light bleed its something that niggles away when you get dark scenes at it stands out like a sore thumb, its like having spotlights shining up from the bottom of the screen.

I really like the screen and its design, i'm sure this could be a great monitor if you get a good one, i think i'm in the camp where ive got a rogue one like quite a few people on the net seem to have.

The Matrix · 15 Apr 2013 at 00:34

Ive had the monitor now for 2 days and ive had chance to test it out watching a couple of movies and browsing the net, i'll give the pros and cons from what ive seen so far.

Pros:

Great looking monitor with a nice solid base, the design is superb, it has so many adjustment options both up and down, side ways as well as tilt. The anti glare coating is very good, you can barely see any reflections, if any most of the time.

Watching movies is great on this monitor, if you have a good source the colours are superb, browsing the net is also excellent, 27 inch is a perfect size imo. The menu is again superb and very easy to use, the connections are great.

Cons:

Light bleed is the obvious one, my monitor suffers from this, if you read the net a lot of other people have suffered the same issue, it can spoil blacks especially in the bottom left where my light bleed is, it can be really distracting and spoil the enjoyment of a good movie especially if the movie has black bars top and bottom as its like having spot lights shining up.

The other issue ive noticed is the monitor from certain angles mainly from both sides can look foggy, its like a fog mist over the screen, you need to be looking head on with this monitor.

I'd say thats about it really, if you get one of these monitors thats perfect then you will have a top monitor, its a bit of a lottery as to what will turn up based on the reviews and opinions on the net as well as my own experience.

doctorsplendid · 15 Apr 2013 at 10:09

I had a very similar problem and tried to register my Dell using the same link as above and it would not allow me to register my Service Tag. After contacting Dell I was instructed to obtain the Original Order Number for the monitor (Overclockers supplier of the monitor have this) and then I could proceed. I have contacted Overclockers and they are in the process of obtaining it for me. This will guarantee me a NEW replacement not a refurbished.

Rusty0611 · 15 Apr 2013 at 10:33

You're only guaranteed a new replacement within the first 30 days of your purchase. After then it's next business day replacement and if you get a brand new one then great, but they can send a refurbished one too.

The Matrix · 15 Apr 2013 at 11:57

Rusty0611 said:
You're only guaranteed a new replacement within the first 30 days of your purchase. After then it's next business day replacement and if you get a brand new one then great, but they can send a refurbished one too.

That sounds wrong to me, ive had brand new Dell and Alienware products in the past, the way their warranty worked back then is as follows, if you bought a brand new item your entitled to a brand new item as a replacement if it becomes faulty, if you buy a refurbed item your only entitled to a refurb as a replacement.

I know that part as i had a Dell XPS M1730 that gave up the ghost, it was bought as a refurb direct from Dell in the outlet, Dell explained the above at the time that you can only have a refurb as a replacement for a refurb, you only get brand new if you bought brand new.

doctorsplendid said:
After contacting Dell I was instructed to obtain the Original Order Number for the monitor (Overclockers supplier of the monitor have this).

Ive just been asked the same by Dell, they also want photos of the fault which is no prob.

Rusty0611 · 15 Apr 2013 at 21:03

The Matrix said:
That sounds wrong to me, ive had brand new Dell and Alienware products in the past, the way their warranty worked back then is as follows, if you bought a brand new item your entitled to a brand new item as a replacement if it becomes faulty, if you buy a refurbed item your only entitled to a refurb as a replacement.

I know that part as i had a Dell XPS M1730 that gave up the ghost, it was bought as a refurb direct from Dell in the outlet, Dell explained the above at the time that you can only have a refurb as a replacement for a refurb, you only get brand new if you bought brand new.

Nope - that was what the guy told me on the phone. Also ties in with what's on this forum elsewhere: brand new within 30 days and then a refurb after then although people still receive brand new ones after the 30 days are up.

It's the same with GPUs, if yours cops it you get one back in a plain box.

The Matrix · 15 Apr 2013 at 22:27

I'm still trying to work out if this is a very good monitor or not, ive watched a couple of films that are 1080p and sometimes the picture seems great, other times it feels as though the quality is softened, maybe thats to do with the finish, i don't know really as i'm guessing.

If i look to either side of the monitor it looks misty looking which i pointed out earlier, maybe it is the finish, as i said sometimes depending on the scene it looks great, but other times it feels softened.

I'll just see what happens with Dell, if the second one is the same i may look at another option, it could be just this monitor i have thats at fault, its my first IPS monitor so i don't know the quirks of them.

Rusty0611 · 15 Apr 2013 at 22:31

Mine is 100% perfect now (after I got a replacement for some bright pixels) if there's a defect they're normally pretty good at sorting it out.

MOOGLEYS · 15 Apr 2013 at 22:33

The Matrix said:
I'm still trying to work out if this is a very good monitor or not, ive watched a couple of films that are 1080p and sometimes the picture seems great, other times it feels as though the quality is softened, maybe thats to do with the finish, i don't know really as i'm guessing.

If i look to either side of the monitor it looks misty looking which i pointed out earlier, maybe it is the finish, as i said sometimes depending on the scene it looks great, but other times it feels softened.

I'll just see what happens with Dell, if the second one is the same i may look at another option, it could be just this monitor i have thats at fault, its my first IPS monitor so i don't know the quirks of them.

1080 is scaled up to 1440 so can look a little softened are not as sharp as a native 1080 screen.

The monitors are superb when you get a good one but it does seems a bit hit and miss getting one. Luckily the warranty is superb so you can swap them until you get a good one.

The Matrix · 15 Apr 2013 at 22:36

MOOGLEYS said:
1080 is scaled up to 1440 so can look a little softened are not as sharp as a native 1080 screen.

The monitors are superb when you get a good one but it does seems a bit hit and miss getting one. Luckily the warranty is superb so you can swap them until you get a good one.

It wasn't scaled to the full screen, their was a thinish black bar all the way round so was displaying at the right res for the movie with the extra screen space being taken up on all sides by the thin black bar.