*** Dell UltraSharp U2410 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor @ £447.99 inc VAT ***

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Lol I will post some when I get home, be warned though, my desk is a mess.

That video with the bust up box? My box was pristine, I'm glad to say.

EDIT: There was a cable that came with it, DVI, VGA plus 1 more, I assumed it was a HDMI looked like a HDMI but was slightly different and wouldnt fit when I tried it. Some research, displayport cable? Anyone know what this is used for?
 
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Lol I will post some when I get home, be warned though, my desk is a mess.

That video with the bust up box? My box was pristine, I'm glad to say.

EDIT: There was a cable that came with it, DVI, VGA plus 1 more, I assumed it was a HDMI looked like a HDMI but was slightly different and wouldnt fit when I tried it. Some research, displayport cable? Anyone know what this is used for?

Displayport cable I would assume... Its a standard designed for computing display devices (in this instance the same use as HDMI but without audio).

Long term it has far more benefits: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Displayport
 
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I'm very happy with mine, sounds like Mkay is too bar the pixel.
Yep, I'm really gutted about the pixel because otherwise I really like this screen and have every intention of sticking with the U2410.

It's not flawless by any means - the matte coating LG put on their panels is what some people have described as "grainy". The IPS viewing angle means you can sometimes spot white glow in the corners, even when you're right in front of the screen. Plus the pre-calibrated colour profiles don't come without issue - EG you can't see the first row of blacks in the Lagom black test with the calibrated profiles! I'm also positive better could be done with peoples own calibration utilities.

Those quibbles aside I really can't criticize much at all. It's just a very, very good monitor. The only way you'll get better is to buy something with a polarizer.

And its if even 1 pixel they will change it?
Well, there's some caveats. But the risk of exchanging a monitor via Dell/others is, once they have your money, many companies tend to send from a pool of repaired/previously rejected monitors which may have already been sent back for various issues (What d'you think would happen to this current monitor?! It's perfectly ok bar the stupid pixel). I've seen quite a few people on forums go through several attempts and head banging to end up with something ok. Often it's probably not these guys being awkward - the companies are simply sending from a second rate pool and it may take you several attempts to get something without crap backlighting, dead pixels, or other issues etc. EDIT You can tell Dell to send you a factory new unit if you have to exchange it, and they'll often agree to this depending on the circumstances.. So that's what to do in the unlikely event you have to call on the warranty.. :)

I should really check mine out properly for any stuck/dead pixels.
Better not to look for something which isn't there for you :) If someone used this monitor only for video/gaming etc they'd be very happy as you can't notice it otherwise.. Really, if I didn't use white backgrounds a lot I'd try to live with it. But I find it a little annoying for office work. Oh well.

If anyone's dealt with Dell on this issue - What are they like? Obviously I've only got a few days to decide what to do.. :(
 
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But the risk of exchanging a monitor via Dell/others is, once they have your money, many companies tend to send from a pool of repaired/previously rejected monitors which may have already been sent back for various issues (What d'you think would happen to this current monitor?! It's perfectly ok bar the stupid pixel).

That's a slightly worrying thought, the fact that you could believe you're buying new, yet end up with someone else's reject.

Another reason I'm kinda reluctant to go this route is because you don't get a calibrated unit back (at least, not with its report) if you exchange it.

That's also nasty. Why should you be penalized for taking advantage of Dell's quality guarantee? (I don't see why you wouldn't get a calibrated unit back, anyway? Unless, as you say, these units could have been messed with by someone else before you.)
 
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That's a slightly worrying thought, the fact that you could believe you're buying new, yet end up with someone else's reject.
It's commercial reality and Dell aren't any different from most others in this regard. I learned this the hard way over 10 years ago when Iiyama kept sending me monitors with problems. I wondered if I just had really bad luck until I realized their on-site swap out warranty actually meant they were just swapping other peoples problem monitors, that had been sent back, for yours. As long as the monitor's "within spec" they're doing nothing wrong technically.

Obviously, with the U2410 being new right now, there's a decent chance that won't happen. But once you're actually reliant on your warranty it's a gamble that what you get back may not be worse than what you sent. I'm sure someone over on the HP thread has had at least 6 monitors back from HP with pink tint problems, and you have to wonder if that's what's going on there..

That's also nasty. Why should you be penalized for taking advantage of Dell's quality guarantee? (I don't see why you wouldn't get a calibrated unit back, anyway? Unless, as you say, these units could have been messed with by someone else before you.)
Indeed. It's also because the units are factory calibrated and only include a report with the retail packaging. Unless Dell send you a brand new unopened monitor it's not going to include the factory report at the least. Of course, if you don't have a calibrated RGB mode you lose much of the point of the monitor over the alternatives, unless you own your own calibrator.

Just an update to say - if you're insistent and have a decent reason, you can probably get Dell to send you a new unit from the factory if you have problems.. The one downside is that process takes about 2 weeks..
 
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Ok, here are some screenshots. First a desktop image, since a couple wanted that. It's difficult to capture just how good this monitor actually looks with a camera, but this is as close as I'll get..


U2410desktop.jpg


If anyone was wondering about backlighting, it does of course vary monitor to monitor, but mine was simply excellent.

Backlight.jpg


Some of you may be interested to know, whilst Windows 7 does indeed come with wide gamut (They call it "High Color") support under the hood, as does Direct X too, the Windows 7 desktop itself STILL doesn't use it. The only OS app that supports management is still Windows Photo Gallery. So all the internals are there, they just aren't using them yet. I suspect we'll have to wait until the next version of Windows after 7 for wide gammut support on the desktop. This makes the sRGB mode on the U2410 all the more important. Note that this picture is not using RGB mode ;) It uses the same image in Photoshop (which is colour managed) and on the Windows 7 desktop. Note the colour of the rocks..

Win7WideGamut2.jpg


Gaming was great. UT3 made my jaw drop.. Just incredible. Movie watching is fine too.
 
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I have no experience with a wide gamut monitor....how would the desktop image compare to the photoshop image if the sRGB mode was being used?

the comparison between the colour managed image and the background image shown above is quite drastic...I think it would bug me!

I just want a nice non-TN 24" monitor for general use, movies and gaming, to replace my NEC LCD 20WGX2 (which, having had 3 years with a good IPS screen and comparing it to the TN screens at work, is enough to put me off ever touching a TN panel)...so it would seem standard gamut would suit me better. Shame there aren't many (any?!) 24" IPS screens out there which aren't wide-gamut....
 
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How easy is it to switch between profiles? I mean, if I wanted to use sRGB mode most of the time, but then switch to wide gamut for Photoshop use, is that simply/quickly done, or is it a PITA?
2 buttons. Press the 2nd from bottom (above power button) then the top and you get this menu. You use the 2 buttons beside the arrows to navigate up and down.
U2410_menu.jpg


I have no experience with a wide gamut monitor....how would the desktop image compare to the photoshop image if the sRGB mode was being used?
This is with sRGB mode enabled. As you can (maybe :) ) see it lessens the effect. It's more noticable in person. However, as you can also see, it doesn't totally solve the problem..

You can, of course, work around the gamut problem with your GFX card settings (I've heard ATI's vibrancy control works really well, but the Nvidia one not so good) if you don't care about printing accuracy. If you do care about printing accuracy you probably already use a program like Photoshop, so it isn't an issue anyway :D

Unfortunately I don't own a good calibration device. I have a feeling that things could be improved with some more careful calibration than done at the factory, since your own rooms conditions will be somewhat different from the factory..
U2410_sRGBModeVsColorManaged.jpg


EDIT - If anyone's still bothered by the way the wide gamut display looks even in sRGB mode then I seriously recommend you check out the Custom Color mode! Go in there and, amongst all the other controls, is the saturation control! Again, it's not a total fix either but, for most users, I'd say it'd provide a complete solution to you if you're bothered by the wide gamut red tint :)
 
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Very lucky the premium pixel guarantee means you'll have no bother getting it exchanged :)
Dell's so called "Premium Panel Guarantee" doesn't cover stuck pixels; only hot or dead pixels are covered.

As has been discussed you will likely end up with a replacement that is a "refurbishment" :(
 
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Dell's so called "Premium Panel Guarantee" doesn't cover stuck pixels; only hot or dead pixels are covered.

As has been discussed you will likely end up with a replacement that is a "refurbishment" :(

Surely with such a new monitor there won't be a large number of refurb models hanging around in their repair centres yet?
 
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Surely with such a new monitor there won't be a large number of refurb models hanging around in their repair centres yet?
Hopefully not, but would you take the chance of getting a replacement that has more problems than the the one you sent back?

When you look into it, Dell's "Premium Panel Guarantee" is more marketing spin than substance and offers little, if anything, over its competitors.
 
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Well, if anyone's curious about Dell with regards dead pixels etc, I've hopefully come up with a decent compromise. I'll explain a lot more about this later if things go ok. I wish OC would provide a pixel check service. Although that's mostly a gimmick, where companies make an extra £20 etc, right now I'd have paid it to avoid more hassle :(

This current panel is pretty much flawless otherwise btw. I'm entirely confident many people wouldn't notice, unless you use a white background often for word processing etc, or tend to be the type easily distracted by a tiny pixel ;) I'll keep you all informed anyway :)
 
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Please tell me it's a one-touch-button to turn on/off gaming mode?
Now I think about it, this was a lost opportunity by Dell. They allow you to define 3 shortcut keys, but they can only shortcut to Preset Mode, Brightness/Contrast, Auto Adjust, PIP Mode, and Input source.

The demand they'll face for a "1 touch game mode" means, if they could allow shortcuts to actually go to a defined Preset, they could have had a Game Mode with 3 button pushes - 2 if you could disable confirmation.

Let me be the first person to predict they'll add this to a future firmware / revision of the U2410 :) The current minimum to change to game mode is 4 buttons, up to a maximum of 7 buttons, which is what it takes from sRGB mode.
 
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Well, if anyone's curious about Dell with regards dead pixels etc, I've hopefully come up with a decent compromise. I'll explain a lot more about this later if things go ok. If they don't then the panel will have to be returned to OC for a refund within the 7 working days under the DSR. If that happens then I will also probably purchase from a retailer who offers a pixel check service. Although that's mostly a gimmick, where companies make an extra £20 etc, right now I'd have paid it to avoid the current hassle :(

This current panel is pretty much flawless bar this one pixel btw. I'm entirely confident many people wouldn't notice it, unless you use a white background often for word processing etc, or tend to be the type easily distracted by a tiny pixel ;)

I'll keep you all informed anyway :)

It's a case of "once found, never forgotten"; it draws your eye like a magnet to iron, because it irritates you and your mind has become attuned to it... Well that's what I find!

Good luck!
 
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