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

[nigel1210]

Doing the saturation test mine looks like this.

 

[MKay]

Hmm, apart from looking like somethings different about the bottom left, that image doesn't really show much of anything TBH.. it's too distorted. Some further tips would be back off on the saturation so it's still recognizable as an image of your screen! Also, put some text on the screen in notepad or something, and focus on that, then back off slightly if it's picking up moire (pattern) effects on the pixels. You want to be able to read the text even with the saturation boosted. Also make sure the screen is filling most of the image and take it in a darkened room if possible. Other than that you're kinda at the mercy of the camera.. and some will do some funky things to white balance etc when you try to take a photo of a white background on a screen

 

[jagdesign]

Jagdesign - Have you got anything near the button of the monitor, I only have to wave my hands infront of the button and it lights up.

I've roughly worked out the area which the sensor can 'see' using my hand. There's nothing in that area which could be triggering it. The button is about 100mm from 2x power cables, the DVI cable and a couple of USB cables on my desk. I wondered if the proximity of these might have something to do with the flashing so moved the monitor further away. But the flashing still occurs.

Will just have to wait and see what Dell say on Monday, I'll be very surprised if they have a solution other than replacing the monitor again

 

[r0cky]

Have you actually checked the visual effect the U2410 sRGB mode has on images? At least on mine the sRGB mode gives dark greys a dithered look (easily visible on squares in the lagom.nl black test), it makes the first 6 or so squares on that same black test invisible, and it tends to "dull" the picture more than I'd like too, and it doesn't totally solve the wide gamut - it just makes it a bit better. Still better than the alternatives, but not perfect

Yes; the monitor is dithering a lot harder to match into sRGB, but the U2410 is way better than my other monitors. I've tried sRGB colour matching my Dell E248WFP on the PC, and so much dynamic range is lost, you loose a *lot* more than 6 levels on that; almost all the shadows crush to black when done on the PC!

I'm probably like you, and still waiting for a "perfect" monitor, this will do for another couple of years though. Hoping that my next one will be wide-gamut, but with a larger than 8-bit transfer, and with colour correction native on the OS. With a larger than 8-bit transfer, can do correction in software without loosing dynamic range.


I also forgot to say, my U2410 came with a rotated screen angle. It was a couple of degrees off, nearly sent it back. On the off-chance I unscrewed the stand backplate, rotated it so it was correct, and screwed it back on again. Seen lots of people complain about Dell stands, now that I took one apart, it's a real simple fix. It looks like they aim to make it level in factory, there was a drawn on line on the rotation, but they'd aligned it wrong.

 

[deano_deano]

Glad you've mentioned about the screen angle. Mine is slightly off and I haven't had chance to have a proper look yet so hopefully it is an easy fix. Cheers

 

[Blue Alert]

Hello all.

I rec'd my U2410 from OCUK on Saturday. It's absolutely terrific, except for the - to my eyes - very obvious green on the left / pinky red on the right tinge issue. If I'm gonna be using this monitor on a daily basis I can't tolerate such an obvious difference between the two sides of the monitor.

It's such a shame as there are no dead or stuck pixels, and the lighting appears to be very even indeed! Lovely blacks.

Anyway, I thought I'd mention it here as having read this thread through not many people who ordered their screen from OCUK have experienced the problem. I think I'm the exception that proves the rule! I'm gonna give Dell a call in the morning and get them to send out a factory sealed replacement.

Anyone know if Dell pick up the faulty screen at the same time they deliver the replacement? I don't want to be without a screen whilst I wait for a replacement.

 

[dustofnations]

Hello all.

I rec'd my U2410 from OCUK on Saturday. It's absolutely terrific, except for the - to my eyes - very obvious green on the left / pinky red on the right tinge issue. If I'm gonna be using this monitor on a daily basis I can't tolerate such an obvious difference between the two sides of the monitor.

It's such a shame as there are no dead or stuck pixels, and the lighting appears to be very even indeed! Lovely blacks.

Anyway, I thought I'd mention it here as having read this thread through not many people who ordered their screen from OCUK have experienced the problem. I think I'm the exception that proves the rule! I'm gonna give Dell a call in the morning and get them to send out a factory sealed replacement.

Anyone know if Dell pick up the faulty screen at the same time they deliver the replacement? I don't want to be without a screen whilst I wait for a replacement.

Let us know how they respond to your request for a sealed [brand new] replacement. If I decide to get one, the prospect of it being replaced by a refurb is not enticing.

 

[Blue Alert]

Exactly. I'm gonna be very clear about what I want!

 

[jagdesign]

They replaced mine then collected the original one a couple of days later. I was quoted 7 working days for a brand new sealed replacement or could get a refurb next day. No thanks! Credit to Dell though, they made the two choices pretty clear.

I think the replacement was actually delivered within 3 days as I made it clear to Dell that the original unit wouldn't even switch on, so I had no monitor at all. Because of this the said they would prioritise the replacement. I can't say for sure exactly when it was delivered as I had it delivered to work whilst I was away on holiday.

Not sure what's going to happen with my current unit, display is perfect and the LED button hardly flashes at all now, wierd...

 

[Blue Alert]

Well it's going well so far, not. I contacted Dell, who didn't recognise the serial number on the monitor (CZ-... etc)!!! They said contact the reseller (OCUK) to get their order number - or batch number or somethnig... and then Dell will be able to help.

EDIT: And now the 'work order', which OCUK should be on the box... isn't.

EDIT: Dell say that I need OCUK's invoice number. So... back to OCUK.

 

[MKay]

Yes; the monitor is dithering a lot harder to match into sRGB, but the U2410 is way better than my other monitors. I've tried sRGB colour matching my Dell E248WFP on the PC, and so much dynamic range is lost, you loose a *lot* more than 6 levels on that; almost all the shadows crush to black when done on the PC!

Yep, although with careful tweaking you can get very acceptable colour results in custom mode without the black crushing. That's why I'd advise everyone that, unless you want a matched sRGB/Adobe mode for printing etc, you're probably best off running the U2410 screen in custom colour mode and tweaking to taste. You can use the Adobe/sRGB modes as a guide to help you balance the colours in custom mode properly, then you have the best of both worlds

I'm really curious for the technical reasons behind the dithered look under Adobe/sRGB mode though, and wonder if a different calibration device would have the same results. Although the devices Dell uses tend to cost several thousand dollars each, so you'd think they would do a better job calibrating than the cheap devices ordinary end users (and reviewers for that matter) tend to use..

I'm probably like you, and still waiting for a "perfect" monitor, this will do for another couple of years though. Hoping that my next one will be wide-gamut, but with a larger than 8-bit transfer, and with colour correction native on the OS. With a larger than 8-bit transfer, can do correction in software without loosing dynamic range.

I agree, this screen is definitely good enough to last the next couple of years. Although some people mention OLED, I still doubt it's realistically on the horizon for a 24" screen in the next 5 years, which means the only likely improvements in the coming years will probably be LED back lighting and 120Hz operation. Although they'd be nice to have they're not deal breakers for anybody I don't think, which means there's little reason to hold off buying..

Seen lots of people complain about Dell stands, now that I took one apart, it's a real simple fix.

That's good to know, I had a look and saw the little alignment line you were talking about, so it's nice to know it's just a simple screw driver fix.

 

[MKay]

Well it's going well so far, not. I contacted Dell, who didn't recognise the serial number on the monitor (CZ-... etc)!!! They said contact the reseller (OCUK) to get their order number - or batch number or somethnig... and then Dell will be able to help.

EDIT: And now the 'work order', which OCUK should be on the box... isn't.

EDIT: Dell say that I need OCUK's invoice number. So... back to OCUK.

On the box.. check the label isn't underneath another label.. it should still be there, maybe just hidden underneath.

I guarantee you they don't actually need the work number to process any replacement. Dell need two things - the serial number of the screen and the name of who ordered the monitor. What's probably confusing them is that you're mentioning Overclockers name when Overclockers are unlikely to be the company who ordered directly from Dell. Overclockers should be able to tell you the name of the supplier though, which Dell should then accept (at least if you find someone who knows what they're doing). Remember to ask to be passed to the monitor department specifically when you call the main number.

 

[Pallaris]

so buying this screen is a lottery? i'm interested in a 24" screen for photography/post production work, not so much interested in response time as I plan to do very little gaming.

trouble is i'm not forking out if there's a chance of a duff...which sounds likely from this pink/green tinge issue.

are there any viable alternatives?

 

[Blue Alert]

I'm gonna phone OCUK back and get the supplier company, then.

They tell me they can't get the invoice number without the work number. There are no stickers ontop of other stickers.

Could you tell me what work numbers should look like? How are they composed?

 

[MKay]

so buying this screen is a lottery?

Buying EVERY screen is a lottery to some extent unfortunately. Unless you go to the very high end screens which cost thousands, not hundreds.

i'm interested in a 24" screen for photography/post production work, not so much interested in response time as I plan to do very little gaming.

trouble is i'm not forking out if there's a chance of a duff...which sounds likely from this pink/green tinge issue.

are there any viable alternatives?

NEC have a 24 and 26" IPS screen available. (the 2690WUXi ). Expect to pay more.. quite a bit more.

 

[MKay]

I'm gonna phone OCUK back and get the supplier company, then.

They tell me they can't get the invoice number without the work number. There are no stickers ontop of other stickers.

Could you tell me what work numbers should look like? How are they composed?

The Work Order number is a 9 digit number.. No letters, just numbers.

Like I said, if you don't have this don't sweat it too much.. they should be able to process a return based on the ordering company and the serial number. If they insist they can't ask to speak to a supervisor.

 

[Blue Alert]

Well I've got the name of the company OCUK bought the monitors from. So, I'm gonna try Dell one last time.

OCUK won't give out the invoice number - which is what Dell want!

 

[Pallaris]

Mkay, thanks for the tip.

The NEC's look good. not that much more expensive (about £100 give or take for the 2490wxi2) although I wonder if that will guarantee zero panel defects. ahh

 

[jagdesign]

Well my flashing LED/button seems to be back with a vengeance today. Dell have offered another sealed replacement and quoted 7 days delivery time again, really frustrating. Something I found out today which I think others should be aware of; Dell will only offer a sealed replacement up until 30 days after the purchase date, after that they can only offer a refurbished unit

 

[Blue Alert]

Okay. Dell have finally agreed to replace the monitor. The new one will be delivered before the old one is picked up, so I'll be able to compare the two.

The serial number didn't help.
The work number / order wasn't present.
The invoice number OCUK wouldn't give out.
But when I emailed a photograph of my OCUK invoice to Dell, and photos of all the stickers on the box, which proved purchase and so on, they offered me a brand new factory sealed replacement.

Huzzah! (taken me over two hours on the phone alternately with Dell / OCUK, though)