Should I return LCD TV

Flanno · 27 Feb 2006 at 00:23

A while back I posted about an LCD TV I bought in a local electrical store which ended up with a dead pixel. They took it back only after I took out extended warranty as 1 dead pixel was not covered by the manufacturers warranty. The TV in question was an LG 32LX2R. They were out of stock on the replacement, so I decided on Samsung LE32B51B. I made the shop attendant haul the 2 they had in stock out of their stock room and hook them up to a PC. Both had dead pixels too. In the end I bought a Sonia Bravia KLV-S32A10E. No dead pixels. But despite the 8ms panel rating (which I learned later on Toms could go as high as 50ms!!), terrestrial (non digital channels) tend to smear, and I have noticed some smearing on 360 games - very noticeable on COD2 during the Russian campaign. To top it all off their is a pinch on the bottom edge of thes screen that is causing excessive light to leak out, similar to if you had your finger pressed on the screen all the time, but this cannot be seen head on.

So my question is :

1. Do I accept all LCD TV's have a certain amount of smearing and don't handle terrestrial analog tv very well. Most reviews seem to suggest this.

2. Do I have any cause to complain over the pinch at the bottom, given the shop might use one of their possibly inept techs to try and repair it (could be the bezel isn't seated right and a clip isn't in (have seen this on laptop lcd's before) and I could end up worse off, or possibly with a replacement with a dead pixel or two. Maybe I should ring Sony directly and voice my grievances ?

djohn · 27 Feb 2006 at 00:34

This is a link to your original post. Personally I think you have had a bad deal from the shop concerned and I'm not sure what is the best thing for you to do at the moment. Maybe other members will be able to suggest your best course of action. Previous Topic

Shimmyhill · 27 Feb 2006 at 09:44

1) Yes, not seen an LCD that doesnt smear. (await the hoardes of users whos screen doesnt smear) The Sony is one of the best ive seen and certinally smears less than many. With the freeview its a combination of many factors - the internal scaler being the most relevant, put simply the scaling from freeview/sky to HD res screens on LCD's is poor. An external scaler would make a huge difference here.

2) Yes also, its not within spec so it should be fixed or replaced - how long have you had it ?

djohn · 27 Feb 2006 at 09:52

Morning Shimmyhill, another Norwich chap I see. Flanno Has not had this TV/Monitor very long and was more or less talked into it by the shop after returning a faulty monitor and being persuaded by the shop to buy an extra warranty before they would consider exchanging it. The whole deal from the shop appears to be a bad one, have a look on the link I've placed in my post above, this started only a week or so back.

Shimmyhill · 27 Feb 2006 at 13:39

djohn said:
Morning Shimmyhill, another Norwich chap I see. Flanno Has not had this TV/Monitor very long and was more or less talked into it by the shop after returning a faulty monitor and being persuaded by the shop to buy an extra warranty before they would consider exchanging it. The whole deal from the shop appears to be a bad one, have a look on the link I've placed in my post above, this started only a week or so back.

Ahh good to see some Norwich folk on here, met up with one recently

(where abouts are you ?)

Just read that thread - does seem bad form on the shops behalf. If LG do have this pixel policy then its very bad indeed.

If it where me i would at the very least get the Sony swapped over for a working one, i would again inspect them until i got a 100% screen - esp if you keep the warranty.

May also be worth speaking to trading standards to see how they react to the situation.

Flanno · 27 Feb 2006 at 20:34

According to the shop LG do not exhange panels in Ireland with only 1 dead pixel as it is not considered a defect. Whether it is true or not, and I know this is not a popular choice but I probably would have taken insurance out eventually. I have "issues" with electronics which sooner or later end up with something going wrong. I have had friends in the same situation. In fact one mate had a 50" plasma fall over on top of his son who was reaching over the tv to get the remote which had slipped down behind it. No one hurt, but the insurance sorted him with vouchers for a brand new better set. So at least there is knowledge that if something happens, say I drop it moving house, I get a new TV.

Anyway, I was in the shop today and they offered to let an "engineer" look at it. Talking to some techs where I work who deal with laptop and desktop lcd's all the time - they tell me it is called a 'watermark' and is usually caused by excessive torque when the bezel is fitted arond the panel and can be tricky to sort. The sales guy in the shop said they will usually write the TV off if the engineer deems the pinch to be severe enough. They then simply replace the panel with a new one. Catch is, the new one is delivered to the house (*they have none in stock*) and of course I could end with a dead pixel or two and going back again. Also, I can't see them writing it off as it is only noticeable in dimly lit rooms and from an angle, not headon - and where the tech works in the shop is very bright. At this stage I am tempted to leave it, as I can only see this 'watermark' at an angle and not if I watch head on. But for the money I paid I would expect no faults. I might just stick it to them and have an accident in the carpark horsing it in. New TV guaranteed then. Knowing my luck it will have dead pixels though.

willd58 · 28 Feb 2006 at 03:05

If it isnt perfect take it back, when im spending that amount of money i want perfection and wont settle for any less.

MrM3 · 28 Feb 2006 at 08:25

Some LCDs seem to get better after time.They annoyingly need some warming up too after about 10mins you should not see smearing.

If you are seeing smearing on just the terrestial I would suggest it is the way Sony's engine is handling it and not response times.

If you also have backlight bleeding I would replace/return it.

Flanno · 4 Mar 2006 at 15:10

It turned out the Sony had a pinch on the bezel causing a watermark at the bottom of the screen. They swapped it out. I am now on a 40" Samsung

Some backlight bleeding (does not bother me) and 1 dead pixel on the far left...shows up red on a white background, so might be a lazy pixel. Considering I sit back 6-7 feet it does not bother me too much either. The screen is better for 360 gaming so far, and I love the sheer size of it. If I dd want to return it (that would be my 4th screen) the insueance will cover even 1 dead pixel. How can I tell if it is dead....it shows red on a white background and black on all other backgrounds, but you cannot see it on a red or black background.

Flanno · 5 Mar 2006 at 19:28

Went back to shop this afternoon.

I have 3 choices now :

1. Live with 1 dead pixel.

2. Return for refund - I paid half by credit card, other half was finance.

3. They can order another one from their warehouse direct to my house after the engineer verifies a dead pixel. The problem with this, is before they used carry a no. in stock. Since the special offer is over they are not holding stock and ordering on demand. This means it would take a week to get a new one, and seeing as 3 of them I have seen (my own and 2 in the shop) had 1 dead or lazy pixel, I guess the odds are good so will this one. And I don't want to spend weeks and weeks getting replacements. A lof of hassle.

I may go for the refund. I will visit a few shops at lunchtime tommorrow to see if they would be willing to let me try my notebook on the panel before buying. What you reckon ? Do most retailers allow this sort of thing ? I'm guessing not as it means opening the packaging.