Sony Recants on Dead Pixels (Sort Of) 490
Ayaress writes "As reported on Gamestop, Sony will now warranty PSP units suffering from dead pixels. Sony still insists that dead pixels are a common problem in all LCD displays, saying "A very small number of dark pixels or continuously lit pixels is normal for LCD screens, and is not a sign of a malfunction," and asks that PSP owners use theirs for at least a week or two, to see if it still bothers them. User who encounter, "persistent and aggravating dead pixels," are instructed to contact Sony customer support, and will be allowed to mail in their PSP to recieve a unit with a new screen."
Is there a quality problem? (Score:3, Interesting)
BTW, requisite PA comic [penny-arcade.com] on the topic
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Wired article as proof [wired.com]
Yes, it bothers me (Score:5, Interesting)
How can they say it isn't a defect? Of course it's a defect.
extended store warranty? (Score:2, Interesting)
-sp-
Re:not malfunction? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:laptop screen (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:I will never buy Sony again (Score:5, Interesting)
A close family member used to work at their american tech support center. Turnover was high. Expectations were high. Typical "get the customer off the phone" policies. He was there for about 9 months IIRC, and at that point was the senior member of his team.
IMHO, (and this is an informed second-hand opinion) Sony really needs to stop treating customer service as a cost center, and give it the same branding treatment they give all their other products BEFORE sale.
Or to rephrase: branding doesn't stop just because the consumer has bought your device.
It continually amazes me that a company that is SO great at branding (see: playstation, XPlode, SonyStyle, Walkman, VAIO) drops the ball at such a crucial part of the branding experience.
Re:The LCD industry needs to get a grip (Score:3, Interesting)
If the technology's not ready for the marketplace don't market it.
I too am not going to buy a flat panel display until it's guranteed not to have a dead pixel. I wouldn't pay hard earned money for a CRT display that might have a small crack in it or a RAM module that may have a few dead chips on it would I ?
Mind you this should hopefully be the case by the time my lovely Iiyama 19" dies (my last 17" lasted 7 years until I dropped the fecker... bugger...)
"Good" may mean fewer than X dead pixels (Score:3, Interesting)
Non-demanding users (IOW, not hackers, graphic designers,
A few years back when I could afford such things (and LCDs were no doubt less reliable), I bought an Apple Powerbook. It had (IIRC) three dead pixels in the 800x600 monochrome LCD. When I talked to the Mac shop where I bought it, they checked with Apple. Apple's policy at that time was that fewer than (again, IIRC) five pixels did not constitute failure, because LCDs almost always had a few dead ones. As it happens, shortly thereafter and still within warranty, the wiring between the top and the base got flaky, and they had to send the laptop back to Apple to fix it. (No, I didn't arrange this, it just happened!) Their fix involved a new top, which had a new LCD. It only had 2 bad pixels, and they were in out of the way places.
This is endemic to all LCD makers. Not just Sony. (Score:2, Interesting)
2nd unit has 1 stuck green, out of the way (regardless of aspect ratio being shown). This one's much dimmer, it can rarely, if ever, be seen from the couch, even when you're actively looking for it. I chose to keep this unit. Returning / swapping is a PITA when the object in question is your only HT display.
What irks me is 1) Epson willingly sold defective panels to Panasonic, 2) Panasonic willingly accepted them, and 3) Panasonic has the brass balls to say in the manual "stuck / dead pixels are a by-product of lcd technology and will not affect performance" Such bovine excrement!
Seems to mainly be green pixels, too. I had a Sony Vaio laptop with one lone stuck greenie, but it was as bright as the sun.. sold off on ebay. Then this projector, twice, green panel again..
Is there something inherently evil about green LCD?!
They hide behind excuses, while selling product with visible, known defects. WTF? And then they *tell* you those defects are normal? Double WTF!
Un-stick my pixel (Score:5, Interesting)
In each case that I've had to do this, the pixels would stick a few more times before ultimately giving in in defeat and bowing to my will. They then behaved like good working pixels for the rest of their useful lives.
I know the PSP screen is shielded so that you can't make direct contact with the screen. I wonder just how many "stuck pixel" issues could be fixed with a nice little massage to the pixel area, if only you could get to it...