Liquid Crystal Display (or LCD) technology has been with us for quite a while and most of us would have a device that would incorporate an LCD component (be it laptops, televisions, mobile phones or touchscreen devices amongst other things).
As with any technology, defects can come about as a result of imperfections in the production process or through general usage. LCD technology can suffer from a range of problems, two of which are:
- stuck pixels (pixels which have one or more of its three sub-pixels stuck thus being stuck on a particular colour),
- dead pixels (pixels that don’t work at all and appear as black dots on the screen).
Just to put things in perspective, given each pixel on a screen is comprised of three sub-pixels then a full high-definition screen (so 1920 by 1080 pixels) would have 2,073,600 pixels and 6,220,800 sub-pixels. The Apple Cinema HD 30-inch screen that I use has a resolution of 2560 by 1600 pixels for a grand total of 4,096,000 pixels and 12,288,000 sub-pixels.
It’s amazing that with so many tiny components one screen can be produced without any defects. Certainly, people may be dazzled and distracted by crisp and vibrant images on the screens in the shop whilst others may be blinded by the technical specifications of the short-listed products.
What people don’t realise is that if you happen to discover a defect in the display either out of the box or later on down the track, the warranty provided by your manufacturer may or may not cover it. Furthermore, “dead pixel policies” across manufacturers can widely vary. For example, one manufacturer may cover the discovery of just one dead pixel on a screen under warranty whilst another manufacturer may require a certain number of localised defects on the screen before the screen will be replaced under warranty.
On that premise alone, it’s important to check the dead pixel policy of the manufacturer before you make your final decision and take receipt of your new purchase. I know I’d hate to get home to find dead pixels scattered in separated corners of a brand new LCD television screen which did not meet the requirements for warranty replacement. So before you go buy a device with any sort of screen, check the dead pixel policy to avoid future disappointment – it may save a lot of pain and suffering later on.
Follow Us!