24" IPS/VA screens and "uniformity"

[RyanW2050]

Here's what i've been through in the past month

1. Dell 2408WFP (S-PVA) ($550)
- Bright pixels, major brightness uniformity issues. (left side far brighter than right.)
2. Replacement 2408WFP
- No bright pixels, but even worse uniformity issues. (same as previous)
3. HP 2475w (H-IPS) ($550)
- 1 dead pixel, 1 bright pixel, major color uniformity issues. (Left side is yellowy, right side is bluey.)

all of the uniformity issues are easily seen with the naked eye, no calibration tools needed.


What is going on? I've had multiple bottom of the barrel TN panels in my house for the past 5 years and no issues like this ever popped up. No pixel issues ever. While the viewing angles of the TNs may not be the best, at least you aren't staring at a fucking gradient while word processing or browsing.


with Dell the return was easy. I'm not looking forward to fighting Newegg to get this HP back to them.

I feel like i'm being a bad customer, but seriously. I can't believe i'm having issues like these with $600 monitors. Should I keep trying?

 

[Paratus]

Damn that sucks.

I just bought the HP 2475w - no problems with dead pixels. However the color needed to be adjusted but it was uniform.

 

[PurdueRy]

NEC P221W no dead pixels and no uniformity issues. Actually the most uniform black level I have seen in a dark environment.

LG L227WTG No major color uniformity but typical fairly cheap TN blacklight bleeding.

 

[imported_ocyl]

My NEC MultiSync LCD1990SX monitor (PVA) has a feature called ColorComp that provides uniformity. The differences between when the option is turned on and off are night and day. A few other NEC monitors have this feature, too, I think.

 

[imported_Kane233]

Question: Do you have speakers next to your monitor?

 

[RyanW2050]

Yes, about a foot away on each side. Interesting idea.


edit: however the speakers are almost never powered on. They haven't been powered on since before I got this HP.

 

[imported_Kane233]

Damn. Is there anything else that could be interfering? With probability in mind, I can't get around the glaring possibility that there's something else in the room maintaining a constant effect on your monitors.

 

[gamephile]

I've been through 4 LP2475w's before the one I have now. All, including this one, had color and brightness uniformity issues, however this one is the most uniform in that regard. The bummer is that it has two dead pixels touching diagonal from one another right where the default quicklaunch bar ends and taskbar buttons begin (in XP).

I've been back and forth with HP so much that I'm not sure they're give me a new monitor. That and it's become a lottery to see if I'll get a panel without significant issues.

My theory is that these "low-price" IPS monitors are built with the rejects from professional level IPSs like those offered by NEC.

 

[LokutusofBorg]

Speakers have permanent magnets in them. They don't need to be powered on to affect things around them. However, with your speakers being a good foot away it is doubtful your speakers are doing anything to your monitor. They're not super powerful magnets, so their magnetic field isn't going to be very big at all.

 

[videogames101]

Originally posted by: LokutusofBorg
Speakers have permanent magnets in them. They don't need to be powered on to affect things around them. However, with your speakers being a good foot away it is doubtful your speakers are doing anything to your monitor. They're not super powerful magnets, so their magnetic field isn't going to be very big at all.

Depends on the size of the speaker.

 

[Jumpem]

Doublesight DS-265.

 

[Mem]

I believe LCDs are not effected by magnetic speakers?

Magnetic Interference: Again the CRT looses out in this department too. LCD monitors are not affected by the magnetic interference at all. Many of the LCD monitors come with stereo speakers built-in and need not be shielded for magnetic interference. Shielding the speakers makes them very costly, thus the savings can be either passed on to the consumer or spent by manufacturer elsewhere in a more effective way.

 

[brblx]

for the record i just ran a ~125wrms car speaker across my s-pva fpd2185 (magnet's probably a pound) and could not observe any influence. the motor on pc speakers not being nearly that size, i don't think that's his issue.

i will say that i've never observed a problem in uniformity on this monitor in the 2+ years i've had it, although it does have a slight backlight bleed at each corner.

 

[nitromullet]

If you really want to get a decent LCD you have to step away from the big box brands like HP and Dell. You might get a good one, but their quality and consistency is not good. I had two 2408WFPs during my hunt for a good 24" LCD, neither of them were acceptable, but both were bad for different reasons. The only thing they had in common was their retina searing brightness.

I suggest looking into NEC, EIZO, maybe Planar, and some Samsung monitors. Expect to pay more than though...

 

[mmnno]

Originally posted by: nitromullet
If you really want to get a decent LCD you have to step away from the big box brands like HP and Dell. You might get a good one, but their quality and consistency is not good. I had two 2408WFPs during my hunt for a good 24" LCD, neither of them were acceptable, but both were bad for different reasons. The only thing they had in common was their retina searing brightness.

I suggest looking into NEC, EIZO, maybe Planar, and some Samsung monitors. Expect to pay more than though...

You're pretty far off-base. Dell and HP are behind NEC and Eizo, fair enough, but even NEC has dead pixel issues and the dreaded 'lines' (and apparently waves as well, in Europe.) Eizo isn't much of an option in the US, the value just isn't there. Samsung doesn't sell good monitors in the US. They have a strong (yet undeserved) reputation here but their products are average at best. Planar sells basic Korean models at prices that range from high to absurd, and if you don't like facemelting brightness you won't like what they sell either.

Dell and HP usually have the most non-TN models worth their price of any manufacturers in the US market. It's a shame that the 2475W had such a bad run, but you're not going to find much better consistency except with Eizo and LaCie (and at their prices I wouldn't want to take chances with them.)

 

[kmmatney]

Me and two friends really lucked out when we jumped on the Soyo S-PVA deal at OfficeMax 2 years ago for $300. All of our LCDs have been great, with no issues at all. It's 2 years later, you still can't get a better LCD for anywhere near that price - really sad - seems like things are going backwards.

 

[Absolution75]

You're just fairly unlucky is all. If there was a widespread issue with uniformity on IPS/PVA screens, you'd definitally see it in reviews and forum posts. People would stop suggesting them and TN's would rule the LCD world.

The only uniformity issues I've had are on an old TN panel. My 2007WFP is almost perfect and the 2408 is also almost perfect (cept for the scratch on the panel - my fault).

 

[Fattysharp]

Originally posted by: mmnno

Originally posted by: nitromullet
If you really want to get a decent LCD you have to step away from the big box brands like HP and Dell. You might get a good one, but their quality and consistency is not good. I had two 2408WFPs during my hunt for a good 24" LCD, neither of them were acceptable, but both were bad for different reasons. The only thing they had in common was their retina searing brightness.

I suggest looking into NEC, EIZO, maybe Planar, and some Samsung monitors. Expect to pay more than though...

You're pretty far off-base. Dell and HP are behind NEC and Eizo, fair enough, but even NEC has dead pixel issues and the dreaded 'lines' (and apparently waves as well, in Europe.) Eizo isn't much of an option in the US, the value just isn't there. Samsung doesn't sell good monitors in the US. They have a strong (yet undeserved) reputation here but their products are average at best. Planar sells basic Korean models at prices that range from high to absurd, and if you don't like facemelting brightness you won't like what they sell either.

Dell and HP usually have the most non-TN models worth their price of any manufacturers in the US market. It's a shame that the 2475W had such a bad run, but you're not going to find much better consistency except with Eizo and LaCie (and at their prices I wouldn't want to take chances with them.)

Eizo sells EOL refurbs at an excellent price. I Picked one up last month and i have nothing but good things to say about the monitor $400usd + shipping for a monitor that original price is $1800.

I agree that new, the value is not there, but as refurb, I feel i got one hell of a bargin.

 

[evolucion8]

That's odd, my current HP LP1965 uses a P-MVA monitor and the color uniformity is perfect, I got 2 stuck pixels 6 months later but I fixed them easily by tapping them lightly with a pen with the cap on. The color is incredible, the brightness is blindfull so I had to adjust it, I just paid less than $200 for this monitor in Ebay and it was brand new, I'm very satissfied with it, I can't go back to TN and it's angle and dirty white issues.

 

[nitromullet]

Originally posted by: mmnno

Originally posted by: nitromullet
If you really want to get a decent LCD you have to step away from the big box brands like HP and Dell. You might get a good one, but their quality and consistency is not good. I had two 2408WFPs during my hunt for a good 24" LCD, neither of them were acceptable, but both were bad for different reasons. The only thing they had in common was their retina searing brightness.

I suggest looking into NEC, EIZO, maybe Planar, and some Samsung monitors. Expect to pay more than though...

You're pretty far off-base. Dell and HP are behind NEC and Eizo, fair enough, but even NEC has dead pixel issues and the dreaded 'lines' (and apparently waves as well, in Europe.) Eizo isn't much of an option in the US, the value just isn't there. Samsung doesn't sell good monitors in the US. They have a strong (yet undeserved) reputation here but their products are average at best. Planar sells basic Korean models at prices that range from high to absurd, and if you don't like facemelting brightness you won't like what they sell either.

Dell and HP usually have the most non-TN models worth their price of any manufacturers in the US market. It's a shame that the 2475W had such a bad run, but you're not going to find much better consistency except with Eizo and LaCie (and at their prices I wouldn't want to take chances with them.)

I used to be a fan of Dell myself. I had a 2407WFP and a 2005FPW, but I changed my mind a bit about Dell monitors after getting two awful 2408WFPs.

Originally posted by: Fattysharp
Eizo sells EOL refurbs at an excellent price. I Picked one up last month and i have nothing but good things to say about the monitor $400usd + shipping for a monitor that original price is $1800.

I agree that new, the value is not there, but as refurb, I feel i got one hell of a bargin.

That's how I got mine. Best $375 I've ever spent on a monitor.

 

[RyanW2050]

Replacement #1 came from HP today. It has more stuck pixels (bright blue!) and still has the tinting issue. There's fairly in-depth details on the green/red tint issue in this thread: http://www.hardforum.com/showt....php?t=1326971&page=85

I can either keep asking for replacements from HP or go through a long refund process with HP, because Newegg sold this with a replacement only warranty.

Also, I moved the speakers off my desk before setting this one up. No difference.

I hate everything.

 

[Mem]

Originally posted by: RyanW2050
Replacement #1 came from HP today. It has more stuck pixels (bright blue!) and still has the tinting issue. There's fairly in-depth details on the green/red tint issue in this thread: http://www.hardforum.com/showt....php?t=1326971&page=85

I can either keep asking for replacements from HP or go through a long refund process with HP, because Newegg sold this with a replacement only warranty.

Also, I moved the speakers off my desk before setting this one up. No difference.

I hate everything.

That sucks!!!...not sure what I would do maybe get a refund and wait for a newer model, I was looking at the HP too but after reading the issues went with a fast TN panel for gaming ie my 24" Asus VW246H which has no banding,no dead pixels,nice colour balance from both sides(taking into account the viewing angle limitation) and very minimal backlight bleed,more or less perfect monitor for TN type.

I do have my eyes on the new IPS Panel NEC EA231W link, down the road for my other PC upgrade however.

 

[RyanW2050]

Replacement #2 came. No pixel issues but the tinting is there in full force. I guess i'll start the refund process.
FML

 

[supastar1568]

OP,

I was in the same boat as you, and it really sucks. 3 years ago when I was buying my $650 NEC 20WMGX2, I went thru 6 before finally getting the one I like. Ordered a couple from newegg, had dead pixels, had to take a loss and sell on eBay. Then I noticed Sams Club carried the monitor, so I bought a Sams Club membership just to purchase the monitor (with their great return policy). I ordered THREE in one order. Opened each one, and finally one of the three was a perfect panel. I returned the other two at my local store for a full refund.


Now on to my 24" voyage. I actually really like Dells "Zero dead pixel policy" so I said what the heck, and ordered a 2408wfp, figuring I'd probably send it back 3-4 times before I was happy. Low and behold, it came yesterday, no dead pixels or any issues, and to me, a satisfactory upgrade from my 20WMGX2. First try! I was happy, now the nice gem 20WMGX2 is sitting in my attic until I have more desk space