My Viewsonic LCD monitor experince (912b)

[dblue]

I made my purchase a month ago for 912b(12ms) based on all the positive reviews people give. After receiving my monitor, I was upset with the monitor due to anti-glare coating and 1 dead pixel.

When I called techinial support to complain about the 1 dead pixel, the guy told me if I read their official website carefully, it clearly stated that for 19", i need to have at least 7 dead pixel for exchange. I also told him about the coating. According to their official website, 912b is supposed to have Glare, 2H coating, but the one I received is anti-glare. They said they have changed this since Nov, and it was a mistake on their official website.

I bought the monitor from local retailor. When I told viewsonic customer support that no one had informed me about the "7 dead pixels" policy, they said I should have read their official website carefully before I made my purchase. When I asked them about why they changed the coating without informing consumer on their official website. They said it's the local retailor's job to inform me. I was very pissed and I had to call them everyday to ask them to replace me one with coating.

Finally after 2 weeks, they said they would send me one with the glare, 2H coating. After 24 hours, they sent me an email saying it's going to be one with anti-glare coating and basically it's this one or nothing. I was very upset and I thought at least I take that one hoping it has no dead pixel.

Then now after almost 1 month since I made my purchase, I received a RMA monitor and guess what? It's VP 191B(16ms)!?? Bascially they sent me a cheaper model. I would never buy anything from viewsonic again!!!

PS: if you checked viewsonic website today, 912b now has anti-glare coating, due to my complains.

 

[walkure]

Sorry about your bad experience...

I have heard too many mixed reviews about Viewsonic, and wasn't too impressed when checking out a couple of their models in the local Best Buy. When I saw the Samsung 193p for only $475.80 (includes shipping and $100 mail in rebate), I couldn't refuse. The same model goes for $680 on Newegg!!!

As for getting the older model Viewsonic back... who knows, like I said, I have read some people say that they "upgraded" to the newer models but wished they kept the old ones (possibly due to the glare coating or something).

Aren't you going to call back asking why they sent you a different model? Or does that one have the type of coating that you were complaining for, so they figured you'd be happy with that one?

 

[igster]

It's a shame that you've had a bad experience with the VP912b. I've had one for a few weeks now and it is a great monitor. It took a few days to get used to since I had been using a 19" CRT prior to that. But in terms of quality and performance I have had zero problems. No dead pixels, ghosting, color problems, etc. The one thing I have noticed that might annoy people is some backlight "bleeding" around the very top and bottom edges when the screen is all black (like a screensaver or something) but it is minor and doesn't bother me. I also have a friend that bought one of these after I got mine and he is enjoying his as well.

Buying an LCD monitor was an agonizing experience. I spent weeks reading every hardware review and user forum I could and just when I thought I had found the right one for me I'd find a negative opinion and it would give me second thoughts. I guess the bottom line is that not everyone will be happy with the same thing. Luckily, I am happy with my purchase. Hopefully you have better luck with another brand/model.

 

[saxophonoia]

We used to buy Viewsonic LCD's here at work and I've had nothing but bad experiences with the model we had. They would always crap out after a while and on a couple of instances when we shipped it back to them to get it fixed it took over 4 months to get a replacement!!

 

[gsaldivar]

Originally posted by: dblue
I called techinial support to complain about the 1 dead pixel ... I bought the monitor from local retailor.

Tech support can't help with cases of "buyer's remorse"...

Why didn't you simply return the monitor to the local retailer for a refund?

 

[BentValve]

In this case , you should have bought a Dell dood.

Seriously though thanks for the heads up on Viewsonic, I'll avoid them in the furture.

 

[Infohawk]

Don't a lot of stores allow you to test out the monitor before you buy?

 

[igster]

Originally posted by: Infohawk
Don't a lot of stores allow you to test out the monitor before you buy?

Sure, if you can actually find a store that carries the model you are looking for. I went to every major retail chain looking at different monitors and many monitors aren't on display, especially the newer or higher priced ones. If you only buy from brick and mortar stores you are getting a narrow view of the market as a whole and are limiting your options. But there are plenty of people who are more comfortable being able to see something in person before buying.

 

[Wolfshanze]

Not everyone lives in a major city full of CompUSA, Circuit City, Best Buy, etc, etc. I live in a small town with the closest thing you could call a computer store being Walmart (they're everywhere). Last time I checked, Walmart's LCD department wasn't all that inclusive of various models (in fact, I don't think they even sell any at mine).

Ergo, all my computer purchases are made on-line. I'm sure lots of other folks order on-line because they simply don't have 20 differant computer stores to choose from where they live.

For what it's worth, I also have a Viewsonic VP912B. It's a pretty nice LCD, but I'm not sure it's my cup of tea for a gaming monitor. Might just stick with my 19" CRT for gaming. My wife has been wanting it, so I'll probably give it to her and just keep gaming on my CRT. This is no fault of the Viewsonic, I think LCDs just aren't up to snuff for gaming monitors in general. Of course, that's only my personal opinion. Your mileage may vary!

 

I work for a computer retail store and I can tell you we get tons of pissed off customers saying they have one or two bad pixels and they want to exchange it. Bottom line is we can't. No one can and if they do they are hurting their store big time. Any manufacturer that I have seen will not consider one or two pixels defective. Usually its 7-12 pixels and or roughly the size of a nickel. This goes for laptop lcd's as well. The reason store's can't take them back is cause the manufacturer doesn't consider it defective, so if the store takes it back, they have to sell it as a open item, plus with a bad pixel. They can't ship it back to manufacturer for repairs. Now the first time i had to call and ask if a bad pixel was considered defective, the dude at the other end said, its all how you say it is over the phone. What it sounded like was you can describe it as being FUBAR and send it to them for repairs/replacment.

Bottom line.... LCD's are nice... but you get 1 bad pixel... your SOL

 

[Infohawk]

SerialTurd, does your store allow people to test out LCDs first?

 

[Bateluer]

Won't matter watch maker you buy your LCD from, no company is going to RMA the monitor for 1 dead pixel. Standard policy seems to be between 6 and 8 dead pixels.

 

[Infohawk]

How long does it take for dead pixels to show up?

 

[corkyg]

I have used two VX900s (19-in) now for over two years, and they have been perfect. No dead pixels, and no problems at all.

The business of dead pixels is pretty much standard throughout the industry - usually more than 7, sometimes 9 to qualify as a "defective" product."

They usually show up right away - part of "infant mortality."

 

[dblue]

well. i do live in a small town. i had to special order my monitor thru a local retailor. the local retailor doesn't allow return or exchange. I told them about my problem, and they want me to contact viewsonic directly.

the thing i am pissed about is why they sent me a cheaper model without informing? when i called them to ask why, all they say is sorry and VP912b is not in stock. I filed a complaint to BBB.(viewsonic doesn't have good rating on BBB) I am thinking about holding both monitors until they send me the right one. The RMA i signed was when they sent me VP912b, i would return my old one. But instead, they sent me VP191b.

 

[corkyg]

If the one you got was not the one you ordered - send it back. Suggest next you get it from NewEgg or Zip Zoom Fly.

 

[RalphTheCow]

We had a vp912b that died after 1 year - it's been back for warranty for about a month now.