A few days ago I bought an NEC EA244WMi 24" LCD for a general-use workstation to replace a dying CRT. I like pretty much everything about it (16:10 aspect ratio, semi-gloss coating, low input lag, fast response times, good color), but it has what I guess would be called a uniformity problem that is particularly noticeable on mid-grey to white screens (it's basically imperceptible on dark/black screens, though). Here's a photo of the monitor displaying a solid middle gray:
As is hopefully apparent, about a quarter to a third of the way from the left side of the screen there is a vertically curved line of contrast extending almost from top to bottom, making the left side appear markedly darker and warmer (in color) than the right. There are similar dark/light areas in the lower and upper-right corners, though I could probably live with those by themselves. While I understand that LCDs generally have these problems to varying degrees, what's shown in the photo seems egregious to me and has become pretty distracting. For comparison, I've tested a 5-year-old HP LCD that does not show any significant patches of discoloration or light/dark contrast.
Am I being unrealistic in my expectations or is this worth returning for exchange? I should add that I think the problem stems at least partly from some loose plastic on the back of the monitor, just underneath the video connectors. The plastic seems flexed outward slightly, creating a gap between itself and the underlying metal/whatever else such that if I press the plastic to close the gap then the abnormal contrast becomes less noticeable (though still present). However, there don't seem to be any screws holding together the different pieces of plastic on the monitor frame, so I don't see how I could permanently fix the looseness. This also leads me to worry that an exchange unit will suffer the same problems.
So, should I go through the hassle of an exchange? Refund and get a different model (hard to find one with all the same specs)? Live with it and just accept the fact that LCDs suck, that there are no other options and that whether you get one that actually works as advertised is a crap shoot?
As is hopefully apparent, about a quarter to a third of the way from the left side of the screen there is a vertically curved line of contrast extending almost from top to bottom, making the left side appear markedly darker and warmer (in color) than the right. There are similar dark/light areas in the lower and upper-right corners, though I could probably live with those by themselves. While I understand that LCDs generally have these problems to varying degrees, what's shown in the photo seems egregious to me and has become pretty distracting. For comparison, I've tested a 5-year-old HP LCD that does not show any significant patches of discoloration or light/dark contrast.
Am I being unrealistic in my expectations or is this worth returning for exchange? I should add that I think the problem stems at least partly from some loose plastic on the back of the monitor, just underneath the video connectors. The plastic seems flexed outward slightly, creating a gap between itself and the underlying metal/whatever else such that if I press the plastic to close the gap then the abnormal contrast becomes less noticeable (though still present). However, there don't seem to be any screws holding together the different pieces of plastic on the monitor frame, so I don't see how I could permanently fix the looseness. This also leads me to worry that an exchange unit will suffer the same problems.
So, should I go through the hassle of an exchange? Refund and get a different model (hard to find one with all the same specs)? Live with it and just accept the fact that LCDs suck, that there are no other options and that whether you get one that actually works as advertised is a crap shoot?