[PeterKG]

I had to return my 15" PB to have the LCD replaced after white spots started to appear. When it came back I had no more spots but now had a dead white pixel above dead center. Needless to say I was pissed as the original LCD had no bad pixels. I have read from others about "gently massaging" them back to life but that was not working. This morning out of frustration, I took a damp sponge and started wiping my LCD with pressure, and lo and behold the pixel started to blink on and off. I was stoked until it went off again. So madder then hell now I took the sponge and rubbed extremely hard and fast over the pixel and it lit up. It has stayed on through numerous shut downs and start ups to test it out. I pray it stays on now for good. Damn little things and damn Apple for the trouble it has caused with the 15" PB LCD's. Sometimes being an Apple fan and supporter can be a test of patience.

[Burke]

I've done it on several LCDs before as well.

As I see it, unless it's black, it can be "revived," whether it's by the gentle massage, slightly heavier pressure such as wiping as you did, or in some cases, pushing the affected area with a fingertip.

[Patcarla]

Originally posted by Burke:
I've done it on several LCDs before as well.

As I see it, unless it's black, it can be "revived," whether it's by the gentle massage, slightly heavier pressure such as wiping as you did, or in some cases, pushing the affected area with a fingertip.

Never worked for me on my stuck pixel (blue)..

[Burke]

Originally posted by Patcarla:
Never worked for me on my stuck pixel (blue)..

Then it might just be a matter of pure luck!

[James L]

While Apple had dropped the ball on things before, they can't be blamed for 1, out of millions, of dead pixels.

...that's called the law of averages.

I have a dell with a dead pixel, and my friend has a Toshiba with 2 dead pixels. My Macs are dead pixel free... knock on wood.

People can compain all they want about spending the big bucks on the machine, therefore Apple is falling apart if it has a dead pixel. I understand the sentiment, but the reality is different.

Congrats, btw, on bringing the pixel back to life!

[PeterKG]

Originally posted by James L:
While Apple had dropped the ball on things before, they can't be blamed for 1, out of millions, of dead pixels.

...that's called the law of averages.

I have a dell with a dead pixel, and my friend has a Toshiba with 2 dead pixels. My Macs are dead pixel free... knock on wood.

People can compain all they want about spending the big bucks on the machine, therefore Apple is falling apart if it has a dead pixel. I understand the sentiment, but the reality is different.

Congrats, btw, on bringing the pixel back to life!

I agree with you James. But my point was that I had a perfect screen that had no dead pixels. Then Apple replaced that one due to white spots that appeared with a new one with a stuck pixel. Luckily so far I was able to get it unstuck, so in my case now all is well.

[Burke]

Originally posted by James L:
While Apple had dropped the ball on things before, they can't be blamed for 1, out of millions, of dead pixels.

...that's called the law of averages.

I have a dell with a dead pixel, and my friend has a Toshiba with 2 dead pixels. My Macs are dead pixel free... knock on wood.

People can compain all they want about spending the big bucks on the machine, therefore Apple is falling apart if it has a dead pixel. I understand the sentiment, but the reality is different.

Congrats, btw, on bringing the pixel back to life!

Agreed. People simply need to recognize there are imperfections that can arise out of the LCD manufacturing process.

I've had several LCD monitors and I have been lucky that none of them suffered from dead pixels or other anomalies...however, I've had two Wintel laptops that both had them. Sometimes you get lucky and they're on the edge of the screen or where persistent GUI elements obscure them; others, they're in plain view.

While I understand the cost vs. quality issue, it's best to just, well, get over it. It happens all the time, but perhaps in the future screens will be flawless.

[eevyl]

Although I agree that the build process of LCDs is really complicated and can lead to dead pixels, I also think it should not happen.

CRTs don't come with "dead rays", and if that ever would happen and the manufacturer wouldn't want to replace the defective unit, a lawsuit would be filled.

If LCDs screens are going to replace CRTs, they should offer a perfect screen view as CRTs do, despite the difficulties that may be in the build process.

If that cannot be done due to cost or technology, maybe LCDs are not ready yet.

My two euro cents.

[mrmister]

"If that cannot be done due to cost or technology, maybe LCDs are not ready yet."

I assume this means you have an alternative--like we should all carry a CRT monitor with our laptops?

You don't? Neither does the industry. That's why we make do with LCDs.

[eevyl]

Originally posted by mrmister:
"If that cannot be done due to cost or technology, maybe LCDs are not ready yet."

I assume this means you have an alternative--like we should all carry a CRT monitor with our laptops?

You don't? Neither does the industry. That's why we make do with LCDs.

*sigh*

I was talking about LCDs over CRTs, not for laptops.

Back when CRTs reigned, I understood that for laptops we should live with dead pixels. But know Apple and others are in the way of replacing CRTs completely with LCDs, and they should be as good as CRTs, in terms of technology and quality. That's it, don't put things in my fingers I didn't write.

[Shaughn]

Originally posted by James L:
While Apple had dropped the ball on things before, they can't be blamed for 1, out of millions, of dead pixels.

...that's called the law of averages.

I have a dell with a dead pixel, and my friend has a Toshiba with 2 dead pixels. My Macs are dead pixel free... knock on wood.

People can compain all they want about spending the big bucks on the machine, therefore Apple is falling apart if it has a dead pixel. I understand the sentiment, but the reality is different.

Congrats, btw, on bringing the pixel back to life!

I don't blame Apple for dead pixels. That's the reality of LCD screens, and while it's unfortunate, it's the way it is for now.

The beef I have is that my first screen was pixel perfect. Then the illumination went crazy, one side darker than the other by about 4 notches of brightness. Second screen, 2 dead pixels. Not too bad, as they're in inconspicuous areas of the screen. But lo and behold, uneven illumination once again.

I don't want to keep playing the "pixel lottery". I don't blame Apple for the pixels. I do blame them for having to go through screens. It's something that should have been caught in testing.

It must suck for Apple. Between the uneven illumination and the white spots, they must be taking a hit as far as screen replacement goes. I hate to put them through all the time and trouble of replacing my screen a number of times, but I also didn't pay the better part of 3K for a screen that's hard to look at. Sigh.

~S~

[iKwak]

Lucky I had no dead pixel when I first received the mac. phew

[jstein]

Wow!
I guess this must be a byproduct of where are as a society. A society in which products and ideas go from concept to consumption faster than ever. If LCD screens or any other product is not fully ready for mass production then as consumers we should not be charged full price for that product. However, we are and will continue to be for one reason only. We accept it. True indeed no product is perfect and may never be. Yet prices do not reflect this. When you pay for something with your hard earned money it is not fair for you to be a guinea pig in someone�s experiment. What people are willing to accept as a society from corporations is becoming alarming. Everything from white spots, bad screens, Firestone tires, Enron and any other corporation you can add, is tolerated.

The problem is not what these companies do the problems lies in how we the people respond to them. Not only do we not speak out about what these companies do we attack the few people who have the heart to speak about the wrongs of corporations. Whether these people are crying, whining, complaining or actually have a concern that is worth mentioning is irrelevant. The point is that they are speaking out on something that is actually wrong. I do not know how many times I have read post in this community where people speaking out on an issue are attacked sometimes even attacked personally. Disagreeing is one thing slandering a person is another. I am not speaking about this particular thread just threads in general. Instead of attacking the person or saying well I do not have this problem maybe we should listen and take notice to their complaints. Apple is a stellar company and to some extent they listen to us the consumer but if we do not say speak out on things good and bad how we Apple continue to improve?

[MrForgetable]

I have a line of blue dead pixels and do you think it would hurt to try?

[legacyb4]

I've recently had a single pixel go dead on my 12" after about 8 months usage. Any idea if Apple will bother fixing that? My gut feeling is no...

Cheers.

[Boondoggle]

Originally posted by legacyb4:
I've recently had a single pixel go dead on my 12" after about 8 months usage. Any idea if Apple will bother fixing that? My gut feeling is no...

Cheers.

my second or third hand information is that Apple won't fix a screen unless it has more than 5 dead pixels.

[Boondoggle]

Originally posted by jstein:
Wow!
...If LCD screens or any other product is not fully ready for mass production then as consumers we should not be charged full price for that product.

You're not being charged full price for the product. The full price for every LCD being fault-free would include the cost of throwing away those with one or 2 dead pixels. That would make them significantly more expensive overall. If you happen to get a screen with no dead pixels, then you've gotten a better deal because you paid for one with the potential to have dead pixels, but that doesn't mean those with a few dead pixels are getting ripped off.

Also most manufacturers sort the screens so that those with the higher probability of perfection go into pro or more expensive products so there is some average adjustment for imperfections in the cost of the products. In other words, Apple pays less for iBook screens because they accept a lower level of quality control in the screens.

For many there are significant advantages to LCDs over CRTs that outweigh the nuisance of a few dead pixels and the higher price. Laptops are the primary example, but on the desktop there are advantages as well including no flicker, lower power consumption, lower weight, sharpness, etc.