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Sony Recants on Dead Pixels (Sort Of)
Ayaress writes "As reported on Gamestop, Sony will now warranty PSP units suffering from dead pixels. Sony still insists that dead pixels are a common problem in all LCD displays, saying "A very small number of dark pixels or continuously lit pixels is normal for LCD screens, and is not a sign of a malfunction," and asks that PSP owners use theirs for at least a week or two, to see if it still bothers them. User who encounter, "persistent and aggravating dead pixels," are instructed to contact Sony customer support, and will be allowed to mail in their PSP to recieve a unit with a new screen."
I unit with a new screen does not neccesarily mean a new unit.
The Tools Of Ignorance wanna be a tool?
Is it because Sony don't produce their lcd themselves and can now afford to harass their manufacturers to produce betetr screen for cheaper ?
Trolling using another account since 2005.
I love it. How are "not functioning pixels" "not a sign of malfunction"?
I've bought well over a dozen LCD montitors from Apple, Dell, and Philips in recent months and I have not seen a single dead pixel on any of them.
This is just a case of Sony reducing cost by widening manufacturing tolerances. It's fine as long as you manage expectations properly.
All of the dollars I spend on my new monitor work just fine, thank you. So guess what... all of the pixels on that monitor had better work just fine, too.
If a manufacturer doesn't consider "a few dead pixels" to be a warrantable issue, then I'm going to make damned sure that the monitor they get back does have a warrantable issue. Applying 120VAC to the 14VDC power jack for a few seconds should do the trick.
Why does Sony seem to have a higher level of complaints than all the other LCD makers? Was it a rushed process resulting in dropped quality or do they have the same quality as others and the media is just picking up on their problems?
BTW, requisite PA comic on the topic
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Wired article as proof
"Yes, it bothers me. Replace it."
How can they say it isn't a defect? Of course it's a defect.
"If you think the problem is bad now, just wait until we've solved it." --- Arthur Kasspe
While commonly referred to as a "defect," Sony says the off-colored pixel problem is common in all LCD screens. "A very small number of dark pixels or continuously lit pixels is normal for LCD screens, and is not a sign of a malfunction," a representative for Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) told GameSpot.
How many pixels are we talking? I have no problem with one or two dead pixels (depending on the screen size). I would think that for the size/resolution of the PSP that 1 or 2 would only be noticable and that would depend on what color they are permanently (white would likely be annoying on dark games).
I received 0 dead pixels for the first time in my life when I purchased a 17" LCD panel (I forgot which company as it's not in front of me at the moment). The second time I received 0 dead pixels was on my work computer's Dell 23" LCD. I would think that in this day and age, at that screen size, if I would end up w/0 dead pixels a PSP could too.
My laptop screen is 1440x900px. Of those pixels (1296000) in all, they're all healthy.
Similarly, even the cheaper laptops we get in tend to have fully functional screens to start with.
Sorry guys, but dead pixels are not as common as you might want us to believe. Maybe in a poorly designed portable wherein the manufacturer doesn't care so much about quality, yes... but lately other devices seem to have less pixel-problems.
They're just going to reship the units sent back to them without servicing them, so somebody else will get your dead pixels.
Its not as if they are making it up. Virtually all lcd manufactures accept screens with a "few" bad pixels. Look it up
Im not here now... Im out KILLING pepperoni
Isn't it illegal in the US to sell electronics equipment without warranting it for a short period? I seem to remember seeing that somewhere, but can't remember where...
Not that I would EVER call something as cool as a PSP faulty, but the figure in the article of 1/2 their handhelds having pixels dark or light means SOMEONE decided to shave a few cents somewhere they shouldn't have.... And so the axe falls.
My little site.
Dead pixels ARE a common problem in all LCD displays. Why is this written like Sony is the only company saying this?
Hopefully one without more "functioning" dead pixels.
i have consumer rights, if i want my money back or a replacement my sales contract is with the store i gave the cash to, if sony wont accept returns from the store that really isnt my problem, the shop can always stop stocking them
I can't help but say that the confusion and conflicting messages of the last week has made Sony look rather unprofessional. They knew they were shipping a handheld that used an LCD screen. Everyone knows LCD screens have these issues. They should have figured out their policy BEFORE they launched, not bumble around for a week and then come to the plate.
I always save my last mod point to mod up a good troll. You people are too serious.
Rather than spending MORE money to send the product back, just buy it from a retailer with a liberal return policy!!!
Well of course it's normal. LCD manufacturers typically write off a large portion of what they make because of minor defects, right? So what ... now Sony has decided to accept lower quality parts?
That's a good thing overall I would think.... less waste=lower cost... but they should give the consumer the option of what they want, maybe with a minor price reduction for the more defective version.
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To stop those pixels 1-2-3,
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Old Slashdot story about Samsung's zero dead pixel policy. I assume that Samsung has matured their display technology far better than Sony and offering zero dead pixel is not impossible.
I'm sure there is an obvious reason, but unfortunately the only way I see it is that I've paid good money for a good display and if one pixel has failed within the warrenty period then I consider it to be malfunctioning and therefore not doing what it was originally intended for.
So is this a classic case of manufacturers trying to get us to accept mediocrity?
Avantslash - View Slashdot cleanly on your mobile phone.
need a break pedal working all the time. its a pretty common thing for your break pedal to fail sometimes in your car.
Please sony just because your product is crap does not mean you can pass it off as normal. what happend to perfection?
I guess Nintendo's stance on the dead-pixel, offering to replace any DS that has a dead-pixel, forced them into this...otherwise it would've been a blackeye for them. Competition is already making the handheld war good for the consumer. It should make this a good handheld war, much like the golden days of SNES vs Genesis...
Samsung is the only manufacture that I know of that will warrant against any dead pixels in their displays. Most usually have some minimum number required to exchange. Until then caveat emptor. - You call that a sig?
-sp-
Every Sony game systems since the original Playstation has had some sort of problem at launch. I think anyone stupid enough to spend $250 on PSP early adoption deserves to have bad pixels.
My 19" LCD screen has 1280x1024 pixels, and none of the 1.3 million are dead. What gives?
Personally, I find that regardless of how much the industry tries to insist that dead pixels are normal, consumers tend to have zero tolorance for them.
Having worked retail before, my experence is that if you even try to hint that it's not a defect, they'll throw a fit and think you're out to cheat them.
And who can blame em? Anything with a colour LCD on it comes at a price premium and nobody in their right mind would want to pay a premium for something that in their mind is defective.
The iritation from that one tiny discoloured dot alone is enough to wipe out any satisfaction to be had from owning that product.
Sometimes I wish I was a plumber, then I'd know how to deal with other people's shit.
This is coming from the same company that told users that a faulty button was intentional and that they should deal with it.
Of course, they later recanted that atrocious statement assuring design changes, so I'd expect tehm to stop saying stupid things like this at some point in the future. That is, until the next broken thing about their new portable is found, in which case, there will be no problem with that, either (you fools).
Come to think of it, is their PR person that Iraqi Information Minister now?
It was meant to read that "Sony still insists that dead pixels are a common problem in all broken LCD displays."
-j.
The last monitor I bought from newegg had a 8 dead pixel threshhold before I could return it.
Thankfully my new 24" 1920x1200 panel arrived with no dead pixels.
If Samsung/Dell can get it right, why can't Sony with a much smaller/lower res screen?
FFS, editors...
Maybe: "Life is Random."
Nope. Apple already has used that.
What about: "Sony Introduces PIX, the Personal Identification indeX. In case your PSP is lost or stolen, it can be easily be identified by checking the pattern of unactivated pixels!"
Yeah. That'll do.
All this talk about "I want my PSP replaced because of dead pixels"... and no one cares about how the pixels feel!!! There are dead pixels everywhere, and no one seems to care! Won't someone please think about the pixels?
Ninjas and pirates do not get along
My wife - she works at Futureshop (the Canadian arm of Best Buy) - came home last night to tell me of her hatred for the PSP.
On the opening day, about 17% of the PSPs sold were returned due to defect of some kind. Many of them didn't even turn on.
Yesterday, she had person after person coming into the store complaining about dead pixels. With one guy, she went through an entire crate of PSPs to try and find one that didn't have a dead pixel. No luck. He ended up settling for a PSP that had only one dead pixel - rather than the average 3. One of them had an entire vertical column gone.
From what I'm hearing from my wife, it would be much, much better to wait until revision B before thinking about purchasing a PSP. The ones on the shelves today have far too many defects.
Because they have spare units to replace the ones with dead pixels.
It is frustrating, to spend twice as much as other options, to get something that turned out to be lower quality. And what really burned me was their non-existent customer service. It took forever to get a human on the phone, only to be told they could not do anything.
Rosco: "If brains were gunpowder, Enos couldn't blow his nose."
I see dead pixels.
Tech, life, family, faith: Give me a visit
My first unit had no dead pixels, but it did have a giant piece of dirt trapped between the layers of the screen. The dirt was even visible when the PSP was off. When I returned it to Best Buy, the service desk lady actually exclaimed, "Oh my god!"
:)
She informed me that at least my particular Best Buy had been accepting PSP returns from anyone with even a single dead pixel. This seems contrary to Sony's policy, but I'm certainly not complaining.
My replacement PSP has one dead pixel. It's stuck off (black) and it's in the bottom right corner. I'm not going to return the console again; For one thing, I realize that production costs go up inversely to the allowable percentage of dead pixels, and the PSP is expensive enough already!
Justin
"Why would God give us a waist if we wasn't supposed to rest our pants on it?" - Rev. Roy McDaniels
Windows Millenium dropped the drivers to your monitor.
You (should) know damn well that most OEM's still sell screens with a small number of bad pixels. The cost of perfection often doesnt fit the market.
Some bright highschool student should come up with software that can address dead pixels directly and make the nearby pixels compensate somehow to hide the symptom. Sort of like how on some inkjet printers you can program in the clogged jets and the others will realign themselves to hide the problem.
Ok while i agree that even 1 malfunctioning pixel IS a defect, i also agree with Sony that you should give it 1 or 2 weeks of time to test it. Why? Because LCD screens sometimes automagically repairs. When i bought my iMac 15" there was a red spot, you can understand my delusion to see that on that expensive thing. However i didn't want to stay more time without the Mac so i kept it. Guess what? After less than 1 week that red spot disappeared from the screen a started working normally. So while claiming that some dead pixels are not a malfunction is really cheating the customer, telling them to wait some time can actually be a good advice.
Sony, along with all other companies that are slapping LCD screens in their products, need to learn that most end users does not give a crap how many pixels are in a device, they just expect all of them to work correctly. The argument that "This is normal for an LCD device" isn't really going to hold water for the guy who just dropped 250 bucks on a new gaming system. Nor should it hold water for the guy who bought a nice new computer monitor just to see that it has a couple of stuck pixels, but every company has a different replacement policy, and a different level of customer support bullshit you have to go through to get your replacement. Which is why I just bought another CRT monitor when my last one died...
I know the first DS I owned had a stuck pixel right in the middle of the screen. Nintendo was nice enough to mail me a replacement system, and then let me send back my machine with the dead pixel in the box they mailed the new system in. So I didn't have to go without the new system I just bought to have it fixed. Sounds like Sony is doing things a bit differently, but they are replacing the systems rather then telling the end user that "This is normal. Live with it." Which, in the end, is a good thing!
"Dead pixels are part of the experience we wanted to deliver with the PSP. You don't criticize an architect if some windows are broken. The PSP is a beautiful machine, and you fail to understand its screen fully".
Bottom line: dead pixels are a feature, not a bug.
Since the power shifted at Sony, and Kutaragi isn't the CEO, I guess the high honchos told him to STFU and replace the defective units.
Why back in my day, my Turbo Express came with a handful of dead pixels. That was normal, because they were made by HAND. You attempt to return one of those because of a dead pixel or 5, you'd be laughed at. And mind you, this is when you're playing a game that was designed for a 20" TV on a 2.5" screen, so one pixel was really making you miss something.
Seriously though, it bugged the crap out of me back then, and I'd definately be returning my PSP when 0 dead pixels seem to be the norm for much larger screens. Stop cutting corners Sony!
If they mean "persistent and aggravating", shouldn't it be more like "cancerous" pixels?
Dead pixels have been a problem for awhile now, at least since TFT LCD panels became the standard. You'll get the same bullshit party line from everyone..."It's a function of the manufacturing process...there are X million pixels, there will likely be a few defective pixels". There is even an ISO standard covering the topic. Various manufacturers have different policies on dead pixels. It all boils down to money though. Like any other electronic device, it is possible to produce defect free devices, it just costs more. By letting panels with defective pixels through, they save some cash and drive up their profits.
I have been through 3 or 4 laptops in recent years, all with dead pixels. All IBMs. I even went through the trouble of shipping new laptops back under their 30 day guarantee until I got a good one. That screen worked for a few months before it developed a different defect (pixels would fade from white to black over a period of several seconds, allowing you to actually read text that was no longer there). They replaced my panel with, you guessed it, a panel with defective pixels. In that case the onsite tech broke the laptop so badly it had to be shipped to an IBM repair facility where they held on to it for over a month and did not fix the bloody thing.
This is a general trend in all consumer electronics. Times get tough, so rather than showing a less than expected profit growth, they find ways to cut corners. Tech support was one avenue they tried. Dell learned the hard way that this was not the best of ideas. Quality is another way. This includes using "remanufactured" parts, using parts rejected by other vendors, etc. Companies have all been guilty of it in varying degrees. IBM has been one of the worst. When things get to bad, they sell it (their HD business, and now their PC business).
It probably doesn't mean a very old unit either, however, since PSP hasn't been around that long and it is unlikely they can send you a banged-up unit in replacement.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Are there any studies which show the impact to the environment from throwing away thousands of nearly brand-new, 99.99% good LCD screen?
I think dead pixels are annoying, but I'd have to think twice about what the demand of perfection does to the environment.
You see? You see? Your stupid minds! Stupid! Stupid!
I hope you get better luck out of sony for you p2p that I did out of them for my th-55 clie. It stopped working. I sent it in for repairs. They fucked it up there and blamed it on me even. Now I have a pda worth shit. Buy sony shit only at your own risk
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification
Right. Maybe they'll call it the PSP Reduced Pixel Edition.
"Normal" does not imply "acceptable".
Today's "value engineering" paradigm means that out of every batch of manufactured products some number will be duds. True, we all benefit from the low cost of this approach, but it is unfair to ask a few unlucky consumers to get stuck with the bad ones. Everyone (including the company and other purchasers of the product) should share in the risk. The company should cheerfully take back any defective item for a replacement or refund.
Another approach would be for the company to take the duds and sell them at a discount. I'm sure there would be plenty of cheap bastards who would accept a screen with a few dead pixels if they could pay less.
This policy of pushing the crap out to the consumer and waiting for vocal ones to complain is just plain cynical.
Soylent Green is peoplicious!
You obviously haven't upgraded to the New Speak 9 Directory. You just have to say it loud enough and long enough and enough people will believe it to save Sony a great deal of money. Then they can replace the units for the few remaining protesters that won't go along with the deception.
Just look how other words (which I won't mention for fear of being labeled flamebait for telling the truth) are being relabeled, sometimes after hundreds of years of known common usage, to "new progessive" meanings. They'll get away with it until we stand up and stop them. This battle with Sony is a great place to start.
And if Sony doesn't like it, put a bright orange sticker on every PSP box proclaiming: This unit may contain up to 10 stuck pixels. Buyer agrees that this is not a defect. Then we'd have some actual truth here.
"It's the height of ridiculousness to say for those 9 lines you get hundreds of millions."
Japanese consumers tend to accept what they buy and move on if it isn't to satisfaction. That's why they don't have bug fixes for their computers, and they never ever come out with new drivers.
The idea of returns is foreign to many Japanese manufacturers, which is ironic, since Sony should consider it a shaming event when they produce something doesn't meet consumer expectatations.
I think they're a very western company that masquerades as a Japanese company.
This sounds like typical Sony behavior. Wasn't there a problem with the first batch of Playstations overheating that Sony tried to ignore and finally, probably at the nudging of large U.S. retailers, began to address? I'm guessing that retailers like Best Buy and WalMart have enough clout to force Sony to change their position. Afterall, consumers are going to return what they think is defective merchandise regardless of what the manufacturer says. That means angry people at the returns section of Best Buy or WalMart, which means unhappy managers and execs. Since WalMart basically runs the world now, when they complain to Sony, Sony listens.
In Sony's defense though, they usually clear up problems with new products without a year or so of introduction. That's one reason I'm in no hurry to buy a PSP right now.
To the making of books there is no end, so let's get started
I bought my PSP at Target, because I knew they would take it back for pretty much any reason (flying UMD disks, stuck button, dead pixels...you guys know all the rumors as well as I).
Everything was actually great with the PSP, except the screen. 10 dead pixels on my first. I played for a bit, and didn't really notice them too much, but decided, "Hey, I did pay $250, let's get something that I feel is up to par..."
I headed back and got another unit at Target, this time with 9 dead pixels. Didn't know what to do. Figured I could live with it, checked online. This story was out by Saturday, and I decided I could live without my PSP for a while, so I called Sony customer support.
They urged me to play with it for a couple of weeks and make sure I really thought it was a problem, and I told them I'd rather get a service request now. They happily gave me one, along with instructions on what to send back. Good thing, too, you DON'T have to send back the memory card which has all your save games. When I returned the first PSP, I had to give back the entire value pack, including the card, so I lost that data. Anyway, they said they would ship me a "new or repaired" unit within 3-5 days of receiving my unit. I shipped it out Monday morning, so I'm figuring a couple of weeks, at least. I live in California and they're having me mail it to Texas.
Side note: Under Linux, I cannot seem to backup data from the cards. I can copy it to my hard drive, but when I put it back on the card, the PSP's games don't see their old savegames. I have it auto-detecting the format of the card, and it is coming up with vfat (no long filenames...you all know the filena~1.txt trick). Anyone know how to mount this thing so I preserve the data for copying back to the PSP? This was why I was excited to NOT have to send back my memory card.
Gee, is it any wonder why you keep karma whoring and posting with a manualy entered sig.
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I hate to blow my own trumpet (but I would say that!) but I managed to snap up a couple of PSPs on a recent trip to New York (before they sold out) and on both the screens are perfect. I'd heard bad things about the screen and how dodgy they are but both myself and my friends who've seen it (which include people in the television and film industry) think it's stunning. No dead pixels, great colour depth and deep blacks.
Caveat emptor always, but don't believe the bad hype.
How many Gameboys (all incarnations), Game Gears, Lynx's, and Neo Geo's had dead pixels when they were first released? How many dead buttons, at that?
Check your state's consumer protection laws. In Massachusetts, a store is required by law to give the consumer's choice of repair, replacement, or refund if an item is defective upon purchase... and I think bad pixels could reasonably be called "defective".
So, if you bought a PSP in Massachusetts (or a state with similar laws) and it has bad pixels, take it back. They have to deal with it for you.
Suppose the quality of consumer grade 17" or 19" inch TFT monitors was as high as the quality of the display of the PSP's display.
The resolution of the PSP's display is 480x272. If one dead pixel per an area of that size should be acceptable, then PC users should not complain about having approximately 10 dead pixels in their 1280x1024 screen.
Would you consider that acceptable?
If they say they're selling a unit with an LCD display that may have a dead pixel or two, then that's what your money buys.
Big if, I've never seen an LCD product say that there may be defective pixels.
Unless they put this type of condition on the box, on the outside where I can see it, they are not telling me.
It is a fair assumption when you buy a brand new LCD display with ??x?? pixels, that they are going to be function, not just sit there.
I think the dead pixel issue makes sense for the price that you pay. Since SONY doesn't offer a no-dead-pixel guarantee or anything like that, SONY is able to sell their game/music/web/picture/video player for $250.
Well.. I dont have $250 to burn... so i'll go back to playing my gameboy color... sigh...
------ http://timothylive.net
I can't stand dead pixels, and I really can't stand manufacturers saying it's normal. It's like if I went to buy a car, and the car already had a scratch on the fender before I even got it. The dealer saying "Oh, there's a lot of paint, it won't affect the operation of the car. Cars get scratched a lot. You'll take this car with the scratch and like it."
pixels are dying.
Sony has the worst policy on updates and fixes. If you look in Consumer Reports, their computers are consistently lower in quality and higher in repair frequency.
Why people still buy into the myth that Sony==Quality is a mystery. Maybe 20 years ago, but not today.
Yeah, like you'd accept a new car with scratches in the paintwork.
If it's got dead pixels, i'd be returning it for replacement/refund.
-- mr_lab
Back in the day, most vendors would not replace an LCD with a few dead pixels unless they were somewhere intrusive, like the middle of the screen. It was then very hard to make an LCD with all 100 jillion little elements working perfectly, and back then they were a lot more expensive for system vendors to buy. (As recently as 2000 over 1/2 the cost of a laptop was the LCD.) I don't know the actual numbers but I expect that allowing, say, three dead pixels in nonintrusive areas even today may double or triple the production yield.
...) with high resolution LCDs may never notice as they are just pulling menus and writing documents. How long have you worked with a piece of dust or a smudge on the screen before you: a) noticed; b) findlly got irritated enough to do something about it? In my experience many users either never notice dirt or dead pixels, or just put it out of their mind. Therefore I assert that vendors can "get away" with allowing a few dead pixels - most users won't do anything about it, and those picky ones can return for a different one, and costs are kept lower.
Non-demanding users (IOW, not hackers, graphic designers,
A few years back when I could afford such things (and LCDs were no doubt less reliable), I bought an Apple Powerbook. It had (IIRC) three dead pixels in the 800x600 monochrome LCD. When I talked to the Mac shop where I bought it, they checked with Apple. Apple's policy at that time was that fewer than (again, IIRC) five pixels did not constitute failure, because LCDs almost always had a few dead ones. As it happens, shortly thereafter and still within warranty, the wiring between the top and the base got flaky, and they had to send the laptop back to Apple to fix it. (No, I didn't arrange this, it just happened!) Their fix involved a new top, which had a new LCD. It only had 2 bad pixels, and they were in out of the way places.
It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
While commonly referred to as "fraud," Sony says the failure to provide and warranty properly working hardware is common in all computer equipment manufacturers. "A very small number of actual working products is normal in the computer industry, and is not a sign of customers getting shafted," a representative for Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) told GameSpot.
perl -e "eval pack(q{H*},join q{},qw{70 72696e74207061636b28717b482a7d2c717b343 637323635363534323533343430617d293b})"
So much for "all LCDs have problem." Even if that were so, not all LCD manufacturers address this the same way.
p ?t=19392
I just bought a 17" Mag monitor and it had no stuck pixels. My Averatec laptop has one and it's damn annoying when you are watching a DVD movie and during dark shots there's that fUx0r3d pixel shining like a flashlight.
Samsung info linky:
http://www.mobile-review.com/forum2/showthread.ph
Hi,
I got my motherboard of my thinkpad replaces because the laptop didn't boot anymore. When I got it back, to my suprise, there was a lot of dirt "in" the display in front of the pixels. (Even if there was only a note of replacing the motherboard).
So I returned it again, and got a "new" display. Now I have 2 dead pixels instead of 0 before.
I know dead pixels are a "normal" problem on LCDs but it is a problem none-the-less. Having even ONE dead pixel in the center of the screen is annoying. It is a total distraction. If you can accept this, then you are NOT getting you $$$ worth.
...dead pixel belong to us
I forgot what I wanted to say, but honestly, it was important.
Theres a shortage of psps rigth now (they are sold out),So its not possible for any store to replace your psp until a new batch is produced (which may take months). What sony will do is to replace your lcd screen (seems logical since that what is causing the problem) but it will take time to do that. So you have to balance "is the problem bothering me enough to send this thing to warranty and then wait for the LCD replacement?" if it is then send it over. But dont expect the replacement to be back the very same day or to get a new unit, you wont.
;) ) if the store clerk refuses simply go to another store.
IMO if you wait for a while and do your move before the warranty is void (6 months) but the shortage is over (after e3 I suppose) you probably will be able to change it for a brand new one from the very same store you bought it from.
Now before you ask (or whine) "NINTENDO DID CHANGE THEM!" yes, thats because there is NO shortage of DS they are not sold out, in fact the sales have definetily not been as good as Nintendo expected So there are plenty of DS's to go around worldwide. I know thats not what Nintendo fans wanted to hear, but its the truth. If you go to any store in the world where the handhelds are being sold, you have a very good chance of finding a DS but no PSP and if you find one it will probably be more expensive than expected.
Good? bad ? Im the guy with the GBA, so dont ask.
p.s. IMO I would wait until the "new handheld" craze is over and then acquire one. if you get a dead pixel you can replace the unit in the spot right in the store.
Extra p.s. Or if you are smart enough, you could simply demand a "test drive" before buying and check if the unit you are about to buy has dead pixels (duh!). if they cant open your box to check, then ask for the one that is in display. (you probably get a good rebate as well
Go ahead MOD my day!
More opinions here
This is a new product, the bad PR is at least temporarily going to cost them in cash flow
They need a minimum number of early adopters to get the critical mass of users necessary to attract the eye of the game publishers. I would guessd that this doesn't help those gaming houses that have taken a "wait and see" attitude with respect to the PSP.
The early adopters would be the first to buy the unit and are likely to evangelize the masses about the potential upside or downside of the unit. These are also some of the most saavy consumers. Unfortunately, this is probably Sony's biggest error . . . they cut corners on the units that are being sold to the early adopters. They should have approached the problem like many other companys and release a better quality product for the first three to six months so that the early adopters have a top quality product, then cut the price later for the masses . . . and possibly cut a few corners (you get what you pay for) . . . or they could have released a "platinum edition" of the unit for the hardcore consumer and an entry level model for the average joe. At least with a tiered product, people could choose to pay extra to have a higher quality unit.
This just bad marketing by a company that has made a number of missteps in the past few years (giving away the plasma/LCD market to Samsung by not investing in new factories and trying to milk their CRT cash cow, not making their early digital audio players compatible with anything but the proprietary ATRAC format, coming up with a proprietary flash ram (memory stick) . . .
As everyone has said both zero defect lcds and lcds with some number of dead pixels are both common. Why not market devices with bad pixels as lower cost "blems" and let the consumer decide if a 100% perfect screen is worth the full price?
I unscrewed the front of the case from mine and blew some air under the cover (didn't take it completely off as that voids the warranty). Some of the sub-pixels I thought were dead turned out to be just dust. The other spots appeared to be in the clear window of the case itself.
I'm not saying this is the case for everyone, but it seems to be the problem with mine.
-Redundancy Man strikes again!
Subject: Sale of Goods Rights, Faulty Goods.
Relevant or Related Legislation: Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002.
Key Facts
Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).
Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description.
Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.
It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract.
If goods do not conform to contract at the time of sale, purchasers can request their money back "within a reasonable time". (This is not defined and will depend on circumstances)
For up to six years after purchase (five years from discovery in Scotland) purchasers can demand damages (which a court would equate to the cost of a repair or replacement).
A purchaser who is a consumer, i.e. is not buying in the course of a business, can alternatively request a repair or replacement.
If repair and replacement are not possible or too costly, then the consumer can seek a partial refund, if they have had some benefit from the good, or a full refund if the fault/s have meant they have enjoyed no benefit
In general, the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years).
If a consumer chooses to request a repair or replacement, then for the first six months after purchase it will be for the retailer to prove the goods did conform to contract (e.g. were not inherently faulty)
After six months and until the end of the six years, it is for the consumer to prove the lack of conformity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What is an inherent fault?
Q2. Do I only have rights for 30 [or some other number] days after purchase?
Q3. Do all goods have to last six (or five) years?
Q4. I know I can demand my money back within a "reasonable time" but how long is that?
Q5. After the "reasonable time has passed", what can I do?
Q6. Is it true that I have to complain to the manufacturer?
Q7. Do I have to produce a receipt?
Q8. Can I claim a refund on sale items?
Q9. Must I accept a credit note instead of a refund?
Q10. What can I do to claim damages or if the retailer will not honour my rights?
Q11. The retailer has claimed that a repair is "disproportionately costly" and insists I accept a replacement as an alternative. Must I accept this?
Q12. Neither repair nor replacement are possible. What can I do?
Q13. What will the "reversed burden of proof" mean for the consumer
Q1. What is an inherent fault?
A fault present at the time of purchase. Examples are:
an error in design so that a product is manufactured incorrectly
an error in manufacturing where a faulty component was inserted.
The "fault" may not become apparent immediately but it was there at the time of sale and so the product was not of satisfactory standard.
Q2. Do I only have rights for 30 (or some other figure) days after purchase?
No. Depending on circumstances, you might be too late to have all your money back after this time, but the trader will still be liable for any breaches of contract, such as the goods being faulty. In fact, the trader could be liable to compensate you for up to six years.
Q3. Are all goods supposed to last six (or five) years?
No, that is the limit for bringing a court case in England and Wales (five years from the time of discovery in Scotland's case). A
How come we aren't hearing any stories like this on the DS? Is the hardware on the DS better, or is it that Nintendo's customer support is more accomodating than Sony?
I had 2 dead pixels and about 5 sorta-dead pixels on my PSP (they only show up at certain colors, I suppose due to brightness. Anyway, that original PSP had to go back since putting in the battery actually killed the unit. EB gladly replaced mine when their second shipment came in. Way to go for customer service. However, the new one has 3 dead pixels, which I was thrilled actually worked anyway, and unwisely decided to accept.
Now my problem is, I called sony on day 1 to report the battery issue, and I had to give them the serial number to my original PSP. EB just swapped out my old one, with no documentation. Sony is still waiting to recieve my old unit (which would have taken a minimum of 7 biz days for them to *start* shipping back to me. So now can I call Sony, tell them of the swap, and have them replace my newer, 'less dead' PSP?
I have both a PSP and a DS, and let me tell you the PSP is *extremely* impressive to everyone who sees it, whereas the DS people look at quizzically. I absolutely love the PSP. However, how can I get one that works right?
-- I have fans? Wow.
Comment removed based on user account deletion
man my screen needed cleaning - thanks for the tip, it's like a free upgrade ;-)
Subject: Sale of Goods Rights, Faulty Goods.
Relevant or Related Legislation: Sale of Goods Act 1979. Supply of Goods and Services Act 1982. Sale and Supply of Goods Act 1994. The Sale and Supply of Goods to Consumers Regulations 2002.
Key Facts
Wherever goods are bought they must "conform to contract". This means they must be as described, fit for purpose and of satisfactory quality (i.e. not inherently faulty at the time of sale).
Goods are of satisfactory quality if they reach the standard that a reasonable person would regard as satisfactory, taking into account the price and any description.
Aspects of quality include fitness for purpose, freedom from minor defects, appearance and finish, durability and safety.
It is the seller, not the manufacturer, who is responsible if goods do not conform to contract.
If goods do not conform to contract at the time of sale, purchasers can request their money back "within a reasonable time". (This is not defined and will depend on circumstances)
For up to six years after purchase (five years from discovery in Scotland) purchasers can demand damages (which a court would equate to the cost of a repair or replacement).
A purchaser who is a consumer, i.e. is not buying in the course of a business, can alternatively request a repair or replacement.
If repair and replacement are not possible or too costly, then the consumer can seek a partial refund, if they have had some benefit from the good, or a full refund if the fault/s have meant they have enjoyed no benefit
In general, the onus is on all purchasers to prove the goods did not conform to contract (e.g. was inherently faulty) and should have reasonably lasted until this point in time (i.e. perishable goods do not last for six years).
If a consumer chooses to request a repair or replacement, then for the first six months after purchase it will be for the retailer to prove the goods did conform to contract (e.g. were not inherently faulty)
After six months and until the end of the six years, it is for the consumer to prove the lack of conformity.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Q1. What is an inherent fault?
Q2. Do I only have rights for 30 [or some other number] days after purchase?
Q3. Do all goods have to last six (or five) years?
Q4. I know I can demand my money back within a "reasonable time" but how long is that?
Q5. After the "reasonable time has passed", what can I do?
Q6. Is it true that I have to complain to the manufacturer?
Q7. Do I have to produce a receipt?
Q8. Can I claim a refund on sale items?
Q9. Must I accept a credit note instead of a refund?
Q10. What can I do to claim damages or if the retailer will not honour my rights?
Q11. The retailer has claimed that a repair is "disproportionately costly" and insists I accept a replacement as an alternative. Must I accept this?
Q12. Neither repair nor replacement are possible. What can I do?
Q13. What will the "reversed burden of proof" mean for the consumer
Q1. What is an inherent fault?
A fault present at the time of purchase. Examples are:
an error in design so that a product is manufactured incorrectly
an error in manufacturing where a faulty component was inserted.
The "fault" may not become apparent immediately but it was there at the time of sale and so the product was not of satisfactory standard.
I just got off the phone with Sony regarding this issue. The guy was very friendly and it seemed like he had been getting several calls of this type. He asked me when I bought it, read his script regarding dead pixels (basically word for word whats in the manual) then asked me if the pixels were bothering me. He then placed me on hold for about two minutes. When he came back he told me that they would replace my unit with a brand new PSP and would be emailing me the information I needed to ship it back. Total call time including time waiting on hold was about 17 minutes.
As a side note, the lackey at the Best Buy store I talked to told me that they couldn't do anything for me because I neglected to purchase their extended warranty. I probably could have pushed the issue with a manager but I figured I'd try the lower stress Sony option first.
Recap: Sony allows a PSP return for dead pixels Slashdot: 200+ responses Ummm... A simple "that's good news" would suffice
I've had 3 laptops over the past 10 years, and not a single pixel has ever gone bad in them. In our CS department we have over 100 LCDs, and I've never seens a bad pixel on any of them... I fail to acknowledge that bad pixels are a common thing.
And no dead pixels on the really cool Nokia 9500 I'm typing this on. I would never accept a broken screen on a device as expensive as the PSP, even if it is a toy.
I used to believe in Sony. I actually didn't buy their products much because they were so much more expensive; however, if you wanted something that would last for 10 years, Sony was often the way to go, especially in audio/video equipment.
Something sorta' happened with their computers. I think they realized that marketing won over with their computers because they became more haphazard. While the equipment was generally pretty good, it was utterly proprietary and had a simple support policy--"Oh, you want to upgrade your equipment to do new things? Sure! Here's a new computer you can buy!" I bought a Sony Clie NX80; although, I knew their generally policy. I figured at least some of their software, if it had bugs, would be fixed. The most annoying thing is that the thing is designed to be upgraded, thanks to flash memory, but they wouldn't even fix the web browser that has some severe flaws. The Clie has a CF slot which can take bluetooth, Wi-Fi, etc, but Sony refuses to do anything for it (and this was long before they discontinued the line). In fact, the movie transfer program was so buggy you generally had to convert the movie to a format that the program would be willing to tolerate before you can convert it. And, half the time the converter would just drop sound at some point. When I heard that the PSP was going to use the Clie format for video, I knew people were going to be in trouble. Sure enough, complaints abound.
I used to play Star Wars: Galaxies. If you know anything about that fiasco of a game, they give a whole new definition to "quality control." Just read the forums and you'll see their attitude is "we'll fix it if we feel like its something bother to fix." Half the time the "fix" introduces ten more bugs than what was fixed. And, I am not talking about minor graphic bugs. I'm talking about whole broken professions, personal buildings (with stuff inside) going poof, creatures you are attacking disappearing, and the mobs stop dropping any loot. The very basics of the game mechanics are not reliable and their policies have encouraged griefing and malicious play.
Few months back Sony got rated as the worst of the big name companies for support, and it appears they are quickly added quality to that list. I, for one, refuse to buy Sony. Before, I could at least count on that it worked, so I didn't really need support. Now that the products do not work..
Bel, the mostly sane.. "Of course I can't see anything! I'm standing on the shoulders of idiots." -- Me
I have 12 dead pixels, and Sony can't gurantee the replacement will be any better, their exact words. They won't even check the new unit.
I have to pay to ship it back myself, and not have a PSP for at least one week. They need to learn from Nintendo, free shipping both ways, and they ship you out a new unit first.
Nintendo too had a problem at launch with defective units of the DS. The difference is they acknowledged their problem and promised to make it right if people were unhappy with their units. Sony on the other hand tried to stiff arm customers into accepting units that the customers found to be unacceptable. I don't own either unit, but I can guarantee you that the customer support of each company will way heavily on my decision on which to pick up and which I advise my friends on getting.
been playing the heck out of my psp for a few days and no dead pixels seen on white or black screens... colors and contrast are amazing. not sure what all the hype is about but my unit is great! ill also go ahead and say load times are acceptable... the first time you get one you are a little suprised... then like normal consoles you get used to it and within 10 minutes i didnt mind at all... none of them have been ridiculously long at all.
are OCD about their LCD.
“Common sense is not so common.” — Voltaire
from a place with a very good return policy. Problem solved.
"I'm just here to regulate funkiness."
Just wanted to bring this up since I've heard issues where some people have what looks to be a white pixel. Well, I have just one of those "white pixels". I turned my unit off, used a flash light over the LCD and noticed it was actually a piece of dust. I've been contemplating opening it up to clear it out, but not ready to void the warranty this early in the game.
...and asks that PSP owners use theirs for at least a week or two, to see if it still bothers them.
As far as I remember that worked really well for Intel, with the division bug. Try to use your new CPU for a week or two, see if the division bug really bothers you. YEAH, RIGHT... I have two words for you, Sony -- PSP KEYCHAIN!
When I worked at a Gateway retail store, our LCD monitors, and the Viewsonic LCD's we sold would commonly have a dead pixel or two when they came out of the box. The vast majority of the time, the dead or single colored pixel would start working correctly within 3 weeks. I imagine the reason SONY is giving everyone this line is not that they want to screw you, but instead that it is in fact common for some LCD's to have a bad pixel that will work itself out shortly.
I also have two 20" Apple Cinema Displays and neither of the 1680x1050 screens have any stuck or dead pixels, FYI.
After getting this PSP with Wipeout Pure - it occurrs to me that I've got 7 different versions of the Wipeout games. I guess I like that genre.
blakespot
-- Heisenberg may have slept here.
iPod Hacks.com
and asks that PSP owners use theirs for at least a week or two, to see if it still bothers them.
Oh, the "don't call us if you get used to it" maneuver.
He brings up a good point here, I've also heard some complaints about lint or dust that was trapped under the screen. Actually, I've got about four pieces of dust on my PSP's screen. You would think that these would be assembled in a clean room, but I guess not.
(From the Laws of Japanese Animation) Law of Inherent Combustibility -- Everything explodes. Everything.
Deming must be spinning in his grave right now.
Tolerances are a really shitty solution to any problem. It's why the Japanese made better cars than most anyone else--they had no tolerance for tolerances, and most other automakers were happy to rely on tolerances without realising that they're fucking themselves over.
I support the Center for Consumer Freedom
For those people who bought the PSP and looking at their line up and seeing that most of the games out now and alot of them coming out soon are just rehashes why don't we just go out and get a revision 2 PS2 and a portable screen for the same price that one could pay for a PSP you could get a better graphics driver than the PSP and could have a huge library I mean All then that would need to be done would be buying an AC/DC converter and you could take the PS2 with you on your trips... sure its a little larger but heck toss it in a back pack and grab yourself a motorcycle battery and you have yourself a portable PS2... for the same price as the PSP... $100 Playstation 5" Screen $150 NEW Playstation 2 $10 AC/DC Car Converter $35 Motorcycle Battery Sure it's a bit heavy at 12 lbs or so but hey then you'd be getting excercise and playing the games...
Where's that cap to the Decanter of Endless water???
I recently purchased a Rear Projection HD TV. I wanted to buy an LCD screen. I was advised against it by the salesperson at the store. He said that every single LCD TV he has sold, the owner has complained about burned out pixels. Now this is the only thing that LCD TV warranty's don't cover. Sony had just extended its TV warranty to the PSP. The LCD screen is not a returnable item. It doesn't surprise me that changed though. There is nothing more frightening than a mob of angry scorned nerds
I'm on my 2nd Panasonic AE700 lcd projector (1280 x 720) (based on the Epson D-4 LCD chips). 1st unit had 3 clumps of stuck-on greens. Fairly close to even the 1:33 'center of action' (this is a 1:78 projector). Pixels were visible from the couch. Unsatisfactory. Vendor graciously swapped units. Panasonic woulda most likely told me to get bent.
2nd unit has 1 stuck green, out of the way (regardless of aspect ratio being shown). This one's much dimmer, it can rarely, if ever, be seen from the couch, even when you're actively looking for it. I chose to keep this unit. Returning / swapping is a PITA when the object in question is your only HT display.
What irks me is 1) Epson willingly sold defective panels to Panasonic, 2) Panasonic willingly accepted them, and 3) Panasonic has the brass balls to say in the manual "stuck / dead pixels are a by-product of lcd technology and will not affect performance" Such bovine excrement!
Seems to mainly be green pixels, too. I had a Sony Vaio laptop with one lone stuck greenie, but it was as bright as the sun.. sold off on ebay. Then this projector, twice, green panel again..
Is there something inherently evil about green LCD?!
They hide behind excuses, while selling product with visible, known defects. WTF? And then they *tell* you those defects are normal? Double WTF!
The "Civilized World" jumped the shark ca. 1973.
I mistyped and left out the 'W'.
Musta voted for someone other than Our Dear Leader last election.
(for moderators, especially humorless Republican moderators: This is FUNNY! Trust me.)
Infuriate left and right
I think it should become a standard for all lcd makers to have 1 or less LCD warranty. I figure there is going to be imperfections so one dead pixel people should be able to live with. Any more then that should be a no brainer to get it replaced...I guess this may not be very practical for a company's point of view, but in my mind it makes perfect sense. Check my PSP website for WinBeforeYouPlay related information hacks/news/forums/reviews
Dead pixels aren't a malfunction. They're defects.
To err is human. To really foul things up requires the root password.
Yeah, I said "Gamestop," but the link is Gamespot. Dunno how I missed that one, too.
"They hide behind excuses, while selling product with visible, known defects. WTF? And then they *tell* you those defects are normal? Double WTF!"
Consumers continue to buy the products, sales *increase*, triple or quadruple WTF!
-fb Everything not expressly forbidden is now mandatory.
In each case that I've had to do this, the pixels would stick a few more times before ultimately giving in in defeat and bowing to my will. They then behaved like good working pixels for the rest of their useful lives.
I know the PSP screen is shielded so that you can't make direct contact with the screen. I wonder just how many "stuck pixel" issues could be fixed with a nice little massage to the pixel area, if only you could get to it...
Mine has one in the top screen and two in the bottom (althouth the ones in the bottom are right along the edge, and they had to be pointed out to me to even see them). My Visor Prism has a dead subpixel, but it's also near the edge. My laptop monitor has about 20 or so, but it's an old (1999) computer and has seen a lot of use.
It happens, it's not usually a big deal, but when I get an LCD that has dead pixels that interfere with use, I will complain.
Samsung's NDP warrantee is for South Korea only. For US customers, they consider up to 6 bad pixels on a 15" monitor "acceptable"
"Was it a millionaire who said 'Imagine No Posessions?'" -- Elvis Costello
I bought this cheapass monitor and got NO dead pixels. My brother got a Dell monitor and it has one. He doesn't notice though.
If you bought a $500 PSP bundle, what harm is a few burned out pixels and disks that pop out of their cases?
making a large lcd without dead pixels is akin to making a large chip die without defects.
You have some rate of defects/cm^2 or defects/pixel and the more area or pixels you have, the greater the chances of a defect. It's what makes true 35mm CCDs for cameras prohibatively expensive.
Sony must be using some pretty low tolerances to have any significant number of dead pixels on such a small screen.
Back in 2001, decided to buy a CD burner for my portable VAIO. Since most of my hardware was Sony, and I had always felt that the superior price was worth the superior quality, I went for the pricy VAIO portable CD burner. Mind you, it was about 30% more expensive than the regular cheap brand. A couple of months later came windows XP. After upgrading, I was surprised to find out that my burner would not work any more. Do not fear, I thought, you smartly bought the big name burner, you'll get support and everything will work out. Boy, was I mistaken. After contacting Sony, they essentially told me that there was no upgraded driver and that they did not have any plan to make one. I bought a win 98 and 2000 compatible burner, and that was it. Needless to say, I was disguted: two months old and my burner was already obsolete... Thanks Sony!
I'm considering a new TV and was just wondering if anyone had found this on the new TVs also?
Just because broken pixels are a common occurrence doesn't mean they aren't broken! Hmph.
-Rich
Will someone who owns one look on the thing and see where it says it's made?
If you look real close at the screen on a shadowmask picture tube (NOT an aperture mask tube IE: trinitron or linitron) you will also see stuck on or stuck off dots. This is caused by the electron beam being missguided by a bent hole in the mask or a defective phosphor dot. Good picture tubes will have few of these. I think that Heathkit used to buy picture tubes that were rejected by the 'better'
makers (Curtis Mathus maybe?) to save some bucks. Both of my Heathkit color tv's had a few wayward phospher dots on their tubes.
A lot of people complain about Wal-Mart's attitude towards their vendors, but sometimes it really is a Good Thing from the customer's perspective. They're a lot more interested in getting repeat business than salving Sony's wounded little ego.
Dewey, what part of this looks like authorities should be involved?
Or just buy retail. I bought two DSes for two friends and one of them had a defective pixel. They took it back and gave me a new one... I TESTED IT IN THE STORE...
Futureshop/bestbuy is usually good about it to. Just be very specific about asking about the return policy. e.g. specifically ask "if I bring this home, plug it in and the screen no work, I can return it right?"
That way if they're like "this isn't covered" you can say "I specifically asked you about this very issue...".
Key things
1. Make sure other customers can hear you
2. Be polite, usually they will help you out without asking.
3. Read available literature first. If the store has a return/exchange policy make sure you read it first [ask for a written copy].
4. Be reasonable. Cheap price != good deal.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
I think its above 10 maybe. It doesn't bother me, because you really can't see them when watching tv at a normal distance. What i plan on doing is just complaining about it right before my 4 year full warranty comes to a close so theyll either fix it completely, or give me an equivalent model ( new hopefully) =]
- I got my free iPod and a free Nintendo DS....why not
The problem is I bought it from ebgames, I asked them twice before I bought it if I could exchange it if there was a pixel problem, they said yes. The day of they said they couldn't since Sony informed them last night of how pixels are excluded from their warranty. I can't win.
Not much experience with Gateway on laptops, but as far as PC's experience has told me not to touch 'em with a 10-foot-pole.
It's a common problem on cheaper products...
That's Evil. And Genius. If I were a Sony HR person, I'd hire you on the spot. You should pitch that to 'em...
I'm trying to teach myself to set people on fire with my mind... Is it hot in here?
Everyone knows that PSP markets the psp at 333mhz, but does anyone know that developers can only run their software at 222mhz? Can this be considered as misleading advertising?
How long (I know few places that offer this) will it be that pre-tested/inspected new hardware services to become standard. Alot of hardware faults usualy happen in first 3 months and out of those generaly 50% are out of the box faults. there are still faults that happen over time, but as I'm sure many know if it goes past 3 months then your faily safe until the garantee runs out before it will fail.
As mentioned a few places (mainly small shops/outlets) offer a pretest/inspection of new kit which many people like, though dont pay for (as it does take time to test these things properly). But alas many dont offer this and few people like to burst open the virgin packaging as some form of assurance of a new product and not a factory fixed jobbie being sold as new.
Perhaps its time suppliers worked with distributers to build in these checks so suppliers can reseal with some form of recognised/accepted QA seal of approval. Downside is more work for suppliers initialy, but less returns, happier customers and as you can see less unhappy potentials for said customers. Also as you would be looking at less returns, the saving and gain in customer service would potentialy offset this additional service/cost. From a PR perceptive it woudl even pay for the manuifacturer to sponser these checks, given its these type of checks that they themselves shoud be doing in the first place, it should in theory be just another net to catch theses faults. Though alot of these are induced by poor storage/handerling/shipping of items. but at least the supplier would avoid the situation were the courrier is at fault but as the kit is new, and previously unused can easily blame the supplier who in turn blames the manufacturer. End result still get the inconveniance/hassel at the consumer level.
It makes sence these issues are handled further up the supply chain to a level were a customer knows that there getting a new fully working product shipped to them, and any faults are caught as high up the supply chain as possible as it is a waste of resources to move faulty products around.
As for Sony's approach they have service centers and outlets so would be easier on the customer and would have thought SOny if any faults can be exchanged at said stores/outlets to lessen the impact on a already put out customer. How many of these replacements that are shipped out are garanteed to address the fault; potential for a replacement having dead pixels in another part of the screen would seem just as high as getting a dead pixel system in the first place.
Personaly if I bourght a faulty unit from a store I'd be back at the store for a replacement and let them send `there` dead unit back to sony whilst I got what I paid for right there or then or a full refund, given Sonmy have accepted dead pixels are indicative of a faulty unit and your paying for a fully working unit as advertised and we dont see many posters/box's/adverts showing units with dead pixels. Why should one even accept this in the first place.
So nice to see Sony have seen some light and addressed this issue, but from a PR percepective they did drag there heals a bit and a situation like this could have been alot bettter handled and addressed before the product was even launched.
As a direct market comparison...
I've got a Gameboy SP, I've bought one for my brother and some friends bought theirs all around Christmas 2003. None of us have any dead pixels. I don't know anyone with a DS yet, but it can't be that hard to get a small, large pixel portable game screen to work. Nintendo seems to do it for half the price.
Simple, make a vocal complaint, if they have written policy quote it, failing that call the BBB and lodge a complaint and finally don't shop there again.
That last point is important. There is a bum shop in Ottawa called OEM and they sell crap, disregard their written policy, etc... And even though my friends know about the shit they pull they still go there out of "it's close by".
The trick is on them though cuz there are at least two other high quality shops [RB Computing and FedaCom] in Ottawa. So all you have todo is remind them there is an alternative to putting up with their crap.
Tom
Someday, I'll have a real sig.
The weirdest dead pixel I ever encountered was on a CRT screen. Nobody believed me until i dragged the screen to the shop, had them plug it in, and showed it to them. A little black pixel about an inch from the left side and two inches from the bottom edge. Helluva annoyance, and I did get it on my warranty, although they had no idea what they where going to mark it as.
The screens on PSP have a fairly low pixel count. If a large screen has more than 3 pixels bad, you are going to return it. The psp screens are tiny. They shouldn't have dead pixels. Sony probably didn't save much money doing this either. Raise the price 15 bucks and only ship with good screens.
She was like chocolate when she drank... semi-sweet at first and then increasingly bitter.
I would never buy a product with a brand name of XPlode. (Well maybe if my field were in demolition or in the military I might.)
Think Deeply.
It has to be stated at the time of purchase.
They can't be arbitrary terms on the sale on their web site.
Do you still refer to dual processor computers that way??
I bought a sony flat panel at christmas time, top of the line 800 dollar type stuff. I figured for the price point, the odds of it having one, let alone many, dead pixels were slim to none. Sure enough I bring it home and several dead pixels were always on. I am wondering if this is just common to sony LCDs in seeing this whole mess with the PSP. On a side note, if you connected the red always on pixels on my screen, I could swear it formed a middle finger. Go figure. "I like pizza, I like Tony, but what I love is my first Sony."
I am 0 for 5 now and I have given up. I went all around town looking for a PSP on launch day and I did find a few stores with some left. PSP1 - 3 dead pixels PSP2 - 5 dead pixels PSP3 - 2 dead pixels PSP4 - 1 dead pixel PSP5 - 8 dead pixels Should have learned my lesson after #1 but its one of those cool gadgets I had to check out (plus I could have used it to control my media center on my XBox wirelessly) but I guess its not to be. I am of the firm belief that I was being sold a perfectly working peice of electronics and out of 5 chances I did not receive that. No more Sony products in my house from now on. I will probably have better luck buying Apex products at this point vs Sony.
I got Last Post!!! I'm so strong OMG !!!
War doesn't prove who's right, just who's left.
I've had Playstation equipment that went bad.....but I put those things through HEAVY use. I read my original Playstation's manual and it said, basically "Hey dude turn it off after a while, it's not supposed to run continuously".
I put my 30001 PS2 through some use that no normal PS2 gets, I left it run, fully on for days on end, because of the Linux kit. Eventually I got DRE's. I called up Sony and they fixed it for free as I knew they would.
My PSP has a perfect LCD screen, it is frickin beautiful. If it has a dead pixel I don't see it.
Sony get a bad rap, and I think they could do better in the PR department. But...I think that we as gamer geeks are NOT normal users and we abuse our equipment. The average person doesn't spend a sleepless weekend playing a new game without shutting the machine off.
I personally believe that Nintendo gets a "free ride" in the geek press out of gamer nostalgia. I also think their PR department is better than Sony's
Sony is right in saying that this problem is universal with all LCD screens. Nintndo face the exact same problem a few months ago (regarding the Nintendo DS), and made pretty much the exact same statements that Sony did. They also did offer free replacements of their systems if the dead pixels were too aggravating. Both Nintendo and Sony made the same decision, and it was the right one.
INACTIVE ACCOUNT
It seems Sony treats it's PDA line with much better QA. I've never seen a Sony PDA with a dead pixel (or any other PDA for that matter). This include their high end 320x480 PDAs, which has 18.5% more pixels than their PSPs.
In my past few years of buying LCD screens (3x 17 inchers, and 1x 15 incher, none of them have any dead subpixels whatsoever). However, none of them are made by Sony! That's over 14 million subpixels. And 3 of the 4 monitors are pre-2000 models. My cellphone doesn't have a dead pixel, and my digital camera screen doesn't have a dead pixel. Not to mention my Gameboy Adv.
One of the bad 2001FPs had no bad pixels, but HORRIBLY uneven backlighting, which was extremely noticible on all black screens. My PSP only has one dead pixel, but seems to have a similar, but less severe, backlighting problem similar to the 2001FP. Is this common on the PSP?
Nay back_pages, you mistake Storlek's spew. It is in fact, ground-breaking blog bits, delivered in reality-formatted prose, akin to blithered pixels on an LCD screen. Spew on Storlek. *WE are LISTENING*
I'm not trying to start a flame war here but I find it interesting that this thread really has no Sony/PSP defenders in it.
Just yesterday all of the fanboys were out in force talking about how great the PSP was and defending even the slightest knock on the system.
So what's the deal here? Fair weather fanboys?
Really, I know what I'm doing...Ohhhh, look at the shiny buttons!
So how does this work, you buy a unit and you have a 1 in n chance of purchasing a unit with dead pixels? That's pretty ridiculus. I'd rather pay an extra $150 for a screen that I know is guaranteed not to have dead pixels. The manufactures should be held to higher standards. It's all about quality control and monitoring their processes.
The test pattern causes the appearance of dead pixels. Using it may ruin your LCD.
That's one of the reasons I don't have an LCD now.
I suspect that the vague warranties are purposeful, to allow some wiggle (weasel?) room. If I do buy one, I'll probably pay a little extra to buy it from a retailer with a really good return policy.
[Kudos for most amazingly liberal return policy - yesterday I observed REI (outdoors outfitter co-op) allowing someone to return a pair of boots they had bought five or six YEARS ago, had only worn once because they were too big. No questions asked, REI gave him his money back. Of course, the original price was on the high side...]
It's easier to be a result of the past, but more fun to be a cause of the future! http://www.spacefinancegroup.com/
Just thought I would mention why Sony does that weird naming convention with the Wegas/Vegas. The 'W' is actually supposed to be some kind of overlapping double-V (why they want that is a mystery), so the name is actually more like VVegas. Just written using a W. It's stupid as hell obviously, but I just thought I would let you know the insanity that is behind that. :)
There is no excellent beauty that hath not some strangeness in the proportion. -- Francis Bacon
An LCD with a few dead pixles is ok, so is a CPU with a few dead transistors.
If you sold them as diferent qualities fine, but dont sell broken ones as being perfect.
there is a market for the ones missing pixles, I'd buy one if it means i could save a few bucks.
I read all these stories about buying LCD monitors with dead pixels, why don't you guys check the monitors before you buy them?
Here, in Hong Kong, when you buy a LCD monitor from a computer shop, they will hook it up to a PC and run a test program. It will cycle the screen through white, black, red, blue and green so you can check for dead pixels. And if you find them, you can ask for another, or just refuse to buy.
Oliver.