Are LCD displays reliable?

S

supramax

Obliviot
I've had a CRT display for as long as I could remember. My CRT display is nice and has great color reproduction, but I believe it is getting time to switch over to a LCD. I'm concerned about LCDs and their reliability.

How common is it for a LCD to develop bad pixels? How many of you, purchased a LCD, and after some time it developed bad pixels or other problems? Is this something that occurs often with LCDs?
 
C

Cool Barn

Obliviot
My first LCD was a Philips 19"; it was quite nice but developed a sub-lit pixel after about 4 weeks. Depending on how bad it is you generally forget about it after a while.

My current screen is a CMV 19", and I have had nightmares before I got this screen that I'm using. Suffice it to say that with CMV if they say the optimal refresh rate is 60Hz, then I would run it at 60Hz. I ran my first couple at 70Hz, and within a week they had both developed thin lines across the top and bottom of the screen. I don't know if the resolution was the reason why, but I know I'm not willing to find out with this current screen (my 5th and hopefully last CMV replacement from the last two months - note the 3rd replacement had a dead pixel, and the 4th replacement had problems with the power button and wouldn't turn off!) I'm happy to keep it at 60Hz, LCDs are different from CRTs and you don't notice any flickering at 60Hz like you would with a CRT.

Most people have had much better luck than me, so don't be too worried. Just make sure you study the dead pixel policy of a particular screen before you buy it. In Australia the companies which offer the best policies are Samsung, Viewsonic, and CMV, who all offer one month zero dead pixel policies. After one month there is a certain allowable figure of dead pixels before they will replace it, often depending on the severity of the dead pixel, the grouping, and their position on the screen.

Good luck :)
 
sbrehm72255

sbrehm72255

Tech Monkey
I've only had my LCD for about 3 months now (no name from Wal-Mart) and it has performed perfectly from day one. It even games pretty good for a cheap no-name 19" LCD.
 
Rob Williams

Rob Williams

Editor-in-Chief
Staff member
Moderator
I've had three LCD's and only one had a bad pixel. I wouldnt' worry over a bad pixel... LCD's rock.
 
Tech-Daddy

Tech-Daddy

Tech Monkey
Running 3 LCD's @ home, 1 for me, 1 for wifey, one for son. No problems to speak of.

For those that do professional photo work, you will not get *true* color reproduction... but you will get damn close. For everything else, the LCD wins, hands down. Space, power consumption, weight, performance... only thing the CRT wins agains the LCD is color depth and reproduction, but you need to be highly atuned to recognize the differences.

Also, get a LCD that is 10ms or less on the response time. Some LCD's that run 12ms or higher can have a "ghosting" effect during rapidly contrasting images (be that gaming, or DVD movie playback).

Also, LCD's still have a problem interpreting "black". Watch a movie with a dark scene, that has bits of grey or light sources smattered into the scene. Watch the gradient transitions between black and white.... you will see digital "pixelation" of the black interpretation, which is an LCD limitation that manufacturers are still fighting to overcome reliably.

LCD's are also easier on the eyes than CRT's since you are not dealing with "refresh rates" as well as having a solid surface that the image is displayed on. CRT's have already been shown to cause the eye to actually focus "just behind" the image being displayed... which leads to eye fatigue and strain. LCD's do not have this problem due to the nature of how they display the image.

For 99% of the market, jumping into an LCD is a no brainer. Do it, you will likely be very happy.
 
T

T-Shirt

E.M.I.
LCD's are even more reliable now then even a year or so ago.
My 2+ year old Princeton 19" developed 2 black pixels very near the top edge of the screen at some point in the last 6 months but I can't see them unless I really lookhard on a light colored screen, not bad for a $200 after 26 months of always on.
2 ways to go
buy the cheapest you can find, but be ready to replace it sooner
or
shop for a reasonable price on the specs you want, with a three year / cross ship/ no questions asked warranty (read and understand ALL the fine print)
I went with the second method and will do it again next year (this one will move to another, not always on computer, to live out the rest of it's useful life after I find the right replacement.
after 3+ years of being on/in use 12-18 hours a day, the CCFL backlights will probably either fail or be come dim/less bright. The amount I saved on electricty for the LCD plus reduce summer cooling costs will probably have paid for the next one.
 
G

gliffy

Obliviot
sbrehm72255 said:
I've only had my LCD for about 3 months now (no name from Wal-Mart) and it has performed perfectly from day one. It even games pretty good for a cheap no-name 19" LCD.
Click to expand...

It may not be a popular name brand but they do all have names. What is the company name who manufacturers the LCD you bought?
 
X

xstatic

Obliviot
Tech-Daddy said:
Also, LCD's still have a problem interpreting "black". Watch a movie with a dark scene, that has bits of grey or light sources smattered into the scene. Watch the gradient transitions between black and white.... you will see digital "pixelation" of the black interpretation, which is an LCD limitation that manufacturers are still fighting to overcome reliably.
Click to expand...

Samsung got a lot of good reviews on their higher priced models for reproduction of black colors on the screen. They want $500 for their best models but might be worth it for the better quality color reproduction.
 
F

Fr00zen

Obliviot
T-Shirt said:
after 3+ years of being on/in use 12-18 hours a day, the CCFL backlights will probably either fail or be come dim/less bright. The amount I saved on electricty for the LCD plus reduce summer cooling costs will probably have paid for the next one.
Click to expand...

You spend 12 to 18 hours a day on a computer?

You must be extremely addicted to playing games.
 
M

MaRm

Obliviot
I purchased a BenQ 19" LCD monitor in December of 2005 and no dead pixels in the time I been using it. Pretty reliable.
 
D

discharge

Obliviot
My own experience with LCDs have been mixed. A KDS LCD monitor died within 6 months and I could not get the company to replace it. A Hyundai LCD monitor has been behaving flawlessly for over a year. From this experience I conclude that LCD monitors are less reliable then CRTs. Despite that my preference is still for using a LCD monitor and will continue to use LCD monitors and replace them as they go bad.
 
T

T-Shirt

E.M.I.
Fr00zen said:
You spend 12 to 18 hours a day on a computer?

You must be extremely addicted to playing games.
Click to expand...
Solitare? Nope It's all about porn;)

The truth is this thing called work consumes at least 10 of those hours, plus forums,research and testing add a few more.
and when I'm not here my wife prefers to use this computer (big comfy leather chair, 19" LCD, easy access to the phones, printer scanner etc) the other (faster) computer is mostly my sons games, streaming video/video conferences and beta testing.
 
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