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Dead pixel buddy

post #1 of 5
Thread Starter 
This is a program for testing LCD screens for dead pixels.

Before trying to grasp the meaning of a dead pixel, first you need to understand the technology behind LCD displays. An LCD display is essentially made up of pixels. Each pixel is made up of red, blue and green valves. The valves in each colour either block or pass the light source. By manipulating the amount of light passed through, each pixel displays a distinctive colour on screen. Pixels consisting of these valves are what make up the image that is ultimately displayed on the screen. A typical monitor has millions of pixels. A dead pixel refers to a pixel with a defect in its ability to display the correct colour output. It may look like a tiny black spot on your screen, or any other colour that does not correspond to what the actual image should look like.

A typical 17 inch monitor contains up to 4 million pixels. Even a tiny dust particle on one of the pixels during the manufacturing process can create a dead pixel. Or a slight bump during shipping can break one of the highly sensitive pixels.

If you've scoured every inch of your screen but can't find a single dead pixel, you are in luck. Because of the complexity of the design, it is generally regarded dead pixels appearing in some products are inevitable. If you need to absolutely make sure whether you have purchased a defective display, you can use this program. It simply paints your entire screen with one of the colours that make up a pixel to make the dead pixel more conspicuous to the naked eye. Run through the red, green and blue colours in turn and check for pixels that do not match.

Download - http://www.laptopshowcase.co.uk/downloads/DPB.zip

And it's free.


joe46.
post #2 of 5
I have a hint of OCD. -Just a hint, mind you. But when I did this test on my new digital camera, I was drawn to the spots where I had found two pixels not working just about every time I viewed a photo for editing for at least a year afterwards. I was compulsively drawn to the defective pixels, always trying to see if they were visible.
Before I tested, I was in my glory.
I have an WUXGA screen, and so it's mathmatically more probable that I'll have a dead pixel(s). I'm enjoying my beautiful screen too much to go looking for problems with it just yet.
I tell this little experience because even for a guy like me who takes his new lappie out of the box and immediately inspects every square mm of it for imperfections or scratches or misallignments, etc, I have found in the case of LCD screens and CCDs in cameras, that ignorance really is bliss.
-Once you learn of your shot pixels, you can never "unlearn" of their presence. Just so ya realize!
post #3 of 5
Hmm, yeah it can be a catch 22. That said.. no dead pixels on my new laptop's screen!
post #4 of 5
Heh. I have a single dead pixel on my 15.4" WUXGA, but it's exactly on the edge of the screen, and since its WUXGA its teeny tiny. I have to stare at it for a few seconds before I can even see it.

I WANT A NEW LCD!!!

j/k
post #5 of 5
Thought I had a bad pixel after running this program.
Turns out it was only a dried on sneeze booger.
(a piece of dried nasal mucus)

You may think it's funny, but it'snot
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