Dead pixels are one of the most pressing issues, often becoming the reason for a stormy showdown with suppliers of LCD monitors, tablets and smartphones. Managers of fashionable stores are often in a hurry to disown this problem, referring to the regulations of official manufacturers. We will focus on what “broken” pixels are and how to deal with them “one-on-one” in this article.
Checking and treating dead pixels
We buy a monitor, like a personal computer, for more than one year. But, unlike a PC, which can always be upgraded if desired, there is no opportunity to improve the quality of the image by hardware means. That is why, when evaluating the functionality and image quality of a potential candidate for the position of a home monitor, we approach the issue of choosing a model extremely responsibly, investing in a new product as much as possible and for a long time.
And now, all the accents are finally set, a brand new monitor is bought and connected, it shows all the signs of life, pleases the eye with image quality and color depth. You are certainly happy with the purchase and everything would be fine, but something confuses, distracts your attention and does not allow you to perceive the picture in its entirety and spectacularity. The gaze now and then slides to a dark, light or colored point, which retains its color regardless of the broadcast picture. Well, get acquainted, gentlemen, you are extremely lucky: before you is His Majesty "Broken Pixel"!
Problem
The image that we see and perceive on the LCD monitor as a whole is actually formed from many points-clusters called "pixels." In turn, the full color gamut can be achieved due to only three subpixels - red, blue and green. In models of LCD monitors with an active matrix, an individual thin-film transistor (TFT) is attached to each pixel, the damage of which will appear on the screen as a black inactive dot, which is called a “broken” pixel. And in this case, the problem can be solved only by replacing the transistor in a laboratory and an alternative here, alas, is not supposed.
If you see a light point on a dark background - do not rush to despair! Quite often, the reason for the appearance of broken subpixels is their "freezing" in some intermediate position, which outwardly manifests itself in the absence of their response to a changing picture. You can solve the problem at home, without fear of harming the monitor, you can programmatically, or by performing some physical manipulations.
Why amateur performance if the monitor is under warranty?
An absolutely normal question that asks itself to everyone who has already managed to get acquainted with our problem, but is not yet familiar with the likely reaction of the store. It turns out here, even despite the warranty obligations of the service, nuances and disagreements are very likely.
Defective pixels? - Complain to the Stockholm Arbitration!
The real reason for the dispute is the manufacturers themselves, who have officially established a tolerance for a certain number of "allowed" dead pixels on monitors of the corresponding standards - the ISO-13406 regulation.
In accordance with accepted tolerances, monitors are divided into 4 classes:
1st class - dead pixels are practically excluded, warranty repair and replacement in case of detection is mandatory and carried out immediately;
2nd class - the most common variant, allowing the presence of 2 defects of types I and II;
3rd class - budget models that allow the presence of 5-bit type I pixels, 15 - type II, 50 - type III.
4th class - monitors of low quality, allowing the presence of 50, 150 and up to 500 (!) Defects of types I, II and III, respectively.
Note:
Type I - white pixel visible on a black background;
II type - black pixel on a white background;
III type - red, blue, green pixels.
It becomes clear that despite the warranty, the annoying single white pixel in the center of the 2nd class monitor screen remains your problem, and the best way to avoid this situation is to connect and test the display before calculating or within the period available for exchange in accordance with consumer protection law.
Monitor check
A visual assessment of the quality of the picture in the cabin often does not allow an unambiguous conclusion about the presence of broken subpixels, and even more so, to determine the presence of moiré, to assess the readability of moving text, the response speed of the matrix and other significant parameters. And why, if it is much more reliable, easier and more efficient to check the monitor using specialized utilities that will allow you to get all the data in full, and most importantly, on time. Fortunately, the choice of free programs that allow us to achieve our goal without spending any money is off scale today.
IsMyLcdOK
IsMyLcdOK is a portable universal utility with a simple, intuitive interface that allows you to check a TFT liquid crystal monitor or an LCD monitor with LED backlight for dead pixels in a few minutes.
The program does not require installation, runs on any portable devices and computers running Microsoft Windows: Servers 2000/2003/2005 Win 98 / XP / Vista / 7/8 / 8.1 / 10 x64 / x86 from removable media. This will allow you to avoid unnecessary disputes with the store manager, who is not always interested in the test results.
The working menu is available immediately after the test launch of the program. Switching between testing modes is carried out by selecting the corresponding to the description of the number keys.
Program window
The program allows you to evaluate the speed of image processing, the refresh rate of the screen and the stripes painted in different colors - rectangles. Tracking alternately changing color and monochrome images and following the simplest instructions, you can accurately and easily detect dead pixels on the reference colors, determine their type and number.
Available colors allow you to easily find dead pixels or make sure they are absent
NOKIA MONITOR TEST 2.0
One of the most popular utilities in this category, which has advanced capabilities for checking the quality of an LCD monitor, including a test for the problem of dead pixels that interests us, as well as templates that allow us to evaluate such parameters as: resolution, moire, contrast, focusing, brightness, readability text, geometry accuracy, color rendition and more.
Program window
Using Nokia Monitor Test, you can test not only the image quality of monitors, but also the latest generation video cards. The advantages of the program are the power of the functionality, the simplicity of the interface, the miniature size of the distribution kit, the ability to run from removable media. To get all the data required for analysis, you just need to move the left mouse button over the active buttons of the main screen menu.
System requirements: Servers 2000/2003/2005 Win 98 / XP / Vista Windows7 Windows8 x64 / x86. No installation required. The size of the distribution kit is 1.15 MB. The Russian version is available.
PixPerAn 1.011e
The developers of this program cannot be denied originality. Unlike more or less ascetic or, on the contrary, colorful static interfaces, here the key parameters of the monitor's performance are checked on a dynamically changing picture. The utility contains a series of unique tests to identify problems associated with the inertness of the LCD matrix. Among them is such a common one as multi-colored trails that appear when viewing a dynamic picture.
Program window
PixPerAn tests allow you to adjust the color palette, size and speed of movement of objects, while monitoring the response of the matrix, the speed of drawing and the number of dropped frames, processor load and screen parameters. The "game" test will allow you to play a funny simple game with cars and reveal imperfections in the image in the rapidly changing dynamics.
An original gaming test that allows you to evaluate the image quality in dynamic scenes
Thus, by installing this miniature (68kb) utility, you get the opportunity to simulate on the display conditions under which hidden monitor problems will manifest themselves explicitly.
Platform: Windows. The interface is in English.
All of these programs are absolutely free and do not require registration in the registry.
The patient is rather alive ...
So, software diagnostics allowed us to accurately determine the presence, location and type of dead pixels. Let's consider that we are lucky, and the pixels that we see on our screen are "stuck", that is, light.
Paradoxically, but it is often possible to carry out the operation to “set” the pixel to its place by massaging the injured area with circular movements. This should be done not with your finger or with hard and sharp objects, but with a cotton-tipped stick, gently, slowly, with the monitor turned off. And in order not to "miss", mark the dead pixels detected by the program until the moment you turn off the monitor.
Manual therapy or how to get rid of stuck pixels surgically
Repeat the rotational movements for two to three minutes, then start the monitor and appreciate the fruits of your labors. If there are none, repeat everything again. The method does not give a 100% guarantee, but it increases the chances of getting rid of the problem many times over.
The “civilized” way
Unlike the first method, which requires a certain amount of caution on your part, the alternative - programmatic method is completely safe. The easiest way is to use a specialized program to deal with stuck pixels in a few minutes. You can launch it directly from the site by following the link: www.jscreenfix.com/basic.php and clicking on the Launch ScreenFix button at the bottom of the page.
After starting the program, you will see a window with flickering pixels, which must be aligned with the problem area. In the process of “shaking” the colors of individual pixels change at an increased rate, which at some stage allows the frozen culprit to “unstick” and return to a working state.
Jscreenfix at work
As practice shows, in 20 minutes of operation, the program straightens out the vast majority of problem points. If the result is not achieved, the developers recommend leaving the computer in this mode for 5-10 hours. Note that the cured pixels do not acquire immunity and with the onset of the summer heat they have every chance of sticking again. In this case, it is recommended to repeat the course of treatment.
Well, now you are armed with knowledge, and if necessary, you can deal with stuck pixels without the help of computer gurus and intractable managers. Better yet, use the knowledge gained when buying by testing the monitor of one of the programs at the store's counter, then the problem of "stuck" and fatal black pixels can be avoided! Add tags
Hello, friends! Today we will learn how to detect and "revive" dead pixels on a lcd screen.
If you find a broken pixel on the screen of your LCD monitor, this does not mean that it really "died" and cannot be restored. You can try to fix this defect yourself.
A pixel is the smallest picture element in bitmap graphics, or a physical element in a matrix of displays. The image you see on your monitor is made up of many dots called pixels.
In a modern monitor, each pixel is controlled by a thin-film transistor, and when it fails, an inactive dot is formed on the screen - a dead pixel. As you understand, this problem can be solved only by replacing the corresponding transistor. This procedure is carried out in specialized laboratories and is not available to the average user. However, there is another kind of dead pixels - stuck pixels.
How to detect dead pixels?
There are many different programs that will cycle through different colors on the screen. The main feature will be any point of a different color on a solid background. The pixel seems to get stuck in one position and does not respond to image changes. Such defects can be repaired by some software and physical manipulation.
How to recover a dead pixel?
Let's analyze the hardware (software) method with which you can identify and try to "revive" the broken pixel. Examples of such programs are Bad Crystal, JScreenFixDead, and Dead Pixel Tester.
Dead pixel tester Is a free utility designed to test and repair broken pixels (dataproductservices.com).
To do this, the Dead Pixel Tester utility and run it. In the "Pattern" column, select the "Solid" option opposite the "Auto color cycle" column, check the box and set the time: 2500 ms. Leave the program running for one to two hours.
The principle of operation of this application is to stimulate imaginary "dead" pixels with alternating colors. It happens that as a result of such color activity, faulty pixels begin to function normally.
If that doesn't work, you can use the mechanical method. Take a cotton swab or microfiber cloth (some people prefer to use an eraser), and then with a little pressure, swipe across the area of the screen with the defective pixel from left to right and from bottom to top.
Repeat this process several times. If this procedure also did not help, then the pixel is really damaged. Now you know what a pixel is and how to fix such defects. See you in new articles. Good luck! I would be grateful if you could share this article with your friends.
How do I check for stuck pixels?
We launch the program. Several objects for testing will be presented before us: a PC monitor, a mobile device, an LCD device for TV. Select the one you want (in this case, the PC monitor) and click "Monitor defective pixels".
The program window will appear. Select the first blinking speed.
Expanding the program window, you can see blind dots that do not change. This is a stuck pixel.
In order to restore a dead pixel, you need to register the program, which costs real money. According to user reviews, Bad Crystal 2.5 FINAL restores stuck pixels only on monitors that have a working life of no more than 3-4 years.
IsMyLcdOK
IsMyLcdOK is a simple and intuitive tool for testing PC monitors for dead pixels. The software is free. Has several useful verification tools. However, it is impossible to cure a "stuck" pixel with its help. You can run it from removable media. It is downloaded as an archive.
Not so long ago I was interested in the question - "Is it possible to get rid of with the help of a program or mechanical action." I conducted an experiment, and now I can say with 100% certainty.
Until manufacturers eradicate them, consumers who are not lucky enough to find them at the stage of pre-sale check will look for ways to eliminate dead pixels in their monitor, TV, etc. How to check a monitor or TV for dead pixels, we said in the article - I was lucky at home there is no monitor or TV with a dead pixel on which it would be possible to test the program-mechanical complex of the impact on this "scourge" of LCD panels, which greatly complicated my research. Fortunately, there is a "wide field" for experiments at work, there is no shortage of experimental subjects, from a service monitor to a top-end Samsung TV with a characteristic defect :) Below is the original photo of the ailment considered in this particular case.
METHOD # 1 - Dead pixel massage
Eliminate the dead pixel by mechanical action. I chose an ear stick as a tool, and for about 15 minutes I "rubbed" the broken pixel ... The lesson is akin to masturbation, only more useless ... The broken pixel has not disappeared anywhere ...
By the way ... My first TFT monitor SAMSUNG 226BW, after a short operation, I got a similar defect (broken pixel), I pressed it with my finger, it disappeared, BUT invariably reappeared :) This fact confirms the effectiveness of this method, but as practice shows, it is far not a panacea.
METHOD # 2 - A program for the treatment of dead pixels.
I had special hopes for this method ... there are a lot of positive reviews on the network about the work of the program to eliminate dead pixels. I found several such programs, but the essence of their work did not differ from each other. The principle of operation of programs for eliminating dead pixels is reduced in the chaotic filling of space with pixels of different colors at different speeds, very similar to what we see in the absence of a signal from the antenna on old TVs, only in color.
So "profile" programs for the treatment of dead pixels, not so much, each of them desperately wants money or carries a present in the form of a Trojan :). I chose and checked several, and since they did not differ in the method of "treatment" ... I chose a program with a charming prefix ULTIMATE. The trick is to launch this miracle program after 15-30 minutes. the dead pixel should leave your device forever. But neither after 15 nor after 30 minutes, the result was not achieved ... I left the monitor in the program on for 8 hours, but to my great disappointment, the result was zero.
Download the program to eliminate dead pixels: (the program has a Trojan in it, so use an antivirus, it works without problems)
Output: In order to be objective, I will say that personally in my particular case of "dealing with dead pixels" I have not achieved a positive result, perhaps you will be more lucky :)
Broken pixels on your computer monitor are dots that don't work. They can be represented by luminous or extinct points. Pixels that are not working at all have a black tint. They can only be seen against a white background. This kind of pixels is the most harmless for the monitor. However, it is almost impossible to get rid of it.
Broken subpixels are most common. They are constantly luminous points of various shades, which can be represented by green, blue or red colors. The most annoying of all are the reddish burnt spots. Such pixels are called stuck pixels.
It should be noted that in some situations, dead pixels may form on the monitor and then disappear. Many consumers very often notice on new monitors a cluster of dots in the center of the screen. However, you can not worry about this, because they can be almost invisible if monitors are created on the MVA matrix.
How to get rid of dead pixels
This article will not mention methods in which high-tech laboratory methods must be used to get rid of pixels. The answer to the question of whether it is possible to remove dead pixels on your own at home is positive. Many have already checked this on their devices. In total, two methods have been created to remove dead pixels: using special programs and mechanical. Initially, many do not believe that it is possible to use special programs to solve this problem.
How programs are used to eliminate dead pixels
Removing dead pixels using programs is carried out by accelerating the change in shades of pixels located nearby. Using this method makes it possible to supply the dead pixels with more energy. It is thanks to this that they begin to come to their senses. This method makes it possible to tidy up to 80 percent of the dead pixels.
It should be noted that for each situation you will have to spend a different amount of time. In each specific case, it is necessary to experiment with the speed of changing the colors of adjacent pixels.
A pixel that has returned to its normal state may eventually stop working again. Especially if the room temperature gets very high due to hot weather. In this situation, it is recommended to use the program again. There are situations when it is no longer possible to remove the dead pixel problem.
Dead Pixel Treatment Program
The first program that can be used to solve the dead pixel problem is Bad Crystal. It is available for download and purchase on the official Internet resource. Its version, provided free of charge, is capable of functioning for one month. It works with a limited set of functions. It is not possible to use more modern technologies. If you use version 2.6 of this program, you can work without restrictions, but its only drawback is that after a minute of use, a blackout appeared on the monitor.
However, there is one very interesting trick that can be used to correct this situation. It is necessary to move the program screen and hold the left mouse button constantly. For this, you can use any available items. In this position, the program windows will function normally for any amount of time.
The activity of the program begins with the choice of the type of device. You can choose from a computer monitor, a TV screen, a tablet screen, or a mobile phone screen.
To work with mobile devices and game consoles, you must use a video file that matches the resolution of the device. To work with a plasma TV monitor, you need to create a DVD disc with the corresponding recording. It can also be used on a full screen computer monitor.
In order to go to the additional menu, you need to move the mouse to the left side at the top of the program window. In a free program of this type, only two modes of operation are available, which are represented by Common Clearing, Personal Protection. The paid version also includes System modified and Complex Force. These two programs provide a high probability of pixel recovery. It should be noted that the Common Clearing mode is automatically enabled.
To start the work process, you need to click on Launch and move the program window to the place where there are faulty pixels. Then you should wait up to 10 minutes and check. If, nevertheless, it was not possible to fix the pixel, then it is necessary to increase the speed of work. To do this, you need to click on Speed Up. After that, you must wait at least 10 minutes.
If the situation does not change, then it is necessary to set the entire process at maximum speed. It is necessary to do the work for the time it takes for the pixel to disappear completely. In the most advanced cases, this process can last at least ten hours.
After fixing a stuck pixel for preventive purposes, you need to enable the corresponding mode. Thanks to it, the hues on the monitor will change over a period of time. It is necessary to carry out such prevention at least twice a month at a time when no one is using the computer. You should not start this process manually, because later it will be difficult to disable it.
Using JScreenFix
The next program that is used to fix dead pixels is called JScreenFix. It can hardly be called a program because it looks more like a separate Java application that will not function without Java installed on the computer device. Until some time, it was provided free of charge. Today you need to spend $ 3.25 to purchase it.
It differs from the previous program in that it starts working from the moment a search for the location of the broken pixel. Its window is painted in a dark shade and it should be moved around the monitor to determine the location of the stuck pixel. To do this, you need to click on Locale. You can also use full screen mode.
Further, work begins, which belongs to the category of paid ones. This program works in the same way as bad Crystal. The official site has the ability to download video files that do not need to pay. They are played by various players on any device. It should be noted that their resolution does not allow for maximum efficiency.
The developers of these programs advise using some preventive methods for their screens. To do this, you need to run the recovery procedure from time to time. It may be most useful for plasma TVs.
Mechanical Pixel Removal Method
This method has a large number of reviews on the Internet. This is a kind of massage for the device screen. To do this, you must use an ear stick. It needs to be driven in the place of the monitor where the dead pixel is located. During the "massage", you should not press very hard on the stick. You need to make sure that divorces remain. This procedure may take up to half an hour.
You should be glad if you can cope with the problem. However, if the situation is reversed, then it is necessary in addition to use the Bad Crystal program. You can continue to use the stick with it. Finally, leave the Bad Crystal to function for about 10 hours.
Video: Software recovery of dead monitor pixels
