lcd panel looks like it has a smudge factory

How much DSE you see depends partly on the model you purchased. Pricier models generally feature improved better uniformity, mostly because manufacturers use more rigorous quality standards for their high-end products. But, no matter how much you spend, uniformity is unique to every individual unit, meaning you don"t really know how much DSE you"re getting until you see it in person.

Is your obsessive side getting twitchy yet? Before we discuss upping your Xanax prescription, let"s review how the DSE demon begins its possession of your beloved screen.

If you own a plasma TV, the pixels are individually illuminated and all capable of achieving the same level of brightness. This tends to make DSE less visible in these devices, particularly in high-end models.

Still, DSE may afflict cheaper versions, particularly if the anti-reflective coating on the glass that overlays the screen is of low quality or poorly applied. Furthermore, as the display ages, the phosphors in the screen may begin to wear out or malfunction, all of which can contribute to less uniform images, which is often apparent particular in scenes with fast panning shots.

In LCD and LED TVs, DSE is typically a bigger issue, one that"s due to the way these units are illuminated. Before we proceed, it"s worth mentioning that although marketing-speak often treats LED and LCD TVs as completely different technologies, they"re not different beasts.

LED units could be more accurately described as "LED-backlit LCD televisions," but salespeople and consumers alike are too lazy to utter that tongue-wearying phrase while haggling in a big-box store. What"s important to realize is that both categories rely on LCDs (liquid crystal displays), which act as shutters that either block light or allow it to pass, depending on the image that"s being rendered on the screen.

There are a variety of factors that affect LCD quality, notably illumination source. Older LCD TVs, for example, used multiple cold cathode fluorescent lamps (CCFL) to light LCDs from the rear. They provide generally smooth and even illumination, but they make the final product rather bulky.

More modern TVs rely on LEDs (light-emitting diodes) as a light source. Some models have what"s called full-array backlighting, in which the LEDs are stationed in regular intervals behind the screen, creating even lighting and excellent picture quality.

Other models incorporate what"s called edge lighting, which positions the LEDs along the edges of the screen. In general, the overall picture quality isn"t quite as good as a backlit screen, but manufacturers still use it because it allows them to build substantially slimmer TVs.

Regardless of the lighting source, sometimes it"s not the technology itself that results in DSE. It might be due to the way the display was handled at the factory or even en route to your home.

If you"ve ever pressed a little too hard on your smartphone or computer screen, you"ve likely witnessed a bit of discoloration, clear evidence of how sensitive LCDs are to physical pressure. Now, picture a huge manufacturing facility that cranks out thousands of these units per week. It"s easy to see how a bit of mishandling could alter the screen"s consistency.

The same goes for shipping. Some units travel long distances in cargo boxes, and then take bouncy rides in your car to their final resting place on your living room wall. That"s a lot of opportunities for tiny mishaps to affect LCD uniformity.

If you had an older 2011 iMac the cover glass is easy to get off, and has a space that is not closed off it and can get dusty. The newer 2012 onward are technically sealed! The open cell foam apple uses does allow a bit of air flow (to adjust for air pressure) but it’s not porous enough to allow dust through.

So what is going on here this looks like dust! What you are likely seeing is the degrading of the liquid crystal material, over time and the amount of static twist the liquid crystal has endured the screen can appear as dusty!

Just like an elastic can lose its spring so can the liquid crystal material and being forced at a set pull likewise can lose its ability to return to the neutral state.

So what to do? There are some apps you can run which exercises the liquid crystal so it can return some of its flex. Otherwise there is nothing you can do to fix this once its become an issue.

OK, is there any way to prevent it? Yes! surprisingly its not using a photo as a background image instead use a solid mid tone color. Also don’t run your display at high brightness.

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

When it comes to cleaning, flat-screen TVs and LCD screens require special care and a gentle touch. With the wrong technique, you can easily scratch the screen or damage the surface"s antiglare coating. Even rubbing too hard can cause pixels (the tiny dots that compose images on computer monitors and TV screens) to burn out and stop working permanently. Most household cleaning products are too harsh to use on electronic devices with LCD or OLED screens, so choose your TV cleaning strategy carefully. These tips on how to clean a TV screen will help protect your device while ridding it of dust, smudges, fingerprints, and streaks.

Before you begin cleaning a TV or LCD monitor screen, check the manufacturer"s manual for cleaning instructions. If a computer or electronic wipe is recommended, purchase a container for quick cleanups. Note that using a cleaning product or method not recommended by the manufacturer will likely void a product"s warranty. It"s also important to avoid spraying liquid on the screen when cleaning a TV. Liquids can drip into the frame, get wicked inside the screen, and cause permanent damage.

If streaks or stains remain, wet a microfiber cloth with distilled water and wring the cloth until it"s almost dry. With very little pressure, wipe the cloth across the screen in broad motions, working from the top of the screen to the bottom. If smudges persist, dampen a new microfiber cloth with 50-50 water and vinegar solution, wringing it tightly to keep it slightly damp, and wipe.

To avoid damage to your TV while cleaning, only use gentle products. Never wipe the screen with paper towels, abrasive sponges, or coarsely woven rags, which can cause scratches. Instead, use high-quality, finely woven microfiber cloths to clean TV screens, recommends cleaning expert Leslie Reichert.

You should also avoid cleaning products that contain alcohol or ammonia. These types of cleaners can remove antiglare coatings and cause images to become cloudy or distorted. A simple swipe with a microfiber cloth ($9 for 5, Amazon) is typically all that"s needed to remove dust and other debris from the screen"s surface. When more than a light dusting is required, however, use the guidelines below for the best way to clean a TV.

Practice preventative measures so you won"t have to clean TV screens often. Keep food, drinks, and kids away from TV and computer screens to eradicate risks of messy splatters and fingerprint smudges. During your weekly house cleaning, lightly dust the screens with a microfiber cloth to prevent dust buildup.

• Set up, feed and operate screen presses efficiently referencing blueprints and job jackets, while maintaining high quality and performance standards.

• Dexterity and Arm-Hand Steadiness – ability to quickly move hands, arms, fingers to grasp, manipulate or assemble and the ability to keep hand and arm steady.

Dirty Screen Effect is a term and acronym often tossed around by TV reviewers and A/V forum enthusiasts as if everyone knows what it is. And, yet, very few folks have ever heard of it before. You may have seen it, though. In fact, if you’ve recently purchased a TV and it doesn’t look quite right, your TV might be suffering from Dirty Screen Effect, more commonly referred to as DSE.

In some ways, Dirty Screen Effect is an appropriate term — and it’s one of those things you just can’t unsee. But it doesn’t exactly look the way it sounds like it should look.

In this quick guide we’ll cover what Dirty Screen Effect looks like, what’s happening on a technical level, and what, if anything, you can do to get rid of it. We’ll also touch on the notion of the so-called “panel lottery” and how that plays into how clean — or dirty — your new TV screen might look.

Dirty Screen Effect (DSE) is a term that’s used to describe an LCD panel that has inconsistent luminance performance across its surface area. It can appear as random splotches, uniform lines, wide bars, and, in some cases, vignetting (a slight darkening toward the corners). DSE once plagued plasma TV panels as well. But since those are no longer in production, we’ll keep this explainer focused on LCD-based TVs.

As a reminder, any TV that uses an LED backlight also uses an LCD panel, so TVs marketed as LED, QLED, and mini-LED are all susceptible. Due to what causes DSE on a technical level, some may argue it can only apply to LCD-based TVs. However, similar effects can be seen in OLED-based displays — thus the term is often applied — so we’ll include those types of TVs as well, but address them separately.

While DSE can be seen in any number of scenarios, you are most likely to see it when there are big swatches of the same color on the screen. Take an ice hockey game, for example. Some areas of the ice will appear to be dingier or darker than other areas of the ice. You might also see DSE more easily when watching golf; when there are vast sections of grass on the screen, some parts of the grass may appear to be darker or more muted in color than other parts.

The trick with DSE is that the issue is fixed to the screen, so as the picture moves, you’ll notice that any part of the picture moving through these “dirty” areas gets a little dimmer. Hence, it seems as if the screen is dirty.

Some DSE is severe and some is so faint you may not notice it unless you look hard for it. As a very clear example of what DSE looks like when exposed by testing slides, we’ve included an example below.

There are a number of factors stemming from the manufacturing of an LCD panel that can cause Dirty Screen Effect, from variance in backlight distribution to variance in TFT switching for sub-pixels, to variance in conductivity and/or capacitance of transparent electrodes. That’s super-nerdy, though, and the actual cause is less important than the common theme here: inconsistency.

In panel manufacturing, there are numerous variables that can be introduced that would cause an LCD panel to have groups of pixels that shine less bright than others. This variance is, unfortunately, part of the tech that makes our TVs. And the manner in which different manufacturers handle that variance is also … you guessed it: Varied.

Dirty Screen Effect also can be caused by damage to the panel in shipping or mishandling of the TV during the setup or installation process. Generally speaking, it’s recommended one avoids “pinching” or otherwise exerting pressure on the front of the TV screen.

This is a difficult question to answer because I do not have data that supports objective analysis on the prevalence of DSE in newly manufactured televisions. However, I can offer some anecdotal perspective based on my experience as a TV reviewer and the feedback I get from readers and viewers, as well as reports I see in A/V forums.

From what I’ve seen, DSE — ranging from insignificant to severe — seems fairly common among newly manufactured LCD-based televisions, due primarily to the nature of LCD panel manufacturing. Very broadly, the less expensive a TV is, the more likely it is to exhibit some level of DSE. More expensive TVs are not immune to the issue, but some manufacturers have tighter quality assurance tolerances for their high-end products so — again, very broadly speaking — DSE tends to be less prevalent among those models.

DSE as a symptom of age is virtually impossible to track, however — again, anecdotally — I have witnessed DSE creep into a TV’s display panel slowly over time and worsen with age. I’ve seen it happen in TVs I own, TVs friends and family have owned, and TVs installed in commercial environments such as hotels and bars.

First, a warning: Once you see DSE on your TV, it’s tough to “un-see.” So, if you are happy with your TV’s performance and wish to stay that way, then you may wish to subscribe to the “ignorance is bliss” theory and forego the following tests.

If, however, you suspect that your new TV may have levels of DSE that you deem to be unacceptable, you can use this YouTube video (also posted at the top of this article) to look for signs of DSE. In our video, we not only provide testing slides that help to expose DSE, but guide you on how to spot it.

Unfortunately, there’s no way to eliminate DSE. Some websites suggest loosening the screws on the back of a TV to lessen the strain on the panel. We do not recommend this tactic as it could stand to void an active warranty. Also, it’s not very likely to work.

Really, the best way to get rid of DSE on a newly purchased TV is to catch it early and return or exchange the TV within the typical 30-day customer satisfaction period. It is rare for a manufacturer’s warranty to cover a repair or replacement when the complaint is over a flaw that the said manufacturer has already deemed to be within an acceptable margin of error.

Most TVs offer a “game mode” which, due to its tendency to brighten everything on-screen, can help to obscure DSE. But this is really just a Band-Aid measure. The DSE is still there, but it may be less obvious. Another somewhat helpful tip to reduce the appearance of DSE in LCD panels is to view the TV from as direct an angle as possible. As you move off-axis (view a TV from an angle) DSE tends to become more obvious.

In very limited instances, some cases of DSE on OLED TVs can be remedied by manually triggering the TV’s built-in “pixel refresh” system, usually located somewhere in the TV’s system menu.

The so-called “panel lottery” refers to the game TV buyers unwittingly play when purchasing a TV. Sometimes you “win the panel lottery,” which is a way of saying that the TV you got was in especially pristine shape and shows no signs of DSE. It’s also a term used to easily express that there’s such a variance in panel quality that it’s virtually impossible you’ll win a perfect panel. In other words, it’s all up to chance.

LCD display screens on tablets are made of two thin layers of glass with dark liquid crystal material in between. The glass is covered on the outside by a layer of plastic. Customers often feel there cannot be a broken LCD display because they cannot feel the break. However, cracks in the glass usually cannot be felt because the plastic covering rarely breaks or fractures.

Black “spots” might also appear. This can be liquid crystal material spilling out of a crack. A crack might be present which causes lines to appear but no liquid crystal spots are apparent. The spots might be small or might appear later or grow larger in time. Customers often say that there were no black spot(s) when the unit was sent for repair, so it must have occurred during or after shipment.

It is important to understand that lines on the LCD can also be caused by video driver issues or a problem with the media you are using. Video driver issues can normally be resolved by downloading and installing a new video driver. However, if the damage is due to a broken LCD, you should understand the following policies.

Accidental Damage is any damage due to an unintentional act that is not the direct result of a manufacturing defect or failure. Accidental damage is not covered under the standard warranty of the product. Such damage is often the result of a drop or an impact on the LCD screen or any other part of the product which may render the device non-functional. Such types of damage are only covered under an Accidental Damage service offering which is an optional add-on to the basic warranty of the product. Accidental Damage must not be confused with an occasional dead or stuck pixel on the LCD panel. For more information about dead or stuck pixels, see the Dell Display Pixel Guidelines.

No, accidental damage is covered for Dell computers or monitors which are covered under the Accidental Damage Service offering for that specific product.

For more information about Dell Limited Hardware Warranty and Dell"s Accidental Damage service offering, see the Dell Warranty & Support Services page.

NOTE: Other damages may be considered customer induced if determined by Dell Technical Support, an on-site field engineer, or at the mail-in repair center.

The LCD glass on the display is manufactured to rigorous specifications and standards and will not typically crack or break on its own under normal use. In general, cracked, or broken glass is considered accidental damage and is not covered under the standard warranty.

Internal cracks typically occur due to excessive force on the screen. This can be the result of some object hitting the screen, a drop, attempting to close the lid while an object is on the keypad area, or even holding the laptop by its screen.

Spots typically occur due to an external force hitting the screen causing damage to the LCD panel"s backlight assembly. While the top layer did not crack or break, the underlying area was compressed and damaged causing this effect.

If your Dell laptop LCD panel has any accidental damage but the laptop is not covered by the Accidental Damage service offering, contact Dell Technical Support for repair options.

Dell monitors cannot be repaired by an on-site field engineer or at the mail-in repair center. If you notice any damage to the monitor, you must purchase a new monitor.

Laptop users can strive to make the most of their laptops to maximize stability, longevity, and usability. Understanding and implementing a few best practices for the safe handling of their laptop will enable them to enjoy their laptop for many years to come. For more information, see the Dell knowledge base article Dell Laptop Best Practices for Care, Use, and Handling.

Just recently I"ve noticed a very sticky liquid leaking out of one corner of the screen. There are now bright and dark patches on the screen near where it"s leaking. As well as round the screen the sticky stuff gets onto the base of the laptop where I rest my hands to type. lt"s really hard to clean off and I"m worried it may be toxic.

There has been no physical damage to the laptop at all - it just started leaking. Is this a common fault or is it a sign of a defect in the design and manufacture?

This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. The action you just performed triggered the security solution. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.

You have discovered a black spot on your laptop screen, and you are not alone! Finding a black mark on your LCD can be disheartening, but there are steps you can take to get rid of it. So, if you are here to know how to fix black spots on a laptop, do not skip any part of this article and read until the end.

The black spots are just surface blemishes that appear when dirt or other particles lie on the glass of your screen or due to some defects with the LCD pixels. They are not cracks or tears that may cause the display to fail in the near future, and it’s certainly not an indication of broken glass. Although these can easily be fixed, it is crucial to have a proper understanding of what causes the spots so you can take measures to prevent them from appearing again in the future.

A laptop or LCD monitor’s screen is like a mirror, and it reflects the light from your computer’s display back at you. Black spots on display occur when small amounts of dirt and dust or smudges gather and are stuck to the surface.

Sometimes, dirt or debris may accumulate on your laptop screen, which leads to black spots that become visible to the naked eye and grow larger over time and can cause problems with screen resolution if left untreated.

These spots are typically easy to remove without damaging the monitor. However, failing to clean the dirt or debris on a regular basis, more of them will appear and gradually obscure more of your laptop’s screen, making the rest of the screen appear duller by comparison.

Though such black marks will not reduce the quality of the display of your LCD screen and cause any damage to the internal circuit of the monitor, they are very annoying.

The easy solution to get rid of these spots is to clean your screen with a moderately dampened microfiber cloth or soft eraser. Make sure you do not apply pressure while rubbing the display; instead, wipe it with gentle and circular strokes to avoid scratches and leftover marks.

Different types of pixel defects happen on LCD screens, including dead pixels and stuck pixels. Identifying the problem correctly will help you to choose the right methods to fix it that will not result in damaging the screen any further.

Most laptops have some pixel problems in them. The number of defective pixels you see depends on the screen resolution – the smaller the resolution, the larger they seem. In most cases, they are not noticeable during regular use as they are not bright spots, and if your laptop is free from pixel issues when you buy it, consider yourself lucky.

LCD manufacturing technology has improved dramatically over the years, and today’s panels almost don’t come with any such problem. However, as earlier as a few years back, there were times when defective pixels or vertical/horizontal lines would be let out into the market for lower-cost models.

When a pixel gets permanently damaged, it fails to receive power, resulting in a dark or black spot on your laptop display. This specific malfunction can occur during the manufacturing process of LCD monitors, and it is sort of permanent, which does not recover over time.

However, one can rarely experience such defects on their laptop screens out of the box since manufacturers strive to follow stringent quality control processes to make sure they deliver a flawless product. On the other hand, it’s quite normal to notice dead pixels appearing on the screen over time, depending on multiple usage factors.

Unlike dead pixels, stuck pixels are able to be powered on, which leads to a permanently colored pixel. They can be any of these three colors – red, blue, or green. While dead pixels are pretty much a permanent condition, a stuck pixel might just go away on its own.

Every modern laptop comes with a built-in LCD diagnostic mode that can successfully identify any pixel malfunction on your laptop’s screen. Follow the step-by-step method as below –

Now, turn the laptop on while pressing and holding the D key at the same time, and you will be taken to the self-test mode. Do not release the D key until the color bars appear on the LCD.

The monitor should display multiple color bars that constantly change from one color to another, which you want to inspect carefully in order to find out any distortion or irregular pixels.

On the contrary, stuck pixels are not dead and can receive power like other normal pixels; however, they get stuck on a single color always (hence, the name), which is either red, blue, or green.

In a dead pixel, all three of the colored sub-pixels – red, blue, and green – are forever “dead” or turned off and can’t be illuminated, so it looks like a black spot to our eyes.

However, it’s tricky to differentiate between dead and stuck pixels by naked eyes; therefore, you may want to look for other ways. If you are using a Windows laptop, install a free software named “InjuredPixels” – you can Google for its official website and download from there. Or if it’s a Mac, “LCD DeadPixel Test” is a browser-based tool (so nothing to download or install) that can help.

Spotting any defective pixel is relatively easy using these apps. They run single solid colors on your display so that you can quickly find out the malfunctioning pixel that doesn’t match the color of the rest of the screen real estate. You can further ensure whether it is a dead or stuck pixel before you attempt to fix it.

The common causes of an LCD monitor having a bad pixel are the following: extremely high or low temperature, a sudden drop in voltage, high levels of humidity, and static display over an extended period.

Keeping your laptop unprotected close to a heating source can force the pixels on the LCD to get solidified. Even lower temperatures below the allowed limit can lead to the same result.

Read the user manual for the ideal range of humidity levels within which you should operate your laptop. Keeping your LCD screen powered on in a high level of humidity may cause tiny droplets of moisture to enter the inside exposed areas of your display, resulting in a pixel malfunction.

Alternatively, you can let the laptop be turned off for about an hour and then turn it on. Repeat the process a few times and check for any changes in the pixels. This simple method is especially beneficial in case the stuck pixel shows when running a specific program and not other times.

In contrast, a black spot due to dead pixels is a more complex problem and hard to fix. You can find the few expert-recommended methods with comparatively higher success rates below.

If you find that your LCD panel display has dead pixels, there are a few things you can try. One of the simplest things to try is rubbing it gently, particularly if the dead pixel is on the edge of your screen where it is barely noticeable.

Before you try this technique, your LCD panel must be clean and free of dust and debris. Simply wiping with a soft cloth should remove most dirt and smudges. Also, using an object with a circular end, such as a smartphone stylus, and placing a soft microfiber cloth over the problem spot during the process will greatly reduce the risk of causing more harm to the screen.

JScreenFix is a website that can help you with your dead or stuck pixel issues. No expensive equipment or software is required as using the site is 100% free. All you need is just your laptop and an internet connection, and you are good to go. Below is a step-by-step guide that will walk you through the steps to solve the problem!

Once you have it on your laptop – open it up, move the red box to the area where you marked the dead pixel, set the timer, and click the “Start Flashing” button.

You would be in luck if your laptop was still under warranty period when you noticed the pixel defect. Take the unit to the official service center or the retailer you purchased it from and ask about the warranty claim process. In the majority of cases, any such pixel damages are considered manufacturing defects, and the company will simply replace the LCD.

No, both are different conditions. While dead pixels mean literally dead or not able to be activated or powered on and hence display no color, a stuck pixel does turn on and sticks to a single color instead of constantly shifting to red, green, and blue as required like a healthy and working pixel.

It depends. If you are experiencing a stuck pixel problem on your screen, it will likely recover by itself after a while in the majority of cases, without any user input. On the other hand, a dead pixel is more or less a permanent condition.

For stuck pixels, you have little to worry about as they usually disappear over time. However, dead pixels are mostly not user repairable. With that’s being said, JScreenFix and PixelHealer are two incredibly effective software solutions that you can use to restore your stuck and dead pixels – experts found their success rates pretty high.

Before you start looking for how to fix black spots on a laptop, it’s crucial to figure out exactly what caused the condition. Typically the issues people face are minor, and the black spots on their screens are a result of dust and dirt accumulation, which can be fixed with a simple cleaning.

However, sometimes it might be a symptom of a larger problem, including dead and stuck pixels that may require professional help. Unless you know what you are doing, we recommend you take your laptop to an authorized repair shop or claim a replacement from the brand if it’s still under the warranty period.

Screens can scratch easily, and even paper towels and tissues contain fibers that can do damage. “Your best bet is to use a soft, anti-static microfiber cloth—the kind used to clean eyeglasses and camera lenses—and wipe in a circular motion,” says John Walsh, who cleans more than 250 TVs a year in his role as a CR photographer. (Some TV manufacturers will include a cloth for this purpose.) “Gently wipe the screen with a dry cloth to remove dust and other debris, but don’t press too hard,” he says.

You may also want to wipe down the TV’s cabinet, and make sure dust isn’t clogging the vents that help dissipate heat. If the TV is on a stand and not tethered to the wall, Walsh suggests cleaning with one hand while supporting the TV with the other to prevent the set from tipping over. However, CR strongly recommends anchoring all stand-mounted TVs using anti-tipping straps designed for this purpose.

If there are hard-to-remove stains, you can dampen the cloth slightly with distilled water and gently clean the screen. Don’t spray water directly onto the screen; that could cause a shock or component failure if water seeps into the inner workings of the set.

For the most stubborn stains, you can try using a solution of very mild dish soap highly diluted with water, once again applied to the cloth and not to the TV itself. (As a guideline, Panasonic used to recommend a 100:1 ratio of water to soap.) LCD screens, in particular, are very sensitive to pressure and can scratch easily, so don’t press hard.