U2410 Green/Pink Failure Analysis

Here is unaltered photo of my screen (shot with Cannon EOS 4000D): http://www.afterworks.com/DELLU2410.jpg

Marin, I wouldn't be surprised at all !

Kresimir

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I had business with one out of two importers here, gave up after second display, but the other importer had in their showroom U2410 with grey/pink tint.

I don't get Dell when it comes to U2410. It seems also that U2711 is yellowish like Mac displays.

 Marin

Hello,

To close my story - I have sent monitor to authorized reseller and they didn't provide me with a new one, but as I've been told, they did change the panel.

I know this isn't perfectly correct on their side, but I won't complain as now I am totally happy with DELL 2410 as color is now vey homogen accross the sceeen.

No tinting at all !

Kresimir

If you are a long time DELL client, as I am, it is rather shocking to read these posts, since the conclusion one might have is that DELL has dropped the ball when it comes to customer relations.

Here is my two cents.

The UltraSharp U2410 is a monitor which according to DELL has a tinting issue, but one which some 96% of the buyers are not concerned with.

DELL has made the reasonable decision that in order to achieve a quality which would satisfy 100% of its customers for this monitor they would need to have a must more expensive component (it cost money to get higher quality), and that the higher price would have a net impact on sales which is greater than the tint issue will have on sales.   So, in order to keep sales at a maximum, they have decided to live with the tint problem and keep the cost low.

Frankly, I think they have missed an important marketing and customer relations opportunity, and one which has been suggested in these letters.   They can satisfy the more demanding clients (myself among them, i.e., the 4% of us who don't want a tinting problem), but selling a GRAPHICS EDITION of this monitor for a premium price.   That graphics edition would come with a simple guarantee that the monitor has a higher quality suitable for those users who have a need for a color correct monitor.   The 96% who could care less would get their bargain edition, and the fussy 4% would get a color correct version, and DELL would get 4% more sales and no unhappy customers.

I suggest that until DELL wises up to its marketing problem with the U2410, that those of you who want a correctly tinted monitor go out and spend the additional funds for one.   And if your main concern is price, stop complaining....you can't get the Lexus for the price of a Camry.

is that D

Good thought!  I made the exact same suggestion over a year ago and was totally ignored.  Fortunately someone gave me a 22" Diamondtron CRT monitor, so I can wait for the technology to get cheaper and better.

I'm not sure Dell can deliver a tint free guaranteed panel in any reasonable way. Dell can only test the panels, but sometimes the problem surface after a day or two of usage, and can be very subtle: perhaps an operator checking hundreds of monitors a day couldn't see it but a graphic designer looking for the last detail on his work, can.

Is LG that has to improve its QC to provide better panels., and I believe they are slowing doing so.

The problem here is that Dell always blind-swap hardware. The user cannot check the replacement, and Dell cannot guarantee tint-free replacements.

The UltraSharp U2410 is a monitor which according to DELL has a tinting issue, but one which some 96% of the buyers are not concerned with.

According to DELL, the U2410 has no tinting "issue".

And if your main concern is price, stop complaining....you can't get the Lexus for the price of a Camry.

No one is complaining about the price here. People are complaining about defective monitors. There is no mention anywhere in the specs of this product that the monitor is tinted with pink and green. It should. Also, I don't think your car analogy is appropriate. You buy a Camry then discover a major transmission issue on your first ride. You report it back and the seller answers you "Well Sir, you should have bought a Lexus if you wanted a perfect car". Seriously?

The main concern is that if you send it back (and I don't think you can anymore for this tint-problem-which-doesnt-exist, you have good chance of getting a monitor tinted worst than the one you had. Also, the first units were affected by a noise/dither issue in some modes and you have to send it to DELL to get a new revision unit (Firmware update). Unfortunately, they don't send you your monitor back. They send a different one, which could be heavily tinted.

I think I will finally unsubscribe to this thread by email. It hurts a little every time I read a post here :)

Conclusion to this epic thread should simply be : Avoid DELL. Look for alternatives.

Okay let me see if I understand this:  This thread originated in November 2009, it is now May 2011.

Has ANY work been done to improve/reduce/eliminate the problem besides saying "it is within industry standards"?

I saw some talk about A00 and A01 revisions, but I believe that applied to only the dithering problem? Or did I read something incorrectly?

Essentially I want to buy this monitor, I've been looking for a nice 24" monitor with a nice array of inputs and a zero-dead pixel policy.  I've owned dell monitors in the past and I loved them. What I do not want is to spend $500 on a monitor to see if I get "lucky" with a good panel.

I want to be absolutely sure that if I get a badly tinted panel that I don't have to fork over an addition ~$20 for shipping and/or restocking fee.  Some user mentioned a 15% restocking fee in Canada? I am unsure about the validity of that claim, but that would be utterly outrageous.

So if Chris or any other admin can clear this up, If I buy this monitor and am unsatisfied for any reason (Dead pixel, tinting, or any other problem I deem defective) will I be able to:

 - Return for full refund/replace without shipping costs going over $15 (I'm on the East Coast)

- No restocking fees whatsoever

- No unnecessary harassment (I don't want to be told that I have to self-calibrate my monitor and then everything will be "fine", and get refused an RMA. I am willing to get assistance in trying to fix the problem, but sometimes when an easy solution fails the tech people will continue to give the same advice over and over, not wanting to admit the problem.)

That is under an ironically named "Total Satisfaction Return Policy" section...  So total satisfaction is taking $75 + S&H from me when I am not satisfied with the product?

I can't tell if the dithering/tinting/temperature gradient is unsatisfactory to me until I see it. I would LOVE to go to a showroom and look at the monitor myself to decide if it's worth it or not.

I am not a graphic designer or any type of photo/video editor so that comment about 100 degrees of difference between corners or whatnot would not affect me. I just wanted a nice high quality, 24" w/ adjustable height that had a DisplayPort input, with the added bonus of the Zero Dead Pixel policy.... I've wanted to stick with 16:10 due to personal preference.. but they seem to be a rarity these days so I'll have to axe that idea.

I guess I'll just stick to some cheap Asus 24" TN panel or something... since those are dirt cheap and don't claim to be professional monitors. If is appropriate may I ask what you decided on? I understand that is off-topic but I'd like to see what alternatives people are buying and how they like it.

Thank you.

I was hoping that after nearly 2 years that Dell would get their act together, and either fix the problem (if it can be fixed) or offer free, no-strings attached refunds to those who wish to return it (if it indeed a problem with all of the screens).

I am contacting customer service right now to see if they will wave any restocking fees for me (in the vain hope that they understand the frustration on this particular product). I really don't want to give up such a nice looking monitor... but a gamble of $75+ S&H plus having to deal with customer service is too much for me right now.

I've dealt with Dell in the past for work (computers, printers, etc) and never had a problem w/ customer service like I've seen in this (and other) threads... so they must have different methods for individuals vs. companies... which would make sense.

I'm sorry to hear about your two defective monitors. Again, thanks for your advice, hopefully an admin will answer my questions definitely so I can make my final decision.

Oh, and I forgot to say (because otherwise people with an agenda like to insist others lack the faculties to detect the problem) -- I'm an imaging professional myself. Have been for well over a decade now, and the U2410 is my main work display.

Also remember that you generally only hear from people with complaints on forums like these. I almost didn't buy the monitor myself because of the complaints; I'm glad I ignored them. My monitor shows no tinting, close to correct calibration to start off with, can be made almost spot-on through the service menu, and is absolutely perfect when color-calibrated with my colorimeter. My only complaints with it are that it's a little slow for the soft buttons to come to life when there's nothing active and the monitor goes to sleep, and that like any IPS panel, the blacks could be deeper, especially when viewed off-axis. Those are a small price to pay for the superb image this thing gives.

I have no doubt at all that this monitor is amazing if you get a good one. The reviews were quite good across the board and it seems that many people are happy with it.

The point that makes me stop and think before buying it is "What if I get a lemon, one that DOES have the annoying tinting"? What if I am in that 5% (or whatever the % with problems is) that has to go through the hassle, shipping fees, restocking fees, etc.

If Dell acknowledged that the bad tinting was a problem, and offered to treat it like a defective product, then I'd feel reassured. I do not want to have the monitor for a month (all the while attempting to tweak and fix said problem) just to have Dell tell me "sorry you can't refund since its past X number of days".

I'm sure you can see why I worry. I obviously know that not all the monitors will have that tint/dithering issue... but when dealing with a $600 monitor I guess I expect a bit more (like the Zero-dead pixel policy: This is EXACTLY what I expect... so why the lax restriction on coloring?).