A stuck (or dead ?) pixel is revealed on my T43

[alexzabr]

Just noticed a stuck or dead pixel on my XGA (1024x768) T43 LCD. It appears as a gray pixel on any background towards right side of the screen.
What I'm wondering about is that it wasn't there previously (at least I didn't noticed such until yesterday and I would notice it would it be there previously). Can dead/stuck pixels appear as LCD is aging ?
In fact, my machine is still quite new - I'm the original owner and it has been bough about 3-4 months ago, used quite intensively for technical computing.
I just thought dead/stuck pixels are kind of "newborn" deceases among thinkpad LCDs (i.e. if there were not such on brand new machine - they will not be at all any further), was I wrong ?

BTW, gray pixel - does it fall into "dead' or "stuck" category ?

Thanks, Alex[/b]

[christopher_wolf]

Sounds like it is stuck to me; you could try looping an RGB+B/W color set over it rapidly to unstick it.

Dead pixels are usually a bright, primary color or either stuck white or black; and they very rarely appear after your first use.

HTH

[alexzabr]

Thanks Christopher.
By what means to roll RGB B/W solor set patterns ? Is theer any specific program to do that ?
From physical point of view, what is stuck pixel ? (appears gray)

[mg]

Check if clicking the middle touch pad button on it fixes it.

[Thinkpaddict]

Thanks Christopher.
By what means to roll RGB B/W solor set patterns ? Is theer any specific program to do that ?
From physical point of view, what is stuck pixel ? (appears gray)

You can search for Playstation Pixel Video, or go here:
http://www.psp-vault.com/Article168.psp
This is a video which cycles different colors at high speeds, the patterns that Christopher refers to. The theory behind this is that by stressing the transistors in LCD like this through fast changes you can unstuck stuck pixels.

As far as the difference between a stuck and dead pixel, each pixel in an LCD has 3 transistors (1 for red, 1 for blue, and 1 for green). If one of this transistors ceases to function (is always off) for 1 pixel, that is a dead pixel. If all 3 transistors in a pixel are dead, the pixel in question will always be black. A stuck pixel, however, is a pixel for which some of its associated transistors has gotten stuck (is always on). Usually in this case you get red, blue, or green pixels (depending on the stuck transistor), or you can get a white or grey pixel (if more than 1 transistor is stuck). Stuck pixels can be fixed apparently, whereas dead pixels can not be resolved.

As far as I understand it, the easy way to test whether you have a dead or a stuck pixel is to use two backgrounds (a white background and a black background). If in a white background you have darker pixels, you have dead pixels. If in a black background you have lighter pixels, you have stuck pixels. However...does anyone know if it is possible to have a hybrid dead/stuck pixel where at least one of its transistors is dead and at least another of its transistors is stuck?

[alexzabr]

Thanks a lot.
Downloaded their video, however it came as MP4 file and my Win Media Player refuses to play one reproting that it doesn't have the necessary codec.
I have Win Media Player ver 10 and downloaded from Microsoft and installed their MP4 codec support. The file nevertheless refused to be played on Media Player despite of MP4 codec installation.

Any hints ?

[christopher_wolf]

Thanks a lot.
Downloaded their video, however it came as MP4 file and my Win Media Player refuses to play one reproting that it doesn't have the necessary codec.
I have Win Media Player ver 10 and downloaded from Microsoft and installed their MP4 codec support. The file nevertheless refused to be played on Media Player despite of MP4 codec installation.

Any hints ?

Use VLC to play it ( http://www.videolan.org/vlc/ ); it should play it just fine out of the box. I would also recommend it as an all around video media player.

[alexzabr]

Thanks, downloaded, works fine.
However the file plays for several minutes and then stops.
How to tell him to play continuously (I guess at least for several hours) ?

[christopher_wolf]

Thanks, downloaded, works fine.
However the file plays for several minutes and then stops.
How to tell him to play continuously (I guess at least for several hours) ?

Open the MP4, click the playlist icon (the bulleted list immediately to the left of the volume control on the default skin), then select the file and hit one of the loop buttons in the top left hand corner of the Playlist window.

[Raphoroni]

I've had a stuck pixel ever since I got my T43. Its just one pixel of blue in the lower left corner of the screen, only annoys me when certain colors are the background for it. is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

[christopher_wolf]

I've had a stuck pixel ever since I got my T43. Its just one pixel of blue in the lower left corner of the screen, only annoys me when certain colors are the background for it. is there anything I can do to get rid of it?

Sounds to me like a dead pixel. Try running that video in a loop over it, minimizing the exposure of the playback overlay area to the surrounding pixels. Let it run for an hour or overnight if need be. Although I am betting that is a dead pixel you have and there is nothing you can do about it if it is dead except use a program to "mask" it, get a new LCD, or simply learn to ignore it and/or live with it.