Dell 2408: Should I return (lots of pictures)

My monitor came with no dead pixels firstly, and the BLB is pretty minor (a smudge on all four corners). I am horrible with self calibration, and to be honest I believe that I don't have this monitor set up to its potential.

When I view blue or purple images, the left side of the screen has a noticeably brighter line. Now this is only present in blue or purples images, however it's really apparent on http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/viewing_angle.php with the purple screen. Now this is my first *VA panel, but I thought that the viewing angles weren't like this? When I view it straight on, the left and ride side are a definitive light purple color, but this is especially noticeable on the left side again.

I am aware that people are reporting similar problems; I've read most of the big Dell 2408 thread. I'm just curious as to see how mine stands- is it considered "good" of the bunch, or am I justified in exchanging it. As it stands this kind of bugs me, but I love every other feature of this monitor.

Pictures: If you need better ones, let me know how to take them. I'm inexperienced at this, so if clearer pictures are needed you'll have to teach me

Lagom site straight on


Thanks!

at an angle


other angle


blue screen


up closer


at an angle


green backgrounds are fine

Dell is quite good with returns/exchanges and they pay shipping both ways. If you're unhappy, send it back until you get one you like.

Mr. Wolf said:

Dell is quite good with returns/exchanges and they pay shipping both ways. If you're unhappy, send it back until you get one you like.

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See thats the thing, I'm not worried about the exchange. I'm worried that the monitor I have is considered "good" of the 2408s, and I'll just keep returning the monitor and receiving ones of lesser quality.

I have a 2407 and I have pretty much the same results on my screen.

You should not worry too much about the viewing angle when it comes to gaming with that monitor. Its the ghosting you should look at. I'm not sure if the 2008 suffers from the same ghosting the 2407 does but heres an example of what i'm refering to:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V1mN6lYAJzE

notice how there is a black ghosting effect on dark/gray backgrounds? can very be annoying and noticeable...

anyways i have a 2005fpw and a 2407fpw and the 2407 panel is a lot worse unfortunately but im still very happy with the monitor in general. as for the viewing angle stuff... dont worry about it if anything it makes games more realistic... when was the last time you looked at a wall which did not have a slight gradient due to lighting conditions

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here are two pictures of the ghosting while scrolling down a page... (yes you can see these with the naked eye if look for it otherwise u will only notice a slight black burr behind white text...)

I have seen no problems with ghosting so far, and I'm not going to look for any as well; first impressions playing Call of Duty 4 are fine, no visible ghosting seen.

And it's not the viewing angles that got me, it's the band of light seen on the left hand side that's apparent when viewing from straight on. I'd really like to see if any other 2408 users find this acceptable or what.

I don't own an LCD (though I used a cheapo dell at work), but blurry text in the first few pictures looks bad to me. Does anything else that's static lack uniformity?

Sadly, coming to find out, this is a feature of large screen PVA panels.... I had the dell 2408WFP and it was just like yours. I currently have the 2707WFP and its not as bad for some reason, but its still there.. It is very noticeable in games to, especially dark areas. I have decided to go back to IPS panels, even though I prefer the contrast and blacks of PVA, this problem with large screen PVA is actually worse than I can accept.......................

alexthebored said:

I have seen no problems with ghosting so far, and I'm not going to look for any as well; first impressions playing Call of Duty 4 are fine, no visible ghosting seen.

And it's not the viewing angles that got me, it's the band of light seen on the left hand side that's apparent when viewing from straight on. I'd really like to see if any other 2408 users find this acceptable or what.

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Oh sorry, I see whats going on now. That is a little odd... I see similar bands of light but they appear based on the viewing angle and distance and are pretty much not there when ur looking head on like yours.

That looks pretty bad actually... I know how you feel about returning it though. But later on when u cant return it anymore you'll be kicking yourself lol

My 2408WFP had a similar problem with color variation toward the sides (as did many in the 2408WFP thread in which I participated) but yours seems to be far more noticeable (possibly just due to photo versus reality differences). I sent mine back.

The 2408WFP does not suffer from the mis-adjusted overdrive induced ghosting that many of the 2407WFP/2407WFP-HC models did.

^ That's interesting to hear about the ghosting, looks like dell finally figured it out.

Too bad there's no way to turn off that crappy overdrive on the Dell 2407WFP-HC or my Samsung 245T .

nav said:

My 2408WFP had a similar problem with color variation toward the sides (as did many in the 2408WFP thread in which I participated) but yours seems to be far more noticeable (possibly just due to photo versus reality differences). I sent mine back.

The 2408WFP does not suffer from the mis-adjusted overdrive induced ghosting that many of the 2407WFP/2407WFP-HC models did.

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Yeah in some of the photos (particularly the blue background) the picture accentuates it, however the problem is still there regardless.

Should I exhange for another 2408?

alexthebored said:

Should I exhange for another 2408?

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If you're otherwise happy with the monitor, you might want to give it a try. While I think you'll find the same issue in any replacement, it might not be as bad. The color variation toward the sides was barely noticeable for me with the settings I had my 2408WFP at, but it bothered me once I found a situation that brought it to my attention.

If you're still unsatisfied, return/exchange the second one too. Dell makes returns and exchanges really easy. I ended up upgrading to a different monitor.

^^

nav said:

Dell makes returns and exchanges really easy. I ended up upgrading to a different monitor.

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Would be helpful (and nice) if you told us which monitor you upgraded to and how you like it compared to the 2408.

orangeble said:

Too bad there's no way to turn off that crappy overdrive on the Dell 2407WFP-HC or my Samsung 245T .

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What is "Overdrive" and are you sure it's also on the 245T and can't be disabled?

Mr. Wolf said:

Dell is quite good with returns/exchanges and they pay shipping both ways. If you're unhappy, send it back until you get one you like.

Click to expand...

he's right, dell pays shipping both ways for replacements.

alexthebored said:

See thats the thing, I'm not worried about the exchange. I'm worried that the monitor I have is considered "good" of the 2408s, and I'll just keep returning the monitor and receiving ones of lesser quality.

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u can just return the new monitor that dell sends you until you get a better one then keep that and send back the original.

alexthebored said:

I have seen no problems with ghosting so far, and I'm not going to look for any as well; first impressions playing Call of Duty 4 are fine, no visible ghosting seen.

And it's not the viewing angles that got me, it's the band of light seen on the left hand side that's apparent when viewing from straight on. I'd really like to see if any other 2408 users find this acceptable or what.

Click to expand...

i'm also experiencing this issue, and others have highlighted this in the dellcommunity forums as well. you can go check it out.

orangeble said:

^ That's interesting to hear about the ghosting, looks like dell finally figured it out.

Too bad there's no way to turn off that crappy overdrive on the Dell 2407WFP-HC or my Samsung 245T .

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I have a HC model also but I have learned to live with it and I don't even notice the ghosting now (maybe that's a little untrue ). I think maybe if I had paid retail price I would have had an issue with it, but seeing as how I was able to use a coupon for it while purchasing a system for someone else, it's all win.

It does amaze me though that this issue couldn't be fixed.

Gravestone Doji said:

^^
Would be helpful (and nice) if you told us which monitor you upgraded to and how you like it compared to the 2408.

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I upgraded to the NEC LCD2490WUXi. Except for slightly lesser black levels (still impressive, I'm not complaining, that's just in comparison to the 2408WFP), less inputs, and the price (I used a coupon, but it was still a bit painful) it's an improvement in every way. While my gaming performance wasn't particularly affected by the 2408WFP's input lag, I notice less mouse cursor lag with the LCD2490WUXi. The color and backlight uniformity is perfect. I was able to rein in the brightness to a more comfortable level than I achieved with the 2408WFP. The "normal" color gamut is much preferable to me over the 2408WFP's extended color gamut. Of course, there's no rainbow effect with this panel either.

I see a stuck pixel.. but I suppose it couldn't be a compression artifact. Its just odd it shows up in all pictures.

Well despite the rather mixed reviews, I've decided the current deal on the monitor (with 20% off code in Hot Deals) makes it too good to pass. If it sucks, I'll just exchange it...if it still sucks, I guess I'll return it and wait for better.

inotocracy said:

I see a stuck pixel.. but I suppose it couldn't be a compression artifact. Its just odd it shows up in all pictures.

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I see it as well, however it's absent in the actual screen.

Compared to a lot of Dell monitors I think yours looks decent. I had a 2007wfp that I had to exchange 3 times before just getting a refund. Dead/stuck pixels, bad backlighing etc were some issues.. You have a good chance of getting a worse monitor (that you could also exchange). If you don't like the monitor as is I would say send it back fro a refund and get an NEC. Dell is too sketchy with quality control imo

I think the stuck pixel might be in your camera too btw since I see it on a wall in another pic

That is my plan of action as well. 20% off doesn't come around too often.