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General discussion

Bought PSP, has dead pixel, not sure what to do

Jun 3, 2007 3:23PM PDT

Okay, so I finally got my PSP and opened it today. I was really exicted, charged it up, waited and waited. The first thing I did was check for a dead pixel cause I've heard this is a pretty common problem, didn't see anything, was really happy.

I started playing again later tonight and was watching the screen more closely because I wasn't doing something else at the same time. Well, I noticed when there was a completely black screen (while it was starting a game up) way up in the top of the screen, almost mid-screen, one little tiny dot was lit, everything else was black. So, I checked with the different theme colors and it did the same thing on a few of the darker colors. I am assuming this is what the dead pixel is.


I've been thinking about it, I only have one game right now, a racing game, and one UMD movie. So, in my racing game I don't really notice the pixel and I would think in most games I wouldn't. But, I'm concerned it may bug me a little when I'm watching movies (I tend to be a person that can miss everything that is perfect and concentrate only on the one little problem).....


But, how big of a problem is the dead pixels? I would hate to get one that ends up being worse. If I take it back, am I likely to have the same problem?


Another thing I wasn't to sure of is if this is only a problem that you will have from the start, or if it is something that can develop over time? I didn't notice it at first, so I'm a little worried they are all going to start doing it.


In the packaging it says not to return to the store, I bought it at Wal-Mart. But, I really don't want to have to wait on Sony to ship me a new one or fix or anything like that, can Wal-Mart replace it for me?


Finally, I also noticed once and a while that I can hear like a spinning noise or something with the UMD. Is this normal? I don't seem to notice it all the time, just once and a while.


Sorry for all the questions.


Thanks!

Discussion is locked

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Join the club
Jun 3, 2007 11:10PM PDT

It's a very common problem with LCDs in general, and for whatever reason, the PSP in particular.

You can try taking it back to Walmart with some bogus excuse about it not working. So long as you're just looking to exchange items, stores are usually pretty willing to buy any excuse. They just send the defective units back to the manufacturer for a refund themselves.

Thing is, it's highly unlikely you'll ever get a PSP that doesn't develop a dead or stuck pixel over time. So, you can take your chances that your current unit won't develop any more pixel problems, or gamble on a new unit not having even more dead/stuck pixels, or being prone to developing them. You can also buy replacement displays if you're willing to tear the PSP apart.

Only thing I can suggest, is sometimes holding the unit at a slightly different angle will make the pixel less noticeable. Other than that, it gradually becomes like those black bars on some TV shows... At first they're really annoying, but eventually you learn to just ignore them.

Sorry though, guess that's one drawback I forgot to mention about the PSP. I wonder if Sony didn't just use some cheap LCD unit they knew was prone to failure. Doesn't seem so far fetched after it came to light all those exploding laptop batteries were made by Sony, and that they knew about the problem something like a year before it broke in the press, and had done nothing. Also makes me wonder if the display being some cheap unit has anything to do with why I find it so hard to look at. Anyway, sad to say you're now a member of a club no one wants to be part of.

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That's kind of what I figured
Jun 4, 2007 1:01AM PDT

I guess I will have to think about it. My Wal-Mart seems to be pretty good with returns and exchanges, just have to decide if I want to risk getting one that is worse.


I bought one video at the store, just to test it and see how it looks. I was pretty impressed with it, very good quality. When you say it is hard to look at videos, are you referring to the UMDs or downloaded videos?


Like I said, I only have one game right now, but overall I think I'm really going to like it. Sound seems to be a little quiet, even at the highest end, but other than that no real problems. I don't think the system is too small for me, I think it actually may be a little too big, it is more spread out than my DS and my thumb has a hard time reaching both round buttons on the side. I don't really use the analog stick, I've never really liked them. I might get one of the attachments you can get to make it bigger and see if I like it like that. But, I have always found them a little too sensitive, especially for racing. Other than the fact my dog smudged my screen up already, I think the screen is pretty great.


I've been researching games, trying to decide which ones to get. Happened to fall onto Manhunt 2, coming out soon. The game looks pretty interesting, completely different from what I normally get (i.e. Mario, Garfield, Brain Age, etc) but it sounds pretty cool. It is more like the movies I watch than the games I play. Trying to decide if I would like it, but I'm not sure if the whole game is all killing people, if so, I probably won't get it, if there is more than just killing, I may try it!


Thanks again for your help.

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Everything
Jun 4, 2007 3:25AM PDT

To me, it's hard to look at anything on the PSP screen that involves rapid movement. So either someone running around on screen, or the camera panning around a room quickly.

I don't really know why it seems to bother me so much. Maybe I'm just more sensitive to motion visually speaking, or maybe my days of being the only one in the family without glasses is coming to an end. If it's not a problem for you, then that's great for you.

And yeah, get used to seeing fingerprints and what not all over the unit. Especially the black ones, which show every little speck of dust quite nicely. Pretty simple to clean, with a moist cloth that's on the soft side. There's a rubber bad under all the buttons, so don't worry if small amounts of water get in there.

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That's interesting
Jun 4, 2007 8:27AM PDT

I think that the screen is pretty good, so I guess I'm lucky. I was a little worried, but I think it is going to be fine.


I'm going to get a lens cleaning get to put in my case so I always have a soft cloth and something to clean it with. I'm planning to get a screen cover as well. I'm just a little worried that it won't come off and will leave a sticky residue behind. I keep waiting to put one on my DS because of it, but I plan to do both soon.


Thanks again for all your help!

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Buy a new one
Jun 6, 2007 8:06AM PDT

I've bought 3 PSPs (myself and two gifts).

None of them had dead pixels nor have they developed one since then. Exchange it. Chances are slim you'll get another one with dead pixels.

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Thanks
Jun 6, 2007 12:56PM PDT

I think I will go ahead and return it then. I really like it, but don't like having something that is already defective, in my opinion.

I can't get online either, so maybe there is more problems with it.

Thanks for your input!