How to Fix a Dead Pixel (or at Least What Worked for Me)

November 24, 2008

I don’t have a lot of good shit.  I drive a company truck, my house is just average, I don’t have a boat, motorcycle, or any other awesome guy toys, but I do have my HDTV.  I got my Sony LCD about a year ago and it was instantly very dear to me.  So, when a little while back I discovered a dead pixel on my screen, my world was rocked.  For those who don’t know, a dead pixel is a dark spot on your screen (I think a light spot on the screen is referred to as a stuck pixel.)  When I saw it, I looked online for any fix.  They ranged from tapping it with your finger, which didn’t work, to getting a pixel fixing DVD, which didn’t fix the pixel, but just washed out your screen little bit so you couldn’t see it, hurting your TV’s image quality in the process.  The makers of these televisions are allowed a certain number of dead pixels per screen before they are required to do anything for you, so when I called Sony customer service to ask what I could do, they basically said to back the fuck up from the TV.  This answer was actually understandable since the defect was about the size of a match head on a 60″ screen, but to me, on my precious TV, it was always there.  But, alas, what could I do, I learned to live with it.

Now, the instructions on this TV also say to unplug the unit whenever you are not going to use it for a week.  It doesn’t say why to do this, it just says do it.  So, recently, before going out of town for a while, I unplugged my TV just as I was instructed.  Upon arriving home, however, I got a surprise.  I don’t know what made me look in the spot where the dead pixel was, probably the same fixation that made me look at it just before I left, but now it was gone.  There was joy in my house, not only was my dead pixel fixed, but for once in my life the dork karma of doing something like unplugging your television before you go on a trip because the instruction manual tells you to, paid off.  Finally, some justice in the universe.

I don’t know why this worked or if it would work again, and while the “solution” of leaving your TV unplugged for a week is not realistic unless you are going out of town, I would suggest that if you do have a dead pixel on an LCD to try unplugging it for a few minutes, or maybe overnight.  This may have just been a fluke or coincidence, but I would be an irresponsible TV lover if I did not share it with you all.

By Jeff Fuller | Tagged , , | Comment (1)

LCD HDTV Shopping – What to Buy?

March 24, 2008

LCD TV

I’m in the process of moving, and with such, need to revamp my office a bit. With that, I need to get an LCD TV to keep me company. Right now, I end up spending a lot of time in the living room so I can either watch TV or do some gaming while I work. To keep myself in the office more, and to not wear out the bulb in my DLP, I’m looking to pickup something for my space.

It’s not a big room, so I’m thinking roughly a 26″ or 32″ LCD will do the trick. Something big enough to watch some TV and play some games when I don’t want to be downstairs. What would you all recommend? I want something good, but don’t want to spend a ton of money. $600 or less would be nice. I’ve been looking at a Vizio and a Westinghouse, both 32″ for under $600. If anyone knows about these or has other ideas, chime in.

Let me know what you think in the comments.

By Matt Banks | Tagged , | Comments (2)

What Does RGB Full on PS3 Do?

January 16, 2008

Ninja Gaiden Sigma PS3 RGB Full After

If you have a PS3 and HDTV, you need to enable the RGB Full setting. Why it’s not enabled by default, I have no idea. But it makes the graphics much much better.

The Xbox 360 has this setting enabled by default, but for some reason, Sony has it set to “limited”. It really improves the textures and colors across the board. Check out before and after shots after the jump.

[via GameTrailers Forums]

Hit the jump for more »

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , | Comments (10)

Recent Study Shows HD-DVD Preferred Over Blu-Ray

December 11, 2007

bluray1.jpg

A recent study by The Diffusion Group shows that of the large number of consumers (who now tend to be younger, single, more diverse ethnically AND have a lower yearly income) that want to by an HDTV by years end, intend to purchase an HD-DVD player above the Blu-Ray format. Hit the jump for more »

By BJ Schwinghammer | Tagged , , | Comments (11)

Time Crisis 4 Coming to PS3

June 17, 2007

That’s right, everyone’s favorite arcade shooter is coming to the PS3. They’ve managed to get the light guns to work on HDTV’s with a couple sensors (aka they made it a Wiimote), and it looks terrific.

Check out this first video of the game.

Here’s your HD goodness.

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comment (1)

Xbox 360 Elite Impressions

May 1, 2007

Xbox 360 Elite Contents Large Image

Even though I said I wasn’t going to, I picked up a Xbox 360 Elite today. The black beast is better than I anticipated.

The first thing I noticed was the Elite is very quiet. Much more so than my older Premium console. This is when idle, playing movies (both standard DVD and HD-DVD), as well as playing games. It’s a treat to not have to hear the fans spinning like crazy. The new Hitachi drive helps too.

The HDMI video connection looks fantastic. There is a noticeable difference in colors and black level on my 50″ Samsung 1080p over component video. Don’t take this to mean the HDMI connection produces a much better picture… it’s a known thing with my model of HDTV that HDMI looks way better than component.

I’m waiting on my transfer cable, so I can’t comment on using the 120GB hard drive yet.

Overall, it’s the best 360 console I’ve had. Is it worth the upgrade for most users? I don’t think so. But if you’re looking to replace a broken console and you don’t have warranty, or you just want to pick up a 360 for the first time, definitely take a look at the Elite.

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , , , , | Comments (0)

Mortal Kombat II (PS3) vs. Ultimate Mortal Kombat III (360)

April 14, 2007

Mortal Kombat LogoI have both of these downloadable games and did a big head-to-head comparison last night on which holds up as the better fighter.

First off, I have a bias towards MK2. I spent countless hours in arcades playing this game. I remember waiting while the machine was installed and setup the first day, then throwing in quarter after quarter. MK3 appealed to me less because of the change in fighting system with the addition on combos. Mortal Kombat, to me, should always be about the special moves and fatalities.

In the graphics department, they look about the same. The screens can be stretched to fill a widescreen HDTV, or they’ll automatically fill an SDTV screen. UMK3 gets a slight advantage because it looked better in the arcade, and these are direct arcade ports.

For gameplay, hands down MK2 on the PS3 wins this one. The d-pad on the Xbox 360 controller sucks. There’s no other way to say it. It’s almost unplayable with the d-pad on the 360. On the PS3, the d-pad works perfectly as it should, so you get the great classic controls from the game. All the moves and fatalities are very easy to pull off with the SIXAXIS.

Online play is cool in both games. You get your standard matches, and as with any fighting game, there’s always a bit of lag. I’d give the edge to the Xbox 360 just because the Live community is larger, but that’s the only reason I’m giving it that edge.

Overall, I would say go with MK2 for the PS3 because of the control factor. Controls are everything, and this game is spot on. If you’re a Mortal Kombat fan, I’m sure you’ll get both anyway.

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , , | Comments (3)

Dell 20″ Widescreen LCD FTW

March 22, 2007

Dell Widescreen MonitorIn case you don’t know what FTW means, it stands for “For The Win”. Get up with the slang, young-ins.

So, in an effort to be more productive, I picked up a Dell 20″ widescreen LCD monitor (E207WFP) and a Happauge WinTV-HVR-1600 HDTV tuner card. I opted for the Dell E-series instead of the 2007WFP because I have no need for the crazy adjustments it has, and the actual monitor is exactly the same. Didn’t feel like spending that extra $100.

You might be saying to yourself, how the bloody hell is an HDTV tuner card going to make this guy more productive? We’ll I’ll tell you. I hate silence; I need something going on. Radio hasn’t been cutting it for me, and I can only listen to the Opie and Anthony replay on XM so many times a day, so I’ve been working at the coffee table in the living room watching my HDTV. This has led to less coding, more gaming on my part, which is putting me behind schedule on a couple projects.

So I picked up a nice widescreen monitor and tv tuner card so I can have something to watch in my office while I do work. The monitor is more for a dual monitor setup on my laptop (which is a 15″ widescreen) than the tv part. I have a 19″ Dell LCD that my desktop runs on.

Hit the jump for more… Hit the jump for more »

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comment (1)

If it ain’t broke, you probably didn’t buy a Wii.

March 14, 2007

broken-tv.jpgMy how times have changed in the world of gaming.  I remember a time when buying a video game system would be the ultimate in bringing people together.  When can 8 grown ass men huddle around and spend hours staring into the virtual abyss of video games.  All I have to do is send a text message to a buddy with something like, “Madden?” and he knows exactly what I am talking about.  Well, these times seem to be behind us.  Nintendo Wii has divided my apartment in two.

Herein lies the dilemma.  My roomate is a Dr. , which is good because usually they can afford stuff that broke ass college kids cannot.  He made the ultimate purchase last december in acquiring a 56″ DLP Samsung Flat Screen HDTV.  All is well in the gaming world right?  Not a chance.  I have debated getting a Wii for sometime. I saw the Tiger Woods commercial with the Wii mote and I was hooked. Play golf with out putting on pants.?!  Finally, its all coming up Milhouse.  Like a retarded kid at the circus, I was all giddy when I told him we would be acquiring a new next-gen system.  No fucking way he said.  Umm, what?  It was like I was in prison and my cell mate told me I had to pee sitting down from now on. 

Hit the jump for more »

By Steve Kohlbecker | Tagged , , , | Comment (1)

South Park in HD Coming to Xbox 360

March 4, 2007

South Park Ninja ButtersKeep an eye on the Xbox 360’s Video Marketplace come Tuesday, because there’s some FREE juicy South Park in HD. It’s an older show, commonly referred to as “South Park Ninjas” (officially titled Good Times With Weapons). It’s personally one of my favorites. Gotta love a kid getting a throwing star stuck in his eye. Haha. Anyway, the content will be free for “all” Xbox Live members for a 2 weeks period. We put “all” in quotes because of the recent hi-jinx with delaying content for Silver members. Keep an eye out on Tuesday and grab this free episode. Fun will be had by all :)

By Matt Banks | Tagged , , , | Comments (0)