Q: New iMac 27inch screen flickering/tearing/shutoff

karen_forums wrote:
Week 53 does exist for 2009... but it starts Dec 28

http://www.tuxgraphics.org/toolbox/cal_year.html

- Karen

Jeez, I was kidding (that's what the smile was for), but thanks for schooling me none-the-less. I'm sure you'll admit that "Week 53" sounds funny.

To check for dead pixels on your iSight camera, cover the lens with a cloth or something and take a picture with Phone Booth. Dead pixels will show up as bright white or colored spots when you look at the resulting black image...particularly if you zoom in on it since it'll only be 640x480. FWIW, if you're using dead pixels in the iSight as a litmus test to decide whether you'll keep your iMac, you'll be swapping them out forever. It seems that most folks who've tried the iSight dead pixel test have found 10+ dead/stuck pixels.

My biggest gripe with the iSight is that its lens is bigger than before such that its focal length is shorter. Sure, it lets in more light than it used to, but I used to use my iSight to scan bar codes, but now the iSight is too blurry in close-ups to be used for that.

Message was edited by: Schwa72

Hello Schwa72. Thanks for the info regarding how to perform a pixel test on the iSight camera. While I haven't received my iMac yet, my child does have a 24" iMac with the iSight camera, so I am going to try out the pixel test on that machine and see how it goes.

Last week I downloaded a few programs -- as well as a short video -- which supposedly fix stuck or dead pixels. Last week I tried the video on my nine-year-old Apple Studio Display monitor, which, of course, is a CRT monitor, because it has one lonely dead pixel after all these years. It didn't work, either because the pixel is really dead, or else because I didn't leave the program running long enough. I tried that massaging technique as well, but without success...but I really didn't do it for five consecutive minutes like they said you are supposed to do.

Anyway, my child's iMac also has one stuck or dead pixel, so I might try the video on that machine as well. Maybe these pixel fixers only work on LCD's and not on CRT's.

BTW, I don't know what I was thinking, but your week 53 joke went right over my head. I think that deteriorating brain cells temporarily made me think that there are 54 weeks in a year, so your statement regarding week 53 made perfect sense.

CRTs don't have pixels in the same sense that LCD monitors do, so "massaging the screen" or running one of those pixel programs won't work anyway. Regardless, the sensor in the iSight camera is very different than an LCD display, despite the fact that they both have pixels, so none of the display tricks are likely to work for the iSight.

The iSight cameras in my MacBook Pro and my 24" iMac don't have nearly as many dead pixels as my 27" iMac does. However, that's not really an indication of anything, since it's likely the iSight in the new iMacs is different than the older ones (the lens is definitely different, for starters -- you can tell just by looking that they have different size lenses).

Personally, if my new 27" iMac has even one dead pixel, I will be very bothered by it. Considering that I am paying $3,000+ for this new machine, I expect perfection.

What do people here consider to be an acceptable amount of dead pixels on their new 27" iMac?

Does it depend on where they are located?

If there was even one dead pixel right in the dead center of the monitor, wouldn't that really bother you?

Would you demand a refund, or at least an exchange?

Does anyone know Apple's policy regarding dead pixels on new machines?

I was surprised to read somewhere -- can't remember where now -- that someone said 10-20 pixels is still acceptable.

Certainly not for me!

Dead pixels on the display itself are one thing. Dead pixels in the webcam's sensor are quite another.

I guarantee you will not find an iMac webcam with zero dead pixels. If you're seeking perfection in your crappy little VGA webcam, you'd better buy an external one or skip the new iMacs.

Schwa72 wrote:
Dead pixels on the display itself are one thing. Dead pixels in the webcam's sensor are quite another.

I guarantee you will not find an iMac webcam with zero dead pixels. If you're seeking perfection in your crappy little VGA webcam, you'd better buy an external one or skip the new iMacs.

Well, personally, I seriously doubt that I will ever even use the iSight camera. I am a very private person, and have little use for it. But I am curious... Why is it that the iSight cameras tend to have more stuck or dead pixels than the actual LCD screen? Is there some technical reason? Also, why is a higher rate of dead pixels in the iSight camera acceptable to Apple, assuming that it is? Why don't they correct it?

And actually, I was referring to perfection in the LCD screen...although a flawless iSight camera would also be welcomed.

Interesting news: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9142199/Graphicsissues_force_Apple_to_delay_iMac_orders_resellersreport

Rudy Norff wrote:
Interesting news: http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9142199/Graphicsissues_force_Apple_to_delay_iMac_orders_resellersreport

This is what an user describes few posts ago... nothing new.
I think it would better to wait the next model of iMac (with a NVidia graphics card I guess ), in next late spring or early summer. I will keep my problem free 20" iMac still six months or more.

Wrong.
What's new, is that this is not a post on a users forum, but an article in Computerworld. There's a difference.

spurv2 wrote:
Wrong.
What's new, is that this is not a post on a users forum, but an article in Computerworld. There's a difference.

Unfortunately the article is an extract from this thread (as the article says). In fact, it reports exactly the same things, but with only a difference... Apple doesn't answer to their mail about the problem. That's it! Another page on the web about the issue.

There's a difference. When a topic gets out of the forums and into the mainstream media, it sends a different message - regardless of whether it brings any new info to the table or not.

p.hugo, I think you do not understand what my intention was and I think you do not understand the difference of that article and this forum.

The article will hopefully put more pressure on Apple as this has gone quite public now. Have there been reports on the web about the iMac issues before? Yes. Have there been articles about these issues which name a specific cause of this issue? I think not. With more and more articles like this, it becomes more and more likely that Apple will have to react on it.

Even if it was not the graphics cards causing the issues, Apple might feel the need to put things right now. I personally hope that more websites will take this up.

Anyway, this is news for all affected people. And I think Pronych (the guy who wrote the website listing the issues) and Sonics99 are the most helpful people in this thread as they are driving this forward. So thanks for that guys!

See, the word's beginning to spread.

http://www.9to5mac.com/displayproblems_delay_27inch_imac_shipments30190

camereo wrote:

maybe this post is infected wit the "Flicker Virus"
My flickering started within couple hours of usage. I don't believe it's related to how hard you push your Mac with heavy tasks. It's something what appears and goes like bad weather. I did not notice any problems other than flickering and black-outs, but once i contacted apple, they offered to replace the computer which I am still using and it works fine, despite the occasional flickers. I

hehe, see the flickering on my machine happen real quick and I haven't noticed anything after I shutdown my machine -- Here's to hoping it was just a software glitch. haha dang. However, it definitely looks exactly like what happened on the videos posted on here... :S

EDIT
In regards to the wider public coverage on the websites at least when and if I send in this i7 - which would suck since this machine is a speed daemon - they would have hopefully figured out what exactly the source of the problem is.

Thanks to the fellows who are helping to put more spotlight on this situation.


cheers ,
s0l

Message was edited by: s0lar (adding extra content, avoiding 2 posts :D)

Schwa72 wrote:
Week 53? What planet was your iMac made on?

I don't know MacPlanet I guess. the reason i wrote week 53 is because my order number is W9153*** it was the same as the iMac serial number when i ordered this flickering one. Maybe apple has different way of counting weeks or most probably i am wrong