Psp Dead Pixel News From Sony

[kotd]

From Gamespot:

"The Sony rep suggested that PSP owners who encounter the pixel issue should try the device "for a week or two" to see if it continues to bother them. "If you find the spots are interfering with gameplay/video viewing during this period, we will support the various elements of [the PSP] warranty," the rep said. Each PSP comes with a one-year limited warranty, which is on page 125 of the PSP manual. If a PSP is "determined to be defective" by SCEA, the company will see to the "repair or replacement of this product [the PSP] with a new or refurbished product at SCEA's option."

According to a technical support associate contacted by GameSpot, PSP owners who encounter a persistent and aggravating dead-pixel issue should contact SCEA's customer service line (1-800-345-7669) for instructions on how to exchange their unit after a week or two of using the unit. "We will work with you," he assured. The associate said the process would work much like exchanging PlayStation 2s that suffer from the dreaded "Disc Read Error" problem: Gamers will mail their PSPs in to SCEA and receive units with new screens. The associate was unsure if customers would receive an all-new unit or their old unit with a new LCD screen. "

Well that just sucks ass when I get my US PSP. I can't just mail it to them from Australia and tell them to fix it............ <_< I hope I don't get a defective unit. The guy I bought it off said he could check it if I wanted but he's gotta wait 2 weeks if it is a problem....stuff that.

Heh sony of america are slightly better than nintendo of Australia. Man companies really don't want to honour warranties do they?

 

[bast525]

yeah the problem with that also is that many times you send it to them and yes they fix the problem but will often send it back with other problems often associated with people not exactly taking their time opening a system manufactured with an air tight seal... in other words, fully expect to get the system back with dust under the screen that wasn't there before (not covered under warranty so no use bitching about it), hairline scratches that weren't there before (not covered by warranty as if you could prove you didn't put them there yourself), and possible other small things that would greatly annoy a select few of us really picky guys. And that's if they send you're unit back to you. Not sure about Sony's standards here but many companies will just send you out a refurbished unit.... basically a used unit that was defective and had the defect replaced, but still used and usually in a noticeably used condition. In the case of home consoles this isn't usually a problem, but in the case of handhelds there are things which would be obviously noticeable in many cases with a refurbished system. My first two nomads, which I bought from a video game store I used to work at, were refurbished by Sega with and official sticker on the box and everything, and let me tell you you could TELL they were used... the screens were very scratched, the buttons on one of them... well.. you could tell it had been THOROUGHLY used. I've bought other refurbished game systems thru Gamestop and they have almost always been very obviously in used condition. Either way, chances are if you send your system in to Sony to fix the dead pixels you may get a unit back that you still wont be wholly satisified with....

The Nintendo rep I dealt with when returning my DS specifically stated to me that the system they'd send me to replace my defective unit would either be NEW or REMANUFACTURED... and then went on to stress to me that remanufactured was NOT the same as refurbished, and that a remanufactured unit for all intents and purposes has been restored to factory new condition. Up until that point, I had been very reluctant to deal with Nintendo in getting my DS repaired as I did not want to send my system to them and get it back with fixed pixels and all kinds of other problems that would piss me off.

At any rate... I purchased Gamestops extended warranty so I am covered... the warranty guarantees that if I bring in the system with a defect, even one dead pixel, they are obligated to replace it with a new system on the spot. Also, I had a more indepth conversation with one of the store managers I used to work with there, and he said that even if you do not purchase their extended warranty, they can, at their own discretion, replace a system with dead pixels under the stores basic 7 day warranty that every product they sell is covered by. Of course, chances are slim they will have replacement systems within seven days of release, but if you at least bring your system in and show it to them within 7 days, they will mark your reciept or something and as soon as they have some you can come back in and exchange it. But mind you, with dead pixels being so common and widely considered to not be that big of a deal... you really have to keep in mind that it is AT THEIR OWN DISCRETION... they don't have to do it and can just tell you to f off and go take it to Sony since they have said they will handle the problem. So just keep that in mind... if you want to take your system back into gamestop to have them replace it for a dead pixel or two... be real nice to the manager when you talk to them

 

[junker]

man, you think i should buy that gamestop extended warranty? i have 30 days.
very broke now, so it's either warrany, lumines, or mga acid

 

[bast525]

ugh... well... you only get one chance to buy the warranty... you'll be able to get those games any time...


With so many people having problems with their PSP's, and Sony's bad track record in general, it was not even a question for me, whether to buy the warranty or not. $30 in this case is worth a LOT of piece of mind.

 

[Alpha2]

Generally it's easier/cheaper for them to either replace the part not working (in the case of the PS2) or just send you a brand new one. I'd think in the case of the PSP the screen would be harder to replace than the laser in a PS2 so they'd just send out a new one hopefully.

For anyone wanting to check for DPs the PSPforums have an image file you can download that will make it easier to detect them.

http://www.pspforums.com/index.php?mod=file&id=1

As for dust under the screen, anyone else here with a GP32FLU knows dust. I can live with that moreso than DPs but it probably wouldn't kill me if I had 2 or 3.

 

[bast525]

LOL that's retarded like you really need some download to sit there and TEST if you have dead pixels... i say... if you aren't noticing them by yourself, why torment yourself going out of your way to find them?

Anyways, whenever you start a game you always get a few seconds of a totally black screen while the game loads, and you will definately see any lit pixels at that point... if not, why bother looking for them at all? I wish I was a lucky enough sap to have them and not be able to notice them...

 

[kotd]

Yeah downloading an image to check is really lame I mean if you CAN'T notice the pixels than why waste sony's time when someone else with 5 or more dead pixels could be getting that replacement unit. Lit pixels you can usually see when the screen is black as bast said.

 

[bast525]

Dig this... quoted from a Q&A posted on Gamespot.com, their reporter interviewing Jack Tretton, EVP of SCEA:

"GS: The Japanese launch of the PSP was followed by reports of some units suffering from dead pixels and sticky buttons. What steps have you taken to make sure the American launch isn't saddled with the same problems?

JT: I think with any hardware device or in any software application, you're constantly doing reps to make sure that you're state of the art, but I would say that the overall reaction to the PSP and the reaction to the quality has been extremely positive. We didn't have any concerns going in. And I can't point to anything that we did specifically to address the concern.

GS: Do you know anything about reports of PSP units with dead pixels?

JT: No. I can't honestly comment on defective pixels. I could tell you that if you really want to get rid of your PSP, you can do it for better than you paid for it. "


I know Sony has already stated seperately that they ARE willing to take care of this problem, but these couple answers this Tretton guy gives... my god... I mean to me that is just pathetic... total denial of hearing anything at all wrong with the PSP, how all they have heard is positive feedback on the quality of the unit, and then that last like like... if you aren't happy with it, then just sell it... WTF??


at any rate, the whole article is pretty interesting, and he does give some VERY intriguing answers to some questions... hinting and various iterations of the PSP for instance, or giving the PSP more iPod like functions... anyways here is the article.

 

[kotd]

LOL sony should really fire a lot of the wankers working there, than maybe they'd get a better reputation. This guys obviously being a smart ass, saying well if your not happy with your unit, than sell it and you'll still make a profit. This was probably done on the 200,000 unit Jap launch am I right?

They really need to get better public relations people in. Hey Sony I'm studying PR hire me hehe I reckon I would do a good job turning the image around

 

[Alpha2]

He's only doing what he's paid to do and that's to put as good a spin on the system as he can. He probably isnt even privy to the official discussion on defective unit issues which gives him plausible denyability which keeps him from making a conclusion about problems.

As for the test I agree it probably should be easy to spot the DPs but I only posted the link for those who are the most anal and freaked out about the issue. Strange thing is I've seen a few people post saying they had none then come back a couple hours later and say "oh wait I do have a couple".

Guess they didnt notice till they actually looked intently for them.

 

[TelcoLou]

I read the manual thoroughly while my PSP was charging. When I came upon the part about dead pixels not being a defect, I got concerned, so I fired it up and lo and behold .... a single lit pixel.

There is no dust, no dead pixels, no scratches or other defects that I can see, so I won't bother sending it in for 'repair'. It's really only noticeable on black/very dark backgrounds, but easily ignorable.

I never had this problem with any of my other handhelds (GBA, GP32, GBASP, Game Gear, GBC) ... wonder why? :blink:

 

[Alpha2]

Luck.



I had the GBC, original GBA, the GBA SP, the GP32, the NeoGeo pocket color, My brother had bother versions of the Lynx, All have LCD screens and the only one with problem pixels sofar has been my SP.

 

[kotd]

No not luck. The problem is the difficulty in creating the PSP screens. The old handhelds had very primitive LCD screens which were easy to make. The PSP screen is huge and has a much smaller dot pitch (means smaller pixels closer together so images looks better). Not to mention all the things that can go wrong while manufacturing lcds....

 

[bast525]

yeah... given the very high number of allllll the other kinds of handhelds (let alone other LCD devices such as laptops, portable DVD's, etc.) out there and so very, VERY few of them ever having this problem, then along come both the DS and the PSP where you are just seeing this lit pixel problem left and right... I'd hardly say this is a matter of luck. I also don't think it's anything inparticular with the way the PSP screens are produced, as there are plenty of other very high resolution LCD devices out there and many people who own said devices and have bought or are buying PSP's have gotten very upset that, while all their other devices have had no problems, the PSP/DS's seem all too common with it. It just doesn't make sense.

I still say it all comes down to Quality Control more than anything and the fact that Sony and Nintendo were just rushing to get as many systems out as quickly as possible for these big launches, and just arent bothering to check, or are checking and just letting them go out the door that way so they can meet their quotas, only holding back a small few which are really bad. In the US, the DS sales have slown down quite a bit (please no flames not trying to say this in a bad way... ANY system will slow down 5 mos after launch!), now the incidences of dead pixels among DS's are VERY low. Also, in Japan PSP sales have slown down a bit and now it seems all the recent people who bought Japanese PSPs also had a very low incidence of lit pixels... hence why I was sort of 'predicting' that the US ones would be few and far between but then they came and there are SO MANY... but then I think that... hey you know they had to get ONE MILLION out the door so even with the Japanese launch long past they had to still be in a hell of a pinch to get that many systems ready so fast, so their QC probably weren't being nearly as picky as they should be and nearly as picky as they probably will be once sales slow down again.

 

[Alpha2]

We still dont actually know the truth about how bad it is in japan, it's really just speculation to say it isnt without hard evidence.

 

[bast525]

We still dont actually know the truth about how bad it is in japan, it's really just speculation to say it isnt without hard evidence.

​

No and we probably never will. I'm basing what I'm saying on the people I was chatting with on IRC, many of whom bought PSP's even within the last month or two, as well as several friends of mine (five now to be exact) who bought Japanese PSP's in the last month or so. On top of all that, I've been keeping up with the shop owner of the local import game store where I bought my first PSP, who I am sorta friends with, been going there for years... anyways I was talking to him every week or two as I would stop by to pick up another game... and he sold a good number of PSPs up until the last time I'd been there, maybe 40-50, and had said the number of complaints about dead pixels had gone WAY down after January. So... that's three different sources all showing the same trend, which to me, actually legitimizes that as a trend... don't know if you want to consider that 'hard' evidence but it was enough for me to buy a second import one and as I expected, the second one (purchased in late january) had no dead pixels.

 

[kotd]

Well don't know if the PSP has slown down that much in Japan its still the number one selling console closely followed by the PS2. Its almost outselling the DS 2:1 now.

 

[bast525]

it's slown down... trust me they aren't selling 200,000 in the space of a day or two like they did at launch, of course they are still the top selling console, they are still new... that only makes sense. If they were still selling anywhere near as fast as they did at launch then sales in Japan would number high into the millions already Put it this way, it's slown down enough that they can do a lot better QC on them

 

[kotd]

I check the Gamepro site often and its at 44,000 units a week approximate. In January the highest I saw was 75,000 a week. It has fallen but it still sells shitloads