Dell U2412M

Are you inside or outside of the 90 limited new replacement warranty? I just read on the Dell forums. If you are with in 90 days of the new purchase. They send new replacements. If you are outside the 90 days. They send you refurbs. And if that is the case. Chances are you will never get the unit you are looking for.

Jasonist said:
I just called in for another replacement and a replacement is coming in on Friday. I questioned them on their quality assurance and they said there's nothing they can do about that and they have their own standard of backlight uniformity and they will approve the monitor if the bleeding is not too serious.

However, I can't really stand the bleeding because as you have said, as long as you found out about it you will start paying attention to it every now and then it freaking annoys the hell out of you. That's the sole reason why I'm still trying to get it replaced.

I have to admit though that my current replacement unit's bleeding is not as serious, it still has quite an area of bleeding on the screen but it is pretty weak, hardly noticeable unless you pay attention.
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MadChuckle said:
Well, after 5 days of intensive research finally I have also pulled the trigger on a U2412M and crossing my fingers for some good luck. I paid $314 (without VAT) which was a superb deal in my country; we usually have to pay about x2 the price of its Amazon counterpart.

It will be replacing my now-dead Hyundai 19" 1280x1024 4:3 display. I'm thinking it will be a huge improvement. I am not sure about the AG coating though unless I will be able to see it with my own eyes. Hope it is not as bad as my phone screen after applying those protective plastic sheets.

This will be used primarily for programming and audio production and I felt like at least a 16:10 was a must to display a proper (comfortable) Eclipse or Cubase interface. Thanks for all the valuable posts @[H] which helped me in my decision so much...

PS: btw hello all, loooong time lurker, first time poster here :)
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Welcome and yes, the monitor should be a significant upgrade over your older monitor... ;)
 
Mine arrived today. Used it for about 10 minutes before deciding the AG coating was too much. Returned to Best Buy. The quest for finding a monitor that is actually an upgrade over my cheap, 3-year-old TN panel continues.
 
I have no issues with the Ag coating. This is absolutely the best monitor I've ever had, that's not saying much granted since I've always had TN panels before but this is clearly a winner and a keeper for me
 
I've been tinkering with my setup for a couple of hours now and I'm convinced this is the best purchase I've ever done! :)

wtburnette said:
Welcome and yes, the monitor should be a significant upgrade over your older monitor... ;)
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Thanks and yes, the difference is simply too much. Especially after calibration, my laptop's display paled so much in comparison that I turned that screen off :D

GonzoP said:
I have no issues with the Ag coating. This is absolutely the best monitor I've ever had, that's not saying much granted since I've always had TN panels before but this is clearly a winner and a keeper for me
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I feel exactly the same. Especially for my two main targets: coding and audio production it is almost perfect. As for the AG issue...well I definitely can see it from where I sit (3 feet); but it does not degrade the sharpness of any text or line; and it does not
affect the deepness of colors.. It is more like a sub-pixel shimmering or very fine dust that happens to be sit exactly between pixels not over them if I try to describe it. So, I can understand how it can be an issue for some people, but for my priorities, having no reflections is definitely worth it.. If there was a comparable alternative with a little less AG I would have bought it; but in this market and place this was best for me...

So these are my first impressions on u2412M; thanks for all the info given here again; much appreciated... I will try to put some photos also...
 
and here it is in action:


In the left one it is proudly sitting in my setup (camera white balance was to the roomlight not to the monitor here).. in the right, an Ableton Live project is open; in my own setup that "Massive" synth would have left little space for anything else, now I have plenty as you can see :) I am so glad, I didn't settle for a 16:9. I think it matters.. Btw this one is A05 revision in case... [both images are clickable]

And now the calibrated (I mean I just used the TFTcentral's profile) and properly white balanced photo:
u2412m-calibrated-front-small_zpsc21b6a67.jpg
u2412m-liveshot-detail-small_zpsb25725fd.jpg


As you can say I am really loving this one (compared to my old one, and the TN in my office)..

Finally a backlight bleed test:

u2412M-bleed-small_zps25614c7c.jpg


This was more or less what my eyes were seeing in the dark; and I couldn't see any bleed when the lights in the room was on. So, this is my impression; hope it helps.

A final thought: damn, now I'm gonna need to buy one or more of these and make a dual/triple setup :\
 
FattiesGoneWild said:
Are you inside or outside of the 90 limited new replacement warranty? I just read on the Dell forums. If you are with in 90 days of the new purchase. They send new replacements. If you are outside the 90 days. They send you refurbs. And if that is the case. Chances are you will never get the unit you are looking for.
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I live in Singapore and they don't have the policy here cause I have had 3 replacements, all of which are clearly refurbed units. I'll have to wait until the night to see if the bleeding is visible. I think I'm seeing a bit of bleed already with 100% brightness.
 
Hello I am from Portugal. He had a dell 2412m with the colors yellow and white very uneven. So this week I decided to talk to DELL and exchanged the monitor .... the first one that came was equal with the same evil, I called again, the second has come good, but with this little evil where is the serial NUMBER, I know that is refurbished, this written on the box.

See here the picture

Photo.jpg



As this is almost nearly perfect that you guys would do?

Here's a short video, i did, where the Right is the source monitor and the Left is the new .... now sent me a Silver, had black.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X3eYzXWitoo&feature=player_embedded

Anda a picture of the monitor...the buttons are more inside that the first one:

DSCN0335.jpg



I think they changed the panel and board and embedded into the frame of a REV 02
 
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Hi, can anyone show me the way to check if I got a uniform u2410. people said adding saturation to a white image, how exactly it is done though?

I got a print screen on notepad saved as jpg file, then I open it in the photoshop CS2, then go to adjust the image with +88 saturation, but nothing change on the image.....
 
If you're talking about backlight uniformity, get a black picture full screen, easiest would be to fire up paint, fill the area with black color and change it to full view in the View tab. Observe the corners to see if there's any uneven lighting and they are bleeding.
 
Besides backlight bleeding, I'm more concern on the uneven white and tinting on the screen. I see people using u2412m or u2410 use photoshop to enhane the saturation on a white image to find out the tint pattern, but i just don't see how they did it.....

by the way, how can I upload my image here?
 
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Hi!

Bought my 2412 a week ago and noticed it has slight tinting on the screen. To be honest, its not really distracting and only noticable on white / light grey backgrounds. This panel has no dead pixels / subpixels, so the only problem is the tinting.

What do you think guys, is my screen considered acceptable? Picture of a full white background below.
http://img571.imageshack.us/img571/5848/2412h.jpg

@yorka: your screens tinting seems too much (for me), but first i'd try to get used to it. But if it still bugs me, i would ask for a replacement.
 
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I'm starting to get frustrated now, i am not sure if i should return it or not. i just printscreen another picture instead, hopefully you guys could help me to make better judgement on whether i should play the replace/return game....

http://img152.imageshack.us/img152/7545/72480190.jpg

hi darkhmz, i don't seem to be able to open your picture, maybe it is too large in size?
 
Edited my previous post, now you should be able to open the pic. Internet explorer could not open the png file (was ok in firefox and chrome) so uploaded the picture again, now jpg.
Think i try to get used to it. Its a minor issue and apart from that, its a good panel. Really dont want to play the panel lottery as i might end up with a worse panel with severe backlight bleeding / dead pixels and so on...
 
You can't printscreen, it will take a perfect screenshot instead. You have to take picture with your camera.
 
Alright let me take a quality picture thru camera instead, my previous cellular picture seems can't capture well
 
finally Jasonist provided me a good point to take the picture by camera but not printscreen, this time I'm able to saturate it in photoshop, thanks.

@darkhmz : I saturated your picture and got this :
2412h_copy.png
 
sent my second one back for the same reason as the first, uneven whites, (a grey yellow haze on the right side of the screen when showing whites). I've spent a bit more and grabbed a HP ZR2440W (£325 from HP directly) it's about £100 more but far better performance right out of the box.
 
The HP is nice. But it has banding issues and its very common with that unit. Unless you lucked out and don't have that problem. Certainly test for it in case you do have it and wait to long to take it back. Then you are stuck with it. That is 1 reason why I went with the Dell. Give and take I understand. No perfect monitor exist.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QG7m65_zmUs
 
$299 w/FS on the egg thru 1-31-2013. Think I might take the plunge. Really torn between this and the u2713hm.
 
JPW said:
$299 w/FS on the egg thru 1-31-2013. Think I might take the plunge. Really torn between this and the u2713hm.
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Having owned both, I'd say neither.

The 2412m has really obnoxious AG coating. I've read posts from people saying it was bad, but I assumed they were exaggerating since so many others seem to like the monitor. Boy was I wrong. On any light background, I can't help but constantly notice it. I've never had a matte monitor with this amount of AG coating -- not my current TN panel, or anything owned over the years.

The 2713hm has a similar issue. While the AG coating is fine, it has a problem known as "cross-hatching", which are thin, feint, interlocking diagonal lines that are mostly visible on light backgrounds. Additionally, the monitor emits a high-pitch buzz which changes in frequency based on how dark or light the colors on the screen are (if you open this forum in one tab, then wikipedia in another, then switch between them, there is a distinct change in the tone emitted from the monitor).

I've been looking for a good month for an upgrade from my TN panel, but I've come to the conclusion that one simply does not exist. If it's not defective due to poor quality control, it's defective by design. I'm toying with the idea of the 2713h, but that has its own set of problems, and Dell's quality control is horrible. So, well see.
 
I've received a second U2412M, because my original display had a lot of backlight bleeding, but the new display has even more bleeding. I'm very disappointed with this display... or maybe with the IPS technology:

- Blacks? Whites? They directly don't exist. Well, maybe in the 3 inches radius from the center of the monitor.

- Viewing angle? 179º? Don't make me laugh! Maybe 5º or 10º. If I turn my head just a bit, the IPS glow washes the dark tones in almost all the screen.

- Reading comfort? I feel lucky that I don't feel the PWM, but the blurry text is very uncomfortable.

- Build quality? Backlight bleeding in 2 of 2 displays and the power on button sometimes works and sometimes don't.

I think that 3 years ago the displays were way better than today...
 
nulheim said:
I think that 3 years ago the displays were way better than today...
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Exactly how I feel. Companies like Dell have realized it is cheaper to have lax quality control and a good return policy than it is to improve their quality control. They figure most people won't care about or notice glaring production defects.

Nothing I've tried to date is better than my cheap TN panel, which ironically, I purchased 3 years ago.
 
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do you also notice the colorful tinting on white screen?? this is far more unacceptable than the backlight bleeding

and you can't avoid ips glow on any monitors nowadays
 
what a bunch of whiners the last couple posters have been.




the u2412m is an excellent monitor.. if the AG coating bothers you I'd wait to see whats good with the 2413m although personally the AG coating doesn't bother me even a little bit.
 
nulheim said:
I can't avoid the IPS glow on any IPS monitor, but I can avoid the IPS monitors. In my opinion, the IPS technology is a step back.
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facts would disagree with you

its not about preference IPS is a superior technology. especially for professional use.
 
dremic said:
facts would disagree with you

its not about preference IPS is a superior technology. especially for professional use.
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Really, I don't see the benefits for professional use: the viewing angle is inexistent thanks to the IPS glow, the coating ruins the text and some colors (I cannot see any solid color without noticing the sparkling of the AG coating) and the contrast is a joke (the blacks look washed).

My tv Samsung B650 is way way better in all aspects
 
nulheim said:
Really, I don't see the benefits for professional use: the viewing angle is inexistent thanks to the IPS glow, the coating ruins the text and some colors (I cannot see any solid color without noticing the sparkling of the AG coating) and the contrast is a joke (the blacks look washed).

My tv Samsung B650 is way way better in all aspects
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then you aren't a professional. sorry.


most photographers / graphic designers / web designers etc. go for ips for the color gamut alone like you see on the 2410.


advantages of IPS
-color reproduction
-viewing angles
-image quality

disadvantages
-slight power consumption
-bleed
-response times


if you are a gamer maybe you prefer a 120hz monitor or something else that yields more benefits for gamers.

but there is no way your samsung tv looks even remotely comparable to my u2412m. 1080p on 24inches and above is ugly as shit.
 
dremic said:
then you aren't a professional. sorry.


most photographers / graphic designers / web designers etc. go for ips for the color gamut alone like you see on the 2410.


advantages of IPS
-color reproduction
-viewing angles
-image quality

disadvantages
-slight power consumption
-bleed
-response times


if you are a gamer maybe you prefer a 120hz monitor or something else that yields more benefits for gamers.

but there is no way your samsung tv looks even remotely comparable to my u2412m. 1080p on 24inches and above is ugly as shit.
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I'm not a professional of photography and I'm not a gamer. I'm a software developer so, in my job, it's very important the reading comfort and the text sharpness. But when I'm at home I want to see films, reading webs and see some photos. Nothing special, but in this tasks this monitor is worse than a 5 years old monitor.

Viewing angle a advantage? If I turn the monitor 30º the blacks dissapears, but even if you are perfectly oriented, the dark colors are affected by that weird effect. My Dell has the worse black representation I've seen in any monitor, and not only in the corners. I'm going to make some photos to show it to you.
 
It's going to be highly subjective as to what type of monitor is best, or if the 2412 is even a good monitor. Arguing over certain attributes like they are absolutes for everyone is rather silly in my opinion.

That said, the AG coating does bother some people with this monitor, and I wouldn't consider it 'whining', like a previous poster mentioned. I personally found the AG coating on the 2412 made it unusable to me. My eyes simply couldn't adjust to the heavy coating -- whites appeared sparkly grey, and blacks had the glow/bleed issue.

For others, IPS glow will bother them to no end. For others, it will be black levels or response times. All monitor types have flaws, unfortunately.

@nulheim

Maybe consider looking for a used NEC 2490 (1st gen), if you want IPS and glow is a major issue for you. Angles are the best I have ever seen on any LCD, and no IPS glow at all. It has what I'd call a medium sort of AG coating... it's still noticeable, but it's not super, super heavy. It's weakness is contrast and very so-so black levels, but the lack of IPS glow helps some there.

If the upcoming 2413 handles s-rgb mode well and has a decent coating, it's another option -- assuming glow isn't too bad on it. Otherwise, VAs may be your best option (although color shift will be worse for those).
 
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Namelessme said:
Maybe consider looking for a used NEC 2490 (1st gen), if you want IPS and glow is a major issue for you. Angles are the best I have ever seen on any monitor, and no IPS glow at all. It has what I'd call a medium sort of AG coating... it's still noticeable, but it's not super, super heavy. It's weakness is contrast and very so-so black levels, but the lack of IPS glow helps some there.

If the upcoming 2413 handles s-rgb mode well and has a decent coating, it's another option -- assuming glow isn't too bad on it. Otherwise, VAs may be your best option (although color shift will be worse for those).
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Thanks for the suggestion! It's not the first time I see somebody recommending a second hand display. But in my country, the displays second hand market is almost none. I agree with you, maybe my best bet is to choose some VA panel...
 
nulheim said:
Thanks for the suggestion! It's not the first time I see somebody recommending a second hand display. But in my country, the displays second hand market is almost none. I agree with you, maybe my best bet is to choose some VA panel...
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You'd probably have to get a 2490 off of eBay (where I got mine) but then shipping could be an issue for you. And shipping overseas just increases the odds of something breaking. And as with anything used, it'd going to be a dice roll if it's decent or not, even assuming it arrives in one piece.

If Eizos are cheap in your country, that is another option. IPS will still have glow, but at least you can reduce other issues (bleed, bad build quality, and with their 23" PLS models, coating issues). I just mention them as besides their generally decent quality, they tend to be priced oddly... in the US they cost a fortune, yet in some other countries they are much more affordable. Maybe you will be lucky and they are reasonable where you are.

But if black levels/contrast/glow is your major issue, I think VAs are something for you to look at instead.
 
seriously, anyone of you notice there is tinting issue on the while or bright background to Dell monitors? almost every u2410 got this issue, what about your u2412m?
 
nulheim said:
I'm not a professional of photography and I'm not a gamer. I'm a software developer so, in my job, it's very important the reading comfort and the text sharpness. But when I'm at home I want to see films, reading webs and see some photos. Nothing special, but in this tasks this monitor is worse than a 5 years old monitor.

Viewing angle a advantage? If I turn the monitor 30º the blacks dissapears, but even if you are perfectly oriented, the dark colors are affected by that weird effect. My Dell has the worse black representation I've seen in any monitor, and not only in the corners. I'm going to make some photos to show it to you.
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my bad i was much too vague and i was generalizing.

i am a programmer myself. and i see what you mean in terms of sharpness of text.

the u2412m compared to a glossy in that regard gets smashed. i was mostly speaking to those that spend a lot of money on displays for professional purposes like photographers, designers etc. where as i could program on my u2412m just fine but maybe more comfortably on your samsung tv.


hope i didnt come off too douchey! i just love my u2412m. i had a TN before and i still remember turning this monitor on it is absolutely beautiful in every regard in comparison to what i was using before. i havent used glossy monitors though and if i had i am sure the AG coating would be a bother for me
 
I've been using this monitor for over a week now and mostly for programming. I can tell you that I notice the AG sparkling certainly more now than the day I bought it. Maybe I'm becoming accustomed to how much this is better than my old TN in terms of color and contrast and becoming aware of its other shortcomings. But on light backgrounds, the sparkle can sometimes be irritating. So, I can understand how one may want to avoid AG like hell.

However, this is mostly a psychological irritation for me, since texts are still very much sharp and readible (I think). In the end, AG does not cause something like one pixel getting in the way of another etc. So, at least I think I can just as comfortably code on this screen (and without reflections too) if I choose to ignore the slight irritation of the sparkling effect. As for the IPS glow, I only use this screen from dead front, so it is never a problem for me. Just my 2 cents...
 
i don't understand 99% of the fascination with viewing angles... really, who uses or sits with their monitor off to the side? it really seems to me to be one of the silliest things going right now. but, people like to cling to and champion funny things, so to each their own. i guess "pro's" like viewing things sideways.
 
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