Big Screen LCD Clouding Poll

LCD Clouding?

  • Yes - I have major clouding (very visible)

    Votes: 80 34.0%
  • Yes - I have minor clouding (hardly visible)

    Votes: 115 48.9%
  • No - I have a cloud-free set

    Votes: 36 15.3%
  • I did have clouding, but was fixed by swap or repair

    Votes: 4 1.7%

  • Total voters
    235

AcademicBarzo

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Hi everyone,

Given the profilieration of threads and posts on clouding/mura with big screen LCD sets from a number of manufacturers, I thought it might be good to share experience and get some numbers on the size of the problem. My view is that clouding is unacceptable, and if it is part of the manufacturing process of big screen TVs, consumers should be warned by manufacturers, just as they are in relation to dead pixels (different manufacturers have different policies, but at least they have them).

As well as posting on the thread, please reply with the make and model of your TV, and detail any history (swapping or repairs) in relation to it. I'll kick off:

Model: Samsung LE40M87
Purchased: 28/07/2007
Problems: Current screen has two obvious large patches of white clouding. This was the original screen, which was replaced under warranty with another panel, which had worse clouding (six patches). At date of writing, Samsung UK are undecided whether clouding is a fault, but their repair agents believe it is not, and is inherent to all their big screen LCDs (hence, the fact that I have my original panel back, and not a new one).
 
I have a Tosh Z37.

Clouding not too much of an issue but nether the less it is there. I seem to always look for it now... But lately I am understanding that with current LCD
backlighting this is the case with all sets. After calibrating it does improve a little but TBH it is still there. You Cannot see it in Movies with flowing films etc. Only on Complete Black screens and sometimes you can notice a little on Enveloped screens.
I must agree that you should be warned about the clouding / Non Ink black screens as well. A lot of people are buying LCD TV to replace their old CRT's. So from Deep Blacks to this is a real eye catcher. Roll on technology....
 
I have what looks like backlight bleed at the top left hand corner of my new Panasonic 32LXD700.

It is more obvious in some programmes than others. Is it likely to get worse as, if it does, it will get really annoying!:(
 
I'm a little unclear as to what is meant by the term "clouding". I have a Toshiba 42Z3030D, when watching in the dark, I can see that the screen never goes completly black, there is a faint backgound level of illumination, but it's even across the screen. Having had experience of a number of LCD monitors for computer use, I'd say it's a normal phenomenon.

Is "clouding" used to refer to this, or to uneven backlight illumination ? I'm happy with my 42Z - it's not a noticable issue when watching films or TV.
 
40" P6 (bought in July) and 46" PB (bought a couple of weeks ago) Samsung M87's both completely cloud free.

Both bought from my local Apollo2000 and they price matched 247electrical.

46" SX08

40" SQ02
 
I am a bit confused as watching TV just now (in the daytime) there is no clouding but at nighttime I can definitely see a 'cloud' in the top left hand corner which 'seeps' through into dark scenes.

Is there anything I can do about it? I can see it really gettting on my nerves!

I have my TV set to Cinema.

Someone did mention turning the backlight down but don't know how to do this.
 
Panasonic TX37LZD85 PURCHASED 9.9.08

3 large areas of clouding.:thumbsdow

Noticed straight away.
 
Philips 32PFL9603 - No clouding
 
Panasonic TX37LZD85 PURCHASED 9.9.08

3 large areas of clouding.:thumbsdow

Noticed straight away.

I think that there maybe a confusion on this thread between clouding and backlight bleed.

AFAIK clouding is where there is backlight seepage in the central areas of the screen which looks a bit like the milky way against a dark sky. Backlight bleed is in areas around the edge. The causes are also AFAIK different. The former is due to areas of pixels not completely shutting off whereas the latter is caused by light from the backlight seeping round the edge mounting of the panel.

If anyone else can correct or add to this please do.

Having read many threads on this Forum over the past year it appears to me that clouding mainly affects S-PVA and ASV panels as used by Sony, Samsung, Sharp and some Toshibas, whereas backlight bleed seems to be more common on the S-IPS and IPS-Alpha type panels used by LG, Philips, Panasonic and also some Toshibas.

To dazseaton I say if its that bad take/send it back!
 
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Hi. Month ago I bought Sammy LE46A656 and have 3 large areas of clouding. So I sent it back and waiting whole month for replacement (seller told me that Sammy have no pieces on stock because of new models arriving). Get it yesterday and what? Have clouding too. Not so large, but more intensive. In upper and lower right corner. It's annoying when watching SD with 4:3 format with black stripes on sides or when watching movie in other format than 16:9 (i.e. 2.35:1 etc.) with black stripes up and down. Don't know what to do now. To send it back, wait another month (and be without TV!!!) and risking that the other piece will be the same or worse. Or try to "warm it up" for some 40-50 hours and hope that clouding reduce to acceptable intensity...
It's OK with daylight, but I'm at home at evening and night mostly, so it's very annoying :(
 
What do you mean when you say 'clouding'? Is it like blurring/ghosting?
 
It's like fluffy clouds in the middle of the screen during dark scenes and the brightness set to low.
 
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Toshiba 32AV504DB, no clouding.

Does suffer from back light bleed at the bottom but turning the back light down to 30 and brightness up to 65 solved this issue, also blacks were improved a lot.
 
sammy le40m8 - no clouding at all
 
Hi all. Please allow me to indulge in telling you the story of what happened to me regarding clouding. In the end I managed to not only find the CAUSE of my clouding, but the SOLUTION as well!

I bought an LG 42" LCD 1080p TV from Currys on Saturday. Got it home, screwed the stand on, set it up only to find a glowing white cloudy patch across the middle. Only visible on a black screen.
I rang the Tech No. and was told it is a know problem, although not that common. He gave me a code number which I was to give to Currys, who would then give me a new TV. Went to Currys next day, got the new TV home, did every thing as before (I thought about testing it straight away right out of the box, but concluded the chances of me getting another cloudy TV must be next to impossible) but, great big cloudy patch worse than the first one!
I was angry, but not livid. I just concluded there must be something that happened to these TVs in the Currys store room, like a big magnet going near or something. So my wife and I decided to return this one, get our money back, and just buy another one another day from somewhere else.
Took the TV back Monday night after work, and as I expected, they wanted to test it and see the patch for themselves first. After 10 minutes one of the guys asked me to come and show him where the patch was. I got there to find they had it on a bright screen, I reminded them I said it needs to be a black one to see it. They put it to black, and asked me where it was? I got on my hands and knees, and looked from every possible angle, but had to admit… it was no longer there!?
One of the guys talked me through my set up at home, and concluded it was either the fact I wasn’t using a surge protector, or the magnets in my surround sound speakers and sub which sat under the TV. (I mentioned the fact the Tech guy on the phone never asked those things).
So I bought a surge protector and took the TV home again.
At home I set it up straight out of the box, with out the stand on just as they did in Currys. I plugged it into the surge protector, and stood it well away from the speakers… No patch!
"Great!" I thought, "I can now work out what was causing it". So thinking I was clever, I put the stand on, set it up JUST as before, with no surge protection and next to the speakers. Sure enough a patch had returned. I then unplugged one by one all the other devises by the TV, but still a patch? I plugged it back into the surge protector, but still a patch? I then proceeded to put it right back in the middle of the floor where I had just tested it and it had worked, still to find a patch!!?
I now realised two things, 1) something in my house was causing this patch, and 2) from taking the TV out of my house, to when they plugged it in in Currys, something had got rid of the patch!?
I scoured forums on the web, looking for possible solutions to the patch. I read someone say about maybe laying the TV down, to resettle all the liquid in the Liquid Crystal Display. I left it on it’s back, screen side up, for about 24 hours, but no difference. I then put it screen side down, on my sofa, for about 30 mins to see if that would have an effect. It did. The patch was twice as big as before!!
Only then did it hit me, that EVERY time I had put the stand on, I had lead it screen side down on the sofa so I could easily get to the screws on the back! I now had the CAUSE worked out!
That’s when the solution hit me! Every time the guy at Currys had wheeled the TV too and from my car, he had used an upright sack truck. Except the night I took the 2nd TV BACK! Then he used a flat, palette lifting type trolley, that was made of metal. I distinctly remembered him wheeling it over the concrete at the entrance to the shop, which had rough knobbly bits (for people to get grip in wet). The TV was lead down flat on this trolley, and I remembered thinking as it was pulled quite fast and vibrationaly over the concrete, "surely that wont do the TV any good?" But then also thought it didn’t matter to me since I was here to return it.
I placed the TV on its back on a table, and tried many different ways to vibrate it with no success. Then I decided to do exactly as they had done, and got my own flatbed trolley out of my shed. Laying the TV screen side up (and with the packing cover on it) I proceeded to pull my TV up and down the path out side my house for a while. After quite a few runs, and back in doors to test it, I noticed a corner of the patch start to disappear! But I knew it had only taken seconds of vibration going into the shop, to clear it before. That’s when clarity came! I then specifically remembered the guy laying the TV screen side down on the metal trolley! I promptly turned my TV over (at which point one of my neighbours walked past, and seeing me struggling with a big 42" TV on a little trolley, at night out on the street, asked if I was OK. "Yes thanks!" I replied, with the note in my voice that really said "yep! I’ve got it all under control thank you!). I made sure the frame of the TV was taking the weight, and not the screen itself, and did a few runs up and down the path. Got it back inside, plugged it in, NO PATCH! All gone, problem sorted.
I quickly put the stand on (not by laying it on its screen this time!!), plugged all the cables in, turned it on, and… NO!! A DEAD PIXEL!!!!!

….

Needless to say, after all the previous hassle, I didn’t take this second TV back (again!) until the weekend. You should have seen their faces! The floor manager wanted to see this dead pixel (about 7 pixels actually) before he gave me my THIRD TV! I don’t blame him though. He called me down after about 5 mins to show him where these dead pixels were (I thought here we go again). This time he had it on a black screen! I told him to turn it to a bright one, which he did, and saw the pixels, and gave me my new one.
LET THIS BE A WARNING TO YOU ALL! I looked up the cause of dead pixels on the internet, and only found one comment that linked it to vibration. But who knows whether my trolley antics caused them to go or not, who can say since it’s a fairly common problem with LCD’s anyway. But just keep this fact in mind if you are planning on trundling your nice, big, expensive TV round the streets in front of your bewildered neighbours on a flatbed trolley!!!?

Thanks for reading.
 
Wow, unless the poll has been sabotaged by plasma owners there's a lot of people with major clouding issues (over a third at current count).
 
Wow, unless the poll has been sabotaged by plasma owners there's a lot of people with major clouding issues (over a third at current count).

I would guess that the poll is slightly biased, in that people who are suffering from clouding issues are more likely to click and vote on a thread entitled "Big Screen LCD Clouding Poll".

Also, the extent of clouding is very subjective. I suspect this forum harbors many perfectionists who may be looking for clouding, and are more likely to judge it as "major" should they find any.

Not that I'm suggesting that clouding isn't an issue with LCD TVs - I have a little on my LE40A686...
 
Philips 30pf9975 LCD - 5+ years old, always had clouding around the corners. Tends to improve the longer the set is on. Hasn't got worse with age.

Philips 26" LCD - 2 years old, never even a hint of clouding.
 
Early adopter of a Samsung 46"M87, no clouding at all :thumbsup:

Regards
 
sony 32v4500

clouding on 2 places I can see it with dark images and backlight on lvl3 only

sony does not see clouding as faulty so no change.
 
toshiba 46xv555db........perfect picture, no clouding....

BUT..i did return one which had bad clouding........

....seems to be an issue with large LCD's.....just keep sending back until you are happy.
 
Samsung LE40A686 Less than a month old - No Clouding
Sony KDL-32U2000 3 Years Old - No Clouding

Maybe I'm just lucky

Both get used in the dark quite often
 

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