Counting the Dead (Pixels) on your LCD

So, you just shelled out the big bucks ($) for a brand new LCD screen. You brought it home, and set it up. You recalled coming across this thing called the Dead Pixel Policy from the manufacturer (or your friend might have mentioned it to you). Most manufacturers have a warranty policy for a display that has more than a certain number (typically 0 to 8) of dead pixels.

What is a dead pixel, and how do I know if a pixel is dead?

An LCD screen is composed of hundreds of thousands of pixels or dots on the screen. Each dot relies on 3 valves (red, green, blue) to display color. A dead pixel is simply a defective one that does not display the intended color properly.

To determine if (or how many) dead pixels there are on your LCD,
download this Windows-only tool:
Dead Pixel Buddy

Extract the only file dpb.exe from the zip file. And simply double click it to run it.

Click the 5 colours in turn on the left hand side. Say, you click the colour black. Then, visually examine the screen, and count # of dots that are not of colour black. To pick the next colour, hit Esc, and then click next colour.

I found the tool very user friendly.