On Wed, 16 Feb 2011 09:11:56 -0800, Jeff Liebermann wrote:

On Tue, 15 Feb 2011 18:54:49 +0000 (UTC), Meat Plow
wrote:

This is with backlight:
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...1/Electronics/
cimg0047.jpg

This is with reflected light only:
http://i273.photobucket.com/albums/j...1/Electronics/
cimg0046.jpg

As you can easily see the reflected light picture shows no anomaly on
the screen. It's not just a case of the anomaly being too hard to see
with reflected light.

Weird. I thought you meant a line, not a smear. The iPod and most
Apple displays have a polarization filter as part of the display
sandwich in order to improve the contrast without backlighting. Try
wearing a pair of polarizing sunglasses and you'll see the display go
black at some angle. My guess(tm) is that there's some damage to the
polarizing screen.

Change your viewing angle of the display showing the smear, and see if
the black smear shifts with respect to the background image. If it does
shift, then it's not on the LCD layer, but rather something above it,
like the polarizing filter. If it doesn't shift, it's either the LCD or
the backlighting layer.

Any chance you could identify the exact model instead of just 30GB iPod?
http://www.ifixit.com/Browse/iPod_Original

Model A1136 Video Ipod, color. The lines or smears do not change when
backlit and viewed at any angle. Nor do they appear when viewed at any
angle with no backlight. There are no dents or dings of any kind on the
unit. Just normal scuffing from being placed and removed from a
protective leather case. This was previously owned by a relative who
takes very good care of her things. She also has a 160 GB video Ipod and
a Ipod Touch. I asked her if she can remember dropping it and she said no
and that she would have remembered doing so.



--
Live Fast, Die Young and Leave a Pretty Corpse