Thinkpads Forum

Hi everyone, I'm new here!

I want to build a Frankenpad, and found very cheap SXGA Flexview T60, it is on his way to me. But now I have a chance to obtain mint UXGA Display, not really bargain. Now my question: is the UXGA THAT good? How does it compare to modern IPS? I have Sony S1513 here, it is has good wide viewing angles, but really yellowish white and red is not true ( known issue for them ). Should I buy the UXGA immedeatly and be happy with it? Or go with SXGA and save money?

Depends. I know for sure that the SXGA+ covers sRGB, but from what I have heard, the UXGA doesn't. Don't take my word for it, but if that is true, then the SXGA+ will give you better colors.

If you are worried about color tints, then just get a colorimeter and calibrate the display.

I upgraded my SXGA IPS screen to a UXGA IPS screen and was over the moon. The new screen cost me about £100 a few years back off eBay. Definitely worth it at that price!!

Personally, I didn't find a huge amount - if any - difference in basic image quality between the two IPS screens (can't remember the manufacturer versions anymore). Instead it was all about the resolution which paid dividends across all different types of applications. I sometimes take my T60 into work where the screen and resolution knock my friends dead every time.

I don't have experience of the latest IPS screens. Compared against the non-IPS screen in a MBP(nonretina) then I thought it was swings and roundabouts - but overall preferred the T60, and especially so the extra resolution.

I have a Dell U2515H which is considerably better than the T60 screen, but then I would expect it to be. I also own an X220 with the IPS and consider the T60 UXGA to be the better of the two screens (regardless of resolution).

The only caveats would be as follows (in case you don't know already). Fonts start getting quite small at UXGA. No problem for me at nearly 50 but might be for others. Also, the T60 is not the best for playing HD material as it's not fast enough in many cases - hence my purchase of a used X220 which plays any HD material no problem. However, I always revert back to the T60 for imaging work in Photoshop or if I'm opening spreadsheets, for example.

But in summary, yes the UXGA version is a thing of wonder and still puts a smile on my face every time it boots.

Turn it into a FrankenPad and they'd be knocked out of their socks as well!

IMHO the best UXGA ever was made by BoeHydis, their HV150UX2-100 with ex-factory LED-backlight.
Meant for medical equipment like Ultrasound scanners for pregnant women, after my LED-mod they would also work in a 15" T60/R61.
Unfortunately these screens are now being sucked up by aviation companies for use in the cockpit of planes like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Thanks to that, those screen prices have gone through the roof, but it shows that they are really top quality!
I was able to build about 70 Frankies with them, but unfortunately that has now become a pipe dream (unless you win the lottery).

Welcome to the forum!

klavierart wrote:Should I buy the UXGA immedeatly and be happy with it? Or go with SXGA and save money?

LG Philips SXGA+ IPS panels found in most of these machines are actually excellent screens. The biggest problem is that they don't age well at all, and become dim with yellowish corners much faster than their UXGA counterparts. You'll have to observe the condition of the current panel and take it from there.

Personally, I've always been an UXGA guy, but there's nothing inherently wrong with a good 1400x1050 IPS screen if one is comfortable with it.

Happy FrankenPadding!

15" sxga+ is easy on the eyes and a pretty good resolution for most tasks. I would go uxga if DPI isn't a problem and you want to fit more windows or content on the screen.

Thank you all! I'm getting the UXGA, no matter what. Better buy now than regret later.
Dpi is not a problem, I got used to full HD on my 15" Sony.

So folks, I need an advice one more time. Now the seller has checked the display, it is not the Boe Hydis, but ID Tech UXGA. Is it bad? No deal?

ID Tech and Boe-Hydis are very similar in quality, with a slight edge given to the Hydis: http://forum.thinkpads.com/viewtopic.php?t=60978

The BoeHydis HV150UX2-100 now sells at $768.- in the aircraft industry.
I thought I'd put this link in already: http://www.avionicslcd.com/15_LCD_UXGA/ ... 0x1200.htm

There are new HV150UX2-100 original displays on ebay routinely selling for >$310. However, a vast majority of them are from china. Shipping is around $40 and I would worry about whether or not there would be a lot of proper padding.

brchan wrote:There are new HV150UX2-100 original displays on ebay routinely selling for >$310. However, a vast majority of them are from china. Shipping is around $40 and I would worry about whether or not there would be a lot of proper padding.

Yeah I saw those too. There's a few used ones as well such as this example:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/HV150UX2-100-Or ... SwwPhWiiVJ

They probably pulled them from equipment that was being discarded (a lot of scrapped electronics goes back to China: well this is my theory).

600X wrote:Depends. I know for sure that the SXGA+ covers sRGB, but from what I have heard, the UXGA doesn't. Don't take my word for it, but if that is true, then the SXGA+ will give you better colors.

If you are worried about color tints, then just get a colorimeter and calibrate the display.

None of the SXGA+/UXGA Hydis or Idtech or LG displays covers sRGB. They're roughly all 45% NTSC, and maybe something like 70% sRGB. I haven't computed the exact percentages, as I haven't got the datasheets on this laptop I'm on. The "sRGB Mode" that Hydis had on some of their panels means something totally differently:
It means that they have an internal look-up table to slightly correct the chromaticity for xy of the xyY-tristimuli to follow a scaled version of xy for sRGB for BOTH x and y, instead of one of the xy-trisitimuli to be skewed compared to sRGB which is the case for non "sRGB mode" screens. However, the corrections that need to be made are rather small, and except for deeper shades of blue, the difference should not be noticeable.

I've got some marketing material from Hydis that I received a long time ago, when I asked them what this "sRGB mode" was all about and why datasheets showed that it did not equal the sRGB tri-stimuli. If someone is interested, send me a PM.

Anyone knows what happened to the Hydis factories in Korea, now that it seems like they closed down in beginning of 2015? See this:
http://www.businesskorea.co.kr/english/ ... ut-further

And now with Foxconn buying Sharp... Sad times

I've never had a Hydis screen, but my LG SXGA+ definitely covers a large amount of sRGB. (above 80%) Never heard of the sRGB mode on the Hydis either.

klavierart wrote: it is not the Boe Hydis, but ID Tech UXGA. Is it bad? No deal?

No, it's not bad at all. Some of us around here actually prefer ID Tech when it comes to conventional CCFL-lit panels.

I have a R61 with IDTech UXGA heading my way. How would you say that it compares to the LG SXGA+ in terms of picture quality?

600X wrote:I have a R61 with IDTech UXGA heading my way.

That's one weird FrankenPad duck...congrats on obtaining it...

How would you say that it compares to the LG SXGA+ in terms of picture quality?

I'd say that LG maintains a more realistic colour spectrum. Having said that, the difference is not tremendous and you're likely to be quite happy with ID Tech. It's not all that different from the one that's in your A31p.

Funny that nobody mentions the 15" Sharp UXGA with ASV, which is quite comparable to IPS!
http://www.sharpsma.com/lcds/lcd-refere ... technology
Look for these models: LQ150U1LW22 or LQ150U1LW22N
When/if sold as DELL-screens, there can be an inverter mounted on the back of the panel.
This can easily be removed (after you disconnect the CCFL-cable and 2 screws on the side).
All it requires is a small Z-fold (2 x 8mm) in the LCD-cable to fit in the T60.
It even works in a T4x with a few small mods:
-- the cable-part with the Thinklight needs to be cut and extended by 53mm
-- the cable-part just under the LCD-connector needs to be shortened by 16mm (folding 2x8mm in Z-shape)

No dust-particles or yellowing like BoeHydis or LG Philips!

EDIT 07/18/2016: no need to extend the Thinklight cable for a T4x/R5x!
It is glued along the LCD cable.
Carefully pull the glued strip off.
Now fold the LCD-cable as described above.
When fold is finished, glue the Thinklight back on along the new fold, it is now perfect.
See pics: http://imgur.com/a/STaQK

ajkula66 wrote:That's one weird FrankenPad duck...congrats on obtaining it...

I'd say that LG maintains a more realistic colour spectrum. Having said that, the difference is not tremendous and you're likely to be quite happy with ID Tech. It's not all that different from the one that's in your A31p.

Thanks, though I've never heard of FrankenPad ducks. In any case, it's just a regular R61 4:3 which was fitted with an UXGA screen. Quite a few of these have been popping up in the German TP forum market place recently. I originally wanted to get one with QXGA, but it was quite expensive, so I went for a cheaper offer with UXGA screen. I figured that this is probably the final wave of good 4:3 R61's being sold off, so I better get one while I have the chance.

Sounds like I'll probably be quite pleased with the screen.

So, today my Frankedpad shell is arrived, ironically it has nice SXGA Flexview display in good shape, which was not mentioned by the seller. The T60 from the first post off ebay has turned really yellow and dim, its a pity, that the LG-Philips displays are aging that way, now I see, how good they were. Now I'll train to open the lid on the cheaper Thinkpad and wait for my Frankenpad kit.

RealBlackStuff wrote:Turn it into a FrankenPad and they'd be knocked out of their socks as well!

IMHO the best UXGA ever was made by BoeHydis, their HV150UX2-100 with ex-factory LED-backlight.
Meant for medical equipment like Ultrasound scanners for pregnant women, after my LED-mod they would also work in a 15" T60/R61.
Unfortunately these screens are now being sucked up by aviation companies for use in the cockpit of planes like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Thanks to that, those screen prices have gone through the roof, but it shows that they are really top quality!
I was able to build about 70 Frankies with them, but unfortunately that has now become a pipe dream (unless you win the lottery).

Brightness aside, would a CCFL backlit Hydis not have better colour reproduction than an equivalent WLED variant?

xsixt wrote: Brightness aside, would a CCFL backlit Hydis not have better colour reproduction than an equivalent WLED variant?

That totally depends on the display and how they manufactured it (LEDs tend to be on the cooler side whereas CFLs are on the warmer side if that's what you're asking; most prefer 'cool' (blues) than 'warm' (reds) including myself). Technically *anything* that uses the concept of a backlight is sub-optimal for *perfect* colour reproduction if you really want to get deep into the concept.

Regarding the ccfl-lit BOE-Hydis UXGA vs the LG Philips SXGA+, has anyone logged how long it takes for each to noticeably dim/yellow/discolor, or show other aging problems? I.e. how many years, starting from a new/unused screen in each case. Just curious...

tpdude4 wrote:Regarding the ccfl-lit BOE-Hydis UXGA vs the LG Philips SXGA+, has anyone logged how long it takes for each to noticeably dim/yellow/discolor, or show other aging problems? I.e. how many years, starting from a new/unused screen in each case. Just curious...

Well, I doubt that anyone around here has clocked the actual hours before the screen starts to go dim, but the consensus is that LG panels age faster than the ID Tech and Hydis ones.

Having said that, any of these panels that one could find today in a NOS condition would be a smart buy.

I still have a new UXGA BOE HV150UX2-100 sitting unused in a box, as I don't want to replace my old QXGA screen yet.
If it will last me a couple of years more I may have to move from old T6x laptops to newer models without having to replace it...

Font size on 15" UXGA is no problem at age 46, I even use the smallest font size (100%) and small icons on QXGA.

Guys I do have an slightly off-topic question. An HV150UX1-100 installed in my T601F is affeted by two minor issues. First one is an well known dust spot problem. The other one is slightly bizarre and I haven't seen such a thing before - the left side of the panel is noticeably brighter than a right one. Does any of you seen something like this before? Since 2/3 of the screen has a same brightness and the brightness level transition is rather smooth i really doubt its a matter of an CCFL lamp itself. Is it possible that the lamp tube displaced itself on one side and this causes different light distribution?

RealBlackStuff wrote:Funny that nobody mentions the 15" Sharp UXGA with ASV, which is quite comparable to IPS!
http://www.sharpsma.com/lcds/lcd-refere ... technology
All it requires is a small Z-fold (2 x 8mm) in the LCD-cable to fit in the T60.
It even works in a T4x with a few small mods:
-- the cable-part with the Thinklight needs to be cut and extended by 53mm
-- the cable-part just under the LCD-connector needs to be shortened by 16mm (folding 2x8mm in Z-shape)

No dust-particles or yellowing like BoeHydis or LG Philips!

Do you mean that no cable modification (other than folding) is required in order to fit a T60?

Yup.

klavierart wrote:So, today my Frankedpad shell is arrived, ironically it has nice SXGA Flexview display in good shape, which was not mentioned by the seller. The T60 from the first post off ebay has turned really yellow and dim, its a pity, that the LG-Philips displays are aging that way, now I see, how good they were. Now I'll train to open the lid on the cheaper Thinkpad and wait for my Frankenpad kit.

Funny you should mention that. I also picked up a 15-inch T60 on eBay that turned out to have a like-new SXGA+ Flexview screen in it, as well as a T2700 CPU and ATI Radeon 1400 graphics. For me, too, it's my first experience of what those panels were like before they got jaundice and faded away. I don't know what the heck to do with this old Type 2613 because it's too nice to cannibalize! As a side note, this T2700-based machine seems and may actually be faster than my T7600-equipped T60P on 32-bit, memory intensive computations, as the T7600 was compromised in that area for 64-bit compatibility. As a platform for a Hydis Flexview screen, this cool-running yet snappy 2613 seems to be the best in my collection.

RealBlackStuff wrote:Turn it into a FrankenPad and they'd be knocked out of their socks as well!

IMHO the best UXGA ever was made by BoeHydis, their HV150UX2-100 with ex-factory LED-backlight.
Meant for medical equipment like Ultrasound scanners for pregnant women, after my LED-mod they would also work in a 15" T60/R61.
Unfortunately these screens are now being sucked up by aviation companies for use in the cockpit of planes like the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.
Thanks to that, those screen prices have gone through the roof, but it shows that they are really top quality!
I was able to build about 70 Frankies with them, but unfortunately that has now become a pipe dream (unless you win the lottery).

Isn't the screen's response time/durability not good enough for jet liners?

I know there are some Barco monitors used in the ATC towers which cost like $80000 each.