I saw a T61 and I'm highly Disappointed

[wearetheborg]

The 14" WXGA+ screen was really bad - I havent seen this much backlight bleeding.
The lid was also creaking when pressed right at the edge (at both sides).

Otherwise it seemed solid, but man the screen sucks. The used SXGA+ screen on my T42 is MUCH better

What is it with these screens ?
I have seen
T61, 14" wxga+ : the worst
T42, 14" sxga+: bad, contrast ratio very low
T30, 14" sxga+: bad, contrast ratio very low
Dell Inspiron 1505 15.4" WXGA: bad, contrast ratio very low, some light bleeding
Sony Vaio (6 years old) XGA: Fantastic lcd
Dell Inspiron 5 years old 15" UXGA: Good, contrast ratio can be improved.
Dell Precision M90 17" WUXGA : STUNNING, high contrast ratio, minimal bleeding, very good viewing angles.


Has the lcd quality gone down in the 14-15" segment ?

[Pepa]

Quality is not gone completly, but pressure for price significantly lowered it. With fall of Thinkpads with IPS screens is world even more darker.

TBH you cannot compare mobile 17" with 2+ lamps with any <15" with 1 lamp. And Vaio laptop LCDs are well-known for their quality, but they are glare (so multimedia-style by many companys) and not so much comparable.

Im fine with mine laptop LCD LP154WU1-A1K6 - 15,4" WUXGA with 600:1 contrast ratio (ThinkPad Z61p).

[Troels]

It's sometimes just a draw of the luck. However, regardless of lamps it can have bad screen uniformity - at least for desktop LCDs.

I don't see much of the claimed goodness of LED backlit displays either - sure it's bright, but from measurements the screen uniformity can be even worse than the worst LCDs - see the review of the MBP on notebookcheck.

I'm surprised that the WXGA+ should have lower screen quality than the 14" SXGA+.
There are also different quality levels between LCD panels, but mostly when it comes to standard resolution LCDs - since high resolution LCDs is a niche product.
It would be nice if you could throw a flexview into that comparison

[wearetheborg]

I'm surprised that the WXGA+ should have lower screen quality than the 14" SXGA+.

Why is this surprising ?


I'd love to see a flexview screen.

Do the 15.4" lcds have one lamp or two ?

Does black being really black depend on the number of lamps ? Yes the WUXGA on the dell is "truelife" too, but its really nice (I use it mainl for programming)

Also, I've seen the trend that higher resolution screens have higher contrast ratios. Is there a correlation ? In that higher resolution => better quality in general ?

[Troels]

Surprising because the contrast ratio ought to be 300:1 vs. 200:1 on the 14" SXGA+.

I've never heard of a laptop LCD which has more than one lamp, which is due to the extra space an inverter needs and the power draw (about 4W). But it's likely they use more for the 17" screens.

The black levels depend on the uniformity of the reflector layer and on how well the CCFL tube is alligned in the bottom of the LCD panel. Unless you buy one of those desktop monitors with 8 CCFLs for photo work, there always should be some lack of uniformity.

Manufacturers make mirror-finish LCDs because this will hide the differences in black levels a little, so it will be harder to notice the lightness of the black or it's uniformity.

It's my guess that high resolution screens are manufactured to higher standards since there are considerably less sales, so:

a) the manufacturer must try to make a larger market for these LCDs by really making consistent quality and great performing high resolution LCDs.

b) There's no rush making these displays since the sales are so low.

[sugo]

Would you have FRU info so that we know which manufacturer's LCD is bad? My 14.1" IDTech SXGA+ T42 screen isn't very bright but it's usable.

[wearetheborg]

Would you have FRU info so that we know which manufacturer's LCD is bad? My 14.1" IDTech SXGA+ T42 screen isn't very bright but it's usable.

Er, how do I get the FRU number ?

[wearetheborg]

Surprising because the contrast ratio ought to be 300:1 vs. 200:1 on the 14" SXGA+.
.

Now that you mention it, the contrast ratio wasnt that bad, it was just that the wxga+ had horrible backlight bleeding, and that was spoiling the black background (I like dark colors). I think a blue or light background would look decent on that screen.

[ducky2802]

Im pretty sure my vaio fs (15.4" wxga) has two ccfls. It is even brighter than a couple of external LCD monitors I have used.

[jonnylaw]

LG is the only manufacturer of the 14 ws for the t61. I have one and I don't think its that bad. Very bright and only leakage from bottom during startup

[carbon_unit]

Exactly which T61did you look at? There are many different models and options.
Are you comparing a $1000.00 T61 to a $2000.00 Dell? Is that fair?

[wearetheborg]

Exactly which T61did you look at? There are many different models and options.
Are you comparing a $1000.00 T61 to a $2000.00 Dell? Is that fair?

Model: 7663-ITU
And I've included a dell inspiron 15" in my comparison (I believe it was the inspiron 8200), how is that comparing in different classes ? If anything, the inpsiron belongs in a lower class. It weighs like 10 pounds

Oh, and dell uses the same screens in all their 17" (inlcuding inspirons). I've seen an inspiron 17" ($1200), WUXGA, and it was stunning too.

[Puppy]

LG is the only manufacturer of the 14 ws for the t61. I have one and I don't think its that bad. Very bright and only leakage from bottom during startup

This is big problem for me, cheap panels are usually overbrighted. That's why I like former FlexView panels because they aren't white only, they have contrast and black color as well. I usually use first or second step of brightness setting. Desktop LCD monitors are even worse, I had to buy relatively expensive monitor to have wide range of brightness settings (to the low level) without color distortion.

[carbon_unit]

Model: 7663-ITU
And I've included a dell inspiron 15" in my comparison (I believe it was the inspiron 8200), how is that comparing in different classes ? If anything, the inpsiron belongs in a lower class. It weighs like 10 pounds

Oh, and dell uses the same screens in all their 17" (inlcuding inspirons). I've seen an inspiron 17" ($1200), WUXGA, and it was stunning too.

Don't get your panties all in a bundle 'borgie. I was asking you to clarify since you were so vague about the models. There are sub $1000.00 T61's and $2000.00+ Dell Precision M90's.

Get the FRU's here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site. ... yle=lenovo
You'll need a little more info to look them up.

[ryengineer]

Model: 7663-ITU

That's not even a correct Product ID, should be 7663-1TU.

FYI, Samsung, LG Philips and AUO are supplying 14.1 WS lcd panels for T61/R61, although these panels don't even come closer to IPS level but they're pretty acceptable apart from viewing angles. Considering the list of 3 panels above for T61/R61; from my experience I've found LG Philips panels the best, Samsung's so-so and since I've no experience / data available for AUO panels so I can't comment on it.

LG is the only manufacturer of the 14 ws for the t61.

Please see above, 3 panels are being used for T61 14.1'' WS.

[jonnylaw]

Please see above, 3 panels are being used for T61 14.1'' WS.

Really? When I checked Lenovo's website, there was only one fru for the 14 wxga+ which was Lg/Phillips. Has this changed, or were you referring to the 14 w in all resolutions (including wxga, not just wxga+?

[ryengineer]

Really? When I checked Lenovo's website, there was only one fru for the 14 wxga+ which was Lg/Phillips. Has this changed, or were you referring to the 14 w in all resolutions (including wxga, not just wxga+?

All resolutions, however Samsung and LG Philips both still supply panels for T61 14.1'' WXGA+ models.

[Tholek]

I love my 15.4"W T61, but the brightness, which I knew would be less, is a lot less than on my VAIO FS series. I guess the XBrite's brightness has spoiled me a bit.

[eyecon82]

I love my 15.4"W T61, but the brightness, which I knew would be less, is a lot less than on my VAIO FS series. I guess the XBrite's brightness has spoiled me a bit.

Do you have the samsung or lg 15.4 w? and is it wxga or wxga+ Thanks

[Tholek]

I love my 15.4"W T61, but the brightness, which I knew would be less, is a lot less than on my VAIO FS series. I guess the XBrite's brightness has spoiled me a bit.

Do you have the samsung or lg 15.4 w? and is it wxga or wxga+ Thanks

Neither. It's the LG WSXGA+ (42T0416/42T0417)

[Tholek]

I may have mentioned this elsewhere, but it's also very blue in tint. That's also annoying me a bit.