Thinkpads Forum

Hi,

I made the sxga+ mod on my x61s. The new 1440x1050 resolution is great, the viewing angles are much better, but the brightness is quite low.
It is even lower then the old screen. I checked the BIOS and its on the HIGH option.

So I was wondering if this is normal for the HV121P01-100 that I have installed or there is a problem with my particular unit?
Also is there another way to boost the brightness a bit.

Thanks in Advance

I believe the SXGA+ is rated at 190 nits. It's also uses bulbs to light the screen, which can dim over time. Given that your screen is probably older, that's a possibility.

The screen is new, I suspect the inverter board. I have ordered a new one will see in few days.

I have done the mod with a new HV121P01-100 screen, and it was dimmer than the original screen. And when first power up the right side was also dimmer than the rest and need some warming up (either by time or raising the brightness to full) to reach even brightness.

My eyesight is getting poorer with this screen, so I changed to a 1024x768 AFFS LCD again (a second hand HT12x21). Now this screen is roughly similar in brightness to the original.

The new inverter didn't help.
I have ordered a led back-light kit. Will post the results (wish me luck not to spoil the screen).

The original 1024x768 panel of the X61s (and some X60s's) was a special panel called "UltraLight", a clever name referring to both its light weight and extra light intensity.

done!!!

now I have a x61s witha sxga+ LED screen. Tadaa!!!

thanks to

http://www.iccfl.com/product_info.php?c ... s_id=11862

Shouls warn though, the lamp replacement is a PITA for those screens (HV121P01-100), but should be easier for the original screens.

Will post some pics soon.

Problem with those LED-sets is, that you can no longer adjust the brightness.

RealBlackStuff wrote:Problem with those LED-sets is, that you can no longer adjust the brightness.

That is not true anymore. The LED driver from ICCFL is capable of PWM. I have built them into X61 and X61 Tablet.

The real problem is the upper light diffusion film in the SXGA+ display. It causes some nasty reflections.
Pictures: http://www.abload.de/gallery.php?key=k7yEcy7v

TN panels are easier to modify, and results can be as bright as 240 nits.

The original backlight comes in a U shape metal enclosure which sends the light in the right direction.
At first I followed the video guide of the seller and just placed the led strip in the place of the whole original assembly (including the metal enclosure).
And indeed, the reflections were quite visible and the brightness wasn't even (lighter at the bottom).

So I did opened the screen once again. This time I placed the led strip into the metal enclosure from the original lamp and put the whole assembly back.
The result was really much better. Now, the light is very even and the screen looks like oem led just like the t400 that I have. Of course, when I compare it with my wife's x1 carbon it is much darker. Nevertheless, I am very happy with the results.

RealBlackStuff wrote:Problem with those LED-sets is, that you can no longer adjust the brightness.

When looking for a led conversion kit I found one another supplied who was using his own inverter board. This inverter wasn't supporting the adjustment of brightness.
But the one I used does.