X60 Tablet tinkering: swapping MT/MV with SXGA+

[rek]

Has anyone tried fitting an SXGA+ panel into an X60 Tablet, that originally came with an XGA (Multitouch in my case) display? I'm not particularly impressed with the MT display; although the viewing angle is excellent and the touch sensor is useful sometimes, it's a fingerprint magnet, the backlight is somewhat dim, and the colour temperature is very "yellowy". I find that in order to be acceptable, I need to set the LCD brightness to "high" in the BIOS. I've calibrated the screen by eye to increase the colour temperature (really should use a hardware calibrator I guess..)

HOWEVER. I can get a used X60t SXGA+ panel to experiment with, and the techy side of me says this is a great excuse to tinker and shoot for the stars, configuration wise

Looking at the HMM document the LCD cable is the same, there is a different FRU for the front bezel which makes me think there may be a slight dimension difference between the BOE Hydis XGA/MT and SXGA+ panels. Lastly, I assume that the X60t LCD assembly (apparently known as "G4" digitiser type) is held together with screws, and not the infamous adhesive of the X61t screens?

... if this works, I wonder if the leftover XGA Flexview panel would fit and work into a non-tablet X, once the Wacom digitiser is removed..

[rek]

A bit of a progress update. the SXGA+ panel is on its way, including the digitiser. There are one or two very small scratches on the panel, hopefully they won't be significant enough to cause any display issue. This is, of course, assuming the panel is not DOA

I've pulled the tablet apart to look at what's there now -- an HT12X21 panel. The adhesive tape that's keeping the connector on is ultra sticky and hard to peel off, so thought it best not to worry about that until the new panel arrives. With a bit of research into the two panel data sheets (HT12X21 for XGA, HV121P01 for SXGA+), they confirm the mount points and dimensions are identical. So it should be a perfect fit physically and electrically

[j-dawg]

I was under the impression that the screens are of different depths. I think the SXGA panel is a bit thicker than the Multitouch panel.

[RS_003]

I think it is the other way around.
Btw I am a high-res kind of guy, and while taking notes I sometimes miss the sxga detail... however I would not like to miss the touch function.

The screen is indeed a bit on the yellow side by default, but nothing worth mentioning

[rek]

The screen installs and works just fine (I'm posting from it now). However, I think the digitiser on the panel is no good

I'm going to try and replace the digitisers between the XGA-MT and SXGA+ panels and see how it goes. (This won't give me an SXGA+ Multitouch panel, in case anyone was wondering.. there is a transparent digitiser layer on the front of the panel that does that)

[rek]

Good news: the XGA digitiser works just fine with an SXGA+ panel.

Bad news: the digitiser seems to make the cursor hunt in the top-right corner of the screen, when not taking in pen input (hovering or tapping).

I haven't yet tested the digitiser back with the XGA panel, but will do to see if it now exhibits the same symptoms on the panel it was originally paired with. I'm hoping I didn't damage it somehow, when removing it..

OH, and the super duper yellowness is still there... might have to try the inverter, I guess

[minc3d]

Ive got an X60 MT screen and don't see what you mean by yellowness... I think it's just the way ambient light is used to increase the brightness of what you view. This is the whole reasoning behind the outdoor functionality of the screen.

[rek]

Ive got an X60 MT screen and don't see what you mean by yellowness... I think it's just the way ambient light is used to increase the brightness of what you view. This is the whole reasoning behind the outdoor functionality of the screen.

I wish it was only this; there is a definite yellow tinge to the display palette, as if it has a low native colour temperature. (For what it's worth, my particular MT display is just as difficult to see outside, than a standard LCD...)

I can play with the GMA driver settings to make it look OK, and have ordered a colour calibration device to make sure I have a proper set of settings to dial into the driver.

Now I've seen an IPS SXGA+ display though, I really don't want to go back to XGA Hopefully I can get the digitiser to work correctly, one way or another. I noticed that the hovering symptom is a logical one, not physical; e.g. when I rotate, the hovering rotates with it; so maybe it's a driver issue. (I accidentally left the MT drivers installed, maybe that's doing it..)

[rek]

Success!

I'm glad to say it was as simple as an idiot mistake by me, in leaving the MultiTouch driver installed. The problem occurred simply due to the MT driver playing havoc with everything. I guess, since I didn't have the MT digitiser connected, having the connector left open-circuit caused the driver to interpret random rubbish as actual instructions And the driver probably freaked out when it tried to communicate with the SXGA+ digitiser, hence why it didn't work the first time.

Strangely enough, after removing the MT driver, the XGA digitiser started going weird (in a manner you'd expect when transposing a 1024x768 digitiser to a 1400x1050 resolution), and I needed to put the SXGA+ one to get everything going perfectly again. But all is well!

[crashnburn]

Nice job. How much did that cost you?

[XIII]

Glad to see that you enjoy your SXGA+ Flexview screen.
Having own one, I have to agree that the experience on the SXGA+ is very positive.
IMO, Multitouch is utterly useless and cannot compare to SXGA+ screen in term of usefulness in getting the work done.

[rek]

MT/MV certainly has its place in vertical markets and other tablet-friendly sectors, but I found that the only time I ever used it was to press on "Start --> Shut down.. --> Suspend", or to click OK on a dialog when I am lazy Being a fairly conventional tablet user (annotation, drawing diagrams, working on mapping) the extra brightness and resolution of the SXGA+ panel is much more useful. The nice thing, though, is that if I really do need the touch panel in the future, it's only 5 minutes' work to put the Multitouch screen back in and swap the drivers.

I found a "Grade B" quality LCD panel + digitiser on eBay that happened to be the SXGA+ version (had to look up the BOE Hydis datasheet to confirm). An (accepted) offer of 200 USD, and it got here in about a week. I found afterwards that new panels have been going for less on the US-only eBay, but this seller allows international shipping and it came with the digitiser, which I did end up needing in the end.

"Grade B" because there are a couple of slight scratches on the edge of the panel, which are nearly invisible (unless you know where they are, and you're looking for them), and in places where the tablet stylus never goes -- and even if it does, they don't feel any different. Apart from that, though, the screen is flawless.

[crashnburn]

For curiosity I looked online. I did not find anything below that price. Which ones did you find for less?

[rek]

There was a brand new one (LCD only) that went for 150 USD, with one bid.

[crashnburn]

There was a brand new one (LCD only) that went for 150 USD, with one bid.

I guess digitizer would be more