All this screen madness

are the infamous AUO and SEC screens used in other notebooks as well? surely Dell didnt buy every AUO and SEC screen on the planet.

I'm actually very surprised that dell agrees to replace these 'grainy' screens since i have a philips 19in desktop screen and it bleeds like hell. but it was cheap and i don't think i expect much better.

for the price of the vostro are we expecting too much?

I've just never heard about people returning notebook screens becaue of grain or bleed issues since nearly every notebook have them. It's the same as returning blue vein cheese because you think it stinks a bit TOO much.

I have looked in other manufacture forums and not one complain about the screen. This is definitely starting. to snowball.

 

Ok...not sure what you're trying to say but here's how it went:

Dell shipped a batch of laptops with bad screens. People complained. Dell replaced the laptops. End of story. Comparing this to cheese is way off. People know that cheese might stink, but they have no reasonable expectation for their laptops screens to be subpar.

 

This is my post from another thread.
Today I Went Fry's and Besy buy.

A LOT not just HP had SEC and AUO screens. From gateway, Toshiba, Hp, Compaq...

The sad thing is that they looked good. (sad for dell)

Out of maybe 20-30 laptops between two stores, all had NO GRAIN what so ever. Most were very good, crip and clean.

I tested 5 or so and they did not show massive back light bleeding.

I think it's the stupid Truelife coating. Each company has their own little name and Maybe the process is different too so they don't fall into the whole patent bull.

So I really don't know what to think of dell right now.


Head over to Hp/Compaq or Toshiba section, how many threads do you see with the Grain issue?

 

im not sure either! bad day at work perhaps.

but it was a genuine question. I suppose you could be right that dell just happen to receive a bad batch of panels and everyone else's screens are fine.

but i still think at least a significant portion of the returns are from people who only knew they had a 'problem' after seeing these complaints here on the forum. In fact i have read several states that states as much. the vostro reviewers have said the screen are fine but they can see what people are talking about when it came to the grains, although it didn't bother them

I still think there are a lot of notebooks out there with the same grainy screens but people just don't see it as something that needs to be replaced.

 

i totally agree.

there are actually people who start threads asking "how can i tell if my screen is bad/grainy/whatever?" how sad are you when you can't look at an LCD and decide for yourself whether you like it or not.

people are such sheep.

 

i am frustrated with dell because i went to a dell kiosk to check the screen quality before buying my 1520.

guess what? the LCDs at the dell kiosk were flawless, mine sucks. if this isn't false advertising, i don't know what is.

there is a reason other manufacturers don't have grainy threads. their LCDs are not grainy.

 

Personally, I love my AUO screen, I looked at my friends compaq laptop and the screen was not as bright, more light bleeding and the white wasnt very white.

 

basically. I believe parameters like brightness, color and graininess are all very subjective things, unlike dead pixels and i think dell is very generous for replacing laptops with these issues.

I have honestly not heard of such a thing as grainy screen until now. It migh tbe something unique to the current DELLs.....but i think its another example of how the internet can exponentially make something minor into full blown page one news

 

conversely. This whole thing might be bringing up an issue that was either ignored or unknown off. Which might lead to other people complaining toother manufacturers, which might lead to better screen for everyone.


So yes, anal people are helpful. Im not being sarcastic.

 

My AUO screen is flawless too. The best screen that I've seen on any notebooks I've looked at.

 

you can get a AUO who is awesome, you can get a Samsung who is awesome, you can get a LG-Philip who is awesome.....its not matter which brand you get, its depends if you have luck or not


i have a True life 17" wxga+ LG-Philip. really awesome colors & contrast ratio, but i also have 5cm light-bleeding, (who i only see when the screen is totaly black.. (you never become 100% satisfield)

at first, i had a matte AUO 17" wxga+ AND IT WAS TERRIBLE......thats why Dell changed to a True life.

LG
http://www.lgphilips-lcd.com/homeCo.../prd300_j_e.jsp
AUO
http://auo.com/auoDEV/products.php?sec=notebook&func=items&items_id=2&ls=en
Samsung
http://www.samsung.com/global/busin...amp;fmly_id=611

and so on..............

______________

 

Macpod

I had a Samsung grainy screen and let me tell you when I compared it other Dells, a friends HP and another friends Toshiba it is unnacceptable.

I have since gotten a LG replacement and the difference is remarkable.

The fact that there really is such a large difference shows that there is a problem.

A lot of people may not be reporting the issue because they are new to laptops and probably think its normal. Believe me, it is not normal, and it is not being anal either.

 

just my not so well informed 2c, but i have also been a bit puzzled by this grainy screen talk.

i've had my xps for about a week now, immediately noticed some fuzzy edges around text, particularly small, coloured fonts. i wasn't all that concerned - i was overall very pleased with the presentation of the laptop.

i have been doing some extensive wordprocessing over the week, as well as some games, and can say with certainty that the fuzziness has gone completely. all text is displayed clearly and with sharp edges.

unfortunately, a thick verticle line of dead pixels has appeared at the top left of the screen. i called dell and we immediately diagnosed a broken connection, which doesn't seem to be a manufacturing fault at all. a technician is waiting for my next free moment with a new screen and cable - i'm almost sad to see this one go.

 

I think a lot of people touch their nose to the screen, see some grain, and then go whining on the forums about it. The same with people who turn off the lights, put on a black screen and go whining on the forums about their laptop screen bleed. However, in 99% of normal situations neither of these so called "defects" are even noticable.

I am sure there have been some exceptions to this, mainly, poeple with screen grain you can see from *normal* viewing distances or backlight bleed you can see in clear daylight without setting up your special backlight bleed experiment. However, a lot of it seem to be people jumping on the defect bandwagon demanding the best screen, returning several laptops in search of their LG screen. I myself have an SEC and it is wonderful and if I do put my nose to it, i can see some grain. However, at regular viewing length it is perfectly clear.

 

All I can say is if you like your screen, then who cares how grainy or whatnot it is, don't complain just because others do.

I personally see flaws in my screen and they are more pronounced when I went into some stores to check screens on the floor models to make sure I wasn't just imagining things...

The only thing I can say is that 9/10 floor models had gorgeous screens, just gorgeous compared to either my AUO or SEC.

The only word I can use to describe the difference is "creamy".

The good screens appeared brigth, crisp and had a very creamy smooth feel to the picture. I can't really explain better than that but I can tell you for sure that they were almost all much better than the screens I have seen on my 1400s and there was only one that looked similarly bad (no viewing angle issue but sparkly grain sort of) and even that wasn't nearly as bad as I have.

I couldn't comment on the colors on the store models as they were under bridght lights and washed out but I can tell that my 1400 definitely doesn't have the color accuracy I have seen in a lot of monitors in everything from laptops to desktops and I work in IT so I see a lot...

 

AUO have really awesome 17" screens to, (the glossy ones).

take a look at this glossy screen, (one of the best 17" wxga+ you can get)

Resolution (pixel)
WXGA+ (1440 x 900)
Aspect Ratio
16 : 10
Active Area (mm)
367.2 x 229.5
Pixel Pitch (mm)
0.255
Mode
TN
Number of Colors
262K
Color Saturation (NTSC %)
72
View Angle (H/V)
140 / 120
Brightness (cd/m²) (5 points average)
500
Contrast Ratio
700 : 1
Response Time (ms) (at 25°C)
6
Power Consumption (W)(typ)
12.5
Interface
2ch LVDS
Supply Voltage (V)
3.3
Backlight
2 CCFL

 

I think one of the reasons dells have more issues is that they offer the higher res screens wxga + which have more issues.. this is pretty much fact at this point. Going down on res or up from wxga + will generally have better results. As for my experience, the SEC on my original 1420 had good colors.. no grain. But the viewing angles were really bad.. I did not like it. I did not have to read about that on any forum either. I could not even watch a movie on it with my wife since the angles only permitted one person directly in front and that is with constant tweaking.. with that SEC you never quite seem to find the sweet spot.

The AUO I had must of have been one of the really bad ones.. not just grainy, but like smeared vasoline on the screen. The HP I have now with the lower res LG wxga screen blows both the SEC or AUO dell displays right out of the water. I mean, not even close. The colors on the LG are brighter, and viewing angles are very good. No grain either. The reason I don't think this is being blown out of proportion is you still get new threads by people who are unaware of the bad displays... saying they think there is some issues etc.. There was another one today. This person had no idea about the graininess, just that he had some yellowish tint to white backgrounds and could not mask it with then nvidia controls. This is nothing but dell using cheap components with poor quality control or no boundary samples of what is exceptable. The fact that HP's are not suffering from complaints on the HP forum probably means they do have boundary standards and will not, or use displays that have issues that are found on Dells. If Dell is in fact using a coating that degrades quality, then they should change their processes or have their vendors change their processes on the coating.

The point is, people will not tolerate a crappy display.. I mean, you can buy a 400 dollar compaq that has a better glossy display then a 1200 dell. The customer knows better and is more educated then what dell probably thinks.

Personally, I think dell knows what they are doing. They probably are getting these panels dirt cheap. And I don't think they care.. as long as somebody supplies them. They have allot of back orders and only seem concerned about filling them..even if it means using questionable suppliers. They are putting market share ahead of quality. If this was not the case, AUO would not be used on the higher res screens. AUO has a long history of issues with wxga + and that goes back before the new inspiron launch in June. Yes, before the first new colorful inspiron shipped, Dell new they would use AUO's hi res displays that have grainy issues.

I may add that the graininess seems to affect the 14" and 15" more then the 17" dells. As been discussed from the beginning of the new launch, the regular wxga matte or glossy or the higher wuxga are the way to go. I have not personally seen a LG wxga + but some say those are very nice. I don't like either the SEC or AUO for that resolution and advice against it for the 14" or 15" displays. This was the conclusion that many came to on the older threads in early July and I think it still holds up today.

Its also interesting to note that HP does not offer the wxga + option on the dv2500 or dv6500 (14 and 15" models). Sony does not offer hi res on their new 14" CR either. Many may think dell is better by offering more display options. But I think the real reason that HP or Sony does not offer those resolutions is because of quality issues. I also believe this is the main reason that grainy screen threads are non existent on the HP forum.

 

The first Vostro 1400 I got with a SEC panel has horrible viewing angles, I can't ever seem to position my head to watch a DVD without an area of the screen washed out or shaded black. There is still significant light bleed on the bottom. I then received a replacement with an AUO. It was very grainy compared to the SEC, even from normal viewing distance. Only thing the AUO had going for it was the amazing brightness it had over the SEC, and a bit less leakage.

I have also gone to look at store models, and while I do notice light leakage in almost every laptop, except in Toshiba Qosmio LPL screens (those are amazing), there was no graininess anywhere I saw.

Originally I was thinking with going HP. However, the all plastic casing just gave the impression the build was somewhat flimsy, not to mention all the screen flex I got with just a light press on the back of the LCD, so I went Dell, but the almost non-existent complaints of LCDs with HP really makes me reconsider my decision.

 

Maybe I just got a good one.. but I don't think the new HP's are that flimsy at all.. Yeah the screen may have more flex.. but I have never seen the picture distort ever when moving it around or on my lap etc.. It not a regid as the dell, but its nowhere near as bulky or heavy either. And where strength really counts is in the hinge area. And the plastic molding that is glued on the inspions back lid just looks weak.. My first one was cracked. I have more faith in HP's hinges then dells. For home and school, I feel my HP is more then strong enough. If you are going to lug this around allot for business, then a dell latitude or IBM thinkpad would be the way to go.

Again, the lack of a wxga + option on the HP dv2500 or dv6500 is probably why they don't get grainy screen complaints. But there are other factors too. If you go back far enough in the threads there were posters saying that dell uses cheaper 6 bit displays instead of 8 bit. This can also apparently cause quality issues. The 6 bit displays are cheaper to manufacture and apparently dell uses allot of these in their notebooks. One thing I am positively sure about, Dell's displays as a whole are inferior to allot of the competition. And these days, the price savings for getting a dell over a HP had all but gone.. In fact, My HP cost 200 less for the same configuration and 2 year warantee. I have more now with the fingerprint reader and HDMI.. everything else the same except a larger screen. But when I orginally ordered a dell, the new HP's were like 1500. With all the free upgrades and 30 percent off coupon you can probably get that same one for 1100 now.

 

Before i got my laptop i thought all the graininess buzz was just from overly excited people that tricked themselves into seeing the grain, but its just not the case. This screen is by far the worst screen i have seen. I had it replaced and the second one was just as bad. If you have any question to whether or not your screen is grainy, then its not, but when it is so painfully obvious that it distracts from writing a simple essay then you have a problem.

 

Yeah the savings might be more apparent when the prices reach over $1000. Yet, when you are looking at more budget machines (under $850), Dell comes out cheaper, although only by about $30.

For what I need to do (occasionally game, but mostly for school-related things), almost the minimum configuration of the Vostro 1400 and the dv2500t serve my purposes. However, I guess it might just be me, but I seem to just connect bulk and weight to durability. The only concern I have is the laptop bouncing around in a backpack with textbooks or something, and the screen flex on the HP scared me a bit away. A magnesium-alloy construction on the Vostro/Inspirons versus the plastic on the HP was what drew me to the Dell because of that reason. Additionally, I found that the HP's keyboard has just a bit more flex to it than the Dell. Another question, do you find that the HP runs hotter than the Inspiron? It was something I've heard elsewhere,

Additionally, I find just 2 USB ports on the dv2500t with the Nvidia option annoying. In truth the only thing that draws me to the HP is the screen, yet it is, to me, the most important component of the laptop. The recent $200 price drop for the dv2500t also makes the prices much closer between it and the Vostro.

I am trying another replacement with Dell though (here's hoping it will be a LG-Phillips!).

 

Yes, my HP dv6500t runs a little warmer then the 1420 I had. But I would say its not hot. Under the left palm is where I feel a bit more heat. I seem to remember reading that the 2500t may have more heat.. but not sure and I have not used the dv2500t. The dv6500t has three USB ports. Yes, you give up a usb with HP and also gain a HDMI port. For me, I gladly take the HDMI. I connect to the printer with WIFI and use the built in BT for my new MS BT presenter mouse.. really nice mouse. The HDMI is why the HP has less USB ports. It carries both s video and HDMI so HP is pretty future proof for outputting to HDTV. I guess some people need four USB? I doubt I will ever use more then 1 or 2. But thats just me. I know people that plug all kinds of USB devices into laptops. Well I hope you get a nice LG with your replacement. The 14" dells are the best looking of the lot and are not too heavy. For your needs it sounds like the dell fits your needs. Just that little issue about displays that dell needs to resolve.

 

when did you get your replacement and what screen did it have?? i assume the sec3350??

 

http://www.engadget.com/2007/09/12/20-inch-imac-shipping-with-janky-lcds/



Looks like the new iMAC have grainy screens too!

 

The grainy screen I had was noticable straght away. Whites are not clear and the screen is not very bright.

I find it disappointing that i have experienced such a difference between my new LG WSXGA+ display and SEC display. As far as I'm concerned the size of the difference means Dell should stop using the WSXGA+ SEC displays.

 

i saw the problem as soon as i hit the windows screen i had it on for literally maybe 5 min then shut it down called them boxed it up, its THAT NOTICABLE. trust me if you have this grain issue you will see it as soon as you look at your screen its that bad

 

Yeah, the graininess is noticeable relatively quicky. Just open Notepad and maximize it. There will be numerous colored speckles that dilute the white which appears on the screen. With the AUO I received, I noticed the graininess about 10 minutes into the use of the laptop. There is very minor grainiess with my SEC, but I have to put my face up to the screen to see it. Therefore, I don't consider it much of a graininess problem.

 

no kidding....i sent my lappie in today for a screen replacement which was supposed to happen 2 weeks ago...(dell is killing meeeee)...and i included a letter requeseting LG and showing your method of how to find the grain...

on the imacs...the school i go to has the previous gen of 20" imacs...they are so nice, the screen is sooo big...but the grain isn't very bad. its kinda surprising how apple got a lawsuit over those screens and dell doesn't, and dell's are worse.

 

People pay a premium for apple, it better be freakin perfect lol.