M11x Screen Quality Discussion

glossy but still good.

 

yeah like the m15x has so many options that i saw. The subtotal can go very high from the starting options, when the m11x I think all I did was add bluetooth and change ram

 

Wow. I'm really thinking your display might be defective. I just finished playing Mass Effect 2's latest DLC "Project Overlord" on the panel and when viewing in the sweet spot, the colors popped and were just as accurate as running it on my desktop rig on a calibrated Pioneer Kuro.

And while I don't disagree with your refuting what I said about this being the best technology for this panel size (clearly there is better) - I'd like to reiterate what the other poster said:

Probably the deciding factor in the display was cost. You're probably getting a nicer display on those cheaper notebooks because the other components are so inexpensive or not in market demand that the cost of those machines are so low that they throw in a nicer display to hide the fact that the PC is not very powerful.

What Alienware should have done was offer an upgrade option on the panel.

Is it the best out there? Obviously not. But like the other person said, it is very good for what it does. I'm not having any issues with my Samsung panel and it was honestly pretty much good as soon as it was installed once I found the sweet spot. And was much better than the panel my m11x shipped with. I'm really bummed I didn't know or think to check the Hardware ID of the panel my M11x shipped with to see if it was a Samsung or AUO.

But I noticed on the Samsung SEC5441 replacement panel what felt like a drastically improved picture from the original panel that came with the M11x.

I would seriously consider calling Dell and tell them you want a replacement. And see if another panel of the same make might be better?

As for the Asus comparison, like I said, I also own their G73JH-A1 ROG notebooks and that machine is my other pride and joy. I am more amazed with it every day.

Another poster on one of the threads in here was saying how he works a lot in China and asked those over there in the tech industry what they like since they're building most of these machines, and according to him, he said Asus was considered good, high end quality, while Dell was considered the least good in quality. Now Alienware being a bought subsidiary, I don't know if they fall into that category.

Point of that is, I think Asus is becoming a real force of brand. On it's way to getting comparable with Sony or Pioneer. So I'm not surprised that you'd find a better panel in one of their machines.

And again, I believe Asus will have a direct competitor machine to the m11x in the next year or so and it will be a very, very, enticing option. If the quality is the same as my G73JH, than I will most likely sell or give away the m11x for an Asus equivalent.

In the meantime, I'd at least try getting an in home panel replacement. Dell/Alienware did it for me and I have to say, the customer service on the issue was some of the best I've ever experienced in terms of them being agreeable to my wishing to have the panel replaced. The only other place where I've seen that kind of attention is at the Genius Bar for my IPhone.

While I agree the panel is not the best on the market, Going by what you said about Mass Effect 2, and what other posters have said about not having problems with their SEC5441 panel, I'm inclined to believe yours might truly be defective and worth at least trying to switch it out.

If you do, use my excuse of dust under the screen, that will work and they didn't even check when they came to replace it. I don't know if they'll switch out the panel because you don't like the PQ. Even if it's a legitimate concern.

Cheers.

 

Yeah...I need a good excuse to try replacement...then at least I'll know if my panel is messed up or its just my eyes Problem is my local best buy sucks and never has them in stock. Damn't I don't know maybe I will try the dust thing. It really does suck because there are no other options out there! Even a 13" with a decent graphics card in my budget doesn't exist. My only other option at this point is hp envy 14...which is way bigger than i want to go Well thanks for all your input thx.

 

Try a replacement screen. I just read this site's review of the M11x and feel they were dead on with my sentiments about the display. I think if you can get one like that one states, average contrast, very narrow vertical viewing angles that if one move's their head slightly, results in a gray banding at the top or bottom but has great color and great even lighting due to it being an LED.

This is pretty much what I've got. But if you get in a dark room and hit that sweet spot, you'll come to realize the display is not that bad. It's really not.

But yours might be defective. Fwiw, the Dell guy had my panel replaced within 48 hours of the service call. So, again, try that. But go through Alienware's tech support.

And if you use dust under the screen, make sure to patiently clarify and explain, as the first call rep. was confusing this with a dead pixel issue and started quoting me their dead pixel policy. I had to hang up and call and get another rep. who seemed to understand me better. So, it will take some patience and maybe one or two tries to get a tech support rep that is not an outsourced worker.

 

personally after about 2weeks+ with my R2 (i have the samsung panel out of box), at first i had the same thought that I didnt quite like the display. I find that my previous Y450 have a much better display over all but its just purely base on memory as I did not compare them side by side (sold my lenovo). Been playing Mass Effect 2, Splinter Cell Conviction and L4D2 on my R2. After awhile think maybe I have gotten used to it, I actually find that the display is fine. Sure its not the best display and I agree there are definitely better ones out there. But for a display of this size I think its acceptable. I dont know how many knows this but new display normally takes some time to "burn in". And I believe mine had already reach that "burn in" state. Even if you think you want to calibrate your display, its always recommended to do that after the "burn in" period as the color and everything else will change slightly after that. Now that after weeks with this machine. I look at my friend's N82jv yesterday. It was when I am starting to appreciate my small little screen. The colors are actually very deep and crisps. And display is sharp. While black remains black. My only complain left so far is in fact some times i find that the black is too dark to the extend that in killing floor there are areas that I almost find myself in complete darkness unless I am using the 9mm pistol with torchlight on. Not sure if this is intentional thou, might have to hook up to my external display for comparison some day. Putting this aside why would I say that the display is rich and crisp. Because when I was looking at my friend's Asus N82jv, I actually find that the screen is overly bright that it seems like there is a white layer on top of the picture like as if the brightness is way too high. Also text do not look as crisps as those on my R2. Worst of all his colors seems very wash out too me. when looking at him running Borderland, due to the nature of the game gfx design I suppose it should look colorful but instead of that I actually find his colors pretty wash out.

I think those who find their display not right and if its been a couple of weeks already (provided you really use it very frequently) try to ask for replacement. And upon replacement as usualy you need some "burn in" time then see if there is an improvement over what you used to have.

 

Well, I found a very cool dell tech and he is willing to send me a whole new system. I guess that's as good as a screen replacement This way I will also be able to compare them side by side. I really feel like something is just not right with my current display. I guess I'll find out with system # 2.

 

Hmm, my question might fit in here: has anyone else had any trouble with dust collecting inside the display? I had several grains of sand (or something) in the first m11x r1 that i bought. I returned that to the shop and got a new one (where the dust appeared after 1 day).

Since the shop refused to take that one back as well i called dell and they sent a technician who replaced the whole lid.

At first this seemed ok.. but after 2 weeks of (indoor!) use there are again several dust motes inside the display.

Did something like that happen to anyone else? Is this normal? I cant believe somebody would design a display like that (the outer layer appears to serve only one purpose: to produce as much glare as possible anyway..)
Shouldnt the display be sealed somehow? I have an old mobile phone that i carried around in my pants for years.. there is no dust behind the display..

 

The LCD/lid assembly is sealed, right? I've had mine for almost 6 weeks and there's not one speck of dust. That you've had 3 different LCD's with this problem seems very odd.

 

I had dust under my display noticed within 10 hours of unpacking and Dell/Alienware did the same thing and sent a tech out within 48 hours to replace the panel with a new one. Nothing so far with this replacement. I'm quite happy with it so I'm trusting it's going to stay flawless. I live in a pretty dusty area of Los Angeles though. Next to a 99cent store. So knowing it's happened to you twice gives me a little concern.

I do see places on the case and lid where dust can get in. There's some light leakage in places, especially on the sides of the case.

Here's hoping that they'll keep covering it under warranty if it continues to be an issue.

So yes, you're not the only one.

Out of curiosity, do you happen to know the hardware make of the panels that had dust under them?

Maybe it's an issue where they're being manufactured?

Well, if dust keeps getting under the panel of this unit, then Dell can keep replacing it until they get their manufacturing issues worked out. But, like I said earlier, I'm just going to trust that this one will stay as flawless as it is right now

 

Nice score!

 

This is a great point and I also believe that I'm seeing the effects of this as my display does seem to keep getting better with use. Nice observation.

 

There is no such thing as LCD burn-in in the sense that they "settle" into some optimal state beyond what you get right off the assembly line. You're just becoming used to what you're seeing. Plasma, on the other hand, is another story.

 

The thing is: i checked the replacement panel extremely carefully after the tech installed it (after having those troubles before..). I couldnt find anything inside. So the dust either "creeps" inside somehow (maybe through the mic hole?) or it sits on the borders and moves over time due to static.

I am still not shure why dell installed that high gloss plastic in front of the display anyway..

 

Is whatever you tote the M11x around in - backpack, sleeve, etc. - dusty?

 

Not really.. i put it into the cloth bag that it came with, then into a zipped laptop sleeve.

 

What?

I own a ISF-calibrated Kuro and have owned 2 M11x units (Sammy/AUO) and to suggest the colour accuracy of a cheap 8-bit panel compares to a Kuro is absurd.

Colour depth and accuracy is largely influenced by accurate greyscale tracking and black levels. The M11x screens do/have neither.

 

Well, you may own two M11X's,

But I own two ISF calibrated Kuro's calibrated by Avical. One is a 5020 and the other is the 60" Elite

You see what you see, I see what I see.

I would submit that you're not finding the sweet spot on either of your M11x's if you can't see it; and it has nothing to do with the panel, but rather that you're missing the very, very narrow sweet spot.

The snobby insouciance inherent in your post sounds like you have a lot of ego wrapped up in being a Kuro owner and just can't handle the fact that an 11" panel can look relatively just as good "if" in the very narrow sweet spot.

I stand by my statement.

 

Reminds me of the argument that MP3s are not good enough quality to enjoy...

 

I have the AUO display and it appears fine to me as a general user. I have certainly seen better screens on products but for the "notebook" category it seems acceptable, it is certainly not a deal breaker for me but I can't deny a matte panel upgrade at purchase would have been appealing.

 

I just got my M11x R2 and I don't see the problem
The screen looks beautiful. Glossy albeit, but beautiful.
The screen is bright and the colors are crisp.
The viewing angles are good too.

 

I have AUO on my M11x, and kinda like what I'm seeing.

Blueish tint is there depending on the angle of the LCD.

 

I'd have to agree, it's exactly what I expected.

 

I think I read somewhere that an LG panel was being put in some M11x's now, can anyone comment? Has one been seen in the wild or is it just a rumour?

 

One user here reported that their replacement LCD was an LG. I've listed the model number in a couple of my posts. I couldn't find any detailed specs on it though.

 

I did find your post slickie thanks for that. I couldn't find any info on it either unfortunately, but I'd really like to hear what it's like so if anyone can provide info on the LG panel please let me know

 

Hi all..
This is my first post.

I've read that M11x LCD that is manufactured by Samsung is just the same panel as the inspiron 11z LCD, is that right?
Actually I don't own M11x, but I've compared the LCD of my inspiron mini 10v with inspiron 11z, both were manufactured by Samsung, and they had very similiar characteristics (viewing angle, colors, and color temp), and without calibration, when staring at "sweet spot" their colors were good enough (deep an crisp), the cons were just the black was not really black and the viewing angle was very limited, and one thing I didn't like was most of
Samsung panels have warm color temp, after few weeks, I decided to call Dell tech support to complain about my LCD, what I said was that my LCD panel didn't produce natural colors, and they told me to calibrate it, but after about ten minutes negotiation, finally they agreed to send me a replacement of LCD panel, and next day, the panel replacement come, and what I've got was a GTC panel (the technicians brought two panels, one was GTC, and the other was LG), so I asked for the LG panel, but he said that the LG was not for me, but for another customer, after a short conversation, he agreed to give me th LG panel.
And after the LCD was replaced, I was surprised that my new LCD has better and more natural colors, and the vertical viewing angle was lil bit better (wider) than Samsung panel, the color temp was neutral (not bluish (cold) or reddish (warm), but the black level was similiar.

 

There are 3 different panels that Dell uses for their 11.6" notebooks, including the M11x.

AUO105C - AU Optronics
SEC5441 - Samsung
LGblahblah - LG

As you've noted they each have their certain color characteristics that will appeal to different people. The AUO is very cool, the Samsung warmer. The LG might very well be closer to "natural" colors, but a hardware calibration is the only way you're going to get /accurate/ colors.

In the end it's up to what you like. Most people aren't really concerned with color accuracy.

 

On my town, hardware calibration is something expensive, and ask for LCD replacement is free, that's why I did it.
I'm happy enough with my new LCD, but I feel it still need hardware calibration, as for my eyes, there is no laptop LCD that has natural or perfect colors without calibration.
I still don't understand why most people don't care about color accuracy.

 

Real men only see in a handful of colors

Really its for the same reason why MP3's are "good enough", 8mp cameras are enough... etc. Don't have SSD? How can you survive? heh.

If calibration was free/easy more people might do I suppose. I didnt do more than the built in tools but those settings led me to dimmer setting which actually wasn't as nice (for me).

 

My unit has been through 7 different screens, - half of which due to the hinge problem but lately the replacements i've recieved have all had multiple dead pixels! I dont know if youve ever had a dead pixel, but after the first time youve seen it you always notice it. Consequently i die a little every i see them - The first screen i had was flawless sadly the hinge broke.

tldr luck of the draw

 

How many instances of broken hinges have you had exactly?

 

right I've decided not to care about my screen any more, it's pretty adequate, not the best in the world but I can play my games on it and browse the net so that's ok.

The nice guy at Dell ANZ offered to supply me with a samsung one, but as it'll be no better than my AUO I declined as this one has no dead pixels or dust (well one tiny speck!)
He said the LG was not being supplied in M11x's at this time, he got that info from somewhere along the Dell manufacturing chain I think. I might just invest in a Spyder 3 and calibrate it myself, or just leave it alone and get on with my life

 

Wow. Sorry to hear that's happened to you, but thanks for that at the same time. As it helps me in deciding my own conundrum.

I'm surprised that's happened as the Dell rep who replaced my panel said they're all supposed to be inspected and calibrated before being shipped as a replacement. Maybe he was just blowing smoke?

Yet, last night on a thorough inspection I noticed my replacement panel that this same guy put on is all crooked and the hinges are totally misaligned.

But- it's a pixel perfect panel. Nothing bugs me like a dead or stuck pixel or piece of dust under the screen

The hinges do not make any clicking or friction noises and seems to have the right amount of tension.

I was thinking of calling Dell and having it replaced, but after hearing what you're going through, I think I'll wait and see if it actually breaks first.

I just don't think the hinges is worth gambling on a pixel perfect panel for at this point. And I'm probably going to buy the extended warranty as long as it's not priced higher than initial offering.

Is the LG panel definitely something that's been a standard part for netbooks and not a model they're quietly phasing in to reduce panel quality complaints?

Because if that is the case, then I would like to try and get my hands on one.

Can you check the Hardware ID of your LG panel? Maybe doing a search on that model number might bring up some info?

I don't know, I also might call Alienware and see if I can't have my current panel reattached with better care and adjustment.

Although I have to say, none of these problems come close to bumming me out on my M11x as the PB/Optimus problem.

I want to play my M11x so bad but the only thing calling my name right now is BCBF2 MP, so I play it on my other rig while my Alienware rests untouched. Calling to me like a Siren for a sailor lost at sea. It's really lame.

 

Hardware ID for LG panel : LGD0206

 

Something weird, AUO panels on HP/ Compaq laptops have neutral color temp, but LG-Philips (not LG only) panels on early manufactured Dell mini 10v netbooks have cold color temp (bluish), and Sharp panels on Asus eee 1000HE netbooks also have cold color temp (bluish), but they have very wide viewing angle, and Samsung panels on Compaq laptops have similiar characteristics like Samsung panels on Inspiron 11z and Inspiron mini 10v netbooks.
LG panel on my Inspiron mini 10v has similiar characteristics like LG panels on Toshiba laptops.
One more thing, I found that other brand laptops or netbooks have little bit better black level and better contrast ratio than Dell laptops (although they use same panels with same characteristics).

 

That sounds like it supports what Slickie said, that they're all essentially the same and none will give accurate colors without a proper calibration.

 

Yes, but I think Dell is doing something with the LCD panels on their laptops that cause the decreasing of black level and contrast ratio, maybe they cut the voltage to the panels (for example: other brand laptops use +5v, 0v, -5v, Dell uses +4,7v, 0v, -4,7v) in order to increase battery life, but I'm not sure, that's just my assumption.

 

I agree with you, we can get accurate colors by calibrating the panels, but there is nothing we can do to get better viewing angle, better black level, and better contrast ratio.
All we can do are calibrating it, finding the sweet spot of our panels, enjoying the best of our display panels, and never comparing our panels with other panels that have better quality, and remembering that nothing is perfect.

 

that's a nice analogy
frankly speaking,the screen isn't so bad as you describe

 

I'm in Australia and most people here say the screen on the m11x is disappointing, yet pretty much every US review I read says it's great. Would it be a case of Australia getting crap panels?? If so I'll buy from the US...