Terrible 15.4" CMO screen

Hi all... I'm new to laptops so please be gentle.

I've recently bought an Asus notebook from an online shop and I find myself quite disappointed with its screen. It's a glossy CMO N154I2-L02 (CMO1526) 15.4", as I expected, and people seemed pretty happy with it from what I've read. However, I'm quite shocked by its narrow up/down viewing angles. They should be 20/45 according to specs, but they seem to be way much lower. For example, I'm looking straight at the screen at a dark picture, from 50cm away; I can tell it's straight because I can see my eyes staring back at me from exactly the middle of the screen. Well, the bottom half of the image is brighter, while the upper half is darker; also, near the upper edge of the screen, the black areas are suffering from a negative effect (hard to describe).

If I try to pull the screen towards me, so that my eyes are now close to the upper screen edge, the entire image gets brighter, the negative effect disappears but stil the lower half is much brighter than the upper and the entire image looks a bit washed out. Also, colors near the bottom of the screen become so white-ish that it's pretty hard to tell where the taskbar ends and a window begins.

Also, if I look straight at the screen from 50cm away, the video camera embedded in the screen can basically only see my eyes. To see my entire face I have to pull the screen towards me - but then colors near the bottom start looking terrible, as I previously said. Haven't Asus thought about the viewing angles when embedding a camera in the screen?

So, am I doing something wrong? Are these CMO screens that bad? Has the quality went down recently? I can try to return the laptop, but in my country that's close to impossible. I assume Asus won't change the screen if I ask politely.

Sorry I don't have a camera to show you exactly what's going on, I hope my descriptions are good enough. Thanks for any advice or suggestion.

 

If its the model thats in the wxga s96 or f3 most people didnt like it.

Its not the brand cmo really they make stuff for all ranges of quality.

 

It's an F3... I was under the impression that most people liked this screen, especially when compared with the AUO alternative... maybe I was wrong....

 

I bought the notebook from a shop which gets its notebooks from an Asus importer. The warranty is taken care of by the shop, which sends the broken notebooks to the importer. The problem is the shop refuses to take the notebook back; also, to invoke the warranty there has to be an obvious defect and there isn't, it's only a quality matter. I'll try to contact the importer and Asus, but I think there's little chance to have the screen replaced. Is there anybody in Europe who managed to have the screen replaced, without actually buying one?

 

Is it the wxga screen, or the wsxga screen? Everyone likes the wsxga cmo screen you can get in some asus models.
The cmo wxga screen in the f3 is part of the vbi program. Its bottom level.

I couldnt tell you whether its better or worse than the auo one like that they are similar.

 

It's the WXGA.

 

Are all the CMO wxga screens bad, or is quality variable? Meaning that you might get a good, uniforme screen, if you're lucky, or you might get a screen with light leakage and other quality issues, like I seem to have? If they aren't all bad I might fight for a replacement from the shop/importer; if they are all bad I should try to get my money back or ask Asus for one of the other choices (the AUO or the Chunghwa).

 

I wish I could help you there.

Its a very subjective thing and I havent had any luck even looking at pictures

You could have a manufacturing error you might not.

If you do send the screen back to asus they will likely send you the other one.
I dont think the us ever got the cpt or chungwa screens however all 3 are made to the same spec. The viewing angle should be similar

 

The 15.4 wsxga+ cmo screen is very very good.

 

Yea the WSXGA+ CMO 15.4 is probably the best notebook screen I have seen in this form factor. The WXGA is middling at best.
Basically:
-When CMO makes their own products, it is great
-When CMO makes products for other companies (i.e. VBI or the Samsung panel debacle) they suck.

They are a company that is good at making the product, but also good at selling cheap alternatives to bigger companies.

 

CMO makes most viewsonic monitors.

Also asus monitors. They have their own brand monitors too. They are a good brand they dont usually make the cheapest model or the most expensive. They usually make something just as good as samsung or lg top line but cheaper.
They do make some samsung branded monitors too.

 

There seem to be 3 options on Intel's site for the 15.4" WXGA screen:
- AUO B154EW02 (contrast 400:1, view angles 40/80)
- CMO N154I2 (contrast 400:1, view angles 65/90)
- CPT CLAA154WB05 (contrast 500:1, view angles unknown)

On this page there is an Approved Vendors List that contains the previous three models, with an additional model from LG:
- LPL LP154WX4-TLC1 (contrast 400:1, view angles 50/90)

The CPT one seems better... Does anyone know anything about these screens and which one is the best?

I'm not interested in the WSXGA+ one, unfortunately the resolution is too high for me.

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I contacted the shop again and they said there's an authorized Asus service in my city and I should go explain to them what's the problem. I will try to ask for a screen replacement - but what should I ask for? A "better screen"? A certain model from the ones above?

 

Well you could ask for your screen of choice from the above. But perhaps you should wait for member opinions on those screens.

They will probably charge you in the hundreds of euros for it, since it's not a replacement but an upgrade... so it's not covered by the warranty...

Alternatively, you can just buy the screen and install it yourself, it's tricky business but it can be done, with patience and care. You can then keep the old screen (possibly for replacing it back when and if needing to send the notebook in for warranty on other issues). I'm not sure if you need to break any warranty stickers to replace the screen -- but there is a chance that you don't have to.

 

Well, I went to the service. It was actually the service division of the importer, not an Asus authorized service. I talked to a guy who didn't seem to know much; he had never heard of AUO or CMO; he didn't know that there's a manufacturer and a model for each notebook screen and that you can easily find out this information (I had to show it to him). He admitted that my screen doesn't look very good, but he claimed I won't be able to find anywhere a 15.4" notebook screen with better viewing angles. I told him that yes there are screens with much better viewing angles, but they are usually found on more expensive Asus models or on other brands. Anyway, at one point I lost my patience and I asked if they could send the screen or notebook back to Asus to replace it with a similar one - he said no. I asked if it was possible to upgrade the screen with a better one - he said no. He also concluded that I should contact Asus and ask directly if it's possible to replace or upgrade the screen, and if they agree I should take the laptop back to the importer to be send back to Asus. Otherwise, they won't do anything about it. Also, if I buy myself a replacement screen, I should take it to them and they will have to ask Asus for permission to replace it, in order to not void the warranty.

So I'll try to contact Asus, but I don't think they'll agree to change the screen. Also, buying a new screen is a bit too expensive - I'd rather sell the notebook and buy a different model or another brand which already has a better screen.