World's first HDMI notebook.. on the W2jb? ... picture

Alright, well I don't know if this was mentioned before, but I did a presentation today with a final production W2jb. I've had them out before to see how the WXGA+ screen compares to the WSXGA+ screen on the old W2v. I never noticed the HDMI out though before... I posted this earlier thinking it was just a miniDVI port like on the macbook pro's (makes sense since Asus makes them and the W2 is like the twin to the 17" mac book - just seperated at birth... However, I took a look at what Apples' "miniDVI" looked like and it was nothing like this. I went home and hooked up an HDMI cable and bingo bango... it's a miracle.

I know there are people on the site who have gotten W2's from us and from other places around the world and I can't recall anyone mentioning it...... I know we all said it'd be nice to have, but we never got the "Eureka - we have DVI/HMDI". I apoligize for not noticing it before, but it was a "dealbreaker" for a lot of people not ot have DVI and yet to have HDMI is a HUGE deal as it's not on any other notebook in the world yet, so I wanted to bring it up.

Personally I never noticed it until today because on the W2v there was a USB2.0 in the same spot..... and HDMI takes up the same space almost... Also, VGA out is still there in the same place as well... so I bet if this got past me, it probably got past most others as well.

The W2j is the worlds first notebook with HDMI..... I'm not even sure that other models around the world have it because no one mentioned it in any review, anywhere and the US model did have some changes from the other models around the world..... Next to the HDMI port it says DVI (I mean DVI and HDMI really are the same thing but HDMI carries audio)....... ALL of the pins are there as well, in case anyone was curious. I originally thought maybe they used an HDMI plug but limited the pins so it would exclude the audio, but that is not the case.

 

Wow, great find. I thought I read somewhere that the W1 is supposed to be the first HDMI notebook, then the Acer Ferrari 5000. I never read any news of the W2 being HDMI ready though.

 

Well it was sitting in front of my face for a month and I didn't realize it. Our big deal with this notebook was the screen and after Asus dropped the price $100 on it and got me to look at the dual lamp backlight... I sort of wrote it off and said, "well it's a good deal even if it's not what we wanted"... and of course, if we don't help get rid of them, we'll never get the WSXGA+ models in. So, then after the rebated kicked in the other day, these really started flying off the shelves and I did a presentation today to try to get a school in while the rebate was good...... I had a usb memory key that I usually insert in the usb on that side and when I went to push it in, I thought I had it upside down or something because it wouldn't plug in. I looked at it and almost fell over..... "how the hell did I miss that" is what I thought. The second thing I did was I called Asus and asked why they didn't make a big deal about this... Get this... they said "what? are you sure?" They didn't have a clue.

Now, I haven't tested the audio, but the video works and there is an HDMI to DVI cable included in the box and that also works..... It very well may not support audio (hence labeling it DVI), but all of the pins are there and the audio chip can certainly support it....... it's just a matter of having those pins connected to the audio chip -- which is another story..... But regardless, it's certainly outputting digital video and the output most certainly is an HDMI plug.

..... Someone with more time to play around with HDMI and has a W2jb and would like to test for video and sound - be my guest.... I'm super busy all weekend and really can't get to it.

 

Wow. LOL that is pretty dang funny they didn't know either.

 

You say funny, I say embarrassing.... Gosh, I honestly almost fell over thinking that after all the fuss I created over the W2 and what happened to the shipment...... and all that.... that I had one of these on my desk for at least 3 weeks and not only didn't I notice it..... but we've gone through probably 40 of these after we cancelled all of those advanced orders..... and I know that some that were on the advanced order list did end up picking one of these up after we got them afterall.... so there are forum members who slacked off too.. and I'm surprised at that!

The more I look at this, the front panel is designed to switch all of the ports to seperate outs for front / rear / sub ..... I can actually output my 5.1 Klipsch speakers directly from the W2jb without a decorder.... whereas on the W2v, I needed a decoder. Anyone who would refuse to say the W2j isn't the perfect system if it had a WSXGA+ screen on it would honestly be crazy....... every single thing that anyone ever questioned or complained about on the W2v has been addressed on this model --- and there weren't many things that could even be improved upon with that model... but people still found things they would have liked changed.... and here we are.

 

Just as a quick update... I can't audio out of the HDMI port, which is what I figured may be the case... I've also found other instances where HDMI ports were used simply for video where there wasn't enough room for a DVI-D port... Never the less, it's still digital video out which is what they advertise as the label on the port..... and it's more than they even advertise in the specs on the system anywhere.... but if someone can figure out if audio is also connected, that would be the cat's ass, no doubt.... but I think we've got to appreciate what this is even without audio - because most people have already bought more than they expected and most people who would have loved DVD-D on this notebook should have a smile on their face.... but the grass is always greener... right?

 

That's pretty funny, at least everyone knows it's there now!!!

Talking about the latest technologies...What other Asus models will be shipping with HD DVD drives this year? Any of the sub 17" models?

 

Well, first of all, you're talking about what was shown at Computex the other day........ and those drives won't be shipping with any of the notebooks until much later in the year... I don't want anyone to think they're on their now. The biggest problem is cost.

Right now - an HD or BluRay desktop burner is $900-$1000..... if they made one in notebook format, you'd be looking at $1300 probably.... these HD DVD drives are just that.... only players and I'm not quite sure how they're working.... if they'll also burn regular dvd's and cd's.... but even the player will be quite expensive. The HD player should be a couple hundred more than a current 8x super multi - and maybe more if it also does regular dvd burning....

.... I think these drives are premature for a LOT of people and HD or BluRay burners will be the first drives that really go mainstream..... but I don't think that will happen for at least a year or year and half - and they need to settle on a format too.

 

Actually, it was covered in this topic already

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=57187

The strange thing is that last week there was news about the W1J going to be the first HDMI capable laptop, while the W2J was already available. It doesn't make much sense.

EDIT: I just read Justin's post about the audio signal that might not be connected. Perhaps this is why the W1J is marketed as the first HDMI laptop instead of the W2J.

 

I seriously can't believe how little response this has gotten...... based on the email questions I had recieved from forum members alone.... I wonder if they've really let this sink in.

 

I thought the Sony AR series with Blu-Ray Disc drive is the first notebook with HDMI?

 

The asus was released before it.

 

They may have thought it was though concidering asus doesnt even advertise it has HDMI.

 

They don't market it as being HDMI because it isn't HDMI. There's no sound output through the HDMI-style connector. If ASUS would market it as HDMI they would get complaints. But image quality should be the same though. So you have the hassle of one more cable but otherwise it's the same.
A problem could be that the television sets, when set to HDMI-in, only take sound input from the HDMI connection. But I don't have an HDMI television or something similar, maybe one of you can test that out (here in europe HD-television isn't as widespread as in the US)

 

Like I said before, it appears as thought only video is hooked up, which isn't a problem.. it actually solves the video output question on smaller systems like say UMPC's....... VGA is big and DVI is bigger... using an HDMI port is smallest and the samel quality as dvi-d.... sound or not, Asus still has direct digital output through the front three mini rca's for direct dolby digital to any 5.1 channel speaker set without a decoder..... Two serious upgrades from the W2v which in it's own right didn't need that many updates.

 

really? I know its a 17" screen and all which is fine, but I've looked at (fine HP) notebooks with very high resolutions and I'd rather have a good quality lower res screen than a poor one with a high res. Admitidly I havent seen the original W2(v) or whatever it was.

Isnt 1440x900 enough? hell, I'm here with 1280x800 and I'm happy.


Insane

 

1280 x 800 is great on a 14" W3, but if you're a graphics professional and need or at least have a keen eye for detail - the smaller the pixels, the finer the detail... and therefore the higher resolution. Yes, the WXGA+ screen on the W2jb is a great screen that still beats anything on the market - but that resolution is targeted at those buying the W2 simply as a media center notebook. Others want that big screen and big graphics card more as a desktop replacement and when you're coming from a WSXGA+ 20" or WUXGA 23" or even bigger desktop monitor for CAD work - you're going to want a WSXGA+ 17" notebook to work from...

.. You're right, it's not for everyone and I'd say 60-70% of interested parties are really overdoing it because they don't know anything about resolution besides the fact that it represents a higher number and a more expensive option......... but there are most certainly a good chunk of people who can benefit from it and know they need it... We're not talking about like getting leather seats in a car.... we're talking about getting 4WD because you know it'll help getting around in the snow.... Compare that to those who think they need it or just want it.... that's like justifying 4WD for "the snow" when you live Virginia and actually "need" like once every other year....

 

If you want to notice the difference. Put a xga and sxga side by side. Open the same photograph up. You will be amazing by the level of detail and sharpness on the sxga screen compared to the other. I dont even think xga on a 14in is enough. While i dont mind using them if i had the choice i would pick sxga in a second.

 

It does hav the WSXGA+, the W2JC in europe. But it's overpriced, like 2300euros. DUnno wat s the sum converting it into usd, but sure is expensive. Mayb i ll get it when it is equiped wif Merom.

 

Same for me. I wanted to buy the W2J two months ago, but it only recently became available in the Netherlands. Now I have decided to wait for Merom as well.

I wonder why the HDMI port isn't used on smaller notebooks, even if the audio signal isn't connected. It could easily replace the current VGA port sizewise. Connecting a TFT monitor to a smaller laptop seems much more useful than connecting it to a big one such as the W2J.

 

I'm sure the WSXGA looks sharper due to smaller pixels, but I'm still very happy with the WXGA, all the font sizes are perfect for me. I don't do any photoshop work on it nor any high graphics apps. I do believe if you are a graphics pro, you're more likely do use a deskstop or at least a desktop display instead of on a notebook, I know I would if I was one.