Got my m1530 today! Everything great except...

...when the screen is black there is light bleed at the bottom of the screen. There is basically a glow across the bottom.

Is this common or to be expected? Would I be able to get an engineer to fix it?

I got the 1440x900 display and am starting to wonder if I should have upped the resolution...I think maybe 1680x1050 would be just right for me. If I can get Dell to fix the light bleed issue, maybe I can get them to upgrade the panel at the same time? Obviously I'd pay for the upgrade.

What are my chances?

Other than that I'm over the moon with this thing! It is sexier than I expected. When I first unpacked it I thought the control panel above the keyboard was badly scratched. I was about to send it back when I realised it I hadn't peeled the plastic film off! Once that was off it was as glossy as glass. Phew.

For those considering this model, I'd say go for it. I don't regret going with model. It really is a beautiful machine!

 

If you want to upgrade you have to return the whole laptop.

Just curious...why do people call the technicians engineers? Is it a non US thing?

 

sounds like you got a reasonable machine, I had big problems with mine (see seperate post if you're interested).

In my experience I think you'll struggle to get them to upgrade that machine with a higher res panel. I suspect they will happily swap it out for a LCD with the same resolution.

If you really do think that you'd benefit from the higher res screen I think your best chance is to return it saying you're not 100% happy with it and reorder it with the other screen. It means you're without a laptop again though which may be difficult to let go if you just got it! Consider you'll probably have it for a long time though so if you think the higher res screen would be better it's probably worth the hassle of sending it back and reordering.

 

Ok, if it means returning it...I think I can live with 1440x900! lol

What about the light bleed? Is that something they'd fix under warranty?

As for using "engineer" instead of "technician", I think I just picked it up from the forums. Mind you, in the UK if the phone company sends someone to fix your phone they call him the "engineer".

 

Technicians fix things with software
engineers fix things with hammers
mechanics drink tea - scratch their chin and say "ooh it's gonna cost ya".

 

Yeah, I agree...but I actually need the laptop for work stuff too. So I can't really afford to wait.

 

ROFL. I am going to school to be an engineer and I think you have a misconstrued concept of what an engineer does. We design things for various departments, from Electrical Engineering to Mechanical Engineering to Chemical Engineering...

 

Congrat's on your 1530 purchase It's a very nice lappy.

Sorry to hear about your problem with the screen. You could try and call Dell about the screen situation for the upgrade, they may or may not make you pay for the upgrade to the other screen.

If not see if they will fix it or, simply return it for a new one

Hoping it works out for you, as it is a great notebook

 

OK. Aswell as having the light bleed problem, I've noticed that there is no perfect viewing angle: the brightness is never even. If you are central to the screen then the edges are slightly dark.
Is this to be expected? Or do other panels not have this problem?

My panel is the WXGA+ AUO2077.

I don't know which manufacturer that is - the rep seemed to think most of their panels are from Sony...but I take everything he says with a pinch of salt. What's the consensus on the AUO2077? Should I send it back? Or should I just get a technician to come and replace it?

 

See my recent post on screen replacements in the UK--it's going to be tough going. I am returning a unit for a refund with the same screen as you have (AU optronics) because they refused to do a swap when I called and told them I was unhappy with the screen quality.

 

I had the same light bleed issue with my Inspiron when I first bought it back in 2003....but it just went away after a week or two of solid usage....

Dunno if that's what normally what happens with the 'light bleed' issue or if I was just lucky...

 

Interesting. Maybe the light bleed is just caused by the panel not being tight against the bezel? If so then one should be able to fix this oneself.

 

Don't worry, it was a joke. I'm an engineer by trade so I'm poking fun at myself......

Here's another one for you
an optimist says the glass is half full
a pessimist says a glass is half empty
an engineer says the glass is twice as large as it needs to be!

 

I also have the light bleed problem but it's only really there when the screen is displaying a black background. It doesn't bother me for normal usage and I figure that it'll take alot more effort to get a replacement and all that stuff so I'll be keeping mine (it's an LG screen btw).