WSXGA+/WXGA+ Question

I was curious as to what the acronyms meant so I wikipedia'd them and read about them. According to Wikipedia, WSXGA+ has a higher pixel count than WXGA+. So does that mean technically it has more quality than a WXGA+? The reason being is that I recently bought a HP 9700t with the option of the WXGA+ which turned about to be $50 more than the higher resolution WSXGA+. Now why is that? When I bought the laptop I noticed on the HP site that there was a 72% increase in color and whatnot. But from what I read on Wikipedia there is a higher pixel count. I am not that familiar with computers so I would appreciate someone explaining the difference and whether or not I wasted $50. Thanks alot!

 

You can't really do this with a computer monitor, but go find a standard definition TV.

Get really close, and you'll see the individual pixels that make up the screen (red, green, blue). More pixels means the screen can display more stuff.

 

I understand what you mean. So basically more pixels is better quality. Correct? Here is what HP says when choosing Display Options:

17.0" WSXGA+ High-Definition HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1680 x 1050)
Bring images and movies to life with HP's BrightView technology! BrightView technology improves the contrast and clarity of your notebook display screen. The 17-inch WSXGA+ BrightView display with high-definition means brighter, more vivid and color-rich images like you've never seen before in a notebook computer. The superb resolution of WSXGA+ (1680x1050 pixels) delivers movies, photos, gaming, and multi-tasking at a whole new level. High-Definition content (e.g. WMV HD files) is required to view high-definition images. Most current DVDs do not provide high-definition images.

17.0" WXGA+ High-Definition Ultra HP BrightView Widescreen Display (1440 x 900)
Bigger, brighter, better!! HP's Ultra BrightView is a composite of all available LCD technologies currently offered by HP consumer notebooks. Ultra BrightView displays include an improved color gamut rated at 72% - more colors can be displayed as a result of the improved technology!


I put the last part in bold to actually get a specific answer. What improved technology do they speak of? What is the 72%?

By the way I apologize in advance by the way for asking these questions AFTER buying the laptop. I guess next time even more research needs to be put into future purchases. Thanks again.

 

More pixels is just more pixels. Doesn't necessarily mean better quality.

Ultra Brightview is proprietary HP technology which basically consists of putting another backlight behind the screen.

 

So the screen is...brighter than normal. Alright. Thanks alot!

 

The WSXGA and WXGA+ are the resolution. Neither is better, it is simply a preference choice. 1680x1050 is more space on the screen than 1440x900, but everything is a little smaller. I really doubt you could tell the difference unless they were right next to each other. Why it is 50.00 more i have no clue, They are both nice alternatives to the standard low resolution of 1280x800, but less than the high resolution, (and hard to read small text), of 1920x1200.

Brightview is basically the hp term for glossy screen, (dell uses the term truelife). The 72% brighter part looks like they are comparing the glossy, with another type of screen know as anti glare, or matte. However, both of your choices were brightview, anti glare was not one of your options.

 

For a given display size, more pixels means smaller pixels, so text and graphics can be better defined. However, lines / characters which are one pixel wide can be harder to read and thus cause some eyestrain. Also, by default, all text and graphics are smaller on a higher resolution display.

John