Another Radiance coveter thwarted: unsuccessful brightview to radiance swap)

Before I purchased my Envy 14-2XXX, I had read about the wonders of the radiance display and wished that there was some way to swap the brightview display for the radiance. I found a radiance display on ebay and bought it before I ordered the envy, naively thinking I could just do a quick swap once the envy had arrived. But I read about other peoples' attempts and failures before I tried to do the "swap" and realized it would probably not work, so the radiance display has been sitting in its box for several months (See http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-...-display-model-number-not-hp-part-number.html and http://forum.notebookreview.com/hp-envy-hdx/559976-radiance-envy-14-beats-edition-failed.html).

Determined to find a way to install the screen, I did a search for the screen part number (608366-001--according to HP's Envy 14 1XXX service manual) and found the cable for the radiance display ( HP/Compaq Various 608366-001-LEDCBL). It is listed as refurbished, and after receiving it today I am quite sure that it was pulled from a 14-1XXX that had the radiance display. It has the original tag on it with the correct part number.

After the cable came, I got the radiance panel out, turned off the envy, removed the bottom covers, battery, hard drive, and then the top cover (the cover that holds the keyboard and touchpad--not the display assembly). I unplugged the brightview cable from the motherboard, plugged in the radiance cable, then plugged the other end into the radiance display sitting on my desk. I put the hard drive and battery back in temporarily and started her up. The display worked (sort of), but only showed every other vertical line, a problem mentioned by user eafd involving a brightview cable and radiance display (correct?). I tried updating the graphics drivers to see if it would change anything, but no luck. I checked the screen resolution, and it was registering as 1600x900. I don't really know what would cause this, but I assume that the computer just doesn't have the right hardware to send the right signal to the higher resolution screen?

Anyway, I have the brightview plugged back in and everything reassembled. I thought some people might be interested to know that it didn't work. I think this also means that if anyone gets a whole radiance display assembly, it also will not work, at least on the Envy 14-2XXX.

 

I think the cable you got wasn't the radiance one. If you get the whole radiance assembly from HP it'll work because it has the right cable, which has been done before. Super hard to source these radiance display cables, I'm just hoping for a cracked radiance to go on sale some day.

 

Hmm... even though the cable I got has the radiance display assembly p/n on it, you don't think it was the right cable?

 

Is there a photo of the entire cable assembly? I wanna see if I can customize one.

 

I don't think the cable was right, because the cable that comes attached with HP's radiance display works just fine.

 

Sure, I can take some detailed pictures of it. Do you have any requests?

Interesting. You've actually hooked up one that comes with a radiance display to an originally non-radiance Envy?

 

No, but others have. They've ordered the 400$ or so Radiance Display Assembly off of HP Parts. Not sure if they have the part in stock anymore, though.

 

I took some close-up photos of the cable assembly. They're on flickr, so to see them, go here: http://flickr.com/gp/snowmonsterrr/H8Yx90/.

 

The question mark goes to the webcam/mic assembly in the 1XXX series.

 

So I'd like to throw my hat in the ring on the Envy 14 BV to radiance conversion but have yet to see or read anything from the horses mouth on an actual successful swap.

I would ask some input from eafd and snowmonster, and anyone else, on what has been tried to date as I am less that familiar with the history of the Envy 14, the model numbers, not to mention what if any difference the beats edition would have on the case and component interchangeability, though of course that is the million dollar question.

I recently picked up an i7 Envy 14 12xx intended for my wife, but long story short, it is now mine and I already have a Radiance screen on hand. I was about to go full force on trying to acquire the HP/Compaq Various 608366-001-LEDCBL cable that snowmonster tried, but read the posts and also saw ncc1701k's post on not even being able to install the radiance screen in his envy 21xx, so now I have pause to even pull the laptop apart, let alone throw more money at it, though the lure of pulling off the swap just for the sake of doing it holds some weight too at this point, and I am sure it does to anyone reading this thread.

So here are my ponderings. Sorry they are not real organized, nor are they posed as solid questions, but if anyone can chime in on them cool.

-What versions / models of the Envy 14 was the radiance screen available on before it was discontinued?
-Wondering if this means snowmonsters failed attempt was because his was a 21xx vs a 12xx or generation other than where the radiance was available.
-curious as to how this plays into ncc1701k not being able to even install the screen hardware.
-As a very general sign that I have no clue about this critter, my envy 14 has white backlit keys, which I take is not a "beats edition" even though it says beats audio above the LCD
-eafd indicated that the pin count on the connectors on the panels are different, but was able to hook his up and got white lines, is this true? Are the panel connectors such that you can still connect the radiance panel to the BV cable and not have an obvious mismatch like with a ZIF connector?
-snow monster appears to have the same results with the target cable, but again, is this cable possibly only good / sold for a certain generation of the envy 14 and is this the success efad has had contact with?
-Did snowmonster gleam anything about the fit of the screen in the chasis during the test like snowmaster ran into?

As this is my first post here, I will stop and wish everyone a happy Thanskgiving. J

 

Hi jimcay, I am also a pretty new Envy owner, so I don't know much on the history of the envy. However, I think that the radiance was an option on all or most envy 14 models.

As to whether my attempt failing was due to my envy being of the 2XXX generation, this is a mystery to me. While I had the top cover of my envy off, I looked at the P/N of the cable of the installed brightview screen, and it was different than the P/N of brightview screens of the 1XXX generation, but for all I know it could be the same exact cable and screen just given a different number.

I didn't find anything out about the fit of the screen into the assembly in my test. All I did was remove the top cover of the computer (this is the surface that the keyboard and clickpad are embedded into), unplug the BV screen cable and plug in the cable I purchased attached to the radiance screen sitting on my desk. (Of course it took a bit of work to get the top cover off, all of which is detailed in the Envy Service Manual).

Also, yours sounds like the standard (non-beats) edition. All HP laptops have beats audio, but the special beats edition is all black with chrome and a red beats logo on the back instead of the HP logo.

 

Radiance Screens were primarily available in the 10xx generation of Envy 14's, though they had a couple light resurgences in the 11xx generation. They were never offered on the black and red Beats Edition Envy 14. By the 2xxx generation, Radiance screens were the way of the dodo.

Question for snowmonster - were there any distinct differences between the two cables you had - the native brightview and the radiance cable you bought?

 

sm, thanks for the quick feedback. As with all of these mods, there are a number of factors at play. It seems to me there are 3 main concerns here though I am speaking a bit on the general side as I have not even cracked the case on my envy yet. Those being 1) the physical radiance cable 2) the physical interface of the panel to different envy 14's cases and 3) possible hardware conflicts between the panel and video cards. Just between you and me, and everyone else that reads this thread, numbers 2 and 3 are a bit hard for me to swallow given that they are (were) all options on the same machines.

As for #2, another poster confirmed it not fitting in their machine and I take this with confidence, but I would need them to comment on if it was simply because the mounting holes didin't line up with the BV bracket, as the panel mounting hardware in addition to the screen and cable may be required from a Radiance model. You didin't get that far, nor does it seem be a big deal to you as the hardware didn't work anyway.

#3 is also a unlikely so long as the cable makes the correct connection, though maybe someone out there can comment on if there were multiple video cards for the envy 14's. If not, #3 as a cause is sunk. The fact that yours noted the radiance resolution, but lost lines, seems that either some of the connections were simply wrong or bad. As I write this, I am even more curious if the cable you obtained for the 1xxx envy's, would work on a swap for a 1xxx machine, and if there really is a differenct cable for the 2xxx gen. The other posters question about the mic and camera connectors on your cable could possibly answer this question, ie, if you were to tear you entire machine apart and found that the cable you have does not fit the remaining connections, it would indicate another difference between the generations, but again I am purely speculating at this point, and I don't see you ripping apart your machine again for posterity.

As I said before, I struggle to determine which models the radiance was an option on, but someone said HP dropped the radiance around Jan of 2011?, so you are probably right in that the needed parts likely exisited at some point to do the install on most any envy 14, but some could be even more rare than the screens if in fact the cable, for example, on the 2xxx envy's was unique to only the newer machines, and fewer of those were put out there wth the radiance. Sorry if I am not helping your cause, though mine is not very bright either.

I am not sure of my next step until I get more info or further inspiration. Short of buying an entire machine with the radiance onboard already, the cable you have is my only next logical step, except for the rather sketchy assumption it would somehow work on my 1xxx machine verses your 2xxx one. At the risk of sounding self serving, if you decide you have exhausted the purposed of your cable, I would buy it from you and give it a shot. I had only begun to search for one when I read your post and stopped dead in my tracks. I have no idea what you paid for it, so that could be the deciding factor, but if you really are done with it, let me know. I have one other source which may give some insight, but that is a longshot, and will take some time. With the holidays on us, this may be a project for the new year. Best, J

 

The last time Radiance displays were available was in January. The 2xxx series wasn't even announced until May. If any Envy 2xxx's shipped with the Radiance screen, it's news to me.

As far as there being a different connector between 1xxx Brightviews and 2xxx Brightviews, I doubt that's the case - why change the engineering when you already have the parts in stock and you don't have to change it? I have no reason to believe the Brightview changed from the 1xxx to the 2xxx, so I doubt there's any difference between their connectors either.

As for the Radiance screen not fitting, I believe that was an issue when somebody tried to install a Radiance screen into a Beats Edition Envy 14, but I don't know if it applies to regular Envy 14's that were sold with Brightview displays. It's possible that all the people who have successfully swapped screens have swapped the lids and everything, and that the lid for one screen is not designed to accept the other screen. Just a thought.

If anyone wants to ship a 2xxx Envy 14 over here to China I'll get right on trying a full-scale screen swap from my 1xxx. Only I hear that things get lost in the mail all the time, so if it doesn't make it back to you in the end, I can't be held responsible

 

gcrussell1, Thanks for the feedback on the models and where the radiance was generally available. I still don't have a good idea of the actual time span these all covered, but if I read you correctly the 2xxx models may "never" have been offered with the radiance option? If this is the case then it changes my view of things a bit more towards the 1xxx possible conversion, and 2xxx simply unknown but for Snowmonsters less than positive experience. I had gathered from the envy 14 reviews online that there was a brief resurgence of the radiance option before it was retired just as you describe, but if this happened during the 11xx and not the 2xxx then my question is... does there exist, anywhere, a 2xxx envy 14 with a radiance display made by HP or successfully swapped?

 

Agreed and good points.

So long as nothing else hardware wise changed in the lid (ie lcd, camera, mic) since the first 1xxx envys' with the radiance options came out, it is unlikely there would be need for a new cable.

By the same token, if the radiance option was dead or clearly dying in late 2010, even if something was changed in the 2xxx series that prevented using the old cable and radiance, HP would'nt care, because they weren't going to ship that option anyway.

 

Right, the 2XXX generation was never offered with the radiance panel, and I haven't found anyone who has actually attempted to do the swap. I agree with gcrussell1 in that it would be unlikely that HP would switch the connection for the 2XXX generation. This seems to suggest to me that the cable I got was actually not the right cable even though it was branded as the right one (eafd suggested this as a possibility earlier in the thread) or that I did something wrong in connecting the cable; however, everything seemed to be connected securely, and it connected and disconnected as easily as the brightview cable. But it seems unlikely to me that the parts company I got the cable from would go to the trouble of switching the stickers on different cables so they could sell a brightview cable as a radiance cable. If this is the right cable, it should definitely work on your machine. I feel pretty stumped on the whole thing, but I might try connecting it once more before I give up. If it doesn't work I'd be happy to send you the cable for a fraction of the price I got it for (I think it was about $35). It would be good for someone to make use of it if I couldn't, and it would also be interesting to see the results.

I'll try to connect it again in a couple of days, and while I have everything opened up, I'll take a close look at and photograph the ends of each cable.

 

SM, Thanks for the offer. If you get to the point where you are done with the cable, I can shoot you $50 through paypal or somthing for shipping and your cost. I don't even have a lead on getting one of them at this point, so just let me know, I'd be happy to try it. Take your time and read below, maybe this will give you some more options to try, though be careful, as my comments are only speculation at this point.

I was considering the experiences of yourself, eafd, and ncc1701k as well as the thoughts from you me and gcrussell1 that HP is not likely to change anything unless they have to, and have come up with this possible explanation.

I contend that you have the correct (if not only) cable for the 1xxx randiance installation, and that HP did not change the physical hardware on the 2xxx envy's, but that they left out something in the software or firmware of the 2xxx envy's that ingnores the extra data connections / outputs at the hardware level for the radiance display and connector. This is a sinister and evil act from our standpoint, but I can easily imagine this happening automatically on a code developers workbench where they simply don't include the code for a non-option piece of hardware, especially after all of the drama and early death of the radiance option.

This "might" explain why you and eafd both saw the same symptoms of mising lines. Eafd used the BV connector which doesen't even connect the extra pins of the radiance display, and even though your cable made all of the physical connections, the extra signals may simply not be produced by the 2xxx envy. I have no idea where the beats edition envys might fall in there.

"IF" this is true, maybe you could use an older 1xxx driver and or firmware in your 2xxx machine, but most end user firmware installers won't let users downgrade to an older version, and even if you do, you risk turning your envy into a brick, which is probably not the type of upgrade any of us are looking for. If the firmware is the same between the versions, then my hypothesis is no good.

If we take this to the next level, it could also explain ncc1701k's experience with the chasis, and would have me think you and anyone with a 2xxx machine may have an issue with the physical install. When HP and other laptop manu's design a laptop which is to have multiple display options, they always (in my experience) opt for a single case design with brakets or frames to adapt the different screens to the same chasis. They may add extra mounting points inside the shell, but dont (again in my experience) create multiple injection molds for the chasis. By the same token if they only wish to offer only one display, the there may not be any adapter brakets or frames, and the display may mount directly to the chassis, leaving no wiggle room for a different display which is even slightly different. J

 

Hey guys - just wondering if there's any updates on the Brightview to Radiance conversion.

I've got the Envy14 1050ea - had it literally as soon as it became avaiable on the HP website, so it's one of the original models.

I then recently imported a radiance display (without housing) from someone in France stupidly assuming i could simply swap the screens over.

So - i'm hoping there's an adapter or a mod out there which can give me my radiance display

Many thanks,
Nathan

 

Special thanks to Snowmonster for his feedback, but mostly for his gracious decision to sell me his Gen 1 radiance cable (mentioned earlier in this thread, that did not work on his Gen 2 Envy) allowing me to run with the torch with my Gen 1 Envy.

So I will try to keep it simple and say that my swap was successful but note that I only have experience with my Gen 1 Envy 14, non-beats edition, not that I know what, if any, difference there is with any other machines.

At minimum you need a radiance panel, a Gen 1 radiance display cable, and the guts to modify the plastic innards of your Gen 1 laptop's lid and use a few dots of superglue instead of screws to mount the display. This is what I did, and I admit this is not the ideal, or correct way to do this. When done, I do have a clean and profesh laptop that can't be identified as modified, nor am I worried about longevity, but this is me, and I buy new stuff and drill holes in it by profession. I don't typically use superglue, but hey...

Side note : To really do this correctly, you need to get a donor machine, or at least the lid and cable, from an original radiace display envy 14. Short of that, you have to locate both the cable and display separately, and then make the mods like I did. Had snowmonster not sold me the cable to proceed, I would have likely shelved this project as well.

I am not going to give a step by step on how to take apart your envy. You can get that from HP's website if you need it. In case you are wondering, you have to completly remove the lid / screen from the base of the laptop. the display cable includes the mic and camera wiring along with the HP logo backlight, so you are basically rewiring the lid. Someone on the forum gave the awesome hint of using a suction cup to remove the display cover glass (plastic), and this is the best advice ever, infact I don't know how else you would do it. Once the laptop lid is off of the base, the glass pops off easy with this trick.

If you have the parts and want to try the mod proceed at your own risk. It is actually rather simple. First you remove the brightview display, detach the hinge supports from the brightview, and then reinstall the hinge supports back into the lid without the display. At this point if you take your radiance display and center it over the two vertical hinge supports you will note 2 things. 1) the ears of the display overlap the hinge supports at the sides and 2) the display is much taller and hits the plastic inserts on the bottom of the case. So what to do? Alter stuff.

Bend the ears of the radiance display mounting tabs back so they just tuck in between the two vertical hinge supports. This is super dangerous and if you are not careful you will stress the LCD and crack it. Do it right and they actually create their own friction tabs and hold the display in place. Dabs of super glue on the tabs will finalize the location when done.

Now you can see the plastic interferring on the bottom. Snip out the plastic inserts along the bottom of the lid case. The radiance display needs to sit at the very, very, very bottom of the lid. These are the black plastic blocks that used to run along the bottom edge of the brightview display. You also need to clip out the left snap hook that engages the left hinge cover. You'll know what I am talking about as you try to get the display to sit with it's flex cables pressing at grooves where the cover snaps in (don't let the display flex cable protrude past these groovse or you don't get to install the glass anymore). At this point I will mention that even if you get the screen at the very very botom of the lid, the black out edges which frame the screen cover glass is still a hair too low, which will cut off about 1/16" of the top of the screen in the finished product. Yet another arguement to get a donor machine, but this is a non-issue for me.

Conect the new display cable and final position the rad display into its new home as low as it can go. This assumes that you have already installed the new radiance cable into the lid, as it goes behind the display. Make sure the display recesses flush with the hinge supports and glue it in place. The glue is actually just to prevent the display from sliding up, as the glass cover will snap in place to hold the screen in, so unless you let kids use the laptop, or drop it, there should be little chance of mishap, though I would forget about any HP service plans at this point.

Once I put the laptop together and turned it on the screen worked and was already at native resolution. The hardest part of this project was getting the @$%^@!! display and glass clean and free of dirt and prints. I still have a piece of lint and one other unknown in there.

 

Wow! Thank's for the amazing new-years news jjmcay. It looks like there's hope for my 1050ea once i get my hands on a 1st gen radiance cable. Bit nervous about not having any pictures to go by and losing a year od HP service plan but i have to give this a go. The UK didnt even get offered the Radiance display (or the slice battery) so im hoping everything will still be the same as yours.

Still, i can always post pics once i get my hands on a working cable. Many thanks again.

Nathan

//Happy new year.

 

sorry to resurrect an old threat, but my radiance screen on my 1st gen hp envy 14 just broke (my gf step on it by mistake)!

Anyone is looking to sell one? I'm in Boston... please PM

Thanks!