Disappointed with Brightview on Compaq R3000Z ?

Hi,
I was wondering if anyone regretted getting Brightview at WXGA 1280x800 on their HP or Compaq laptop.

The one I'm eyeing right now is the Compaq R3000Z largely because of the AMD 64 and the fact that I get believe I'm getting a greater price/performance and don't need something lightweight to carry around

I was pretty sold on Brightview, until I saw the R3000Z at Circuit city and was a little disappointed by the quality of the display. Don't get me wrong, it still looks pretty good. But to my eyes, the Toshiba and Sony equivalents look a lot lot better !

I didn't have much time with the laptop in the store but I know I can change various settings (contrast, color, gamma ?, luminosity ?) on the card and it makes things slightly better, but NOWHERE NEAR the quality of the Sony and Toshiba displays

Does anyone have an opinion about this ?

Are HP/Compaq a bit behind the other manufacturers when it comes to LCD displays on laptops. And if so, can we expect something comparable anytime soon ?

So now I'm thinking about going with WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050) instead of the lower rez Brightview option, and getting more screen space. Perhaps I can get one of those third party screen guard things (whatever you call them) and apply it.

Has anyone tried this on a WSXGA+ resolution and compared to regular Brightview or to the Sonys and Toshibas ?

Is there a standard measurement btw, that is industry wide for Brightscreen i.e similar to dpi or scanrate for monitors and printers, which can be used as a reference point ?

Also I don't know too much about LCD technology, but is it possible to get sharp text and focus if I drop down a resolution or two i.e I might now want to run at WSXGA+ mode, and if I drop down a little, what I've noticed in the past, is that the screen space changes, but the fonts are not 'totally sharp'. I'm unsure as to whether this is a LCD issue or a font issue

I'm still thinking about the HP/Compaq range, since I don't believe there are many deals with the Sonys and Toshibas

Thanks
Richard

 

Hi Rich - I too am considering HP/Compaq and here are some of my thoughts (I do NOT yet own one):

I don't think many people at all regret getting the Brightview from a few of forums I've been on, especially for HP/Compaq. I was actually fairly impressed with the way it looked when I saw it locally. Is it possible the brightness wasn't at it's full level when you saw it (I think you can hit function and then F5 or something like that to lower or raise it) ? Also, which Toshiba and Sony are you comparing it to? The newer Toshiba Qosmio that sells for around $3000 is definitely much better (brighter, more vivid) than the Compaq, IMO. Also, I have seen a few Sonys that look pretty darn good too, although not noticeably better than the HP - and when you consider that fact that Sonys are usually much much more expensive - definitely not worth the extra $$.

I've actually noticed a few inconsistencies myself - some of the HPs/compaqs looked pretty good, and I've seen some that just didn't look the same. I'm not sure if this is because they've been sitting on the floor for extended periods of time, or possibly there are newer models or something - not really sure. Another thing to consider - obviously the bright lights in these stores doesn't help much and you can notice the glare a lot more there (one of my initial concerns was glare). I'm guessing for most people when they bring it home or more realistic environments, it is not nearly as bad.

On the resolution issue - for me, I plan on basically running at the native resolution 100% of the time. If you change it, it just will not look the same and I don't think you should plan on changing it much. This is pretty much the case with all laptops. I would go with the native resolution that you are comfortable with - some people like the extra screen real estate with the SXGA+ and some think the text is too small. With that being said, you have an interesting dilemma because you must choose between brightvew in 1 resolution and non-brightview in another. I am looking at the ZD7000 series, which offers 2 brightview resolutions WXGA+ (1440x900) and WSXGA+ (1680x1050). I am leaning toward the WXGA+. However, if I had to choose betwen the 1280x800 WXGA (not WXGA+) and the WSXGA+, I would move up to the WSXGA because the 1280x800 is a little BIG for me. It's a tough call because you don't have a choice in both cases. If you actually prefer the 1280x800, I would definitely go with the brightview. If you prefer the 1680x1050, then obviuously you've got a decision to make. Also, I've haven't hardly seen ANY 15.4 inch screens in retail stores that have the 1680x1050 resoultion... have you ?

 

Hi there

Thanks for the note
Some food for thought there for sure

I did try changing the brightness using some function key. It did make a slight difference, but not compared to the Sonys or Toshibas

I don't know what model I was looking at, but I did notice the
Toshiba Qosimo and that indeed is one fantastic looking display. But 3k is way too much for me

Yes you're right, in a retail store with lots of flourescent light and shiny surfaces, there's glare and perhaps it's not an optimal setting, but the other laptops were in the same environment

I've never considered the ZD7000 range, but perhaps I need to now. I did look at HPs website and it looks really heavy i.e close to 10lbs, and I can't even begin to imagine the battery size.

But I guess this is really a desktop replacement for multimedia use and not really for travel or business, so in that case, the weight and size isn't really a factor

Price-wise when configured, it's only a few hundred dollars more for the ZD7000 17inch with two different Brightview options, so I think it is a possibility. But I just wish it didn't have the Pentium 4 in there and had either an AMD64 or a Pentium-M. Something a bit lighter

I am a little tempted to wait awhile and hold out till end of November/start of December in the hope that the product range gets updated for the Compaq R3000Z or maybe Compaq X1000 with a better graphics card and/or more options for Brightview

ZD7000 17 inch WSXGA+ brightview is tempting though, especially at WSXGA+ and the price isn't bad with EPP or 10% coupon, $100 rebate and fatcash, for around $1300 before tax. So definitely not too shabby, and I'm sure it's fantastic for DVDs and so on

I do actually use Photoshop a lot and the extra screen space would be nice, especially at WSXGA+, but I wonder that this would be like to take on vacation if I take a lot of pictures and want to Photoshop on the spot (which I do a lot). Certainly the R3000Z isn't significantly better, but I think a lot more manageable

So many decisions. For me it's still a tradeoff and I'll probably wait a little bit

 

I am in the same boat with you - I plan on waiting a little and seeing what comes up around the holidays - either deals or new models. Also, for the 17" screens, there are a few new models that should be coming out that I am eyeing:

1) HP: ZD8000 Series - I would actually still prefer and purchase the 7000 series because it's a tried and tested machine loved by many, and I think the 8000 will probably be a little bit more expensive. Hopefully this means deals on the 7000.

2) Compaq R6000 - Also a 17" screen I believe, don't know much else about this one. Probably Compaq's version of the ZD8000 ?

3) Fujitsu - coming out with a new 17" one seen on this site that looks very promising. Only thing is what kind of deals can be had from Fujitsu ? They currently have $100 rebates on a few models now...

The Dell 9200 also is out already (not shipping yet), and that is always a possibility, however they do not have a number pad and no brightview (although it does offer the Pentium M if you are looking for that). I would be willing however, at the right price. FYI on the Dell - I think I saw a review on this one that indicated the battery life was almost 5 hours - which is spectacular for this size notebook.

I'm not sure exactly what your needs are, but I plan on basically using it as a desktop replacement that I'll move around the house and bring into work occasionally - so weight and battery life are non-issues compared to graphics performance and processing power and most importantly, the display. I saw the 17" displays and have never looked back, so as long as they fit my budget - which I'm targeting approximately $1500 or so... I too would like to see the AMD 64 Processor and/or more Pentium M choices (other than the Dell above) in the 17" screen - we'll see what comes out - perhaps things get shaken up a little for the holidays!

 

Hi

Those 7000s do like nice, but not very lap friendly I would imagine i.e I couldn't just cruise with them on my lap or lounge around the house with it. I'd have to be at a table, and I figure if that's the case, then I'd go and use my desktop

So I'm probably leaning still to a 15.4 at most

I have noticed that Bestbuy is selling a Gateway 7405GX Athlon 64 3200+, 80 Gb, ATI Radeon 9600 and 15.4 WXGA Ultrabright for $1400

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage.jsp?id=1093468591790&skuId=6852783&productCategoryId=pcmcat22300050001&type=product

Also nice 6in1 with CF (HP doesn't offer CF which surprises me)

For some reason, the eMachines M6810 is also very similar in spec for the same $1400(7.5Lb 8.65 travel weight)
http://www.emachines.com/products/products.html?prod=eMachines_M6810

So from that I can imagine that HP can't be far behind in bringing together Athlon 64s and better GPUs for 15.4 ultrabrites

But I don't really see them bringing out higher rez ultrabrites or 17 inch Athlon 64s. But hopefully I'm wrong

Another train of thought, is that I'm not really making use of an Athlon 64 for the foreseeable future (don't expect to run Linux 64 but and Longhorn and apps is still some time away, so I figure I'll be getting 2-3 years out of a laptop again before an upgrade, and therefore go with something slightly behind the tech curve i.e something even cheaper than what I'm considering...........so many choices

But hopefully rebates will come thick and fast for Thanksgiving and Xmas [ ]

 

That Gateway notebook is a slight update of the M6810. Gateway bought eMachines a few months ago, mostly so the clueful eMachines management could straighten out Gateway.

You'll want the Athlon 64 for the Enhanced Virus Protection feature alone. The 64-bit capability will eventually come in handy, or at least help hold up the notebook's resale value. 64-bit WinXP comes out next year, Longhorn sometime thereafter.