Envy 15 IPS Red vs. Orange tally

10 charrrr

 

The red/orange issue is mentioned in this new review by MobileTechReview. The reviewer downplays the issue. Do ya think HP made sure they gave her a screen from a new lot without the real bad color issues........

HP ENVY 15 Late 2011 Model Review - YouTube

 

I think everyone is getting the same screen with the same issue. Those saying that they do not have a problem are most likely unable to see the difference that exists. Varying degrees of orangeness to the color red being shown in comparison pictures in the forum are probably due to the different cameras being used.

Didn't listen to the whole review, but if she is downplaying the problem, I would give her the benefit of the doubt and say that she is truly not bothered with the color difference. If you are just going to browse the web or watch movies on the IPS screen, the bad color reproduction is not going to hinder your experience. Those doing photo-editing will notice the problem significantly though. With people on this forum specifically, I am willing to bet that a majority of people would not have noticed the problem if it wasn't brought up in the threads and are now suffering from a case of "what was seen cannot be unseen." That's how it is for me anyways. I love using this laptop to watch shows on Hulu - the picture is crisp and clear. I only notice the color problems when browsing sites like CNN where I know the top navigation bar is a darker red than what is being displayed. Having a slightly orange navigation bar doesn't get in the way of me using that website, but just the mere fact that I know CNN's site layout should be more red has slowly driven me crazy.

 

I have to say that I returned it because I can't watch movies and stuff. The problem is not that the colors are a bit dull or so, which would be acceptable and not noticeable for most people, but that they are far off to an unnatural spectrum. Orange, neon green and cyan instead of red, green and blue. This gives you an unnatural look, like a light blue see, and orange sky and neon green gras on the same picture.

I know that some people can live with it, but plz don't downplay the problem. It is a dealbreaker for many people as can be seen in this forum.

 

Mine isn't scheduled to ship on January 31st, so we'll see if the problem is "fixed" by then? Doubtful though.

Either way, I bet HP will release some sort of BIOS update or a Color Profile to resolve this issue.

This issue doesn't matter much to me to make it a "deal breaker", but I'll probably override the color settings using the graphics card color settings (at least for video/movie playback) until a fix is released, if it bugs me that much.

But, thats just me.

 

Perhaps you will receive it and it will be fine for you, but I agree with the others in this thread--the whole color spectrum is affected to my eyes and creates an overall unnatural look that is unacceptable.

We have overridden the color settings in the Catalyst controls, but it doesn't make a noticeable difference to me. If all this issue required to recitfy it was a change in the color settings, it wouldn't be a problem...

 

I just chatted with HP and the rep had not heard of the red/orange issue, but "escalated to the supervisor who has sent an email to headquarters." So obviously everything will be ok now...

I have 11 days left in my return window, and at this point plan to send it back as well.

 

I also said in one post (can't remember the thread; there are quite a few talking about this problem), that any color that the monitor uses red to reproduce looks off. In practice though the differences vary. I can't find the post right now (like I said, there are a few posts talking about the same problem), but another forum user posted several images showing the inconsistency of how orange the color red looks like. One image had the Envy 15 showing a photo of a red power drill on a white patio table that looked similar to the original picture file. He also posted an photo of the USA flag where the difference was slightly more noticeable. Lastly, there was an image of an abstract digital wallpaper where the the color red looked flat out orange. This goes in line of what I originally posted: the orange/red issue is the most glaring when seen on digital/web images.

As far as how bad of a dealbreaker it is for the majority of people, it seems like the same handful of people are the ones who are consistently bringing up this topic and directing the narrative of how customers as a whole are criticizing the product. The thread polls show something different. This thread's poll shows that the vast majority of people can see orange/red problem. Yet in this thread that polls how many people are going to return their laptop, ~2/3 of people voted to keep it. Not the most accurate way to portray the opinions of the entire community here, but its data nonetheless. You can also check the Vaio SE owners lounge thread where their laptop has this problem to an even worser degree and see the new posts still have people stating that they bought the laptop and are happy with it.

So I still would recommend to anyone who is not using this laptop for photo-editing to buy it and check out the problem for themselves. Worse case scenario is that you are bothered by the issue and have 21 days to return it for a full refund. I have done an exchange and now a return on this laptop and had very little trouble doing so. If anything, a return in which you state the orange/red problem is the primary cause speaks more to HP than any email/review/twitter complaint ever could.

 

I agree, and if you are not bothered by this particular issue (or a couple of others like keyboard flex, trackpad, etc), then it is a great machine.

 

Actually, I bought the Envy used for our review from a local store. HP hasn't sent us a review unit yet.

On mine, the reds are too warm but are still red rather than orange. I'm pretty picky when it comes to color thanks to art training in my err.. younger days. I haven't yet tried color calibrating it to improve things (if possible). But it's not that far off from my calibrated 30" Apple Cinema Display. It definitely looks warmer than most laptop TN panels that tend toward a cooler color bias. Beyond the usual visit to Netflix and CNN, I've created a pure red test file in Photoshop for comparison. It's by no means perfect (most laptops are far from accurate at representing colors and have a limited gamut), and reds don't pop in videos, but I like it pretty well.

- Lisa from MobileTechReview

 

Hello Lisa, thanks for offering your thoughts on the screen colour issue. At least with your trained eye, it is interesting to hear that it isn't far off a calibrated Cinema display. Of course not nearly perfect, but perhaps not laughably awful.

I forgot all about the blue-ish cast that many TN panels have, so maybe it exaggerates the colour difference even more to my eye... if what I am used to isn't exactly accurate, then of course anything different will be jarring???

EDIT: For those who want more pictures, videos and comparison, I will put some pictures and a comparison with my old dv6000 up later today with any luck.

 

Would you mind taking some pictures of the screen, next to the other display?

 

Lisa, this is interesting, as the difference between my 15 IPS panel and my calibrated Dell U2410 (also IPS) is night and day, or red and orange, as it were. Also, where did you find an Envy 15 with the upgraded screen at a local store? I didn't realize they were available anywhere but HP direct.

 

Some Frys have them, but I got mine at Microcenter.

 

I'll have a comparison photo or two in our full written review.

 

Thought I'd contribute a couple more pictures. I don't know how people are OK with this - it's really pretty awful.




Edit: For reference, the monitor is a Dell U2410.

 

Since you stopped in I'll say I think you do the best product reviews of all the tech sites I have seen, and I see alot.

 

Jeebus. It's really that bad, as in the camera doesn't exaggerate it?

 

Holy guacamole! Mine looks nothing like that. That's bad.

 

Glad to hear it! Thanks so much tybert7

 

Yeah mine is definitely not that bad.

 

Not to get too M3TA, but here is how it looks on my envy 15 as seen from said 1080p screen.



missing the word

 

That's absolutely atrocious. I can definitely see why many others are upset, sorry for the low res pic but this is my Envy 15 IPS (right) vs girlfriend's dv7 (it has a strange green bar on the screen... some kind of defect it has developed recently, so please ignore that)

 

Thanks for the response! I wonder if my local Microcenter would have one on display. Probably not, but it would be interesting to see if there were any differences in screens.

 

Unfortunately mine looks like that too...

 

That looks a lot better for sure. I wonder if there are a few non-LG panels out there?

 

@timjuliani - yeah there is a difference, though clearly not the absurd difference shown in those other posts. That pic was taken with an iPhone.

PS ... sorry for accusing of you of being a HP shill the other day.

 

Thanks man, like I said, if I'm a shill, they do as bad a job at hiring fanboys as they do sourcing screens...

 

When did you get yours?

 

Mine looks basically like this, when compared to my tv (MS Paint fullscreen 255 red value, cloned via hdmi). I tried taking a photo but the colors get screwed up when I take a photo with my point-and-click or my droid x. But they look essentially as different as in your photo.

Very interested to see pics of Lisa G's screen when the written review comes up on MobileTechReview. Lisa, if yours displays better bright red, I wonder if HP might be using different panels. Lisa, could you please check the model no. of your panel? In device manager, find Generic PnP Monitor, go to details, and select "Hardware ID" as the relevant property to display. Mine gives LGD0323, and at least one other got the same in the forums. Thanks.

 

Yeah can everyone check and post their Hardware IDs? Some of these are so much worse than others, it needs to be confirmed that they're all the same panels.

 

Mine has the LG panel (LGD0323) that I think others have mentioned they have as well.

 

Yes, it really is. It drives me crazy to read reviews that downplay this issue. Without a doubt, this would have been my next laptop if not for this huge glaring flaw. Shame.

Yes, it looks just like this, if not worse, in real life.

For those who care, here are the details of my samples: I filled both screens (HP ENVY 15 and Dell U2410) with 255,0,0 in MSPaint and set them side by side. Turned the brightness of the ENVY to 100%. Turned down the lights to a dim ambient glow to minimize glare. Used my Canon 24-70 at 24mm mounted on my 60D.



EDIT: Hardware ID = LGD0323

 

Hello friends

@lobo0311: I bought mine from the HP online shop. It was delivered just before Christmas.

I will try and take some better pictures with my 500D (T1i) tonight when I get home if that helps anybody. I can also take a HD video with my Galaxy S2 if anyone wants?? Just send some requests over otherwise I will get CNN etc up on it for a side-by-side comparison.

I don;t know what the panel hardware ID is, but can look that up too.