HP Envy 15 32XX: LCD Panel Colors - Faded blues and green cast

Now that the new Envy 15 refresh is out and people are starting to receive their laptops, we are happy to report that it appears HP is using a new LG panel and the "orange-gate" issue is fixed. However, I and at least one other member of the forum have noticed that blues looked faded, like a pastel or sky blue. This was first noticed on facebook where the blue color should be familiar to everyone. On my own screen there is a green overcast. Along with the blues it creates an overall "aged" look to the display. When looking at an all white screen there is a noticeable tint when compared with other white displays.

To alleviate this, but not solve it, I changed the color settings. Try it out and see if you notice an improvement. Make sure you select the bottom graphic properties:

right click > graphic properties > select advanced mode > display > color enhancement > green
brightness: -6
contrast: 49
gamma: 0.9
​

UPDATE: I've uploaded pictures of each color. In the shots you'll see my venerable Envy 14 Radiance on left, Envy 15 32XX on right and a random Dell monitor in back. Though these aren't necessarily professional grade monitors you should be able to see the Envy 15 is the odd one out. The camera had some trouble capturing the colors and the differences are more apparent in person.

Test was done using this dead pixel test. The colors should be full red/green/blue. But the issue isn't as apparent on pure blue as it is on, let's say facebook, where there are some cyan/green shades. That's when the monitors color inaccuracy really kicks in. Another page I look at often with a big difference is this login page, where again the added shades bring out the discrepancy.

• blue: Envy 15 is much lighter, and a bit faded. The Envy 14 is deep and rich.
• green: Envy 15 seemed a bit faded again, giving off a more natural looking lime color rather than a bright green.
• red: Envy 15 is a bit lighter, leaning a bit toward the orange spectrum but still red - definitely different than the 30XX panel
• white: Envy 15 has green-ish tint. It's not apparent in the photo but in the triple shot you should be able to see it has a hue difference.

Other members have replied to this thread with pictures of screens that are able to display a deep blue. Pakii94 has made a video review with screen color comparisons toward the end. You can see that his blue is very close to his desktop display.

6/25: Contacted HP and have arranged for an exchange. Hopefully the screen issue was detailed over the phone enough for them to catch the issue.
6/28: I've contacted HP's service team and they were very helpful and are providing a few days extension on my return while I wait for the replacement so I won't be laptop-less. I also emailed HP sales with a URL to this thread so they'll be up to date with this problem.
7/12: After a few delays I've received the replacement and it has the exact same issue with blues.
7/13: Comparing a THIRD unit I found at Frys it also has the same issue. Also did a Spyder calibration which improved overall colors and confirmed that the panel has issues with the blue/cyan spectrum.


Quality issues from other threads:

• dented USB ports
• screen bezel not fully attached
• felt from optical drive preventing disc from ejecting
• loose battery door
• front speakers and bottom panel not flush
• scratches
• obstruction causing very loud fan noise

Other tidbits, not necessarily related to quality control:

• When receiving a Windows notification, like asking for permission to open a file or UAC, the color settings revert back to default and show the green overcast.
• When on dedicated graphics (Radeon) the colors darken and possibly become more accurate, but look more "red" to me.
• There is no BIOS option to allow manual graphics switching, so I can't test color accuracy between cards to see if it's something other than the screen.

left: ENVY 14, right: ENVY 15, back: Dell


ENVY 14 RADIANCE


ENVY 15 32XX


left: ENVY 14, right: ENVY 15, back: Dell


left: ENVY 14, right: ENVY 15, back: Dell


left: ENVY 14, right: ENVY 15, back: Dell


Spyder color accuracy test, everything looks great until the big bump in the cyan/blue area. Gamut is 80% sRGB, 63% aRGB.

 

ill check it out when i get mine (subscribed to thread also )

 

Can we get some pictures posted for those who seems to have problem? Or even those who doesn't?

My envy should arrive this Friday and I'll give it a review on colors... Though I've heard several people have this problem I surely hope it's not for everyone. So maybe you guys can return and get a good screen.

Very curious to what extent the problem is... Don't have pictures to see D:

 

Unfortunately my camera is out on loan for an extended period. I tried using my phone to snap some shots but it won't pick up the color issues clearly. In person it's noticeable, on a bad camera it's hard to tell.

 

Oh alright mine should arrive tomorrow(woot! Woot!) I'll put some pictures up... I wonder if my iPhone can do the job if not I have a real high grade camera.

 

teehee my g2x should be up to the task

 

i've got a galaxy nexus which has a pretty decent camera, but the white balance is no match for a real camera.

looking forward to some more input to this!

 

got mine ill upload stuff shortly

 

ok i read ur OP and tried making navy blue in paint. I think mine doesnt have any problems. It could do all of it. There is no green overlay. The blues can go deep. greens are going deep... idk what else

 

Hmm, thanks Pakii94. Two things: Do you have a good screen to compare it to? Did you try out the color enhancements to see if there was an improvement? The issue isn't terrible on my screen, but it's there and I'm not sure if I should try my luck with a return.

 

yeah i heard my desktop monitor was pretty good. then ill also compare to sony bravia tv and my old laptop. maybe if i can find another actual camera then ill compare to my phone's ips . I havent tried the color enhancements yet, I will do tweaking and OCing when im done with intial setup and tests. so should i just be doing Blue:225, 0,0 for blue testing? and same with others? G:225,0,0; R:225,0,0? Im not too sure about that haha

 

That should be fine for color tests but this issue isn't as glaring as the orange reds and probably won't be noticeable unless you have a comparison in the shot.

You can also look at a white screen and you should notice the greenish hue if it's there.

Wish I had my SLR to take a photo with! I'll try again with my phone tonight.

Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2

 

did the white screen check and nope no greenish tinge... i also did the black screen check and there is very little backlight bleeding

 

I don't necessary notice and green tinge but my blues are most definitely faded... I compared it to my iPhone and my desktop monitor and certainly notice quite a distinguishable different.

its not terrible by all mean and not a big deal unless you compare it but it's not all that vibrant which is a little disappointing i guess... I'm returning my Envy for a new one though because my optical drive wont eject disc with that crappy plastic foam glued badly in the way.

 

alright i took pics of the 3 colors and its on my phone now how do iget onto laptop hmm... BLUETOOTH ef ya!

number 1:

Thats comparing my desktop monitor and envy 15. They both looked about the same, desktop being brighter. Keep in mind its an hp monitor

 

Thanks for the photo pakii! I'm going to try to take some with my phone again. Could you do one of a white screen?

 

the desktop is off for now, i got red and green, want me to upload those? they look about the same as the blue is right now lol...

ill do white tmrw

 

Your blues do look pretty deep in the photo.

 

UPDATE: I've updated the OP with photos of RGB in comparison to the Envy 14 Radiance and random 21" Dell LCD.

 

yeah thats definately not how mine is sorry man haha

 

Seems like quite a few of us have some issue with our Envy. I'm wondering if I should bother with an exchange, everything else about mine is great...

To the people that voted, are your colors similar to mine?

 

Pongalong... mine is like yours... I thought this would be the same for everyone but mine cleary does not looks like pakii's so i guess this would be another reason for me to return besides the disc ejecting issue :/

ugh.

Updated with pictures... you can see that my blue in the desktop monitor in the black is more intense while the envy is kinda grim faded...

 

hmm i think ur desktop colors seem like its oversaturated...

 

I agree with Pakii94 on this one...facebook colors aren't suppose to be that bright of a blue. You envy looks to me to have the best blue reproduction (based on the two images)

 

The facebook color on my Envy 17 looks just like his desktop. The colors on the Envy 15 seems like it's printed on a piece of paper (kinda more realistic), whereas on the Envy 17 it looks like colors that'll you'll see from an electronic screen. I personally prefer the Envy 15.

 

That may be true in his photos, which could just be a camera issue, but in my photos I think the other monitors look to be correct while the Envy 15 is more a sky blue.

 

i think u might just have a faulty/uncalibrated screen... sorry bro

 

Probably. Now to decide if I should exchange it in the hopes I don't get something worse back.

 

Anyone have input on whether I should do an exchange? Those that have dealt with customer service, what are my chances of getting a proper laptop back?

 

I'd exchange it bro... the way i look at it is that you spent your money you deserve what you paid for which is a perfect laptop :/ im exchanging mine but customer service is horrendous the ywant to charge me 100+$ because the 33% coupon expired and they have to order a new one. and they said they'll refund the money once i get it... i said its unacceptable so the supervisor is gonna contact higher up people and get back with me monday :/...

 

I'm still waiting to get my 15 back from HP, so I can let you know about both the color issues as well as the quality of the repairs/service in a day or two (I hope).

Thanks for uploading/updating your pix for us. What model Dell monitor are you comparing the 14 and 15 to? I am very surprised at how red the reds are in your 15... I can barely distinguish it from the other two. The blues/greens are disappointing, but I know that I have to keep in mind even the "new" panels in the 15's are probably more or less the same color gamut % (i.e. average to below average at best).

 

what would u say is the best way to check the color gamut? and my greens/blue can go deep and vivid.... BTW i installed fb desktop messenger and the fb banner on top seems faded. ik its not my monitor cause i got a deep blue (navy blue) color for my task bar and desktop background

 

The only what that I know of is via a calibrator tool like Spyder, but that little guy gets pretty pricey =/. I know the previous panel in the 15 was only 60% gamut, and found that out through searching in these and other forums.

 

hmm i wonder if i ere hcan download it somewhere

---

EDIT: nvm it needs hardware

 

Looking forward to the results you get with your screen. It looks like a lot of people don't have the issue I have, which is promising because the issue is solvable.

I'll get the model of the Dell monitor when I get home - unfortunately it's nothing to sing about. I have an IPS but gave it to my dad long term since I started using laptops more and more.

I plan to contact HP about a repair/exchange. If they require me to do an exchange rather than a repair I'm worried I'll end up doing it multiple times with flaws on each unit. Right now mine is perfect minus the screen.

 

Well I contacted HP and I purchased a replacement laptop and I'm returning mine. The difference from the coupon will be refunded later. They pushed my ship date up to 7/5 from 7/23 - which is still a little far off for my tastes, but the service rep was helpful and I didn't want to push too hard.

I tried to detail the issue as much as possible and even offered the URL to this thread but they refused to take it saying it wouldn't help. Why? Who knows. Other than that the experience was fairly painless.

Now to cross my fingers and hope I get a good screen, no dents, no scratches, no screen glass popping off, keyboard flex or or un-ejectable DVD. Whew... that's a lot of QC issues.

 

Just got my first updated repair status, and shows an est. return date of 7/2/12 >; (. I was told a "few days" after they received it, but I'll just have to wait a little longer. I'll update when I can.

 

When did you send out your Envy to be repaired? I'm curious how long it takes for the turnaround.

I'm wondering if I should cancel my exchange and do a repair instead since the screen is the only thing wrong with mine. Everything else is perfect, no loose parts or dents). Knowing my luck I'll get back a unit with something else wrong.

 

HP was super fast to get me the return label/packaging out to me (all free overnight to and fro), and I sent it back to them on the 20th. Tracking confirmed HP received it on the 21st in the morning. Unfortunately I saw no updates until I called Monday, and yesterday I saw the refreshed ETA of July 2nd. That's MUCH longer than the "few days" I was asked to go w/o my computer... Not very pleased right now, but also not wanting to complain too much since I kind of expected this to be the case.

 

How does mine look Mac to the left envy right

 

That looks pretty close to me. In my pictures, you should be able to see a pretty clear shade distinction between the Envy 15 and the other monitors.

 

I've contacted HP's service team and provided them with the URL to this thread. They were very helpful and are providing a few days extension on my return while I wait for the replacement so I won't be laptop-less.

 

It looks like my replacement is stuck in Memphis (probably customs) like some others have experienced. For those of you that did, how long did it take for it to clear?

 

My blue is fine on my 2 week old machine, however my red is still leaning towards orange, but, you would only notice this if comparing to my Sony Vaio laptop and especially my friends new MBP with Retina display which still kills the Envy display-though itself good other than the %^&*&^% color.

However the Envy is a great little laptop and so far other than the orange/red issue which again is certainly not as bad as others, is a fine little machine. My reds are red, just not a DEEP red.

I still have two weeks to return to Amazon if needed. Will not send back to HP, just get a MBP if this thing does not hold up. I know 2 weeks is not much time, but that is the return window from Amazon.

Best of luck to everyone on theirs. So far very pleased with my Envy 15.

 

Another update, FedEx possibly lost my replacement laptop as it's been in Memphis for 5 days. HP is attempting to contact them for resolution which means another 2 week delay for me. Hopefully they'll get back in touch with me in the next 2 days with better news.

 

Please do let us know if your new machine solves the issue.

Anybody else who got the 3200 have anything to report on the color issue?

 

I plan to as soon as I receive it. Accidents happen and I'm trying to be patient but one month for my replacement is a bit over the top.

I saw in an other thread that you plan to use this for photo-editing and in it's current state I'd have a hard time recommending it. The shades of blue are distinguishable and your eyes would probably "adjust" to the hue difference and produce good photos, but when I compare it to my other monitors I really see a difference. Hopefully the replacement will have better sRGB colors.

Also, has anyone noticed the brightness of the display flicker? I typically notice it when watching Hulu on low brightness - I'll notice the screen brighten up for a second or two, about half or a full step up, and then go back down. Maybe the sign of a faulty panel and an explanation for the poor colors.

 

yeah i have seen that too while watching videos. also when i resume from standby the colors seem washed out. it takes like 15-30 secs and then it resumes to being crisp

 

Thanks for the feedback. I am currently considering the new Dell XPS 15 as an alternative, but I read somewhere that the monitor is not as good as it was in previous models. I'm also a bit worried about the throttling issues, since I would like to do some audio recording with it too. If anyone has any advice, it would be greatly appreciated.

 

i forget what ur planning to do with the laptop but if it doesnt really require color perfection then the envy screen will be much better. i was also considering the xps but its too expensive for inferior hardware. it might be thinner than the envy but it weighs the same