My first impressions of my HP dv5000z (going to return it)

I will make this quick...

The screen...I am not happy with it...

I know I was blocking this nusances out while reading some peoples impressions...

The screen would of been nice if they fix the horizontal viewing angle!!

I plan on using this laptop for surfing the internet, typing papers and watching movies.

Anyway some people said here if you look at exactly the right angle...it's fine... But even at the best possible angle...it's still annoying...

I do like the size, thinness, keyboard, keys, scroll tracks on the touch pad, and just the overall look of it. Its nice and speedy and the battery life seems good so far... Weight is not too heavy. Minus the screen that wobbles (does not do that when typing), the build is pretty good. I like the quick play stuff but it is kind of gimmicky in a way since I would probably put it on hibernate most the time...

Anyway...this laptop was close...it hit everything on the nail except for the screen...

I am willing to loose the need for a media center laptop and go for a better screen. What's the point of being able to do video and tv if the screen is subpar?

I waited this long for a laptop...I am going to go back on searching again...

The Z60m is really making me want to get it... That screen seems nice but it's not glossy. However at this point I would go for a better screen w/matte then an ok screen with glossy. Although I do hope I find a nice screen with glossy finish. I like the contrasts...

I am going to need everyone's help once more!

Edit: Am I overreacting? Not sure what to do...

 

Did you get the glossy or matte? A glossy screen will improve viewing angles, but increase glare. Most matte screens do not have great viewing angles.

 

Funny you mentioned it...

I ordered a Glossy Screen. Yet it doesn't seem all that glossy... Perhaps they gave me a Matte by mistake?

Edit: Dude...this screen is not glossy at all!

When I first turn it on I noticed it (looked like a matte) but I thought the reason was my lighting in my room...

Then I got too involved in the bad horizonal viewing area...

This is crazy!

Edit (again) I also thought to myself earlier..."you know this is not as crisp and clear as the V5000"...guy had that one at work...

 

It should be fairly easy to tell if the screen is glossy or not. With the laptop off (or a black screen), position the screen like a mirror and look into it directly. If you can clearly see your reflection, then it's obviously a glossy screen. If not, then matte.

I'd be surprised if it's matte; that'd mean hp screwed up your order, right?

 

Ok. I checked my sister's M140 (which is glossy) and then checked mine. I guess since I have yet to see this in the day light (however I do see my reflection when the screen is black), I am not noticing much reflection...

so false alarm in that sense... Before hand I was writing a paper and studying so I was burnt out...

Just looking at my sisters m140 and watching a dvd it does have the same horizontal viewing...

Should I expect this with all notebook lcd screens? Will they all be bright on the button and darker on the top? Am I expecting too much from these screens?

 

toshiba has some nice screens

 

Yes, I also noticed that my cheapie a105-s1013 with trubright looked a bit better than the dv5000z with brightview. Could be a subjective thing though. You may want to get the dv8000z with the ultrabrightview, lol. Else get a fujitsu or sony.

 

dv8000z is too big and I can't stand Sony...

If this is the norm with laptop screens then I guess I can keep it...

 

I actually thought the brightview was pretty good. The tru bright may have a bit better angles, but not much. I don't think it's worth the hassle to swap if that's all that's bothering you. Enjoy.

 

I have to admit. The dv5000z is growing on me...

I might just keep it after all...

LOL...yesterday I was all crazy...now I am a little more forgiving...

 

AFter putting on Power DVD and tweaking the color/contrast/bright settings...I have the DVD movies looking nice. Biggest difference is I upped the brightness via Power DVD and lower the brightness on the HP screen. Then with the right angle, it is looking nice!!

In conclusion, I am keeping it and enjoying my laptop more everyday!

 

I'm pleased you found a solution. I'm really pissed off with my dv5020 screen for the same reason. I went to 3 after I used it to compare, and I came to two conclusions:

1) The Dv5000 screens suck compared to most other screens in the same price range

2) I can't afford the $150 Circuit City restocking fee, so I'm keeping it.

I'm interested in what you've done to make it look better. Can you explain what you changed? I assume the changes you made in PowerDVD only improve the screen when you're actually watching a movie, right?!?

 

My suggestion is just play around with the color/brightness/contrast settings on ATI. You can create a lot of profiles. When I am at my office, the default screen looks good because there a lot of glare. In other words, you will not notice much nusances as much until your in the dark. What I want to do is to create some profiles...one better for the dark. One better for bright sunlight and so forth. I also switched from my usual silver XP screen appearence to the default media center screen. Bth the task bar and windows are purposely done with different graidents. This way you can't tell much difference...

I am playing around right now and it is looking better.

I will give you a setting but I doubt it will look good for you. Right now I am in my room where the lighting is low (lost one bulb).

This is the default

Gamma: 1.00 Brightness: 0 and Contrast: 100

In this setting it just does not look good with this low lighting setting. I nootice the whites being lower contrast and even yellowish. Now I do not noticed this at my office because of the relflection. To me it look clear.

So for this situation I just lowered the gamma a little, brought down the brightness all the way and added to the contrast.

Gamma: 0.94 Brightness: -100 Contrast: 120

I then raised the screen brightness and now it looks great. Better Contrast and even clearer looking...

This might not look good with your current lighting. My whole point is to just tweak and mess around with these settings. They work wonders. And above all, make sure you angle the screen to your liking.

Also you can do similar but of course much different settings in PowerDVD. You can save a profile I believe as well... I worked off of the vivid profile. (This if again for a dim light setting)

Brightness +19
Color 1 +10
Color2 +8
Contrast +32
Saturation +30

Now of course every movie would be a little different. I was using X2 X-Men United.

I hoped I help...even though I probably ended up just rambiling... If anything these changes just prove that you can make it better or even worse so your not left with default settings. Whatever you do...just don't give up...tweak!!

 

I am not sure if all this work is worth it...

Thinking about returning again...