Pictures of X200AFFS-X200 equipped with Flexview screen

Several people asked me to take photo of my X200 equipped with Flexview screen, and today I finally have the time to take some pictures. For those wondering, the model number of the screen is HV121WX4-100, and the manufacturer is BOE-Hydis. I was lucky to buy the screen from a guy who sold it separately. This screen is only available for tablets. However, the seller of the screen I'm using said that he got the screen directly from BOE-Hydis themselves, before the tablet manufacturers put a digitizer on it. I just did a search on ebay, and several of these screens come up. My advice is to AVOID THE SCREENS WITH DIGITIZER. The digitizer, based on what I know, is securely attached to the back of the LCD, and you will risk damaging the screen by trying to take it off. Believe me, I've been there before. Just keep looking on ebay for a while, and you may see a barebone screen like the one I bought. With that said, here are the pictures, enjoy

 

congrats on THAT screen. is it sunlight readable (transflective or what it's called)?

if would a wuxga 15.4" screen of this type for a w500 i'd pay say up to 700€ for it.

 

Oh, that's gorgeous! I'm extremely, entirely jealous. Stupid Lenovo, if we ordinary people can get them, why can't you source and utilize screens like that?!

 

Tell me about it. As far as I know, the manufacturer of X200s screen is TMD, and they are the sole manufacturer, so the argument that Lenovo needs multiple suppliers of the same LCD to use it in their laptops is horribly flawed. They can probably make a contract with BOE-Hydis as the sole supplier of Flexview panels for their laptops too, but I don't think it will happen.
However, I have some good news for you I have an MP3 player with OLED screen (Cowon S9), and let me tell you, the colors are even more amazing than the Flexview screen. It is like looking at a Pioneer KURO HDTV. The black is extremely nice, especially in low ambient light environment. It also has wide viewing angle. To tell the truth, I love to use it for movies even more than my laptop now It should tell you how good it is, such that I prefer a 3in screen to a 12in screen. Within a few years, OLED screens will come to laptops, and then this frustration will finally end

 

You're thinking of 'glossy', I believe. Yes, the screen is perfectly readable outside. I have taken this laptop on a few trips. There are a few glossy panels that are compatible with Lenovo laptops, so if you're feeling adventurous, you can replace the screen by yourself, and I can guarantee you that even that is better than default Lenovo screens. I should know since I used a glossy Samsung LCD with this X200 before I got the Flexview screen.

 

Suppose I purchase an x200s and find such an LCD; would you be willing to perform the customization and accept payment for your time and trouble?

Only half-kidding,
~tdr.

 

I do have a X200s as well and thus had tried to performed this mod on the X200s.
Unfortunately, I have confirmed that it is not possible to perform this retrofit on the X200s. The LCD cable of the X200s is weirdly shaped, and can't be bent to the correct shape to allign with the connector of the LCD. The X200 is the only one that is able to accept this mod.

 

no, i actually hate reflective glossy screens. transflective means that the screens inner layer "uses" sunlight reflection so that the screen is readable even in direct sunlight.

perfectly readable outside sounds great though.

 

Actually, that's quite a good job there, probably the first (and possibly the last) X200 that I like.

The story is a bit different however, Lenovo isn't interesting in quality displays (probably their corporate customers aren't either) so they just pick up the cheapest lowest quality TN panels they can find for most of their notebooks. HP and Dell do the same with their 12.1-14.1" business notebooks, the only exception to the rule are some of the workstation models where display quality matters and of course business tablets.

The problem isn't just TN vs IPS, it's whether you want to deliver quality displays or not. There are better TN panels on the market, which some of the other companies use in their notebooks (e.g. Sony Z, TT, Macbook Air etc.). Not to mention that the supplier of some of the Sony screens is the same TMD...

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Apple-MacBook-Air-Subnotebook.7979.0.html

The TN technology is fine for 90% of people, the problem, however, is that the displays that you see on the X200/X300 etc. are from the ice-age with horrible black levels, contrast ratio and viewing angles, and it's a shame that they even exist in 2009.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-Thinkpad-X200s-Notebook.14531.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Lenovo-Thinkpad-X300-Notebook.9852.0.html

Yes, but it's unrealistic to expect that Lenovo will do something that no one else does, considering they don't even offer the better TN screens that the competition does, obviously it's not profitable for them.

Just one example, Dell is now offering 15.4" WXGA+ screens for their business notebooks, which are the same that Apple used in the previous Macbook Pros and that most people will be more than happy to have in their notebooks.

http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Latitude-E6500-Notebook.11958.0.html
http://www.notebookcheck.net/Review-Dell-Precision-M4400-Notebook.11959.0.html

Also, I should stress that they come from four (LG, Samsung, AUO, CMO) different suppliers...

Btw, Flexview is the marketing name that IBM made up for the 15" IPS displays before, it's the same as the different marketing names that brands use for "glossy" displays.

We will probably see some OLED displays for notebooks in 2010, Samsung is one of the major players here and there was some information about their OLED roadmad and even a concept for a notebook.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/05/16/samsungs-12-1-inch-oled-laptop-makes-us-swoon

No, transflective displays are modified to reflect back the ambient light and use it as a backlight, so the brighter the ambient light, the brighter the display.

Here is more about the different sunlight readable displays:
http://www.sunlightlcd.com/sunlight-readable-highbrightness-lcd-technology.html

Now Hydis claims that their AFFS displays for tablets also have improved outdoor readability, so they are probably even better since the transflective screens suffer from the typical TN limitations.
http://www.hydis.com/eng/04_rnd/rnd_10.asp

 

zephir - great work!

did you have to cut any mounting tabs off of the display panel before installation?   was the LVDS connector in the same location or did you have to bend the cable at all?

the only thing keeping me from this mod is the 1280x800 resolution.   1400x1050 has spoiled me and i really like having the extra space.   however, once the X61s gets tired, at least i know the X200 is a viable option.

 

Really great work, you've got me tempted to do the same (or try to anyway).

Maybe once the warranty runs out.

 

Nice work there. I hope more people do this because it will encourage manufacturers to pay attention.
If you go to the BOE Hydis website, they have all the models which you can search for on Ebay. The HV121WX6 has a LED backlight which I think is the one in my T2010 which is 300 nits and it has good outdoor visibility. They sell the screens for around $200 but make sure it will fit your laptop.
They also do sell the 12.1" SXGA+, which hopefully will fit a X61s.

 

Great work zephyr! Those pics make me realize how much the multitouch digitizer on my X200T affects the screen quality. I would love to see your screen next to an X200T for comparison. Now, did you know that Samsung is actually selling 12.1" AM-OLED screens? I think they are just going into industrial channels now. Lets all take up a collection and get one for zephyr to install...

 

Haha, it's a novel idea, but I'm afraid that the connector may be different. The jump from CCFL to LED LCD already requires a change in LCD connector. CCFL LCDs require an inverter to work, while LED LCDs require the use of a cable similar to the ZIF HDD connector. The # of pins is different as well. For CCFL, you only deal with 20 pins, while with LED, you have to deal with 40 pins. It's gonna be a pain to modify the cable to be able to utilize an AMOLED screen, but I can guarantee that the result is amazing.
Also, the digitizer on your X200t is actually at the back of the LCD. The front layer on the front is actually a glass layer. This layer is what causes the degradation in screen quality. Back in the days of the X61t, it is the reason for graininess in the SXGA+ models. I recently ordered a X200t for a family member, so I'll see if I can get comparison pictures up. But for the mean time, I can't really promise anything.

 

The SXGA+ screen does fit the X61s with some serious 'modding' involved, which erik (the poster a few posts above you) has successfully accomplished. While it is certainly tempting, the cost to benefit analysis for such a mod points to the conclusion that I should leave it to the pro
The HV121WX6 does indeed has LED backlit, and while it does not work with the X200 (because of different connector), it does work with the X200s. I had attempted it. Unfortunately, the LCD cable for the X200s is bended in a abnormal way to accomodate the WXGA+ screen. In fact, the LCD cable extends to the connector on the LCD in an L-shape, while normal LCD cable extends to the connector on the LCD in a straight up fashion. This is because the WXGA+ screen has the connector at the bottom, rather than at the top like the majority of laptops. All this means that I can't seat the LCD into the X200s casing properly.

 

no doubt about that but you'd have to pay a fortune. methinks sonys recently released oled tv with just 14" or whatnot was prized at 10k€ or so. i don't remember the actual prize and specs but you get the idea. oled might be a decade away, prizewise.

 

The installation is a painless one. There's no mounting tabs to cut off. I just removed the screw and switch the panel. That is as simple as it can get. The LVDS connector is pretty much in the same location as well.
I know what you mean about the resolution. Luckily, I'm only half-spoiled with the display in my X61t, so I can endure the lower resolution.

Also, I'm willing to trade this laptop for your X61s if you so desire

 

Ok, I am confused - I thought the touch panel was in front of the LCD. How would it read physical pressure through the glass? Does the LCD itself respond to pressure? I know the capacitance screen works differently, but I though this one took pressure.

 

The digitizer is actually a grid-like circuit board that is very sensitive to pressure. I don't know how the capacitance screen in the Dell Latitude XT works, since the manufacturer is not Wacom but Ntrig, but in general, that's how Wacom-penable tablets are built.
If you look at the glass layer, you don't see any wire, right? Well, then how can the screen registers the input from your finger or the pen? The answer is that they do it from the back, with a strategically-placed digitizer circuit board and grid.

 

OK - thanks for the info. It never occurred to me that it was behind the lcd, but extremely sensitive.

 

I have two A31 Thinkpads that have the WSXGA+ IPS / Flexview screens on them, and I am still very much awed every time I turn them on. I still use them now mainly in the garage for tuning the cars and they are very nice for when you have the laptop sitting in the passenger seat trying to tune the CNG computer and when the sun shines on the screen you can still see the tuning parameters and feedback in the tuning tool perfectly, and easily while driving. It makes it easier for doing it safely while driving.

I did put on a glossy TFT WSXGA+ onto my T61p to replace the old matte display and it looks a lot better, brighter, w/ better viewing angles than the matte one did and is much more usable now, but it still doesn't match up to the beauty of the Flexview in my 2 A31s

 

Flexview is like the pinacle of laptop LCD (at least until OLED screens take over )
Also, I believe that the resolution of the A31s that you have are SXGA+ instead of WSXGA+. The W in front of the resolution signifies widescreen, and the A31s have 4:3 aspect ratio.

 

Hi Zephir,

Just one question. You say that you have to remove the old lcd panel, and switch with the new one, without cutting anything, just bending the cable. But do you have to modify the cable connector/wiring ? Or is the connector of the Boe-Hydis LCD the same than the X200 original LCD ?

Thanks !

 

The connector of the BOE-Hydis LCD is exactly like that of the original LCD, so you do not have to do any modification at all in order to get the LCD working. The upgrade is relatively painless, provided that you know how to disassemble the LCD frame.

 

Woah, this is extremely nice^^

Too bad it won't fit in a x60s. Anyone know if there's any goof screen that will fit in the x60s?

 

The x60 Tablet display should work. However, it requires far more modification as they are not natively compatible. This is what Erik did to his x61s.

 

I want to add in something. Erik's mod is to get BOE-Hydis SXGA+ LCD working in X61s. However, I heard that even BOE-Hydis XGA LCD requires modification to work with x60s. So, at the moment, the X200 is the only laptop with relatively painless upgrade to Flexview. However, the LCD itself is pretty rare.

 

installing a BOE XGA panel in an X60/X60s/X61/X61s would still require a jumper harness since the LVDS connector pinouts are different.   the only thing this mod would save is in modding the BIOS.

ok, back on topic.

 

Dear Zephir,

I tried to buy the HV121WX4-100 screen. The problem is that I can get no response from anyone in HYDIS. Could you send me the contact you used to buy the screen? Thank you very much in advance.

vesely'dot'vaclav'et'gmail'dot'com

 

Yeah seriously, there would be a good market here at NBR for that screen. I've always considered the screen to be the Achille's heel of my X200. With this, it's pretty much the perfect laptop...

 

Dear all,

From CERATOM INTERNATIONAL CO., LTD. I have following quotation:

HV121WX4-100, MOQ=10, USD280

The problem is the minimum order quantity. But I negotiate with another supplier offering HV121WX4-110 model.

 

A couple questions

1) replacing the screen would definitely void your warranty?
2) what does the last 3 numbers mean (HV121WX4- 100) i see several items on ebay that have the HV121WX4- 110 will both work in the x200?
3) Have you tried using the HV121WX 5 or HV121WX 6 which have LED backlight instead of CCFL i looked at the dimensions and they are a little bit bigger than the HV121WX 4
4) can someone link me to an ebay listing that is the correct screen without the digitizer?
5) how hard is it to replace the screen? i have opened up my brothers laptop and took out lcd screen before

 

1) Replacing the screen will void your warranty
2) the last 3 numbers indicate the revision of the screen. 110 is a newer revision than 100. However, there shouldn't be much difference between them.
3) I tried HV121WX6 and it doesn't work. The connector is entirely different. In general you can't use a LED-backlit screen in a laptop with CCFL screen.
4) There is no ebay listing with no digitizer, period. You have to remove it yourself.
5) If you have experience swapping screens before, it's not going to be a hard task.

 

ok thanks for clearing that up. so i should get a screen with a larger last 3 digit to try to get the newest model? also, how hard is it to remove the digitizer?

 

OK, you guys are a really bad influence.

After using a T60P for a couple of years, I just couldn't live with the screen on my new X200s. I found this thread while searching for an answer.

So, I bought a brand new X200 and promptly took it apart. I bought a brand new HV121WX4-110 screen on eBay for $249 from skyline27. This one had both the Wacom digitizer on the back, and a glass 4-wire touchscreen on the front. I had to remove the glass from the front with an X-acto knife and fishing line, then the remaining double-sided tape peeled right off. The Wacom digitizer peeled off the back and pulled right out from under the LCD electronics, so I didn't have to lift the "flap" containing the electronics.

I've worked on a lot of computers and touch-screens, but this project made me a bit nervous. Lenovo does a great job of sticking the flex cables to everything with tape, and removing it without damaging anything was tricky.

Without the glass digitizer, the LCD now has a glossy filter on the front. I don't know how it will hold up without an additional layer of protection, but it looks so much better than the old screen that I may just leave it as it is. Otherwise I might just add a matte layer on top of the LCD I have.

 

Enjoy!!!!!

 

Haha, nice. My relative recently replaced the Samsung PVA panel in X200 tablet with the Hv121wx6. He also has to swap the whole digitizer over as well. There's no glass layer on front (thank God for that, the old panel on X61 tablet has a glass layer, and it's stuck onto the panel). The result was very rewarding for him. The screen was superior to the Samsung PVA, even though it is already not bad compared to TN screen. Now that's a true BOE-Hydis Flexview AFFS+ X200 tablet, keeping the tradition of past Lenovo tablets

 

Just a quick update: I absolutely LOVE this screen! Sure the glossy surface reflects light from lamps and windows, but the colors are so deep and saturated, and the blacks are BLACK. From any angle! And since there is no anti-glare diffusor, small text is much easier to read. I've been careful not to touch the screen, and I've been using 3M microfiber cloths to keep it glossy. I sold my X200s on eBay and don't regret it for a minute. I hightly recommend this mod!

 

Since almost all the x200s models for European market come with the same screen as x200 I would assume the mod should work as well?

Secondly, can I use this screen even though it's without cables, inverter and such?

Thanks

 

Hello everyone,

I have the Flexview screen installed on my X200 but there is an issue. My keyboard led light over on the top of the screen does not work anymore. I would like to ask those who have Flexview installed to check if the LED keyborad light work or not. Thank for your response in advance.

 

You probably unplugged or damaged the LED while installing the new LCD.

 

It works for me. Like Jackboot said, you probably damaged the LED itself or the connector.

 

Dear all,

Thank you for your quick response. I tried to work with as much care as possible, so I hope it is just an issue with the connector or so. I will check it and let you know.

 

Yeah, I forgot to mention, but it also might just be that the connector is loose. Hope for the best.

 

I just installed the HV121WX4-110 screen on my x200 laptop. I love it.

I was trying to find one without the digitizer and glass panel from eBay. I asked question to the seller if it has digitizer&glass and the seller said that it didn't have them. So I purchased it with $133 (free shipping). But when I got it, it had digitizer and glass panel. I asked to the seller again if he had one without them. He said that he had one. So I sent back the one that I received. Yes. I made mistake. I should keep it because I knew that this screen is over $200 all over the place after I sent back. And the seller made price mistake (he changed the price to $249 after I purchased). Anyway, it was too late.

The one that I receive as the replacement was HT121WX2-103 from the same company "BOEHYDIS". The seller said that it would be 100% compatible with my X200 system. When I installed, there were two problems. one was that I found 5 stuck pixels and another one was that there were flickering on gray and blue colors. Even, the color is deep (400:1 contrast ratio based on spec) I couldn't stand it because I do programming with dark gray background. It seems that the LCD required more voltage. So I complained again to the seller and I was told that he would contact me after research.

After couple of days, I got a call from the seller and he said that he found 100% compatible one with my system. I asked him "You said same story when you sent me HT121WX2-103 LCD". Well, he said that there were some different versions? for different laptop manufacture. He also said that I had to pay extra because the LCD he found was $190. I also asked him if it is possible that I can receive the original LCD back. He said that it already sent back to warehouse and it would cost me $210 if I want it. At this point, I got frustration with this seller. I decided to ask money back.

Again, I was looking for HV121WX4-110 or -100 screen on eBay and everywhere they were over $200. But, one day, I found one with $119 Buy-It-Now. It was used, but the seller claimed that he tested and found no problem and no dead pixels. So I bought it. I bought HV121WX4-100, but I got HV121WX4-110. I removed the sticky digitizer on the back and cut the cable to the front panel. The glass panel is attached to the top of the screen using both-sided tape. So I carefully removed the glass panel. I made sure that the knife would not touch the panel. It took me around 15 mins to complete it. It was not that hard project for me. Yes, zephir's original post helped me a lot and I thanked him for that and his research for this project.

Now, when I got the screen, I was told that it was matte screen. Well, it was matte screen with glass panel, but when I removed the glass panel, it was glossy. But, I don't have complain about it.

It's joy to open pictures and watch movies and do programming on this laptop. The contrast ratio on this LCD is 500:1 compared to the original Lenovo LCD's 250:1. So it provides me deep colors with glossy.

It was long way to complete this project because of dealing with the first eBay seller. I ended up purchasing used LCD, but it is much much better than the original LCD.

Again, I would like to thank zephir for this.

 

Does this mod work only on X200? What about X200s?

 

I heard that this mod only works for x200, not X200s.

 

Congrats on getting it to work. I was lucky enough to get a panel without a glass layer nor a digitizer at the back. But if I have to get a panel with both, I was determined to remove them on my own.
It was a good choice that you decide to give up on hv121wx2. As far as my knowledge goes, hv121wx4 is the newest CCFL model. All the kinks and issues have been worked out for the panel, and it is the current panel used in CCFL-version of X200 tablet.

 

Short answer: The mod only works for X200.
Scroll down to the middle of the first page for my extended answer.

 

Thanks zephir,
Actually, it was "HT121WX2". The company website said that it's for normal laptop and "HV121WX4" is for tablet. Per spec, it has 200 brightness and 400:1 contrast ratio. The description said that LED, but I believe that it's mistake. It was looking good except there are some wave(flickering) effect on certain colors. If I max out my brightness, it seems to be okay. But, I can't work with max brightness all day long. Also, it had 5 bad pixels. Anway, it seems that "HT121WX2" requires new invertor or is not compatible with X200.

http://www.hydis.com/eng/main.htm