X200T's LED screen is samsung PVA

after several hours research , I found out instead of being boe-hydes IPS screen, it is a sumsung PVA screen. the LTN121AP02 is CCFL based PVA, 03 is the LED version. These two screens can be easily found by google. Althoug I am extremely happy with the screen when i got the tablet, I am a bit disappointed now

at the beginning I would not believe it is a sumsung since sumsung never made ips screen, but they make PVA....

 

Better than the TN panels every other laptop uses... don't psych yourself out. It is a good screen, you said so when you first got it. Just because you know it is PVA now, doesn't mean it's bad.

 

I keep seeing people becoming disappointed because they read something online or figure out their device isn't the exact make/model they thought. But if you enjoyed it from the start, then just be happy with it rather than deciding you don't like it after finding out it wasn't what you originally thought. If you enjoyed in the first place then there is no reason to all of sudden hate or dislike it.

 

@overload
You might want to check this thread:
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=364740&highlight=x200t+manufacturer

I concluded the same thing that you did about the make and type of screen, but some very knowledgeable users said "no way" it was Samsung...

The discussion was continued here:
http://forums.lenovo.com/lnv/board/message?board.id=X_Series_Tablet_ThinkPads&thread.id=4246&view=by_date_ascending&page=1

There still has been no definitive ID on the screen, and evidently, even Lenovo service center cannot identify the part...

 

@Bsodder
Thanks for your link, I have read those posts.
I guess their argument is based on this:
"Let me say this once, and for all. There is no Samsung panel with side viewing angle. "

This is not true, PVA, MVA are also wide view angle panel. Here is what it looks like after someone opened the lid of another model laptop:



samsung's logo is right there, there is no reason that LTN121AP02 is samsung
while 03 is a hydis.

My other support is the the actrul performance of the panel. I compared with my dell 2005WFP desktop LCD which is a S-IPS. IPS panel has higher color saturation which leeds to even more vivid color, but the "light leak" is very bad actrully, if you turn off light and look at black screen you will understand what I am talking about. And it is not very even.

While the advantange of PVA panel is high contrast rate, the "black" is really really black. That's why it is very pleasent to read txt on PVA screen. but the "white" of PVA is kind of yellowish, the "white" of X200t is also kind of yellowish.

Another thing about IPS panel is , if you look from the side while screen is "black" (just turn on a blank screen saver), you will see some purple hue. I saw that on my dell IPS LCD, but I don't see that on X200T.

Now, what bothers me is the color of PVA is not as good as AFFS
http://www.51nb.com/forum/thread-803928-1-1.html

the top one is AFFS, the second is PVA , both are CCFL version.

I know it could because of the white balance of the camera, but it seems the difference is there.

I was even thinking return my LED X200T , and get a cheaper CCFL AFFS,(I checked 5 min ago, CCFL is gone)

But now I still want a LED PVA over CCFL AFFA, I just can not stand a dim screen and worry about aging of the light tube.

So, my question is , is there a IPS(AFFS)+ LED laptop panel???
I think toshiba, or sharp might have some.

 

I have an Acer PVA desktop monitor and an NEC S-IPS monitor in front of me. The differences in color are very minor, except the IPS panel has better whites and better brightness, the colors are a bit "cooler" on the PVA monitor (might be calibration issue). The biggest advantage of IPS over PVA/MVA is supposed to be less input lag while gaming. Otherwise, good PVA panels are very close to IPS when it comes to viewing angles/colors/contrast. I'd love to have a pva panel on a laptop over the current TN crap.

You are right that IPS panel has the purple hue when turned off.

I really wish they would start offering an option for IPS panels on laptops. I'd pay extra $200 or more for something like that in a heartbeat. It can't be that expesive to manufacture. Although considering they are going extinct on the desktops, i bet we will not see them on laptops any time soon.

 

Yeah, I am thinking in the same way, actully I bought this "deadly slow" ( my cpu is SU9300) laptop at this ridiculors price is just for this LED WVA panel.

it is not hard to make these screen, the real problem is not many care about gamut or saturation .... . So they can not sell these suff if they make a lot------> not profeit

applogize my crappy english

 

Unfortunately not many OEMs see the market for high quality laptop screens as one to really cater to :\. That being said I do not think high quality panels are going anywhere on desktops as there have been some good quality offerings for pretty cheap (relative). The dell 22inch PVA-like monitor...HP's 22inch PVA...HP's 24inch IPS (that I have).

 

IPS uses two transistors per pixel, whereas AFFS, PVA use one transistor per pixel. The difference in power consumption is considerable, which is why Hydis developed the AFFS panel. If you had that desktop IPS in a laptop, the battery would last about 30 minutes.... I like the screen on my X200T, whoever made it. Also, I think the CCFL tablet screens also have a Samsung part number, but maybe someone who has one can confirm that.

 

Also, because of that two tansistors per pixel, the light tansimission is very poor, that explains why the old CCFL IPS flexview panels are so dim, I thought it was just because of the bad tube.

The CCFL X200T is from hydis, I saw that on the list on the box of CCFL X200T.

It says: LCD CCFL (Hydis)
and the part number starts with HV XXXX

 

Yet more evidence that the LED panel is not Hydis, because my box said absolutely nothing about the LCD, and neither does the parts list lookup at Lenovo - nothing, nada, zilch.... like, they really don't want us to know.

 

@bsodder, et al:

This panel has been confirmed by a Lenovo forums member to be a Samsung. Here is my thread on X200T panel identification at the Lenovo forums. In it, there is a member, jwinn9154, who has this panel and needed it replaced. He can confirm, after Lenovo twice sent the wrong panel via onsite service, that the panel we have is made by Samsung.

For reference, here is the information reported on that panel by available software that does such things:

Manufacturer: LTN121AP03001
Product ID: LEN4011
Manufacture: Week 45 of 2008
Video Input Type : Digital in 0.7/0.3v
Max. Horiz./Vert. Size : 26 cm / 16 cm
Monitor Size : 12 inches (estimated)
Aspect Ratio : 16:10
Gamma Factor : 2.2
DPMS Active-Off : Yes
DPMS Suspend : Yes
DPMS Standby : Yes
EDID version : 1.3

I'm disappointed this isn't a Hydis panel, but it's very nice nonetheless.

Cheers,
~tdr.

 

Thanks for the information tdr, and for staying on this issue until resolved. So, Samsung it is.... again.

 

why does samsung have such a bad reputation here? I currently have Asus G1S laptop and the 15.4" panel by Samsung on it is excellent. It is alot better than other TN panels I've seen used by different laptop manufacturers.

 

Thanks, i can't wait to see a side by side comparison between CCFL AFFS and LED PVA.

 

But bottom line even if this is a samsung display, that this display is still of high quality? I'm considering a x200t so was also curious of the display of the ccfl backlight.

 

Yes. The LED display is of exceptional quality. Myself, and everyone on this and other forums has been operating under the assumption that the 285nit LED frame-less was a Hydis AFFS+ because it is so exceptional (also because earlier Lenovo tablets used Hydis FFS displays).

The evidence that it is Samsung seems to be fairly substantial (albeit only proven in one case of on-site service). However, I have not seen any proof to state that the display is only S-PVA rather than AFFS+ or another IPS/FFS variant. In any event, it is far better than the TN panels on almost every other laptop (including the x200 ).

I owned an x200 until I became dissatisfied with the screen quality (in particular viewing angles and bad dithering in blacks/dark grays during video playback). There really is no comparing the display on the x200 and x200 Tablet. The tablet display is just SO MUCH BETTER.

 

@jonlumpkin, et al:

We have a part number for this panel, too:

Cheers,
~tdr.

 

That definitely seems like we have Samsung confirmed (LTN121AP03).

However, do we have confirmation as to the technology (PVA, IPS, FFS, AFFS+, etc.)? I know the Tabook lists it as IPS. All of us have believed it to be a Hydis AFFS+ (apparently untrue). Is there any evidence that the panel is in fact S-PVA?

 

Not that I know of. It'll be interesting to discover the details of this panel now that the part number and manufacturer are known.

Off-topic: jon, any recommendations on a third-party tablet stylus? I'd imagine various Wacom styli will work with the X200T, but I've not seen recommendations among any of them.

Cheers,
~tdr.

 

A very popular, but unfortunately discontinued, stylus is the Wacom Cross Executive capless. It is supposed to have a balance and feel far closer to a high end business pen rather than the Bic like feel of the OEM pen.

Beyond that, any Wacom Penabled pen should work, although it may not fit in the silo. This would include the pens from most other Tablet PCs (including the higher end pens of the Motion Computing slates). However, I don't think the pens for Wacom graphic tablets like the bamboo or the desktop display Cintiq will work with Lenovo Tablet PCs.

You may also want to check out this rather long thread on the sister site TabletPcReview.com , it discusses at detail Penabled compatibility and possible options for replacement pens.

 

The idea that it was PVA came (at least for me) from the fact that the Samsung display website and the panel catalog linked there, lists only PVA panels in 12.1". There may be others, but I could not find them.

 

Hydis certainly makes LED IPS screens. You will really have to take the LCD out to really know for certain who made it I think. Software report sometimes is conflicting. For instance the screen on the X200 is listed as Samsung, but is a Toshibia part number. In the end what it is doesn't matter as long as you like it.

 

@drwho9437:

Please see my earlier post in this thread. A Lenovo forum member had this panel replaced by on-site service and has confirmed the FRU and manufacturer. I'm disappointed as hell this isn't a Hydis panel: how can such a beautiful display be anything else?!

Cheers,
~tdr.

 

Looking at the pictures of the LED screen on jonlumpkin's flickr, I can most certainly tell that it is a PVA. Look at the blue background on the top of the screen straight on and compare it to the screen viewed from an angle, you can see it shifting from blue to turqoise; this does not occur on an IPS.
The color shift in the viewing angles only occurs in PVA.