Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

Nice research - I think the "coverage" refers to the fact that the screen covers the full Adobe RGB color gamut (Joe Bleau had a graph of the premium matte screen's color gamut a while back, and it covered a much larger area than the one for the US glossy premium screen.)

and also, this isn't relevant for the screen, but I can't wait till crysis 2 is out so I can see how it runs on the F
http://www.incrysis.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=862

 

Thanks for the reference. See gamut coverage graphs in the part #2 of this post: Monitor Profiles Roundup & US glossy vs. EU Premium Displays.

 

Hey guys, Im from germany, and unfortunately we dont have the backlit keyboard on this laptop.

Is there a way to upgrade it, buy it somewhere and put the parts together?

I also saw u guys had a 9 cell battery. Again, we dont have that in Germany.

Im going to Hong Kong soon, and I know they have the 9 cell battery there. Would that be compatible with the Sony I want to buy in Germany.

Reason for buying it in Germany:

- 2 years standard warranty plus additional 2 years warranty from sony
- tax deduction reasons

 

Yes, the battery is available in Germany:

https://www.sonystyle.de/SonyStyle/...0528B96E10000002BC29B8F&z_accStore=z_accStore

The Website is just a bear to navigate. But it's there.

Teuer, aber.... Notice that it's the same battery for the FW, so perhaps some ebay purchases are a possibility.

Good luck!

 

Thanks again for your wonderful research on the gamut coverage!

The point is that Sony has always used the word "coverage" when referring to the F's RGB screen and I don't recall its being used to describe the RGB LED of the VGN-AW Premium model.

So, it seems to imply that there is a different technology employed which gives the same or better Adobe RGB coverage. (Adobe isn't the only RGB, etc.)

Somewhere in the midst of all the contentious posts about the past FW screens (where I had to appeal to an upper mod to get my research posts restored) I recall sharing a great link to the different technologies Sony uses for its screens but I can't remember it off-hand. I had gone all over the Web to many countries' sites in the process....

EDIT: Okay, here are some links from my earlier posts:

Here are the gamuts for HiColor from AUO, the originator (and apparently the manufacturer of Sony's former HiColors, forerunners of the FullHD): http://auo.com/auoDEV/technology.php?sec=HiColor

On the Japanese (and likely European) FW FullHD screen (it's called F in Japan and the F is F11), this screen is the only one I've seen with a gamut chart displayed on a Sony site-- and remember this is for the FW FullHD, not the Adobe RGB screen: http://translate.google.com/transla.../F/feature_2.html&sl=ja&tl=en&history_state0= (P.S. Note the use of "LE" and "LCD" in the ad, which makes you wonder if the LE is "light-emitting" for LED in the translation.)

And here's the link to the crash course on the color systems: http://www.edepot.com/playstation3.html#PS3_Model_Differences (scroll way, way down to this section: PS3 Color Space (sRGB to x.v.Color)).

All of this was during discussions on the NBR forums of the FW490 screens which were in Japan (and Europe), which were advertised differently from past FullHD screens, and which seemed to be better than their American counterparts.

 

Hey guys try sleeping your computer overnight instead of hibernating. I find it drains less battery sleeping, then it does starting up from being off. lolgo figure.

 

I got my new screen and noticed a slight difference in the wires coming out of the screen and which should go into the inverter.

In the current F-series screen, there is only one pair of wires that come out of the screen and onto the inverter.

The new screen has 2 pairs of wires that come out of the screen.

Any thoughts at all on where this 2nd pair is supposed to go ?

Pictures below (original F-series screen showing one pair of inverter wires):

 

New screen with 2 pairs of wires that should go to the inverter:

 

Screen to inverter only seems to have one slot as shown below....where would the other pair of wires from the new screen, go ?

 

Is it exactly the same connector on each lead? If so I'd say it was one lead for each lamp. If the socket is the same then connect each one in turn and see if it lights a dfferent lamp.

You CAN run two Cold cathode flourescents off one invertor, though there's supposed to be a resistor on each.

And of course you can remove the cover to see...

 

Yes, it is the same connector on each lead, even though they are color coded differently.....red/pink and blue/black. The original only had blue/white pair.

 

The colour coding identifies each lamp, or SKU; one would require a longer lead than the other. You can safely parallel the two connections. A cold cathode lamp is a current device (like LEDs, though at a much higher voltage) thus each lamp SHOULD have its own resistor so that one lamp doesn't hog all the current and cause the other lamp to be less bright. That resistor would be on the invertor board at the socket. You can have an invertor board with two sockets but with only one actually used.

Look at the OTHER end of the invertor and its connections.. you might want to get a two-lamp invertor to do a professional job of it.

 

So does that mean that I would need 2 inverters for a 2CCFL screen ? Or maybe a different inverter design that would permit both pairs of wires to be connected to 2 different slots in the same inverter ?

 

Got it. So should I go ahead and use the single slot inverter (that came with the F-series) or should I check out a 2-slot inverter that can take both pairs of wires ?

 

If, as according the MelodyMaster the connections can be run in parallel, then you should be able to fuse the two connectors together using some wire and run them from the single socket in the inverter.

 

Before pursuing ANYthing, try each lamp in turn, plugged in, to see if it works properly.

 

It's high voltage so it has to be done carefully. A mini-crimp would work, but TEST first...

 

If you can find a two-slot invertor, then go for it. Crimping the lamp leads or soldering on to the invertor would leave no turning back, no returns or warranty.

 

This settles forever the very thought that a simple part number means that the screen is identical, made by the same manufacturer for the same laptop, etc.

I wish roweraay the best of luck and send thanks -- roweraay had the courage to go where no F owner has dared to tread!

But we now know that these after-market screen sites cannot be trusted in their claims of "compatibility" and "original part" and all....

Geez.....

 

Thanks. I will head into the local BB with this and see if their Geeksquad has any suggestions and if they have any inverters in stock with dual slots.

 

Good luck! I hope things work out for you.

 

Hi
I bought a f117fx and in the first 2 weeks i did not experience any problems with this laptop, one day the cpu fan just started spining (maybe at 100%) and until today it did not stop only if i restart it. I've timed this fan, and after exacly 35-36 seconds the fan starts spining, sounds like a 400w desktop fan.
I tested the tempeture of CPU and GPU and it is between 40-50 degrees celsius, converting videos or using all 8 cores goes up to 65 maxim and the speed of the fan does not change regardless of the temp of CPU.
I've put Ubuntu and windows 7 and the fan is still doing his 35 seconds quiet and then starts spinning at full speed.
What ever I do, even in Bios the fan starts spining at full blast after 35 seconds.
Anybody has the same problem, did anybody solved this yet, i folowed this forum from february, but i did not see any solutions. pls help me .sorry for my english, i am romanian .
thanks.

 

What happened to the F CTO on Sonystyle Canada?

 

The differences are probably behind that metal panel, rather than with the whole screen.

 

BB won't help.. .invertors and cold cathode lamps are regular mod parts, where one puts a lamp inside a desktop with a clear side panel for instance. The lamps and invertors have the same sockets as with this LCD display.

 

Nothing that I can see..

http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/SYCTOProcess?catalogId=100051&storeId=20153&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666067651

 

The point is that these differences are precisely what one does NOT want to encounter in a DIY install.

Further, this guarantees that Sony will know if you've changed your screen yourself AND it explains why you may need to tell Sony which model you are using the same screen part number for, since this screen has been listed for several FW models, as well. (I haven't checked if Sony changes the Sony part number, though.)

All in all, not a happy experience -- and the price of the screen may be rising, if inverters must be purchased, etc.

This is an important lesson about Sony screens, in my opinion. And, again, I'm grateful to roweraay for having dared to try this and keep us informed.

 

If you proceed with the order, it says the product is no longer available. They are probably just out of stock at the moment, or out of specific parts etc.

Try again in a couple hours or a couple days. Or if you want to order, try calling in to order. The website is not really updated too often from what I can tell.

 

In all honesty, when one is replacing a one-lamp screen with a two-lamp screen, having two leads instead of one is very much a "Duh!" moment. I mean, of COURSE!! What did you expect? If the mounting points were different, or the screen was thicker, or it was a different TYPE of lamp, then there would be a lesson. But as I understand it even the display connections are the same..?? Myself, I'm delighted that it turned out to be so compatible...

At this point there has been NOTHING unexpected, and if the one-lamp screen had been ordered then it would be a direct swap.

And invertors are, like, $10. Probably $50 if it's from a manufacturer. An remember that Roweraay was faced with a bill of over $600 for the screen alone PLUS labour..

 

This worked for me but i'm not sure if this is a viable fix. Try it out and let us know.

 

Not for the grey model, that's April 20th.

Yah, CTO F11's have always been pushing the edge of availability.

 

@MelodyMaster
Would the dual lamp in FW's vs. the single lamp in the F11's account for picture inversion and narrow vertical viewing angle in the F11?

 

@Roweraay

Hang in there..and thanks for the pictures. I will check a few places in NYC about screen replacement and the issue you came up (showing your pics) and see how they can resolve it and for how much. Hopefully there are some shops that will be open on Saturday. If not, i'll try Monday.

 

Well, no, single lamp displays don't suffer from shading in the way these bad displays do. My other laptops all use single CCFLs and have normal display quality. I think dual lamp setups give a somewhat more even colour range through the preferred viewing angle, and more available brightness. The cost though is higher power consumption.

 

Wait a second --- am I missing something? Did roweraay have the 1600x900 single lamp screen? I thought he said that the original part number of his F screen was identical to Joe Bleau's.

And _all_ FullHD screens are dual lamp, by definition, so it should not be a question of the same screen performing differently in a different model laptop that calls for the same screen part.

Are you saying that Sony installs only one lamp of a dual-lamp screen in the Fs? That sounds very strange -- unless that's the trade-off for the keyboard backlight?

Please clarify, roweraay.

 

@Derrida,

I am certain that Joe Bleau's and Roweraay's screens are full HD 1920x1080 but Roweraay found that searching for the lcd part that the ones that come stock with the F11's were noted as single lamp.

 

Roweraay is not online at the moment...but if you check the signature on his post it says "Full-HD/GT330M/1GB VRAM"

 

Thanks for the clarification. So now that's out my only hope with the screen Roweraay bought is that since it is the part used in FW's that I can hope for a picture quality like the FW's. Unless there is something else that comes into play?

 

Whoa!

THAT IS NEWS!

If Sony is calling a single lamp screen a FullHD simply because it has the right pixel count, shame on Sony. Sony has trained the consumer from the FW series that this part is for all FullHDs in FWs. How can the same screen be FullHD on a single lamp operation?

I never saw a choice between premium and regular FullHD on the American Sony Style site -- it was always listed as premium FullHD and therefore we thought it might even be RGB until we saw it.

THIS DOES NOT MAKE SENSE. Yeah, sure there are single lamp screens that perform beautifully -- but if you take a dual-lamp screen it is not a given that it will perform normally on a single one of its lamps because it was designed in its circuitry, etc. to be dual lamp.

Someone needs to ask Sony about the part numbers for the official F series screens. Are they supposed to be functioning as single or dual lamp for FullHD?

I, for one, am not going to believe that this is other than an after-market issue until I hear directly from Joe Bleau and roweraay that they have the lower resolution single lamp screens as their original screens.

 

You're totally confused, Sir. The number of lamps used is nothing to do with resolution. It is simply the method of lighting the fresnel screen behind the polarizing matrix, the latter being the actual display responsible for resolution.

 

This official Sony part site, given to us by Joe Bleau ( https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz/sony-parts.aspx) lists two screens for the F models there: A1772659A and A1772658A.

Neither of these two numbers is at www.lcds4less.com, or at https://www.screentekinc.com/Sony-notebook-screens.shtml and no part numbers are listed at all for the models listed at roweraay's http://www.laptopscreen.com/English...on=products&model=VAIO VPCF11JFX/B&brand=Sony

This is the largest listing of model numbers of the F: https://www.screentekinc.com/Sony__Vaio_VPC__VPC-F_Series-series-laptops-lcd-screens.shtml

So, for starters, it is not clear from anything I've seen what the part number is for the screen. And did roweraay ask Sony for the part number, or did he give Sony the part number that the screen site gave him and ask Sony the price?

The FW490's screen parts are either for the one-lamp lower resolution A1707449C (for LP164WD1-TLA1) or FullHD A1617803A (for LQ164M1LA4A) for two lamps. ( https://servicesales.sel.sony.com/e...8QJRtrY&modelNum=VGNFW490&searchText=VGNFW490) And screentek has screens that they claim meet that model number

Did Roweraay or his chosen laptop site simply assume that the FW490 screen would fit the F?

Too many variables here to know what is going on.

Tell me the SONY PART NUMBER of the North American F screen -- I don't believe anyone has that at hand. And THAT is what counts, in the end -- not the Sharp number because Sony might alter the connections on the screen!

 

No, I'm not confused. I know that, but thanks for checking to clarify.

The lower resolution screen is the only single-lamp screen that Sony has ever put into an FW or F model in the North American market. All of the FullHDs have been in the past dual-lamp screens at the higher resolution. (Trust me: Moderator Phil would have KILLED anyone who dared to say otherwise on these forums.)

The only dual lamp 16.4" lower resolution screen in the North American market that Sony has produced was on the FW1 series and is no longer available.

Again, my guess is that Sharp uses the same part number on all iterations of a certain screen and that Sony has them manufactured with specific connectors.

P.S. Way, way back I posted that for the first time Sony seems to have absolutely specific model numbers for each and every iteration of a model. Joe Bleau's model is VPCF115FM/B and it's not on any of the lists at those after-market Websites.

So, to believe that anything is standard on any of these laptop models just because they start with VPCF appears totally misguided.

 

I'm not surprised by roweraay's questions about installing a FW_display on the _VPCF. That's why I mention this in the How To Remove the LCD + Webcam Angle Correction post: Note the inverter model & shape of the video cable, make sure they fit on your replacement LCD if it's not an identical model # & brand.



My guess is one would need the FW_inverter or an aftermarket w/ the same specs for the reasons explained by MelodyMaster. Or are the outputs specs of the F_&_FW's 2 CCFL's inverter identical? roweraay could have ordered the proper inverter from his replacement FW_LCD supplier to save trouble, time & shipping cost.

That's the second thing I will check when we will finally find the brand & model # of the EU Premium matte 1080p.

A good read: CCFL inverter & LCD LAPTOP SCREENS - UNDERSTAND YOUR SCREEN.

*****

Sleep state using less power than Hibernate?

This is silly. Something is wrong in your power management settings.

http://www.microsoft.com/smallbusin...our-pc-at-night.aspx#Shouldyouturnoffcomputer

http://www.microsoft.com/atwork/maintenance/battery.aspx

http://www.sevenforums.com/performance-maintenance/64983-hibernation-vs-sleep.html#post579223

Or do you mean: the extra power consumption of the sleep mode for a 8 hours time frame is compensated by the extra power needed to resume from hibernate?

Or: the extra power consumption of the sleep mode for a 8 hours time frame is less than the power consumption of booting a F that was turned off completely?

In either case, you will get diminishing returns the longer it's in sleep mode and at one point: the opposite will be true.

 

It looks like roweraay was told that this model was a single lamp, eh? LQ164M1LD4C, even though Joe Bleau found the exact dual lamp F screen model from his laptop listed at this site http://www.blisscomputers.net/sharp-lq164m1ld4c-laptop-lcd-screen-16-4-wuxga.aspx. Note that this company offers a 100% compatibility guarantee.

Sounds like roweraay was led astray by the screen vendor and should get his money back.

 

Even that site you just mentioned is listing it as a 1900x1200 screen for the number listed on the F11 screen This is getting kind of screwed up and hopefully we can get better information sources but I like how they quote it 10 1% OEM compatible

Edit: Sorry where does it say dual lamp?

Edit 2: Hmm..typo...Even the part number SHARP LQ164M1LA4A is listed as 1900x1200

 

Err... I never said that my OEM Vaio_F US 1080p LCD or the same exact brand & model # replacement LCD offered by Bliss had "dual lamps". roweraay knew he was ordering a 2 CCFL_FW replacement, he just not took into account the inverter compatibility check warning.

@ To no End: The data mistake on Bliss' page was noted but Derrida just re-posted the link w/o my notes but we are not in court, aren't we.
-----------------------

 

Update on this saga....

Turns out Sony never sent a technician. The next day (3/19) I received an e-mail saying that since the model I bought was brand-new, the "technicians" wanted to look at the laptop in the Sony lab for special handling. It took a few days for a mailing box to arrive, sent the laptop in, and then 1.5 weeks later I received the laptop back. The service receipt had illegible handwriting so it wasn't clear what had been wrong. But I was happy to have my Sony back working....until it stopped working with the same symptons less than 24 hours later (4/1). In disbelief, I called Sony again, and they again told me that I had to ship the unit back. I was irate and they really didn't give a damn. I asked to speak to a manager and they said it wouldn't do any good. They recommended that I speak to Customer Care but that I'd need to call back the next day b/c that office was closed for the day. I did speak to someone in that unit and asked if I could be shipped a brand new laptop while Sony was busy learning how to fix its defective machines - I was told no, this isn't possible. In the meantime they shipped another box for me to return the laptop, and I did so, angrily (on Tuesday, 4/6). Tonight I received an e-mail saying that "parts are on backorder" with no indication of what that means.

Needless to say, I am terribly sorry with my decision to buy from Sony. What a nightmare.

 

Wow that blows..I had an issue similar to yours after my battery drained. The laptop would not turn on and it would just blink green everytime I pressed the power button. I managed to power it on (with successful power-ons thereafter) after removing the battery and just plugging it on AC but unfortunately the fan turned on and ran full blast at 100%. I finally got to get it back to it's normal state in a few steps which I posted a while back.
For my situation I doubt it's a hardware problem at all. Maybe firmware related?

 

I'm not saying that ANY of these after-market sites have accurate information. I'm saying just the opposite. And, further, that if one goes this route, one needs something like that compatibility guarantee so that you can return it.

FullHD means dual lamp and Joe's is a FullHD, that's all.

Just notice that the FWs, to my knowledge, never had the full model number with extended letters, etc. branded into the plastic on the unit. The basic number would be there, like FW140 or FW390. Now, as you can see from Joe Bleau's photos of his unit (or your own), Sony has extended letters for each set-up. Even the CTOs appear to be lettered according to the permutations possible.

So, it's getting more and more risky to go after-market this early in the life of the series.

 

Has anyone with the infamous fan whine not hear it anymore? can something like this break-in like the squeaky keys? I've not had it in quite a while or I just have not noticed it.
It's not exhibitng the usual resonance when I go from idle to an intensive application, or browsing websites.