Official Sony VAIO F Series Owners lounge *PART 2*

I've suspected it might be the motherboard...and if I have to wait a few more days to get it working right, then so be it. It's somewhat comforting to know that my problem is not unique. I don't have Mercedes-level expectations on the display, I'd just like to see something other than a dark blank screen.

 

And here is the only gamut test picture I have ever seen Sony publish:
http://translate.google.com/transla.../F/feature_2.html&sl=ja&tl=en&history_state0=

It's for the Japanese FW-81 (likely the European screen then as well) FW4 series, I believe. Depending on the translation, it's an LE(D?) screen LCD.

P.S. Any chance that that single cable could still be used for a dual-lamp screen? (I thought Melody Master indicated that under certain hardware configurations that is possible.) In which case the after-marketers could be making a single-lamp screen simply because they saw one cable? Just trying to cover all bases -- and because it's very hard to believe Sony would call a single-lamp screen a FullHD (unless it was an LED, which would use one cable cable, right?). Your model has mercury in the light source( http://www.epeat.net/ProductDisplay...roductid=4196&ProductType=3&epeatcountryid=1).

 

Yes, by doing some workarounds, it is definitely possible to fit a dual-lamp screen using a single-slot inverter. I decided to avoid any modifications and go with a stock inverter that is built for a 2-CCFL screen.

As MelodyMaster explained earlier, Full-HD (which is the number of pixels the screen contains: 1920x1080 in a 16:9 configuration) has nothing whatsoever to do with the number of lamps used in the LCD screen. You could have a dual-lamp non-HD screen and as with the Sony Full-HD in the US F-series, you could have a single-lamp full-HD. All that matters is whether the screen has 1920x1080 pixels in them, to be considered as "Full-HD".

For instance, if the 16:9 configuration has 1600x900 pixels, it will not be considered "Full HD", whether it is an LED based screen or whether it has 2-CCFL lamps.......it simply does not meet the definition of Full-HD, which is the availability of 1920x1080 pixels in a 16:9 configuration.

 

I think Derrida was referring to the fact that Sony's previous "Premium" screens all had dual cathode CCFL lamps, and not the fact that the resolution of a screen and the number of light sources were correlated.

 

Okay. Let's get this straight.

A full HD screen is not necessarily "FullHD". A full HD screen is one with the requisite number of pixels, yes. But in the past, "FullHD" (words run together) has been Sony's dual-lamp screen designation in the 1080p -- at least that is what it was in the past FW series. (Heck, this is so established a fact that NBR Moderator Phil would sometimes delete posts of anyone who ever dared to try to say that FullHD on a Sony was anything other than a dual-lamp screen for fear that they were misleading readers.)

Now that it appears confirmed that the number of cables is not determinative of the number of lamps, we have a problem. We do not know whether Sony has used a single lamp screen or a dual-lamp screen with a single cable in the model configurations out there. However, we do know that all of the models listed at EPEAT are with mercury in the light source, ergo CCFL. Was Sony planning on single-cabled LEDs and then got a "deal" on cheap 1080p single-lamp CCFLs?

Ockham's razor would say that Sony has, indeed, simply downgraded to a single-lamp screen full HD to cut costs -- but that is all the while calling it premium in the North American market.

BUT WAIT: Sony is no longer calling its FW HD screen "FullHD" at SonyStyle but just extra-wide HD, and at this ad it's called an X-Brite Eco HD screen: http://www.deals2buy.com/show/61710096/deals.htm (yeah, these sites get things wrong all the time, nevertheless...). Eco always meant single-lamp as opposed to HiColor's dual-lamp which was succeeded by the FullHD dual-lamp. If you call an HD screen Eco, you imply it's a single-lamp model.

And while the CTO for the new F series at the US Sony Style has a choice of "Vaio display" for the lower resolution and "Vaio extra-wide HD display" (with "premium" in the "more" text: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...98552921665961655&XID=A:1260291:10693102::CJ), the Canadian Sony Style CTO F right now only has the lower resolution as a "Vaio display" with no full HD screen around ( http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...d=20153&langId=-1&LBomId=8198552921666067651).

In Mexico, the F series' premium has nothing to do with Full HD (the words are separated, too). The lower resolution is "Vaio Premium"; the screen with full HD is a "Vaio Premium Full HD" (words apart but capitalized), cf.: http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...98552921666061176&langId=102&catalogId=100751

So, I conclude the following, sad to say. Sony may no longer be making a dual-lamp screen for any of its North American markets -- and may be using the single-lamp screen for its remaining FW590CTO, as well.

Sony appears to have upgraded its dual lamp screen for the Japanese and European markets to an Adobe RGB compatible model (possibly an LED), where it calls the screen Premium but with a completely different meaning from in the North American market.

EDIT: This would explain why you cannot find any of the FW5 series or any of the North American F series parts listed on those official Sony parts sites Joe Bleau posted ( https://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ecom/accessories/web/index.jsp, https://servicesplus.us.sony.biz/default.aspx) -- the dual-lamps are no longer available and Sony doesn't want to reveal that by revealing the manufacturer's part numbers.

SONY, if you're bothering to read these forums:

Shame on you for the sleight of hand.

 

I really don't understand all your other speculation, so I haven't quoted it - remember that we're arguing with Marketing-speak here, for public consumption and sales PR, not actual, properly-described specifications. That's what this forum is for, to get at the FACTS of the performance of these machines, so please don't place more weight on Market-speak than what readers are actually experiencing. But yes, the number of cables DOES correspond with the number of lamps.

And a single-lamp screen is perfectly capable of an excellent, evenly-shaded image. I have had two F11s, the first was returned mainly because the display was absolutely awful, the second unit is only bad and has far less shading, but it's the SAME display model; this variation shows that the shading is a defect, not design..

Nobody has ever opened up a European Matte screen yet, but I'm taking bets that it's a single-lamp design. If it's double-lamp then that shows the two types are interchangeable, with just a swap of invertors, and the type of screen is nothing to do with lighted keyboards or whatever.

 

Derrida, I agree that Sony might have saved some money by going with a single-lamp CCFL screen in their US-market F-series computers or maybe their supplier (SHARP) stopped making the dual-CCFL screens and only makes the single-CCFL screens.

But remember, we are talking about maybe $20 or so in savings and not a significant sum of money. Even in Europe, the Full-HD (1920x1080 resolution) with 100% Adobe RGB coverage is available for around $50 more than the glossy 1920x1080 Full-HD (that the US market gets).

Bottomline, "HD" (or "High Definition") is mainly of 2 types: 720P (or a resolution of 1280 x 720) is also technically HD. Certain cheaper laptops have resolutions of 1366x768 which exceeds the resolution of 720P and is technically classifiable as HD (High Definition). Certain other laptops, including some Sony models, come with 1600x900 resolution, which obviously exceeds the 720P HD standards and is also technically High-Definition, even though not "FullHD" (1080P).

FullHD (or 1080P) on the other hand, is something that has the above stated 1920x1080 resolution and the Sony FullHD screens (whether the US/European Glossy version or the European Matte version with full-Adobe-RGB color gamut) is very much a FullHD screen (has 1920x1080 resolution). The single-lamp vs dual-lamp is a totally different aspect and has nothing to do with the screen's "FullHD" status. Hope this makes sense.

 

Sorry, y'all don't "get it" -- but Sony does.

Here's where the marketing meets the specs.

Look at this page defining these marketing terms which Sony just killed a week ago so that it's viewable only from a search engine cache: http://webcache.googleusercontent.c...ony+backstage+FullHD&cd=2&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us

For a short course in the fun and games of the contrast ratio specs of the Sony screens, try reading some of the test reviews of the Sony Eco single lamp versus the FullHD screens in the FW series at the German site www.notebookjournal.de or at www.notebookcheck.com (or its English-language site www.notebookcheck.net).

The dual lamp FullHD on the FW490 tested at contrast ratios up to 1:454 vs. 1:138 with the single-lamp Ecos. Black is blacker, white whiter, etc. (cf. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5197357&postcount=49)

Those who need a really good screen with high contrast ratios generally need dual-lamp CCFLs. I learned all of this because of a friend who had to research screens for her visual disability needs and who chose Sony FW190 for its dual-lamp HiColor with the lower resolution (which has a contrast ratio at 1:400 as well but higher lumination).

So, those of you who have not seen the two Sony screen backlights side-by-side (a single lamp and a dual-lamp from Sony) have no idea what we're talking about (i.e., we others who have posted here comparing the American F screen to the earlier FWs). But it's basically a similar comparison as between the American F screen vs. the European F screen.

Here's a German review of the European F Premium screen (listed as MS_0025) with its tested 1:555 contrast ratio: http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/notebook-review-sony-vaio-vpc-f11z1e-nkst-1103. And this review gets an even higher contrast ratio, 1:564, and states, perhaps erroneously, that it's an LED backlight): http://www.notebookcheck.com/Test-Sony-Vaio-VPC-F11Z1-E-Notebook.25324.0.html

Most people can't tell the difference between a 1:454 FullHD and a 1:555 or 1:564 Adobe RGB compatible screen -- but between either of those and 1:138 is literally night and day.

So, if you want to be happy with a single-lamp, then never waste the extra money on a MacBook Pro, either.

Like Apple, Sony knows the difference. And the difference costs money.

 

What you are talking here is something entirely different from the earlier FullHD vs non-FullHD situation. Now you are talking about other things like the qualities of the screen, including brightness, contrast ratio etc which are entirely different things.

Yes, based on these new criterias, the US Full-HD screen of the F-series is not as good a screen as the better screens available in the market. My HP/Compaq 8710W has a matte screen that is head and shoulders better than the screen that came on the F-series.

When watching certain videos etc with my new F, the darker regions just blend in and the subtle contrast differences in the darker shaded regions are just not visible at all and that is clearly indicative of a screen with poor contrast ratio. A short-sighted decision by Sony, to be quite sure for outfitting this otherwise great laptop with a poor screen.

 

From the FW page http://www.sonystyle.com/webapp/wcs...198552921665961655&XID=A:1260291:10693102::CJ

 

Yes, exactly; that's referenced in my post #2805 above.

The point is that backlight is an important factor in a screen's quality, not the only factor but an important one. That's why WLEDs aren't automatically better than a one-lamp CCFL but often are bested by a dual-lamp CCFL.

Please see newly-edited post #2808 above for some important F screen specs additions from German reviews.

 

I've never really seen a laptop that is out of stock for more then a month, when I bought my F111fx, the F116fx is out of stock (even after I returned my F11)...the retailer that I bought said they just haven't come yet,they order about 60 of em.

My speculation is it really there a shortage of F series?or SONY halted the production because of known issue and they are trying to fix it now?If the second speculation is what they are doing now, maybe a matte screen will be an option for North America soon since too much complaints about the screen.Who knows.

 

I've had a VPCF115FM for about two weeks now. My question is, what is the best way to keep the battery in good condition? I use it mostly at my house in the same location, so is it better to:

1) Keep the system plugged in with the battery pack in it;
2) Charge the battery up, then unplug it and drain the battery, then recharge; or
3) Pull the battery out all together?

Thanks in advance!

 

Keep it plugged in with power management at the battery-saver setting of 80% charge.

 

I have to admit that it is interesting that April 20th seems to be a deadline date on some Sony special computer offers on both sides of the Atlantic in the CTOs. Maybe something is afoot this month, as our Turkish forum member has suggested.

In the past, three months has been the usual period for a refresh with the first refresh usually less dramatic than the second or third. So, I guess we'll see. Could be first refresh coming with new, unproblematic screens and motherboards later this month and then significant upgrades with a second refresh in July after the June 26 Intel release date.

Just "spec"-ulating -- but this "shortage" experience is what usually precedes a refresh.

 

Hi,

where exactly can I find the setting of 80% limit charge?

Thanks,
V.

 

Not clear what's going on with the normal, non-premium European screen and its relationship to the American screen.

According to an NBR forum member, the normal European screen is matte, which the American ones are definitely not. This does not mean that the performance values for color gamut are necessarily different from those of the American screens.

Pictures at this link: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5800014&postcount=1982

 

I am back with an answer about the 100% loud fan, after about 50 times trying to sort out the fan, I’ve finally managed to get the fan at low RPM. Now is working properly, goes at higher RPM after 65 ºC but still not at full blast, and then at low RPM when is between 40 – 55 ºC. The problem is that I’ve restarted my computer after about ½ hour and now is back again on full blast. I did manage to sort it out again, by letting the laptop to go on hibernate only on battery, then you need to keep restarting the laptop until the green power button lights from 4 to 4 seconds, leave it like that and after some hours from green it will go to that orange light. Then I’ve tried to press the power button again (still on battery) until the battery is drained completely. Now I am afraid of turning it off.
Sony somehow needs to make a patch for this malfunction
If you have any suggestions please tell me.

 

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_zZDRx0MKYqE/S8DuNLMQAUI/AAAAAAAAASA/qFPHbTT2GYY/VegasDay8 009.JPG

Finally got a pic of what I meant about the vertical viewing angle, lol.

 

Vaio_F US = EU 1080p 1 Lamp Glossy + Gamut Coverage Confirmation

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6123969&posted=1#post6123969

 

As I mentioned earlier, your are the second person w/ dual boot Linux & fan problems. Try creating a system image to preserve your current state & programs & restore to factory state to rule out a problem caused by your tweaking. Reset also your BIOS to default. If the problem is still present then it is probably a hardware problem.

 

Yes, your screen is getting the same gamut values as the review of the normal HD in Europe on an i7 -- but we know they're likely different screens because yours isn't matte and theirs is with the i7: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5800014&postcount=1982

Only the i5 and not the i7 screen is glossy screen: http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5806806&postcount=2200
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=5904360&postcount=4185

Well, at this point we're beating a horse to death. We don't even know whether Sony is using the same manufacturer for all the North American screens since some are called "bad" and others "fine", right? Even by Sony techs. Sony won't put up part numbers on the FW590 or the North American F series on its parts sites because then we'd know more than Sony wants us to know.

Sony's problem is that it isn't Dell. Our expectations are not that the specs of the same model change every two weeks. Our expectation, especially with the new numbering system, is that there is consistency in a model number and name.

Na ja, as the Germans would say. Na ja....

 

All.
I got my laptop last week and I am still playing around with all the settings. I read the Syder calibration etc but I wanted to ask what setting are you all using for desktop Color setting? I went into the NVIDIA Control Panel and my laptop was set to let other applications control color settings. Is it better to let it stay that way or to use NVIDIA to set the brightness etc? I'm assuming some Vaio app is currently controlling this

Thanks

 

The EU glossy 1080P screens are definitely available with the i7....at least in the UK. Check the UK site out.....it lists the i7 processor with 2 Matte "premium" 1080P options and one option with the 1080P non-premium glossy (the US "premium").

 

If you're using a color calibrator, you should leave it to "let other application decide"

 

Can't check right now: the site is closed for upgrading systems. Hmmm ;-).

In any event, the German link I gave you above showed the only glossy HD on the i5. Remember that originally the sites in Europe showed premium matte normal HD and then premium matte Adobe RGB screens, with only the latter advertised as the professional screen. What counts for our comparison, of course, is a premium HD screen that is NOT Adobe RGB because THAT should be the analog of the American i7 non-Adobe RGB premium screen.

We'll have to see what the new European sites show later.

 

Thanks for the reply, but I'm not using any calibrator yet, it's whatever setting is set when shipped, I'm assuming Vaio software at this point

 

Start menu - all programs - VAIO Control Centre - Power Management - Battery - "Enable battery care Function" button - check Advanced Settings bar. 50% is suggested for AC use, 80% for Primary battery use.

 

I finally got around to making a video of the power supply issue, it's funny because while you can't hear it clicking, you can see the LED doing its (it was causing my lights to flicker, but I'm not sure that you can tell this).

Since I'm on vacation not far from a SonyStyle store, I called them to see about switching the power supply. They said that they'd need a receipt or they couldn't do it. Ermm.. safety.. issue.. here?

Thanks Sony! world class service, lol

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ipnqyZbJuDoZjFczUk3JBXIN5eoRkpoF6pnmoMG3xu4?feat=directlink

I'm going to go tonight anyway.

 

NOPE!

Read the post: This notebookcheck.pl VAIO_F11M1E / H review in Polish is just out & contains my US 1080p LCD's model #: LQ164M1LD4C. A loan to notebookcheck.pl from Sony_Poland.

Vaio_F US = EU 1080p 1 Lamp Glossy
http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=6123969&posted=1#post6123969

Search that page (Ctrl + F) for: LQ164M1LD4C.

Is that clear enough?

 

Hopefully, you have an online Sony account and your purchase, whether online or by phone is recorded there. A print-out of the receipt there counts the same as the receipt that came with the unit.

Good luck. Hope you get this before you go there.

 

Without going back and checking every one of hundreds of posts on the matter, I have the impression that all European glossy screens are the same as the North American screens in gamut (60% NTSC) and in fact most likely are the same Sharp series display, and ONLY the European Matte screen is 80%+ Adobe Gamut. All the other differences are simply in marketing language. FullHD is discussing resolution only, and RGB and Adobe 100% (which IS 80% gamut) are also just saying the same thing.

So there are four screens, 1-lamp 1600 X 900 Glossy, 1-lamp 1920 X 1080 Glossy, 2-lamp 1920 X 1080 "HD" screens, and 2-lamp (probably, though undetermined) 1920 X 1080 Matte wide-spectrum. (unless there's a 1600 X 900 wide-spectrum?)

The FWs used both single lamp and double-lamp Sharp displays, only the single lamp version is being used in the F-series, but a double-lamp screen as used in FWs can be installed in an F11 with its matching invertor. That 2-lamp FW screen IS the "premium" option on EU F11s - both the FW and Premium EU F11 screens are Matte. The one-lamp display in the FWs has the SAME glossy finish as that in the f-series. The wide-gamut Matte screen is the only newcomer to the F11/FW game.

 

That's right; for the i5 processors, as in the specs below for the model you indicated (which was included in my earlier post):

VPCF11M1E/H.G4 Titanium Grau, ab KW05, 999 Euro (UVP)
Intel Core i5-520M Prozessor (2.4 GHz)
16.4-Zoll (41.6 cm) Glare VAIO Display Premium (1920x1080, 16:9)
4 GB DDR3-SDRAM (2/2 belegt, max. 8 GB)
Blu-ray Player BD ROM/ DVD+-RW/+-R DL/RAM
http://www.notebookcheck.com/NBC-vor-Ort-Das-Vaio-Notebook-Line-Up.25551.0.html

(You have to scroll way down in the article to get to the European F series models and specs, but it's there.)

And here's the same model on the UK Sony site, which is using the American terminology "Vaio display": https://www.sonystyle.co.uk/SonySty...ype=areaDetails&isHideActive=)/.do#bottomTabs

It's simple: for the cheaper i3 and i5 processors in Europe Sony is using the cheaper single-lamp HD screen.

EDIT: The English translation of the Polish notebookcheck site is also useful for its illumination and contrast ratio (only 1:180!) specs and its discussion of this screen's use with the lower i5 processor as the cheaper version of the F series: http://translate.google.com/transla...ebookcheck.pl/Recenzja-Sony-Vaio-F11M1E&hl=en

 

Imagine a car with 3 steering wheels.

Only one driver can control the car @ one time so either your monitor color profile is controlled by:

- Sony_default profiles
- NVIDIA user override tweaking
- or an other custom profile either created specifically for your F with a colorimeter OR by trying one of the profiles created by F owners in this thread who shared their custom profiles created with their own colorimeters on their VAIO_VPCF Series.

Check the instructions by slrosenfeld or mine here as some steps may be applied to the F OEM settings for better results: Vaio_F Series Monitor Profiles Roundup & US glossy vs. EU Premium Displays (listed in the Unification Post).

 

Derrida, you are confusing people with your unverified speculations.

 

Not sure about your glossy gamut percentage but there are two European matte screens: one is full HD Adobe RGB compatible and the other is matte and full HD, period (probably 100% NTSC as Sony advertised the earlier FullHD screens on the FW series). At least one review of the F series has referred to these matte screens as LED.

Separate the words "Full" and "HD" and you've got the current marketing usage for the F series and the FW590s. The two "run together" are the designation for the FW's earlier dual-lamp high resolution screens.

Not sure, again, to what your gamut percentages refer (I posted a link earlier that discusses the complexity of the Sony screen tech gamut issues as well as a link to the only gamut image with percentages that Sony to my knowledge has published on the 16.4" screens, on the Sony Japan site).

which are also matte in Europe,

By "wide-spectrum" I think you mean HiColor. Well, that's another issue because, as I posted from the Japanese site, yes, Sony has had a two-lamp lower-resolution screen around which it discontinued in the States with the FW190 but appears to have continued in Japan and at times in Europe.

Actually, some of the FWs have had AUO screens, which were for the lower resolution, I believe, both HiColor and Eco. (AUO developed HiColor, BTW.) This is all discoverable from that Sony parts Website that Joe Bleau found for us ( https://servicesales.sel.sony.com/ecom/accessories/web/index.jsp) where there are separate bezel, etc. parts for the AUO and the Sharp screens for the same CTO FW model 490, I believe.

Note that Sony does not make available the North American F and FW5 series part numbers and manufacturers on that original parts site so we're all "spec"-ulating....

 

Actually, I have spent a great deal of time to provide links to support each of the screen "spec"-ulations I have made. The only way to avoid confusion is read carefully and to actually consult my links for the evidence.

However, that said, and with all that research (which took hours) completed, I will not be revisiting these issues.

So, relax ;-).

 

Joe, when I go to 3- In Vaio Control Center > Display > Color Mode Setting > check "Do not apply color mode" and hit "Apply" My laptop says "Outputting to external Display. The color mode setting is disabled" But I'm on my laptop not an external monitor! Any ideas?

 

Hi guys

i've got a vgn-fw590

with the panasonic (mata) uj-240as bd-writer

anyway im having problems burning a disc the person who sold me the discs suggests that i update to the latest firmware for the drive which is 1.01 (NEC has it released for their notebooks)

but unfortunately the only place i can find this firmware is on the NEC website and it seems locked to nec laptops only


anyone have any ideas? supposedly the update has more "MID codes" and resolves stability issues ??

 

Hmm... I just tried applying and I'm not getting any dialog messages about external displays. My guess is, is that the color mode setting will be disabled on external displays as well. Have you gotten the profile to work yet? - if it's working you should be fine

 

Hi Mangosango, yes I just finished applying Joe's Native setting and am playing Transformers to see if I do like it better. I may try some others profiles and see how I like it. The Sony one is definitely a little blue compared to this!

 

I'm saying the "Matte and Full HD" is simply the two-lamp screen (the better screen) as used in some FWs. That was a matte, and had rich colour and decent vertical viewing angles. And the glossy 1-lamp is the same worldwide on F11s and on FWs...therefore the only new game in town is the wide spectrum 100% Adobe, which itself could be a new iteration of the wide-gamut screen used on early FWs. The links you provide do not show anything contrary to what I've just said, OTHER than the marketing language which seems to have you so confused. You are overanalyzing a simple situaiton. At FIRST, when users started talking about their experiences with the screens it seemed there were a multitude of different models, but that's been pretty well disabused.

(edit) And not once has anyone found an LED screen in an F or FW, that is propagation of a single source of false information.

 

I'm guessing you've already asked this question in the sony FW owner's lounge page (this is the F11 owner's lounge)? I don't have a BD Writer, but if you haven't yet, I would either check esupport.sony.com to see if there are any updates from sony, or check the panasonic webpage.

EDIT: Actually, what errors are you getting from the disk - is it just not recognizing the disk as a burn-able disc, or does the burn process fail to complete etc? This may have to do with higher-level software instead of the drive firmware - just a thought.

 

Hey guys, I just noticed something today. I turned my computer off, stuck it in my bag, and went off for a few hours. When I got back home, I pulled it out to find it.. quite warm.

That surprised me, but when I plugged it in I found that no battery had been used in that time, turned out the heat was simply SLOOOWLY coming out of the computer lol

So when you pull your computer out of your bag and find it toasty, well, it might just be because you were using it before you stuck it in there

 

not sure how tight you guys are with money, but:

1.) Every display is different. Tweaks for one person may or may not look as good on your display. that's a fact.

2.) A good monitor calibrator should be in your collection if you care about color accuracy. Not just for your laptop, but for every laptop you own and every monitor you own.

That being said, I strongly recommend the X-Rite EyeOne Display LT or Display 2.

and not only will they tune your monitors, but with free software you can tune the colors on your HDTVs as well.

it's more than worth the price of admission if color accuracy is something that matters to you. swapping profile files and "eballing it" are fail.

http://www.amazon.com/X-Rite-EODLT-Eye-One-Display-LT/dp/B000CR78CE/ref=pd_cp_e_3

fyi. but do as you wish.

 

The LED statement's source was notebookcheck which conducts tests (e.g., contrast, etc.), unlike most American reviews which simply spout the marketing info and personal reactions. That said, the fact that notebookjournal is silent on the matter is interesting to me because they, too, conduct extensive tests for full reviews. It means that they aren't sure because every FW that had a dual-lamp was so stated in their reviews.

American dual-lamp FW screens were never matte but there was some evidence from those German test sites that some of the more recent FW dual-lamps in Europe in the recent past may have been. There may now be two matte Premium screens in use because the original F marketing in Europe made a distinction between a premium and a premium RGB compatible, establishing two different tracks for customizing models with that screen.

Now the European sites have stopped talking about the Adobe RGB but a distinction was made before the site revamp yesterday of a model with a "professional" premium screen, implying that that model still has RGB. The failure to use the RGB anywhere in the advertizing now in Europe is interesting and may represent a supplier shift (which coinicides with the timing of what has usually been a refresh in the past FW history: three months into the model).

[EDIT: This is also consistent with Sony's past use of an RGB (this time a confirmed RGB LED) in the AW series (18.4" sceen). The Premium version of the AW (like the Premium F) had the option of that RGB screen but only in the AW1 and AW2 series (AW190 and AW290 in the States). In the AW3 series refresh the RGB option for a Premium laptop disappeared and Sony only offered the then-standard dual-lamp FullHD screen. Cf. ajreynol's sig file in the posting above for evidence of the RGB LED on the AW290 since some forum members have a tendency to disbelieve my research, and I don't want to spend any more time on this issue ;-).]

The Japan Sony F CTO site which I posted earlier is very clear and provides fuller specs for everything, not just screens, and ratifies MelodyMaster's description of two screens that are full HD: http://translate.googleusercontent....&twu=1&usg=ALkJrhgQI65ttKVKrqWsT8tbW_HJoPx0Dw

None of the configurable Japanese Fs, no matter what the processor (i3, i5, i7) offer the lower resolution screen anymore.

Note that Sony adopts the terms "Premium Full HD only for an Adobe RGB matte and uses the same term used in the North American market ("Vaio display") for the other, cheaper full HD screen. Sony Japan supplies Europe via Belgium, I believe, but not North America.

The "confusion" comes from Sony's past use of the word "premium" in the North American market for screens that in the Japanese market are called simply "Vaio display" -- but Sony's marketing is now shifting the word "premium" on the American SonyStyle site from the title of the screen to the paragraph description.

This is what I have referred to as Sony's "sleight of hand" -- actually it's closer to a form of "bait and switch" because the same model numbers at SonyStyle just two months ago were called "premium Full HD" in their title.

Confusing? Yes. But that's Sony's fault, not mine because of their "games" in the specs sections of the online order forms. I'm just a researcher who has spent the time to dig out specs pages that Sony has offered -- and specs from elaborate testing in Germany -- and which support the experiences of the European and North American F owners on this forum.

But, as I told Joe Bleau, relax. I'm not going to do any more of this research. Clearly, clicking on links and sorting through detailed spec sheets and parts catalogues is not everyone's cup of tea -- and appears to be the cup of tea of very few readers of this forum. Also, when you skim a research article, it is easy to become confused.

Have fun with the computers themselves! That's the main thing, nicht wahr?

[EDIT: The English translation of the Polish notebookcheck site Joe Bleau found with the North American F screen is also useful for its detailed specs and its discussion of this screen's use with the lower i5 processor as the cheaper version of the F series: http://translate.google.com/transla...ebookcheck.pl/Recenzja-Sony-Vaio-F11M1E&hl=en

The illumination parameters, contrast ratio (1:180), etc. are a nice complement to the color gamut work Joe Bleau did for us, as well (cf. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showpost.php?p=6123969&postcount=2784). A very nice find which helps those like me who are "detailed specs"-oriented to understand just what a trick Sony has played on us in the North American market by depriving us of even the add-on option of the true premium screen.]

 

thanks for the reply!
my bad i thought this was the right thread... sorry (maybe if someone could move it over there? im new so i dont know how ppl will feel about double posting,etc)



my discs keep failing at 95-98% and if they go through they fail to close-disc

i thought it was a bad batch of discs, but it seems to happen with multiple brands (verbatim, no-name, tdk) just not as often as the no-name

the place i bought the discs from suggested the firmware and found there was a 1.01 update (but they found it on a NEC notebook support page and it uses a nec installer so it wont work) i can't find anything on panasonics pages about the uj-240 (its as if it doesnt exist) and neither on the sony esupport page

i still think it might be the discs but im just trying anything atm



thanks

 

Found the firmware update for India, Asia, and the Mid-east/africa, but not for north america. You might want to give it a shot, although I'm not sure if firmware updates can be rolled back or not. In the description, it says that the update fixes DVD-RW writing and nothing else. From the way that the drive is failing the burn process at around 90%, it sounds like it may be a problem with the burning software? I remember MelodyMaster saying a while back that certain programs with burning can be caused by software conflicts, etc. Maybe he can direct you to a more definite answer? Anyway, the links to the firmware update:

India: http://www.sony.co.in/support/download/374453/product/vgn-fw53gf
Asia: http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/374134
Mid-Ease/Africa: http://www.sony-mea.com/support/download/374461

 

I have the same problem with my F. I tried to fix it the way "To no End" did it, but it didn't work. Now I'm back to Brazil, and although Sony sells the same laptop here, they can't help me (it seems to be the same version sold in Europe, though). What can I do now? And I only use the original Windows 7 that came in it, never messed with that.

 

What is your current power plan? Look in: Control Panel\All Control Panel Items\Power Options

Did you try w/ the Power Saver plan & re-booting?

Did you try restoring to factory state after creating a system image to preserve your system current state, tweaking, programs & files?

"Now I'm back to Brazil, and although Sony sells the same laptop here, they can't help me" - Did you register your US F product to get the International warranty like I did?