Official Sony VAIO TT Series Owners Thread

Did you play any DVD to a HMDI TV?
I found the HDMI controls in Vaio Control Centre.
BTW, what is your cpu? Is it 1.6GHz? Is the unit hot or just warm?

 

TZ300, i have a TT with the 1.6 processor. May be it gets a little warm sometimes doing certain tasks but nothing that is uncomfortable. I don't do very intensive tasks with it. I do though also have a SSD drive installed and i have noticed that it is more quiet now, virtually silent in normal use.

I have tried playing a dvd connected over hdmi and i get a message on Intervideo come up stating that my display environment does not support protected playback. In the display settings though i can see that the HDMI audio output is detected.

 

Download vlc. It plays anything (except BR stuff).

 

Thanks TZ300, i figured it out now. I had to press Fn + F7 and select the projector only setting. It won't play across dual displays.
It is playing now and i get audio so it seems to be working ok.

 

Odd, I have 5 in my power management settings. High performance, balanced, Power saver, Vaio max battery, and Vaio Optimized.

 

Odd indeed. I have only two settings: Balanced and Power Saver Go figure!

Rachel: attached a screen capture of how my HDMI settings appear within the Control Centre.

KJ

 

This might work:
Right click on screen->choose connect to projector or other external display->turn on presentation setting.

 

Kendallj, thanks for uploading that image. Sony must have done something to block me from seeing that setting but it does work. I can change res settings when i connect a HDMI cable.
Lol, i forgot one of my settings for power management is Intervideo dvd lol..

Edited to add:
Thanks TZ300, i will try that.

 

Well I get that on the windows power management. However, with the Sony control panel, I only have, balance, performance, and silent mode.

 

OK, I've just checked the Control Centre settings and I have the same three as you.

Sheesh Sony - why so much variation? Are the different regional models electronically different? Do we have different BIOS'es? Have we installed system drivers in the wrong order or missed out an essential driver(s)? (just thinking aloud)

KJ

 

It happened to me once. Try make a change to a setting, or choose another setting, and the rest of the options will appear. Well, at least that was what I ran into.

 

If Sony has not provided 64bit drivers for your model then you will need to look for a similar model. For me though my laptop shipped with 64bit Vista so upgrading should be pretty straight foward for me. I think it is probably best if people stick to their own models if they can because some things for some of us seem a little messed up.
May be Sony is getting stricter. I have gone back and installed the drivers for my model. Now i see all the options that i had before. I'm running W7 upgrade path for my model now. It found 18 updates for my model. A number of them are a waste of time but there is no way to pick and choose what i want.

Audio Driver (Realtek)
Wireless LAN Driver (Intel)_64
Protector Suite QL (Upek)_64
TPM Professional Package (Infineon)_64
Battery Checker 4.0wd - 4.0.0.05260
DSD Direct Writing Function Update Program 1.0 - 1.0.00.04130
Help and Support
McAfee PC SecurityCenter 30days [A]
Roxio Easy Media Creator
Setting Utility Series 5.0wd - 5.0.0.08060
VAIO Control Center 4.0wd - 4.0.0.07280
VAIO Control Color Setting 1.4WU - 1.4.1.08050
VAIO Data Restore Tool
VAIO Event Service 5.0WU - 5.0.0.08040
VAIO Power Management 4.0wd - 4.0.0.07060
VAIO Update 4.2U - 4.2.0.07300
WinDVD 8.0g
VAIO Smart Network 2.3(WD) - 2.3.0.20100

 

I dunno if Sony is being stricter cause I have a installed drivers, and files off newer TT's like the TT250 and TT390 with all the features being there. Or at least I am not noticing anything missing; so, maybe I am getting lucky?

 

I wonder what specific settings intervideo DVD power management setting have.

 

I never did a clean install yesterday, i have spent quite a lot of time over the past few weeks doing installs on another computer and i was trying to avoid it and i would have to install quite a few things back.
I did a clean install this afternoon though and i now have my HDMI settings in the control centre.
This is the more time consuming way but it is the only way to do it really if you've done this mod.
It is working perfectly now, i can see now that it was not working correctly before.

I only get three power management settings but i don't care anymore, everything is working and i use power saver and balanced mode more often than not. Boot times have also marginally improved 30secs from pressing the start button to desktop which is not bad at all for a ULV notebook.

I downloaded the US WinDVD and it is a patch only.
I know some people are having a problem with the trackpad but for me it might be the best one that i've used yet and i've owned quite a few notebooks.
Thank you all for your help.

 

Many thanks Rachel. I appreciate the detail, time and effort you put into your postings - always informative and helpful.

I do a lot of clean installs for customers (and always prefer it to upgrades), but likewise really loath doing it for myself because of the time it takes due to all the extra apps and customization.

I'm ok with the three power settings too - after all each is fully configurable.

Thanks too for the feedback on the WinDVD link.

Kendall

 

Man that is pretty fast boot at 30 seconds, my boot times are like at 63 seconds. Then again you do have an SSD drive so that makes sense.

 

There is new BIOS on Vaio Support site. It enable turn on Intel Virtualization Technology

 

The UK site has had that bios for way over a month now and the U.S. site has recently gotten said bios. But, thank you.

 

Has anyone noticed with the newest BIOS and W7 64bit drivers those with HDMI that their graphic card drivers keep on stopping and then recovering? This has happened to me a number of times.
I may downgrade back to my original BIOS because i don't really have any need for VT right now.

 

Not sure what you mean by stopping them?

 

Not used the HDMI yet. Would be more inclined to suspect the driver than the BIOS. Have you tried the latest driver from Intel's support site?

KJ

 

Thanks Coldmack and Kendallj
Coldmack, what happens is that my screen goes blank and then a message comes up saying that my graphic driver stopped working and recovered.

Kendallj, it doesn't happen when i use the HDMI port. It happens when i'm just surfing. I'm using the TT4 EU graphic drivers. I read that for full functionality it might be best to stick with the Sony drivers(although those drivers look like Intel drivers anyway so i'm not to sure about that). I will check out what it is new on the Intel website.

Thanks

 

HI Rachel, ok re HDMI (sorry I misread) - yes you are right re Intel's generic drivers. I forget that Sony have customised versions. I'm using the TT4 EU 64bit driver and the latest VT enabled BIOS also, but without problem you mention. Perhaps a driver re-install ?

Kendall

 

Thanks Kendallj
I gave it a few days to see how it is, it has done it once since i applied the update and reinstalled and not since then so hopefully it won't happen again.

I ran some benchmarks on my TT today. I often see posts on this forum that state that the TT SU9600 has got a CPU passmark less than 1,000. That is not so going by my tests because i get 1,391. It also gets a passmark score of just under 600. It probably would do better if it wasn't using Sony's modified graphic drivers. Some people might have an issue with W7 scores but all laptops that ship now come with W7 (and you can also upgrade to W7 yourself) and for those that do this is still a good comparison benchmark.

Sony have started to offer the TT in the EU for the low end model without a dvd drive only. Also, it still has the same Celeron processor but they put the price up. I think that they could do more with this line.

 

A local vendor has a promotion for TT16GN/N at US$1,450. Is it a good buy? I can get Windows 7 with another US$30 top-up.

I was quite surprised they are having this promotion as usually Sony has its pricing policy very tightly controlled, unless perhaps they are trying to get rid of old stock and make way for a TT replacement.

 

I think that is an ok deal, that is a model with a SU9400 processor, 160GB HD but it doesn't have a hdmi port going by the spec sheet. In Hong Kong they have already moved onto TT4 where this model was sold.
May be look around for a TT3 or TT4 with a hdmi port unless you want to add one in yourself or may be you have no need for one. The TT3/4 models come with a 1.6 processor as standard.

 

I want to say that isn't that good of a deal as I got mines with a SU9300 cpu, DVD drive, 160gb HDD, and HDMI for about $1100usd new open box from Amazon. It might be a good deal if it has blu-ray or it comes with an SSD drive of 80gb or more. Then that could be another story.

 

Thanks for your quick replies guys. I agree after 2nd thought that the deal is just standard or slightly more expensive. HK currently has the best deals I have seen for Sony and I guess for any other electronics in general!!

 

Hi Everyone,
I just got my TT21XN yesterday !! However this was the last unit in my town so we had to buy the one on display.
So i have a few questions in mind about the operating system. First of all since this was first opened by the guys in the store the operating system is in the local language and i would like to have the OS run in English. Well, i am gonna have to format...(It came with Vista business 32 bit TR - ENG) Then there is the whole new world of upgrading to Windows 7.
What do you recommend given your previous experience, should i go with Win 7, if so are there any how tos pages etc you would suggest me?

 

[Edit] I'd recommend Windows 7 over Vista. Not a huge difference - one might call Win 7 'Vista without the lumps' and perhaps it should have been Vista SP3 but that's history. Some things it does much better - certainly the networking interface is cleaner, it appears to boot quicker, the interface is snappier (especially when you turn off the fade-in, fade out crap), although I don't think applications run any quicker than on Vista. So if you don't mind the cost...

For installation this recent TT thread might help:

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=344262

To note: some drivers are dual 32/64bit installs, others need the nominated driver.

I have a TT27 that came with Vista Business 64bit. I'm now trialling Windows 7 Ultimate 64Bit and have all function keys working plus the S1/Volume/Eject buttons working successfully as well as the ambient light sensor.

The driver set I used was for the European TT4's (64bit), available via the Sony European Support site:

http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/downloads/preinstalled/index.aspx?l=en_GB&m=VGN-TT4

There are 32bit drivers here:

http://support.vaio.sony.eu/computing/vaio/downloads/updates/index.aspx?l=en_GB&m=VGN-TT3WRN_X&os=10

Hope that helps get you started.

 

Thank you very much for the response, one last question though; did you switch to Win7 with the upgrade kit or with a complete win7 dvd?
(I just ended up ordering my upgrade kit from sony webshop)

 

Started from scratch with MSDN DVD. Not tried the upgrade process.

 

I can confirm that with Win7 ultimate 64 (de novo install) all functions are working properly. In fact I also used the European site for driver upgrade. However, I could not figure out how to install some pieces of Vaio software, such as Vaio Update and Globetrotter. Maybe they are not important, but I would like to know how to get those on board.

 

I'm assuming you have the GTM328. I downloaded the Globetrotter drivers straight from the Option website using the IMEI and everything works brillantly. I'm also using the TT1 smart network drivers as that allows me to turn the wwan on and of in W7. With newer drivers i would reboot and my wwan would be on. I could turn it of but if i wanted to put it on again i had to reboot.

Edited to add:
I see that Sony has now added the wwan drivers to the TT4 drivers page.

 

Hi owners
How bright do some of you think the TT display is? If i turn of the ambient sensor or set the display to the fullest it is too bright for my eyes unlike the display on my TX and SZ. Notebookjournal.de have my SZ down as brighter than my TT which is not the case at all.

They put the TT display at 230nits i think which seems too low. May be they never turned the sensor of.

I don't agree with a number of their reviews. Do you think that 230nits might be accurate. I know some people base a lot of their opinions on such reviews.

 

I had the same experience. When I turned it off on my 130 and set the screen to full brightness it's uncomfortable to look at.

Subjectively, it's at least as bright as my thinkpad which is specced at 300 nits

 

desertlap, it was interesting reading your thoughts. I'm not alone in thinking that then.

 

I tend to agree - I reckon you could get sunburn off the TT display at prolonged full brightness! It does however, come in very handy when in very high ambient light conditions. Very pleased with it really.

 

Greetings, just found this thread.

Have a TT (Rachel, thanks for all your help) and a couple of TZ that came in about a week ago.

The TT is matte screen. The TZs are glossy, but coated with an anti-glare coating, similar to the stuff on my eyeglasses.

Well, no question about it:
1. TZ screens are more vibrant.
2. TZ screen actually is less reflective with a light right behind the screen for maximum reflection. By this I mean that you see the bulb. But on the TT screen, you see a diffused glow of white that is larger than the TZ.
3. Brightness is the same.

Curious as to what gives as one side by side sample I saw on the web definitely shows the TT as being more saturated/vibrant. I'll compare with my recent Z tomorrow.

Appreciate any comments.

UL

 

Like i mentioned before i really cannot call the TT display matte. It is glossy to me, may be not as glossy as some but definetly mine is glossy. I can see reflections clearly in the display. I struggle to call it a hybrid at best but i could may be stretch to that. I've used matte displays in the past also. The mystery continues. It is interesting though reading everyones perceptions about the display.

ultralight if you're using XP still may be it might not be doing as much justice to the TT. The drivers for XP are really not great. Hopefully, your wife will enjoy this, or may be now you might be tempted to get yourself one lol.

 

Maybe your screen is different that most others? Because, my MBP(first gen) has a screen that is glossier compared to my TT.

 

I've been reading some reviews and some reviewers describe the display as glossy, some matte and some describe it as having a hybrid display. I guess it is just a difference of opinion may be that is partly based on personal experiences.
It is possible that some displays might be different but i do doubt that.

The TZ display, most people describe that as glossy, i've not read anyone say it had a coating on it before.

 

Maybe see if you can compare your TT to other TT's and the TZ?

 

Can someone confirm that R3061M4 is the lastest BIOS for the TT?

 

On the Asia-Pacific support site, it's R2022M4 (dated: 9th December 09)

KJ

 

It's for the TT1 and TT2 I think. R3061M4 is for TT4 (same day). Just flash it with my TT21WN, and it works:
http://www.sony-asia.com/support/download/363860

 

These are some images, they show what i mean about my display. I took them in a normal lit room with flash of. With different backgrounds i can sometimes see my reflection. Like i said though i could agree that it is may possibly be a hybrid. I couldn't though say it was matte.
Edited to add:
I can see that it has a protective film on the display but clearly from my pictures you can see it is still slightly glossy.

 

Rachel, yours look glossier than mine.

UL

 

Yes, I would agree that screen looks a bit more glossier than mines.