FW490 XBRITE-FullHD screen speculation thread

The fact that one of these numbers is also used for the AW series doesn't change anything.

 

Well, I have the FullHD screen on my FW490 and I am not happy with it. I had the VGN-AR590E before and the screen on that was far nicer. After doing some research, it seems to be related to the fact that the screen on the AR590E was "glossy" and mine is not. I prefer glossy screens.

Did Sony make "glossy" FW screens at 1920x1080 at some point? I am starting to get the impression that the earlier FW models had a glossy 1920x1080 screen option whereas the later FW models do not.

 

This is very interesting. Someone else on the FW thread had the same impression with a FW490J (sent instead of the CTO because the configuration was the same). Once the member got it into a different light, the glossy screen was evident -- but at first glance it appeared to be matte. (cf. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=278446&page=459(.

What you say intrigues me because on the FW390 the FullHD would never have been mistaken for a matte screen, never. However, Sony's anti-reflective coating on top of the glossy is less glare-y than most other glossy screens.

Until a true EPEAT-certified 490CTO appears we won't be able to know if there's an LED screen out there on a CTO. But your testimony, being corroborated by another member, davidnari, does give one pause.

It just may indeed be that not all SNY07FA screens in the FW4 series are created alike.

 

My FW490J was a CTO. I ordered a custom built FW on Jul 31 and received it on Thursday (same as MidtownHD). The model number reported by the system is VGN-FW490J. Here's what I ordered:

Product: US-VGNFW490-LBOM
Component: No additional Photo Editing Software
Component: 16.4" widescreen with XBRITE-FullHD™ LCD technology (1920x1080)
Component: Quickbooks Simple Start 2009
Component: 250GB SATA Hard Disk Drive [5400 rpm] (Reg. price $10.00)
Component: No Fresh Start
Component: Microsoft® Works
Component: Standard Capacity Battery
Component: Norton Internet Security (30 Day Trial)
Component: WLAN (802.11a/b/g/n) with integrated Bluetooth® technology
Component: ATI Mobility Radeon™ HD4650 graphics card with 1GB vRAM-great for games and movies
Component: No Engraving
Component: Intel® Core™ 2 Duo Processor P8800 (2.66GHz) (Reg. price $150.00)
Component: No additional Video Editing Software
Component: Blu-ray Disc™ playback
Component: Chocolate Brown
Component: Microsoft® Windows Vista® Home Premium 64-bit
Component: 4GB DDR2-SDRAM (DDR2-800, 2GBx2) (Reg. price $20.00)

 

After doing some more reading, I think that the difference I am noticing between the VGN-AR590E that I had and the VGN-FW490J that I have now is that the 590 had a "HiColor" screen whereas the 490J has a "FullHD". The "HiColor" on my 590 was more glossy and movies looked gorgeous on it. The "FullHD" on my 490J looks grainy.

There is a company that claims they can add a high gloss to any laptop screen.

http://www.screentekinc.com/pixelbright-lcds.shtml

Anybody heard of this? Was there some "anti-glare" coating applied to my FullHD that is making the image more "matte" and grainy-looking? Can this "coating" be removed and a glossy coating applied that would make it look more like the HiColor AR590E screen I had before?

 

I remember reading somewhere that the J in FW490J simply means the notebook came with Vista installed. I think a sony tech who visited the forums gave that detail, but don't quote me on it.

Anyways, i should be getting my vaio in a couple hours. I also ordered the FullHD screen, so i'll check the serial number and the "apparent appearance."

 

Now I am beginning to wonder if there is something wrong with your screen. Yes there is an anti-glare coating but one would never call this screen matte because it is glossy -- if it is indeed a dual lamp CCFL FullHD screen like those of the FW390CTO.

I have seen an FW190 with HiColor side-by-side with an FW390 with FullHD, the latter supposedly the same screen as yours. The difference was NOT in the glossy and anti-reflective coating but in the brightness (and color richness) between the two, with the HiColor brighter by a full brightness bar more than the FullHD. In other words, to get the HiColor as dark as the FullHD, I had to lower its brightness by one unit on the brightness keys. Even then, the HiColor screen seemed to have richer colors but it was very subtle.

If you have a grainy screen, that would be a defect. I've heard about graininess being a problem on lots of Dell screens but not on the Sonys.

If you live within 50 miles of a major metropolitan area, then Sony would likely send out a tech to look at it. I and others have posted that you will likely have a better experience calling tech support on "off-hours" from the American techs, i.e., evenings and weekends. At that time you will definitely reach the Philippines where you should ask for a Level II tech in the hardware group.

The main point is that a side-by-side of a Hicolor and FullHD revealed only a slight difference in the image, mainly due to the brightness of the backlight.

Maybe wait until another owner or two of the FW490 posts about the screen. One forum member thought it was matte, but never once talked about a degraded image. But don't wait too long: Have Sony deal with this within your 30 days so that you can have them build you a new one if this one is seriously defective.

Keep us posted!

 

Thanks Derrida for the input. I need to put things into perspective. There doesn't seem to be a defect in the screen and I didn't really notice a problem until I tried to load movies on it. The movies looked grainy to me compared to the AR590E I had. On the 590E, blu-rays looked amazing. I mean, the screen really shone. I remember trying a blu-ray on the 490 at the Sony store with the FullHD and thinking that it didn't blow me away like the 590E did. I asked the clerk why that was and she swore to me that they were the exact same screen (except the size and resolution of course). I knew what I saw wasn't the same quality but I thought it was probably due to the ATI drivers not being up to date or something.

When I got mine on Thursday, one of the first things I did was check the Blu-Ray. The LCD didn't look as good but when I sent the image over the HDMI to my home theater projector - the Blu-Ray looked amazing. I tried updating the drivers, both from the Sony site and from ATI - no improvement. I played with all the settings - no improvement. I'm failry confident that the problem is not the drivers.

It wasn't until I started reading here that I realized the two screens are different one being HiColor and one being FullHD. Perhaps FullHD is still considered "glossy" but it is nowhere near as glossy as the screen I had on the 590E and nowhere near as nice IMO for movies. It's not just the brightness, the video looks more grainy to me. To describe it best, watching a movie on my 490E FullHD looks a movie on a better-than-average notebook monitor as opposed to the amazing video quality I remember getting on the 590E.

However, I don't want to give anyone the wrong impression. Its not like my screen sucks. Its still a good screen. However, I had a AR590E for a year and I was spoiled to how good movies can look on a laptop. Unfortunately, my FW490J has a different screen that doesn't look as good, IMO. I absolutely LOVE everything else about this laptop and I really want to keep it. My big, big question is - can't I get a screen like I had on the AR590E on my FW490? If I could, I will be very happy.

 

The ad I posted from a Chinese Website shows that in China the FW comes with Rich Color (probably the translation into English of the Chinese equivalent of HiColor) and 100% NTSC gamut. (The ad is a "crib" of the AUO Website announcing its development of HiColor, but with a higher gamut claim.) Doesn't sound like the FW300CTO FullHD I saw, or like what you are describing, does it? Sounds a lot more like a HiColor with the higher resolution.

My guess: the next FW refresh in about two months will have that same screen as in China.

You could wait and see; if you don't need the computer right now (or even if you do) discuss the screen with tech support in the Philippines. They are going to know more about screens (and everything) because they service U.S. models but they themselves buy Asian models (that's part of what makes them superior, in my opinion to the American techs in San Diego).

BTW Notebookjournal.de does not really describe the better of the two AR screens as better than the FW3 FullHD or the FW1 HiColor:
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/sony-vaio-vgn-fw11zu-619
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/sony-vaio-vgn-ar21s---ar31s-199
http://www.notebookjournal.de/tests/inspection/notebook-review-sony-vaio-fw31zj-860

I still think that the low-gloss you describe is very strange. If you won't be too inconvenienced, return the computer, wait two months -- and then see what the FW looks like!

Good luck!

 

@ Qaenos: does your laptop have a color management profile from SONY?

 

Thank you again Derrida, I appreciate it. Do US model refreshes follow Chinese models? I am unfamiliar with how Sony refreshes their models. What probability would you give for the FW screen to change to something more like my HiColor in the next refresh? Also, do you have any opinion on that company who adds a glossy finish to existing laptop screens? Would it work for me?

@ MidtownHD - I'm away from the FW until tomorrow night so I can't check until then, but if yours does, mine should too...how come? Is there something there that can make my screen gorgeous? I played with the ATI Control Center for about 1.5 hours and couldn't get it to look any better. I could get it to look different, usually worse, but not better (or at least significantly better) unfortunately.

 

I don't know about China, actually, since I only recently scoped out some of their sites in translation, but I have seen that the European model innovations are often a refresh ahead (they had better video cards before the States did, if memory serves correctly).

So what is interesting is that the European ads, like the Chinese ad, all of a sudden are using the same marketing phrases that they used for the FW HiColor screen: "100% color fidelity" like the "100% NTSC" on the Chinese ad and the "100% color purity" on the FW190 HiColor ad. Sony has NEVER used any percentages at all for the FullHD screen. None, nada, nothing.

Oh, and remember that AUO says it has developed HiColor for LED: http://auo.com/auoDEV/technology.php?sec=HiColor
Compare that site's graphics to the Chinese FW4 ad: http://benyouhuifile.it168.com/atta...e1de8928777e63b0e97wBPQHDk0IUny.jpg/p/FW4.jpg
Coincidence?

All of this makes me think the screen is going to change a bit -- for the better.

Remember: We can't find a single FullHD screen from the FW290 or the FW390 that is on an EPEAT-compliant machine. Sony may not have submitted them to EPEAT, just as it has not (yet?) submitted any FullHD screen'ed FWs in the FW490CTO. But that, too, is just plain interesting....

As for adding a finish to your screen, no, don't. You will destroy your warranty. Even though I have no idea of the quality of their work, why would you do that? Wait and see if the next refresh meets your needs better.

And again, FIRST discuss ALL of this with the Philippines Level II hardware techs! Evenings and weekends, when the American techs are off. (Of course, if they've all recovered from the typhoon or whatever that hit the country last week.)

Good luck!

 

Well I am also upgrading the hard drive to a solid state. Wouldn't that also void the warranty? If so, then I have no problem replacing / upgrading the screen, if it will give me a screen that I will be happy with.

 

Ah, but you could hide the fact that you upgraded to an SSD by reinstalling the original drive. After all, that's the way Sony returns a notebook after a repair: the drive wiped and then reinstalled with the original system just as it came new.

No way you could hide that you tampered with that screen....

BTW If you simply pay a Sony-authorized tech (e.g. at Best Buy) to install your new SSD, your warranty remains intact. I believe Best Buy charges about $50 for that....

 

I fooled around the the Sony Color management settings...did absolutely nothing. Do those things even work?

 

Did you right click on the desktop and go to the ATI Catalyst control center? There you can dither with contrast, brightness, and gamut. Also, this site enables you to evaluate your screen and colors, etc. quite interestingly: http://www.lagom.nl/lcd-test/

Good luck!

 

Ya the ATI Control Center was the first thing I did and those controls work, but they don't make the picture any better (IMO). However, changing the color profiles via the Sony Control Center doesn't seem to do a thing.

 

Hey Derrida,

Just wanted to know if you had any thoughts about the current Japanese FW

Here's the (translated) website:

http://translate.google.com/transla.../F/feature_2.html&sl=ja&tl=en&history_state0=

I'm trying really hard to figure out what kind of display it has. Same as mine? Something new?

 

If you take a look at the specification, it's pretty much identical to the one in the US, except the Japanese FW comes with an awesome remote control and the gorgeous white color option. I wish we have more color options in the US.

 

Well the big question for me is whether or not the screen is the same. There's some debate going on that the European / Asian models have a new screen that's "better" than the X-Brite FullHD they offer in the US FW490.

For instance, the Japanese seem to be saying taht the screen gives "100% NTSC" and from the photos, they seem to be indicating that the colors and brightness are better than something...what that something is, I don't know. However, the screen in the FW 490 is not advertised like this at all.

 

can anyone back up the profiles for display in VAIO Control Center > Display ?

 

Oooooh, thank you for that link. If you use the translations from the Chinese link I posted earlier in this thread, you get translations for that gamut chart. And it mimics the HiColor charts from AUO, remember -- only does one better and says this screen reaches 100% of the NTSC gamut and not 92%.

I really do think that this is a HiColor FullHD with some newer technologies that the current FullHD does not have. Of course, things are complicated by the fact that the Japanese have always had TV tuners in their FWs so the discussion of video and automatic controls for viewing each program, etc. does complicate the analysis a bit. What would make sense is that it is an LED HiColor -- and that would explain the disappearance in the states of the RGB LED on the AW. Transition time into a new screen type.

Interesting that the F10 zoom is mentioned right in the ad (I've had to post zooming recommendations a gazillion times when people start freaking over the small text of the higher resolution screen). But it does indicate that Sony Japan is addressing that worry head-on, unlike Sony USA.

Seriously, this is Sony, Sony Japan, for the first time posting a gamut chart and bragging about the 100% NTSC gamut. (I've been attacked on these threads many times because I wasn't able to show more than "color fidelity" or "color purity" with the 100% preface in the Sony ads -- but now we have the real deal, a gamut reference in an ad, from Japan, no less!)

So, yeah, I think it's a different screen. I'm betting it acts more like the HiColor on the FW190 but with a higher resolution and, as the site indicates, even better color reproduction. All those on the blogs who have seen the FW190 HiColor and the successor FullHD have noted the distinct differences. So it is likely that the differences between this screen and the current FullHD are serious and discernible.

I suspect that it is possible that the screen is already on the European models. As I have pointed out many times, the Europeans are using the 100% stuff with metaphors for the word gamut ("color fidelity"). That the screen is in China is no surprise because it's in the Asian market, like Japan itself.

The one thing that has my interest piqued is the fact of all the delays on the FW490CTO and the fact that it hasn't appeared on EPEAT when so many other FW490s have. And the esupport.sony.com Website gives full specs for the 490s that are preconfigured, but not for the CTO. And the descriptions offered by some people with the current FullHD use words like "matte" to describe the surface which no one would use about the earlier models.

Are we in the middle of a silent screen shift between models? With some CTOs getting "fill-in" screens while the new ones are being prepared for the American line? Sony and Sharp are in partnership, so who knows?

Unfortunately, all of this "when" is pure speculation. But if I were someone who didn't really need to purchase my computer right now, I would wait two months to see. After all, there was no price increase from the FW3 to the FW4; indeed, the value increased and the price structure went down, while leaving the base model at the same price.

So we know the trend. Nothing to lose; perhaps much to gain.

Hang in there!

 

Ok I'm convinced. The 490 CTO goes back tomorrow. I'll get the refresh.

Thanks Derrida!

 

I just noticed a few other things in that ad. A footnote indicates that the corporate model FW81 has a choice of the LCD Rich Color or an LE liquid crystal. I assume that means an LED.

Also, note that two resolutions are being highlighted, with even more attention given to the 1600x900, but that even the FullHD on the FW93 discussed is called Rich Color (something that has NOT been done in the description of the FullHD stateside).

I tried to get the Chinese link to work to see if the resolution was the lower one or the FullHD (my memory seems to indicate FullHD) but it isn't working ( http://go.notebookreview.com/?id=52...1de8928777e63b0e97wBPQHDk0IUny.jpg/p/FW4.jpg). Perhaps the Chinese took down the site as an infringement of Sony copyright on the ad? I hope it's just that their server is down....

In any event, the ad you posted today would, at the worst, mean that the screen is the HiColor of the FW190 fame (notice the "about" before the 100% translation -- different from the outright 100% on the European sites).

Either way, if it does come stateside, I think the differences will be the source of great praise for Sony. Most people posting on the FW threads have expressed a preference for the HiColor screen AND the lower resolution. It seems that Sony in Japan doesn't make you lose screen quality, only resolution, in the choices. That would make any prospective FW owner happy.

Good luck! Come back and let us know what you think as this all evolves.

 

OH MY GOD!!!

The key words in that Sony Japan ad are: "x.v.Color". This is a future-oriented standard for color that surpasses the Adobe RGB (scroll about midway down this site for a crash course on the different standards: http://www.edepot.com/playstation3.html#PS3_Model_Differences).

Oh, boy. Oh boy. Oh girl. Oh man. Adobe RGB 50% of visible coverage; x.v.Color 63%. Adobe Wide Gamut RGB is a bit higher (used in photography), but a significant percentage is wasted, taking it down close to the x.v.Color percentage of coverage.

x.v.Color: future HD standard.

WOW!!! The translation is garbled. I cannot clearly decipher it. But the fact that Sony is talking about a future standard which is currently not available in screens on laptops and comparing its Japan FW screen as performing close in color response to that playback is FASCINATING.

Yeah, wait...Wait...WAIT!!!

Nowhere in the States has Sony ever brought up its x.v.Color technologies in the context of a notebook.

THIS IS FASCINATING!

 

Well Derrida, I hate to burst your bubble but there are several Sony Color Mode options on my FW490 - Standard, DVD/BD, some other stuff I can't remember and x.v.Color. I tried all of them with the Blu-Ray movie I had and none of them looked that good to me. In fact "Standard" was the best looking. I didn't know anything about x.v.Color at the time, but it didn't look anything special to me when I tried it.

Unfortunately, I already boxed up the 490 but if someone else wants to fool around with the x.v.Color option and see what its about, that would be great.

 

Well Derrida, since you have been so helpful with this question I have, I felt I had to open up the box again, take everything out and take a picture of the Color Mode settings. As you can see x.v.Color is an option.

For the record, it seems to work on some things but not others. By "work" I mean when you change the settings, it actually changes the picture quality better or worse. For instance, it worked on the Blu-Ray I was watching with WinDVD BD but did nothing for the H.264 movie I was watching in VLC.

Again, for the Blu-Ray, I found that "Standard" looked best. The description for "Standard" was something to the effect of "typical computer usage" or something like that.

 

I'm kinda undecided right now. school starts on August 31st and I don't want to take my big desktop to my dorm.

@ Derrida: have you heard of any rumors about the refresh? when did last refresh happen? the FW390CTO?

@ Qaenos: when did you buy it? I made the order on July 31st. Sony has a 30-day return policy right?

Can I return the laptop to a Sony Retailer? I know there's one in Manhattan.

Sony says "RMAs are valid for 30 days from date issued. Ensure we receive your return by expiration date."
Is it the " order date" or " shipping date"?

Also, Windows 7 comes out on October 22, so that could be a factor for the refresh...

 

I bought it on Jul 31 from Sony Style website. Unfortunately, we can only return it to SonyStyle directly. We have 30 days from the time of purchase, so mine goes back tomorrow.

As far as returning it, it's up to you. I mean I love the laptop - except for the screen. The screen is good - just not as great as the one I had on my AR590. Truth of the matter is, if I never had the AR590, I wouldn't be returning this laptop. But there is a disadvantage - the 590 was glossier and thus was harder to look at in certain lighting conditions (like being outdoors). So if you're happy with your laptop and you don't plan on watching too many movies or whatever, I'd say keep it.

Speaking of which, what is your opinion of the screen? You like it? Do you consider it glossy or matte? Have you seen better on a multimedia laptop like this (i.e. the Dell Studio XPS)?

 

so Sony should receive the laptops before August 31st?
We have to pay the shipping cost.
where u live? I live in NYC.
you're planning on regular mail? priority? express?
I have seen dell studio xps' screen at Best Buy, just indoors.
I should try to use mine outside with sunlight to see how it looks.

 

Sony's ads have always been notoriously inaccurate in different countries. Take it with a grain of salt. Again it's absolutely no proof for FWs having different screens.

That's all speculation.

Derrida has been speculating a lot in this thread. As a moderator I can not do anything against it, as much as I would like it. But there's no rule against speculation.

 

First of all, we're talking about Sony Japan, home base, and ads making screen "spec" specific claims which Sony rarely engages in except for its televisions.

Secondly, I have always said that I am engaging in "spec"-ulation -- reasoned and researched speculation, but speculation nonetheless. Never said any of this could be taken to the bank, so to speak. Just giving "If it were me" suggestions.

Lastly, as for "moderator power", I suggest that my own "rep" perhaps reflects my "rep with the moderators". (For more information about the administrative powers of the moderators, see http://forum.notebookreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=15359&d=1203437054 and

"This [image] shows:
The user that left the reputation
The user that received the reputation
The date and time the reputation was left
The amount of reputation this user received
The reason or comment the user giving the reputation left
The post that prompted this user to leave reputation
You may also edit or delete the reputation that was left."
- from "Viewing Reputation Comments" in the vBulletin Manual http://www.vbulletin.com/docs/html/.)

All in "fun", of course, right? ;-) :GEEK:

Have a great day, all, moderator and member alike!

P.S. I see that one of the only two green reps I was allowed to have has just disappeared.

 

On the FW190 HiColor I have here, manufactured last November (Vaio Control Center 3, yours is likely 4), there is no "color mode" setting such as yours. You will recall that the Japanese ad refers to an "automatic" color mode setting which would mean that the computer would make the screen color mode choices for you based on what it was projecting. That seems to me to indicate that there is an additional feature in the management of Japanese FW screens which neither your screen on the FW490 nor this HiColor on the FW190 have.

So, my bubble isn't burst at all. In fact, it's been buttressed my MidtownHD's reminding us that Win7 is due out at end of October and, clearly, every computer manufacturer will need to ship computers with it installed shortly after that, won't it, in anticipation of its competition.

Is it possible that the refresh will have exactly the screen you have? Yes.
But if you don't need to buy a computer now and can wait until the end of October, what will you lose if these "spec"-ulations are incorrect? Most likely, nothing. In fact, you will gain whatever new features and improvements are being planned and likely, given the world economy, no price increase or minimal for your time. Oh, right: you may incur shipping costs (but no restocking fees) -- which is why I suggested you explore whether your screen is defective. No cost on return of a defective model.

My rule of thumb is that you buy a computer when you need it. There will always be refreshes and tweaks and innovations; you can't stop your productivity needs in an eternal chase of the new. So if you need a computer, relax and enjoy the model you have. But if you really can wait, given the constellations of the stars in the universe, it's a possibility that something very nice in the screen department may be in the offing. Or not ;-).

Good luck!

 

Actually the screen shot I submitted shows that in fact the FW490 does do automatic color mode depending on the program (first option in the screenshot). In fact, that it was it is set to at default. But again, what I am saying is that it doesn't seem to be anything too great, IMO.

I hope I didn't sound rude when I said "burst your bubble". I appreciate all the input you have given on this threat. I do think that there may be a new screen, based on some of the things you've pointed out an for that reason I am returning my FW today. I was merely trying to say that the x.v.Color talk on the Japanese FW may not actually be that important, since there is an x.v.Color option on my FW now and it doesn't seem to be anything special.
However, some of the other things you have pointed out, such as the 100% NTSC and the comparisons to the AUO gamut chart, makes me think that a new screen is coming.

 

Why would you want to do anything against speculation? We are speculating on upcoming Sony laptop computers. It's not like Derrida is pretending to have insider information or something.

 

Qaenos:

Thanks for pointing that out about the automatic option on the FW490. I wonder if it's there for the FW390 screen as well? Duh...that I missed it on your screen shot!

You weren't rude at all. And as long as you feel that you checked things out and read around and are making your own decision, you'll be happy with that decision. I simply try to provide some research to help myself and others to take a "stab in the dim" rather than a "stab in the dark" when trying to sense the direction of things.

I think the hardest thing to wrap our minds around is that only a specific model number can be trusted to have the same specs within its model appellation. I remember being so shocked when I compared first-hand multiple products from the same manufacturers in Europe and the States -- hard to believe things could be so different.

As with most product manufacturers, so with notebooks. We can guess from markets and trends within a manufacturer, from its traditions of marketing, etc. but we can't really know for sure until the product is in our hands.

I hope that the future refresh does indeed give us all a fresh-faced screen to look at. It may not, though. But, it will have something to offer that is new and fresh and better, so later is not usually worse than now in the world of technology.

Good luck!

P.S. One little green box has been restored....

 

I just hope in the next refresh they still have the chocolate brown color as an option. In real life it was the best looking laptop I have ever seen, even though it looks horrible on the website.

 

When speculation is confusing members it becomes a problem. In my opinion this has happened. And I actually have proof that this happened. I've already communicated this with other moderators. This is not the place to discuss it.

 

First of all, this is an open forum for opinion so, yes, moderators have the right to their opinions. We are not employees of Sony with access to proprietary information, so we are all engaging in a great deal of speculation in our posts. Speculation is not grounds for retaliation on an open forum; it is a spur for more discussion and the bringing forth of more evidence for clarifications.

If a member is confused by a posting, s/he can post a follow-up question or send private email to the posting member for clarification. I encourage members to contact me if what I have written needs further discusssion or, better yet, to post the query and ask for others to engage my posting for better clarification publicly as well.

Just because a member announces a decision (possibly as a result of thinking about postings other members make) that might not coincide with the decision an individual moderator would make is not formal grounds, in the stated forum policy, for exercizing moderator censorship of reputation (cf. http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?t=115516).

As for the place to discuss this, if the reputation of members were only available to the moderators and each member individually, that would be a reason for private discussion alone. However, the level of reputation is a public matter, and its ups and downs are visible to all members who read a particular posting.

Let us please put this behind us and move on. I consider this to be an unfortunate misunderstanding concerning the application of the formal forum policy and it has been cleared up by the Administrator.

I have a great deal of respect for all of the moderators and the administrators of this forum without exception because they have given evidence, not only of superior knowledge and experience, but of the utmost dedication to the membership of this forum.

Therefore, I want to take this opportunity to publicly thank all of them for their many services from which all of us members continually benefit.

Best wishes....

 

This is not the forum nor thread to discuss forum policies. If you want to discuss those you can open up a thread in the appropriate forum.

This thread is for discussion about the FW490 screen.

 

Moderator Post #81 of this thread effectively launched a "sub-thread" topic by its clear invocation of the NBR's formal policies with respect to the nature of an open forum.

I appreciate the moderator's suggestion that we direct our considerable energies elsewhere.

 

So, about this screen...led or naw? lol

 

All FW screens are CCFL, inspite of Sony's wild marketing claims across varying countries

 

Wouldn't it be nice if a native speaker of Japanese who uses the NBR forum would tell us what that LE means on the site for the current Japanese models? But I digress....

I agree that the marketing appears problematic and incongruent all over the world. But I do not agree that the same brand or type of part is in every FW in the world. The models have different numbers in different countries for a reason -- or three or four or more.

Take EPEAT: It's done for each and every model number separately because only the specs within a model number need be consistent with each other.

And some people who have bought the same model of an FW in the same country report a part by a different manufacturer (note the Fujitsu and Hitachi hard drives that appear interchangeably used on FWs, for example, or the DDR3 vs. GDDR3 VRAM on the HD4650 graphics).

So, to believe that ALL parts of ALL of the FWs of the same (or, as has been claimed here, of all) refresh cycle/s are IDENTICAL to each other is foolhardy --- there is too much evidence to the contrary.

That said, yes, there are curve-balls from marketing errors. But they should not be confused with the principle outlined in the paragraphs above. To do otherwise is to neglect the obvious: that, despite globalization, different countries have different manufacturing requirements which in turn also affect specifications, etc., etc. and just-in-time deals with parts suppliers can effect a shift in specifications as well.

More evidence of model differences in different countries -- here, a 1600x900 (apparently HiColor dual-lamp CCFL) screen offered instead of the single lamp CCFL Eco at the same resolution in the States.

Indeed, the marketing in Malaysia is different as well: there is a contrast drawn between the Rich Colour and the Lite, the latter being for the lower resolution screen. The site linked above is in English originally (so there's no translation interfering) -- and the model numbers are different from those in Europe or in the States.

No idea what a Lite is -- but a Rich Colour has meant in many countries that a dual-lit CCFL was employed, likely with a technology that expands the NTSC spectrum (referred to in many places as HiColor), cf. multiple NBR threads concerning screens on the FW for links to ads from Sony and from the developers of HiColor for more information on these variations.

Of course, generally LED screens weigh less than CCFLs -- so Lite could be a play on words, as well.

In the end, we'll all just have to wait to see what the refresh brings to each of us in our respective countries.

 

The 1600*900 screen offered in Japan is the same screen that was offered in Europe and US.

Sony Japan traditionally offers more options to their customers than Sony Europe or US. Just check out the configuration options on other models.

 

you guys ruined my day haha

i just ordered an fw with an eco screen, and it is building now. is it really that bad? yes i do plan to view hd content and play some games.

it ended up being a $150 upgrade!! i didnt think it was worth it, but i guess it was.

will i feel pain coming from my 16.0" diagonal High Definition HP Ultra BrightView Infinity Display (1920x1080p)?

 

Depends on whether you can tell the difference between average and high contrast. Many people can't.

It's basically a fine screen for watching movies and playing games.