Hi-Color vs. Eco on FW

Hey everyone,

I just picked up the VGN-FW139E from Best Buy for $1080 including tax. I gotta say the laptop is a sexy beast. The only thing I'm kind of worried about is the Eco screen, is the HiColor really that much better? A similarly configured FW with HiColor from the Sony style store costs $1404 after tax. I'm not sure if I can justify spending 324 extra dollars for a screen and would like peoples input. After messing around with the color settings in the Catalyst Control center, I have the Eco looking pretty vibrant. The only thing is that the view angle is somewhat crappy, there is definitely a sweet spot on this thing. Would the HiColor alleviate this? Thanks.

 

If there's one thing Sony does right, whether it's their TVs or their laptops, it's their screens. I'd say don't worry about it too much, because chances are HiColor might solve your problem, but you probably have a pretty nice display as-is.

 

The vertical viewing angles are better on the double lamp.

Is it worth $324? In my opinion it is not. Unless you are planning to work outside.

You may want to read the FW review for more info about the double lamp screen.

 

How is the backlightning on your Eco, is it even? I'm also thinking about getting the Eco that's why I'm asking.
Also how "crap" are we talking with the viewing angles? Does it distort if you just tilt your head a little?

 

if you do work with photoshop or anything like that or are really into realism, return yours to get the hi color. otherwise, the ECo screens from sony are STILL better than other companies screens, i.e. HP ect... In my opinion.

 

The hi-color screen in this review had a lot of backlight bleeding (when the edges or the corners of the screen are much darker than the rest of the screen) but then again it might just be a problem with that single unit. Have you noticed any backlight bleeding with your screen or is it pretty evenly lit?

 

Here's a picture of the single lamp next to a double lamp:
http://www.imagebam.com/image/47e2e69911525

Both on full brightness, shot with my phone with low qual cam.

 

Thanks for all the input guys. To answer Fredrik's question, the horizontal viewing angles are good, but the vertical angles are a little more troublesome. The higher up you stand the picture washes out more. That said I haven't noticed any backlight bleeding, the light is consistent throughout the screen. Being as this laptop is going to Germany with me from this October to June next year (mostly the cold seasons), I'll probably use this laptop mostly indoors. I hardly ever use photoshop or other visually intensive programs. So all things considered I think this was a good buy.

 

Actually upon closer inspection I noticed that there was a bit of backlight bleeding at the bottom of the screen (its slightly lighter) which was only noticeable when a good amount of the screen is black (in my case watching Star Wars in anamorphic widescreen) has anyone else noticed this?

 

Brighter doesn't mean better. Contrast, shadow detail and overall quality of picture must be better on the Hi Color to spring for it. I work for Tweeter, Sony XBR5's are an easey sale once you point these things out. If it were me, and it may be , i'd spring for Hi Color.

 

The vertical viewing angles on the Eco are poor, in my opinion.

I really wish there were more pre-configured models that had the HiColor screen. Currently there's only one, and it's the $2000+ top of the line model.

 

OK, i went to the sonystyle store today. And compared an ECO fw140d and a
HiColor fw160. Both had the same ATI Radeon HD 3470 and both were obviously Xbrite.

I loaded multiple pictures and compared them side by side in a dark area of the store. Both brightness settings were equal as well and i adjusted the screen to the EXACT same angle. And i just stared at them for at least a half hour at different angles and positions etc.

My conclusion were both screens were EXACTLY the same!! Even if the two were switched. I would not even notice! I even asked my friend and he thought the ECO was the better one when i hid the tags and asked him.

Now i thought that the tag must have been a mistake so i asked the employee who said it was not. Now i dont know if it's supposed to look better while watching movies or something but the screens i found to be extremely similar.

This is for anyone who is having trouble deciding if HiColor makes a difference. I didn't even know there was a HiColor option and regretted my purchase of the ECO model. Now i'm 100% satisfied with my decision. And just for the record, doesn't matter which screen u have because both are equally incredible.

 

Both screens are exactly the same because they are both ECO screens. Take a look at sony support site and you will find out that all FW140 and FW160 are all ECO. The only pre-configured FW that comes with HiColor is FW198UH.

If you go to the store again and you want to find out if both stores are both ECO, click on the Start Menu, type Device Manager in the Search Box, press enter. You may get a message that you can not make any change but that is OK since you only want to see the hardware config but not changing anything. In the Device Manger, scroll down and double click on the Monitor. Click the monitor icon in the directory tree. Click Details tab, click the down arrow key and click hardware id. If both screens say the same hardware id, then both screens are ECO. They are both the same screen.

 

HiColor not available from Sony Canada - so we're out of luck!

 

I'm not impressed with me Eco at all. Move just a TINY bit, and parts of the screen fade dramatically. Loads of light leakage as well, top and bottom of the screen. Do you think it's worth calling up Sony? Maybe it's a defective screen?

 

Good conclusion. As Hendra mentioned above, they ARE exactly the same. Both are Xbrite-Eco screens.

No comment.

 

lol..........

 

So, are the only two differences lower brightness and viewing angles? Is contrast and color reproduction the same?

 

Color reproduction is much better. Contrast ratio is much better. Black is really black, great for watching DVD. It also comes with anti reflective coating so you won't see a reflection of yourself when the background is black. Hicolor is the way to go.

 

Agreed.
I got to compare an AR hi-color next to an FW xbrite eco. While the xbrite eco is a very nice screen, the hi-color's better quality was immediately noticeable.

My top priority for a new laptop was screen quality. I had no problems justifying the cost of the sony premium nor the cost of the screen upgrade. I'm extremely satisfied with my purchase- I know it would be difficult to find a better screen, especially when considering a reasonably close cost comparison.

 

lol, since so many other people are saying they were both ECO, they probably were. Just makes me think how retarded sonystyle is for writing hicolor on an ECO screen. I'm also pissed at them cause they didn't have the **** case i needed.