Z Owners: Any regrets with 1920x1080p? Any regrets with 1600x900p?

Hi All. I ordered a Z12 yesterday. I wanted the 1600x900 screen but the Sony rep pushed the 1080p. He said that he'd seen it and it looked great with the resolution set to 1600x900. I was a pretty easy sell as I've been curious as to what the Full HD screen would look like. It ships on July 5th.

However, I'm feeling a ting of regret. I know that if I don't like it I could ship it back but I'm not a "buy it and if it doesn't fit; send it back" type of person. I hate the inefficiency, the wasted time, and the fact that Sony, like all businesses, probably factors the costs of these returns of perfectly good machines and passes those costs on...usually to the consumer in the form of higher margins created by higher sales prices or cheaper components. (Not passing judgment because an argument can be made the other way considering the way many corps. abuse the consumer…but just not for me.)

So having said that I thought I'd try to get some feedback from you folks regarding your experience. I will most be working on docs, email, surfing, and watching the occasional video and blu-ray.

What do you think of your screen? Based on your feedback I'll make a decision as to whether to cancel the order (before it ships) and get the 900p or I'll let it ride.

Thanks.

 

Stick with the 1080. You have something that very few people in the world have so enjoy it.
Personally I have the 900 (which I like very much) mainly because I am in the u.s. and to get the 1080 here requires buying the signature edition for $4500 (ouch).

I do have one question for you. I am curious as to why you chose to run at the non-native 1600x900 resolution instead of using the dpi scaling (which should give superior results).

 

Oscar2 thanks for the reply. Hope all is well in SD. Moving back to LA soon. I have a numbr of clients in SD. To answer your question: I have received the unit yet. The Sony rep suggested I get it since it is a free upgrade. He suggested the 1600x900. I tried that on my 1080p F and it changes the size of the landscape so I don't think that's an option. He never suggested trying another dpi, I leared about that from you guys. I have a Z890 and I can see everything fine so I'm hoping the 1080p with 125% dpi will work too. Thx.

 

I also wonder about bumping up the DPI to make make everything larger, but my concern is: what happens if you connect it to a large external monitor? Then isn't everything too big?

I've got a thread about this here if anyone cares to comment on the issue.

 

^Yes, and I answered you in your other thread as well. If you increase the font size it will affect all displays.

 

Right -- which is not good.

Anyway, I don't want to hijack this thread.

 

I love my 1080p screen!

 

I'm about to buy one. I was waiting for the 1080p version. Not because of high def, but I need the screen real estate.

 

Thanks Guys. Redline based on my usage do you think I'll love mine? I have a 1080 Vaio F...the text can get pretty small even on a 16.4" screen.

 

The 1080 might a bit challenging for those with poor eye sight, but if thats not the case, its a work of art. And a must if you get the Bluray option.

 

It's not a must for Blu-ray; HD movies will look equally stunning resized down to 1600x900.

 

Well I got the Blu-Ray player because Blu-Ray's are just stunning on my Z890 and I expect them to be more so on the Z12. I don't know about downloading Hi-Def movies and whether they're of the same quality as Blu-Ray, I suppose I should join Netflix ot find out. The guys at AVS Forum seem to think that downloads as they are now can't approach the clarity, color saturation and crispness of sound hat a Blu-Ray can deliver. Anybody try both?

 

For me it is, and I do see a dif between 1080 and 720.
So....

 

Thanks for the encouragement.

 

so your getting it too with the 1920x1080?

 

Yes, I am. It's supposed to be shipped on the 5th. Just wanted some reassurances prior to shipping in case I thought I should cancel and reorder prior to the shipping date.

 

Go for it!!! That use to be like an option on the ultra expensive signature. Very few 13" have that, its stunning!

 

Are you saying that you see a difference between 1080p movie on a 1920x1080 screen vs. 1080p movie on a 1600x900 screen at 24 frames per second?

That would imply you can see the difference between this and this pics. One of them is a 1920x1080 picture, the other is a copy, resized down to 1600x900 and upscaled back to 1920x1080.

The difference is negligible.

 

Yeah, it's most likely a good decision.

Look at it this way, if you get 1600x900, you'll always wonder, what if, knowing you gave up a higher resolution for free.

Get the 1920x1080 and you'll learn to deal, even if you have to change DPI scaling or whatever. At least you'll know you have the top end model that no one can beat.

 

that second one is clearer for me. is it the original or upscale?

 

The 2nd one is the original.

Now think about how long it took you to see the difference and how pronounced it really is, and decide if having a 1920x1080 screen instead of 1600x900 is an absolute "must" for 1080p content at 24 fps.

P.S. The original 1080p shot is actually a downscaled version of a 3345x1882 jpeg; most Blu-ray movies are actually not such high quality (very close to it though).

 

Cool. Thanks Dude.

 

like right away? It loaded a bit slow and i saw the difference in details first. the overall image, after firefox resized was very comparable though

 

Do you mean that you see a difference on the 13" screen or do you mean it as a general statement about 720p display devices in general vs 1080p ones.

 

I was speaking in general. I find the dif bwteen 720 and 1080 noticeable. I have seen both screens on the Z, but not side by side doing blu ray in 720 and 1080.
based on what I have seen on monitors and plasmas and lcd, there will be a dif on the 13", but it wont be dramatic.

 

But the question here is 1600x900 vs. 1920x1080, so what does 720p have to do with anything?

 

13" 1080p is basically rendering too small fonts and it really makes your eyes tired quickly and causes myopia.

 

I though it was going to be really small. But when i first got it it seemed big (125% DPI) but then i flipped it to 100% DPI and it got smaller, but actually after half an hour i got used to it.

Really weird, it seems really small at first, but after a while the rest just seems way too big (instead of this being really small hehe).

Really a ''must buy'' part for this notebook ^^

 

On my 1080p screen (F Series) sites are rendered as they are designd to be. On my 1600x900 Z the sites aren't scaled and I have to scroll down to take them all in.

 

I just bought a Z1 with the 1080 screen and already had one with the 900 screen (I'll be having to sell that one now). Before it goes, does anyone have any suggestions for comparison photos I could take for you all? I was thinking some with identical images displayed and at various horizontal and vertical viewing angles, comparison of screen brightness. Any other ideas?

 

Thanks paradyne hat would help quite a few people a lot. There's plenty of data about performance but precious little that I can find regarding 1080p down scaled to 1600x900 or at 125% and how it affects usability. Hoe do you like the 1080p? I imagine I'll have to try one of the above or use the zoom feature for some sites.

 

I love the 1080 screen, I should have bought it first time around as one of my main interests is running Visual Studio for which you can never have enough space.

I use a mixture of default font sizes/100% dpi so that all the window titles/toolbars/menu bars etc. are compact and then for the main work or web pages I get the choice as required of more visible content or larger fonts with more pixels in them so they look better defined. For web pages, all the browsers do a great job of scaling easily to any size you want so again I can vary that on a page by page basis depending if I want to see more or read lots easily. Windows lets you pick the fonts and sizes for menus/icons/message text/title bar etc. all individually if you find the well hidden dialog box for it.

But don't let that put anyone off the 900 screen, which is also amazing. There is no other laptop with a 13.1" 1600x900 and many people seem happy with low res 1366x768 displays so the Z is in a different league with either screen.

One tip here, when you get your new 1080 Z and change it to 100% dpi you wil open a menu somewhere and go "oh yuck! that looks like tiny tiny crap!". This is because Sony set the dpi to 125% but also reduced the font size for menus etc. (at least on the default Sony desktop theme anyway). You have to change it back from 8pt to 9pt at least. After a fresh Windows install that's what it would be.

Hopefully I can take some comparison photos this week and I'll post details back here. I remember the hours I spent agonising (more so for my GF who had to listen!) over the same decision so hopefully I can save someone else from that!

 

1600x900 is wow enough for me and just perfect

 

That's good feedback. I too will be giving feedback about the ease of use of the 1080p vs the 900p (have the Z890). Where does one find the font size for menus? Can it be changed permanently?

Thank you.

 

Can you please do the following shots, both from a distance (fit entire screen) and up close:
-1920x1080 resolution, 100% DPI scaling, windows explorer with some files/text
-1920x1080 resolution, 120% DPI scaling, windows explorer with some files/text
-1920x1080 resolution, 125% DPI scaling, windows explorer with some files/text
-1600x900 resolution on 1920x1080 screen, 100% DPI scaling, windows explorer with some files/text
-1600x900 resolution on 1600x900 screen, 100% DPI scaling, windows explorer with some files/text

Thanks a lot!

Edit: Never mind about using a browser, I think it may not scale with DPI properly, so it's probably better to use Windows Explorer or something. Anything, as long there's some text there.

 

Change Windows fonts

 

Thank you.

 

Just got my z12, 1080p is awesome and very readable for me!! I have perfect vision though

 

I was gonna buy the 1080p until I saw them side-by-side. 900p's max brightness was a stage higher than the 1080p. Colors seemed more vivid and saturated. I don't care about the gamut palette to be honest. The better screen is the one that looks better to me when I look at it. So I changed my mind from buying the 1080p and bought the entry model with 900p. That saved me a LOT of cash. After 2 months of intense usage, I'm very content with my decision today.

(Note that I bought the European version. Panels might vary according to regions.)

 

Nevermind, after 30 minutes of use my eyes hurt like a mf'er. I had to change resolution to 900

 

lol So much for perfect vision. Maybe it takes time to get used to?

 

What dpi settings are you running at? Are you at the default of 125%?

 

125 6aa6a6a

 

So even at 125% it was hurting your eyes? (I don't know what you mean by 6aa6a6a )

Then you switched to the non-native 1600x900. At that point are you still at 125% on the dpi?

 

OK back to 1080p with 125% dpi. I finally found the problem. The stupid VAIO Control Center had autobrightness on, so it was extremely dim. Turned it off and I can see pretty well now. I was getting really pissed cause I couldn't figure out why it was so damn dark at 100% brightness.

 

Ah, that makes sense now. You couldn't see, so you typed "125 6aa6a6a" then posted that by mistake.

 

Look, i you're gonna spend $2000+ on a laptop, you're obviously doing that requires lots of open windows/cells/pallettes etc.....

So 1920x1080 screen is def right at this price point. In fact, it's the 1920x1080 screen that tipped me in favor of a Z12 over a 15" MBP.

 

I'm sure the 6aa6a6a was to fulfill the 10char minimum here

 

lol I like tofus take better but I think yours is the correct one.

 

paradyne. PLEASE take some pictures/video of how a program looks in visual studio.

us programmers get no love in tech reviews, benchmarks, etc.