Hi-tech Website

We recently wrote an article covering all the great aspects of IPS displays and what the advantages are compared to the standard TN panel display technology used in 99% of laptops.  To summarize the points, IPS display technology such as that seen in the Apple iPad generally have the following benefits:

• Better Color Gamut – An IPS display compared to TN has a much better color gamut.  IPS monitors have true 8-bit color representation while TN is only 6-bits.  
• Better Color Accuracy – It is easier to calibrate an IPS display and get accurate colors on it than a TN panel.  Blacks appear black, reds appear red, whites appear white.
• Better Viewing Angles –  IPS displays can have viewing angles up to 178-degrees wide, while TN panels might be as little as 10 – 15 degrees before color shifting occurs.

Those points are mostly true but there are still varying levels of quality when it comes to IPS displays.  For instance, the recent debacle with the Envy 15-3000 IPS display in which reds are appearing orange would indicate problems can still arise with color accuracy and gamut on a flawed IPS display.   An example of a cheaper type of IPS display is designated as e-IPS, which uses a lower cost manufacturing technique and does not have the same quality as the original s-IPS display.

For the most part there’s a lot to like about IPS displays, the wide viewing angles are especially advantageous for mobile tech screens.  However, there are certain characteristics of IPS that are not good for use in laptops.  Depending on your needs, a cheaper and more traditional TN technology display may actually be better.

More Expensive

IPS Screens cost more due to the more expensive manufacturing technique necessary to product the screen.  Since price is the biggest factor in buying a laptop for most people they might view a $150 upgrade, such as that on the 2012 model HP Envy 15, as being too much or not worth it.  You not only have to consider the fact it costs more to actually buy a new laptop with an IPS screen, but should the screen get damaged or break it’s going to cost a lot more for a screen replacement down the road.

Slower Screen Response Time and Refresh Rate

If you’re into gaming and movie watching then the rate at which a screen refreshes and pixels can change color matters.  The faster the pixel response time the less ghosting and more fluid motion on the screen will appear.  Response time is basically a reference to how fast pixels on the screen change from one color to another and by extension how fast a picture on the screen can change.  Though modern IPS panels have much improved response times, they are still not as fast as TN panels.  If an IPS panel has a slow response time it’s possible that you’ll get ghosting and blurring when watching movies or playing games.

More Power Required for Backlight, otherwise Dimmer Screen

An IPS display requires a stronger backlight to achieve the same level of brightness as that of a TN display.   We won’t go into the technical details of why this is the case, but if you’re interested in the details this article will explain.   Since most people like to have a bright screen, manufacturers often have to compensate by supplying a stronger backlight for an IPS screen and as such the power draw on the battery is increased.  If a stronger backlight is not provided, the effect will simply be a dimmer screen.  So keep in mind, if you see an IPS screen advertised as having a 300-nit brightness level then it will probably only be as bright as a 200-nit TN panel display.

Conclusion

For the most part IPS displays are a beneficial feature to have in laptops and most certainly tablets due to the fact you want to be able to view the screen from any angle and have colors appear the same.  However, as with any technology there are pros and cons and one size does not fit all.  Many people complain about lack of IPS screen availability, but the extra cost for both new and after market IPS panels (for when a screen breaks) can be cost prohibitive to large companies and individual buyers.  Furthermore, those that simply want the fastest response screen available for gaming and movie watching will find that TN panels are the best option.  And if you’re hung up on battery life and find the stronger backlight necessary for an IPS display is increasing power draw on your laptop you may start to view TN panel screens in a more positive light.  No doubt, IPS screens are nice to have, but they’re not perfect and sometimes a TN screen can be a better option even when cost is not a concern.

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We recently reviewed the HP Envy 15-3000, the current 2012 version of the Envy 15, and found there was a lot to like about this sleek and powerful laptop.  One of the features we really liked was the high resolution 1920 x 1080 IPS screen, a $150 upgrade during configuration on HP.com.  IPS screens offer wide viewing angles and are generally preferred by designer types as they keep colors true at varying angles.  But therein lies the rub, colors look the same at different angles but that doesn’t make them “right” if the color calibration is off or something is inherently wrong with the way a screen is reproducing RGB values.  And that is what we’re seeing with the Envy 15, specifically red colors are appearing more orange.

The red looks orange complaint has been reported by Envy 15 owners in various reviews and forums across the web, but owners seem to have different experiences ranging from the problem being barely noticeable to so bad that the only choice is to return the laptop.  We happen to have an Envy 15 and Envy 17 on hand (both the current 2012 models) and so decided to compare the Envy 15 IPS screen to the Envy 17 Radiance 1920 x 1080 screen and see how colors were reproduced using the same images and LCD tests.   These tests are by no means scientific, we don’t have expensive color calibration and testing equipment to quantify results, the results are just what we perceived and a presentation of the evidence we found.  Photos taken used color correction on our camera to make the color differences as close as we could to how they appeared to the naked eye, photos of course still can’t fully capture the in person viewing comparison.

Lagom.nl Color Test

Lagom.nl offers a popular bench of tests and tools that make it possible to adjust and calibrate your monitor.   We used the sites color background wallpapers to compare how different colors appeared on the Envy 15 Vs. Envy 17.  The colors the site uses are not straight red/green/blue but instead “off color” to help show certain differences better.

Purple (#8700FF)

Above you can see the larger Envy 17 on the left and smaller Envy 15 on the right.  Both are displaying a purple color, the hex value is 8700FF and described as an intermediate blue-violet.  To our eyes this color appeared more as a pale blue on the Envy 15 while the Envy 17 clearly showed what most of us would call purple.

Red (#FF0048)

Above you can see the Envy 17 is clearly producing a red/pink/magenta like color.  As humans we all label colors a little differently but I think we can all agree there’s some aspect of red, pink, magenta or violet being seen there.  However, with the Envy 15 screen this FF0048 color is likely going to be called a dark or burnt orange by most people, no hint of pink in there and few would call that red.

Green (#74FF00)

The above green-yellow color is probably what you’d get if you mixed the BP logo colors.  The Envy 17 and Envy 15 are closer on reproducing the same color with this color value, but you can see they’re still not quite the same.  To this eye the Envy 15 looked more yellowish than the Envy 17.  That may be hard to tell from the pictures.

Blue (#0000FF)

Advantages of the Envy 15 Screen (yes, it has some)

While the color comparison tests would tend to make you decide the Envy 17 is clearly the superior screen, you’d be ignoring other aspects such as color contrast and how blacks and whites appear.  As it turns out, the Envy 15 actually does a nicer job of reproducing deep and true blacks, which makes for better color contrast.  When viewing images from the NASA APOD site I found myself much more drawn to the ones on the Envy 15. Looking at them on the Envy 17 felt like looking at them on a computer screen that was a bit too bright and oversaturated. Though the colors were not as vibrant on the Envy 15, they seemed much crisper and the deeper blacks made a big difference. The photos looked much more like actual photos on the Envy 15.

Also, you can’t ignore the fact viewing angles are better on the Envy 15 are simply better.  Check out the image above with the screens tilted back, the Envy 17 (on left) colors distort to the point of being impossible to tell what an image is, the Envy 15 colors hold true and you can still see what’s on the screen when it’s tilted to any angle.

Conclusion

From a personal perspective, I own the Envy 15 and am not returning it.  I’m happy with the screen and enjoy viewing it.  The Envy 15 screen is clearly different to that of the Envy 17.  The Envy 17 has a brighter display and appears to be able to reproduce a significantly broader portion of the RGB color space than the Envy 15.  But I like the color contrast and viewing angles of the Envy 15 screen and the color issues don’t bother me, I only really notice them if I look for them to be honest.  That said, if you’re a designer, photographer or your job in anyway relies on extremely accurate color reproduction on a screen then the Envy 15 color gamut will be an issue for you.  It would be nice if HP were able to address the issue and everything were simply perfect with the Envy 15 screen, and let’s hope they do.  Even now I still recommend the Envy 15 for purchase, and if the color issue is a big deal to you then the Envy 17 could be an alternative if you’re willing to go with a larger laptop.

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If you missed out on the $298 deal on the Lenovo ThinkPad X120e at WalMart.com last week, you’re in luck as there’s another deal that could be even better, you can get the ThinkPad X120e along with a Free printer, case and 4GB USB flash drive for $340 as part of the Wal Mart promotion “Tax Time Laptop Bundle”.  Here’s what you can get for $340:

Basically you’re getting $51 worth of free gear with the X120e, back that out of the cost and you may consider that you’re paying $289 for the laptop and $51 for the rest.  There are some problems with this deal though, there is no 12” sleeve being offered in the bundle that will actually fit the ThinkPad X120e that’s got an 11.6” screen so you have to choose a 15” laptop sleeve.  The HP Deskjet Printer is an extremely cheap one that has been negatively reviewed on Amazon.com as running out of ink fast.  And the 4GB flash drive isn’t exactly big by today’s standards, but you can’t complain too much about something that’s free.

If you don’t need all of that free stuff and already have the accessories you can sell them on eBay or Craigslist and try and convert it to cash.  Consider this though, the X120e laptop itself starts at $399 on Lenovo.com so you’re already getting a good deal even if it were just the laptop.

Deal Link

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