Beware of HP laptops deceptive marketing! Read this first before buying any HP laptop

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whitestar_999

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I was searching for a 15.6" laptop model with good configuration & most importantly a good screen because that is the part of any laptop one spends most of their time looking at while using the laptop. There are 3 main types of laptop screens which are:
a) TN panel(worst side viewing angles aka pictures turn ghost like if seen from any angle other than straight front)
b) IPS panel(widest viewing angles, the same screen which most ppl have their mobiles bought in recent years)
c) VA panel(wider viewing angles than TN panel but lesser than IPS panel, mostly used in LED TVs like VU budget range nowadays)

While searching I came across this HP laptop model on amazon with quite good configuration for its price.
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But then I saw this review:
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I checked in Q&A section & there also HP official support said the same thing:
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I was also under the impression till reading the above review that SVA in HP laptops was supposed to be VA panel but after reading the review I realized that I was mistaken & it is just a fancy name by HP for TN panel. Now if it was any other name I wouldn't have been so annoyed but this is 100% deceptive marketing by HP to name their TN panel as SVA clearly trying to mislead customers into believing that SVA is based on superior VA panel technology. No other laptop manufacturer in India indulge in such kind of deceptive marketing, at worst they simply don't mention at all whether their laptop screen is TN or not.

I have decided not to buy any HP laptop now or in foreseeable future & will also not recommend it to anyone even if they have some good models because it is not like HP make some unique config model whose equivalent can't be found from other manufacturers. If you are going to give away your money then at least don't give it to a company that indulges in such deceptive marketing. I am making this thread sticky at least for next few weeks to help people avoid falling into this trap of HP during upcoming major sales in next few weeks.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
AFAIK, there aren't any VA panels for laptops.

Yes, SVA is indeed TN. That is why I always recommend HP 14 instead of 15 as 14 has an IPS panel & backlit KB vs 15. Almost all manufacturers do deceptive marketing. Not much you can do other than better research. I will continue recommending HP 14 as it is still a great laptop for most people at 38k/48k for R3/R5 variants.
 
Desmond

Desmond

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I was reading this article - What Is a VA or SVA Display? A Basic Definition

According to this it seems like SVA is not really TN. If HP is really misattributing TN as SVA then that probably is a huge false advertising issue.
 
OP
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
omega44-xt said:
Almost all manufacturers do deceptive marketing.
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But no one as deceptive as this stuff by HP. Asus either call their screens "IPS level"(basically IPS only but because of trademark with LG cannot directly say IPS as most likely these screens are manufactured by samsung) or don't mention anything beyond nits & backlit screen. Acer call their ips screens as IPS or don't mention anything beyond basic info of nits & maybe brightview etc. Same case with lenovo. Dell call their "good screen" WVA(wide viewing angle which again presumably imply IPS screen & the similarity between this & HP acronym can also be seen here with HP obviously on the wrong side) while no specific info about other screens missing this WVA. HP is the only laptop manufacturer with "IPS screens" & "SVA screens".
@Desmond
 
DestGod

DestGod

Journeyman
whitestar_999 said:
But no one as deceptive as this stuff by HP. Asus either call their screens "IPS level"(basically IPS only but because of trademark with LG cannot directly say IPS as most likely these screens are manufactured by samsung) or don't mention anything beyond nits & backlit screen. Acer call their ips screens as IPS or don't mention anything beyond basic info of nits & maybe brightview etc. Same case with lenovo. Dell call their "good screen" WVA(wide viewing angle which again presumably imply IPS screen & the similarity between this & HP acronym can also be seen here with HP obviously on the wrong side) while no specific info about other screens missing this WVA. HP is the only laptop manufacturer with "IPS screens" & "SVA screens".
@Desmond
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Well, it isn't the first time a manufacturer has tried to stiff a customer. Take MSI and Dell for example.
MSI once designed a laptop (Bravo 15 i think) that effectively blocked off its exhaust fans with its back cover, making it a hot box.
Dell has been known for crap pre built proprietary parts (a relative's laptop has 2666Mhz Memory paired with an i5 1135G7) and even worse billing service.
At this point, one would have to be a teck geek before buying a laptop.
 
OP
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whitestar_999

Super Moderator
Staff member
DestGod said:
Well, it isn't the first time a manufacturer has tried to stiff a customer. Take MSI and Dell for example.
MSI once designed a laptop (Bravo 15 i think) that effectively blocked off its exhaust fans with its back cover, making it a hot box.
Dell has been known for crap pre built proprietary parts (a relative's laptop has 2666Mhz Memory paired with an i5 1135G7) and even worse billing service.
At this point, one would have to be a teck geek before buying a laptop.
Click to expand...
Yeah but screen is something very basic & which everyone can understand courtesy the ips screen in mobile phones which has become the norm. You spend 40k on a laptop thinking it is good but then find out its screen is worst than your 10k mobile.
 
Gollum

Gollum

Collector
I know it's an old thread but let me clarify.
SVA is Standard viewing angle
UWVA is ultra wide viewing angle

SVA is indeed a TN panel.
UWVA is IPS

It's not deceptive, it's a problem of a technical kind.

To a layman, any laptop screen is good. But to us technical folks this is not acceptable.

However, a wise option would be to call the tech support and confirm.

Additionally, for anyone buying any laptop of any brand, check the color gamut.
It should be 72% ntsc/100%srgb to get the best colour.

IPS isn't Always the best panel. To save costs and to market the product some companies sell 6bit colour depth IPS panels which have 45% NTSC colour range. This panel will have the viewing angles of IPS but the colour range of a TN panel. It will look faded/pale.

SVA/TN is rare in 2024. If you find one, it would be only on HP essential series laptops. These are the cheapest ones in their lineup. Not worth buying IMO.

Anything in the Pavilion, Envy, Spectre, Victus, Omen linup is either IPS or OLED.

Additionally, select Envy, Spectre and Omen PC's are shipping with IMAX enhanced IPS or OLED panels. These have 10-but colour depth, support HDR and are just mind blowing up look at.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
My previous company gave me a Dell latitude laptop with a 768p TN panel. It had an i5 1235U CPU, so not old. Many non-tech savvy colleagues were not sure why the display was bad or would mention something like "graphics" of the laptop as bad. So, yeah, TN still exists when 65% sRGB 1080p IPS panels have gotten so cheap.
 
RumbaMon19

RumbaMon19

Feel Pain.
SaiyanGoku said:
TFT and TN panel production should die already.
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TFT panels are not going anywhere atleast for the next 10 years. As their requirement is increasing. Apart form Laptops, Almost all consumer electronics like - Car Infotainment, Washing Machines with Touch display, Samsung Smart fridge, Ovens, Control panels on CNC machines, Anything where you see a small touch screen, it is TFT. They are perfect to be used in place where color reproduction doesnt matter and touch screen is needed solely for comfort of user.
 
omega44-xt

omega44-xt

Gear up ...
Desmond said:
How do you check this? Especially before buying.
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If not mentioned in specs, have to search online. Most IPS panels are 65% sRGB these days, so assume that if not mentioned, which is actually good for most. I can easily live with a 65% sRGB IPS, but TN just looks bad.
 
Desmond

Desmond

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I see my monitor has 95% P3 colour gamut.

It appears it's a different colour space from sRGB. Not sure how to convert it to sRGB.
 
thetechfreak

thetechfreak

Legend Never Ends
Desmond said:
I was reading this article - If HP is really misattributing TN as SVA then that probably is a huge false advertising issue.
Click to expand...
maybe it's to blame their AMZN listing rather than anything. Maybe the actual product catalog doesn't describe this?
 
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