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

[whitestar_999]

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.

But then I saw this review:

I checked in Q&A section & there also HP official support said the same thing:

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.

 

[whitestar_999]

@Desmond @Vyom @omega44-xt @SaiyanGoku

 

[omega44-xt]

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]

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.

 

[whitestar_999]

Almost all manufacturers do deceptive marketing.

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]

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

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.

 

[whitestar_999]

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.

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.