HP Radiance Display

The HP Radiance Display. The Envy 13 comes with it. And the Envy 13 is the only one with it. Here are the stats: 13.1-inch TFT LCD, LED backlight, 1600×900 resolution, brightness of 410 cd/m2, 82% color gamut, 8ms response time. Some call it the best notebook display:

• “This display uses new technology that HP couldn’t share, and it is simply the most vivid, bright display I have ever seen on any notebook. HP insisted it is twice as bright as normal laptop displays, and I think that is accurate. I actually believed it was a photograph that had been slyly super-imposed on the screen, until I got to play with it to very it was really that vivid. There is no way to adequately describe this screen, it must be seen to fully appreciate what HP has done. The screen along makes me want one of these badly.” – jkOnTheRun

• “The HP Radiance display is twice as bright as other notebook displays in its class – 410 nit (a measurement of display brightness) – and provides an exceptional movie and photo experience, even in high ambient light conditions. With 82 percent color gamut (versus standard 45-60 percent), photos appear richer with amazing color depth. Additionally, with fast 8-millisecond response time, customers can view movies with TV-like performance.” – HP

• “… the Envy 13 has the best display I have ever seen on a notebook and is the only notebook with the HP Radiance Display which delivers vivid color quality. If you have seen an HP DreamColor monitor you will think the Envy 13 has a DreamColor monitor that is how good the Radiance Display is.” – HardwareGeeks

• “Dubbed the HP Radiance, the 410 nit display has an 82 percent color gamut (versus standard 45-60 percent). Not only are viewing angles good, but colors just pop and are incredibly bright. Compared to the 15-Inch MacBook Pro, the Envy looked crisper and more vivid, though the MacBook looked more natural. While my eyes didn’t hurt after about six hours of consistent use, I was warned that the increased dots per inch could be hard on the eyes over a longer period of time.” – Gizmodo

I’ll be looking into who the LCD panel manufacturer is and why the technology is limited to 13.1-inch.

Update 2009.10.01 4:37pm PDT: According to John Jacobs, Director of Notebook Market Research at DisplaySearch, a dear friend who knows more about notebook PC displays than anyone I know, the 13.1-inch LCD panel is most likely from Toshiba. The LTPS (Low Temperature Poly-Silicon) LCD is very light at just 162g and makes use of either a RGB or RGBW LED backlight for the much-higher-than-standard 82% color gamut. The LCD panel is light due to the very thin LCD glass being used: 0.2t, 0.25t or 0.3t. This LCD panel is most likely manufactured at Toshiba’s Singapore LCD fab (730×920 mm) that can cut 12 pieces with a glass efficiency of 95% or more; that just means Toshiba doesn’t waste much glass when making this 13.1-inch panel.