Compatible laptop screens, what is it about?

The term "compatible" replacement screen is often used within the laptop screen industry, but what exactly does this mean - and does it mean we are going to get a cheap copy of the original screen we had?

Understanding how laptop manufacturers build machines

The term "laptop manufacturer" is slightly misleading as really these companies are simply "assemblers" of machines. The individual components or parts of the laptop such as the keyboard, memory and hard disk drive are purchased from other equipment manufacturers (or OEMs). The hard disk may be manufacturered by Seagate or Western Digital for example, the power supply by Delta Electronics, china, the processor by Intel and of course the display inside the laptop will also come from various sources. Your laptop maker will simply assemble parts to make a laptop of the specification advertised but they do not make these parts themselves. They also do not make the screens!

When designing a laptop, the manufacturer will have a specificaion that the machine has been designed to. The laptop may for example include a 3.0 GB/sec 500GB SATA2 hard disk. This is the published specificaion of the hard disk, the size and speed. In the first quarter of the first year of manufacture, the laptop makers were purchasing Seagate hard disk drives, in the 2nd and 3rd quarters of the same year, Seagate were unable to supply the volume of disks required and so the manufacturers fitted Western Digital drives of the same specificaion. The same thing happens with the screens inside the machines.

If you take two of the same make and model of laptop and disassemble them, you will notice that they will have different parts inside them. In the same way there will be various models of replacement laptop screen that meet the specifications required for the laptop. This is why they do not publish the make and model of the parts such as the hard disk drive or laptop screen, but only the specificaion such as HD 1366x768, Glossy and LED backlit.

What are compatible screens?

All screens, including the original in your laptop are "compatible" screens.

Compatible screens are replacement laptop screens that would be used by the manufacturer of your laptop. This means a replacement screen of the same or higher specification than the original screen. This means the same replacement screen that would be fitted now by the manufacturer of your laptop. Compatible does not indicate a sub standard quality.

Because the availability of screens fluctuates, part numbers supplied by laptop screen suppliers vary on a weekly basis. You may be sent a Chunghwa replacement screen (used in many Sony machines), an AUO AU Optronics screen (AUO are one of the largest panel suppliers to the laptop industry), an LG Philips screen or a Samsung screen for example. All of these screens will be certified genuine replacement parts for your laptop and will operate at the specification required by the manufacturer.

Why can´t I have the exact replacement?

Sometimes you can, especially if your laptop is very new, however, laptop screens become obsolete very quickly and replaced by newer versions or models of the same screen. This is of course usually a good thing as improvements come with newer versions of the same screen.

Sometimes manufacturers like Samsung for example simply stop producing a screen and then an identical model from another manufacturer has to be sourced. Many laptops are more than 2 years old, these machines original screens will not be available anymore. This is usually not a problem as there are many genuine compatible replacement screens that can be used in the machine. 

For example, a laptop with a 15.4" WXGA 30 PIN GLOSSY screen (very common) will take over 500 different part numbers, from various manufacturers such as:

AU OPTRONICS B154EW01 V.1, V.2, V.3 etc

AU OPTRONICS B154EW02 V.1, V.2, V.3 etc

AU OPTRONICS B154EW03 V.1, V.2, V.3 etc

SAMSUNG LTN154AT10, LTN154AT07, LTN154AT08

LG PHILIPS LP154WX5 (TL) (B1), LP154WX4 (TL) (C8), and hundreds of other models

CHI MEI N154I3 L01, N154I3 L02, N154I3 L03 and hundreds of other models

All the screens above will operate identically and it will be an impossibility to tell them apart when fitted and operational.

What makes the screen "compatible"

To be a "compatible" screen the display must

- Be of the same physical dimensions as the original
- Be of the same resolution as the original
- The finish can be MATTE or GLOSS
- The viewing angles and contrast ratio must be the same or better

In short, the display must be as good or better than the original for it to be a compatible replacement laptop screen.

Conclusion

Remember that all screens are made in the far east, China, Singapore and the Philippines. If you see "made in Asia" this is normal for all replacement panels. 

Remember that the laptop manufacturers do not make the screens, there is no such thing as a genuine replacement DELL laptop screen or a genuine replacement Sony laptop screen. These organisations do not make screens.

Remember that laptop panel suppliers buy directly from the manufacturers, the same laptop panels that are fitted to the laptops in the authorised repair centres. 

Remember that for a replacement screen to function in your laptop it must meet the specificaions of the laptop in terms of colour depth, resolution and refresh rate.