Hp 20.1 Inch Pavilion Blu-ray Notebook Is The Best Notebook Computer So Far

[HDTV1080P]

I just had the opportunity to borrow for a while and configure a HP 20.1 inch Pavilion Entertainment Notebook. The 20.1 Inch HP Notebook fully loaded costs over $4,000 if one selects the best options. The Notebook I used was fully loaded with the most powerful options. It has the BLU-RAY drive with Windows Vista Ultimate 64 bit, 4GB of RAM, 1920 X 1200 20.1 inch screen, 2.8GHZ processor, 7200RPM hard drives, etc. Just after my friend received his new HP Notebook with a 256MB graphics card, HP is now offering for another $250 a 512MB graphics card option. I am sure he would have went with a 512MB card but it was not a option at the time when he ordered. Computers change fast.
HP is the only Notebook manufactory that offers a 20.1 inch screen with a 1920 X 1200 resolution. Dell and everyone else’s 20.1 inch Notebooks do not offer that good of resolution unless you choose the 17 inch size in a Dell or Sony. Also HP is the only company that offers 64bit Windows Ultimate installed. If you get a Sony or Dell it ships with 32 bit Windows. Of course with Vista Ultimate 64 bit Edition or any other 64 bit version of Windows you need to make sure hardware like printers and external trackballs have 64 bit drivers for them. My friend had a Canon laser printer that only worked with 32 bit windows. He ended up buying a new HP laser printer. HP and Lexmark make 64 bit drivers for their printers. So as long as one makes sure their hardware they plan on using supports 64 bit windows then that is the way to go. Vista 64 bit recognizes 4GB or more memory and also runs faster compared to 32 bit Vista.
The HP Notebook was amazing. I watched Casino Royale on BLU-RAY from about a foot away from the 20,1 inch Notebook screen that supports full 1080P. The level of detail was excellent. Seating a foot away from a 20.1 inch screen felt like I was in a miniature movie theater. Once the operating system loaded it took less then 10 seconds for the BLU-RAY disc to load. Of course using a 2.8GHZ processor and 4GB of memory allows things to move faster. The Notebook also has an ATSC/NTSC/FM tuner built in. The in the clear ATSC channels looked good with the included indoor ant. As soon as I hooked up a better indoor antenna the Notebook tuner pulled in more HD and SD digital channels.
The HP 20.1 inch Notebook with full 1080P support and 7.1 surround sound options is the best entertainment Notebook out there for BLU-RAY watching. Of course the Notebook is not perfect. The HD tuner card built in only supports analog cable TV and no QAM tuner to receive in the clear HD channels over cable. The ATSC tuner worked fairly good. This is an ideal Notebook for portable BLU-RAY watching if you do not mind traveling with a large size Notebook.
There is always room for improvement. Currently all the Notebooks I have tested including HP only support 60HZ output for BLU-RAY. The native 1080P/24 signal is displayed on the screen at 60HZ. The HDMI output supports 1080P/60 but no 1080P/24. It would be nice if desktop and Notebook monitors would start supporting 24fps at multiplies of the original frame. Even though the Notebook has a 7.1 surround sound it does not support advanced audio formats like DTS HD master audio. Most people will already have a standalone BLU-RAY player, primary use of this Notebook is for someone that wants the best quality for portable BLU-RAY watching while at the same time having a powerful portable entertainment PC to use. This top of the line HP Notebook with DDR2 memory was fast but if one does not need portability a high –end desktop computer with DDR3 memory would be a better choice. Desktops are more powerful and cheaper then Notebooks. With Notebooks one is paying for the small size.

[w_tanoto]

I owned this since october 2007 (see my sig), comes with HD DVD. I replaced it with BD. I prefer nVIDIA 8800 (now offered), but unfortunately I got ATi (which is said to be better for BD playback)

When both BD and nVIDIA comes to UK, I will sell my notebook and buy the version that uses BD and nVIDIA

this is by far the best notebook (even I missed nVIDIA). BD, as I said has replaced HD DVD in my laptop

[HDTV1080P]

My friend’s top of the line HP Notebook that he paid over $4,000 for does not appear to be that reliable. In a little over a month the BLU-RAY drive completely stopped working for the BLU-RAY section and the blue touch controls with finger print reader is currently no longer working. I verified the BLU-RAY drive section is defective after hours of troubleshooting. It will no longer read any BLU-RAY disc. The drives red laser for CD’s and DVD’s is still working fine.
This is very disappointing; perhaps a Dell might have been more reliable.

[w_tanoto]

Originally Posted by HDTV1080P

My friend’s top of the line HP Notebook that he paid over $4,000 for does not appear to be that reliable. In a little over a month the BLU-RAY drive completely stopped working for the BLU-RAY section and the blue touch controls with finger print reader is currently no longer working. I verified the BLU-RAY drive section is defective after hours of troubleshooting. It will no longer read any BLU-RAY disc. The drives red laser for CD’s and DVD’s is still working fine.
This is very disappointing; perhaps a Dell might have been more reliable.

here is what you should do when the blue touch button stopped working: unplug everything fron your laptop, including batteries, then re-plug it afterwards. It will work again. (Unfortunately I experienced the same thing )

[Justice]

I'd like to see something similar but smaller. 20" is too big for a laptop. I can get a top of the line imac for $3500 with the same specs. I just can't justify having that big of a laptop to lug around. but i guess its not meant to be portable at that size. I have a 17" laptop and its size and weight alone are to much, it was cool a few years ago but now it's just to big. 15" is the biggest i'll go from now on. Imagine being on a airplane and trying to open that thing up.

[HDTV1080P]

UPDATE

The HP 20.1 inch Pavilion notebook is still the best BLU-RAY Notebook on the market. My prior comments regarding the BLU-RAY drive being defective is correct. After the installation of service pack 1 for Vista Ultimate 64 bit Edition the BLU-RAY drive started working perfectly for a while but still has probelms reading BLU-RAY discs. When the BLU-RAY drive does work it loads all BLU-RAY discs now in 10 seconds or less. Also the latest Quickplay software supports bonus view encoded BLU-RAY discs. The bonus view feature appeared to work 98% correctly with no major problems.
The BLUE buttons on the Notebook still do have a problem of completely not working. To solve the problem one has to turn the computer off for a while and sometimes flip the computer over and remove the battery to reset the computer motherboard.

[w_tanoto]

I got no problem from the beginning. Maybe because my drive isn't optiarc. I bought the drive myself and installed it myself to replace that inferior HD DVD since day 1 I bought the laptop. I already knew HD DVD was heading towards its doom by that time

[HDTV1080P]

Originally Posted by w_tanoto

I got no problem from the beginning. Maybe because my drive isn't optiarc. I bought the drive myself and installed it myself to replace that inferior HD DVD since day 1 I bought the laptop. I already knew HD DVD was heading towards its doom by that time

I revised my update on the issue with the HP 20.1 inch Notebook my friend owns. The installation of service pack 1 for Vista had nothing to do with the BLU-RAY drive starting to work again. What caused the confusion is the BLU-RAY drive decided to start working again for a few weeks after service pack 1 was installed. Now even with Vista Service pack 1 installed the BLU-RAY drive is still not working all the time. One can take the same exact movies that they played in it before that has a perfectly clean disc surface with no finger prints and the drive will not read the discs at all.
After several hours of troubleshooting I have isolated the problem to a defective drive. It is a intermit problem with the BLU-RAY optics deciding to work sometimes and not working other times. The red laser DVD-ROM and CD-ROM discs work 100% of the time. My friend is going to get another BLU-RAY drive as a replacement. In fact HP has had the drive on back order for a few months. It really is frustrating this intermit problem. One day the drive works and another day it will not load BLU-RAY discs at all after several attempts. Once the drive is replaced the computer will be more enjoyable.

[HDTV1080P]

I just installed my friend’s replacement BLU-RAY drive yesterday. The HP Notebook is working like new and reading BLU-RAY discs on the first load attempt. Hopefully this BLU-RAY drive which is the same hardware and software version will keep working. The top of the line 20.1 inch HP Notebook is the best on the market for portable movie watching as long as the BLU-RAY drive continues to work.

[quest88]

Originally Posted by Justice

I'd like to see something similar but smaller. 20" is too big for a laptop. I can get a top of the line imac for $3500 with the same specs. I just can't justify having that big of a laptop to lug around. but i guess its not meant to be portable at that size. I have a 17" laptop and its size and weight alone are to much, it was cool a few years ago but now it's just to big. 15" is the biggest i'll go from now on. Imagine being on a airplane and trying to open that thing up.

You can pick one up on ebay for 2500 or less or go on HP'S website and build one for less. I have been thinking about jumping up to the next size and it's great to hear positive things about it. Remember when the 17 inch laptops were " too big" to carry around. Also an IMAC will always be JUST AN IMAC.