Anyone interested in a Hi-def (1920 x 1200) mod for PB/MBP?

Just wondering if anyone is interested in modifying their PB 15 of MBP to fit a Hi Def display in there. I've had a bit of a look around and I am pretty sure this hasn't been done before (until now) - but I could be mistaken

If there is interest I'll post some pictures and information about how to.

Photo's

Hope this works - I don't use forums very often at all. These are just some screen shots taken a couple of minutes ago.

Details

What would you like to know? There is a great deal of ground to cover on this topic so what would you like to know first?

Around the middle to end of last year I got very sick and tired of waiting for Apple to release a Hi-Def PB. When I recieved a non working one as a gift I got to work trying to figure out if I could make one myself - there were afterall Hi-Def notebooks available but Apple didn't make one. I managed to source a Sharp panel from ebay that was from a Dell. Set me back AU $149- I recieved it and found 2 things (I only bought it as a project) the first was that the connector for the lvds cable was too big and that the display was a 15.4 not a 15.2 as fitted to PB's of the time. Some 8mths or more later and a great deal of mucking about and some very handy Apple anouncments it's almost finished and I'm about to embark on my next project of a 12" PB based tablet (I've gotten sick of waiting for those too.). So if your after more details on how to do it yourself let me know.

It's a frankenbook

It's a frankenbook as some friends have dubbed it. The machine itself is a G4 (Macbooks didn't exist when I started) With a MBP Display housing needed to accomodate the 15.4" LCD rather than a 15.2".

The display closes fine but... the screen is wider than the base and due to there being 2 latches rather than 1 it doesn't latch. This can be fixed however and would cause no issues whatsoever for MBP users because you'd replace a like for like panel.

Having said that I also couldn't care less that the screen is bigger than the body because I use a computer when it's open and you can't notice like that and when you've got this much screen realestate 1.1 MP v 2.3 MP I cannot see any real complaints. The machine was free and I only had to modify 1 machine not 2. When I got it the screen was cracked so why not replace the screen with this one rather than the very overpriced standard one.

With the right parts this mod can be performed in a couple of hours, costs very little, couple of hundred and makes for a very unique machine. Plus having a 23" cinema in your bag is certainly a very handy thing.

More info

blaskillet4 said:

Care to elaborate?

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This display is the same resolution as a 23" Cinema display.

You need a panel, MBP housings, and an lvds cable from the last gen 15" PB (A MBP cable will probably also work). You don't need to cut anything or damage your machine - completely reversable just assemble.

Oh depending on the panel you get there may be some little metal tabs that need to be removed. Pretty easy but I had to wait for Apple to bring out the new PB's (the last ones) in order to get a cable and had to wait six weeks for Apple to ship it (it takes them ages to ship parts for new machines). The display just plugs in and works! Then after trying to mod the exsisting housing Apple released the MBP and after another six week wait I got one of those. Put it together and bobs your uncle. There are a couple of other things to do, you'll need some spacers on the hinges for it to close properly and I still need to figure out a latch.

Oh and if anyone knows the pinout arrangement for the built in isight I would be very appreciative.

wickedG35 said:

That would explain the indented keyboard

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No actually there is nothing wrong with the keyboard - the keyboard isn't at present screwed in properly. There are some very very tiny screws that hold the keyboard in place that have a very thin head and were unfortunatly lost prior to my ownership - Iwas going to order some today but was too busy. Thanks for your good for nothing comment.

wickedG35 said:

Perhaps I was a bit too harsh. I must realize that we ALL can't have macbook pro's. =)

carry on...

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Nooo we can't - that's why I have a QUAD geez I guess we can't all have quads now can we? Now this is turning into a pi**ing match isn't it? Wanna race em? Hedge your bets, oh no thats right yours can run windows - you must be very excited to use the operating system that we've hated for all these years! For ages people have been bitching and moaning about Apple not releasing a High Definition laptop and I am prepared to make one myself and inform others how to do so and this is what I get - some guy who takes so much pride in his fat overweight laptop that he can't see the point. So let me ask you this - Why get the 17" MBP when you can have a 15" cheaper and minus firewire 800 is fuctionally identical apart from being too unwieldily to actually use as a laptop.... Maybe it was the screen size? Hmmm just maybe? End

Unfortunatly I can test the battery because A) The laptop has been inpieces for many a moon thus would have made the already old battery fairly rubbish but it was stolen by a very stupid person who managed to break into my house and take amongst other things my laptop battery but not the matching laptop. However having said that it's useing the same inverter board which powers the display so I'd imagine battery life to be quite similar to the standard screen.

Gokhan said:

would th?s work ?n a 1ghz t?ttanu?m powerbook g4 ?f so how ???

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Unfortunatly I'm unaware of a way of getting it to work with a TiBook. There are too many difficulties in making it work I suspect. Biggest problem I see is getting a cable for it - the video connector on a Ti is quite different to a PB and unless you fabricated one I don't think it would work. Then you'd need to figure out a casing etc... But if anyone has any info I'd be willing to experiment - I have a DVI Ti that most of the time don't mind pulling apart but I don't have any pinout info to start from.