LCD white on black vs. black on white?

[DeltaDon]

I'm working on bunch of old Pentium laptops I've been pulling out of storage. One Chicony MP983 had a missing LG LP121S1 800x600 12.1" LCD. The LP121S1 uses a 41 pin connector and so I dug through my stash of 12.1" LCD's looking for a LP121S1, or LP121S2 which I think is nearly the same LCD. No such luck. I did find a 1/2 dozen 12.1" LCD's with the same 41 connector in more or less same location. So I connected each one up to see if A) they worked and were compatible, B) had the same mounting points. Most worked, but two Torsion (SP??) had a bright background and black BIOS wording. Weird? I did find a NEC that worked and I had a spare back lid plastics with the correct mounting for it. So old with the LP121S1 and in with the NEC part number what ever. Problem solved for the laptop and now I'm reassembling the lid and moving on to the next problem child to repair.

OBTW, I have the pin out for the LP121S1 and looked for any pin that might reverse the video, but didn't see any obvious pins to fit the bill. Anyone else ever see this with LCD's?

 

[eswan]

Had that happen on a screen replacement I did back in the '90s. A Sharp 640x480 with a Sharp with an almost identical part number. Turned out to be an 'Industrial application' screen. Transflective maybe? I think if you disassemble the panel and swap? rotate 90 degrees? the polarizer it would switch the other way.

 

[DeltaDon]

I think I'd rather fleabay it. One less thing stored forever.

 

[Plasma]

Black on white is easier to read in sunlight, which may be useful depending on your application.