LCD panel code meaning (iMac G4 and G5)

[marcosfisica]

Hi folks!

I have 2 of my most beloved Mac affected by the freaking vinegar syndrome.
However, I'm not giving up of these 2 beauties and I'm gonna to try to fix them all. But I need your help.

I've founded LCD panel replacements on aliexpress but the letters in brackets doesn't match.

For the G5 - the original panel is a LM201W01 (ST)(B2) and the replacement I found is LM201W01 (SL)(A1)

For the G4 - the original is LM171W02 (A4)(M1) and the replacement would be LM171W02 (TL)(B2)

What are the meaning of those letters? Should these panels be compatible?

Thank you all.

 

[jeffburg]

Hello, I have a 17" iMac G4 as well and so I would be extremely interested to hear about how this project goes. I cannot say for sure what the letters mean... but when I was building my own 5K monitor from an iMac 5K (which also uses an LG display), those letters represented different cables you needed for the driver board. So I have a feeling if they don't match, then the cable will not connect correctly. That said, I have seen enough YouTube repair videos that basically say, even if everything matched on AliExpress, they may not always match when you receive them anyway.

But yes, please post any updates you have with this project because I would like to replace the panel and inverter on my iMac if possible to give it a bit more brightness and vibrancy.

 

[Kai Robinson]

Hi folks!

I have 2 of my most beloved Mac affected by the freaking vinegar syndrome.
However, I'm not giving up of these 2 beauties and I'm gonna to try to fix them all. But I need your help.

I've founded LCD panel replacements on aliexpress but the letters in brackets doesn't match.

For the G5 - the original panel is a LM201W01 (ST)(B2) and the replacement I found is LM201W01 (SL)(A1)

For the G4 - the original is LM171W02 (A4)(M1) and the replacement would be LM171W02 (TL)(B2)

What are the meaning of those letters? Should these panels be compatible?

Thank you all.

For the LM171W02's - the panel dimensions are the same, the interface is identical, the only difference, is that the A4M1 has 200cd/m2 brightness, the TLB2 has 250cd/m2 brightness. It's an upgraded, newer revision.

Similarly, for the LM201W01's, the STB2 is 280cd/m2 brightness, the SLA1 is 300cd/m2 - but otherwise identical. The main point is that you get the panel model correctly, the rest is mostly just variants/minor changes/upgrades to the model itself. Usually as the panels are produced, changes are made over the production cycle for efficiency, yield etc that results in enough of an upgrade to produce the panels as a marginally different spec.

 

[phunguss]

Panelook.com offers a lot of details:
It lists the LM201W01 STB2 as TMDS and the SLA1 as LVDS.
It lists the LM171W02 A4M1 as TMDS and the TLB2 as LVDS.
Google AI says not compatible?