Apple Studio Display Uniformity and Dirty screen effect

[lucasvallim]

So I bought a Studio Display, in general it looks good while watching videos and going through images, the color accuracy seems ok, but there's an annoying "dirty screen effect", specially when scrolling in websites with white or light grey backgrounds. There are very subtle backlight unevenness that makes it look like the screen is dirty while scrolling through pages.

Also, it is a little darker on the sides compared to the centre.

Is this normal for the Studio Display?

Once I started noticing these things i cannot unsee it... Am I being too picky or should I go for a replacement?

How does your Studio Display look?

(In the image below, if you scroll up and down the "unevenness" becomes more obvious)

Apple

 

[salamanderjuice]

Yes it's normal for IPS displays (which the Studio Display is) to have some backlight unevenness. This is something that was also noticed in Are Technica's review on two seperate units:

Studio Display review: An Apple monitor where “5K” doesn’t describe the price

It will make many Mac owners very happy, even if it’s missing some frills.

arstechnica.com

You could try and get a more even unit but it is somewhat luck.

 

[jabbr]

panel lottery, as always unfortunately. I've noticed this effect pretty heavily on a few display 24" iMacs

 

[318iphone]

I'd return it for another. I did exactly that and the new one they gave me works a lot better. I was also having issues with it randomly going black -- the display and sound would switch back to the MacBook. Was super annoying. Clearly they must have build issues. The new replacement has been great so far.

 

[xraydoc]

I'd return it for another. I did exactly that and the new one they gave me works a lot better. I was also having issues with it randomly going black -- the display and sound would switch back to the MacBook. Was super annoying. Clearly they must have build issues. The new replacement has been great so far.

There's reports of a bad batch of Thunderbolt cables going out with the monitors. I've seen several posts where people were having disconnect issues and replacing the cable solved the problem.

As for gray uniformity, that's kind of a chronic IPS panel lottery issue -- not strictly an Apple problem. It's one reason (one of many) medical-grade monitors are so expensive. They reject a large number of panels at time of assembly.

 

[lucasvallim]

Just an update on this: I actually returned it THREE times until I got a good one. That's right... only the fourth unit had decent quality. These IPS panels are really a lottery, but I've been using this one since November and it's been decent, with no issues whatsoever and no dirty screen effect. Also, I noticed that this unit has better sound quality as well, for some reason (louder and more balanced sound).

PS: There's a subtle light bleed on the bottom right corner, but I'm ok with that though, and won't risk getting a faulty one again so I'll live with it.

Long story short: Don't expect an absolutely perfect panel. Believe me, there's no such thing. Even looking around at the Apple Store I noticed their displays (in general, even on MacBooks and iMacs) are a mess, full of uniformity problems all over the place. And it's not only Apple. Any brand, any make, any model. There's no such thing as a perfect IPS panel.

 

[daneoni]

My first one had the same issue. I returned and the latest one is markedly better. It still has the usual IPS panel issues but it's the lesser of two evils.

 

[318iphone]

Just an update on this: I actually returned it THREE times until I got a good one. That's right... only the fourth unit had decent quality. These IPS panels are really a lottery, but I've been using this one since November and it's been decent, with no issues whatsoever and no dirty screen effect. Also, I noticed that this unit has better sound quality as well, for some reason (louder and more balanced sound).

PS: There's a subtle light bleed on the bottom right corner, but I'm ok with that though, and won't risk getting a faulty one again so I'll live with it.

Long story short: Don't expect an absolutely perfect panel. Believe me, there's no such thing. Even looking around at the Apple Store I noticed their displays (in general, even on MacBooks and iMacs) are a mess, full of uniformity problems all over the place. And it's not only Apple. Any brand, any make, any model. There's no such thing as a perfect IPS panel.

I too returned one, the next one I got was much better. Although just like you I have a lot of light bleed on the bottom right corner. Especially noticeable when viewing dark images in a dark room. Will that get worse over time?

 

[jrath1]

It's better to not run these uniformity tests and just enjoy using the monitor. If you notice something in every day usage then maybe consider it a problem. As others have stated, it's a lottery and going down the return path can lead to dark times.

 

[lucasvallim]

I too returned one, the next one I got was much better. Although just like you I have a lot of light bleed on the bottom right corner. Especially noticeable when viewing dark images in a dark room. Will that get worse over time?

Unlikely to get worse over time... It will probably stay as it is forever unless it gets physically damaged or something, but the studio monitor has decent build quality, aluminium and glass with solid structure, it's hard to damage it.

The bleed in my unit is in the bottom right corner as well, and although it's subtle it's definitely noticeable even on a lit room if viewing a complete black screen. Don't worry about it, just enjoy the monitor or else you'll get into the paranoid returning cycles void and will never get a perfect one anyway.

 

[lucasvallim]

It's better to not run these uniformity tests and just enjoy using the monitor. If you notice something in every day usage then maybe consider it a problem. As others have stated, it's a lottery and going down the return path can lead to dark times.

Totally agree. For the sake of our mental health it's better to just use it and don't expect perfection from it. I got enough stressful days around monitors already haha...

 

[MacGizmo]

Yeah, this is one of those "if you look for flaws, you will most certainly find them" situations. No display is perfect, but if the flaw is minor enough and you choose to ignore it, you're generally very happy with it. But if you focus on the flaw, it will eat you alive.