are the newest mbp screens still grainy?

[student_trap]

hey guys,

i am currently waiting for my mbp 15" 2.33 that i ordered online a couple of days ago to arrive, and am wondering if those who have bought theirs recently are still finding issues with the screen, such as grainyness/banding/uneven display.

I had originally bought a 20" imac in december but returned it because of a ridiculously uneven screen, so the screen quality is important to me.

on recomendation from the apple store folks in london, i bought the matte screen as its meant to be easier on your eyes over long periods and better for editing photos, although i really liked the glossy screen in the store. So...

1. do people who have just received their mbp's have the display problems?

2. was i right to get the matte screen (i work on my computer for hours at a time) when i liked the look of the glossy?

I am concerned bacause the glossy screens seem to be affected less by the display problems.

thanks in advance for your help

 

[iW00t]

2. was i right to get the matte screen (i work on my computer for hours at a time) when i liked the look of the glossy?

It is like marrying a woman when you are attracted to a man

Go for the glossy, they are beautiful screens and less affected by the grain too. It is even more of a no brainer since you actually like the look of the glossy

 

[student_trap]

the issue for me is that i edit photos and stare at the screen for long periods, and so all the folks in the applestorfe said to definitely go for the matte, is this actually true?

 

[iW00t]

the issue for me is that i edit photos and stare at the screen for long periods, and so all the folks in the applestorfe said to definitely go for the matte, is this actually true?

Trust your own eyes. In my experience the matte finishing causes MASSIVE eye strain after a while due to the graininess. The folks in the Applestore refuse to even acknowledge the grain, you trust their opinion?

 

[djkny]

the issue for me is that i edit photos and stare at the screen for long periods, and so all the folks in the applestorfe said to definitely go for the matte, is this actually true?

you did the right thing. glossy screens are oversaturated and are NOT an accurate representation of color palettes, as matte's are. I don't know of any pro's doing photoshop or using FCP with the glossy's.

That being said, I had the 15" MBP C2D 2.16 w/matte and returned it because of the grain and uneven illumination. Until Apple recitifes the entire revision, I'm not busying.

 

[tylerboyo]

since joining this forum, and reading about these "grainy" screens, i have inspected mine, and 4 friends mbp, all matte, and another friends mb which is glossy. none are grainy at all. but i couldnt use a glossy screen.

 

[smueboy]

I love my Matte - glossy was such a bitch under office lights and sunlight at home. I have no problem using it for hours, and i have no noticable grain.
Matte vs Glossy is personal - look at them in the store and go with your gut.
Grain issues seem to be a matter of luck.. (?)

 

[After G]

you did the right thing. glossy screens are oversaturated and are NOT an accurate representation of color palettes, as matte's are. I don't know of any pro's doing photoshop or using FCP with the glossy's.

That being said, I had the 15" MBP C2D 2.16 w/matte and returned it because of the grain and uneven illumination. Until Apple recitifes the entire revision, I'm not busying.

I read on the forum that Apple used matte displays with 262k colors, which wouldn't bode well for accuracy.

 

[Abstract]

Why? The glossy screens just don't have that micro-coating on top, right? Why would a matte screen have a better chance of being grainy?

the issue for me is that i edit photos and stare at the screen for long periods, and so all the folks in the applestorfe said to definitely go for the matte, is this actually true?

If you care about accurate photo editing, then definitely.

If you're going to check email, surf the net, type up documents, and watch DVD movies, then it won't matter which one you get, although I also prefer the glossy for these tasks since the screen colours looks more saturated and a bit brighter. Glare isn't an issue with me and my MB, so that's not an issue either.

However, if I could do it over again, I'd get a MBP, and select the matte screen.

 

[iW00t]

Choosing a matte screen for colour accuracy, or using a MBP for any work graphic related is stupid anyway, contrary to the oxymoronic name Macbook Pro, this is definitely not a pro computer whichever way you slice it.

It has crap colour gamut (262K colours)
Glossy ones has less grain, but probably less colour accurate
Matte ones look like it is a picture of your screen taken on a digital camera at like ISO 800 (read: crap)

Colour accuracy at a colour gamut at 262K colours is worth exactly jack squat if it introduces artifacts across the entire screen.

If you are not satisfied with even the screens on the iMacs there is no way in hell you are even going to look at the MBP screen without throwing it out into the trash where it rightfully belongs, seriously.

 

[aljlin]

Choosing a matte screen for colour accuracy, or using a MBP for any work graphic related is stupid anyway, contrary to the oxymoronic name Macbook Pro, this is definitely not a pro computer whichever way you slice it.

It has crap colour gamut (262K colours)
Glossy ones has less grain, but probably less colour accurate
Matte ones look like it is a picture of your screen taken on a digital camera at like ISO 800 (read: crap)

Colour accuracy at a colour gamut at 262K colours is worth exactly jack squat if it introduces artifacts across the entire screen.

If you are not satisfied with even the screens on the iMacs there is no way in hell you are even going to look at the MBP screen without throwing it out into the trash where it rightfully belongs, seriously.

*shrug* I just bought my mbp a couple weeks ago, and mine doesn't look grainy, I mean I guess i'm not an expert on screens, but It looks pretty darn good to me. Maybe you just received a bad screen, because I haven't noticed anything, or maybe they changed the screens from cd to c2d.. *shrug* Anyways . . . Congrats on your new purchase and hope it turns out well! Plus, if you are using it at home, you can always get a secondary screen, with even better quality pictures, and that would help things when doing things at home, but I think the mbp screen is good.

 

[djejrejk]

It is like marrying a woman when you are attracted to a man

Go for the glossy, they are beautiful screens and less affected by the grain too. It is even more of a no brainer since you actually like the look of the glossy

I just picked up my 2.33 MBP and I was having the same delimma,.. matte or glossy. I went for Matte for many of the same reasons he listed above. My screen is not grainy; It looks great and I think I made the correct decision. Shiny does not = better. Imagine trying to take notes in a class or at a meeting.

 

[jnc]

If you are not satisfied with even the screens on the iMacs there is no way in hell you are even going to look at the MBP screen without throwing it out into the trash where it rightfully belongs, seriously.

Tell me about it. I have a CD iMac at home and compared to the C2D MBPs, its screen is FANTASTIC. the c2dmbp? Just so dull and grainy, awful for a "Pro" machine. The MacBooks are better! I won't be gettng one until they fix that.

 

[iW00t]

Tell me about it. I have a CD iMac at home and compared to the C2D MBPs, its screen is FANTASTIC. the c2dmbp? Just so dull and grainy, awful for a "Pro" machine. The MacBooks are better! I won't be gettng one until they fix that.

Try calibrating it with one of those puck thingys.

Won't help for the grain though, but it does help some with the colour.

 

[iW00t]

I just picked up my 2.33 MBP and I was having the same delimma,.. matte or glossy. I went for Matte for many of the same reasons he listed above. My screen is not grainy; It looks great and I think I made the correct decision. Shiny does not = better. Imagine trying to take notes in a class or at a meeting.

What's the model of the screen you got?

 

[Icewind]

It has crap colour gamut (262K colours)

What exactly do you mean by this?

I have a 15" Powerbook G4 and the available options for colour in the Display settings are 256, Thousands and Millions.

Do you mean that the colour depth of MBP's only goes as high as 'Thousands'? Or am I looking at something completely different?

That sounds crap if that's the case... And I'm itching to get a new C2D MBP

 

[iW00t]

What exactly do you mean by this?

I have a 15" Powerbook G4 and the available options for colour in the Display settings are 256, Thousands and Millions.

Do you mean that the colour depth of MBP's only goes as high as 'Thousands'? Or am I looking at something completely different?

That sounds crap if that's the case... And I'm itching to get a new C2D MBP

The hardware itself is only capable of rendering "thousands", so yeah, it does seem quite crap.

Another 3-4 months to new MBPs though, hopefully those ones will have new screens. Can't wait to sell my MBP on eBay.

 

[Icewind]

Thanks woot,

I think I'll hang off too. Maybe wait till Leopard is released and buy an MBP then. Hopefully the next revision of MBP's will be around the same time. Not really much point of me buying right now (when I don't really have too). I love my 15" Powerbook. It's a gorgeous machine and would really last me for years to come. It's just the speed factor that interest me in the MBP's. I have a 24" iMac too and can see just how much faster that is compared to the G4 PPC.

Thanks again Matey... All the best with your MBP sale

 

[erkanasu]

Just came home with a brand new C2D 2.16.

I think I know what you mean by the grainy-ness, i think I can see a difference between this machine and the original CD. Why the **** would apple down-grade the screen?

PEOPLE WHOA HAVE GRAINY SCREENS, what exactly does it look like to you?

IS this a software or hardware issue?

 

[iW00t]

Just came home with a brand new C2D 2.16.

I think I know what you mean by the grainy-ness, i think I can see a difference between this machine and the original CD. Why the **** would apple down-grade the screen?

PEOPLE WHOA HAVE GRAINY SCREENS, what exactly does it look like to you?

IS this a software or hardware issue?

Hardware.

You sure your new screen looks more grainy than your original CD MBP?

Mind posting the model numbers for both of them?

 

[erkanasu]

Hardware.

You sure your new screen looks more grainy than your original CD MBP?

Mind posting the model numbers for both of them?

I think it does. The new one is a stock 2.16 (MA609LL/A), 1 gig laptop. The last one was a stock 1.83 GHZ. (both the $2000 stock).

When you guys see the grain, is it most obvious looking at solid color backgrounds? Maybe im crazy. plus, i really shouldnt complain too much, I got this laptop as free upgrade.

 

[iW00t]

I think it does. The new one is a stock 2.16 (MA609LL/A), 1 gig laptop. The last one was a stock 1.83 GHZ. (both the $2000 stock).

When you guys see the grain, is it most obvious looking at solid color backgrounds? Maybe im crazy. plus, i really shouldnt complain too much, I got this laptop as free upgrade.

Yeah, it is especially obvious on the greyish background colour at the top of macrumor forums. Also whites. And light yellow.

 

[Kingsly]

1) I got my MBP a little less than a month ago and have not experienced the grainy screen issue.

2) I, personally, think the matte screen is better for extended use. Glossy is beautiful at first, but as time goes by I think it becomes annoying and, unless you watch a lot of DVD's, pointless. If you are editing a lot of photos or doing anything that requires color accuracy then I think the matte is the way to go, as glossy tends to exaggerate color saturation and contrast (which is why it looks so good for movies and stuff, but bad if you are trying to do color work.)

Hope that helps.

 

[iW00t]

1) I got my MBP a little less than a month ago and have not experienced the grainy screen issue.

2) I, personally, think the matte screen is better for extended use.

Hope that helps.

Is yours the 15" or the 17"?

What's the model of your screen?

 

[Nicolasdec]

my cd mbp screen looks grainy what whould i do?