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kaielement

macrumors 65816
Dec 16, 2010
1,242
74
I'm sorry, but I think it's fair to generalise in this instance. This is a very real flaw, and if you dnt see it, good for you, I wish I was in your position. As has been pointed out, it's people that fail to notice this that mean the issue will likely never be resolved. There are enough people in this thread, from varying locations around the world, many (myself included) having received multiple replacements from apple with each showing the same fault. You're always going to get individuals that don't use the ipad in the same way or surroundings as someone else, and will therefore never notice this....but don't pass this off as a problem with a select number of iPad 4's, because it's not.

And pat park - nice conspiracy theory and detective work. I created this account solely to throw in my two cents worth. So don't fret, no foul play at work here :D



Wow words can't even describe how this makes you sound
 

ihakim

macrumors regular
Jun 11, 2012
223
172
Stanford, CA
I noticed this backlight pulsing issue while I was watching Breaking Bad today. Not a big deal though...iPad is for work primarily and not a movie machine. I can live with it.
 

redsparro

macrumors newbie
May 19, 2013
4
0
Hello everyone! I live in Russia. I use iPad 4 from the middle of winter. From the first days of use encountered the following problems. :mad:There are small blue glare on the edges, and the screen loses contrast when viewing videos. The first problem is solved by replacing the screen, and the second is the solution I have just found. We know very well what color returned to normal only when we turn off the video, or open additional interface elements on the screen. :)The solution is to post a always on the top bar with the clock, when you watch the video. To do this, you must install the tweak "ForceStatusBar" from cydia. I hope this help. Sorry for my bad English. Good luck!:D

That is brilliant, a solid fix with minimal inconvenience, many many thanks! :)
 

JohnD

macrumors regular
Jun 2, 2005
150
97
Los Angeles, California
iPhone 4S too

Being a media engineer who works at a major studio, I found myself intrigued by this. I tested my wife's iPad 4th gen - yep, issue exists at minimum and maximum brightness, with and without auto-brightness.

I then tested my iPad 3rd gen, and it too has the same issue.

Guess what? So does my iPhone 4S!

This is clearly software, and clearly intentional, and likely affects ALL iPhones and iPads, regardless of whether your eyes can see what's going on or not.

I don't watch movies on my iPhone or iPad, so this doesn't really affect me, but I could see how it would drive someone crazy. Apple really should add an auto-contrast setting in the "Brightness & Wallpaper" setting to make everyone happy.
 

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
First Post.....

My wife and I each bought an iPad 4 a month ago (64gb and 128gb), and we love them. My first Apple product was an iPod Touch 5G I bought a few months ago. We had been using Android tablets: Samsung Tab 2 7", Note 8" and Note 10.1. We returned the Note tablets after buying the iPads. Samsung's TV mirroring box stinks on ice (LAG!!!), and the note S-Pen's key functions are difficult to use. We were at a Best Buy store, and THREE Samsung reps were unable to open the program that allows handwriting to text recognition on the Note 8. We still have a couple little Tab 2's, but they seldom see any use now.

I tried the procedure that William outlined, and my map app did take a couple of seconds to fully resolve. Is it a flaw? The world is an imperfect place, so I couldn't say one way or the other. I rarely watch videos, and suddenly hit the home button. In fact, I rarely use the home button at all. I shrink out of windows with a hand gesture, and use the Smart Cover or power button to wake the tablet. I bought the 128gb because I watch a lot of movies, including dark movies like Lincoln. I've always enjoyed the ipad 4's screen, so this isn't an issue for me. If someone could explain how this would shorten the life of the device, or how the screen quality would gradually diminish because of this, I'd be willing to agree it's a flaw. My car's windshield washer sprays too much fluid beyond the windshield if I pump the handle, but it's not an "issue" or "flaw" for me.

It would only make sense that the ipad 2 doesn't do this because it uses a different display and processor. I would like to get an iPad 5 if it weighs much less than our current iPads, and I still have 30 days to return the 2 we bought last month. Not a cool move from the retailer's perspective, but I don't want all of my friends laughing at my porky ipad 4...LOL! I have used the mini, and its weight is just right. Reading newspapers is better with Retina, however.

*I should note that I obsess over little things on expensive items, but this doesn't bother me. Also, while I was registering to post this, I left the YouTube video on pause. I could no longer reproduce the resolution flaw that was easily done 15 minutes prior to that. I tired several times, and replayed the video, but the screen resolution was perfect. I don't know what that means, but I wasn't sweating it before.
 

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,008
3,894
Seattle
I tried the procedure that William outlined, and my map app did take a couple of seconds to fully resolve. Is it a flaw? The world is an imperfect place, so I couldn't say one way or the other. I rarely watch videos, and suddenly hit the home button.

Welcome to the madhouse. :)

So I wanted to address what you said above:

The issue is NOT that the icons take a few seconds to resolve themselves (actually it's the whole screen, but still...). That is NOT NOT NOT the problem. The problem is what is taking place DURING the video that is causing the entire screen to get blown out. When you close the video, you're just seeing the screen re-adjust itself back to "normal."

Honestly, if my videos worked properly, it wouldn't be an issue at all. What happens for a few seconds when you close a video is of ZERO interest to me except that it's symptomatic of what is happening DURING the video itself. Make sense?

So for you, and anyone else that think this is a complaint over a few icons/screen reverting itself to normal when you close the video, you're missing the larger point!

And no, I've yet to hear anything back from Apple on this since the last update... :(
 

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
I thought I had typed this in my last/first post, but I didn't. Videos look pretty good to me, and that was one of the main reasons we returned our Samsung Note tablets. My screen brightness is almost always set to half, although I did go to max while reading a book in the park this past weekend.

I had a friend who played piano semi-professionally. He bought a new baby grand piano, and had a Christmas party a month later. Everyone loved the new piano, and I thought it sounded fantastic. We were the last to leave, and my friend told me that the piano was driving him insane. He said one of the keys made a strange harmonic buzzing, and that he had several techs from the piano company out to repair it. I told him I couldn't hear anything wrong with it, and play a few instruments myself. He played the key several times, and then my wife and I both heard the crazy sound. He then played a few measures that included that key, and it stuck out like a sore thumb. After several months, a tech finally acknowledged that she could hear it, and then proceeded to fix it. That piano was well over $15,000, and my friend was absolutely miserable until it was fixed. That was the first time I ever saw someone notice the nearly imperceptible, and then live in agony until it was resolved. I do know that once you see something like this, it can begin working on your nerves. I will not be looking for this issue while watching videos, at least not until I decide that would be a good excuse to return the ipad 4 and wait for the 5...LOL!
 

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,008
3,894
Seattle
I will not be looking for this issue while watching videos, at least not until I decide that would be a good excuse to return the ipad 4 and wait for the 5...LOL!

Hah! Don't worry. You won't have to look. I certainly didn't. During a dark scene in a movie, when the backlight starts pumping up and down by itself, you'll either notice or you won't. Let's hope it's the latter!
 

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,008
3,894
Seattle
I haven't noticed any problems when watching dark video, but it is quite clear when going back to the icons. Still not an issue for me.

Are you in iOS 7? If you see the icon issue, the problem is still there. You're just not noticing the contrast switching in the videos.
 

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
Still in IOS 6. I just now noticed something that might be related. I was splitting the keyboard in landscape mode, and if you do it slowly, then characters have a shadow cast on them like naval vessel numbers and letters. They fully resolve once the keyboard is completely split, but try that slowly, and hold it for a few seconds. A whole new issue to contemplate.....
 

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
IpadKeyboard_zpsec769a67.jpg

This is a pic of a screen shot I took on my ipad. You can clearly see the shadow on the Return key, and some of the other letters. Give it a try.
 

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,008
3,894
Seattle
I'm thinking this isn't at all related. You may want to take this to another/new thread if it's an issue that's impacting your use of the iPad.
 

FrankB1191

macrumors 6502a
Jun 14, 2013
722
1
Pennsylvania
I don't know. The KB is transitioning from full to split, and I stopped it halfway to take the pic. Once it's fully transitioned, the shadowing immediately disappears. Whether this is how the iPad screen resolves when moving from dark to light (your issue), or when characters are being resized in slow motion, it might be the same thing. I'm not trying to hijack your thread, and this might support what you've been talking about.... or not.
 

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,008
3,894
Seattle
I don't know. The KB is transitioning from full to split, and I stopped it halfway to take the pic. Once it's fully transitioned, the shadowing immediately disappears. Whether this is how the iPad screen resolves when moving from dark to light (your issue), or when characters are being resized in slow motion, it might be the same thing. I'm not trying to hijack your thread, and this might support what you've been talking about.... or not.

No that's all good. :) Apologies if I came across a little gruff.

I'll have to take a look at it later, to be sure, but others can chime in.
 

PB2013

macrumors newbie
Jun 28, 2013
3
0
Wha wha what? Can anyone else confirm this is the case?

I have installed ios7 on my iPad 4 2 days ago and watched 2 movies (with aceplayer). Before ios7 i had the problem described in this topic: flickering blacks, over saturated screen/icons immediately after closing the app. But now with ios7, its all gone. :)
 

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,008
3,894
Seattle
I have installed ios7 on my iPad 4 2 days ago and watched 2 movies (with aceplayer). Before ios7 i had the problem described in this topic: flickering blacks, over saturated screen/icons immediately after closing the app. But now with ios7, its all gone. :)

Thank you for checking this! Hopefully someone else can also say the issue has (finally) been addressed.
 

CthrewU

macrumors member
Aug 11, 2010
97
27
Still in IOS 6. I just now noticed something that might be related. I was splitting the keyboard in landscape mode, and if you do it slowly, then characters have a shadow cast on them like naval vessel numbers and letters. They fully resolve once the keyboard is completely split, but try that slowly, and hold it for a few seconds. A whole new issue to contemplate.....

Image
This is a pic of a screen shot I took on my ipad. You can clearly see the shadow on the Return key, and some of the other letters. Give it a try.



What you're seeing sounds and looks like image retention. Some iPads have it and some don't. Try saving a plain white background and then view it in the photos app full screen with the brightness turned all the way up. If you see any signs of static text (like whats on the keyboard or status bar) you have image retention and thats not related to the contrast pumping issue.
 
Last edited:

WeegieMac

Guest
Jan 29, 2008
3,274
1
Glasgow, UK
I'm thinking this isn't at all related. You may want to take this to another/new thread if it's an issue that's impacting your use of the iPad.

Translated to:

Please don't derail my morbidly obsessed 30 page thread. :rolleyes:

Have you actually sat back and just enjoyed using your iPad since you started this thread LAST YEAR?

It's a lot of wasted stress and energy mate. You must have spent more time obsessing over the screen and posting about it compared to actually using the thing for your enjoyment.

My iPad 4 arrives within the next three weeks, I've since handed my 3 to my wife to use as her own, but rest assured I'm not going to go out of my way to hold the iPad 4 at wacky angles to look for light bleed, sniff the aluminium back, lick the screen, or check for brightness issues that are more complex than the gore code for Mortal Kombat on the MegaDrive ...
 

pk7

macrumors 6502
Sep 27, 2011
441
64
I had posted when I got my iPad 4 that the issue does not exist.

I was wrong. It does. You have to look hard but once you notice it you won't stop noticing it. It didn't bother me per se but I thought it was weird.

BUT. I can also confirm that this bug is gone in iOS 7!
 

WilliamG

macrumors G4
Original poster
Mar 29, 2008
10,008
3,894
Seattle
I had posted when I got my iPad 4 that the issue does not exist.

I was wrong. It does. You have to look hard but once you notice it you won't stop noticing it. It didn't bother me per se but I thought it was weird.

BUT. I can also confirm that this bug is gone in iOS 7!

That is great news. Can't wait for iOS 7 then, yay! :)
 

pk7

macrumors 6502
Sep 27, 2011
441
64
Here's a video. You can tell the backlight isn't pumping, and when I quit out the icons are fine.

 
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