iMac glossy display reviews wanted

[Neurotrophin]

I just purchased the new 24" iMac and use the old 24" iMac (matte) at work.
I admit I was a bit skeptical about the glossy screen when I purchased the new iMac. However, I actually like it way better than the matte now. My old iMac IMO looks pretty drab.
Never thought I would say this, but I prefer glossy screens now...

 

[ascender]

The screen on the 24" is simply stunning. There's a real vibrancy to the colours which the old matte model just doesn't have. I also like the black border as it frames the screen very nicely and emphasises the colours on the screen in a way which the old one didn't. I guess that's why the black border is there, but it works so well. The pictures really don't do this justice.

Now, today is very sunny here and I have the blinds open just now with the sun pouring in on to the screen through large double windows. There is some reflection, actually there's a lot of reflections, but only if you focus on them. If you're actually focusing on what you're typing, reading, whatever, you can't see the reflections although you are kind of aware of them as the screen is so big.

For films I'd close the blinds, but I used to do that on the old iMac too as in bright light you really couldn't see the black colours or get any real depth from them. So I think both screens have their pluses and minuses, they're just different. But going from this glossy screen to the matte one on my Powerbook is a real shock. I really miss the bright colours and the glossy one seems to be easier on my eyes as well.

Definitely check one of these out in the flesh if you can before writing it off as unworkable, but if you do look at one in an Apple shop, get yourself down to eye level and browse the web or type a doc up in pages and I guarantee you'll notice the difference in terms of the reflections. When doing something you don't notice them. Its also worth mentioning that the screen I saw in my Apple reseller was being affected by the bright store lights and white surfaces. It definitely exaggerates the problem.

 

[Eric Lewis]

ok

at the apple store...i brough pirates 2 dvd..and it was amazing on the glossy display

 

[Gaelic1]

I've had my iMac 20" for a week and have never had any glare problems. If you tilt the screen slightly, any glare is gone and the colors jump right out at you! It is a fantastic machine. Also the keyboard is better than anything I've ever used!

 

[Fastshutter]

I've had my iMac for four days now. I hate the glare. Everytime I sit down at my desk I'm trying to adjust the it so the glare goes away. I wonder how long it will be until that becomes a habit? It's the only thing I don't like about my new PC.

 

[stockcerts]

Sell it.

 

[WarMace]

I have been living with my new iMac 20" for two weeks now (I was the second sale at my local Apple Store). I had been waiting for the new iMacs for months with the intention of buying it the day it came out. After learning about the glossy display and ATI video card from the presentation, I hesitated for a bit trying to decide if it was worth the risk before heading to the store. I decided to wait for a couple of weeks before posting anything to get a good impression of it in mulitiple conditions. My verdict:

I love the glossy display.

The display is extremely bright and is able to handle all light conditions. My iMac is in my bedroom and I usually keep the brightness turned down for watching movies at night. If I am at home using it during the day and the light from the window behind me bothers me, I just turn the brightness up. I replaced a 17" Apple Studio CRT display which had a matte coating sprayed onto the screen and was amazed at the difference. I had glare problems with this display and always had to readjust the display and my seating position to compensate. With the iMac I only make slight adjustments occasionally when the sun is beaming in. With the two displays side by side during the initial transfer, the iMac far outshone the CRT and was much easier to see/read in bright conditions. It seems to me that matte screens diffuse the light across the whole screen making the entire screen more difficult to see. The glossy screen seems to contain the reflection to a specific part of the screen only making that portion harder to see.

As with everything, it is a matter of opinion. For me, I find the glossy screen to be much less problematic for glare in the environment that I use it in.

Everyone keeps talking about Apple allowing us to choose. Apple has never given us a choice in iMac screens before and probably won't now. I was always stuck buying a matte screen before even though I would have prefer a glossy screen. I for one am happy that Apple's new choice for me is the one I would have chosen anyway.

 

[Fastshutter]

I ordered a industrial suction cup to pull the glass off my mac. If the screen looks better then I'm taking the glass to a Custom glass cutter and have them cut the center out leaving me the black border.

Anyone forsee any problems with this? (besides my warrenty?)

 

[stockcerts]

Voiding the warranty on a new computer is quite a gamble in my opinion. I would suggest returning the unit for a refund if that's the course you are considering.

 

[ascender]

Just watching a film on the new screen for the first time and the difference on the glossy screen compared to matte is amazing. Its a huge improvement in terms of how vibrant the colours are.

 

[HLdan]

I ordered a industrial suction cup to pull the glass off my mac. If the screen looks better then I'm taking the glass to a Custom glass cutter and have them cut the center out leaving me the black border.

Anyone forsee any problems with this? (besides my warrenty?)

Wow that's way too extreme. Just return it, get a refund and look for the old matte version iMac. Think about how horrible that would look having the glass modified and keeping just the border. That would look just fugly!

 

[SteveM8]

Im a photographer and LOVE the new display

Editing my photos on the new 24" evey day and I love the glossy display. It is SO much more vibrant than the old Imac. No problems, no issues and have others have stated the glare is not an issue. If the screen is all black you see more glare but you dont notice it if you are working. If the screen is any other color you really dont see any glare. No way I would go back to matte and I use this machine for hours a day editing photos. I also do video as well. Glossy for me, all the way.

 

[adrenalin]

why not 2 sceen options

It makes it the right move because Apple is a "for profit business". You can never make everyone happy, and if the glossy screen is what most people like, then it makes sense for them to take this direction.

I have the new IMac, and I love it!

...right move - dont be so sure ....Apple shouldnt forget who has kept them going all these years - the design and creative industry ...and for photographers and designers the glossy screen sucks - highlights and shadows are impossible to work with accurately - the 24" is overkill for regular home use but for page layout etc its great - theyre cutting off their core support by not offering an alternative - there should be a pro 24" imac available with matt screen, option of faster video cards, larger hrdrive etc - theyve done it before other than the screen why not now - till then I'm hanging onto my present 24" imac - and so is the rest of the studio - unless there is a matt screen around none of the studio will get the new imac when the time comes to upgrade and we dont need towers were not handling video etc

 

[hwolfe]

Glossy vs Matte

I am a professional video producer/director and editor. I just recently was contemplating on upgrading from my 20" Imac to 24". I looked at the new 24" Imac at my Apple Store. There is no way I would be able to work on these new glossy models. I went for the older 24" Matte model and glad I did so. The colors are more real than on the new glossy models. People think that the colors are more vivid on the glossy models because they are fooled by the dark glass over the screen. This was a trick manufacturers pulled on consumers by putting dark glass on the screen of large LCD flat screen TV monitors making the picture seem more vivid.

What was Apple thinking. I have also spoken to many photographers who work on Imac Matte screen models and they wouldn't work on the new glossy screen models.

Henri

Please post your review only if you have actually used the new iMac display (either your own or in the store).

What do you think of the glossy screen?

If you own one, have you gotten used to it?

Are you happy with the display?

What sort of room/lighting/screen situations does it work/not work in?

*****


I tried one at the apple store for about 45 minutes.

The store was well lit and hence there was a lot of reflection.

When using word and indesign, the reflection wasn't too bad - the initial distraction went down with time. However, anytime I looked away and back, my eyes followed the reflections, not what was being displayed.

The mirror effect is worst when viewing anything in black/dark colors (i.e. the coen bros. movie trailer they had pre-loaded or the black and white desktop picture option). In this situation, I found that my beautiful mug would appear as a ghostly apparition on my screen.

At a distance (10 feet back), the mirror effect was worse. This would be a problem for watching movies.

The mirror effect didn't disappear when tilting the screen forward or back.

The black border is just plain dumb. It is always black and always reflects and always distracts.

The mirror effect seems to be much stronger than the glossy MacBook Pro, probably b/c of the thicker glass.

I'm still thinking of buying one, but the screen (and whether I could get used to it) is the deciding factor. I'll be using it mostly with indesign, web, and email. The cost is about right (the macpro is too much for my budget), and it's plenty powerful to run CS3.

 

[craig1410]

I am a professional video producer/director and editor. I just recently was contemplating on upgrading from my 20" Imac to 24". I looked at the new 24" Imac at my Apple Store. There is no way I would be able to work on these new glossy models. I went for the older 24" Matte model and glad I did so. The colors are more real than on the new glossy models. People think that the colors are more vivid on the glossy models because they are fooled by the dark glass over the screen. This was a trick manufacturers pulled on consumers by putting dark glass on the screen of large LCD flat screen TV monitors making the picture seem more vivid.

What was Apple thinking. I have also spoken to many photographers who work on Imac Matte screen models and they wouldn't work on the new glossy screen models.

Henri

I don't think they have "dark glass" on the new iMac. I have to run mine on minimum brightness otherwise it's too bright. The vivid colours are no magic trick either - it's just a very good quality H-IPS LCD display.

If you're happy with last year's model then I'm happy for you but I for one, speaking as an I.T. consultant and ex-glossy screen sceptic think that the new model is much better.

Regards,
Craig.

 

[HLdan]

I am a professional video producer/director and editor. I just recently was contemplating on upgrading from my 20" Imac to 24". I looked at the new 24" Imac at my Apple Store. There is no way I would be able to work on these new glossy models. I went for the older 24" Matte model and glad I did so.
What was Apple thinking. I have also spoken to many photographers who work on Imac Matte screen models and they wouldn't work on the new glossy screen models.

Henri

What was Apple thinking? They weren't thinking about people in your industry and especially since your industry represents a very small sector of the consumer market so Apple is not going to cater just to your profession because the iMac is not the only product in the Macintosh line.

Take another LOOK at the iMac 24" and understand what Apple is doing with it and what market they are going after. Haven't you noticed by now that Apple is working it's way into our living rooms with Apple TV and sharing music and videos from room to room. The new iMac was designed with the living room in mind. It's perfect all around home entertainment system. The glossy screen is excellent for gaming and movies.

 

[johnfmclaughlin]

24 inch glossy review

first i will say that everyone has their own tastes and that's fine. i have read a lot of static about the new glossy screen and was a bit pensive about getting it even though it had almost all of the options i wanted. was the glass going to be a problem? would reflections be too strong? ahhh screw it, long story short i bought it and i am very happy with it. i am very picky when it comes to my pictures so calibration, color and contrast are a must. i used the spyder calibration tool without any problems, edited several pictures in photoshop cs3 from raw files, then sent test pictures to myself to look at on my powerbook to see any difference. happily, the only difference is about the same that you would see between a glossy and matte screen (in the sense that one is shiny and one is not) the new display is very sharp and vivid. if you use a calibration device you should have no problems such as color shifting and sharpness. and by the way calibration devices are now inexpensive and easy to use, best of luck

 

[Cybergypsy]

They just blew it with this Mac. No magnet for the remote, no sleep light and that ridiculous glossy display. The could have done a much better job. Offer a matte screen version, a magnet for the remote and have it match the Mac along with a matching mouse. Buy a white one before their gone.

Agreed :")

 

[HLdan]

to: Scudder, Apple blew it with this new iMac? R U sure? Then why is it selling so well? The only complaining seems to be by the people who have either never seen it person or shopped the Apple retail stores and judged by all the bright overhead lighting.
I haven't read one posting that someone said after they got it home they couldn't stand the glossy reflections and returned it. If that has been written it's of a small mass of people. Most of the people that bought the new iMac including myself love it.
I just had my friends come over and gave them a demo and they closed the blinds so we could watch a movie but no one was critical of the glossy screen, in fact other than keyboard the glossy screen received the most praise.

Pull your head out of your butt naysayers.

 

[i make movies]

I still don't have one but, to reiterate...

**Spoiler alert!!** This post is a little off topic and will add fuel to the fire.


I still don't understand why the photo editing 'pros' hate the gloss*. You have more contrast and dynamic range with clear glass than matte plastic. The matte, by definition, absorbs some of the light, reducing your contrast. To edit photos and adjust colors/contrast/color fields, your eyes need to adjust to the monitor, not a bright room you're working in.

What if the room is bright and has colored walls? If you have green walls and the sun is beaming in, reflecting the green all over the place and onto the screen, your eye will make adjustment to the green the same way your eye adjusts to colored sunglasses. Well,. not the exact same, but the principal is the same. If you can't see it, that's because you eye has already adjusted to the room (it only take about a minute to adjust....when I go skiing, I wear goggles with orange UV lenses and after a minute or so, the orange snow looks white and later, when I take off the goggles the snow is a SUPER BRIGHT shade of blue for about a minute).

If you're a real photo pro or colorist, your monitor is in a low-light room. If it's not, than I'm not hiring you. I've shot 3 music videos on super 16 and went to 3 different post houses, ranging from crappy-free at my school to the best post house in the Bay Area, and in the telecine rooms, (where they scan the negative and adjust colors/brightness/contrast/hue/primary and secondary color fields and output to digibeta, beta sp, hard drive, and/or HD), every room was very dark. Why dark? So the colorist's eyes can adjust to the monitor so he/she can see the whole gamut of colors and dynamic range with no problems or strain or reflections to deal with. I'm sorry, but if you're editing photos and really need to be very specific about the color, hue, and/or contrast, I firmly believe that the room has to be dark or you're doing it wrong, matte or glossy, it doesn't matter.

I'm sorry about the rant, but I'm really passionate about this. This is not a diss for matte screens because they definetly serve a purpose and help millions of people out with glare in their homes and offices. It's a diss towards pros and how can a pro be a pro is they're not worries about contrast/color/hue. Once I get one of the new iMacs and Final Cut Studio, I'm gonna start doing my own color correction with Color and I can't wait. I'm told that the controls are pretty similar to the DaVinci, which excites me greatly.

As per the requirements of the OP, I went to my local Apple Store and messed around in Final Cut with one of the new 24" iMacs and it was a dream. I can't wait to own one.

*- What does a photo editor do? Since photo and film/video share a lot of the same principles, I'm assuming color, hue, and contrast are very very important. If this is not the case, than please disregard my entire rant.

 

[mrgreen4242]

OK, I just got back from CompUSA where I had a chance to use a new 20" side by side with an old 24". The lighting was about as bad as can be for glossy displays; row after row of 1000w halogen bulbs right behind me, and long, bright floresent bulbs above me. I played with iPhoto/iMovie/iTunes a bit, then watched an HD Apple trailer (Bourne Ultimatum) on both.

The glare was obvious on the 20", but only the 1000w halogen bulbs. If you have a bright point light source right behind you, it could be a problem, regular light wouldn't bother me a bit though. Even with that, the 20" was BETTER than the 24", for a number of reasons.

1) The colors were WAY more vivid... looked great.
2) The refresh/update speed was clearly better - the action scenes in the trailer were much sharper.
3) The glare was actually more distracting on the 24" matte display. The very bright lights caused a large blownout area on the 24" that made about 1/3 of the screen look like crap. In contrast, the glass on the 20" reflected a point (well, a large point to be fair) of light, BUT I was able to easily look past/through it and focus on the screen and the end result was much better.
4) I didn't notice any dithering or color shift, even from moderate angles (say 100-120 degrees, which is pretty much all the usable viewing cone you should need if you aren't using it for large groups. Even from near 180 degrees the color shift was minimal, if noticable).

Now, I can understand the issue of you are doing serious photo editing and need 100% color accuracy, but for the rest of us... well, let's just say I am EXTREMELY excited to get my new iMac ASAP!

 

[imacan]

Just got my 24" today, the screen is just beautiful, no problem with the gloss at all for me, my 17" Powerbook looks so dead now ... No dead pixel either, very happy customer here.

 

[suneohair]

Apple decides glossy, all the crazed Apple apologists proclaim: "Best ever!" "Great Apple, I love you!" "Everything just...pops!" "I don't know why everyone else is whining, you aren't their market!"

Typical crap. They could release the iTurd as the new iPod and everyone would say it is the best. "It smells like Steve Jobs himself!"

 

[.Andy]

Apple decides glossy, all the crazed Apple apologists proclaim: "Best ever!" "Great Apple, I love you!" "Everything just...pops!" "I don't know why everyone else is whining, you aren't their market!"

Typical crap. They could release the iTurd as the new iPod and everyone would say it is the best. "It smells like Steve Jobs himself!"

Thanks for your input.


I got a 20" for my parents and I love it. I helped them set it up a couple of days ago and it's brilliant. I can't fault it at all - my 12" brightness and contrast looks pathetic in comparison. I probably even prefer it over my 20" ACD. I was a bit concerned after the song and dance people had been making here over glossy screens, but personally I wouldn't hesitate buying one for myself. An iMac will probably be my next purchase when my powerbook gets too long in the tooth. It's obviously a very personal preference though.

 

[MK2007]

Apple blew it with this generation of iMac. There was no reason to change a perfectly good working design. They would have continued to sell more Macs than ever had the display remained the same. Instead, some potential customers have decided not to buy or upgrade.

The display is indeed a problem. No one was complaining about the display prior to the latest iMac. Now for every new owner who likes the AL Mac you find one other non-owner who hates the display and won't buy the machine. We didn't have this complaint in the white iMac era.