Imac screen so bright - my 20" Lcd Looks bad - why?

[maclamb]

I just bought a 17" imac intel.
I am using the extended desktop feature to drive my acer al922 20" lcd screen.
Side by side the imac is Bright, bright , bright and very white (higher resolution too).
My acer looks positively Dingey next to it.
The specs on both (brightness and contrast) are the same.
So what do you think
Is it time to retire my al922? maybe it needs repair? or is apple known for using really excellent screens.
There's an apple 20" lcd up for auction on ebay and I'm considering it.
Or, is there another screen close to apple brightness w/o the cost?

thanks

joe

 

[iGary]

I just bought a 17" imac intel.
I am using the extended desktop feature to drive my acer al922 20" lcd screen.
Side by side the imac is Bright, bright , bright and very white (higher resolution too).
My acer looks positively Dingey next to it.
The specs on both (brightness and contrast) are the same.
So what do you think
Is it time to retire my al922? maybe it needs repair? or is apple known for using really excellent screens.
There's an apple 20" lcd up for auction on ebay and I'm considering it.
Or, is there another screen close to apple brightness w/o the cost?

thanks

joe

Have you considered calibrating both monitors?

If you do not have a spectrometer, the Apple Color Sync utility isn't half bad.

 

[maclamb]

I've never done it before - any hints?

j

 

[iGary]

I've never done it before - any hints?

j

System Preferences>Displays>Color>Calibrate

You could also make sure that both are using the same color space, too.

 

[maclamb]

thanks
so playing with it - it seems to have a slightly yellowish cast...

 

[iGary]

thanks
so playing with it - it seems to have a slightly yellowish cast...

Dark room, sit back and squiting your eyes helps. No joke.

 

[iMeowbot]

Yellowish is normal for Macs. If you prefer the blueish look, choose the PC color set.

 

[maclamb]

no, sorry, I mean the acer looks yellow ish compared to the imac - when I put a white document across both (using extended desktop).

errr - very annoying, but I may just be a big baby...
The acer is not bad as such- but looking at the imac - the imac is so bright and wwhite...

 

[iMeowbot]

no, sorry, I mean the acer looks yellow ish compared to the imac - when I put a white document across both (using extended desktop).

That's okay, you should still be able to tweak it. Under that color tab of the monitor prefs, try playing with the different display profiles (uncheck the little "this display only" box if one appears). You also get a choice of color temperatures in the calibration screen, Apple LCDs typically use something very close (maybe even the same) as the D65 option.

errr - very annoying, but I may just be a big baby...
The acer is not bad as such- but looking at the imac - the imac is so bright and wwhite...

Maybe Apple usually do use some very nice panels, except in their cheap notebooks.

 

[maclamb]

I do notice the acer brightness control doesn't seem to have an effect on the screen.
I am stillunder warranty - so will look into repair...