Just got my MB, but the vertical viewing angle is very narrow?

[caktusaurus]

Hi everyone at MacRumors Forum!
I just got my MB (white C2D 2GB RAM) and I'm loving every part of it so far ... except for the screen: the vertical viewing angle is very narrow. I'm tilting the screen as far back as it goes, still the colors are very bleak when I'm sitting straight. Best is to sink down a bit in the chair, but then when I lean a little closer to the screen, it goes bleak again.

I've been playing a lot with friends' and co-workers MacBooks and haven't noticed this before. I wish I had the opportunity to compare my MB with another right now, but we're in the middle of exams now and everyone (including me) is busy studying and I'm not going to be seeing them until next week.

Is this normal, or should I get it replaced?
(If any of you would like to post some pictures of your screens for me to compare, I'd be really happy!)

Thanks!

 

[angrygolfer]

Hi everyone at MacRumors Forum!
I just got my MB (white C2D 2GB RAM) and I'm loving every part of it so far ... except for the screen: the vertical viewing angle is very narrow. I'm tilting the screen as far back as it goes, still the colors are very bleak when I'm sitting straight. Best is to sink down a bit in the chair, but then when I lean a little closer to the screen, it goes bleak again.

I've been playing a lot with friends' and co-workers MacBooks and haven't noticed this before. I wish I had the opportunity to compare my MB with another right now, but we're in the middle of exams now and everyone (including me) is busy studying and I'm not going to be seeing them until next week.

Is this normal, or should I get it replaced?
(If any of you would like to post some pictures of your screens for me to compare, I'd be really happy!)

Thanks!

This maybe a stupid response, but have you tried adjusting the brightness using F1/F2?

 

[caktusaurus]

This maybe a stupid response, but have you tried adjusting the brightness using F1/F2?

Hey, there's no such thing as a stupid response, but unfortunately that didn't help. I used Pixel Check to produce an all black pixel screen, but from most viewing angles there was a grey gradient at the bottom of the screen (where the dock would be). I'd like to push the screen back even further to get a good image, but that isn't physically possible.

Should I return it? Is there any chance of getting one without this, or is this considered normal?

 

[Zel]

The angle gets better if you keep it farther away from you.

If my MBP is up against the edge of my desk, then all the way back isnt far enough to see properly, but if i push it in such that my forearms can rest on empty deskspace, now the angle is perfect.

 

[Neutral Gamer]

I have the same problem with my 17" MBP. When viewing a dark or black background you can see the area near the bottom is definitely brighter and looks more light grey than black.

Or when I've got two windows open, one at the top of the screen and one near the bottom you can see that the window buttons, title and toolbar are darker in the top window compared to the bottom.

It's a bit annoying but then I guess this is a general problem with all laptop screens - they just aren't up to their desktop equivalents!

 

[caktusaurus]

Is there any chance that LED backlighting will make this better? I.e. how is the viewing angle on the latest issue of MacBook Pro compared to the previous one?

Neutral Gamer, is your MBP the model released in June this year?

I hear there's rumors about LED being one of the things an eventual upgrade of MacBook could get, as a part of "A Greener Apple"...

 

[AndyR2007]

I got my macbook in May and I have the same restriction of not being able to push the screen down as much as most other laptops

 

[chaos86]

ok heres my question: why do you guys want to push the screen back further than it allows? unless you have the computer on a rather low table, and pulled up very close to your chest, the available screen angles should work fine. what the heck are you doing with them?

 

[boobooyah]

well, some people may be tall, or their chair is high, or the laptop is low etc...i have this prob too because i use my mbp on an icurve and the tilt of the icurve lessens the viewing angle somewhat. my powerbook was fine on the icurve because i could tilt the screen back more.

the only solution is to either sink down, lower your chair, or raise the laptop.

 

[Neutral Gamer]

Neutral Gamer, is your MBP the model released in June this year?

Firstly, sorry for the late reply, been out all day - Leopard was released today don't you know!

My MPB is the High Resolution model, so yeah it's the one they released this summer.

In all fairness when I was at my local Apple shop today I had a look at every Mac they had. I did the same test where I dragged a window from the top of the screen to the bottom and noticed each time how the window buttons and toolbar got brighter and brighter.

So it isn't just laptops, in fact it was pretty noticeable on the new iMacs.

I can't remember what it was like on the Apple Cinema Displays but on the 17" widescreen monitor I've got at home on my PC I don't have the same problem - the brightness is completely even. So is it just the dispays that Apple have decided to use for their computers?

It is annoying but it is made up by the fact that the quality otherwise is pretty good, especially when viewing photos on the new iMacs. And my MBP with it's High Res screen looks super sharp and MBP's in general definitely don't look washed out like the regular Macbooks - although changing the Colour Profile may help a bit.

I've heard of low viewing angles on the Macbooks before so chances are your Macbook is probably just "normal" I'm afraid. But until you compare it to another one as you've said, you won't be able to tell! :

 

[caktusaurus]

Ok, I've been testing a lot this weekend. Compared my MB to a friend's (bought April -07) and they we're pretty much identical. Went to the store to look at some PC laptops: most of them were the same, some were better though.

Do you think that the rumored upgrade to the MacBook will do better?

 

[LLPE33]

Ok, I've been testing a lot this weekend. Compared my MB to a friend's (bought April -07) and they we're pretty much identical. Went to the store to look at some PC laptops: most of them were the same, some were better though.

Do you think that the rumored upgrade to the MacBook will do better?

I sure hope so, as I'm looking to get one in the first quarter of 2008.