Just picked up my SR MBP...some questions

[gtgrad95]

Went to the Apple store yesterday and picked up a 15.4'' 2.2 Matte MBP. After reading through this forum for the past few weeks, I was really hesitant on pulling the trigger.

1. It appears my screen is the 9C68 (Samsung), which was a little disappointing since I've gathered that the LG screens have had less of the yellowing issues. And also that Samsung seems to be more prevalent in the glossy screens and not as much in the mattes. My build week was 23.

2. Looking at the screen dead on, it appears to be perfect. However, any angle to the left or right turns all the colors to a yellow tint. Looking at it from the top, the colors turn blue. And looking at it from the bottom, it is sort of greenish. Is this case with all the LED screens or just the Samsungs? Or is my Mac defective? In the few hours I played with it, I didn't notice any yellowing in the bottom 1/3, but the yellow while viewing at even a slight angle concerns me.

3. What is the 2nd 3 prong power cord used for?

 

[panzer06]

3. What is the 2nd 3 prong power cord used for?

I assume you speak of the extension cord for the AC Adapter. It allows you to plug into the outlet w/o the brick itself connecting to the outlet. You replace the little plug on the brick with the connector on the extension. It's the first thing I do when I get a Mac laptop. Some folks don't like the extra weight it adds but I hate plugging the brick directly into the wall.

Plug in and enjoy that great new Mac!

Cheers,

 

[miniConvert]

Your screen is absolutely fine. Viewing angles aren't amazing on laptops, that's just the way it is, but there's nothing wrong with yours at all.

 

[gtgrad95]

^Thanks. I did think it was kind of awkward plugging that brick directly into the wall. Plus, the cord on it seemed really short.

 

[PDE]

Went to the Apple store yesterday and picked up a 15.4'' 2.2 Matte MBP. After reading through this forum for the past few weeks, I was really hesitant on pulling the trigger.

1. It appears my screen is the 9C68 (Samsung), which was a little disappointing since I've gathered that the LG screens have had less of the yellowing issues. And also that Samsung seems to be more prevalent in the glossy screens and not as much in the mattes. My build week was 23.

2. Looking at the screen dead on, it appears to be perfect. However, any angle to the left or right turns all the colors to a yellow tint. Looking at it from the top, the colors turn blue. And looking at it from the bottom, it is sort of greenish. Is this case with all the LED screens or just the Samsungs? Or is my Mac defective? In the few hours I played with it, I didn't notice any yellowing in the bottom 1/3, but the yellow while viewing at even a slight angle concerns me.

3. What is the 2nd 3 prong power cord used for?

Viewing angles on laptops are worse than desktop LCDs. They have a viewing angle of about 120 degrees, compared to desktop LCDs which are usually between 160 and 180. In this context, it's therefore normal that colors are distorted at a certain angle both vertically and horizontally. It shouldn't be immediately though - if you look at an angle from the front corners of the computer, how does it look? There should be almost no distortion at that angle.

And if it looks great from straight on, with no yellow tint, you've got a good screen! Be happy and enjoy!

The second cord is used to extend the reach of the adapter. Just slide out the two-pronged piece from the adapter, and slide in the long cord and, voila, you can reach outlets that previously were impossible to get to! Apple ingenuity at its best.

 

[gtgrad95]

Thanks, PDE. Do the LG screens do the same thing (yellow tint at angles)? I didn't really notice it in the Apple store.

 

[PDE]

Thanks, PDE. Do the LG screens do the same thing (yellow tint at angles)? I didn't really notice it in the Apple store.

Both the LED-lit screens are like this. Older screens were different in their colors, but still distorted. The only screen I've seen that has excellent viewing angles are the flexview screens that used to be an option for thinkpads but have been discontinued - maybe they were too expensive.

Unfortunately, it's just the current technology.

I can't imagine a worse place to evaluate a computer than the apple store. It's too noisy to hear sounds (fans, whines etc), too bright to see imperfections in the displays, tables too low to get a sense of what the computer would be like to work with (viewing angles, limits on the display bezel angle) and, finally, it's too cold to get a sense of how hot they get. In other words, Apple has created a perfect environment to cover up all the issues users are experiencing! It was probably unintentional, but still...quite funny.

 

[kolax]

Thanks, PDE. Do the LG screens do the same thing (yellow tint at angles)? I didn't really notice it in the Apple store.

How drastic is this yellow tint? I mean if you situate the laptop a few feet back and imagine 3 people are watching the screen (i.e. a film), would either people get yellow tint from sitting at a slight angle? (If you are all in a row facing the screen).

 

[Sopranino]

You have a perfect screen!! The change in apparent tint when the viewing angle changes is absolutely normal, even my old PB G4 matte screen does that. As another poster pointed out laptop screens don't seem to have the same range of viewing angles that a desktop screen does.

If there was a tinting problem with yours it would be VERY apparent even when viewed straight on, and in most cases shows up as an UNEVEN tinting in the screen with the lower 1/3 of the screen having a noticeable shift in tint. Yours doesn't........

Sopranino

 

[PDE]

How drastic is this yellow tint? I mean if you situate the laptop a few feet back and imagine 3 people are watching the screen (i.e. a film), would either people get yellow tint from sitting at a slight angle? (If you are all in a row facing the screen).

Yeah, that seems like a good measurement - how many (average-size) people can sit in front of it without color distortion?

 

[PDE]

You have a perfect screen!! The change in apparent tint when the viewing angle changes is absolutely normal, even my old PB G4 matte screen does that. As another poster pointed out laptop screens don't seem to have the same range of viewing angles that a desktop screen does.

If there was a tinting problem with yours it would be VERY apparent even when viewed straight on, and in most cases shows up as an UNEVEN tinting in the screen with the lower 1/3 of the screen having a noticeable shift in tint. Yours doesn't........

Sopranino

I agree! There are people who have problems with the yellow tint, but it's not tint that you get from the sides - it's when you're looking at it straight on. So don't worry, you've got a good screen.

 

[gtgrad95]

You have a perfect screen!! The change in apparent tint when the viewing angle changes is absolutely normal, even my old PB G4 matte screen does that. As another poster pointed out laptop screens don't seem to have the same range of viewing angles that a desktop screen does.

If there was a tinting problem with yours it would be VERY apparent even when viewed straight on, and in most cases shows up as an UNEVEN tinting in the screen with the lower 1/3 of the screen having a noticeable shift in tint. Yours doesn't........

Sopranino

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. Now I can start enjoying the great machine!

One other question, is the click button supposed to be slightly raised than the actual trackpad? That will take some getting used to as I came from a 4 year old Dell where the click button and the trackpad are on the same plane.

 

[miniConvert]

One other question, is the click button supposed to be slightly raised than the actual trackpad? That will take some getting used to as I came from a 4 year old Dell where the click button and the trackpad are on the same plane.

Yes, it is

 

[PDE]

Thanks, that makes me feel a lot better. Now I can start enjoying the great machine!

One other question, is the click button supposed to be slightly raised than the actual trackpad? That will take some getting used to as I came from a 4 year old Dell where the click button and the trackpad are on the same plane.

Yes, it's slightly raised on all MBPs...