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Lack of Complaints About 2017 Screen

S

Smoothie

macrumors 6502a
Original poster
Jun 23, 2007
781
544
California
I've only been following the comments about the 2017 iMacs for a couple of weeks. But I don't recall anyone complaining about screen defects (except one comment about unfortunately receiving an iMac with a cracked screen).

Practically every new computer product launch, regardless of manufacturer, comes with some complaints like uneven backlight, color gradients, backlight bleed, dead or stuck pixels, etc. I know the screen on the iMac is beautiful, but I'm surprised there are no complaints from anyone. Does that mean very good quality control on the panels?

I'm looking forward to mine being delivered.
 
Smoothie said:
Does that mean very good quality control on the panels?
Click to expand...

Possibly, but it also could be like other products where no one notices/checks until a thread is made, and then suddenly everyone thinks theirs is defective. I can't tell you how many iPhone and iPad screen threads I've looked at before and even after people circled the "issues" no one could tell a difference lol. I also think that perhaps the i7's fan/heat is a larger issue and has gotten the most attention.

FWIW, I went to an apple store and played with some models and thought they looked amazing. Nothing bad jumped out at me with any of their display models.

EDIT: As expected, here's the starting of the BS complaints: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-imac-2017-27-inch-terrible-screen.2055234/
 
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Neither my iMac i7 7700K nor my current iMac i5 7600 have perfectly even backlighting. But this is basically par for the course, and since I don't notice it regular usage with stuff on the screen other than a solid grey background, I'm not going to do anything about it.

Give my limited experience with these types of issues, my guess is I would have to go through 10 screens before I found one that was better than the others.

No noticeable stuck pixels though. This is in contrast to one white iMac I bought a decade ago. It had literally dozens of stuck subpixels. They swapped out the screen (right in my living room) and the second one was fine.
 
I did a throughout screen test on mine and found no major issues. Uniformity is not perfect but higher than I expected. Close to no backlight bleeding which is nice. Gradient smoothness is quite good (8bit dithered to 10bit simulation is true). Peak brightness is more than I need for calibrated print/photo work. Dark area contrast is not the best but workable. I have a distaste in glossy coating in general but they did a good job with the anti-glare on this one, if I control my ambient light in the room there is close to no noticeable reflection. And due to being glossy the contrast and viewing angles are a bit more consistent than the matte Dell that I set next to it.

I have used many Apple branded displays and iMacs before, this one is easily the best out of its own crop. Compared to likes of Eizo and NEC it is very high up there, if only it had more hardware calibration and controls. But for what I paid with a nicely spec'd mac along with the monitor I am more than happy with it.

*** only one minor problem: the factory default is D65 white point but I found it more yellow than it should be. This is easily offset by 3rd party calibration but not as much with ColorSync Utility.
 
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Sounds like the manufacturer (LG?) did a nice job on this panel. I also use a colorimeter on monitors to calibrate them. The brightness range of the panel is way more than I'll ever need.
 
I too wondered if others had screen issues as well after having to return 2 iMacs back in 2015 and giving up. One had about 15 stuck pixels and the other had bad uneven tints and "Dirty Screen Effect" while I scrolled in Safari.

My 2017 has been better. Backlight evenness is good, if not exceptional. Tint shifting from center to sides is slight but equal on both sides so it's not obvious. I know it's the nature of the LCD beast and I will have to deal with slight uneven brightness and slight tints until Apple switches to OLED screens.

But like everyone else here said, the gorgeous colors and the incredible sharpness of the resolution screen makes me forget any deficiency.
 
Smoothie said:
I've only been following the comments about the 2017 iMacs for a couple of weeks. But I don't recall anyone complaining about screen defects (except one comment about unfortunately receiving an iMac with a cracked screen).

Practically every new computer product launch, regardless of manufacturer, comes with some complaints like uneven backlight, color gradients, backlight bleed, dead or stuck pixels, etc. I know the screen on the iMac is beautiful, but I'm surprised there are no complaints from anyone. Does that mean very good quality control on the panels?

I'm looking forward to mine being delivered.
Click to expand...

I've been using it on purpose for a longer period of time during day/night and reading/media, and have been trying to stare at it with various colors to detect dead pixels, etc.

While movie watching at full brightness at night makes the black bars not so black, i haven't met a monitor this size yet besides oled screens where black is black..

I have nothing to complain about. I hope it stays that way.
 
dsc888 said:
My 2017 has been better. Backlight evenness is good, if not exceptional.
Click to expand...

How much difference in brightness are you getting between the edges/corners and center? I'd have to double check again but I think mine was 10-20% brighter in the center.
 
snap01 said:
How much difference in brightness are you getting between the edges/corners and center? I'd have to double check again but I think mine was 10-20% brighter in the center.
Click to expand...

Yes. I think 10% difference is what I am seeing. It's just an eyeball estimate. It's definitely what I would consider as acceptable. LG seemed to have improved the uniformity of their backlight over the 2015 iMacs. I don't know where the light source for the backlight is projected from but I'm guessing it's from the sides.
 
The 2017 27-inch 5k iMac screen is amazing. Huge and noticeable jump up from the 2013 iMac I was working on.
 
Smoothie said:
I've only been following the comments about the 2017 iMacs for a couple of weeks. But I don't recall anyone complaining about screen defects (except one comment about unfortunately receiving an iMac with a cracked screen).

Practically every new computer product launch, regardless of manufacturer, comes with some complaints like uneven backlight, color gradients, backlight bleed, dead or stuck pixels, etc. I know the screen on the iMac is beautiful, but I'm surprised there are no complaints from anyone. Does that mean very good quality control on the panels?

I'm looking forward to mine being delivered.
Click to expand...
You shall be served instantly ;-): https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/new-imac-2017-27-inch-terrible-screen.2055234/#post-24773345

Magnus
 
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i wanted to write a reply, but then read this one. It's exactly what I wanted to write. The screen is not perfect, but better than I expected, especially considering the price of the computer
Chancha said:
I did a throughout screen test on mine and found no major issues. Uniformity is not perfect but higher than I expected. Close to no backlight bleeding which is nice. Gradient smoothness is quite good (8bit dithered to 10bit simulation is true). Peak brightness is more than I need for calibrated print/photo work. Dark area contrast is not the best but workable. I have a distaste in glossy coating in general but they did a good job with the anti-glare on this one, if I control my ambient light in the room there is close to no noticeable reflection. And due to being glossy the contrast and viewing angles are a bit more consistent than the matte Dell that I set next to it.

I have used many Apple branded displays and iMacs before, this one is easily the best out of its own crop. Compared to likes of Eizo and NEC it is very high up there, if only it had more hardware calibration and controls. But for what I paid with a nicely spec'd mac along with the monitor I am more than happy with it.

*** only one minor problem: the factory default is D65 white point but I found it more yellow than it should be. This is easily offset by 3rd party calibration but not as much with ColorSync Utility.
Click to expand...
 
Chancha said:
I did a throughout screen test on mine and found no major issues. Uniformity is not perfect but higher than I expected. Close to no backlight bleeding which is nice. Gradient smoothness is quite good (8bit dithered to 10bit simulation is true). Peak brightness is more than I need for calibrated print/photo work. Dark area contrast is not the best but workable. I have a distaste in glossy coating in general but they did a good job with the anti-glare on this one, if I control my ambient light in the room there is close to no noticeable reflection. And due to being glossy the contrast and viewing angles are a bit more consistent than the matte Dell that I set next to it.

I have used many Apple branded displays and iMacs before, this one is easily the best out of its own crop. Compared to likes of Eizo and NEC it is very high up there, if only it had more hardware calibration and controls. But for what I paid with a nicely spec'd mac along with the monitor I am more than happy with it.

*** only one minor problem: the factory default is D65 white point but I found it more yellow than it should be. This is easily offset by 3rd party calibration but not as much with ColorSync Utility.
Click to expand...
Dear Chancha

excellent and through information. You compared to Eizo and NEC - what are the areas where they are still better?

Cheers,
Magnus
 
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I'd be surprised if this monitor is Eizo quality. What retail, stand alone monitor is the iMac 5K 27 inch based on? What retail model is the closest?
 
mbosse said:
excellent and through information. You compared to Eizo and NEC - what are the areas where they are still better?
Click to expand...
Bghead8che said:
I'd be surprised if this monitor is Eizo quality. What retail, stand alone monitor is the iMac 5K 27 inch based on? What retail model is the closest?
Click to expand...
I have used Eizo ColorEdge series recently, and NEC Spectraview some years ago. They are professionally graded reference monitors for printed media and photography (and recently video as well). Nowadays they use the same LG / Samsung panels as the other brands' products (including Apple's), but they excel at the circuitry, the firmware/software integration, calibration / LUT flexibility, general build quality etc. They also seem to get much more aggressive QC in checking uniformity and IPS light bleed, in the many dozen copies or Eizo I used at work I have probably only seen bleeding in two in a total dark room, and never inconsistent tint / brightness that is discernible by naked eye. I have "heard" that perhaps the 1st grade panels are reserved for vendors like them, while Dell / Apple gets 2nd then the rest get 3rd crop (*citation nonexistent).

Some models also have included a built-in spectrophotometer, which can be programed to self-calibrate on schedule. The driver/software also works more tightly with the OS and has records of calibration errors/consistency for reference. They also of course come with tank like build quality, the older CCFL (tube) ones even had fans for cooling (maintain brightness consistency), and none of the thin-bezel nonsense (which creates un-flat surface and bleeding due to lack of pressure in corners). They always come with a fully 3D adjustable stand, and use matte coating that has minimal viewing angle contrast offset.

Apple branded displays while generally good, thoughtout its history there was hardly a point in time where Apple offered anything at that grade. The current iMac 5K probably is the closest in terms of out of the box quality. But all the other features and specs add up, for color critical workflow you still need one of Eizos or NECs. But I guess for semi-pros or even creative pros earlier up in the production chain, the iMac screen more than suffices.

If I am not wrong, the 5K panel is the same LG since the first 5k iMac (2014?) and the Dell UP2715K. The difference in the LG Ultrafine and the current 2017 iMac is the backlight using better LEDs so we get a higher peak nits, and thus higher contrast ratio.
 
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They claim to have a professional display coming out with the 2018 Mac Pro, very exciting if they actually mean professional and not just "shiny" :)
 
tozz said:
They claim to have a professional display coming out with the 2018 Mac Pro, very exciting if they actually mean professional and not just "shiny" :)
Click to expand...
They simply will not. To adequately satisfy a wide range of different needs for different professional disciplines, a vendor needs to have multiple line ups, each one spec'd specifically for that field. What Apple will do is to do what they always do, make a general purpose product that encapsulates most peoples' needs, maintaining an above average out of the box quality, while offering visually consistent style to rest of its own products. This singularity approach will inevitably be full of compromises for some segments of pro users. I actually thought they were smart to get out of display business since they were never really that good at it, and then 3rd party options are so readily available right now at competitive price points and often look as sexy as Apple's own style. The LG Ultrafine's "ugly" (sic) look as compared to LG's own products was quite astonishingly ironic. almost on purpose to set Apple up.
 
Chancha said:
They simply will not. To adequately satisfy a wide range of different needs for different professional disciplines, a vendor needs to have multiple line ups, each one spec'd specifically for that field. What Apple will do is to do what they always do, make a general purpose product that encapsulates most peoples' needs, maintaining an above average out of the box quality, while offering visually consistent style to rest of its own products. This singularity approach will inevitably be full of compromises for some segments of pro users. I actually thought they were smart to get out of display business since they were never really that good at it, and then 3rd party options are so readily available right now at competitive price points and often look as sexy as Apple's own style. The LG Ultrafine's "ugly" (sic) look as compared to LG's own products was quite astonishingly ironic. almost on purpose to set Apple up.
Click to expand...
Not at all true, if you look at Eizo and Nec they have a single professional line (and some lower ones for enthusiasts), different sizes and resolutions, but you can do everything on their top of the line model, in other words, if you buy Eizo CG318 you're not going to miss out on any features (which is why they target 2D, 3D, VFX and color grading all in the same product). Or do you claim that this monitor is full of compromises?
Now that monitor costs more than a fully fleshed out iMac and it's only 4K so Apple can definitely make a dent in the professional market with integration and work flow optimizations for their users. I would not bet money on that they will go after Eizo, but it's not something that would be outside the realm of possibility.
 
tozz said:
if you buy Eizo CG318 you're not going to miss out on any features (which is why they target 2D, 3D, VFX and color grading all in the same product). Or do you claim that this monitor is full of compromises
Click to expand...

"Costs $4000" is a pretty important compromise. Even for pro use, if you don't need all of those features in one box it would make sense to buy something cheaper.

In other news - I'm sure the 18-core, 256GB RAM 32GB VRAM iMac Pro (or whatever the top-end specs are) will be great for playing 3D shooters - but a decent quad-core i7 with a 1070GT-equivalent gaming GPU would be a much more sensible specification for that purpose. You'd only consider the iMP if you intended to intersperse your gaming sessions with 8k video editing, movie-quality 3D rendering or heavy scientific computing.
 
EugW said:
Neither my iMac i7 7700K nor my current iMac i5 7600 have perfectly even backlighting. But this is basically par for the course, and since I don't notice it regular usage with stuff on the screen other than a solid grey background, I'm not going to do anything about it.

Give my limited experience with these types of issues, my guess is I would have to go through 10 screens before I found one that was better than the others.

No noticeable stuck pixels though. This is in contrast to one white iMac I bought a decade ago. It had literally dozens of stuck subpixels. They swapped out the screen (right in my living room) and the second one was fine.
Click to expand...

I'd wager you could do it in 8 screens. ;)
[doublepost=1499426234][/doublepost]
Smoothie said:
I have such power over people. Maybe I should start my own cult.
Click to expand...

iCult. :apple:
 
I moved from an 8 or 9 year old LED Cinema Display to a 2017 27" iMac. It's not perfect (no LCD of that size ever will be), but every time I look at it I'm feel awe at how crisp and beautiful it is. It's certainly one of the all-around best LCDs ever created.

Still, here's hoping the next design refresh comes with an OLED display. Once OLED or whatever comes after that (direct-emission quantum dots? Micro-LEDs?) ramps up, LCD will be relegated to budget devices and eventually phased out.
 
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