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Regular or Glossy Screen?

M

mattportner

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 5, 2007
91
0
Which is better?
Which do you prefer and why?

I am going to buy 17-inch MBP after Leopard comes out (see signature) and i was wondering which type of screen i should get.
 
regular or glossy?

mattportner said:
Which is better?
Which do you prefer and why?

I am going to buy 17-inch MBP after Leopard comes out (see signature) and i was wondering which type of screen i should get.
Click to expand...

I would personally go for the glossy screen, especially if you'd have to work with pictures and stuff, gives (to my mind) more brightness, better colour to pics, ...
 
tschoftner said:
I would personally go for the glossy screen, especially if you'd have to work with pictures and stuff, gives (to my mind) more brightness, better colour to pics, ...
Click to expand...

it does gives better color and more punch to pics and videos, but it doesn't give color accuracy, i guess it's a matter of preferences, my mbpro is matte, and i can see the small grain everyone's talking about, but its not bad at all, and there is zero glare :D
 
Although there are many threads on this already, I'll voice my opinion on it. I have used both Glossy and Matte screens before and I much prefer Matte. I don't like the glare that I got when using the glossy screen, even in the lighting conditions in my room and in the living room. And I also don't like the overall look of the vibrant colours that some people like, it just doesn't look right to me. The fingerprints show VERY easily on glossy screens and I just can't stand it when something is on the screen like that. Overall I hate Glossy screens and I will never get one.
 
mattportner said:
Which is better?
Which do you prefer and why?

I am going to buy 17-inch MBP after Leopard comes out (see signature) and i was wondering which type of screen i should get.
Click to expand...

It's a very personal choice.

I'd strongly recommend you go to a store and decide for yourself for that very reason.

Personally, I prefer glossy -- I like how it looks, and I can generally find a position that minimizes the reflection.

The color accuracy comments on the glossy seem a bit of a red herring to me, since the laptop LCD panels are 6bit anyway (262,144 FTW colors, kids!).

I can see why some would prefer the matte tho'. As I said, a very personal choice.
 
This question does get a little old, but from everyone I have personally talked to that got glossy hates it. HATES, not dislikes it, HATES it.
 
Scarlet Fever said:
Why won't this topic just die?!?
Click to expand...

i'd rather read this over a "should i buy now?" or a "macbook or macbook pro" thread any day. to weigh in on my preference, i'm drawn to the shininess of the gloss, but i prefer matte (i changed my preference recently) due to the color accuracy. the colors on glossy screens just don't look right to me. is this due to too much time spent on matte screens all my life? maybe, but it's all about personal preference anyway, right? funny thing, personal preference. maybe the op should compare and contrast the glossy and matte screens at an apple store and decide for himself which is better.
 
The funny thing is, despite this thread being warmed over at least half a dozen times, no one has accurate data beyond their opinions about this. I want somebody with access to both a glossy and a matte MBP to use a color accuracy measuring device and see if it's just perception or there really is a huge variance.

I love my (dumb) friend's VAIO, or at least the big glossy 17" screen, but she only uses it for web and email and the occasional game. I would be using my MBP for graphics, illustration, prepress, retouching, video editing, webdev, etc, so color accuracy over "saturated blacks/colors" is more important. Plus the glare can be annoying... maybe that's reason enough.
 
wongulous said:
The funny thing is, despite this thread being warmed over at least half a dozen times, no one has accurate data beyond their opinions about this. I want somebody with access to both a glossy and a matte MBP to use a color accuracy measuring device and see if it's just perception or there really is a huge variance.

I love my (dumb) friend's VAIO, or at least the big glossy 17" screen, but she only uses it for web and email and the occasional game. I would be using my MBP for graphics, illustration, prepress, retouching, video editing, webdev, etc, so color accuracy over "saturated blacks/colors" is more important. Plus the glare can be annoying... maybe that's reason enough.
Click to expand...

MacBook Pro panels are only 6 bit. Thus, neither is terribly accurate.
 
The answer to this question should become clear once you actually spend decent time with each type at an Apple Store. In the end, your eyes will decide what is best. While merits and drawbacks have been concisely highlighted for you, it often comes down to how the eyes deal with glare and reflection.

I have a headache problem for years and the glossy only exacerbated it. For me, a matte screen wins this race going away. Even if the headaches were not so troublesome, the winner would remain unchanged.
 
Glossy, fantastic. Never looked back. Don't even think about the matte. In fact now I've since forgotten there was even a choice. Both will probably be great, no matter what you choose, so don't stress about it.
 
Shaduu said:
My sarcasm sense is tingling.
Click to expand...

Try examining a matte screen in headon daylight. Not very good.

The glossy screen blocks out a ton of the rays like a UV filter and you can see the screen in bright daylight when you dial down the screen by 50%.

Can't do that very well with the old matte iBook and Powerbook screens :)
 
princealfie said:
Try examining a matte screen in headon daylight. Not very good.

The glossy screen blocks out a ton of the rays like a UV filter and you can see the screen in bright daylight when you dial down the screen by 50%.

Can't do that very well with the old matte iBook and Powerbook screens :)
Click to expand...

That doesn't make sense to me, surely a glossy screen would reflect any light that hit it? I'll have to go down to the Apple Store again and test the two screens.
 
Shaduu said:
That doesn't make sense to me, surely a glossy screen would reflect any light that hit it? I'll have to go down to the Apple Store again and test the two screens.
Click to expand...

I thought that way but when I tested my Macbook and my 12" Powerbook, the Macbook won in direct sunlight. No kidding. I dialed down the MacBook to 50% brightness and it was great to use my laptop outside in sunny weather :) :apple:
 
wongulous said:
I love my (dumb) friend's VAIO, or at least the big glossy 17" screen, but she only uses it for web and email and the occasional game. I would be using my MBP for graphics, illustration, prepress, retouching, video editing, webdev, etc, so color accuracy over "saturated blacks/colors" is more important. Plus the glare can be annoying... maybe that's reason enough.
Click to expand...

I have matte myself and does a lot of graphics/video/print work, but have been kinda eyeing the glossy, they just look so much better, do you know how "inaccurate" glossy screens are when compared to mattes when doing prepress and color work?
 
SpaceJello said:
I have matte myself and does a lot of graphics/video/print work, but have been kinda eyeing the glossy, they just look so much better, do you know how "inaccurate" glossy screens are when compared to mattes when doing prepress and color work?
Click to expand...

Just calibrate your glossy screen using Spyder and that will help quite a bit with it! :D
 
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