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chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,428
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Berlin
Hey guys,

so I went again to the Apple store today to confirm my decision to get a nano coated XDR, and was testing a bit with my flashlight, because my main issue aren’t reflections but three lightbulbs in my back at night. Just when I felt like, ok let’s take the glossy, I saw this:

EDDF4919-A478-4525-A009-DE4DF6003DED.jpeg
The nastiest highlight I’ve ever seen. It exaggerates the highlight like crazy with this rainbow flare effect. My glossy dell at home definitely doesn’t do this.

the nano handles it much better of course but still produces a pretty spiky, sharp highlight actually, something a regular matte screen wouldn’t do.
I guess my main question is, do you guys notice that the glossy screen creates exaggerated flare effects in funny colors in real like conditions? 5B6E5C92-0395-410A-AEB3-B4304737E41C.jpeg

Can anyone who has either of the screens at home report on this maybe? Did you notice this issue somehow?

Now I’m tempted again to stick with my nano order, but what I really dislike about it is the way how the screen constantly looks “dirty” on white surfaces. I constantly found myself blinking, thinking that my eyes were not seeing clearly or something because of the coating.
Maybe one gets used to this though?
 

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bwinter88

macrumors regular
Jul 20, 2012
152
1,913
what I really dislike about it is the way how the screen constantly looks “dirty” on white surfaces. I constantly found myself blinking, thinking that my eyes were not seeing clearly or something because of the coating.
Maybe one gets used to this though?
The white areas look clean in the photos, could you expound on what you mean by dirty? That's interesting and a dealbreaker for me if true.
 

Philllllip

macrumors regular
Nov 3, 2014
152
166
Dude, you are seriously overthinking this! lol :) Nano all the way. EVERY photo of the Nano looks AWESOME! Even these last shots you just posted. Mine comes next Wednesday! I deal with a lot of white photos in my work and even the thought of the 'dirty' look doesn't put me off. I guess I will know next week!
[automerge]1579720351[/automerge]
oh and I just did your flashlight test on my iMac and looks exactly like your XDR Glossy display with the rainbow effect if not worse actually!
 

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,428
2,114
Berlin
The white areas look clean in the photos, could you expound on what you mean by dirty? That's interesting and a dealbreaker for me if true.
I don't know how to describe this, well it's like a subtle noise in white areas, I have really sharp eyes and I found myself blinking first, thinking I had like tears in my eyes or something, then thought the display was somewhat dirty and needed cleaning, but it's the nano coating underneath the glass. In dark mode and on any kind of pictures it's unnoticable but for example in mail on a white page it looks not nice at all to me.

Example of the "dirt"
IMG_2192.jpeg


Glossy screen:
IMG_2457.jpeg


About the glare, ok I was wrong, my Dells at home are exactly the same as the glossy one, funny, in real life I NEVER noticed this!

When you see my reflections, you think I have to stick with my nano order? It's only an issue at night, and even then, as I said, I never cared before. Now I understand though that I won't get rid of the highlights, they will just appear as spiky bright points, not disappear entirely like on a regular matte screen, so I'm not sure.

My issue really aren't reflections of myself or other people or a bright window or so, it's just these highlights from the lamps, and they wont go away...


My current setup:
IMG_2453.jpeg
 

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,428
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Berlin
The white areas look clean in the photos, could you expound on what you mean by dirty? That's interesting and a dealbreaker for me if true.
Ah i can describe it better now.
i know why I have this feeling of it looking dirty- it’s like when you have tons of smudges and finger prints onyour iPhone and look at a white page, you see this very subtle noise in which the incoming light breaks a thousand times. That’s exactly how the entire surface of the nano feels like to me.
 

bwinter88

macrumors regular
Jul 20, 2012
152
1,913
Ah i can describe it better now.
i know why I have this feeling of it looking dirty- it’s like when you have tons of smudges and finger prints onyour iPhone and look at a white page, you see this very subtle noise in which the incoming light breaks a thousand times. That’s exactly how the entire surface of the nano feels like to me.
I see it in that new picture. That would drive me nuts!! And we're supposed to pay an extra $1k for the privilege?

Cool video comparison of the screens though with the iPhone light, thank you for that. I don't think any coating is going to do very well against specular highlights like that. The nano coating clearly makes a difference, but...a $1k difference? Not against those lights, I think. And if you didn't notice the extent of it before with your old monitor, why splurge now? I know you said you have to live with it, but you're better off spending $1k developing some clever practical solution...perhaps some kind of switchy device mounted in the wall that lets you turn them off... ?
 

s66

Suspended
Dec 12, 2016
472
661
Flashes reflected on a screen are hardly real world use cases in my book. I'd kill the one doing that long before I'd get annouyed by the reflection.

I've an XDR sitting hooked up to my trashcan till the 7.1 arrives.Yes it's glossy, no it doesn't reflect things it should not. [I don't have lights behind me, but I do have a large window next to me]

I decided against the nano when I read the cleaning instructions from Apple. Only their cloth, only dry, not even water is allowed. So what if you have somebody putting their fingers on it, or a cleaning lady, or a cold and sneeze on it by accident ?
Hence no nanos for me: too fragile.
 

RyanFlynn

macrumors 6502a
Nov 24, 2006
511
466
Los Angeles
I have the glossy sitting at my desk and I'm very happy with it. Most of my friends have been commenting out how little reflection it seems to have. When you look closely, you can see reflections, but when I really need to grade, I just dim the lights.
 
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H. Flower

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2008
759
852
Go with glossy , and turn your lights off when you edit, or put your lights to the side of the computer. Put drapes on your windows for daytime.

It’s better to edit and color grade without much external light anyways. You can see everything so much better. If you were in an uncontrolled environment or on site, it’d be a different story. But you can control your environment. Definitely save yourself the money and at the same time see your footage better.
 
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chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,428
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Berlin
Sounds like your choice is between spending $1000 dollars on a nano-coating and $10 on a lampshade. :)
sadly a lampshade is not an Option...
I already have the lights Siri controlled so controlling them is not a problem, but I just like these lights to be on somehow. And as you can see my girlfriend often sits at that table at night so I can’t force her to sit in the dark lol
192CB56A-EDAD-498C-B5FB-CC2D5BE6738F.jpeg


the other think of course is- who knows maybe I’ll move to an office space at some point with my machine and god knows what lighting conditions I’ll find there..
 

nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
4,250
3,250
sadly a lampshade is not an Option...
I already have the lights Siri controlled so controlling them is not a problem, but I just like these lights to be on somehow. And as you can see my girlfriend often sits at that table at night so I can’t force her to sit in the dark lol View attachment 890153

Get the glossy and spend some of the $1000 on a massive lazy susan for your desk and office chair? You can have the window behind you at night to avoid glare.
 

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,428
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Berlin
Go with glossy , and turn your lights off when you edit, or put your lights to the side of the computer. Put drapes on your windows for daytime.

It’s better to edit and color grade without much external light anyways. You can see everything so much better. If you were in an uncontrolled environment or on site, it’d be a different story. But you can control your environment. Definitely save yourself the money and at the same time see your footage better.
Im aware of that and of course I’d do that- not talking about color accuracy here, but about the simple annoyance of reflections.
 

blackadde

macrumors regular
Dec 11, 2019
165
242
Surely for $1000 saved you could just reorganize the room so your unshaded light source isn't bouncing directly into your eyeballs. As long as the angle is oblique it won't be an issue.

That's kind of a nightmare lighting situation for screen viewing, but I suspect the ideal solution is probably more lateral thinking and less technological overpowering.

Nice room, tho. I dig the credenza.
 
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chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,428
2,114
Berlin
Surely for $1000 saved you could just reorganize the room so your unshaded light source isn't bouncing directly into your eyeballs. As long as the angle is oblique it won't be an issue.

That's kind of a nightmare lighting situation for screen viewing, but I suspect the ideal solution is probably more lateral thinking and less technological overpowering.

Nice room, tho. I dig the credenza.
Im not reorganizing my room ;)
A lot of effort went into this and I don’t see any other way or arranging things, it’s perfectly aligned with the sofa and the projector etc..

the problem during this freakin dark time of the year is I need to have these lightbulbs on even during half the day, so I constantly see those sparkling highlights.
Has Anyone of the glossy advocates here actually seen the nano with their own eyes?
And I know this might be a silly question- but are there any studies of constant reflections on the screen can have an effect in concentration or headache or so? As I said I got totally used to them but I’m just wondering now..
 

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nicho

macrumors 601
Feb 15, 2008
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Im not reorganizing my room ;)
A lot of effort went into this and I don’t see any other way or arranging things, it’s perfectly aligned with the sofa and the projector etc..

the problem during this freakin dark time of the year is I need to have these lightbulbs on even during half the day, so I constantly see those sparkling highlights.
Has Anyone of the glossy advocates here actually seen the nano with their own eyes?
And I know this might be a silly question- but are there any studies of constant reflections on the screen can have an effect in concentration or headache or so? As I said I got totally used to them but I’m just wondering now..

How about a 3 panel freestanding room divider?
 

OkiRun

macrumors 65816
Oct 25, 2019
1,005
585
Japan
Cut some gells to fit strategically on the computer side of those lights... cut and glue them in hexagon shape to match your lighting.

 
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bwinter88

macrumors regular
Jul 20, 2012
152
1,913
Polarizing gel is used in the film industry to reduce reflections on glass and metal. Whether it's between the lens and the light, or the light and the glass, it doesn't matter. Try cutting out hexagons of this stuff and putting it on the shade between the bulb and your desk, you might actually cut down the reflections in the glass to nearly nil.

 

chfilm

macrumors 68040
Original poster
Nov 15, 2012
3,428
2,114
Berlin
Polarizing gel is used in the film industry to reduce reflections on glass and metal. Whether it's between the lens and the light, or the light and the glass, it doesn't matter. Try cutting out hexagons of this stuff and putting it on the areas of the shade between the bulb and your desk, you might actually cut down the reflections in the glass to nearly nil.

I know this gel of course, but I'm wondering how you guys imagine me attaching some to these lights without making for a real funny look over the dining table ;) ? IMG_2489.jpeg

here is another small test that I made, was holding some diffusion foil between the screen and the light source, and now I'm wondering if this is gonna be about the effect that I will get with the nano display. If so, I'm really not sure if it's gonna be worth it. Minus the entire reflection of myself and the room of course.
IMG_2481.jpg
 

T-Bob

macrumors 6502a
Oct 23, 2013
676
365
Yeah op needs to buy a new house so he has another room for comp without light, so obvious! Or maybe build a 20ft balcony out the window there, come on lazy.
 
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