New Displays....Continue Issues (Gray Banding) [Archive]

MT0227

Feb 21, 2010, 10:07 AM

I just had my week 46 i5 display replaced because of brightness uniformity issues; right side of the panel was brighter than the left. After getting it home and powering it up I noticed a gray band, about a 1/4 inch thick, about 2 inches up from the bottom of the panel that went across the entire display. I noticed this during the Apple bright white splash screen at boot up. Clearly I was not happy; I decided to see if keeping a bright white color slide up at full screen for a while, letting the machine warm up, would make a difference. Nope :(

I called the retail store where I purchased the machine, they offered me a replacement; great news right....well...not so much. The "Lead Genius", took a look at my machine at totally agreed and saw what I saw. He then brought out a week 7 new i5 and said he would like to power it up just be be sure everything was ok. Well, upon the splash screen ...same gray band, same location, just slightly fainter. He put it back in the box and slapped a green tag on it. He proceeded to get another one from the back, week 7 again, but manufactured from a different location "Q". Once again, upon the splash screen same gray band, this one was much more pronounced than the replacement display in my i5 and the new i5 he green tagged. He got another green tag and boxed up the second machine.

I was given a gift card with my cash on it and a 10% off in store coupon for my troubles. The store manager and the person who took care of me were incredibly nice ( yes...they still have my $$) and said they wanted me to be 100% satisfied with my purchase. I guess I will hold onto my money for a while until all this stuff gets sorted out.

Good luck everyone

-Marc

xingstar

Feb 21, 2010, 10:44 AM

I have the same grey bar/band on my i7. There's been so much focus on yellow tinge however this problem seems pretty common as well. Just wondering what should I do, should I get replacement as well? What if the replacement (from what you described, it is highly possible) has the same issue?

toed

Feb 21, 2010, 10:49 AM

Do you only see it during the apple splash screen at boot up?

If so, who cares...

I think if you take any new computer and comb it over with a very fine tooth comb, you are bound to find anomalies...

I'm just saying... I went through 4 imac and 1 lcd replacement, before I bought a week 7 that I am happy with.

MT0227

Feb 21, 2010, 11:04 AM

xingstar - I can't say what you should do other than what makes you happy and satisfied. If you are willing to live with it, that would be your decision. I have alternative computing options that give me a chance to wait this stuff out.

toed - if Apple is not going to go through things with a fine tooth comb, for $2k I sure as hell am and will not stop until I get something that is worth my hard earned cash. To answer your question and if you re-read my post you will notice that it was noticeable on a full screen white slide I used to warm up the display. I do a significant amount of digital photo editing, both color and BW and need a display that can be calibrated properly and does not present color aberrations and distractions when I'm working on prints. I'm happy you are happy; I'm sure I will be soon.

-Marc

slicecom

Feb 21, 2010, 11:22 AM

I've had 5 iMac's so far 4 were replaced due to the yellow tinge, none of which had this issue, now I finally got one with very little tinge (acceptable by my standards) but it has this dark bar issue. Trying to decide if its bad enough to do another exchange.

xingstar

Feb 21, 2010, 11:27 AM

ok. Hopefully you can see it from this picture. Please pay attention to the lower part of the screen.

slicecom

Feb 21, 2010, 11:59 AM

ok. Hopefully you can see it from this picture. Please pay attention to the lower part of the screen.

Looks almost identical to mine. I think mine might actually be a bit more pronounced.

fhall1

Feb 21, 2010, 12:01 PM

Maybe you could draw an arrow on that pic? I'm not seeing anything

xingstar

Feb 21, 2010, 12:25 PM

Here you are. What do you guys think?

rigid

Feb 21, 2010, 02:05 PM

I have that on mine, but it doesn't bother me, can barely see it IF you're looking for it.

Liffey

Feb 21, 2010, 02:13 PM

Here you are. What do you guys think?

I can't see anything at all. :/

Buzz Bumble

Feb 21, 2010, 02:23 PM

I do a significant amount of digital photo editing, both color and BW and need a display that can be calibrated properly and does not present color aberrations and distractions when I'm working on prints.

Then what you really need is a properly calibrated CRT display ... despite what the manufacturers like to claim in their advertising, LCD / LED / Plasma displays are not properly up to the task.

TMRaven

Feb 21, 2010, 02:27 PM

Yeah if you're honestly nitpicking over very subtle differences in brightness uniformity on an LCD (something which is basically impossible to correct on a large LCD) then you should be looking into a high dollar, high resolution CRT.

CRT is a very mature technology, and when it comes to displaying blacks, displaying true color and response times, nothing beats a CRT.

MT0227

Feb 21, 2010, 03:06 PM

I worked on a properly calibrated High Res 20" Mitsubishi CRT display using a Windows based PC for 7 years. After that hardware had exceeded is useful life, I converted to Apple in 2007. I purchased a late 2007 17" MacBook Pro High Res display (which was flawless) and never looked back.

I currently have a 24" iMac, purchased it about 3 months prior to the new 27" models; I also have a 17" MacBook Pro uni (mid 09) with high res display. I'd consider both panels flawless relative to what I've personally seen on the 27" i5s.

When I pay a significant premium for the Apple brand, which I'm happy to do and have done in the past, I expect perfection and settle for something slightly less. What is happening and has happened to me personally with these 27" displays is well below what I would call "slightly less". Again, if you are willing to accept something more than slightly less, that is your choice.

FYI...my 60" and 58" plasma displays from Pioneer and Samsung are incredible, no color uniformity issues at all with a bright white screen.

-Marc

xingstar

Feb 21, 2010, 06:39 PM

I noticed this grey band/bar thing at my previous imacs. Actually the picture I pasted here is not that pronounced compared with looking at the screen. Maybe my point & shot camera is not that great. The point here is that this grey band/bar thing is very consistent (same color, same height, same location) on all the 27 imacs i have seen so far. As Marc pointed out, he went to the store and found brand new imacs had the same grey band. I am sure we are not the only two who have this issue.

At this point, i don't think i can get a grey band/bar free replacement if i return my current one. it is not that bad however sort of bothering you.

Thank you Marc to bring this up. I wish everyone get a perfect one!

MT0227

Feb 22, 2010, 08:46 AM

At this point, i don't think i can get a grey band/bar free replacement if i return my current one.

xingstar -

Don't be so sure; you just need to push your way to the "Lead Genius" or Store Manager and tell them your are unsatisfied with your purchase. If it's visible to them, that's all it will take regardless how prevalent or faint it is. I'm not sure how old your machine is, but most likely they will offer you a display replacement if you are beyond 14 days. It seems as though you will be playing the display lottery; you may get one better or worse. If it's the latter you just demand to brand new machine or a store credit and wait this out of you have the option. Like I said...expect perfection and settle for something slightly less; if you feel OK with what you have then just enjoy what you have.

Good Luck!

Lear2000

Feb 22, 2010, 09:58 AM

Same issue here, I am on my 4th imac. 1 broken screen 2 yellow tints, and now this. I escalated the issue to the store manager. Got 3 techs to come out from behind the curtains, and verify the issue. Now I am on the waiting list for a replacement screen. This issue is not splitting hairs, its 2000 hard earned dollars being thrown back in our faces.

I was offered a refund, but declined , this is my first mac, and really wanted to believe that I was making the right choice. I still think I am.

I was compensated with free apple care, and a phone call or email from the store manager when my new screen arrives. I was also told if a new model iMac comes out within a year they will replace mine with the newer model. They also 'informally' informed me that they know of the issue, but really don't have any answers. I hope this is the last one... we shall see.

That grey bar, catches my eye everytime I look at my screen. It doesn't go away after time either, I ran a looping video for a few hours to see if that would wake the pixels up. No bueno.

The General

Feb 22, 2010, 02:26 PM

i definitely dont see anything in the photos for which it's worth replacing the whole computer or even just the display

IndustrialSpace

Feb 22, 2010, 03:34 PM

More problems with the screen?!?!?!

Whne is Apple going to get this right?

fhall1

Feb 23, 2010, 06:00 AM

i definitely dont see anything in the photos for which it's worth replacing the whole computer or even just the display

I have to agree with you, I see nothing - even after the OP drew in the arrows, but I'm assuming the digital photos aren't showing the full effect.

roguepink

Feb 23, 2010, 06:51 AM

While this new problem is far less pronounced and intrusive, it is still a flaw. I'm going to keep letting the rest of you be frustrated. Once I see enough posts that say everything is good, I'll buy my new iMac.

Seriously, though, thank you to everyone who has been so diligent in bringing these flaws to Apple's attention. This is a company that cannot afford to do anything less than perfection.

AdamA9

Feb 23, 2010, 06:59 AM

While this new problem is far less pronounced and intrusive, it is still a flaw. I'm going to keep letting the rest of you be frustrated. Once I see enough posts that say everything is good, I'll buy my new iMac.

Why would people come here to tell you everything is okay? They're only going to come here to complain of problems. A few people out of thousands of sales is not an accurate reflection on the problems.

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure my iMac is perfect.

roguepink

Feb 23, 2010, 07:05 AM

Why would people come here to tell you everything is okay? They're only going to come here to complain of problems. A few people out of thousands of sales is not an accurate reflection on the problems.

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure my iMac is perfect.

I have been running my iMac for 5 years now. I still have a IIGS in storage. My first machine was a II+. I'm not here as a Mac hater. But I'm not so blindly devoted to think that these reports are just trouble makers. Apple is taking action to resolve what are acknowledged problems. That lends validity to what I read here.

I'm perfectly fine with Apple turning out a lemon. I see them working to fix the problem and I am content. Mistakes happen. Its how they go about making it better that can define a company.

xingstar

Feb 23, 2010, 11:48 AM

As I said, I probably did not take a good picture. However the horizontal bar is definitely there if you look at the picture a little bit further away from the screen. I will see if I can post another one once I reach home.

I am not a picky guy at all, I can tolerant with little yellow tinge however this one is really annoying.

Norskman

Feb 23, 2010, 01:53 PM

I'm actually planning a 27" iMac purchase in the near future to supplement my MacBook and to be used primarily for web/print design and this is a huge concern. That's why I haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Screen real estate is a big deal to me, but I don't need the power/cost of a Mac Pro when I can run Photoshop/Illustrator on the iMac. The 27" makes sense to me, but the screen issues seen so far, gray banding included, is completely unacceptable.

Yes, you will not be able to achieve the same sharp, crisp image a design-CRT can produce but the subtle differences will become less of a nuisance shortly after making the switch. What is unacceptable is the sub-par quality of these panels compared to stand alone 27" monitors. The gray banding does not occur on my aging 24" Dell, nor on any of my other panels.

I think they're having quality issues with these panels. I'm sure they got a great deal on them and went cheaper to cut cost of the overall machine and now they pay the price.

Until these issues have been resolved I'm waiting to get my 27" iMac, no matter how shiny it is! :)

Buzz Bumble

Feb 23, 2010, 11:46 PM

That grey bar, catches my eye everytime I look at my screen. It doesn't go away after time either, I ran a looping video for a few hours to see if that would wake the pixels up. No bueno.

It's unlikely to be the screen pixels themselves. Most likely it is a problem with the back lighting, and could well be something that shows up on many (if not all) LED-lit screens.

MT0227

Feb 23, 2010, 11:51 PM

Why would people come here to tell you everything is okay? They're only going to come here to complain of problems. A few people out of thousands of sales is not an accurate reflection on the problems.

For what it's worth, I'm pretty sure my iMac is perfect.

No... I'm not here to complain about problems, but rather to surface and warn against one that appears to be new. I have no complaints at all as I have my money back with the opportunity to wait until Apple sorts this out.

Since your Mac is perfect, instead of posting here, why not post to this thread:
I Just Got a New iMac and It's PERFECT - thread

CXsjr

Feb 24, 2010, 01:09 AM

Here you are. What do you guys think?

I think that I would not accept this. As has already been stated, we pay good money for a premium product, expect perfection, and generally settle for slightly less.

I hope you don't mind, but I took your image, dropped it into PhotoShop and applied the 'equalize' adjustment (normally used for showing up dust spots on digital images, amongst other things). The result is attached.

The grey bar is clearly visible and IMO there is no guarantee how this will play out during the expected longevity of your machine. Who's to say it won't become more pronounced, typically once the warranty has expired?

My advice .... send it back. My i7 arrives today and I won't be accepting it if it's anything like yours.

fhall1

Feb 24, 2010, 05:53 AM

Good job....you can definitely see the bar now! I'd take that to show Apple.

CXsjr

Feb 24, 2010, 08:42 AM

Sadly, I now have my own iMac i7, delivered just minutes ago and here is the first screen I saw. This hasn't even been equalized, just resized ....

And to add to my misery, the stand was also scratched :(

Apple have been informed, collection is arranged and a full refund coming my way .... nuff said!

roguepink

Feb 24, 2010, 09:42 AM

Oh, this is just sad. HEY, JOBS!!! WTF, MAN? I'm not feeling very encouraged at this point. Trading one problem for another is no solution.

Pachang

Feb 24, 2010, 10:25 AM

Out of the iMacs I saw in the applestore 2/3 had this grey band problem.

xingstar

Feb 24, 2010, 10:27 AM

CXsjr

Feb 24, 2010, 10:43 AM

CXsjr, thank you for the reply. I am actually shocked by seeing the equalized picture you posted. As I said earlier, I have seen this on my previous i7s (my current one is the 2nd replacement). I don't know how wide spread this issue is however do not think Marc and me are the only unlucky ones here.

I am going to talk to apple today and see what they will say about this and keep everyone posted. Again, hope everyone get a perfect imac!

Thanks xingstar .... not sure if you saw my second post in which I show that I too have joined the grey bar club, my i7 was delivered after I'd posted your equalized screen - I didn't even have to adjust the shot on mine and the bar is blatantly visible.

I'm not messing with umpteen replacements, I'm getting a refund and waiting for the 6 core Mac Pro to launch (if that happens) which I will use with my 30" cinema screen. I only ordered the i7 for it's brighter screen and greater performance but if the i7 screens are duff, I'll live with the increased performance of the Mac Pro 6 core and stick with my existing screen.

Good luck in getting a perfect i7 .... :confused:

TMRaven

Feb 24, 2010, 01:15 PM

I have a very recent i7 as well, and it appears to have the exact same problems as yours, topic creator. With that said though, the subtle gray band at the bottom doesn't bother me at all, and is only noticeable on the screen when it's set to a solid color, and even then it's not very noticeable.

I even have the exact same little area on the middle right edge of the screen that's dimmer than the rest of the edge.

Now, since this issue appears to be universal, it clearly needs to be resolved; but at the same time I wouldn't fret over it and go through countless replacements like a helpless perfectionest-- at least not now. Wait until apple has 100% solved the problem.

Week 7 i7 iMac:
yellow tinge test:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/twisted_metal_2/P1050041.jpg

detail of color difference (the bottom is in fact not yellow, but the top is lacking yellow-- contrary to what most people on the forum believe. however, the bottom is noticeably more saturated than the top)
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/twisted_metal_2/yellowtinge-1.jpg

gray band test:
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/twisted_metal_2/P1050084.jpg

gray band test filtered in photoshop (noticeable gray band at bottom and same spot on middle-right edge of screen that is dimmer than rest-- half oval shape; only yellow tinge on the screen is at very,very bottom, and doesn't even make its way up to bottom bars on yellow tinge test)
http://i26.photobucket.com/albums/c104/twisted_metal_2/P1050084-1.jpg

MT0227

Feb 24, 2010, 09:11 PM

OK....so I decided to take my $2k gift card and go to another Apple retailer nearby who had a few 27" i5's in stock. Well, for starters their floor model and the one they use for check in both had the gray band issue. They opened up a "Q" week 6 i5 and again it had the same problem. It was fainter than the floor models and others I've seen but not enough to get my hard earned cash. To me there is clearly a defect in the way this display is being manufactured as some have the issue more noticeable than others and the problem is not necessary completely uniform across the display, yet on some it is. To those who say there is no such thing as a perfect display, I say *bites tongue* ....welll, that's your opinion. All I can say is my late 09 17" MacBook Pro's hi res display is flawless given my standards, so is my 24" iMac (previous release) and so was the 21" new iMac they had on display at the retail store. I'm going to keep my gift card in a safe place and wait till the next release.

Good luck to those who are in waiting and again, demand perfection and settle something slightly less.

-Marc

xingstar

Feb 24, 2010, 10:09 PM

Good luck to those who are in waiting and again, demand perfection and settle something slightly less.

-Marc

Thanks for the update.

I just came back from genius bar and the guy how handled my case admitted that the screen is faulty. He also asked me to check other imacs on the floor. I checked two of them -- one 27 and one 21.5. The 27 one was worse than mine and the 21.5 was fine. Also I somehow scared the genius guy because he also purchased an i5 and he said the first thing to do once he reaches home is to check his imac.

I was offerred 10% discount card but honestly who cares? If apple keeps producing something like this, I do not want to buy for sure.

Buzz Bumble

Feb 24, 2010, 11:51 PM

All I can say is my late 09 17" MacBook Pro's hi res display is flawless given my standards, so is my 24" iMac (previous release) and so was the 21" new iMac they had on display at the retail store.

The problem is that the first two examples don't really count since they use a different screen. The 21" iMac may or may not count, but there are difficulties manufacturing bigger screens ... it may well be that 21" or 24" is the current limit for 101% perfect LED screens. I'm not saying people should settle for screens with obvious problems, but it may not necessarily be Apple's fault, but a fault in the new LED technology.

Kabir8

Feb 25, 2010, 02:21 AM

White background.
Lights off
Canon 5D mkii - AWB

Same pic, only adjustment was curves.

What do you think?

Buzz Bumble

Feb 25, 2010, 02:30 PM

eelpout

Mar 1, 2010, 04:43 PM

you can see the band pretty clearly here on my i5 which had the contrast and saturation boosted to show it. in the 2nd picture though, which is more how I see the screen daily, you hardly notice anything.

and I will say, this is nothing new to iMacs. you see this kind of grey patchy thing throughout my wife's old iMac 20", where the top half is way-off from the bottom. not sure if it's that old TP panel or the backlight. My wife didn't care enough about it so I let the whole matter drop.

most, if not all LCD panels have uniformity issues.

Lear2000

Mar 1, 2010, 04:54 PM

Just got the call from apple store my new screen is installed, and it has a gray band. They told me over the phone. They were also unaware that apple has acknowledged a fix.

My faith in the apple store has diminished, these guys have no clue what is going on.

Good luck to everyone else.

Max(IT)

Mar 2, 2010, 12:54 AM

Here you are. What do you guys think?

Could be the camera, could be the light or ..... could be just you: IMHO there is NOTHING wrong there.

I saw quite a lot of "defective" iMacs absolutely fine in this and other forums :(

Max(IT)

Mar 2, 2010, 01:09 AM

Thanks for the update.

I just came back from genius bar and the guy how handled my case admitted that the screen is faulty. He also asked me to check other imacs on the floor. I checked two of them -- one 27 and one 21.5. The 27 one was worse than mine and the 21.5 was fine. Also I somehow scared the genius guy because he also purchased an i5 and he said the first thing to do once he reaches home is to check his imac.

I was offerred 10% discount card but honestly who cares? If apple keeps producing something like this, I do not want to buy for sure.

Ok, now we have another guy (the genius) looking for a faulty screen that probably is .... Not faulty (since he didn't know until you said so).

BTW Apple doesn't produce the screen. It's manufactured by LG, as many many other monitor's display.

andraki

Mar 2, 2010, 03:22 PM

Here you are. What do you guys think?

I see the big vertical band on your pic, which every imac I have owned had.
But I think people here are looking for the horizontal grey band which doesnt appear on your pic.:confused:

MT0227

Mar 4, 2010, 12:54 PM

Originally Posted by xingstar View Post
Here you are. What do you guys think?

I see the big vertical band on your pic, which every imac I have owned had.
But I think people here are looking for the horizontal grey band which doesnt appear on your pic.:confused:

Sure it does....look again!

jlblodgett

Mar 4, 2010, 02:42 PM

Here you are. What do you guys think?

It looks like someone drew two orange arrows on your iMac.

Take it back, immediately.

Seriously - some of these complaints are just over the top.

andraki

Mar 5, 2010, 09:15 AM

Originally Posted by xingstar View Post
Here you are. What do you guys think?

Sure it does....look again!

Yes your right it is there!
I was sitting to far from me tv at the time. Now I'm looking at me monitor, I can see. It looks like mine did (very annoying).

What is even more annoying is that I just brought a cheap HP 23" monitor for £129 and the screen is uniformly leagues ahead of any of the four Imac's and three 30" cinema displays which I have had to return for too many reasons to mention!
I'm so annoyed!!!!!!!!

xingstar

Mar 10, 2010, 12:00 PM

Yes your right it is there!
I was sitting to far from me tv at the time. Now I'm looking at me monitor, I can see. It looks like mine did (very annoying).

What is even more annoying is that I just brought a cheap HP 23" monitor for £129 and the screen is uniformly leagues ahead of any of the four Imac's and three 30" cinema displays which I have had to return for too many reasons to mention!
I'm so annoyed!!!!!!!!

I don't know why people do not see it. From CXsjr's picture you can clearly see it.

Max(IT)

Mar 11, 2010, 07:51 AM

Yes your right it is there!
I was sitting to far from me tv at the time. Now I'm looking at me monitor, I can see. It looks like mine did (very annoying).

What is even more annoying is that I just brought a cheap HP 23" monitor for £129 and the screen is uniformly leagues ahead of any of the four Imac's and three 30" cinema displays which I have had to return for too many reasons to mention!
I'm so annoyed!!!!!!!!
easier to make a 23" display with much more uniform backlight than a 30" monitor, but if you test your crap HP screen, it probably has a gradient too.

Btom

Mar 11, 2010, 12:27 PM

......
What do you think?

1. Very funny angle makes any assessment difficult;
2. The horizontal band is almost invisible on these (maybe because of a funny angle?).

Tom B.

ttopp

Mar 11, 2010, 01:00 PM

i have back light issues on my 4th imac and needing to sent this one to be looked at. apple have said if they cant fix it i should just get a refund :(

pic of bad backlights
http://att.macrumors.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=217811&d=1268301674

andraki

Mar 11, 2010, 01:19 PM

easier to make a 23" display with much more uniform back light than a 30" monitor, but if you test your crap HP screen, it probably has a gradient too.

Yes you are right, it is easier to make a 23" display more uniform than a 30" monitor.
You would think then it would be even easier to make a 21.5" screen display with a uniform back light.
But the 21.5" "ultimate display" Imac I had, was the worst display I've ever had the misfortune to own!

Yes the HP monitor has a negligible gradient, in line with what i would expect with any lcd panel..

And before you knock my "crap" £129 HP screen,
I've been through £7.750.00p worth of macs, and all the screens have all been CRAP!!!!!!

Norskman

Mar 15, 2010, 10:37 AM

I doubt the Dell 27" LCD suffers from this problem, but it would be interesting to compare the two. I honestly think the gray banding problem is a result of Apple's LED lighting technology in these machines.

To those telling people not to nit pick and not to expect a near perfect image reproduction, I think it's safe to say you CAN expect the display to be on par with other, stand alone 27" screens.

Also keep in mind Apple's own words from the 27" iMac product page at apple.com:

"you’ll get a perfect picture with superb color consistency and no loss of detail"

I'd be interested in hearing if anybody has compared the 27" iMac display to this Dell monitor:

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/products/Displays/productdetail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=224-8284

Some say it's the same internal panel in both.

yargok

Mar 15, 2010, 06:58 PM

IndustrialSpace

Mar 16, 2010, 10:21 AM

Hello all,

I just received my new i7 imac today. It was shipped on 3/11, but my serial number W8011XXXXXX indicates that it is a week 11. Weird. I checked for the yellow screen issue and I don't think that I have this problem. I do see the grey bar discussed in this thread only when i am looking at a white/grey screen. I have some backlight bleed as well. Overall I am willing to accept this screen condition.

I wouldn't settle for backlight bleed. There have been some with almost none at all. I'd return it for a refund or replacement. The backlight problem gets worse if you try to watch movies on it. Ruins the whole picture. Also, the grey bar is not normal. It seems to have been more prevelant in the latest batch. This is worth returning it over too. This line can get worse over time. It is a defect which will not go away on its own. Remember, Apple has good CS and they will honor returns for defective screens. Don't settle for a poorly built machine. There are better ones being manufactured. The more recent the better.

yargok

Mar 17, 2010, 08:26 AM

I wouldn't settle for backlight bleed. There have been some with almost none at all. I'd return it for a refund or replacement. The backlight problem gets worse if you try to watch movies on it. Ruins the whole picture. Also, the grey bar is not normal. It seems to have been more prevelant in the latest batch. This is worth returning it over too. This line can get worse over time. It is a defect which will not go away on its own. Remember, Apple has good CS and they will honor returns for defective screens. Don't settle for a poorly built machine. There are better ones being manufactured. The more recent the better.

I think I may have overstated the 'defects'. I can see a gray band when the computer is booting up, but only because I know to look for it (seen pictures on the forums). It is very slight. And as to the backlight bleed, I lowered the brightness a bit and look at it from a greater distance and it goes away. I think this is just an example of 'IPS glow'. Thanks for the advice though. I'll keep an eye on it and get it swapped out under warranty if the problem worsens.

twelly

Mar 22, 2010, 12:22 PM

I received my iMac 27-inch last Saturday (3/20). Everything looked fine until Sunday morning I saw a green & red strip 4 inches wide from top to bottom. The green strip is on the leftmost side of the screen and the red strip is in the middle. It doesn't go away even after power cycling the iMac. I called up Apple Support and after spending an hour with them they concluded that it is a hardware problem. They will ship me a new one. This is my 2nd unit having the same exact problem. I don't see the other display issues like flickering and yellow tinge. I hope my 3rd unit is problem-free. Otherwise, I'll just settle with mac mini & LED cinema display. I'll post a screen shot later today.

lcaraffa

Mar 22, 2010, 03:21 PM

Hi guys,
I've just received my first iMac 27 replacement.
This one is better as far as yellow is concerned but it has a grey band in the bottom part of the screen from left to right.
What do you think about it ?
Please have a look at it:

http://i43.tinypic.com/inuxj5.jpg
http://i43.tinypic.com/2kpvsl.jpg
http://i44.tinypic.com/20qygyv.jpg
http://i41.tinypic.com/abp4qg.jpg
http://i40.tinypic.com/30vycmt.jpg

Many thanks.

lefse

Mar 22, 2010, 04:06 PM

I think I may have overstated the 'defects'. I can see a gray band when the computer is booting up, but only because I know to look for it (seen pictures on the forums). It is very slight. And as to the backlight bleed, I lowered the brightness a bit and look at it from a greater distance and it goes away. I think this is just an example of 'IPS glow'. Thanks for the advice though. I'll keep an eye on it and get it swapped out under warranty if the problem worsens.

"IPS glow"?

Listen up folks:
IPS is a premium display technology. If the display has a yellow tinge, backlight bleed and a grey bar - then this is due to a bad implementation of said technology. It is not inherent; and should therefor not be accepted as such.

6-year-old consumer grade IPS displays does not exhibit these kinds of flaws. Neither does other manufacturer's IPS displays (with LED-backlighting).

xingstar

Mar 22, 2010, 05:17 PM

constm

Mar 23, 2010, 10:34 AM

What do you think about it ?

Not much yellow IMHO. May be right side is little bit more warmer than left (might be camera angle). The grey bar at the bottom is very pronounce, however. Ask for advanced replacement. This way you'll be able to compare two.

Good luck.
K

ncfuser

Mar 23, 2010, 12:20 PM

I have had the gray band on the bottom of my i7 (2 -- one bad HDD and Current one) I only see it when there is something light colored or white on the screen. Not enough to send it back, but its there. Same spot as all the others.

turbineseaplane

Mar 23, 2010, 03:07 PM

I'm now on my 4th i7.

The current one has this gray band issue as well. They all have had it.

Right now I'm "using it" to see how I feel with another replacement or refund waiting for me if I so choose.

It really can be annoying. On "white" websites and documents it makes the bottom 1/3 of the screen/document look "dirty".

Grr. I really want this iMac, but it doesn't feel like a good idea to hang on to this puppy and "see what happens".

It may get worse over time and who knows if Apple will continue to acknowledge and assist with this.

WilliamG

Mar 23, 2010, 03:24 PM

I'll chime in, once again. I've seen a LOT of LCDs with the grey band at the bottom of the screen. The 27" iMac is certainly not the first screen to have this. It's really not a big deal in MOST cases, since you can only see it on a grey/white screen.

turbineseaplane

Mar 23, 2010, 03:26 PM

WilliamG

Mar 23, 2010, 03:34 PM

Sure isn't on my 24" LED Cinema Display.

Perhaps that's why it's such a bummer.

True, no issues with my 24" LED Cinema Display, either. However, my MacBook Air had a horizontal band like that, and so did one of my old MacBook Pros.

rextilleon

Mar 28, 2010, 04:04 PM

Could be the camera, could be the light or ..... could be just you: IMHO there is NOTHING wrong there.

I saw quite a lot of "defective" iMacs absolutely fine in this and other forums :(

Seriously, are you blind. There is obviously something wrong, and it echos EXACTLY what I am seeing on my Imac 24.

rextilleon

Mar 28, 2010, 04:05 PM

kazmac

Mar 28, 2010, 07:56 PM

The problem is that the first two examples don't really count since they use a different screen. The 21" iMac may or may not count, but there are difficulties manufacturing bigger screens ... it may well be that 21" or 24" is the current limit for 101% perfect LED screens. I'm not saying people should settle for screens with obvious problems, but it may not necessarily be Apple's fault, but a fault in the new LED technology.

There were those color issue problems on my 21.5 iMac along with the high pitched whine. Granted, the color was not as bad as some I've seen here, but it was enough for this casual web designer to notice.

I love Apple and will stick by them. Despite the problems I had with the 21.5 iMac and sorting out the full refund, as per usual Apple eventually did right by me. Their product is a joy to use so in the end, they've still got me.

As far as these current iMacs, it appears this crop is damaged goods so for the first time in 11 years my next Mac won't be an iMac. I'm perfectly okay with that.

I hope they do resolve this issue so everyone can get a perfect iMac.

Max(IT)

Mar 31, 2010, 05:02 AM

Seriously, are you blind. There is obviously something wrong, and it echos EXACTLY what I am seeing on my Imac 24.

no, I'm not.
And due to my job I'm having a medical examination every six months, so I'm quite sure about that.
Maybe it's not me being blind, but some of you being anal ...

turbineseaplane

Mar 31, 2010, 08:53 AM

no, I'm not.
And due to my job I'm having a medical examination every six months, so I'm quite sure about that.
Maybe it's not me being blind, but some of you being anal ...

I'm sure you're not "blind", but in the left photo you honestly can't see the horizontal band all across the bottom and the very yellowish bottom right corner of the screen?

Side note: I just had Apple replace my screen and I *finally* have a perfect iMac i7 after 4 tries!!!!!

Max(IT)

Apr 1, 2010, 08:24 AM

I'm sure you're not "blind", but in the left photo you honestly can't see the horizontal band all across the bottom and the very yellowish bottom right corner of the screen?

Side note: I just had Apple replace my screen and I *finally* have a perfect iMac i7 after 4 tries!!!!!

in the past months I saw, all over the web and in stores, some iMacs with a REAL gradient issue, and a lot of iMacs with a perfectly acceptable display, with people crying for a change only because on a forum someone convinced them that their iMac was defective ....

BTW I'm very happy about your new, perfect iMac ;)

Juliet1186

Apr 11, 2010, 03:40 PM

Here is what happens to my screen after it comes back from sleep mode
First it has crazy colors, then green, then grey.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a203/Jocely/Picture0597.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a203/Jocely/Picture0595.jpg
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a203/Jocely/Picture0596.jpg

*sigh* I have to take it to the store they think it's a video card problem. I wonder if I could still get a refund if I bought back in December. then I could purchase it with the apple employee discount. xD