Using 27" iMac without Glass (Glossy) Front Cover?

[macaddiict]

Hi,

I have recently upgraded from a 24" iMac to a 27". The screen is great, but after a few hours of work (this is my work machine), my eyes really begin to bother me.

Has anyone out there tried using their iMac without the front glass sheet over the LCD? What does the LCD look like?

I don't have any children around, so I'm not worried about the screen being scratched or damaged -- but if course I would eventually need to clean it just to remove the dust build up.

So - any thoughts? Anyone else considered it?

-Stephen

[TheSandman2236]

It won't work -- I'd just looking at the iFixit guide on the 27" iMac. Unless you decided to fab your own cover to go over the top.

[Robbbin]

I took my glass plate of recently to put in a different hdd. The panel itself is glossy too, so you wouldn't gain anything by removing the glass.

[Kilamite]

When I upgraded my friend's 24" iMac's hard drive, I was amazed how much better the screen looked without the glass. There was still reflections, but they were not as bad as when the glass was there. Glare was a little less too.

The black bezel covers up the screws etc, so if you did take it off, it might look a bit ugly. You could always buy a new glass panel and cut the glass out, so you still have the black bezel.

[trjwv]

Getting ready to purchase iMac and MBP 15". Should I purchase the 27" iMac or stay away from because of the problems and just buy the 21.5". I am a current pc user with a 30" screen, Gateway.

[Kilamite]

Getting ready to purchase iMac and MBP 15". Should I purchase the 27" iMac or stay away from because of the problems and just buy the 21.5". I am a current pc user with a 30" screen, Gateway.

Buy a Mac Pro instead of the iMac and use your current screen...?

Good way to highjack a thread btw ;)

[Scarlet Fever]

Getting ready to purchase iMac and MBP 15". Should I purchase the 27" iMac or stay away from because of the problems and just buy the 21.5". I am a current pc user with a 30" screen, Gateway.

Go to a store and check it out for yourself. i can't see any problems with the 27"er at the Apple reseller I go to.

[Resist]

I have recently upgraded from a 24" iMac to a 27". The screen is great, but after a few hours of work (this is my work machine), my eyes really begin to bother me.
[b]
[SIZE="3"]Has anyone out there tried using their iMac without the front glass sheet over the LCD?So you are saying the glossy reflections are bothering your eyes?

Are you sure it's just not that the screen is to bright? My eyes bothered me way back when I had a 15" CRT computer monitor, because I was on it to long (not blinking much) and the brightness was to set to high.

[Thirteenva]

There are matte films you can buy to put over the imac screen and reduce glare. I was just looking into these about a month ago as we ponder imac purchases.

[unamused]

i dont have an imac... yet.... but one thing you might want to consider is the cooling system.

From what i have seen, the imac draws air from the bottom and exhausts it from the top.

If you remove the front glass, it is no longer going to suck in, or exhaust, air in the correct way (I assume).

[macaddiict]

I took my glass plate of recently to put in a different hdd. The panel itself is glossy too, so you wouldn't gain anything by removing the glass.

Thank you, this is exactly what I wondered... what a shame!

I noticed the iFixIt guide said the inside screen was glossy, but it doesn't look quite SO glossy in their photos, so I was curious...

The black bezel covers up the screws etc, so if you did take it off, it might look a bit ugly. You could always buy a new glass panel and cut the glass out, so you still have the black bezel.

Yes, that's exactly what I was thinking. However, if the LCD underneath is also glossy, I may be out of luck...

So you are saying the glossy reflections are bothering your eyes?

Are you sure it's just not that the screen is to bright? My eyes bothered me way back when I had a 15" CRT computer monitor, because I was on it to long (not blinking much) and the brightness was to set to high.

I have thought the same thing, but it still bothers me even at its lowest brightness setting... I think it is the reflections, honestly.

i dont have an imac... yet.... but one thing you might want to consider is the cooling system.

From what i have seen, the imac draws air from the bottom and exhausts it from the top.

If you remove the front glass, it is no longer going to suck in, or exhaust, air in the correct way (I assume).

That's a really good thought... I bet you are right that this would make a difference... Thanks!

[AAPLaday]

Cant speak for the new iMacs but on my old 20" one i removed the glass front and it was much more easier on my eyes. The screen behind is glossy but nowhere near as much as it was with the panel on. Id say about 70% reduction. :D

[Kilamite]

i dont have an imac... yet.... but one thing you might want to consider is the cooling system.

From what i have seen, the imac draws air from the bottom and exhausts it from the top.

If you remove the front glass, it is no longer going to suck in, or exhaust, air in the correct way (I assume).

Not at all.. the air isn't moving across the screen! The screen is sealed in pretty much, and if you remove the glass, you are merely affecting the look/design of it, not the functionality of the actual computer.


Cant speak for the new iMacs but on my old 20" one i removed the glass front and it was much more easier on my eyes. The screen behind is glossy but nowhere near as much as it was with the panel on. Id say about 70% reduction. :D

Completely agree! When I took my friend's 24" iMac's glass panel off, I couldn't believe how much more focused things appeared.. far easier on the eyes.

[devianter]

Consider not having a window or any light source behind u,and u will not see all that reflections.

[newuser2310]

I found simply turning the brightness completely down stopped eye strain and the subsequent headaches.

[devianter]

the new led monitors have a good brightness control.
i have the 24" 2007 imac,and it doesnt.i mean the minimum brightness is still very light
Shades software(free btw) can help . it can bring the brightness from 0% (black scren) to 100% in addition to the imac bright. control

[unamused]

Not at all.. the air isn't moving across the screen! The screen is sealed in pretty much, and if you remove the glass, you are merely affecting the look/design of it, not the functionality of the actual computer.



ahh... thats what i get for not having one in front of me...

http://www.ifixit.com/Teardown/iMac-Intel-27-Inch/1236/1

i was basing it off of those pix... there looks to be a pretty nice gap all the way around the LCD panel which would let air in way easier then inlets at the bottom of the iMac.

[unixfool]

Won't adjusting it up/down cut down on glare? I've no idea, since mine is in my man-room in my basement, which is dark, even with like 10 high-power recessed lights.

[Thirteenva]

Haven't tried these but looking into them. Photodon anti-glare kits.
http://www.photodon.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=P&Category_Code=AppleiMac&Product_Code=RJ1-3420-01K

They also have monitor hoods if you really want to block glare.
http://www.photodon.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=P&Category_Code=CustomHoodsAppleMonitors&Product_Code=112-IM27

[Jaap]

I removed the glass panel on my 27" and the screen looks much better and less reflective now.

Some observations:
- I have to make something to cover up the border.
- Cooling does not appear to be affected
- The glass panel is very very thin, 2mm or so.
- I'm gonna try to get my hands on some anti-glare film to see what that does.

[AAPLaday]

I removed the glass panel on my 27" and the screen looks much better and less reflective now.

Some observations:
- I have to make something to cover up the border.
- Cooling does not appear to be affected
- The glass panel is very very thin, 2mm or so.
- I'm gonna try to get my hands on some anti-glare fil to see what that does.

Glad to see its the same on the newer iMacs as it was on mine. I originally bought a glass cutter so that i could remove the centre part of panel and just use the black part of the glass bezel attached to the outside of it but it was lot harder to cut through the than i thought. So in the end i just continued to use it 'naked'.

Mine was a 2007 Alu iMac though and i had it for nearly two years and was happy to experiment with it. With yours id be much more careful and as the top part of the glass panel protects the isight.

[Jaap]

With yours id be much more careful and as the top part of the glass panel protects the isight.

The iSight sits in a strong plastic housing and is mounted with rubber grommets. I can hit it with a hammer and it won't even scratch.

[macaddiict]

I wish notifications on threads like this worked properly for me (or I would remember to check back more)... what great info! Thanks for all the replies.

I don't really get glare from a window or lighting as much as I just constantly see my own reflection/my white shirt/etc. It was not a big deal initially, but I have noticed a big increase in instances where by the end of the day my eyes are tired and I have a headache since I've upgraded from an old white (non-glare) 20" iMac. Turning down the brightness does help, but not entirely.

Occasionally I'll sit down at another person's computer to do something, and I can immediately feel my eyes relaxing.

I may try to remove the glass and see if it helps. I wouldn't care if it was ugly if it helped reduce the eye strain.

Apple may get their way in the end... if I can't figure something out, I will likely buy the next Mac Pro update and just get a nice IPS non-glare screen.

[macaddiict]

WOW!

So I just removed the glass using the suction cups from iFixIt and was sad at first when I saw how reflective the screen below was...

But then I turned the computer on and WOW. The 27" screen is SO much nicer without the glass. I would go even further than Jaap and say that the gloss is 80-90% less reflective when you have the screen powered on.

My biggest question at this point is how to clean the now-unprotected LCD? Anyone think some LCD cleaner would do any damage??

-Stephen

[dolphin842]

Good to see that there is hope for some glare reduction...

... one question though for the OP: now that the glass is off, how does it compare to your old iMac's matte LCD? I'd be coming from a similar machine (original core duo imac).

[macaddiict]

... one question though for the OP: now that the glass is off, how does it compare to your old iMac's matte LCD? I'd be coming from a similar machine (original core duo imac).

I actually like this screen more (now that I have removed the glass). It doesn't exhibit the "sparkle" on solid colors that the old iMac had due to the matte diffuser screen. Note that I didn't have bright spots of glare (from a window, light, etc.) -- I think if you had bad glare or reflections from a light source, removing the glass would NOT help. My glare was just from ambient light in the room and from my own reflection in the glass.

But today I am sitting here typing this -- wearing a white shirt with the brightness almost at minimum -- and I can't see any reflections!

I don't think there's much of a risk in taking off the screen-- if you decided to put it back on, you'd have to really clean it carefully ... but taking on and off is quite easy, especially if you have someone to help you handle the glass.

I'm buying some black mat board today to create a little bezel to go around the screen... I'll update if that turns out well.

[macaddiict]

Thank you all for your help! I've removed the screen and created a new mat board bezel... see more here! http://forums.macrumors.com/showthread.php?t=906338

[nova527]

Thanks for posting this! I'm considering getting a 21.5" or 27" iMac, but only if taking off the glass will sufficiently reduce the glare (of course, part of me wants to boycott Apple out of spite).

How do photos look once the glass is taken off? Is there any reduction in image quality? I make a living as a photographer and would be doing a lot of editing.

[macaddiict]

Thanks for posting this! I'm considering getting a 21.5" or 27" iMac, but only if taking off the glass will sufficiently reduce the glare (of course, part of me wants to boycott Apple out of spite).

How do photos look once the glass is taken off? Is there any reduction in image quality? I make a living as a photographer and would be doing a lot of editing.

Photos look great. Since the screen does not have a matte diffuser panel, you don't get any of that "sparkle" that matte displays get. However, how much you like the screen will really depend on your setup. The screen is still actually a glossy LCD panel with the glass removed, so any direct/focused light source behind you will probably still cause you issues.

My iMac is set up like so:


------------
| |
w iMac |
| |
w |
| <- door
-----------


w=window


The windows are facing north, so it doesn't get strong light. I have overhead flourescent almost directly above me. So the glare I was getting before wasn't really all that bad, but bad enough to make my eyes hurt.

I'm very happy with the quality of the screen now that the glass is removed. But, keep in mind removing your glass is not something you should have to do when you buy something brand new! But, now that I have done this at work I am tempted to get a 21.5" for home ... and before removing the glass I would have never considered it.

Have you considered getting a laptop and using an external screen when at your desk? Or an older Mac Pro?

-Stephen