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rMBP and Yellow Tint on Bottom-Left: Would You Keep It?

S

saytheenay

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 6, 2012
113
67
I have a week 48 2.7/16/512 rmbp with a Samsung screen and SSD. No IR, no dead pixels, no backlight bleed (from what I can tell), but I do appear to have the yellow tint on the bottom-left part of the screen. I am primarily a software engineer (iOS, Java/JEE, etc., coding 40-60 hrs a week), but I do dabble in Photoshop/iPhoto. I typically keep it at ~60% brightness.

I ran the yellow test at http://imac.squeaked.com/test.php

Here is an image I took with my iPad 4 at ~60% brighness: rMBP, 60% brightness

Another at 100% brightness: rMBP, 100% brightness

For reference, my wife's 2011 iMac (which seems pretty much perfect/consistent): 2011 iMac, 60% brightness

My question is, would you keep this screen, or should I try to get it replaced, or should I just return it? Am I being too OCD about it? My 2010 MBP Aside from this issue, it appears to be flawless.
 
M

M Powered

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2008
157
0
can't really tell much from looking at the photos. Cameras and IPS screen doesn't go well. Especially at the corners. If you change your viewing angles you will notice the gradients shifting.

I doubt any manufactures can achieve 100% luminance uniformity.

For me, I tested using my monitor calibration tool (spectra view II) to test the uniformity. Both brightness and white balance. The white balance is pretty consistent, less than 9% shift from corner to corner. The brightness is usually brighter at the center than at the corners. The device said the corner left is 20-30 cd/m dimmer than the center, but my eyes says the corners look perfect. But my eyes says the corner right is dimmer, the device says otherwise. I trust my device over my eyes and just ruled it of to be viewing angels.

If it bothers you, return it and roll the dice again hoping the replacement will be better than the first one.

I guess I just got really lucky with my MBP 15". Last year I went through 4 exchanges to find a good one.

Good luck.
 
A

AirThis

macrumors 6502a
Mar 6, 2012
518
14
The viewing angle is much more limited on a Samsung. You have to adjust the angle so that you're looking at it 'head on' (usually need to tilt back the screen 10-20 degrees). Otherwise you'll see yellow spots. The better you calibrate the display, the more restricted the viewing angle will become. At least that's my experience. It seems that Apple has deliberately factory-calibrated the screens so that the colors would be uniform at most typical viewing angles. However, the downside to this is that it gives a yellowish hue to the screen.

I had the same dilemma as you and decided to keep the machine. The colors might be more vivid on an LG, and the whites more uniform (regardless of viewing angle), but I didn't see myself swapping panels for ever.

If your screen really bugs you, follow your instinct and have it changed. Only you can decide.
 
M

M Powered

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2008
157
0
AirThis said:
The viewing angle is much more limited on a Samsung. You have to adjust the angle so that you're looking at it 'head on' (usually need to tilt back the screen 10-20 degrees). Otherwise you'll see yellow spots. The better you calibrate the display, the more restricted the viewing angle will become. At least that's my experience. It seems that Apple has deliberately factory-calibrated the screens so that the colors would be uniform at most typical viewing angles. However, the downside to this is that it gives a yellowish hue to the screen.

I had the same dilemma as you and decided to keep the machine. The colors might be more vivid on an LG, and the whites more uniform (regardless of viewing angle), but I didn't see myself swapping panels for ever.

If your screen really bugs you, follow your instinct and have it changed. Only you can decide.
Click to expand...

At least with the new displays the viewing angles are better than last year's non IPS models.
 
S

saytheenay

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 6, 2012
113
67
I played with the viewing angles a bit with my rmbp on my lap (which is how I use my laptops over 1/2 the time, since they are my only computer).

Here is the result (pic taken at eye level, ie, how the angle I typically use it at): rmbp, 100% brightness

What do you think?

The more I looked at it at different angles, the more I realized that dead on, it has a slight yellow tint in the bottom-left, however, when I look at it from either side or down from the top, it is much more uniform--weird...
 
S

saytheenay

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 6, 2012
113
67
Spent part of today looking at other user's rMBP yellow tint issues, and I have decided to keep it.

I ran a burn-in test for about 10 hours before the pic I posted earlier. I have since run the burn-in test another 10 hours, and while it may be my imagination, it seems a bit less severe.

Nothing is perfect, and after performing several color tests (since the collective burn-in), along with yellow tint tests on both my 2010 MBP and rMBP, they both have slight issues.

If it gets worse, I will take it in (I have 3 yrs of AppleCare on it).
 
S

saytheenay

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 6, 2012
113
67
Just returned my rmbp. It had a samsung display, but it had a dark mura and yellow gradient on the bottom-left.

Try as I might, I couldn't stop seeing it in my normal usage. I may try again, or I may just wait for Haswell--I have my 2010 MBP to tide me over, and while it is slower, the UI (Finder scrolling, Spaces, etc.) is more fluid than the rmbp was.

But man, that screen saved me a lot of eye strain...
 
mankar4

mankar4

macrumors 6502a
Aug 23, 2007
624
0
USA
The IPS displays definitely have changing color profiles, especially in the yellow band, with changing viewing angles.
 
J

J3ffry

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2012
46
0
Hey!

I have the exact same problem. A yellowish hue in the bottom-left corner. I also got a pretty new one, in fact week 51. I got this one as a replacement laptop after my original one (bought in september) had gone through 3 screen replacements.

1st issue - stuck pixels (in fact technically not a cluster of stuck pixels, but an small "unevenness" in the screen that looked like a small bright white dot).

2nd issue - backlight bleeding

3rd issue - backlight bleeding, vertical yellow band (also on the left, more severe than the one i got right now).

4th issue - backlight bleeding, but also yellow tint on bottom left (however i think somewhat slightlier than the one i got right now).

-----

I posted the somewhat same questions as you on this board last week (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1516637/).

I am also really disliking this tint. It's indeed really annoying when working with white pages, like reading pdf's or browsing the web.

I got this one 2 weeks now, so i can't easily exchange it anymore. Reason i didn't is because i discussed and showed it to my family and friends and most of them either made fun of me or said it was something viewer specific or viewing angle specific blablabla. After they saw the trouble i had in the past with this computer (3 screen replacements; 1.5 month without laptop due exchange), they said i would take it too far if i would trade in this one too.

Now i'm heaving my second doubts about this because i think it really IS an issue and is pretty frustrating, and gonna stay that way for a while (my second screen also had yellow tint/band and tried that one for six weeks to see if i would adjust to it).

But like a mentioned, 3 of the 5 screens i've seen had some form of yellow tint. Also they all had it in the lower left corner. So now i'm thinking maybe it has something to do with the production process. Important to mention all the screens where samsung.

Today i figured out why all the yellow spots are in the lower left. It seems like there are 2 slightly yellow bands on the screen. One horizontally and one vertically. They cross at the lower left, which gives you double yellow, and therefore makes that spot the one most severe/easy noticeable/annoying.

The last picture explains this...

Since this computer is brand new, has no dead pixels and backlight bleeding i decided to keep this one. I also feel like my relatives would ex-communicate me from the family if i would start the whole exchange thing again ;).

Like i already said i think this whole issue has something to do with the production process so if i would swap it again there would be a chance of getting one with the same (or more) problems.

Whoever i think it's still ********n annoying! Apple failed us at this one!

One tip: don't buy your mac online but buy it at the Apple Retail Store. This makes the swapping far more easier and that way you can play instant quality roulette in the store (and at the end of the day walk away with a proper screen) instead of waiting weeks for pick-up and delivery!

Greets,
Jeffrey






 
Last edited:
J

J3ffry

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2012
46
0
In addition to my post above, the question I still have...

Does someone know what exactly causes this color shifts? And why there are so different quality outcomes per individual screen?

Is there a chance the yellow disappears in the future and the screen will become more uniform due to heat/light/time?

Greets,
Jeffrey
 
M

M Powered

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2008
157
0
I checked about 10 rmbp from the apple store and at best buy, and even at fry's. Its every single one of them had some sort of uniformity issue. Nothing will be 100% perfect, I guess its technology limited, and if you get lucky you get one with very little uniformity issue, or something you can "live with."

Like the above poster mentioned, family and friends will not care about uniformity, so it could be a bad case of OCD, I know I'm very OCD.

As a photographer I expect my screen to be great, but I also know it CAN'T be Perfect. Even my 1300$ IPS screen at home is not perfect, and it has uniformity correction, the macbook does not.

----------
J3ffry said:
Hey!

I have the exact same problem. A yellowish hue in the bottom-left corner. I also got a pretty new one, in fact week 51. I got this one as a replacement laptop after my original one (bought in september) had gone through 3 screen replacements.

1st issue - stuck pixels (in fact technically not a cluster of stuck pixels, but an small "unevenness" in the screen that looked like a small bright white dot).

2nd issue - backlight bleeding

3rd issue - backlight bleeding, vertical yellow band (also on the left, more severe than the one i got right now).

4th issue - backlight bleeding, but also yellow tint on bottom left (however i think somewhat slightlier than the one i got right now).

-----

I posted the somewhat same questions as you on this board last week (https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/1516637/).

I am also really disliking this tint. It's indeed really annoying when working with white pages, like reading pdf's or browsing the web.

I got this one 2 weeks now, so i can't easily exchange it anymore. Reason i didn't is because i discussed and showed it to my family and friends and most of them either made fun of me or said it was something viewer specific or viewing angle specific blablabla. After they saw the trouble i had in the past with this computer (3 screen replacements; 1.5 month without laptop due exchange), they said i would take it too far if i would trade in this one too.

Now i'm heaving my second doubts about this because i think it really IS an issue and is pretty frustrating, and gonna stay that way for a while (my second screen also had yellow tint/band and tried that one for six weeks to see if i would adjust to it).

But like a mentioned, 3 of the 5 screens i've seen had some form of yellow tint. Also they all had it in the lower left corner. So now i'm thinking maybe it has something to do with the production process. Important to mention all the screens where samsung.

Today i figured out why all the yellow spots are in the lower left. It seems like there are 2 slightly yellow bands on the screen. One horizontally and one vertically. They cross at the lower left, which gives you double yellow, and therefore makes that spot the one most severe/easy noticeable/annoying.

The last picture explains this...

Since this computer is brand new, has no dead pixels and backlight bleeding i decided to keep this one. I also feel like my relatives would ex-communicate me from the family if i would start the whole exchange thing again ;).

Like i already said i think this whole issue has something to do with the production process so if i would swap it again there would be a chance of getting one with the same (or more) problems.

Whoever i think it's still ********n annoying! Apple failed us at this one!

One tip: don't buy your mac online but buy it at the Apple Retail Store. This makes the swapping far more easier and that way you can play instant quality roulette in the store (and at the end of the day walk away with a proper screen) instead of waiting weeks for pick-up and delivery!

Greets,
Jeffrey


[url=http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/521/foto1qh.jpg]Image[/URL]

[url=http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/17/foto3ihx.jpg]Image[/URL]

[url=http://imageshack.us/scaled/thumb/541/editmx.jpg]Image[/URL]
Click to expand...

Possible to swap it at a different store? Maybe its a batch issue.

But ya, thats REALLY bad yellow tinting.
 
henry72

henry72

macrumors 68000
Jun 18, 2009
1,523
913
New Zealand
I've never seen a perfect screen from Apple in AGES!! iPad and Mac are the worst! We pay for the premium, why can't we get something great?
 
M

M Powered

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2008
157
0
henry72 said:
I've never seen a perfect screen from Apple in AGES!! iPad and Mac are the worst! We pay for the premium, why can't we get something great?
Click to expand...

You seen a perfect screen? Please show me, I wanna see :)

----------

The best way to overcome the OCD you have on screens in my experience, is use the laptop. The tasks, enjoyment you do with it will supersede any OCD tendencies you may have. Might take a while depending on what it is. I lived with a dead pixel on my monitor of 7 years.
 
NovemberWhiskey

NovemberWhiskey

macrumors 68040
May 18, 2009
3,022
1,272
I have seen many screens with this yellow tint (multiple iphone 5s, multple ipad 4s).

I can tell you that while the yellow has gotten better on some, they have never completely gone away. Some just come more yellow than others out of the box.

On my iphone 5 and ipad 4, the yellow has diminished to the point where I don't notice it at some brightness levels. But, at others, it still looks yellow.
 
M

M Powered

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2008
157
0
NovemberWhiskey said:
I have seen many screens with this yellow tint (multiple iphone 5s, multple ipad 4s).

I can tell you that while the yellow has gotten better on some, they have never completely gone away. Some just come more yellow than others out of the box.

On my iphone 5 and ipad 4, the yellow has diminished to the point where I don't notice it at some brightness levels. But, at others, it still looks yellow.
Click to expand...

I think he is referring to uniformity. The "yellow" is easily remedy by calibrating the panel. I use i1 Display Pro. Then again mine was never yellow to begin with.

Has anyone experience uniformity improving over time?

Is there a "burn in" process for the new LCD?
 
NovemberWhiskey

NovemberWhiskey

macrumors 68040
May 18, 2009
3,022
1,272
M Powered said:
I think he is referring to uniformity. The "yellow" is easily remedy by calibrating the panel. I use i1 Display Pro. Then again mine was never yellow to begin with.

Has anyone experience uniformity improving over time?

Is there a "burn in" process for the new LCD?
Click to expand...

Nope. It has nothing to do with calibrating the screen (not even sure how you would do this on an iphone or ipad).

There are just some retina screens coming out with yellow, either uniformly all over the screen, or with "hotspots" such as OP in a corner. My ipad 4 came with one in the bottom left corner. One of my iphone 5s came with one all over the screen.

I read it is adhesive or some compound used in manufacturing the screen/assembling the device that goes away. I can confirm myself that it will improve, but I wouldn't say it ever goes away completely.
 
J

J3ffry

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2012
46
0
Does the yellowing on your devices looks the same like on this MacBook's? I've seen some topics about the yellowing on iPads and iPhones regarding the "glue" and i thought they were a distinguish more "real" yellow. Instead of the tint on the iMac and retina which just gives the perception of yellow.

Somewhere in the faulty iMac's 2009 topic iv'e read that people are thinking this has to do with one of the backlight/diffusion filters in the screen not being properly aligned or being bent during production. Now my hope is that if it's bent during production after some time the problem fixes itself during possible "elasticity" of the materials.

I just can't believe that this is how apple/samsung meant this otherwise perfect screen to be, especially since almost every freshly produced screen seems to suffer from this issue. Note that at the screen i had with the worst yellowing, the vertical band on the screen was also clearly visible when tilting or viewing the screen from a different angle.

Just like the OP mentioned, with this screen if you tilt or turn it a little the tint seems less noticeable.

In fact i've received this computer monday 24th december. My 14 days period ends today but it says on the Apple Store site that stuff received before the 25th can be exchanged till tomorrow... Damn, doubts, doubts!

Greets,
Jeffrey
 
Last edited:
M

M Powered

macrumors regular
Jul 30, 2008
157
0
NovemberWhiskey said:
Nope. It has nothing to do with calibrating the screen (not even sure how you would do this on an iphone or ipad).

There are just some retina screens coming out with yellow, either uniformly all over the screen, or with "hotspots" such as OP in a corner. My ipad 4 came with one in the bottom left corner. One of my iphone 5s came with one all over the screen.

I read it is adhesive or some compound used in manufacturing the screen/assembling the device that goes away. I can confirm myself that it will improve, but I wouldn't say it ever goes away completely.
Click to expand...

If the screen is yellow, calibrating it would remedy the problem.

I know in the past, iPad's that have been jailbroken you can download a color tint software to make it slightly cooler.

For my macbook, my calibration calibrated everything at 6900k, which is a more cooler tone, than my Monitor at home which is 6500. Strange, which leads me to believe it was warm from the factory at native settings.
 
L

Livewings

macrumors regular
Dec 16, 2012
200
13
saytheenay said:
i have a week 48 2.7/16/512 rmbp with a samsung screen and ssd. No ir, no dead pixels, no backlight bleed (from what i can tell), but i do appear to have the yellow tint on the bottom-left part of the screen. I am primarily a software engineer (ios, java/jee, etc., coding 40-60 hrs a week), but i do dabble in photoshop/iphoto. I typically keep it at ~60% brightness.

I ran the yellow test at http://imac.squeaked.com/test.php

here is an image i took with my ipad 4 at ~60% brighness: rmbp, 60% brightness

another at 100% brightness: rmbp, 100% brightness

for reference, my wife's 2011 imac (which seems pretty much perfect/consistent): 2011 imac, 60% brightness

my question is, would you keep this screen, or should i try to get it replaced, or should i just return it? Am i being too ocd about it? My 2010 mbp aside from this issue, it appears to be flawless.
Click to expand...

return it at once.
 
J

J3ffry

macrumors member
Dec 30, 2012
46
0
Decided to sent a last email to Apple Senior Advisor assigned to my case.. A little less polite tone than last time. Told them that i want a MacBook Pro with no dead pixels, minimal backlightbleeding & maximum uniformity. I've they can't do that i want a full refund. Curious to see what happens!

MPowered, you're photography is awesome!

Greets
 
S

saytheenay

macrumors regular
Original poster
Jul 6, 2012
113
67
I have a theory: I suggest that it isn't necessarily bad screens, especially for those that have a color balanced, no IR screen, but an issue with the cooling system.

My 2010 MBP has about a 1/8" - 1/16" gap between the bottom of the screen and the chassis. The rMBP has almost no gap. Less heat is blown on the screen because it flows under and over the hinge, not mostly over the top of the hinge onto the display like the rMBP.

In addition, I am finding my fans blow more and hotter air out of the left side than the right--using iStat, my left fan consistently shows a higher RPM than the right (right now, right: 1998rpm, left: 2159rpm).

Finally, because the vents under the display are out-only (as opposed to both in and out on the cMBP), there is more airflow than previous MBPs--and most of it, with the new hinge shape, is aimed directly at the bottom of the screen.

Thoughts?

I returned the rmbp and will most likely wait for the 2013 rmbp. The iPad 4 my wife got me for Christmas doesn't seem to have uniformity issues (it has slight backlight bleed, but less than my iPad 2--I'm keeping it, btw)--maybe they need a full release cycle to get it right? Either way, I have learned my lesson: 1st edition retina products--especially a new screen size--should be avoided until the 2nd or 3rd release cycles to iron out manufacturing issues.

----------

Oh yeah, and if I am right about it being a heat issue, it should be better with haswell--unless they try to make it even thinner.
 
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