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Yellow tint issues on new refresh iMacs (mid 2010)

  • 21.5" Looks just about perfect

    Votes: 50 18.3%
  • 21.5" Yellow tint issues

    Votes: 28 10.3%
  • 27" Looks just about perfect

    Votes: 164 60.1%
  • 27" Yellow tint issues

    Votes: 31 11.4%

  • Total voters
    273

ejosepha

macrumors 6502
Jan 12, 2009
283
0
Yes it does, but I only noticed after you told me about it. So what do you think, should I send it back? If you know about this, I figure my next one will have the same as well.
I have this but I never see it because it's below the dock. Other than this the computer is great. Mine is last year's model. Apple has offered to come and replace the panel but I have hesitated for months. I could end up worse off. Now there are no dead pixels, so that's been a plus.
Good luck with your new computer.
 

symbology

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2010
190
0
My new 27" i7 has slight yellow tint towards the bottom. The viewing angle seems to effect the amount that I notice at any given time. Everything else is fine, and I am thinking that this is going to be as good as it gets (based on many comments).

The choice is return it for a refund, or deal with it as is. I will give it a week.
 

cmvsm

macrumors 6502a
Nov 12, 2004
784
0
Good God. Here we go with this yellow crap again. I'm sure that Apple will put a stop to this insanity at some point. Again, not saying that every screen is perfect, that would be just as absurd, but I do think there is delusional activity occurring on this board that will never be right with some.

So when Apple does lay down the hammer to one exchange, there's always Dell or some other manufacturer to bug about their yellow screens. However, I doubt that they will be so lenient.
 

Thrilledge

macrumors regular
Jun 20, 2009
155
1
I just got the 21.5 Intel Core i3. I was so scared when I kept hearing the yellow tint and loud hard drive noises.

But it appears I have got a perfect one. Beautiful screen and I can't even hear it running. Best Computer I've ever had. I got mine from Best Buy and not the Apple Store.
 

easepease

macrumors regular
Feb 9, 2010
119
0
Colorado
there should be an option for harddrive noise... I had to return mine because of noise, and I was not being picky... looking at the activity monitor on disk utility, it would "pulse" once a second to about 50 kb read, at consistent intervals... it would never zero. So it was not just in my head it really did click
 

cmvsm

macrumors 6502a
Nov 12, 2004
784
0
As someone who went thru 9 27" iMacs and still didn't find one with an acceptable display. "the majority" of people being unable to see a yellow tinge is not enough to warrant my selling my existing 27" iMac and going out and buying a new one. In my experience, the majority of average Internet browsers don't notice a blatant yellow tinge, which is great for them (I wish I didn't!), but not good enough for those of us who require a relatively consistent display for photography or graphic design work. Professionally calibrating my 27" iMac (and the other 8 I've owned is impossible as the colour varies greatly depending on where on the screen you place the sensor.

You do professional photography and graphic design, yet you are depending on a glossy LCD for your final output? Lol...I wouldn't be hiring you for any of my final proofs. Good luck with that.

You went through 9 iMacs? Lol, I'd encourage you to post a picture of your screen. I guarantee someone here will find fault with it somewhere. Not because there is one of course, but because it's a neuroma that a minority have on this board, and unfortunately, will never be happy with LCD technology.
 

mattnotis

macrumors regular
May 9, 2010
152
86
Almost half of the people who got a 21.5'' got a yellow iMac. This is making me really nervous. I can't afford a 27''! :mad::(
 

SiMBa37

macrumors regular
Jul 5, 2010
235
0
New York
Almost half of the people who got a 21.5'' got a yellow iMac. This is making me really nervous. I can't afford a 27''! :mad::(

I think there is a huge selection bias here on MRF regarding who is reporting problems. If you google any Apple or mac related problem this site will be at the top. Somehow people who love their mac don't seem to find this site as often to share their experience.

Case in point, look at the Amazon.com and Best Buy.com reviews for the 2009 iMac. The reviews were stellar, nearly 5/5 stars. So take everything with a grain of salt.
 

MathijsDelva

macrumors regular
Feb 28, 2008
239
13
Yeah, this forum is making everybody paranoid. Yes, there are problems, but if you are visiting a forum where every single mac user who has a problem and wants to share it, you get a wrong idea about the problems.
 

Iamthinking

Suspended
Jul 31, 2010
184
3
Almost half of the people who got a 21.5'' got a yellow iMac. This is making me really nervous. I can't afford a 27''! :mad::(

The half that didn't report a yellow tinge either don't notice it or got o es where it was minimal, I think.

There is a serious design flaw at work here. Every 21.5" iMac I have seen has this flaw to some degree (and I work at a university campus so I see a pretty large number- and seeing more every day as all the labs gear up for new semester).

This is not paranoia, or a "regular issue with all lcd's". I think most everyone by now has seen (and owns) a few lcd's. And they ALL look better than the junk that Apple has elected to use for a panel. It looks like they have addressed the issue in the 27", judging by the number of people that give it the thumbs up, but haven't bothered with the lowly 21.5" customer.

Perhaps the next refresh will have the big new feature: "now comes with decent display"


Until then...buyer beware.
 

mattnotis

macrumors regular
May 9, 2010
152
86
The half that didn't report a yellow tinge either don't notice it or got o es where it was minimal, I think.

There is a serious design flaw at work here. Every 21.5" iMac I have seen has this flaw to some degree (and I work at a university campus so I see a pretty large number- and seeing more every day as all the labs gear up for new semester).

This is not paranoia, or a "regular issue with all lcd's". I think most everyone by now has seen (and owns) a few lcd's. And they ALL look better than the junk that Apple has elected to use for a panel. It looks like they have addressed the issue in the 27", judging by the number of people that give it the thumbs up, but haven't bothered with the lowly 21.5" customer.

Perhaps the next refresh will have the big new feature: "now comes with decent display"


Until then...buyer beware.

Maybe I'll stick with my 2005 iMac that shuts off at random then...
 

cmvsm

macrumors 6502a
Nov 12, 2004
784
0
The half that didn't report a yellow tinge either don't notice it or got o es where it was minimal, I think.

There is a serious design flaw at work here. Every 21.5" iMac I have seen has this flaw to some degree (and I work at a university campus so I see a pretty large number- and seeing more every day as all the labs gear up for new semester).

This is not paranoia, or a "regular issue with all lcd's".
Until then...buyer beware.

I disagree. This is the only forum where you see people posting pictures of their screens asking "I don't see any yellowing, but can you tell where it is" type of questions. Amazon buyers rate both the 27 and 21 iMacs with stellar reviews, as well as multiple awards the computers have won for design and operation. The paranoia tried to lend itself to iPad screens as well, but it didn't hold.

Like I said before, all screens are not perfect, and if you get one that is off, you certainly should get a replacement. However, there is a reason why this kind of thing does not exist with LCD televisions, due to the fact of those manufacturers not allowing it to happen. If returns were always specifically up to the buyer's preference, either prices would be much higher than they are, or many would go out of business. Apple will get to that point as well, and it will just make it harder for those with legitimate claims to get satisfaction.

One guy said he exchanged his 9 times. Give me a break.
 

symbology

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2010
190
0
Mine is going back. I have some yellow tinting issues, as well as a darker gray streak about 2" up from the bottom (on the left). There is also a hairline crack in the LCD panel on the lower right corner.

My first Mac purchase and this thing is a POS.
 

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symbology

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2010
190
0
Not sure if this is visible or not. If you look just above the mouse pointer you can see the gray line.
 

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symbology

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2010
190
0
Here it is.

Note, this picture is a bit underexposed and I did not feel like correcting it. When viewing the display in real life, it is much brighter than this.
 

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idonotliketostu

macrumors 6502
Feb 28, 2008
398
0
I got a 21 in today.

The screen is horrible, the whole screen has a yellowish tint to it (compared to my perfect 2009 15" macbook pro) but the yellow increased as you go from top left to right right!

I was going to replace the dvd drive with a ssd tonight since I couldn't stand the slowness of the standard drive but now I gotta go to to the apple store before I can do that :(
 

ansabakhan

macrumors 65816
Mar 3, 2010
1,210
0
how is apple handing this yellow tinit issue? has any one replaced their imac successfully? what is the replacement time frame?
 

prne10

macrumors member
Jul 27, 2010
40
0
I've had mine for about 4 days now, and It is awesome. I can't see any yellowing, and I'm not doing any tests for it.

I do notice what appears to be some backlight bleed from the bottom right and left corners, but it is very minimal and appears to go away when I get further from the screen!

All in all, I am happy.
 

Bodhi395

macrumors 6502a
Jul 23, 2008
817
0
I got a 21.5 inch over the weekend and have not noticed any issues with the screen. However, I haven't really looked extremely closely at every inch of the screen.

Is the yellowing people are experiencing really noticeable, or something you have to basically be looking for to notice? Like say, would any person who happens to use your computer say right away, "Oh my god, why does this screen look so yellow?" or would you have to actually point out the yellowing to them. If its something you'd actually have to point out to someone, why bother worrying about it, since its obviously not very noticeable?
 

symbology

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2010
190
0
If you are in a bright room with a high brightness level, the yellowing is harder to notice. If you are in a room with softer light, and a dimmer setting it is much more prevalent.
 

symbology

macrumors regular
Aug 4, 2010
190
0
I disagree. This is the only forum where you see people posting pictures of their screens asking "I don't see any yellowing, but can you tell where it is" type of questions. Amazon buyers rate both the 27 and 21 iMacs with stellar reviews, as well as multiple awards the computers have won for design and operation. The paranoia tried to lend itself to iPad screens as well, but it didn't hold.

Like I said before, all screens are not perfect, and if you get one that is off, you certainly should get a replacement. However, there is a reason why this kind of thing does not exist with LCD televisions, due to the fact of those manufacturers not allowing it to happen. If returns were always specifically up to the buyer's preference, either prices would be much higher than they are, or many would go out of business. Apple will get to that point as well, and it will just make it harder for those with legitimate claims to get satisfaction.

One guy said he exchanged his 9 times. Give me a break.

Why the hatred?

My display is unusable. This would not be acceptable for any computer display. NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!! The only way to have minimize the yellowing issue is to turn the brightness to full. Great, the yellowing is not so bad, but I have a headache after 30 seconds of viewing it.

Please stop using LCD TV's as a comparison. My TV has some back bleed issues, but I only notice it every once in a while. After all, TV's are for "moving" pictures and not for displaying static graphics like this iMac is designed to do.

If you would be content with a crappy display because all LCD's are crappy, well then good for you.
 
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