iPod touch There are no bad screens

uburoibob · Sep 18, 2007

Really. And there are no good screens. They are all the same, and this is an intensely subjective conversation now chiefly fueled by emotion. The problem is the curve that the video driver is delivering to the screen. This is a SOFTWARE FIX. I have simulated a fix for any problem photo in Photoshop that will make it look perfect on ANY iPod touch. There isn't one that I can't make good using the same algorithm in Photoshop. It will be the same for video.

SO, everyone take a nice deep breath. Apple WILL come out with an update that fixes this problem. Those who believe they have good screens now won't see a difference. Those who believe they have bad screens now will. Those who will want to turn the LCD screens until they go negative will just continue to do that (cuz that's just they way they are). But it's an easy fix with the video driver for the screen.

For now, just sit tight and enjoy your really cool new iPods...

Bob

hdhanani · Sep 18, 2007

*clap clap clap*

Well put!

jmpage2 · Sep 18, 2007

Time will tell.

Stun inc. · Sep 18, 2007

That sounds awesome.

but why would apple not only be willing to exchange the ipods with no restocking fee, but actually encourage customers to take their defective ipods back?

cwc123188 · Sep 18, 2007

Wow you know a lot!
Even more than the credible reviewers and an LCD screen specialist.
Congradulations!

--Wolf-- · Sep 18, 2007

It's true.

Someone else also posted this.

Tell me, if there really is something wrong with the screen (other than it not reading it right, or w/e the right term is) then why, with his PS settings, can it look like it has no probs whatsoever?

uburoibob · Sep 18, 2007

I even know how to spell congratulations! I guess on the internet, everyone is a specialist, eh? And you never know who you are talking to. Do you?

Well, do you, punk?

jmpage2 · Sep 18, 2007

--Wolf-- said:
It's true.

Someone else also posted this.

Tell me, if there really is something wrong with the screen (other than it not reading it right, or w/e the right term is) then why, with his PS settings, can it look like it has no probs whatsoever?

It would be nice if he could take some of the higher quality example photos of the problem and post the "fixed" versions. I'm also curious if he has the ipod himself.

When the problem is most noticeable in a dimly lit room it is very obvious that something about the reflectivity of the ipod screen is 'wrong'. Everything is reflected off of the screen far too much, almost like the screen is getting a reflection of itself back off of the glass.

This is the primary reason I have a hard time beliving firmware will fix this.

--Wolf-- · Sep 18, 2007

Lets look at it this way. You can get images on a bad screen that don't look bad (IE, makes it look like your screen is good)

Apple could easily release a update that makes all images/vids use that specific setting, problem solved. Seriously, if it can be fixed (and I have seen pics with the -20% or w/e) then it is a software problem.

shadowmoses · Sep 18, 2007

Sticky please. If anything the touches screen is more bright/clear than the iPhones.........

Shadow

uburoibob · Sep 18, 2007

As far as the response from Apple - an angry mob has kind of taken them by surprise, fueled by rumors for "experts" in this and other forums. Sure, on first blush, it looks like there might be a hardware problem. AND it's been 4 friggin days since these hit. 4 days! Apple's phone people didn't even know they were out there.

Utlimately, the number of people up in arms here on the forum is relatively miniscule compared to the numbers of iPod touches being sold. And the fan-based blogs and pages that have pointed out the problem still only reach less than 1% of the consumers of these devices.

Really - in a few weeks, or with Apple's speed, maybe a couple of months, there will be a software/firmware fix. In the meantime, if it means THAT much to you, just dump the bottom 20% density in the blacks on your fave photos, or use Quicktime Pro to do the same thing to video. Your stuff will look perfect.

Bob

thegrue · Sep 18, 2007

--Wolf-- said:
It's true.

Someone else also posted this.

Tell me, if there really is something wrong with the screen (other than it not reading it right, or w/e the right term is) then why, with his PS settings, can it look like it has no probs whatsoever?

I can take some of the noise out of a picture taken with a cheap digital camera, it doesn't mean the camera doesn't suck.

One of the problems with glass-fronted high-gloss LCD screens is that they invariably suffer from colour and contrast shifting at certain angles. Look at a MacBook or iMac (or MacBook Pro if you can find someone loony enough to order one with the glossy screen), and take a step to the side, or move your head up and down. The colours shift, dramatically. This is why nobody who gives a damn about colour accuracy uses that sort of display. The Touch's display just seems to be taking this to an extreme, for one reason or another.

Could it be a software issue? Sure. But it could just as easily be a hardware issue. Nobody outside of Apple and whoever is making the screens can know for sure what's causing this, at least unless they're getting reports they probably shouldn't be.

Furthermore, when you consider there are various vendors for displays, it might only affect some panels. Samsung, Toshiba, Chimei, and Panasonic are all currently supplying LCDs for various Apple products, and some of those manufacturers make better panels than others.

shadowmoses said:
Sticky please. If anything the touches screen is more bright/clear than the iPhones.........

Shadow

Brightness does not a good screen make. I'll take accurate and viewable over face-meltingly bright and inaccurate color reproduction.

Shanesan · Sep 18, 2007

Stun inc. said:
That sounds awesome.

but why would apple not only be willing to exchange the ipods with no restocking fee, but actually encourage customers to take their defective ipods back?

So they can take those "defective" ones, find out whats wrong, and present either a fix or a voluntary recall.

uburoibob · Sep 18, 2007

Yes, he has the 16gig iPod touch himself (er, me). I solved this problem the first afternoon. When I get off the road on Monday, I will try and post before and after photos of the problem and the fix. And no, I won't turn the iPod any which way to try and make the problem look worse than it is.

I am not sure why you'd WANT it to be a hardware problem when it isn't...

Bob

thegrue said:
I can take some of the noise out of a picture taken with a cheap digital camera, it doesn't mean the camera doesn't suck.

True, but in this case, the display is the end of the line, not the beginning of the chain. You take the 'noise' out and you've done what needs to be done. Dig?

As far as the screen on my Macbook, it's fine. I LIKE having the extra contrast there that a matte screen robbed. Sure, I have to find the sweet spot, but ths spot is sweeter and the color is more accurate than it ever was on the matte screens...

Bob

macenforcer · Sep 18, 2007

Me thinks they should fix this as fast as they came out with a fix for free ringtones. Hmmmmm.

molestdbygenius · Sep 18, 2007

uburoibob said:
In the meantime, if it means THAT much to you, just dump the bottom 20% density in the blacks on your fave photos, or use Quicktime Pro to do the same thing to video. Your stuff will look perfect.

Bob

How exactly would you go about doing that?

jmpage2 · Sep 18, 2007

If true I'm sure many here would be relieved, remains to be seen though. And these have been out for five days now, not four, people first got them Thursday afternoon!

uburoibob · Sep 18, 2007

molestdbygenius said:
How exactly would you go about doing that?

Open your movie into Quicktime Pro. Pull down the WINDOW menu item to A/V Controls. There, slide your contrast fader about 1/5 of the way from the center position to the left. You can play with the overall brightness a bit too, but not too much. Save the movie. View on touch.

This will make it pretty durned close to perfect. Apple will find the right curve, which will mean it will correct the display, rather than your movies. Same difference, but the movies don't get affected - just the display.

Bob

jmpage2 said:
If true I'm sure many here would be relieved, remains to be seen though. And these have been out for five days now, not four, people first got them Thursday afternoon!

Sorry, as I said, I've been on the road. They first showed up in my home town (Rochester, NY) on Friday morning!

Bob

madmaxmedia · Sep 18, 2007

Hey Bob,

Just to clarify since I can't tell for sure from your post- you've actually tried the adjustment you described on a seemingly defective Touch, and it solved the problem?

By solving the problem, I mean you are now able to look at the screen directly head-on, with no screen artifacts?

Thanks

uburoibob · Sep 18, 2007

madmaxmedia said:
Hey Bob,

Just to clarify since I can't tell for sure from your post- you've actually tried the adjustment you described on a seemingly defective Touch, and it solved the problem?

By solving the problem, I mean you are now able to look at the screen directly head-on, with no screen artifacts?

Thanks

Absolutely. Yes.

Bob

jxdragon · Sep 18, 2007

if this is the case, then i'm really happy i won't have to exchange anything

question, if the negatives are a result of a viewing angle.. does the iphone have similarly small viewing angles?

virus1 · Sep 18, 2007

Why don't you distribute one of your modified pictures for the people to test on their touches?

madmaxmedia · Sep 18, 2007

uburoibob said:
Absolutely. Yes.

Bob

Awesome, thanks. If you could throw a vid on YouTube you could be hero of the net for a day (or at least Digg.)

If this is happening with the iPhone's new screen, then it seems like the Touch/iPhone simply is calibrated right for the new screen.

I assumed it was a defect rather than simply Apple using cheap screens. That made no sense, as this is an expensive product and much cheaper products don't have screen issues like this.

cavemonkey50 · Sep 18, 2007

I have just confirmed this is the case. Attached is the Jay Z image. The first one is the original, the second has 20% of the contrast adjusted.

This works for all images I was having problems with, and the same for video. This modification doesn't appear to affect the other colors in a image/video. I'd say if all screens are "defective" or Apple can distinguish between the "bad" screens, a firmware update would certainly correct this problem.

madmaxmedia · Sep 18, 2007

Okay, thanks for the additional info! (I was just listening to that album...)

If this is the solution, then all the varying reports makes things more complicated for Apple. Are the screens the same, and peoples' perception different? Because there shouldn't be this much actual variation.

The last thing Apple wants to do is issue a firmware update, but then end up somehow fixing some peoples' screens and messing other peoples' up.

iPod touch There are no bad screens

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