iPod touch Apple needs to make this right! (Bad Screens)

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

Well the iPod Touch screen is just NOT right! The blacks are just so messed up. I don't care what you call it (Negative, Washed Out, Greenish, WHAT EVER...)

They are not right. It is very hard to watch dark movies, look at dark pictures or do any thing else that has blacks...

Gizmodo said:
Our biggest complaint is that the touch's screen is not as good as the iPhone's screen. As Adrian has already mentioned, when you look directly at the screen while playing video, the deep blacks look strange and opalescent, almost like a film negative. We have tried this on three iPods and they all returned the same result. The only way to solve this problem, in my experience, is to tilt the touch away from you slightly, so that the top left corner is angled down. Not a fun way to watch video. The iPhone does not have this problem in any noticeable way.

Entire Story Here:
http://gizmodo.com/gadgets/apple/ap...dict-good-in-the-face-of-greatness-300127.php

Edit: I am sure many of you have read this article, Just using it to show that 3 out of 3 iPods tested by Gizmodo had this problem. Also other users who have not read this might find it interesting.

I am giving Apple until next weekend to make this right or the iPod is going back. (Hoping for a software update fix, a recall, or a new batch of units that work properly.)

On a side note, There are some users out there saying their iPods work fine and don't have this problem. I am reluctant to believe this. Maybe they have not run into a dark movie yet.

I will use this example: You could sell 10 broken cars to 10 people, All the cars have V-8's but are only running on 7 cylinders. The car will still run, but not properly. This problem would never even be noticed by some people. Only 5 out of the 10 customers may complain... This does not mean only 5 cars are broken. There are 10 broken cars.

May not be the best example, Just trying to get my point across.

volumecontrol · Sep 15, 2007

caMi said:
On a side note, There are some users out there saying their iPods work fine and don't have this problem. I am reluctant to believe this. Maybe they have not run into a dark movie yet.

HAHAHAHAHA. So you're saying that it's more plausible that everyone's touch is messed up rather than it just being a bad batch, which happens all the time with new technology.

Great.

gkarris · Sep 15, 2007

As I stated before, I was at the Apple store and they had The Frey's music video on it with dark scenes and it looked just fine. Apple does need to fix the many bad ones...

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

volumecontrol said:
HAHAHAHAHA. So you're saying that it's more plausible that everyone's touch is messed up rather than it just being a bad batch, which happens all the time with new technology.

Great.

The percentage of bad screens being reported are ASTONISHING to say the least!

If it was indeed a software problem then yes it would most definitely effect every iPod Touch out there.

If it was a hardware problem then it is also very likely this could effect every iPod on the streets right now.

And when EXPERTS are reporting that 3 out of 3 iPods were "bad", this makes me scratch my head.

wpwj40e · Sep 15, 2007

Tend to agree re the screens.

All the displays at my local apple store yesterday were bad. Today I went to Best Buy where two fo the employee's had purchased theirs and were showing them off. (They were sold out)

Both of those screens were bad. Neither thought it was too bad. They were kinda bummed they could not see anything in dark scenes, but with a bright scene the screens looked okay - colors were off - but they didn't notice. When I pointed out the green/negative effect both thought it was the video they downloaded.

Now having personally seen 3 screens at Apple, 2 at Best Buy and 1 from a neighbors kid...Either all the shipments to Arizona or were bad, or 6/6 were bad. Go figure. The neighbors kid knew his was bad and was taking it back. Actually his was among the better of the screens I had seen.

I won't say every screen is bad...but the odds of 6/6 being bad and this being isolated.....well....go figure.

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

If your iPod looks like this then you have the effect that everyone is talking about.

If not maybe you got lucky and got a good one.

Test your movie on several different dark scenes though. Some are worse than others.

volumecontrol · Sep 15, 2007

caMi said:
The percentage of bad screens being reported are ASTONISHING to say the least!

If it was indeed a software problem then yes it would most definitely effect every iPod Touch out there.

If it was a hardware problem then it is also very likely this could effect every iPod on the streets right now.

And when EXPERTS are reporting that 3 out of 3 iPods were "bad", this makes me scratch my head.

First, off, reviewers at Gizmodo hardly qualify as technology experts, unless they all come from a background of being LCD technicians or something and I missed that. Also, just because 3/3 they tested were bad, that doesn't mean 3/3 being sold are bad. Please realize this.

Secondly, it might seem like the proportion of bad screens to good is ASTONISHING, but it's not when you realize that maybe a couple thousand people in the US have a touch, not all of them are reporting problems, and that it's likely since these all have been sold before the official street date that they've all been from the same batch/production line, which lends even more credibility to the theory that it's just a bad batch.

If we see widespread reports like this come Sep. 28, then I would probably say that maybe something was wrong, but until then, I'm going to trust those who have one and say that theirs is fine.

madmaxmedia · Sep 15, 2007

It can be hard to spot in the Apple store, because you're also dealing with glare at the same time. But I definitely noticed it in the 2 or 3 demo units at my local store, and the iPhones did not have the problem.

At the time, I figured that the effect might be easier or harder to spot at home in a dark room with no glare. Turns out the effect is easier to spot (if you have it on your Touch.)

I'm actually guessing that Apple went with a different supplier for the Touch screens, but didn't know the majority (or at least a significant percentage) of screens would look like this. I think they are probably within spec at the factory. If this was a smaller LCD just for music, it would be no big deal, very few would notice, and no one would care. But for movies it's annoying.

I wouldn't go as far as calling it defective, they're just inferior screens (at least the ones I've seen, and many others have as well.)

It's still possible to correct this, by changing suppliers or making sure changes are made, and allowing those with these screens to replace them for free. Otherwise they're going to get a lot of complaints and returns. It's bad when people return them at the Apple store and have to eat a $40 restocking fee, makes them less likely to buy iPods in the future.

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

volumecontrol said:
First, off, reviewers at Gizmodo hardly qualify as technology experts, unless they all come from a background of being LCD technicians or something and I missed that. Also, just because 3/3 they tested were bad, that doesn't mean 3/3 being sold are bad. Please realize this.

Secondly, it might seem like the proportion of bad screens to good is ASTONISHING, but it's not when you realize that maybe a couple thousand people in the US have a touch, not all of them are reporting problems, and that it's likely since these all have been sold before the official street date that they've all been from the same batch/production line, which lends even more credibility to the theory that it's just a bad batch.

If we see widespread reports like this come Sep. 28, then I would probably say that maybe something was wrong, but until then, I'm going to trust those who have one and say that theirs is fine.

You can try to rationalize all you want... That does not make you right though.

What does the Sep 28th deadline have to do with anything? That is when they were estimated to come out. Keyword ESTIMATED. These iPods are not in "Beta". They have been officially released.

There are way too many people reporting problems across the net. Hell I bet there are several thousand posts on Apple's own discussion forums about this.

volumecontrol · Sep 15, 2007

caMi said:
You can try to rationalize all you want... That does not make you right though.

What does the Sep 28th deadline have to do with anything? That is when they were estimated to come out. Keyword ESTIMATED. These iPods are not in "Beta". They have been officially released.

There are way too many people reporting problems across the net. Hell I bet there are several thousand posts on Apple's own discussion forums about this.

I never said they were in Beta, or anything of the sort. I simply said that since these iPods haven't been 'officially released' (no ads, no signs in the stores, stores only getting a couple at a time, employees don't even realize they have them in many cases), they're probably from the same production line, hence the increased probability that some of them are just from a bad batch.

Wait until the majority of the public gets their hands on them.

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

volumecontrol said:
I never said they were in Beta, or anything of the sort. I simply said that since these iPods haven't been 'officially released' (no ads, no signs in the stores, stores only getting a couple at a time, employees don't even realize they have them in many cases), they're probably from the same production line, hence the increased probability that some of them are just from a bad batch.

Wait until the majority of the public gets their hands on them.

I am sorry, but you are just plain WRONG. They ARE Officially released.

They are on display. (Not only at Apple stores)

I got an e-mail from Apple saying "The New iPod Touch is Here" and "Pick up an iPod touch today. Find an Apple Retail Store near you."

volumecontrol · Sep 15, 2007

caMi said:
I am sorry, but you are just plain WRONG. They ARE Officially released.

They are on display. (Not only at Apple stores)

I got an e-mail from Apple saying "The New iPod Touch is Here" and "Pick up an iPod touch today. Find an Apple Retail Store near you."

Ok then, does that change the fact that only a small percentage of people have them? Not to mention the fact that: not everyone is reporting problems.

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

volumecontrol said:
Ok then, does that change the fact that only a small percentage of people have them? Not to mention the fact that: not everyone is reporting problems.

Maybe not many people have them yet. Maybe not every user who is having a problem is logging onto http://www.macrumors.com, making an account and making a post about their screen.

Maybe like I said, this defect does not bother everyone, especially people who don't watch many movies.

Maybe some people have the defect and don't even know what to look for.

Point is this IS a serious problem. If it were not, it would be posted across the net. From Apple discussions, to YouTube, to Gizmodo, to Macrumors.

And so many more, just google search.

WILLDOGS · Sep 15, 2007

caMi said:
If your iPod looks like this then you have the effect that everyone is talking about.

If not maybe you got lucky and got a good one.

Test your movie on several different dark scenes though. Some are worse than others.

I've tried about 6 different video's, dozens of pictures, etc... and NOTHING that I look at on my touch looks anything as bad as that. That looks horrible.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot see what everyone is complaining about?

ebel3003 · Sep 15, 2007

WILLDOGS said:
I've tried about 6 different video's, dozens of pictures, etc... and NOTHING that I look at on my touch looks anything as bad as that. That looks horrible.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot see what everyone is complaining about?

Hopefully it isn't too much to ask, but is it possible to post a photo of dark video playing back on your unit?

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

WILLDOGS said:
I've tried about 6 different video's, dozens of pictures, etc... and NOTHING that I look at on my touch looks anything as bad as that. That looks horrible.

No matter how hard I try, I cannot see what everyone is complaining about?

Thats good news. My iPod looks exactly like that image.

Just a FYI, the first scene of Talledega Nights has some serious negative black problems on my iPod

volumecontrol · Sep 15, 2007

caMi said:
Maybe not many people have them yet. Maybe not every user who is having a problem is logging onto http://www.macrumors.com, making an account and making a post about their screen.

Maybe like I said, this defect does not bother everyone, especially people who don't watch many movies.

Maybe some people have the defect and don't even know what to look for.

Point is this IS a serious problem. If it were not, it would be posted across the net. From Apple discussions, to YouTube, to Gizmodo, to Macrumors.

And so many more, just google search.

Good thing you agree with me. A small sample size doesn't mean that the larger shipments will have the same problems.

And just because it's posted all over the "net", just means that news travels fast (almost instantaneously with the internet). Many of the people across these sites are the same people, just reporting in different places.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are people unsatisfied with their purchase. Hell, if I paid $300+ for a DAP, I would want it to be without flaws too, and I fully expect Apple to do something to rectify the situation. The only thing I'm saying is that maybe people should just calm down and wait for what Apple will say, wait for the touch to get into more consumers hands, and stop with the conjecture.

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

volumecontrol said:
Good thing you agree with me. A small sample size doesn't mean that the larger shipments will have the same problems.

And just because it's posted all over the "net", just means that news travels fast (almost instantaneously with the internet). Many of the people across these sites are the same people, just reporting in different places.

Don't get me wrong, I'm sure there are people unsatisfied with their purchase. Hell, if I paid $300+ for a DAP, I would want it to be without flaws too, and I fully expect Apple to do something to rectify the situation. The only thing I'm saying is that maybe people should just calm down and wait for what Apple will say, wait for the touch to get into more consumers hands, and stop with the conjecture.

I hope this situation will be rectified and a new shipment will mean improved iPods.

I have 14 days to return my iPod (It is Apple's policy) So something needs to happen fast.

Borracho400 · Sep 15, 2007

I just turned off all the lights in my room so I was in complete darkness and I played a movie and did not notice anything wrong with the screen, which apparently everybody is reporting. Even if you would find this problem in a dark room, in order to fix it, just walk into a room that is more iluminated, makes sense doesn't it? Just be glad you finally have one of these great devices in your hands and be happy that you are able to play with it other than some people in other countries that have to wait until october to finally get them. I just don't see why everybody always has to complain about everything. Of course its a new device, and with new things come new things that are wrong with it, that is always like that. Get used to it and just be happy with what you got, and if you are not, then go return it, get your money back and then please stop complaining. Thank you! :apple:

virus1 · Sep 15, 2007

Software problem, LOLZ

onionperson654 · Sep 15, 2007

PC Magazine looks a little stupid now jumping the gun with a 5 out of 5 star review.

PC World, however, has taken note of the problem:
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,137239-page,2-c,mp3players/article.html

But one "upside," the sound quality issues and the occasional music crash when using safari have slipped through the criticism. Hey, maybe that was Apple's plan all along, and when they have this fixed next week, we'll think it's perfect.

Added: What's sad is that they are probably going to turn around and resell those models that are returned. Pathetic.

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

Borracho400 said:
I just turned off all the lights in my room so I was in complete darkness and I played a movie and did not notice anything wrong with the screen, which apparently everybody is reporting. Even if you would find this problem in a dark room, in order to fix it, just walk into a room that is more iluminated, makes sense doesn't it? Just be glad you finally have one of these great devices in your hands and be happy that you are able to play with it other than some people in other countries that have to wait until october to finally get them. I just don't see why everybody always has to complain about everything. Of course its a new device, and with new things come new things that are wrong with it, that is always like that. Get used to it and just be happy with what you got, and if you are not, then go return it, get your money back and then please stop complaining. Thank you!

Jeez man. Not to be rude, but that is the definition of a Fanboy.

I should stop complaining even though my iPod has serious problems? Okay...

You acting like Apple did me a favor by selling me an iPod. NO, I paid $300 hard earned dollars.

caMi · Sep 15, 2007

virus1 said:
Software problem, LOLZ

Fingers crossed

jmpage2 · Sep 15, 2007

Borracho400 said:
I just turned off all the lights in my room so I was in complete darkness and I played a movie and did not notice anything wrong with the screen, which apparently everybody is reporting. Even if you would find this problem in a dark room, in order to fix it, just walk into a room that is more iluminated, makes sense doesn't it? Just be glad you finally have one of these great devices in your hands and be happy that you are able to play with it other than some people in other countries that have to wait until october to finally get them. I just don't see why everybody always has to complain about everything. Of course its a new device, and with new things come new things that are wrong with it, that is always like that. Get used to it and just be happy with what you got, and if you are not, then go return it, get your money back and then please stop complaining. Thank you!

You're a damn tool. We spent $400 on these things and expect them to be right. Just fall to our knees and thank Steve Jobs for delivering a crappy product to us and be happy we have one to play with?

WILLDOGS · Sep 15, 2007

My Images, PLEASE note that the only camera on hand is an old one (2MP?? flaky POS) and those horizontal lines you see are not visible to the naked eye. I think it's some sort of camera to lcd thingamajigy hoozomiboble. My other cam is at work...

All I'm concentrating on here is there "negative" issue that I really don't see on mine. Can you?

iPod touch Apple needs to make this right! (Bad Screens)

macrumors regular

macrumors newbie

macrumors G3

macrumors regular

macrumors regular

macrumors regular

macrumors newbie

macrumors 68030

macrumors regular

macrumors newbie

macrumors regular

macrumors newbie

macrumors regular

macrumors regular

macrumors 6502a

macrumors regular

macrumors newbie

macrumors regular

macrumors member

macrumors 65816

macrumors regular

macrumors regular

macrumors regular

macrumors 68040

macrumors regular

Our Staff