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High Resolution(Main issue small fonts/text)

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mak713

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
62
0
Hey!

I have been following the whole MBP HD debate for a while now and finally decided that I should post something about it and have my questions answered by the esteemed Mac community here.

I purchased the top of the line MBP HD-Glossy(i7+500GB@7200,8GB RAM). I purchased the HD version unaware that I was going have to have trouble with it.(Thought HD=Better/more crisp display).I currently use a Imac 24" and have never had any issue with the font/text on it. I also owned a 13" MBP which I sold to purchase a 15" MBP.

I used it for a few days to see if I got used to the fonts on it. For some reason, it didn't quite work for me. I then decided it would be best for me to return it.
I mean, don't get me wrong. The screen was gorgeous and everything appeared so nice on it, but for some reason, I couldn't get used to the small font. I have perfect vision and have never had any trouble viewing text. Even on this it wasn't any issue. I just prefer a bigger font on the system. the one on 1440*900 suits me better.

Now that I have returned the system and before I go ahead and a purchase a non HD one, my main question is that: Graphics/Display wise, is there a much of difference? My apple store here in Austin doesn't have a 15" HD(Glossy) on display. They only have a 15" Matte and so I couldn't really compare the screens. I did see the difference in fonts but what I wanted to see if there was any difference in terms of the picture/video quality.

Thanks
PS: I appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts/suggestions/opinions on the same.
 
I

ijsportsman

macrumors newbie
Apr 20, 2010
21
0
Personally when I went up and looked at my local Apple Store, the only difference I saw was in screen space and font. The video quality was pretty damn good on both screens. I just purchased a 15" standard res after talking to a Specialist up at the store. He said that the only reason and time I should think about purchasing a Hi-Res (like) screen is if I were to buy something with much more screen space. He said that for a laptop, I shouldn't worry about it.
 
M

mak713

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
62
0
Re:

Ijsportsman,

I thought the same too. The 'genius' who was helping me out didn't have a clue to what I was talking about. But he was very honest in letting me know the same and went to the back to ask some of the others about it, When he got back he told me that none of the 'geniuses' had anything say about it since they hadn't used it much nor had any complaints so far. So, he suggested to me that I wait for a month or so and come back to check what they thought about it.

I am still toying with the idea of waiting till the 'Back to School' promotion starts and acquiring a new Ipod with the purchase of a MBP.

Anyway, thanks for sharing your experience with the same.
 
H

harpster

macrumors regular
Jan 26, 2010
135
7
I agree about the smaller fonts on the the 17" being a problem for some people because it is for me... but you can change the resolution to 1680 X 1050 and I think the display still looks pretty good this way. The font sizes on the 15" Hi Res and 17" look about the same (small). Menu fonts like in Safari are tiny and some web sites just don't look right to me on those displays. I'm not saying it's not right for everyone... it's not right for me.

I was going to use an external monitor and now I'm hearing problems about the graphics switching and fan noises when it gets hot. It pays to wait and I'm just waiting and watching to see what Apple will put out that will be the solution I want. I don't like any of the glossy displays so iMacs and the ACD are out. These new MacBook pros have issues and I want to so how they shake out. The MacPro should be cool if I can afford it. I'd really like to see a bigger Mac Mini with easier expansion and a fast i7 processor & upgradable graphics, then I can get a nice matt monitor and build the system the way I want. I'm still very interested in a MacBook Pro and was ready to get one but my Powermac G4 is hanging in there so I'm pretty sure I'll wait until the next release and pass on this one.
 
R

rickeames

macrumors 6502
Mar 12, 2008
389
71
mak713 said:
More thoughts please?
Click to expand...

My other computer is a Sony Z, and it's a 13" at 1600, and I can read it just fine. I am one that actually prefers crisper text to fuzzy text. 1440 gave me fuzzy text and not enough screen space. I would always choose that.
 
A

a4209797

macrumors member
Apr 26, 2010
93
1
i'm posting this from a 1400x1050 @ 14.1". i dont think i'll have a problem with the 15.1" HD-AG i just ordered. also i'm a 23 college student
 
N

ndlundberg

macrumors newbie
Apr 25, 2010
10
0
I recieved my mbp 15" high-res antiglare a couple of days ago, returned it today.

When it comes to the font size, I don't think it's such a big problem, most browsers etc can zoom in slightly without loosing to much quality in images etc. The font size of the finder can be increased as well, also font size in the track list of itunes and so forth.

The reason I returned it was that my screen had a red tint, the screen wasn't centered, it was flush left with 2-3mm black space to the right, and the vertical viewing angle was WAY BETTER on my old multibody mbp from 2008 (LG screen, samsung on the new one).

Bottom line, the resulution is a personal preference, and you might get used to it. However, the quality of the screen can be discussed!

A answer to previous question:
if you set the resulution to 1440 och 1280 on the highres version, it doesn't cover the whole screen, you get a black border on top/bottom or you can choose to strech it. Either way, the screen is terribly blurry and useless in these resolutions, it's 1680 or you should get a standard-res screen, simple as that!
 
MBHockey

MBHockey

macrumors 601
Oct 4, 2003
4,050
297
Connecticut
mak713 said:
More thoughts please?
Click to expand...

Used the hi-res AG model in the store and didn't have any problems readin the screen. Just seemed like a whole lot more room on there for multiple apps.

Could be a different story when I sit down to use it in my own house and stuff. We'll see (haven't received it yet.)
 
M

mak713

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
62
0
MBHockey said:
Used the hi-res AG model in the store and didn't have any problems readin the screen. Just seemed like a whole lot more room on there for multiple apps.

Could be a different story when I sit down to use it in my own house and stuff. We'll see (haven't received it yet.)
Click to expand...

Honestly, thats how I felt too. I went to the store today and it seemed ok for sometime when I was using it. I don't know whether or not it was so because I was standing and looking at it from a certain angle. Then after a few minutes I went back to a standard resolution and I liked it better because all the text appeared better IMO.

When I had my MBP High Res. for a couple of days, I did keep increasing the font size which i felt most comfortable to read with but for some reason the menu fonts on the top just didn't feel right.

I don't mean to discourage any future High Res. buyers out there but all that I'm saying please visit the store and try it before you go ahead and decide to buy one.
 
johnnymg

johnnymg

macrumors 65816
Nov 16, 2008
1,318
7
mak713 said:
Hey!

I have been following the whole MBP HD debate for a while now and finally decided that I should post something about it and have my questions answered by the esteemed Mac community here.

snip

Thanks
PS: I appreciate everyone sharing their thoughts/suggestions/opinions on the same.
Click to expand...

"Standard rez" screen is fabulous. Unless you have teenage eyes you won't be able to tell the difference.

good luck with whatever you get
JohnG
 
entatlrg

entatlrg

macrumors 68040
Mar 2, 2009
3,385
6
Waterloo & Georgian Bay, Canada
Hey mac713 -

Thanks for making the post, I agree with your comments completely. You can look back at some of my posts on the same topic.

I guess it boils to personal preference and what you use the notebook for. I use my notebook for work 90% and entertainment 10%, I'm using my notebook 12 hours a day 7 days a week - yes I work a lot :)

My work entails reading text and writing a lot of text, creative/mechanical concept drawing, research, sourcing, some video and photo editing.

For me the 1440 x 900 screen is perfect, text the right size, no resizing, photos, video crystal clear, Apple has done an outstanding job with their displays the last years.

Any resolution higher than that on a 15" screen means more eye strain in my opinion and experience. Others state the higher resolution makes the font so clear and crisp it's worth the trade off of smaller fonts. For their eyes that's likely the case. For my eyes too when I stop at the store and compare the two side by side for a few minutes. I made the mistake of buying a higher res screen in the past and were the strain comes from, (in my opinion only), is when you're working long hours, the clear tiny text can get real blurry and I think it's because of the size of the fonts in relation to the distance from your eyes to the screen, it's too far and the smaller the font and the greater the distance the more strain on the eyes. I also find the smaller font is more bothersome under low light / poor light conditions in the evening for example.

There's no right or wrong but I caution anyone who makes their decision from comparing both in the Apple store for 30 minutes. You need to think about what you're using the notebook for and which screen you think will be easier to read from for long periods if that's what your work involves, if you're doing all photo / video work, watching movies then the higher res could be for you.

But, one thing for sure, the fonts are not "fuzzy" on the 1440 x 900 display, not at all. Heck, the fonts on my low resolution 13" MBP aren't fuzzy either. Macs have great screens. Want to see fuzzy blurry fonts take a stroll through Best Buy and look the consumer windows machines, they're hellish bad regardless of the resolution ....
 
M

mak713

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
62
0
entatlrg said:
Hey mac713 -

Thanks for making the post, I agree with your comments completely. You can look back at some of my posts on the same topic.

I guess it boils to personal preference and what you use the notebook for. I use my notebook for work 90% and entertainment 10%, I'm using my notebook 12 hours a day 7 days a week - yes I work a lot :)

My work entails reading text and writing a lot of text, creative/mechanical concept drawing, research, sourcing, some video and photo editing.

For me the 1440 x 900 screen is perfect, text the right size, no resizing, photos, video crystal clear, Apple has done an outstanding job with their displays the last years.

Any resolution higher than that on a 15" screen means more eye strain in my opinion and experience. Others state the higher resolution make the font so clear and crisp and crisp it's worth the trade off of smaller fonts. For their eyes that's likely the case. For my eyes too when I stop at the store and compare the two side by side for a few minutes. I made the mistake of buying a higher res screen in the past and were the strain comes from, (in my opinion only), is when you're working long hours, the clear tiny text can get real blurry and I think it's because of the size of the fonts in relation to the distance from your eyes to the screen, it's too far and the smaller the font and the greater the distance the more strain on the eyes. I also find the smaller font is more bothersome under low light / poor light conditions in the evening for example.

There's no right or wrong but I caution anyone who makes their decision from comparing both in the Apple store for 30 minutes. You need to think about what you're using the notebook for and which screen you think will be easier to read from for long periods if that's what your work involves, if you're doing all photo / video work, watching movies then the higher res could be for you.

But, one thing for sure, the fonts are not "fuzzy" on the 1440 x 900 display, not at all. Heck, the fonts on my low resolution 13" MBP aren't fuzzy either. Macs have great screens in recent years anyway. Want to see fuzzy blurry fonts take a stroll through Best Buy and look the consumer windows machines, they're hellish bad regardless of the resolution ....
Click to expand...

Hey entatlrg!

Thanks for backing me up on this. I just feel so much better knowing that I'm not one of the many few who think that High Res isn't necessarily comfortable to view text on.
 
S

shoppy

macrumors 65816
Mar 4, 2007
1,072
64
Hants
I am actually quite strange I am fine on the 17" Hi res screen yet on my 15" hi res I struggle especially when I am tired slightly. Glossy or anti glare makes no difference to em as i sued them to browse the web, itunes and some office work.
 
dreven79

dreven79

macrumors member
Mar 30, 2010
59
0
Perth Western Australia
Hi guys,

I going to pick up the MBP 15". As with many of you, im quite worried and can't decide if i want high resolution or not because there is no Apple store for me to go down to and do a comparison.

My mate just got the Dell XPS 16 today so i quickly popped over to look at the screen. I must say the high resolution does look gorgeous. Movies looked great. The specs are 15.6" (1920x1080). I surfed the web and this forum for a while. The fonts are definitely smaller but not unreadable. I found it quite tiring to read the fonts after a while. Maybe you need to get used to it. Or maybe its my eyes going. ha ha..

The Apple in comparison would be 15.4" (1680x1050). So it would be similar comparison i guess.

Personally i think the standard resolution (1440x900) is just right for reading fonts, using word, surfing the web etc.

Now i'm confused :confused: . I might go with the normal resolution but don't wanna get buyers remorse.

Some good comparison pictures will be great for those of us with no Apple store to go to. (only premium reseller) and they don't have hi res on display :(

Cheers
 
M

mak713

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 29, 2007
62
0
So, basically a High Res screen does make everything on it appear a lot more better than a Std Res or isn't there that much of a difference?
 
glxyjones

glxyjones

macrumors regular
Jun 29, 2007
209
51
I have a last-gen MBP so I have the "low-res" screen and while I love it, I really would like to upgrade for the higher resolution and the longer batter life.

I am concerned about this smaller fonts and while it would defeat the purpose of the higher res display, isn't it possible to manually set the higher resolution display to the "low-res" setting? Especially if you want the antiglare.
 
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