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Screen interlacing still present on 5S

R

RJCP

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2011
434
40
So, I went to my local apple store today to have a look at the new iPhones and some of the display models still had screens with really bad vertical interlacing...

Why isn't Apple cracking on these providers to properly calibrate their screen refresh rates which is where the problem originates?
 
That's too bad. This has been a problem for years now. My replacement 3GS had horizontal lines, 4 had horizontal lines and I got it replaced, and 5 has vertical.
 
thadoggfather said:
I knew this was going to happen, I just knew it.
Click to expand...

Well, it's a bit silly when you come to think of it. Judging by the amount of internet threads this issue generated, you would assume that it was a well reported and documented problem.
Why can't they simply change their display manufacturers to some who actually know what they're doing?

I didn't think of upgrading from my 5 to a 5S, but this definitely makes me want to wait for a new form factor which will hopefully require a different type of screen.
 
I haven't got a clue what you're talking about. I've never seen an iPhone screen with anything like what you described.
 
bigcstyle4 said:
That's too bad. This has been a problem for years now. My replacement 3GS had horizontal lines, 4 had horizontal lines and I got it replaced, and 5 has vertical.
Click to expand...

This issue sent me through 4 replacement phones... Initial one had interlacing, second one had a good screen but started overheating and draining the battery, the replacement unit had again really bad vertical lines, the following had a badly assembled front glass which came off in one corner (display had no interlacing but had 4 dead pixels). Finally, the one after is the one I'm still rocking today. It has very very slight vertical interference which you can barely see even with brightness at maximum.

Some of the display models of the 5S looked like a screen from an 80's computer.
Why is this still happening???
 
I find it interesting/frustrating too, and I'm not defending it.

The reason is simple: the people who don't care or fail to see this issue heavily outweigh those that do care or those they can easily see it. It's a matter of $$, as you'd imagine with any company looking out for primarily its profits and margins.

And it's not something that has ever been blown out of proportion by the media, forcing Apple to address it or respond.
 
Interlacing describes the method used to draw the pixels on the screen. It has nothing to do with screen quality. That's why I'm confused about what you mean. In fact, I don't think the iPhone screen is interlaced at all. I think the pixels are all generated progressively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlacing
 
for 4/4s/3.5" screens:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/6458/img1492zy.jpg

for 5/5c/5s/ipodtouch 5th gen/4" screens:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6493/img1496nd.jpg

If your screen has interlacing issues, there will be flickering near the bottom of the home screen when you set this as the default wallpaper.

For some screens, it's faint flickering, some its like epilepsy flashing, and perfect screen no flicker at all.

It's a defect, but because it's fairly common, a genius may or may not see it as an issue and think its 'within spec'.

Best to be in a retail return situation if you are picky about this sort of thing

I just got lucky getting one without it (an iPhone 5) as an AppleCare over the phone swap for a different issue. I gave up on interlacing and finally won the lottery.
 
chabig said:
Interlacing describes the method used to draw the pixels on the screen. It has nothing to do with screen quality. That's why I'm confused about what you mean. In fact, I don't think the iPhone screen is interlaced at all. I think the pixels are all generated progressively.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Interlacing
Click to expand...

I know that. I read so,é where that it's got something to do with the refresh rates and that some iphone screens don't have their refresh rates carefully calibrated resulting in interference and screen aberrations. It's very had to catch on pictures because you basically have to use a second device's camera to take a picture of the screen.
If I had to describe, it's a bit like watching a poorly tuned TV channel when you get all sorts of interference in the screen, but scaled down to the size and nature of an iphone.
 
RJCP said:
I know that. I read so,é where that it's got something to do with the refresh rates and that some iphone screens don't have their refresh rates carefully calibrated resulting in interference and screen aberrations. It's very had to catch on pictures because you basically have to use a second device's camera to take a picture of the screen.
If I had to describe, it's a bit like watching a poorly tuned TV channel when you get all sorts of interference in the screen, but scaled down to the size and nature of an iphone.
Click to expand...

That sounds like something you'd get when drawing on a phosphor screen with an electron gun, not something you'd get on a digital display with individually addressable pixels. What you're seeing probably has something to do with refresh rate, not interlacing.
 
chabig said:
That sounds like something you'd get when drawing on a phosphor screen with an electron gun, not something you'd get on a digital display with individually addressable pixels. What you're seeing probably has something to do with refresh rate, not interlacing.
Click to expand...

Call it what you want. It looks hideous and reduces the crispness of the display.
 
I got my black 32gb 5s today and it's perfect! And I traded in a 5 that had the problem but this one don't. Maybe I'm just lucky!
 
I concur. It's not a good thing it hinders the experience.

Everything also looks kinda scratchy and like seen through a screen door. Jaggedly instead of smooth for small text
 
thadoggfather said:
for 4/4s/3.5" screens:
http://img9.imageshack.us/img9/6458/img1492zy.jpg

for 5/5c/5s/ipodtouch 5th gen/4" screens:
http://img15.imageshack.us/img15/6493/img1496nd.jpg

If your screen has interlacing issues, there will be flickering near the bottom of the home screen when you set this as the default wallpaper.

For some screens, it's faint flickering, some its like epilepsy flashing, and perfect screen no flicker at all.

It's a defect, but because it's fairly common, a genius may or may not see it as an issue and think its 'within spec'.

Best to be in a retail return situation if you are picky about this sort of thing

I just got lucky getting one without it (an iPhone 5) as an AppleCare over the phone swap for a different issue. I gave up on interlacing and finally won the lottery.
Click to expand...

I don't see flickering when the home screen is still, but when I open multitasking or open between apps, there is a ton of flickering. Does my screen have the issue?

I'm on iOS 6.
 
No animation of opening window and flickering is perfectly normal.

Flickering just staring at a stagnant home screen is not.
 
If you don't notice it then just be happy and don't try to. Once you see it there's no going back.

It's basically rolling scan lines that your eyes can follow in either direction.

This post has some good images of the lines. They "roll" continuously from left-right or right-left (your eye can track in either direction).
 
Last edited:
Yeah those are good shots, especially the visible lines on the grey part of the brightness icon.

Definitely better to not go looking for problems.

But I notice things like this immediately. Panel quality is important to me.
 
thadoggfather said:
Yeah those are good shots, especially the visible lines on the grey part of the brightness icon.

Definitely better to not go looking for problems.

But I notice things like this immediately. Panel quality is important to me.
Click to expand...

Well, people with myopia (like me) are more prone to noticing this kind of thing because although we need lenses to see properly at a distance, our short distance vision is actually above standard which makes stuff like this problem, dead pixels and other screen issues much more noticeable.

But yeah, definitely don't go looking for problems. I noticed it because my 4S had an amazing screen, very crisp and clear, and when I turned on my iPhone 5 the interlacing was really noticeable.

EDIT: Panel quality becomes the more important when it's one of the selling points for the iPhone. It's no good claiming you have the best screen in the industry (which is false, anyway) and then shipping poorly calibrated displays to your customers.
That said, the Geniuses I saw about this problem were all really nice and acknowledged the problem. The last one even offered me an iTunes card for my trouble... By that point I was so fed up of having my phone swapped that I actually refused and told him "thank you, but just get me a proper phone".
 
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