Did you check them for the gradient issue also? I did and they were all the same... good luck with the backlight on your replacement - I'm still trying to decide what to do...
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17" MacBookPro C2D Colour Banding Problem / LCD Quality Observations / OSX Users
- Thread starter geehk
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Did you check them for the gradient issue also? I did and they were all the same... good luck with the backlight on your replacement - I'm still trying to decide what to do...
The color banding thread seems to have come to a standstill for now For those who haven't tried the test yet, the problem that I saw on some of the Macbook Pro C2D's 15" & 17" looks a little like this simulation when viewing a Color Gradient Test Chart:
If you want to test the gradient charts on your C2D MBP then here are the links: Granger Test or Gamut Test.
I saw a rumour that the LCD's possibly come from three suppliers and this may help explain the difference in 'banding' and 'grainyness' experienced by different MBP C2D owners.
'Apple Discussions' Source: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=758021&tstart=0
For those who haven't tried the test yet, the problem that I saw on some of the Macbook Pro C2D's 15" & 17" looks a little like this simulation when viewing a Color Gradient Test Chart:
If you want to test the gradient charts on your C2D MBP then here are the links: Granger Test or Gamut Test.
I saw a rumour that the LCD's possibly come from three suppliers and this may help explain the difference in 'banding' and 'grainyness' experienced by different MBP C2D owners.
'Apple Discussions' Source: http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=758021&tstart=0
Mine is exactly the same..
My gradient tests are poor too, not what I'd expect from a "pro" machine.
The LCDTest beta does show the improvement between non-quartz and quartz, though (a massive one to my eye)..
Just opened up my new 2.33 MBP glossy screen. It looks amazing. For a second I thought maybe they forgot to give me the glossy because I couldn't see any reflections.
I ran LCD Test v2.0b and I have no dead pixels (YES!!). The color banding test looked the same as it did on my 400mhz G4 PowerBook, it was only slightly banded in the Green area, but not unacceptable at all, just there enough that I could notice it. The CMYK test looked fine. The pixel response test was amazing, because my PowerBook (probably thanks to it's whopping 8MB of video ram) looks horrible running that test.
I followed the instructions to see my display's model number (Prefs->Displays->Color->Open Profile) but the Manufacturer and Model sections are BLANK! That seems very unusual. Any other way to find out the model?
The only problem with this computer is a slight buzz coming from the top right of the keyboard. Is this normal? It's audible in a completely quiet room, but you can't hear it if there is any background noise. I'm reluctant to return the computer over something so minor, since it seems to be free of the other problems, plus it's a CTO (160GB HD) so it would be kind of a hassle.
On the other hand, it might drive me crazy...
I ran LCD Test v2.0b and I have no dead pixels (YES!!). The color banding test looked the same as it did on my 400mhz G4 PowerBook, it was only slightly banded in the Green area, but not unacceptable at all, just there enough that I could notice it. The CMYK test looked fine. The pixel response test was amazing, because my PowerBook (probably thanks to it's whopping 8MB of video ram) looks horrible running that test.
I followed the instructions to see my display's model number (Prefs->Displays->Color->Open Profile) but the Manufacturer and Model sections are BLANK! That seems very unusual. Any other way to find out the model?
The only problem with this computer is a slight buzz coming from the top right of the keyboard. Is this normal? It's audible in a completely quiet room, but you can't hear it if there is any background noise. I'm reluctant to return the computer over something so minor, since it seems to be free of the other problems, plus it's a CTO (160GB HD) so it would be kind of a hassle.
On the other hand, it might drive me crazy...
Hi Chack, Glad to hear that your MBP C2D Glossy is Colour Banding free! It's a pity the LCD info is blank though (Very Odd!). It would be good to find which manufacturers LCD performs best.
Do you know where yours was made? Is it a serial beginning with W8 or something else? I have heard that they are made in three places currently - not sure if that's true. It used to be Taiwan but so many are coming from China now too.
I've never had a buzz from an Apple Laptop - just fan noise only - If it's annoying you or you are concerned you should have it checked. I had a 15" MBP C2D for 5 days - no buzzing or anything, just a sub-standard quality display.
I have a fairly early model 17" Core Duo (not 2) X1600 256MB with the matte screen. It bands. My cheapest Dell Latitude (D520) with a GMA950 handles the test a lot better. I'll try the same test on the C2D which should be arriving any day now.
It doesn't surprise me - the MBP is very pretty but has more flaws than you can shake a stick at. The sole reason IMHO why someone can actually really like, let alone evagelise a compromised laptop like ths is if they're so shallow so as to place all importance on the looks of the thing. I don't give a flying monkeys about the ease of use of OS X, when the hardware itself has such everyday compromises compared to an equivalent top-flight Windows laptop that it destroys any (minor) niceties that the OS might have over the competition.
I've never actually managed to get the colours on the MBP's display to not look washed out (of course I have played with the calibration), but since I'm not a print professional or anything and I was using this as my main machine until a couple of months ago (so didn't want to screw anything up) I didn't bother to do anything about it. I'll now add it to the list of things I have to get fixed.
It doesn't surprise me - the MBP is very pretty but has more flaws than you can shake a stick at. The sole reason IMHO why someone can actually really like, let alone evagelise a compromised laptop like ths is if they're so shallow so as to place all importance on the looks of the thing. I don't give a flying monkeys about the ease of use of OS X, when the hardware itself has such everyday compromises compared to an equivalent top-flight Windows laptop that it destroys any (minor) niceties that the OS might have over the competition.
I've never actually managed to get the colours on the MBP's display to not look washed out (of course I have played with the calibration), but since I'm not a print professional or anything and I was using this as my main machine until a couple of months ago (so didn't want to screw anything up) I didn't bother to do anything about it. I'll now add it to the list of things I have to get fixed.
Oh, and yah, I did find out that it is the fan making this noise. I probably will just learn to live with it, as everything else about this machine is amazing! I'm loving 2-finger scrolling. Couldn't do it on my old PB G4 (made in 2001, so iScroll didn't work).
OW ow ow
i tried the LCDtest.app and i
lots of color banding and the red gradiant was pixelated and the end was 1 red spot
So i used the Adobe RGB(1998) Profile and ..... plinggggg
NO banding NO pixelating spots !!!! pffjew
edit
mm just compared the color with a 23 inch acd and it looks bad and dark.
sRGB profile looks better and NO banding NO spots
i tried the LCDtest.app and i
lots of color banding and the red gradiant was pixelated and the end was 1 red spot
So i used the Adobe RGB(1998) Profile and ..... plinggggg
NO banding NO pixelating spots !!!!
pffjewedit
mm just compared the color with a 23 inch acd and it looks bad and dark.
sRGB profile looks better and NO banding NO spots
Both those test images look fine on my 15" Core Duo MBP (NOT Core 2 Duo). So it must be something they changed on the C2D's. Specs as below:-
ATI Radeon X1600:
Chipset Model: ATY,RadeonX1600
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x71c5
Revision ID: 0x0000
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.068
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected
ATI Radeon X1600:
Chipset Model: ATY,RadeonX1600
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x71c5
Revision ID: 0x0000
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.068
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1440 x 900
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected
(17")
ATI Radeon X1600:
Chipset Model: ATY,RadeonX1600
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x71c5
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-xxxxxx-158
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.158
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected
ATI Radeon X1600:
Chipset Model: ATY,RadeonX1600
Type: Display
Bus: PCIe
VRAM (Total): 256 MB
Vendor: ATI (0x1002)
Device ID: 0x71c5
Revision ID: 0x0000
ROM Revision: 113-xxxxxx-158
EFI Driver Version: 01.00.158
Displays:
Color LCD:
Display Type: LCD
Resolution: 1680 x 1050
Depth: 32-bit Color
Built-In: Yes
Core Image: Supported
Main Display: Yes
Mirror: Off
Online: Yes
Quartz Extreme: Supported
Display:
Status: No display connected
So i used the Adobe RGB(1998) Profile and ..... plinggggg
NO banding NO pixelating spots !!!!
Hi hotboiled,
That's great news for you. Did you reboot LCD Test between changing the profiles? I wonder why the default profiles causes banding!? If you make a new profile and calibrate yourself do you get color banding?
One more thing, what is the LCD Manufacturer detail in (13) of the colour profile?
All the Best - geehk
he geehk
yes i relaunched the LSCtest app.
now i use Srgb profile it's brighter ! but a little to blue
When i calibrate my own profile i get a little color banding and very ugly red spot in the corner
here are the screen details
manufacturer = 00000610
model = 00009C62
serial = 00000000
data = C05DFF00
Just thought I would post an update for everybody. I just received my replacement, and it is much better. Barely any light leak at the bottom (same as seen in store), as close as it's ever gonna get to even backlighting, no dead pixels that I can see, and no color banding, on any profile.
The model of this screen is 9C61.
This replacement doesn't quite have the build quality of the original, but I think I can live with it. It has a few creaks and squeaks, and the keyboard is sorta coming unglued under the arrow keys. Do you think they can fix that stuff at the Apple store?
The model of this screen is 9C61.
This replacement doesn't quite have the build quality of the original, but I think I can live with it. It has a few creaks and squeaks, and the keyboard is sorta coming unglued under the arrow keys. Do you think they can fix that stuff at the Apple store?
What was the build week of the replacement machine (3 and 4th numbers of the serial number)?
according to macbidouille, apple just stopped mbp c2d production due to a screen issue on the matte models. http://www.macbidouille.com/news/2006-12-06/#13702
Ive not long ago received my week 46 17" MBP. I was starting to wonder about waiting after reading all the problems on here with banding etc..
Anyway, cranked this up and it has no dead pixels and no banding whatsoever. I have run all the gradient pics from here and they are smooth as can be. every bit as good as the pro LCD monitors we have at work.
There is a small area of greater brightness at the bottom but not really too bad at all (and Im fussy!)
Seems to be a quality control issue here but there are some good ones around.
Anyway, cranked this up and it has no dead pixels and no banding whatsoever. I have run all the gradient pics from here and they are smooth as can be. every bit as good as the pro LCD monitors we have at work.
There is a small area of greater brightness at the bottom but not really too bad at all (and Im fussy!)
Seems to be a quality control issue here but there are some good ones around.
Does anyone know if the newer models exhibit this problem?
I thought I could get over it but the more I use this machine the more I realise I can't
Hi Photomad!
That's a great thing to hear. Did you try the LCD test or just the Gradient Charts to test for your colour banding? Seems that some default Profiles are good and some are bad. Have you tried doing your own LCD Calibration yet?
Would love to know the details of your machine - is the Serial W8647etc?(Shanghai) Also what is the manufacture code of your LCD?
So many questions but glad you are happy so far! Hope the rest or us can get a fully functional MBP C2D also....
Hey, I bought MBP c2d version (M609CHA, 15inch) last week, and I found the one I bought has this problem, I created a gradient picture with gimpshop which display correctly and smoothly on my viewsonic 2025wm display, but on mbp it shows wrinkle when display the picture in full screen mode.
Also there is an obvious phenomenon when display the picture, when switch to full screen mode, you can see the phenomenon just like the wind blow the face of water.
I don't think this is an effect that apple provide to me, so it must be solved in the future days, by recall or upgrade the firmware.
Also there is an obvious phenomenon when display the picture, when switch to full screen mode, you can see the phenomenon just like the wind blow the face of water.
I don't think this is an effect that apple provide to me, so it must be solved in the future days, by recall or upgrade the firmware.
Following my posts to another thread way back when, I decided that even though I had seen the grain thing at my local store I was going to stay with my original order of a 15" and see what happened. I figured this was just a random issue and hoped that I would not get a bad unit.
Blew it.
My 15" MBP C2D arrived last week and my heart sank as I discovered that the grain issue was even worse on this machine than the one in the store. The display also had some serious light bleed along the bottom and a complete unwillingness to display the correct colors even after calibration. My wife agreed with me and so I decided to return it.
Note......I am comparing all these to my 20" iMac G4, a last gen PB G4 15", a TiBook and a 1st gen 20" Apple display.
By then it appeared that this was not an isolated incident so I decided to upgrade to a 17" model which were receiving far better reports. My store did not have one in stock at the time so i could not see it first hand.
Yesterday the replacement arrived and I simply cannot believe it!
The banding issue is as described my many here. I can resolve it to a large extent by using a different color profile. But that is not what i paid for.
Far more annoying though is the light bleed and viewing angle.
I am average height, 5'9", and I cannot get the display angled enough for me to sit in an good ergonomic position. It just wont tilt enough.
If I move my head even an inch the whole screen color and brightness changes dramatically so I am forever changing the screen angle.
The light bleed from the bottom is unbelievable and as a graphic designer completely ruins the machine for me.
It looks like I have a neon strip running along the bottom of the screen.
But the worst thing is the way the color changes from top to bottom. I hope you can see this from the enclosed unretouched photos.
Amazingly my TiBook blows both other laptops into the weeds in all display regards.
I am at a complete loss as to what to do next. I will go to the local store today to see another 17" but I fear nothing will be different.
So I just might have to use an iMac or MacPro for my art while keeping my tiBook for general portable use.....providing I can fix the broken hinges etc!!!
This really sucks for a $3000 machine and it seems obvious that Apple must be aware of the problems. I've been using Macs since the IIc and this is simply the worst experience I have ever had with them. As a share holder I doubly mad
Blew it.
My 15" MBP C2D arrived last week and my heart sank as I discovered that the grain issue was even worse on this machine than the one in the store. The display also had some serious light bleed along the bottom and a complete unwillingness to display the correct colors even after calibration. My wife agreed with me and so I decided to return it.
Note......I am comparing all these to my 20" iMac G4, a last gen PB G4 15", a TiBook and a 1st gen 20" Apple display.
By then it appeared that this was not an isolated incident so I decided to upgrade to a 17" model which were receiving far better reports. My store did not have one in stock at the time so i could not see it first hand.
Yesterday the replacement arrived and I simply cannot believe it!
The banding issue is as described my many here. I can resolve it to a large extent by using a different color profile. But that is not what i paid for.
Far more annoying though is the light bleed and viewing angle.
I am average height, 5'9", and I cannot get the display angled enough for me to sit in an good ergonomic position. It just wont tilt enough.
If I move my head even an inch the whole screen color and brightness changes dramatically so I am forever changing the screen angle.
The light bleed from the bottom is unbelievable and as a graphic designer completely ruins the machine for me.
It looks like I have a neon strip running along the bottom of the screen.
But the worst thing is the way the color changes from top to bottom. I hope you can see this from the enclosed unretouched photos.
Amazingly my TiBook blows both other laptops into the weeds in all display regards.
I am at a complete loss as to what to do next. I will go to the local store today to see another 17" but I fear nothing will be different.
So I just might have to use an iMac or MacPro for my art while keeping my tiBook for general portable use.....providing I can fix the broken hinges etc!!!
This really sucks for a $3000 machine and it seems obvious that Apple must be aware of the problems. I've been using Macs since the IIc and this is simply the worst experience I have ever had with them. As a share holder I doubly mad
Hi, Yeah I tried the LCD test as well as the gradient charts. I have used the Spyder 2 to create a personal profile but even when I try all the other profiles it seems fine. I am on my desktop at the moment so I cant tell you the LCD code but it definitely is a W8646 machine.
Im just so pleased I got a "good" one... Will let you know when I crank it up next what the screen ID is.
Mine is going back.
Waiting for the return sticker....probably Tuesday.
I guess they will send a replacement when they receive mine. So that looks like about 10+ days for me in Hawaii.
Bloody hell....
It is going to engineering so that is good.
I hope they apreciate the problem.
I guess everything is subjective and it will be interesting to hear their response...if that ever happens.
Meanwhile I will plug on with my old TiBook which is having major hardware issues right now. Inconvenient ain't the word for it.
But...gotta look on the bright side and trust that Apple gets on it and fixes what seems now to be a fairly widespread problem.
Stay tuned
Waiting for the return sticker....probably Tuesday.
I guess they will send a replacement when they receive mine. So that looks like about 10+ days for me in Hawaii.
Bloody hell....
It is going to engineering so that is good.
I hope they apreciate the problem.
I guess everything is subjective and it will be interesting to hear their response...if that ever happens.
Meanwhile I will plug on with my old TiBook which is having major hardware issues right now. Inconvenient ain't the word for it.
But...gotta look on the bright side and trust that Apple gets on it and fixes what seems now to be a fairly widespread problem.
Stay tuned
:d
I got mine yesterday (17" mbp), first time i booted it i was like, damn.. light was flowing in very unevenly from the bottom, then i looked at the center of the screen and i saw a single black dead pixel.. i was
Then i thought well **** it i might as well see if its okay.. when i came home, booted it again, the backlighting in the bottom was nearly gone, and i then tried to touch the dead pixel, it was just dirt... D'oh!
I then tried the gamut thingy and the other test in here, no banding whatsoever... its perfect..! the only place i see a tiny amount of banding is when i use iTunes, the white circular gradient while browsing album art that isnt downloaded yet, but its such a tiny amount that i dont really care hehe.. this mbp is so awesome, its quiet, cool, and well.. its a mac =)
I got mine yesterday (17" mbp), first time i booted it i was like, damn.. light was flowing in very unevenly from the bottom, then i looked at the center of the screen and i saw a single black dead pixel.. i was
Then i thought well **** it i might as well see if its okay.. when i came home, booted it again, the backlighting in the bottom was nearly gone, and i then tried to touch the dead pixel, it was just dirt... D'oh!
I then tried the gamut thingy and the other test in here, no banding whatsoever... its perfect..! the only place i see a tiny amount of banding is when i use iTunes, the white circular gradient while browsing album art that isnt downloaded yet, but its such a tiny amount that i dont really care hehe.. this mbp is so awesome, its quiet, cool, and well.. its a mac =)