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Anti-glare image quality

E

EBH

macrumors member
Original poster
Sep 16, 2009
31
19
All other things aside (design, eye strain, outdoor use and all that) how does image quality on the anti-glare compare to glossy?

I don't care if it looks the same as what comes out of my printer, but I care about how everything looks on screen. Pictures, websites and games...

As you might have guessed I can't lay eyes on the anti-glare where I live so I have to decide without seeing it... Does the quality resemble that of the old 30" cinema display? A store nearby has it and I think it's image quality is impressive...

The last thing I wanna do is ending up with a screen that I think looks foggy - if you know what I mean..

Sorry for creating another screen related thread ;)
 
From what I read in all the other threads the colors are very rich on the matte display. They just are a bit better on the glossy though (white more white, blacks more black), although it'll depend on the viewing angle and whether you can control the lighting in your surroundings.

I also can't find a matte screen; all resellers in the area only have default configs on display :(
 
Pic of my 17" i7 anti-glare.

mbp17panel.jpg
 
Picture quality on the anti-glare hi res is superb. I had a 15" 2009 glossy and the anti-glare I have now beats it by far. Why are 30" displays matte? Well, I guess they are more color accurate, sharper, and crispier. Look at many videos on youtube, and pics over the web, you'll find a bunch.

There's always a last resource.
 
Thanks all, pic looks great, but of course it's very hard to judge a screen on another screen :)

I didn't just mean any 30" display, I meant the old Apple Cinema display which is matte.. I have acces to it, so would be great to know how the anti-glare MBP screen compares to it - anyone?
 
The Cinema Display is likely an IPS panel, but the MBP display is a TN panel. A TN panel won't have as good of a color gamut or viewing angle a an IPS display, generally. The quality (amount of reflected light, lack of blurryness) should be similar, though.
 
m85476585 said:
The Cinema Display is likely an IPS panel, but the MBP display is a TN panel. A TN panel won't have as good of a color gamut or viewing angle a an IPS display, generally. The quality (amount of reflected light, lack of blurryness) should be similar, though.
Click to expand...
The Cinema Display is a professional screen and should have a higher color range. For a 15 inch notebook the high res is perfect.
 
Not sure of the resolution on the 30" but my guess is that the ppi is higher on the 15" hi-res. I'm more concerned with blurrynes (which doesn't seem to be a problem though) and how vivid the colours look.. As far as I can tell from youtube videos, colours are a bit more vivid on the glossy.. red looks a bit reder :) So wish I could see that matte screen.. I hate the annoying glare, but love how crisp the MBP displays look...
 
The glossies to me give a unrealistic color representation. With the high res matte it is a huge difference over the older matte screens. The colors are vibrant and no glare. If there is a difference with the glossy it is very minimal and you can barely tell the deference. The matte just looks more natural.
 
MacNut said:
The glossies to me give a unrealistic color representation. With the high res matte it is a huge difference over the older matte screens. The colors are vibrant and no glare. If there is a difference with the glossy it is very minimal and you can barely tell the deference. The matte just looks more natural.
Click to expand...

exactly my thoughts ;)
glossy makes everything look "too good". better than it really is.. for viewing content that's awesome (that's why I think the glass/glossy screen on the iPad is appropriate), but on a MacBook Pro used for content editing, a matte screen is the way to go imo.
 
I really think I'll just end up closing my eyes and clicking randomly until I hit order. Let's hope I don't end with a ram upgrade and an SSD :D

If what you say is true macnut, then I may go for matte. I don't really care if there is misrepresentation, I want things to look good and I'm not printing photos very often. But I just think the glossy is too glossy.. I like the glossiness of my white macbook, but I fear I wont be able to adjust to the glass screen... So if the matte is really a just as good screen as the glossy, but without the glare, then I guess I have my answer..
 
MacNut said:
The Cinema Display is a professional screen and should have a higher color range. For a 15 inch notebook the high res is perfect.
Click to expand...

Have you ever compared the MBP matte to the cinema? If so please share your thoughts on the differences...
 
EBH said:
Have you ever compared the MBP matte to the cinema? If so please share your thoughts on the differences...
Click to expand...
I haven't seen the new MBP matte next to the ADC but I would bet the 15 would look sharper with the ppi ratio being so high.

Don't forget the ADC is a bright screen to begin with so I don't think you can really compare them side by side.
 
MacNut said:
The glossies to me give a unrealistic color representation. With the high res matte it is a huge difference over the older matte screens. The colors are vibrant and no glare. If there is a difference with the glossy it is very minimal and you can barely tell the deference. The matte just looks more natural.
Click to expand...

I think the matte looks very artificial. I prefer the vibrant colors and high contrast of the glossy. Everything just takes on a warmer hue.
 
MacNut said:
The glossies to me give a unrealistic color representation. With the high res matte it is a huge difference over the older matte screens. The colors are vibrant and no glare. If there is a difference with the glossy it is very minimal and you can barely tell the deference. The matte just looks more natural.
Click to expand...

Are the monitors you are talking about calibrated?
 
Luba said:
IMO, the current AG is a bit clearer than the 30" ACD.
Click to expand...

Wow, if that's the case and the glossy looks even clearer then I can't really go wrong here... You guys have convinced me not to go for glossy purely because of image quality.. So I guess I'll start to consider all the other factors in this :)
 
IMO, in terms of clarity: Hi Res Glossy > AG Hi Res > 30" ACD = 2009 AG, but it's by tiny amounts. You can't go wrong, I was impressed with the Hi Res AG.

EBH said:
Wow, if that's the case and the glossy looks even clearer then I can't really go wrong here... You guys have convinced me not to go for glossy purely because of image quality.. So I guess I'll start to consider all the other factors in this :)
Click to expand...
 
Luba said:
IMO, in terms of clarity: Hi Res Glossy > AG Hi Res > 30" ACD = 2009 AG, but it's by tiny amounts. You can't go wrong, I was impressed with the Hi Res AG.
Click to expand...

Thanks, I'm already impressed with the ACD so think I'd love the matte.. I was just about to have another look at the design differences, but I guess that's not really what matters most..

Just one more question actually: Do you think it hurts the resell value to go matte?
 
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