Anti glare screen cover for rMBP?

[klex]

Hi everyone,

As many of you, I too am debating between getting the rMBP and the regular MBP. My biggest concern for the rMBP is the glare on the screen. I went to the Apple store and must say that the glare on the rMBP is significantly less than on the regular glossy display. However, when I purchased my MBP back in 2006 (still going strong, but time for an upgrade), I went with the matte screen, because the glossy was way to glare prone for me.

In the store as well as on pictures of reviews online I can see how the rMBP still has some glare. So my question is whether anyone knows of an anti glare screen cover for the rMBP that works. Has anyone tried one?

Before you say anything, I know that this somewhat defeats the purpose of the rMBP, but I like it for its design as specs too, so I am ok with that.

Any insights will be much appreciated.

 

[therealseebs]

Hi everyone,

As many of you, I too am debating between getting the rMBP and the regular MBP. My biggest concern for the rMBP is the glare on the screen. I went to the Apple store and must say that the glare on the rMBP is significantly less than on the regular glossy display. However, when I purchased my MBP back in 2006 (still going strong, but time for an upgrade), I went with the matte screen, because the glossy was way to glare prone for me.

In the store as well as on pictures of reviews online I can see how the rMBP still has some glare. So my question is whether anyone knows of an anti glare screen cover for the rMBP that works. Has anyone tried one?

Before you say anything, I know that this somewhat defeats the purpose of the rMBP, but I like it for its design as specs too, so I am ok with that.

Any insights will be much appreciated.

I don't think there's viable options. A cover that's on the surface of the screen will be too far away, and will introduce refraction issues.

This is why I don't have a new macbook.

 

[brand]

I don't think there's viable options. A cover that's on the surface of the screen will be too far away, and will introduce refraction issues.

This is why I don't have a new macbook.

I would have thought that the reason you don't have a new MacBook is because it was discontinued in July 2011.

 

[Greg M]

I had an iPad 3 and when I put an antiglare cover on it the screen no longer looked like a retina screen. I had no choice because the glare was too much.

However, this retina MBP has acceptable glare. The beauty of the color, contrast and text far outweighs any glare that it still has.

 

[7even]

I had an iPad 3 and when I put an antiglare cover on it the screen no longer looked like a retina screen. I had no choice because the glare was too much.

However, this retina MBP has acceptable glare. The beauty of the color, contrast and text far outweighs any glare that it still has.

Which film did you try? I was hesitant to use any screen protectors on my iPad 3 but now I have the Power Support film and the screen is still nice and sharp.

 

[klex]

Which film did you try? I was hesitant to use any screen protectors on my iPad 3 but now I have the Power Support film and the screen is still nice and sharp.

Would that also work for the rMBP?

 

[kis]

Before you say anything, I know that this somewhat defeats the purpose of the rMBP, but I like it for its design as specs too, so I am ok with that.

Any insights will be much appreciated.

For what it's worth: Anti-Glare films might work better on the rMBP than on other MBPs because the panel isn't covered with an additional layer of glass. That way, the distance between the panel and the front cover is minimized. So if you apply an additional film, it won't reflect the grain of the film onto the panel.

That said - I own a rMBP and glare has not been an issue for me. I've never liked glare-type displays (and have always opted for the non-glare displays on my previous MBPs). At least at home, there's no noticeable glare on the screen. I don't know how it behaves outside, though.

Peter

 

[klex]

For what it's worth: Anti-Glare films might work better on the rMBP than on other MBPs because the panel isn't covered with an additional layer of glass. That way, the distance between the panel and the front cover is minimized. So if you apply an additional film, it won't reflect the grain of the film onto the panel.

That said - I own a rMBP and glare has not been an issue for me. I've never liked glare-type displays (and have always opted for the non-glare displays on my previous MBPs). At least at home, there's no noticeable glare on the screen. I don't know how it behaves outside, though.

Peter

Thanks Peter, and everyone else who is contributing. This is very helpful. Peter, I never use my laptop outside, so that will not be a problem for me. However, I am wondering whether you see any glare from lamps or windows on your screen. The spotlights in the Apple store make it difficult to determine the amount of glare in a real life setting.

 

[7even]

Would that also work for the rMBP?

They have an AG film for a 15" MBP but it doesn't specify "retina" at all. I'm not sure if the film is any different for high-DPI screens, so I'd wait and see if they put out a film for the rMBP specifically... I'm considering going down this route too, but the reflections aren't bad so far.

I had a matte screen on my last MBP and of course the rMBP is glossier, but it's tolerable unlike the regular MBP glossy screen...

 

[kis]

Thanks Peter, and everyone else who is contributing. This is very helpful. Peter, I never use my laptop outside, so that will not be a problem for me. However, I am wondering whether you see any glare from lamps or windows on your screen. The spotlights in the Apple store make it difficult to determine the amount of glare in a real life setting.

In my home office, I see absolutely no glare on it - but I'm facing a window where I sit and don't have any windows in the back. The ceiling lamp doesn't seem to cause any reflections. This is definitely massively better than my wife's standard MBP.

Peter

 

[klex]

In my home office, I see absolutely no glare on it - but I'm facing a window where I sit and don't have any windows in the back. The ceiling lamp doesn't seem to cause any reflections. This is definitely massively better than my wife's standard MBP.

Peter

Awesome. Thanks. Does anyone have experience sitting with your back to the window?

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They have an AG film for a 15" MBP but it doesn't specify "retina" at all. I'm not sure if the film is any different for high-DPI screens, so I'd wait and see if they put out a film for the rMBP specifically... I'm considering going down this route too, but the reflections aren't bad so far.

I had a matte screen on my last MBP and of course the rMBP is glossier, but it's tolerable unlike the regular MBP glossy screen...

Thanks. Don't really like that you find it only tolerable. A machine that expensive shouldn't merely be "tolerable" if you know what I mean. But that's just my $0.02.

 

[dusk007]

I sit have a window to my right side. I was just annoyed by simple wearing bright T-Shirts and seeing my reflection in the screen all the time I was watching a video.

I put a ARM200 film from Vikuiti 3M on my old Samsung R50. It had a standard glossy display without glass. I never removed it again and it did its job flawlessly. It is takes a bit of effort to apply but the ones that are too easy to apply don't work as well. They need to fit tightly.
It is not as clear and nice as my current 15" matte MBP but than again it was a 1280x800 15" display of rather poor quality to begin with. Due to the extra AR it is actually better in reducing reflections than a native matte screen. It also increases contrast in medium light conditions. In low light glossy still looks better and in high brightness (sunlight) the AG diffusion layer just reduces contrast but at least keeps readability at perfect levels.

Matte films have differently strong diffusion layers. The AG part and that one shouldn't be too strong. Some are very strong but that makes everything grainy.
Apple doesn't use much of a powerful AR if any. The AR usually causes some color shift if viewed from the side to red or blue. But it actively swallows light and that helps quite a bit. I guess Apple didn't want it or uses a weaker one because the red/blue shift might not look like top notch quality to common consumers.
You can often see it in Sony notebooks who add AR also to some glossy displays. I think it should be on all displays because it takes nothing and adds a lot. Who cares if it looks odd when viewed from an angel at which you can forget TN panels anyway and most notebook display are TN.

In my experience it works quite well if you are capable of doing a good job at applying the film. It is not easy but easier with the MBP as you can get a proper cut that goes over the panel area and include the bezel. Makes it easier to apply.
But there are different ones. Different AG and different AR levels. They usually aren't expensive at least not compared to a rMBP (some 30-40 bucks I guess). They often can be washed and reapplied so it doesn't have to work the first time.

 

[klex]

Have you used this on a Mac?