Are newer Aluminum MacBook screens superior to the older ones?

[bluesTank]

I was just taking a look at this thread in the MBP forum, and found a side by side comparison of black levels of two MBP's with different LCDs, presumably bought at different times:

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/601067/

And I was just wondering if anyone has done a comparison with the MBs, I know there are at least three screen models out there at this point.

On a side note, is it a valid reason to go into an apple store and demand a new macbook because they have been improved? How does Apple get away with this ****? Knowingly giving out different quality products to customers who paid JUST AS MUCH as other people! I am a new mac user, and it seems like I have had nothing but problems and complaints since I bought this thing.

 

[leman]

The screen of my alum MacBook seems to be better then my old MacBook. Have absolutely no complains. Blacks seem to be better too.

 

[clyde2801]

I compared my 2.4 to my friends xmas 07 2.4 whitebook. My LED backlit screen was clearer and brighter than his, hands down.

Both handled blacks and dark colors equally abysmally. I've read on a thread that they basically used the LCD screens similar to the older models, but used LED's to backlight them.

 

[mcdj]

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Are you asking if the Macbooks from 30 days ago are worse than ones made today? Seriously?

This society is going downhill fast if a computer made a month ago is considered "old".

 

[svndmvn]

On a side note, is it a valid reason to go into an apple store and demand a new macbook because they have been improved? How does Apple get away with this ****? Knowingly giving out different quality products to customers who paid JUST AS MUCH as other people! I am a new mac user, and it seems like I have had nothing but problems and complaints since I bought this thing.

Apple has always bought LCDs from different companies, they have therefore different codes, that thread is about two Late 08 MBPs with different LCDs, not necessarily newer or older..
it's always been like this,nothing has changed recently and nothing will change in short time..
Have you calibrated your screen? Have you checked out the thread posting different Calibration Profiles for MBs started for the people whining about them being washed out?
I strongly doubt the screens now are an issue, therefore there will probably not be revolutions regarding Apple building them and buying LCDs from different companies,AND it is most certainly not a reason to go complain in an Apple store, if you have some respect for yourself and tell them you've seen a thread about 2 MBPs with different LCDs and you want a new one, some gifts too,maybe
PS i'm not attacking anyone, just giving some advice..in a sarcastic way, I guess

 

[bluesTank]

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Are you asking if the Macbooks from 30 days ago are worse than ones made today? Seriously?

This society is going downhill fast if a computer made a month ago is considered "old".

Yes I am referring to them. If you want me to call them the "first release aluminum macbook" or whatever suite yourself.

And yes, I was upset about the thread I linked because it doesn't seem ethical for a company to sell different quality products, at the same price, to its customers. You don't think there is something wrong with that?

So if they are different LCD's completely, that just proves my point doesn't it? Is there a parallel case with the aluminum macbooks, because I don't want to be ripped off.

 

[robanga]

I have no idea which " run " of LCD mine has, but compared to the previous Gen the screen on this one is great.

 

[svndmvn]

Yes I am referring to them. If you want me to call them the "first release aluminum macbook" or whatever suite yourself.

And yes, I was upset about the thread I linked because it doesn't seem ethical for a company to sell different quality products, at the same price, to its customers. You don't think there is something wrong with that?

So if they are different LCD's completely, that just proves my point doesn't it? Is there a parallel case with the aluminum macbooks, because I don't want to be ripped off.

probably just sony sells portables with the same code LCDs or all produced by them, dunno..but do you think they all have the same quality? do you think it is alright for a company to sell 2 notebooks at the same price,one with a dead pixel and one with none? it's not like they do it on purpose, grow up!

 

[Skeletal-dæmon]

Mr Man makes some cakes. In one batch of cakes, he uses Silver Spoon sugar, and in the other he uses Tate & Lysle. People who ate one from each batch told Mr Man that they tasted slightly different, despite the fact they had been made to the same recipe.

Seriously, does it really matter that Apple uses multiple sources for its LCD screens? Its still a screen. Just be thankful its better than the LCD on the Macintosh Portable. Not so much black-and-green and green-and-slightly-darker-in-the-right-light-green.

Yes I know this seems hypocritical to a previous comment I made in another thread but this time we're talking about the manufacturer of the screen not the screen quality per se. You can have two Sony and two Panasonic screens arranged in a line, and one of the Sony and one of the Panasonic be equally poor in performance whilst the other two are equally brilliant.

 

[JTTech]

I've been living in DC (work at a marketing/pr agency here) for about a year now, and I've been putting off a mac laptop purchase for too long now. I have an iMac, but need something for on-the-go...as long as it will work well outdoors in the sunlight...anyways I'm thinking about the new Macbook Aluminum 13" and I was wondering about the screens too.

In the Apple store this wknd I was trying one out and the new screen seems like it has a lot of glare/reflection. Of course this was in a store so the lights are extra bright, but has anyone had any issues with this?

Also anyone have experience using the new Macbook Alum outdoors in the sunlight?

 

[bc008]

Wirelessly posted (iPhone: Mozilla/5.0 (iPhone; U; CPU iPhone OS 2_1 like Mac OS X; en-us) AppleWebKit/525.18.1 (KHTML, like Gecko) Version/3.1.1 Mobile/5F136 Safari/525.20)

Are you asking if the Macbooks from 30 days ago are worse than ones made today? Seriously?

This society is going downhill fast if a computer made a month ago is considered "old".

he said older

"you are older than me"
"you are old"

older is a lot better word choice

so the screens are better? the one tiff i had with my macbook before was the screen (blacks were horrible, almost grey

 

[kabunaru]

I think they are different. Not better, not worse.

 

[svndmvn]

I've been living in DC (work at a marketing/pr agency here) for about a year now, and I've been putting off a mac laptop purchase for too long now. I have an iMac, but need something for on-the-go...as long as it will work well outdoors in the sunlight...anyways I'm thinking about the new Macbook Aluminum 13" and I was wondering about the screens too.

In the Apple store this wknd I was trying one out and the new screen seems like it has a lot of glare/reflection. Of course this was in a store so the lights are extra bright, but has anyone had any issues with this?

Also anyone have experience using the new Macbook Alum outdoors in the sunlight?

you can get an anti glare coat, it's like a protective shield as well..
the most recent Macbook have LED backlight so they're brighter than the older ones, useful under the sun as well. You can also find a good deal on a MBP in the refurbished area, that has a Matte screen

 

[JTTech]

thanks I had no idea that there was an anti-glare coat...will def check it out.

I have been playing with a friend's new alum macbook and it seems like I am getting used to the reflective screen...maybe it just takes time to get adjusted to using it.

 

[tubbymac]

And I was just wondering if anyone has done a comparison with the MBs, I know there are at least three screen models out there at this point.

On a side note, is it a valid reason to go into an apple store and demand a new macbook because they have been improved? How does Apple get away with this ****? Knowingly giving out different quality products to customers who paid JUST AS MUCH as other people!

Look for the calibration profiles thread. A user there compared two of the popular models of MB screens against each other and although one was slightly brighter, the other one was slightly better for color accuracy. So neither screen was better than the other, just different.

No matter what manufacturer you buy from, whether it's Apple, Sony, Dell, or whatever, the same model machines will come with different screens, hard drives, and memory modules. All these companies get those parts from multiple manufacturers for redundancy.

If you had to push out thousands of the same product every day, you'd be AN IDIOT to get all your parts from the same manufacturer. Imagine if you went to only one place to get all the screws for your product. What would happen if that place had an accident or couldn't give you enough screws that day? Smart companies have lots of places they get parts from so one company messing up doesn't halt their production.

 

[CoreyMac]

The new MacBook is a beauty. The viewing angles arent great, but if you're looking at it head on (as most people will be) its pretty great.

 

[bc008]

The new MacBook is a beauty. The viewing angles arent great, but if you're looking at it head on (as most people will be) its pretty great.

http://photos.worldofapple.com/macbook_late2008/macbook_late2008_035.jpg

The macbooks screen actually looks crisper than the MBP's.

and off-topic: Okay, before the new macbook/pros came out I thought the old MBP's were the best looking laptop yet. Now looking at them side by side the old MBP actually looks silly with its plastic seams, hinge openings, hinge button etc. Im not bashing them, just saying my opinion

 

[danvan21]

The macbooks screen actually looks crisper than the MBP's.

and off-topic: Okay, before the new macbook/pros came out I thought the old MBP's were the best looking laptop yet. Now looking at them side by side the old MBP actually looks silly with its plastic seams, hinge openings, hinge button etc. Im not bashing them, just saying my opinion

i totally agree. I thought they were great but they look old now.

 

[Piaget]

I compared my 2.4 to my friends xmas 07 2.4 whitebook. My LED backlit screen was clearer and brighter than his, hands down.

Both handled blacks and dark colors equally abysmally. I've read on a thread that they basically used the LCD screens similar to the older models, but used LED's to backlight them.

+1

The screens themselves are quite similar, but the LED backlighting (and perhaps the black bezel) help the colors pop better on the new MBs, the difference is very noticeable. After calibration, there is none of the wash out that was seen in the plastic MBs. As stated, the blacks/darker colors are poor on both the new and old generation... Definitely not ideal for HD movie viewing.