Attention new MBP owners: Please perform this Yellow tint test

[Azmordean]

I just received my MBP 15" and it has the 9c80 screen. I haven't seen much posted about this and have no idea who manufactures it. Overall, I'm quite happy with it. I don't see much but the slightest yellowing. The bottom is, perhaps, *slightly* darker than the top, but I think that is mainly a function of viewing angle.

I'm keeping it!

 

[npep]

9c81 and no yellow!
Brand new 2.4 from Amazon...

 

[lego8]

0C82er here.

No sign of yellowing, happy to report.

Any other Chi Mei (0C82) user here without problems?

 

[PDE]

I just received my MBP 15" and it has the 9c80 screen. I haven't seen much posted about this and have no idea who manufactures it. Overall, I'm quite happy with it. I don't see much but the slightest yellowing. The bottom is, perhaps, *slightly* darker than the top, but I think that is mainly a function of viewing angle.

I'm keeping it!

If you install switchresX, run it and export the DDC file : At the bottom of the DDC document you'll find the LCD model name and then you can google to find the manufacturer.

 

[applepeel]

Fresh out of the box, stock 2.4 (Penryn), 9C81.

Dark, brownish-yellow color spanning bottom portion of the screen (though nothing like 1/3 of the screen, perhaps half an inch). Visible with provided test image, solid white background, and while browsing any number of websites (Google homepage, for example, and these forums).

I'm comparing it side by side with my girlfriend's 2.2GHz (Merom) MBP, which boasts a bright, beautiful, flawless 9C68.

Le sigh.

Purchased mine via ADC Hardware Purchase Program. Will hopefully exchange.

 

[ibizarocks]

got my MBP today

its 9c83

there is a slight yellowing at the bottom but nothing too large to worry over.
only thing I've noticed is that sometimes when i scroll at a medium pace when there is a lot of text on the screen that the bottom third gets a line running across it where it staggers the text similar to those that you see with lcd screens that can't cope with fast moving images.

anyone else noticed this?

 

[mox123]

does anyone have links or actual pictures of what yellowing looks like? i just got my 2.4GHz stock Penryn on Friday with glossy 9C83....the screen looks yellow when viewed sideways....

 

[1Life]

Fresh out of the box, stock 2.4 (Penryn), 9C81.

Dark, brownish-yellow color spanning bottom portion of the screen (though nothing like 1/3 of the screen, perhaps half an inch). Visible with provided test image, solid white background, and while browsing any number of websites (Google homepage, for example, and these forums).

I'm comparing it side by side with my girlfriend's 2.2GHz (Merom) MBP, which boasts a bright, beautiful, flawless 9C68.

Le sigh.

Purchased mine via ADC Hardware Purchase Program. Will hopefully exchange.

That is exactly what I have. Glad to know I'm not seeing things. And to be honest, the screen quality looks like crap next to my old Inspiron 5200.

 

[mikeleeuk]

I got my new 15" MBP today, and it does have some yellowing towards the bottom of the screen. But I'll get used to it, it's not too bad and my MBP is perfect in every other way.

I don't want to return it and risk getting a dodgy MacBook.

Overall, the screen is really bright and clear... it's probably the best screen I've had on any computer so far. It looks blueish, but I'm sure it'll look great once I've got the hang of calibration.

 

[marvel2]

Fresh out of the box, stock 2.4 (Penryn), 9C81.

Dark, brownish-yellow color spanning bottom portion of the screen (though nothing like 1/3 of the screen, perhaps half an inch). Visible with provided test image, solid white background, and while browsing any number of websites (Google homepage, for example, and these forums).

I'm comparing it side by side with my girlfriend's 2.2GHz (Merom) MBP, which boasts a bright, beautiful, flawless 9C68.

Le sigh.

Purchased mine via ADC Hardware Purchase Program. Will hopefully exchange.

I have the exact same thing, except I have a merom based mbp.

 

[dallas112678]

does anyone have links or actual pictures of what yellowing looks like? i just got my 2.4GHz stock Penryn on Friday with glossy 9C83....the screen looks yellow when viewed sideways....

It is sometimes hard to see the new "white-yellow" in the penryns on photos because sometimes it is very slight. The yellowing problem is when you look straight on at it and it seems as if it has a yellow tint. The LCD to have a yellow tint when looking at an angle that is normal, thats just how the displays are. To check if yours has the yellow bottom problem DL the test at the beginning of this thread then put your screen perfectly upright as in directly perpendicular with the keyboard, and then just lif the screen up to your eyese. Look at the top of the screen with the top level with your eyes then lift your computer higher where the bottom of the screen is level with your eyes, if you notice a slight "white-yellow" tint then your screen has the problem. 2/3 of my MBP's had this problem althought it wasnt very noticeable but you could still see it, and im just getting my MBP back today after sending it in to have the LCD replaced, ill update about my new screen.

 

[dallas112678]

Ok update, i just got my MBP back from having the screen replaced and the new screen is virtually perfect. Its a 9C83 and you have to imagine a difference between the top an the bottom. Its virtually unoticeable even when you looking for it so i am very happy. The display seems to be overall better than my previous 9c81's. Im now very happy .

 

[greenmeanie]

What did you pay?
I bought an asus EEE no yellowing $300.00.
It's people like you that allow apple to screw us with these problems.

got my MBP today

its 9c83

there is a slight yellowing at the bottom but nothing too large to worry over.
only thing I've noticed is that sometimes when i scroll at a medium pace when there is a lot of text on the screen that the bottom third gets a line running across it where it staggers the text similar to those that you see with lcd screens that can't cope with fast moving images.

anyone else noticed this?

 

[bcaslis]

Ok update, i just got my MBP back from having the screen replaced and the new screen is virtually perfect. Its a 9C83 and you have to imagine a difference between the top an the bottom. Its virtually unoticeable even when you looking for it so i am very happy. The display seems to be overall better than my previous 9c81's. Im now very happy .

Do you notice any color difference between top and bottom? My second 15" doesn't exactly have the yellow band at the bottom problem but there is a slight yellow/green cast at the bottom and a slight red cast at the top with the middle close to no color cast. Moving your viewing position reduces but doesn't eliminate the cast. It's not nearly as bad as the yellow bottom color on the first one I had, but it's still visible to me.

 

[dallas112678]

Do you notice any color difference between top and bottom? My second 15" doesn't exactly have the yellow band at the bottom problem but there is a slight yellow/green cast at the bottom and a slight red cast at the top with the middle close to no color cast. Moving your viewing position reduces but doesn't eliminate the cast. It's not nearly as bad as the yellow bottom color on the first one I had, but it's still visible to me.

Now that i dont have the computer on full brightness (i usually run it at 3 "ticks" below full) i can see there is a very slight yellow cast at the bottom of the screen compared to the top, but it is virtually unnoticeable in normal use. Definetly is not as obvious as my last one. Also my last one was weird, the yellow didnt go all the way across the bottom of the screen but was only on the left half of the screen and thats what made it even more obvious, because it was noticeable if you were reading text across the screen. This what i have now is hardly noticeable and im much happier with it. Im not sending it back thats for sure because ive been w/o a perfect MBP since they came out and this is as close to perfect as i think im going to get. Like i said its virtually impossible to see during normal use so im very happy, also when you put the display on full brightness it really is impossible to see. the yellow cast is virtually impossible to see on this thing and you almost have to imagine it there, the angle makes it seem like its slightly more obvious but when looking at it straight on you would never know its there unless you stare at the top and bottom for like 10 minutes its that suttle.

Plus its doesnt have that fan buzz that my other had and the DVD drive is actually alot quieter compared to my other MBP's when waking from sleep and all that, so overall im very happy.

 

[brandon.vong]

I've seen several Chi mei displays, both on the first generation MBP and on the most recent, and they've all been yellowish/brownish with murky whites and uneven backlighting. Quite frankly, they've been among the worst laptop LCDs I've seen. If I had received two of those, I would not try another one either. Sorry to hear about your bad luck - what about looking into a used MBP? That's not a bad idea since you can easily inspect the display before you buy.

Is your hard drive the Hitachi brand? Cause after I exchanged my last one with the quieter hard drive (I guess Fujitsu?), this new one with the Hitachi brand is louder whenever the MBP wakes out of sleep or reboots. Should I exchange... (YET AGAIN?) Oh... and I have a freakin' Chi Mei display this time as well. (shakes my head furiously)

Oh... I do not notice any yellow tinting on this Chi Mei display but I do believe it is not as bright. =(

 

[madrag]

I've just got a MBP 2.2 (Merom) 15", and it does show this darker area at the bottom of the screen

It's really annoying when in a very white web page or document...

I'm going to the store and check out some of the new 2.4 and see if it has the same prob.

If they don't have this problem, I'll return this MBP and get a 2.4.

Some people think this is just an optical illusion, but if you're a graphic designer and are used to pay attention to detail, then this does bother, a lot!.

 

[PDE]

Is your hard drive the Hitachi brand? Cause after I exchanged my last one with the quieter hard drive (I guess Fujitsu?), this new one with the Hitachi brand is louder whenever the MBP wakes out of sleep or reboots. Should I exchange... (YET AGAIN?) Oh... and I have a freakin' Chi Mei display this time as well. (shakes my head furiously)

Oh... I do not notice any yellow tinting on this Chi Mei display but I do believe it is not as bright. =(

I think that's just the way the Hitachi drives sound - supposedly they're a little faster, but also a little noisier. No reason to exchange for that. The Chi Mei display is another story.....only you can decide if it's good enough for you!

I've just got a MBP 2.2 (Merom) 15", and it does show this darker area at the bottom of the screen

It's really annoying when in a very white web page or document...

I'm going to the store and check out some of the new 2.4 and see if it has the same prob.

If they don't have this problem, I'll return this MBP and get a 2.4.

Some people think this is just an optical illusion, but if you're a graphic designer and are used to pay attention to detail, then this does bother, a lot!.

I know what you're saying. If you're used to seeing nuances, these displays are just not very satisfactory. Unfortunately, I don't think Apple has any that are perfect and even the ones that people report as being totally uniform are not really uniform if your eyes are sensitised to these things. Same thing with the MBA - many people are raving about the display, but all I can see (on all the ones in the store) is uneven brightness (corners/sides darker), surface grain (if you drag a window you'll see what looks like dust above image) and light bleed along the edges that affects the colors there. the light bleed doesn't bother me so much, but uneven brightness is really annoying.

 

[mcbeej]

So, I've been looking at the serial number of the recent MBP's I've had with ChiMei displays:

W8809 ******
W8811 6*****
W8811 6*****
W8811 6*****

..all of these had ChiMei displays.
It certainly looks like the W8811... models were closely manufactured, and the W8809 also had ChiMei displays

The BTO MBP one I have coming has the serial:
W8813******

I'm happy to see this serial is much later (numerically) than the ones I tried earlier, hopefully increasing the chances I might not get another ChiMei.

Just trying a bit of remote sleuthing in the week or so before my next MBP gets here, now I know its serial number...

So... does anyone have recently bought MBP machines starting with serial W8813? If so, what model displays do you have?

 

[brandon.vong]

I think that's just the way the Hitachi drives sound - supposedly they're a little faster, but also a little noisier. No reason to exchange for that. The Chi Mei display is another story.....only you can decide if it's good enough for you!





I know what you're saying. If you're used to seeing nuances, these displays are just not very satisfactory. Unfortunately, I don't think Apple has any that are perfect and even the ones that people report as being totally uniform are not really uniform if your eyes are sensitised to these things. Same thing with the MBA - many people are raving about the display, but all I can see (on all the ones in the store) is uneven brightness (corners/sides darker), surface grain (if you drag a window you'll see what looks like dust above image) and light bleed along the edges that affects the colors there. the light bleed doesn't bother me so much, but uneven brightness is really annoying.

Nevermind... I got a REAL NASTY screen!!! Why me? I've been exchanging MBP since the end of February!!! This is something else. My G4 NEVER gave me this much headache!!! Is this a calling for me to NOT buy a Mac at this time?

 

[PDE]

Nevermind... I got a REAL NASTY screen!!! Why me? I've been exchanging MBP since the end of February!!! This is something else. My G4 NEVER gave me this much headache!!! Is this a calling for me to NOT buy a Mac at this time?

That's really awful! Maybe see it as a sign that it's not the right time, but I'm afraid this is the new Apple and that it won't matter if you try again in the future. It's the luck of the draw.

Apple has been having widespread display issues ever since the last generation of powerbooks and through to this generation of MBP. That's several years so I doubt they're really trying to fix the problems, especially given that people continue to buy them even with the bad displays. Why would they bother?? If everybody returned their laptops for displays issues, Apple would be forced to do something, but I think most people just don't care or don't see the issues. Obviously yours is very visible though!

My recommendation: try one more replacement and then, if that one isn't good, just hold off for a while. Alternatively, try to find a used one that you can inspect before buying.

 

[GLG20]

re:W8813

The BTO MBP one I have coming has the serial:
W8813******

I'm happy to see this serial is much later (numerically) than the ones I tried earlier, hopefully increasing the chances I might not get another ChiMei.

So... does anyone have recently bought MBP machines starting with serial W8813? If so, what model displays do you have?

I received a 15" 2.5 / 2g / 7200 rpm BTO yesterday with a serial starting with W8813. The display model number is 9C80 from manufacturer # 610. I haven't seen this model # listed anywhere, so I have no idea what brand it is. I have not calibrated the display and I do not have the yellowing issue. I have not tested for dead pixels yet. My only complaint so far is that the drop shadows on open windows look like crap, but calibration should (hopefully) correct that. HTH.

 

[PDE]

I received a 15" 2.5 / 2g / 7200 rpm BTO yesterday with a serial starting with W8813. The display model number is 9C80 from manufacturer # 610. I haven't seen this model # listed anywhere, so I have no idea what brand it is. I have not calibrated the display and I do not have the yellowing issue. I have not tested for dead pixels yet. My only complaint so far is that the drop shadows on open windows look like crap, but calibration should (hopefully) correct that. HTH.

that sounds promising. Please let us know what manufacturer it is by installing SwitchresX, running it and exporting the DDC file. If you open that file, the manufacturer model number will be at the bottom of the text and you can google it to find out more...

Thanks!

 

[mox123]

So, I've been looking at the serial number of the recent MBP's I've had with ChiMei displays:

W8809 ******
W8811 6*****
W8811 6*****
W8811 6*****

..all of these had ChiMei displays.
It certainly looks like the W8811... models were closely manufactured, and the W8809 also had ChiMei displays

The BTO MBP one I have coming has the serial:
W8813******

I'm happy to see this serial is much later (numerically) than the ones I tried earlier, hopefully increasing the chances I might not get another ChiMei.

Just trying a bit of remote sleuthing in the week or so before my next MBP gets here, now I know its serial number...

So... does anyone have recently bought MBP machines starting with serial W8813? If so, what model displays do you have?

My Penryn 2.4GHz stock MBP has serial that begins with W8809..., and I have a samsung display (glossy) of the type 9C83..

 

[GLG20]

he manufacturer model number will be at the bottom of the text and you can google it to find out more...

survey says... B154PW04 V6 which appears to be an AUO.