Backlight irregularities on all iMac's?

[KasperH]

Hi,

I'm being pretty satisfied with my new iMac overall, especially with the fact that the screen doesn't have a yellow tint to it, and that the hard drive is whisper silent. (and doesn't hum or resonate on my desk)

But i can't stop wondering if it's normal and acceptable with the extreme whiting from the backlight on black backgrounds i'm seeing on my unit.

When i wake it up from sleep and get the logon screen, the black background in a dark room (on medium contrast) is pretty far from a perfect black, like for example, on a quality plasma TV.

Another thing i'm noticing is that, if you move a small white safari window around on a black desktop background, there are some areas of the screen that have a very very slightly darker color, like a shadow, but only visible if i look for it. I think it's an irregularity from the led backlight since the screen is clean of dust. Do you have this slight deviation in white too?

And what's acceptable on a LCD like this, is it too much to ask for an iMac with none of these minor imperfections. I did buy it for the awesome screen to begin with, and i somehow feel that with all these screen issues, i might have one that is as good as they come, and wont get a perfect unit no matter how many times i send it back.

Oppinions?

BTW where i live, it's around 3400$ for this BTO i7, 1TB, 4GB RAM, 2GB VRAM....so it's not like it's a cheap machine.

 

[MacHamster68]

the shadow you see around windows are NORMAL is part of OSX
all windows have shadows , its a feature to give the impression of windows hovering obove the desktop (sort of 3 d effect), but they are bigger in snow leopard , before they had been less noticable (at least compared to tiger these shadows in snow leopard are gigantic )
so it seems you are lucky to have no yellow
and no grey/black smudges inside the panel ...yet
but according some people at Apple those smudges are only caused by heavy smokers and people placing their iMac near ovens , near BBQ's and put candles under the iMac
so if you dont do such silly things you should be safe from smudges inside the panel

 

[KasperH]

i'm not talking about icon shadows. but imperfections in backlight. Try moving a bright white safari window (or whatever) around on the screen and look closely if the solid white color changes at some places around the screen. It's not something anyone would notice with normal use, i just have a hard time settling for less than perfect. But if this i something all displays have to some extend, i might as well keep it, instead of risking getting a new machine in worse condition.

 

[KasperH]

what about the black backgrounds being polluted by the backlight, is that normal, or shouldn't i be able to tell the difference between a black screen and a screen that's turned off?

It's not what i would call bleeding across the borders, more of a shine through the entire panel.

 

[imacken]

I know what you mean. I think we just have to accept it. These sort of displays I reckon are never going to be perfect. Just watch a DVD with black bands at the top and bottom in a darkened room to highlight the issue.
Also, just look at the huge lengths some people go to (multiple unit exchanges) to get a 'perfect' iPad display.
My 2 iPads and 2011 iMac all have this issue, but in general use it doesn't really bother me.
Still, perfection would be nice.

 

[KasperH]

hi imacken
could you test with the white box on a dark screen for me please, and look closely if you see minor changes in the white when moving the window around. If this is something everyone has, im gonna keep it, otherwise i'm going to call apple and have them send me another one.

 

[imacken]

KasperH, OK, I tried what you suggested by setting the background to a black.jpg file created in PS, then I just dragged a white textedit box around the screen. I didn't see any real changes in the white intensity.
However, the 'black' background just looks grey, not black. I'm going to try with the brightness turned down.

 

[KasperH]

i found it's actually easier to spot using this grey image and drag it from side to side http://teamworkphoto.com/shop/images/misc/mineralgrey.jpg

What i notice is faint shadowing or at least a minor change in the structure of the grey in a couple of places...not something that follows the window you drag...something stationary in the screen at those spots (dont minimize the picture in the window, it's easier to see in it's real size)

 

[imacken]

I don't really have any problem with that jpg, except to the left and right of the dock where the grey is much brighter at the bottom of the screen. Everywhere else, it's pretty consistent.

 

[KasperH]

brighter at the dock, HUH! mine is not?
I can only see the difference in the grey then im actually moving the jpg from side to side. When left alone i see nothing. Maybe it shouldn't annoy me, but my MBP's screen is perfect and i somehow feel this one isn't.

 

[imacken]

I guess the question is 'does it bother you in everyday use'? Or is it a quest for perfection?
If it's the former, then ask for a replacement. But, it might be worse!

 

[KasperH]

yeah i know what you mean, and it's definitely a quest for perfection you wont notice it just by using it. Im' just trying to establish if that's too much to ask of Apple. If everyone has minor imperfections i might as well accept it and keep my machine. But if perfect is what we should expect, and if they indeed do exist...I want one

 

[odvan]

Jeez.

Black on LCD panels is the biggest issue. Read about technology.

 

[KasperH]

no the black background backlight shining through is not the biggest issue, but and i have several Sony, Samsung and LG LCD's at home that doesn't shine through even remotely as much as my 5x more expensive iMac does, and i'm sitting right in front of it several hours a day.

The issues are mainly with the screen not being as perfect as i think it should be.

But, i just got off the phone with Apple, and they are sending me a new one, while i keep this one i already have. I'll compare them, and keep the best of the two and be done with it once and for all

 

[spcdust]

This is likely more to do with the LED backlight technology and the variance in the shielding around the edges in the manufacturing process. Having been able to directly compare eight 27" iMacs in the same environment I can certainly vouch there is a great deal of variation between individual screens - varies from hardly any backlight bleed to screens with all four corners and some edges having light escaping. As some one said, depends how much it bothers you and wether you want to run the gauntlet of possibly getting a yellow screen.

 

[KasperH]

spcdust, how many of those eight did you consider acceptable in your eyes?

Was yellowing evident on any of them?

I'm not risking anything, i'll have the luxury of comparing two machines and choose the best of them. Apple customer service rocks.

 

[spcdust]

spcdust, how many of those eight did you consider acceptable in your eyes?

Was yellowing evident on any of them?

I'm not risking anything, i'll have the luxury of comparing two machines and choose the best of them. Apple customer service rocks.

Alas, at least 4 of them had some degree of yellowing and varying backlight bleed. I had a similar situation as you in that Apple supplied a replacement iMac whilst I kept the current one. On number five the yellow was negligible and the backlight bleed was okay but not perfect - I decided on the balance of things to keep this screen. Ten months later this screen developed another iMac screen issue "smokey blotches" which required the screen to be replaced - on this occasion the screen came back with no noticeable yellow and much improved / best so far backlight bleed - this was February 2011.

I have now sold this iMac (late 2009 model) and am just about to receive delivery of the new 27" iMac - fingers crossed and all that.

 

[KasperH]

wow! im' not sure my patience will last that long
fingers crossed, that you get a good 2011 iMac

 

[odvan]

no the black background backlight shining through is not the biggest issue, but and i have several Sony, Samsung and LG LCD's at home that doesn't shine through even remotely as much as my 5x more expensive iMac does, and i'm sitting right in front of it several hours a day.

Did you notice Imac screen is the brightest of all of them? This has something to do with backlight. More bright screen -> more greish black color you get. Try at night decrease brightness level to 4-5 bars. I barely notice corner bleeding on this setup with black background.

 

[KasperH]

it is pretty bright, but as i stated in my first post, contrast is set to medium = 50% and my 40" Sony Bravia's image right beside it is at least as bright at an iMac at 50% with no visible whiting.

But whatever, i'll find out soon enough what Apple expects me to live with when the new one arrives within a week or so

 

[Mac Eagle]

I just received my 27" iMac 3.4 BTO machine last week and I do have a bit of backlight screen bleed at the bottom right corner. I only notice this when on a black screen. Other than this issue my screen appears to be good with no noticable yellowing or dead/stuck pixels. I am pretty anal about these things so I have thought about getting it exchanged; however, I hardly ever use the machine in a way that it bothers me so I am weighing the risks of getting a worse display with issues that do bother me.

I purchased Applecare so I may just use it as is (which is pretty darn good, but not "perfect") and if I find that it does bother me at a later point or a different isue comes up I can always get it changed out later.

 

[odvan]

it is pretty bright, but as i stated in my first post, contrast is set to medium = 50% and my 40" Sony Bravia's image right beside it is at least as bright at an iMac at 50% with no visible whiting.

But whatever, i'll find out soon enough what Apple expects me to live with when the new one arrives within a week or so

I don't think it's correct comparison. Do you use Sony like computer monitor? Perhaps you should try. You might find out it's not acceptable like monitor at all.

 

[KasperH]

I don't think it's correct comparison. Do you use Sony like computer monitor? Perhaps you should try. You might find out it's not acceptable like monitor at all.

I do actually, and have for over a year. It's quite good.
It's hooked up to a PS3, Xbox360, my Server and my sons Warcraft gaming machine in my office. 1080p, 100hz great LCD.

 

[odvan]

I do actually, and have for over a year. It's quite good.
It's hooked up to a PS3, Xbox360, my Server and my sons Warcraft gaming machine in my office. 1080p, 100hz great LCD.

Did you use it for word, surfing, photoshop. When you need to sit close.

Just checked mine on full brightness in the darkness - from some angles the screen appears almost white. I guess it has something with LCD/LED technology. Don't bother me at all.

 

[KasperH]

the TV is fine, no problems using it for applications.

I'm ok with the ultra bright display, as long as i'm not the only person in the world experiencing it.

If you read my first post i say i'm wondering if this is a common observation, mainly because i find it strange that a display of this caliber would be so "bad" at displaying perfect black. Something the market has had a lot of focus on for years, and i genuinely thought that technology would have caught up with this limitation in the design. Some of the new samsung led backlit TV's are extremely good at displaying a near perfect black.

Note to Apple:....buy Samsung