in order to maintain the price diff apple wont provide same LCD used in MBA
USB 3.0 will be out some where in 2010 and we will all see it in oct 2010 update or WWDC2010
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Do the Macbooks have crappy screens?
- Thread starter pyromaniaque
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in order to maintain the price diff apple wont provide same LCD used in MBA
USB 3.0 will be out some where in 2010 and we will all see it in oct 2010 update or WWDC2010
I wanted a MB for sometime but was put off by all of the negative comments about the screen. One day I decided to load up a bunch of different high quality pictures onto a thumb-drive and headed off to the apple store. I spent about 1.5 hours looking at the pictures on different machines. I decided that the MB screen issue was blown way out of proportion. The MB blacks and viewing angles are a little worse than the old MBP (realized that the MBP viewing angles aren't the greatest either). The MB colors and whites are better than the old MBP (no grainy look on the MB that exists on the matte MBP). For me, the biggest issue was the reflectiveness of the display. I have a huge window in my office, and the reflectiveness is not as bad as I thought it would be. It's a little bothersome, but something I can definitely live with. At home, it's not an issue at all, as the window is much smaller. My wife has a white MB and my Alum MB is superior (better blacks, colors, whites, viewing angles). I have seen a lot of pictures of horrible MB screens on the internet, including the ones in this thread, and I can honestly say that the screens at my local apple store and my own personal MB screen are not anywhere near as bad as some of those pictures. I can only assume that there must be different quality screens floating around.
i think it depends on your eye. im not saying that your eyes are bad, but they arent trained to see subtle differences. just like a musician trains his/her ear to sound and music the same is tru for one's eyes. consider it a good thing that you cant see the difference. cause it just saved you a minimum $600.
I would say that the new MB screen is better than the last gen screen but no where near as good as the MBP screen. It is painful at times to watch a dvd (imo) The MBA has a better screen.
The screen itself is not terrible - roughly what you can expect on Windows notebooks several hundred dollars cheaper - but the glass front is the main point of problems for me on both the Macbook and the Pro. It's just unusably glare-y at times in real-world viewing conditions.
i had a 2.4 mb alum for about 4 months and loved everything about it except the screen. like others have already mentioned, doing basic tasks like browsing and word documents isn't so much a problem. however, the moment you watch some sort of movie at full screen and see the blacks at different angles, you'll realize how bad the screen really is. i upgraded to a 2.4 mbp alum and love everything about it. after using it for about a week, it actually feels just like my 13" in terms of size and portability.
Actually, the screens of all Apple laptops suck. My 50" plasma TV screen is so much better compared to all of them, not to mention the much bigger size. 
Of all the pictures that I have been shown, are the pictures biased towards the MBP in the fact that they show an angle that is much inferior to the MBP? Can anyone show me pictures of normal viewing angles?
i don't watch movies or game that much... Ocassionally, I do, but that's normally a rarity unless I'm going somewhere long.
I mostly need a computer to do "normal" stuff, and "freelance" graphics for personal fun, for the lack of a better word.
i don't watch movies or game that much... Ocassionally, I do, but that's normally a rarity unless I'm going somewhere long.
I mostly need a computer to do "normal" stuff, and "freelance" graphics for personal fun, for the lack of a better word.
Okay, here's what you do; Buy a MB and try it for yourself. If you don't like it, return it within 14 days for a MBP. My experiences have been if you exchange something within 14 days for a higher priced computer, they will waive the restocking fee. The only way you'll really know if it's okay for you is to try it in your own surroundings doing what you want to do. It may be perfectly fine. It may not be...
I had a MB for the 14 days and exchanged it for a Rev. B MBA. I exchanged it for exactly the reasons you're asking about in this thread - a crappy screen w. very limited viewing angle North to South. I liked everything else about the MB except the screen and would have paid extra for an Air display on the MB guts but you gotta do what you gotta do in Apple land.
Your usage requirements are similar to mine. I have the MB in my signature. I have read a lot of the dissatisfied customer posts on this board regarding the viewing angle, and I guess I am less attuned to the viewing angle than other posters.
I find the screen to be great. I recently watched a DVD on a flight with a friend of mine (utilizing my handy headphone-splitter) and neither of us had any viewing angle issues.
There are some that cannot tolerate the screen. I guess I am in the other camp. I think it's great. Does that make either opinion invalid? Probably not.
Check one out for yourself. You may be surprised. Good luck!
Plain and simple, the MacBook is using a low cost screen. Thus its quaility will also be low. It has low a contrast ratio and horrible viewing angles. Playing with my friend's $500 HP notebook yesterday just helps to reassure me that apple definitely found a way to cut costs in its LCD choice because the HP had the same problems with the screen as the MB did. The difference? About $1K
Those saying that this is not a "Pro" notebook....well.... it doesn't have to be written. We are paying "Pro" prices. Aside from the screen quaility there is little I hate about the MBs.
Those saying that this is not a "Pro" notebook....well.... it doesn't have to be written. We are paying "Pro" prices. Aside from the screen quaility there is little I hate about the MBs.
Yes that is obviously the way it is. Anyone who disagrees has no idea what they are talking about. Head on at optimal viewing angles the differences in screens are not very dramatic. The main plus about the MBP and MBA screens is that they have wider viewing angles (think about the difference between PVA/IPS panels and TN panels).
I worked on the MBA rev b and alum macbook for an hour today at the apple store. I admit that this is perhaps a poor comparison because a) the store is sooo bright that reflections are at its worst and b) the high chairs in the store put one up at an angle higher than you probably would be if the laptop where on a desk.
This is what I saw on the machines side to side: a) the macbook screen looked like it had a "haze" on it (looked washed out) unless I was looking right at the "sweet spot", b) when watching Battlestar Galactica on Hulu (which tends to be a "dark" show), the blacks tended to be "greyish" on the macbook unless I was viewing in the "sweet spot", c) the "sweet spot" on the macbook was very small and I had to hold it up and tilt it back to find it. IMHO, the MBA screen was nicer to look at and had a wider vertical viewing angle, but the screen did not tilt back as much as the macbook which might affect your viewing angle.
...Apple has sold so many more alum macbooks than MBA and the majority of those people with alum macbooks appear happy. At the end of the day people need to go look for themselves to see if it is a big enough issue which might bother them. Unfortunately I am still torn between the two machines.
This is what I saw on the machines side to side: a) the macbook screen looked like it had a "haze" on it (looked washed out) unless I was looking right at the "sweet spot", b) when watching Battlestar Galactica on Hulu (which tends to be a "dark" show), the blacks tended to be "greyish" on the macbook unless I was viewing in the "sweet spot", c) the "sweet spot" on the macbook was very small and I had to hold it up and tilt it back to find it. IMHO, the MBA screen was nicer to look at and had a wider vertical viewing angle, but the screen did not tilt back as much as the macbook which might affect your viewing angle.
...Apple has sold so many more alum macbooks than MBA and the majority of those people with alum macbooks appear happy. At the end of the day people need to go look for themselves to see if it is a big enough issue which might bother them. Unfortunately I am still torn between the two machines.
I have been following this thread and thought I'd post. I have both a unibody macbook and macbook pro and have for over 3 months now. I use both every day. Ok the Macbook Pro screen is better but when I go from macbook pro to macbook I don't miss a beat. Screen seems just fine to me on the macbook. I've even had them side by side and still the Macbook screen is not that bad. I did change color profile in mine which I think made it better. But no one should let it hold them back from buying a macbook. Just my 2 cents though.
I respectfully disagree. Side by side the difference in black level is immediately noticeable between the two. Im keeping the Macbook, but if you care about screen quality above all else then skip the Macbook.
Well, sure, but isn't that pretty obvious? If you care about screen quality above everything else, the MBP makes much more sense. The MB isn't intended to target those who care about screen quality above all else.
I'm not saying the display is outstanding by any stretch - but it's highly functional and not nearly as bad as some make it out to be.
NO
the glossy glass display on my UMB is absolutely amazing. sure side by side with a computer that is 700 dollars more you can see a slight difference but viewing angle isn't really important to me... you can tilt the displays you know... plus this is a computer for ME not onlookers.
that is a crappy argument but i'm literally ecstatic about how great 720p/1080p iTunes downloads look on my beautiful screen.
definitely kills the previous generation - and kills the old alu' MBP's from '07
the glossy glass display on my UMB is absolutely amazing. sure side by side with a computer that is 700 dollars more you can see a slight difference but viewing angle isn't really important to me... you can tilt the displays you know... plus this is a computer for ME not onlookers.
that is a crappy argument but i'm literally ecstatic about how great 720p/1080p iTunes downloads look on my beautiful screen.
definitely kills the previous generation - and kills the old alu' MBP's from '07
The current MacBook display doesn't kill any MBP from any generation.
The difference is more than slight. Watching any dark movie will result in a gray mess. The viewing angle is so small, the contrast will never be 100% uniform from the top of the screen to the bottom no matter how you tilt the display.. Pop in a widescreen DVD, look at the black bar on the top and the black bar on the bottom. They will be different shades of black.
I have two MBAs (rev A and rev B), an '07 MBP, a white MB, and a unibody MB. Here's how I would rank them.
1. MBAs
2. '07 MBP (the LED-backlit models are on par with MBA)
3. unibody MB
4. white MB (unibody is a bit brighter due to LED but otherwise the same)
Respectfully, those saying the MB screens are good are just ignorant of how to judge display quality. 98% of consumers might be satisfied with it but that same 98% would also be satisfied with any current laptop display. There are no really horrible LCDs anymore, they all look much better than five years ago, but the MB is probably the worst you can find right now.
My friend's $400 netbook has a bright LED backlit display and it's picture quality is on par with a MB.
Or maybe you are ignorant to the fact that there may be different quality MB screens in production. I know for a FACT, that MY MB screen is not near as bad as the pictures shown at the beginning of this thread. I also know that my MB screen is definitely better in blacks and viewing angles than my wife's white MB. I almost missed out on the joy of owning the Alum MB because of all the bad information concerning the screen. I strongly suggest that people make up their mind, not based on posts on the internet, but using their own eyeballs viewing a MB screen in person.
Almost everybody I work with uses a MacBook so I have played with at least dozen unibodies. I didn't form my opinion from the picture at the beginning of the thread, I'm only using my personal experience. My MacBook isn't near as bad as the picture either.
Also, comparing your new MB to your wife's old MB is not a fair comparison. CCFL displays wear down over time and get progressively dimmer, lowering contrast and black level. You should do what I suggested, pop in a DVD, compare the top black bar to the bottom one. They will be in a slightly different shade of black. Your eyes should be fairly close to the display.
I am a filmmaker so it may be that my eyes are more trained to see these differences but you're happy, then good for you. I don't mean to sour the enjoyment of your new MB.
All the screen on the macbook are quite poor. I have brought and sold a few since October. I found the best screen to be the LG model. The samsung panel was the worst it was just milky and even after calibration was poor.The AUO was good, they are all great as long as you are in front. As I travel I tend to not move much when watching films and it is great for that. Except if the film is dark. Then it is quite difficult to watch. I struggled when sharing my macbooks with others.
my girlfriend has a MBP and at her house we watch movies on MY smaller 13" UMB than her 15.4" alu MBP