DVDs on MacBook Pro

[El Phantasmo]

EXACTLY!

Your monitor may look better than the MBP because of resolution and also other factors such as brightness levels, contrast, etc. I am guessing here, but maybe the monitor's panel is "better" than the laptop screen.. not sure on this one.

And yes, HD content looks much better because it is "bigger" than regular dvds. No stretching required. And yes, maybe even "reduction" instead of stretching.

So yes.. watching dvds on computer LCDs will never look as good as HD video.

 

[BigPana]

That's helpful, I understand clearly now

So, the reason my Apple Studio Display looks "better" for DVDs is because its native resolution is a lot closer to the standard DVD resolution?

And, playing "HD" content (from iTunes, Bluray etc. if there's an external drive that someone brings out) on either my MBP or 23" ACD will look fantastic and a lot sharper than a standard DVD, but it's having to "reduce" the size if anything, not upscale it a lot like it has to with a standard DVD?

So, I either have to put up with the artifacts etc. if I want to watch normal DVDs on my Mac, or I play "HD" content for a much better picture.

Correct?

Pretty much it, but hey can you get pics of your screen so people can see if there is bad backlighting?

 

[El Phantasmo]

oops i just saw this:

http://support.apple.com/specs/displays/Apple_Studio_Display_17_ADC.html

is that your monitor on which dvds look great?

if so, dvds look good because its a CRT and not a LCD... thats a whole different ball game... hehe

 

[MarkW19]

Pretty much it, but hey can you get pics of your screen so people can see if there is bad backlighting?

I don't really think it'd show up on a picture to be honest, it is only quite slight. And just the bottom of the screen. It's not really much to worry about, I'm probably just being over picky!

People with MacBooks/Pros though - I guess you have the slight fading from top to bottom, when looking at lists/rows (ie. in iTunes library) etc.?

 

[MarkW19]

oops i just saw this:

http://support.apple.com/specs/displays/Apple_Studio_Display_17_ADC.html

is that your monitor on which dvds look great?

if so, dvds look good because its a CRT and not a LCD... thats a whole different ball game... hehe

No, it's the TFT version I have Same name ("Studio") though.

 

[TheStu]

I don't really think it'd show up on a picture to be honest, it is only quite slight. And just the bottom of the screen. It's not really much to worry about, I'm probably just being over picky!

People with MacBooks/Pros though - I guess you have the slight fading from top to bottom, when looking at lists/rows (ie. in iTunes library) etc.?

I have ever so slight fading on my screen, but LCDs are so hard to get just right when it comes to glare, and brightness and viewing angle, at least in my opinion.

You do, at some point, get completely used to it, we are quite the adaptable species after all.

 

[MarkW19]

I have ever so slight fading on my screen, but LCDs are so hard to get just right when it comes to glare, and brightness and viewing angle, at least in my opinion.

You do, at some point, get completely used to it, we are quite the adaptable species after all.

Hehe, indeed...

Would you do a test for me on your MBP? Go to the Mac Rumors homepage, and look at the link down the left, with the alternating white/grey striped backgrounds. Compare the top grey box, with the one nearest the bottom of your screen. On mine, the top one is "grey", while the bottom one is a lighter grey, as it's faded.

Is yours the same?

It's even more evident in iTunes, in the library - the grey (or blue?) stripes are almost invisible completely as you get towards the bottom of the screen...

 

[TheStu]

Hehe, indeed...

Would you do a test for me on your MBP? Go to the Mac Rumors homepage, and look at the link down the left, with the alternating white/grey striped backgrounds. Compare the top grey box, with the one nearest the bottom of your screen. On mine, the top one is "grey", while the bottom one is a lighter grey, as it's faded.

Is yours the same?

It's even more evident in iTunes, in the library - the grey (or blue?) stripes are almost invisible completely as you get towards the bottom of the screen...

Well, it is actually a MacBook, but i did the test.

On the MacRumors homepage, the lowest gray stripe that i can see is definitely a lighter appearing gray then the highest gray stripe.

The same is for iTunes, and i even checked them with the included Color Meter (Applications/Utilities) and they are the same shade of gray.

 

[MarkW19]

Well, it is actually a MacBook, but i did the test.

On the MacRumors homepage, the lowest gray stripe that i can see is definitely a lighter appearing gray then the highest gray stripe.

The same is for iTunes, and i even checked them with the included Color Meter (Applications/Utilities) and they are the same shade of gray.

Thanks At least it's not just mine then! I actually find the MBP screen a bit difficult to look at comfortably, because of the fading and the matte coat (even though it's "glossy"), and the fact it's so white!

 

[design-is]

<snip>
Native resolutions:
MBP 15": 1440x900
20" ACD: 1680x1050
23" ACD: 1920x1200
30" ACD: 2560 x 1600

This means that the displays have X amount of pixels horizontaly and Y amount of pixels verticaly.

Video Standards:
standard definition NTSC: 720×480
standard definition PAL: 720×576
high definition 720p: 1280x720
high definition 1080p: 1920x1080

This means that the video content is X pixels wide and Y pixels high.
<snip>

Great explanation! Best I've ever read in fact... I will be pointing people here in future when they ask

 

[Liquidpics]

Yeah, I agree.

My new MBP arrived today (spec in my sig), but I have a couple of issues with it:-

-DVDs don't look too good - they look washy, not fully sharp, with lots of artifacts (that you'd expect with a compressed video, but this was from original DVDs playing from the drive). In contrast, DVDs on my Powermac G5 and 17" Apple Studio Display look fantastic.

I just got mine too. It's something that's seems inherent with Mac laptops matte displays, I had the same IQ with my G4. I think the glossy displays would help make things pop more and colors appear more saturated.

 

[El Phantasmo]

Great explanation! Best I've ever read in fact... I will be pointing people here in future when they ask

hehe.. cool thanks!