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Glossy or antiglare?
- Thread starter hcho3
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Neither of those user-scenarios apply to me. Yet still, I truly enjoy the non-glossy screen of my MBA. The colors are a little less vibrant than I'm used to, but I love the absence of mirror-like glare. Much more pleasant to my eyes.
Glossy owners will say glossy and AG owners will say AG. Colours on AG are not dull and glossy displays are for those who need to put make-up on whilst using their units. 
Glossy owners will say glossy and AG owners will say AG. Colours on AG are not dull and glossy displays are for those who need to put make-up on whilst using their units.
No need to ask which display you use then
The topic glossy vs anti-glare is controversial. It's like discussing GNOME vs KDE in Linux communities, except for the fact that KDE vs GNOME is a matter of personal preference and habits. In this context, however, it's the usage that matters. Of course, if you're going to use it in dark rooms, you can as well go with the glossy screen as there won't be any glare anyway. For photo-work, anti-glare has the advantage that the colors are similar to what they would be on paper.
I have noticed that my MBA screen is neither like the matte nor the glossy displays of MBP. It's kind of semi-glossy and combines the best from both worlds. Maybe the upcoming Macs (MB/-P and iMac) will come with this type of display?
I have noticed that my MBA screen is neither like the matte nor the glossy displays of MBP. It's kind of semi-glossy and combines the best from both worlds. Maybe the upcoming Macs (MB/-P and iMac) will come with this type of display?
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How do you calibrate it???
In the Glare v Matte... it's six of one and half a dozen of the other. I have anti-glare because I am interested on what is on the screen, not on the wow factor. But that is me and if someone gave me a glare laptop, I'd get on with it.
I have a 15'' and I really wanted a MBP 13'' anti-glare!!!!!
No need to ask which display you use then
I own an AG but I borrow my friend's glossy for Saturday nights.
+1 What settings did you use? Or was there a color profile you downloaded on the web?
There's a few YouTube videos on it. This guy does a pretty good job explaining it:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EyXiig3Ik-o
What it does is match the colors to YOUR eyes and the way that YOU see them. It also sets the brightness of the colors and also the overall contrast of the display.
When I did mine, I did it with the blue desktop in the background. I've tried it with a picture of a person in the background, but what I've found is that by using a person in the background, it throws off the colors for everything else. So it's best to just use the blue desktop for the background.
I find when going through the calibration process, I tend to prefer having the dot towards the bottom of the square on both the left and right squares; that seems to add more contrast and make the colors pop out more. I also prefer to leave the Target Gamma and White Point at the default settings.
You'll probably go though the process several times before you settle on the one calibration you like best.
Antiglare all the way, I have a 13" Pro and the glossy screen annoys the hell out of me with it's reflections. And antiglare does not have dull colors, not even close, if anything i prefer the tad smoother natural look of the antiglare.
Samething with the HP Envy's, the 15 had an absolutely incredible antiglare screen.
Samething with the HP Envy's, the 15 had an absolutely incredible antiglare screen.
This.
Very good comparison, by the way - very well put in my opinion!
I, personally, prefer the anti-glare since I do a lot of photo editing. Never really liked the "glossy" look cause I hate glare, and cause I have really oily fingers haha.
And on the MBA screen - it kind of reminds me of the older MacBook screens, doesn't it? I also have a 2006 black MacBook, and the screen on that is very similar to the Airs.
I share this opinion and feel very strongly about it. In my case I have one of each, for different purposes. Working in IT and sitting in front of the computer for long periods of time, I find the matte display of the 15" MBP my best bet.
Yet for lighter work, and play, the glossy has it's advantages. The main drawback is the reflection is much greater than any other brand, as for some odd reason, (probably because shiny toys sell) Apple put a very reflective glass over the front of the MBPs and it's dreadful for longer computing sessions. At least that's my take.
Some people say they see nothing at all. Given my 20/20 vision I have great tolerance, and yet I do see a lot of reflection. Your mileage may vary.. heh!
I have the 15" glossy and have used it 7 hours a day for work for the last 2 years. I would like to get rid of the glare. So I went to the Apple store to look at the Antiglare and glossy side by side.
I nearly went crazy as the both have ups and downs. I have been there twice now and I stayed for a hour each visit (yes I am obsessive when it comes to screens).
The basic observation is that in glossy screens light passes cleanly though the screen creating a sharp picture and saturated colours. The obvious downside being the screen is reflective. The antiglare screen diffuses both incoming and outgoing light. This means when light is emitted from the screen it is scattered making colours look more washed out and text and edges more blurry. The upside is that incoming light is also scattered which means reflections are eliminated. Although the incoming light has to go somewhere and is diffused across the screen which washes out the colour/contrast.
SUMMARY
The glossy is sharper with better colour, contrast and colour accuracy. But oooh the reflections.
The antiglare reduces the reflections with the penalty of blur. For reading text and web browsing the blur on the antiglare makes it very hard for the eyes to lock onto the image. (I think you could live with the washed out colour if it wasn't for the blur).
REFLECTIONS or BLUR?????
I chose reflections. But I wish there was a third way.
I nearly went crazy as the both have ups and downs. I have been there twice now and I stayed for a hour each visit (yes I am obsessive when it comes to screens).
The basic observation is that in glossy screens light passes cleanly though the screen creating a sharp picture and saturated colours. The obvious downside being the screen is reflective. The antiglare screen diffuses both incoming and outgoing light. This means when light is emitted from the screen it is scattered making colours look more washed out and text and edges more blurry. The upside is that incoming light is also scattered which means reflections are eliminated. Although the incoming light has to go somewhere and is diffused across the screen which washes out the colour/contrast.
SUMMARY
The glossy is sharper with better colour, contrast and colour accuracy. But oooh the reflections.
The antiglare reduces the reflections with the penalty of blur. For reading text and web browsing the blur on the antiglare makes it very hard for the eyes to lock onto the image. (I think you could live with the washed out colour if it wasn't for the blur).
REFLECTIONS or BLUR?????
I chose reflections. But I wish there was a third way.
Glossy for me, but always good to have the option for people that prefer it. I enjoy movies on my laptops and the glossy screen IMO is mch better for that kind of thing. Another plus point is how easy the Glossy screen is to clean, being much stonger with its glass front.