Glossy screen and headaches!?

[T-bag]

In the beginning the glossy screen did not bother me, but after two years it's quite annoying to watch myself in the background when I change focus. The only time this is not annoying is in a very dark room without any light-sources.

Expecting my new 17" with AG now, can't wait.

 

[Martyimac]

Having used both matte and glossy, I find that I prefer matte. The glossy screens seem very vivid and good colors but I found that the glare was irritating to me. Also the glossy screens seemed to tire my eyes faster and I need to take more frequent breaks. If I wore working in an industry that worked with color, maybe I would feel differently but for home use, matte is my display of preference because my experience has taught me it is easier on MY eyes.

 

[Whitelightning]

Having used glossy displays all the time, I've never gotten headaches from them whatsoever and have used them for long periods of time for work, school, etc. Colors are vibrant, everything is great.

Matte displays are OK too, but the colors of the glossy to me appear much better.

The only thing different about the glossy displays in the 2011 mac is the glass... that is the only thing that concerns me as it is "extreme" glossyness and could potentially be troublesome... though many friends I know who use glossy have never had a problem and their jobs require them to stare at the screen a lot doing code... and others who use it to watch movies and web browsing havent had problems with seeing themselves too, of course they all mostly use it indoors... so I think glossy can be a safe display to look at and not get headaches or tire out from.

Though the black bezel appears to be a big wow factor in the event that the glass really does become too problematic. Then again, if you think about it... all 13'' and previous 15'' users all had to stick with ONLY glass.

If headaches and tiresome were that big of a problem... apple would probably have made them an option in 13''.

 

[Eternal 28]

Same here, just upgraded from a 2008 Matte macbook pro to a 2011 macbook pro glossy screen and the glare is annoying, after using for a couple of hours yesterday I started getting a headache. I think i might return this back to bestbuy and order from apple for the custom matte screen option.

 

[nateo200]

Quick everyone run to your nearest neurologist! I don't see why this is even a topic...staring at any monitor for an extended period of time probably will give you some eye strain, mild headache, etc. fairly common. If you start having severe headaches after brief use then you should be concerned.

 

[macdud]

There is definitely a real issue here for some people, myself included.

I have just purchased a 2011 MBP 13" with the glass panel, and notice almost immediate eye strain followed by headaches within 5-10 minutes !

I've had mac laptops for about 10 years now, Powerbook G4 matte displays, 2006 black Macbook glossy without the glass, and have never had any issues, even after +5 hours in front of the screen...

I've done side by side A/B tests at home with low lights to minimize glare and different screen brightness settings and I can say for sure, I have a problem with the 2011 screen ( which btw i believe is the same screen since 2009 unibody MBPs, so its not something specific to the 2011 model ).

I wonder if this is due to the glass panel or perhaps the LED, since my 2006 macbook is LCD.

I'd also like to mention that i am a bit nearsighted and wear mild corrective eye glasses, this could also explain why i'm affected by this and not others..

Needless to say i am seriously considering returning the computer despite being content with all the rest...

 

[SamIchi]

There is definitely a real issue here for some people, myself included.

....

I got the same issue, almost immediately after looking at the screen I start feeling nauseous and get a headache. Before this I could stare at a screen for hours without a problem. I've never experienced this with any other electronic either. I have a 15" antiglare. After reading some other threads, I think it might be the LED backlighting. Something about the refresh rate and how LED flicker to reduce brightness.

I really don't know what to do, I can go back to my 2.4Ghz macbook, but it's so old, and I need the power and portability

 

[adnoh]

its probably due to the led backlighting rather than the gloss, it takes a while to get used to

 

[krimsen]

Had the same issues with an AG LED-backlit MBP. Seems like I adjusted to it after a couple of weeks, though.

 

[SamIchi]

Had the same issues with an AG LED-backlit MBP. Seems like I adjusted to it after a couple of weeks, though.

Damn a couple weeks?!? I can't look at the screen for more than 10 minutes, I then have to get up and walk around so I don't feel like my brain is goin to explode.

 

[mirrorbox]

For those who have headaches, I recommend this free application which makes the color of your computer's display adapt to the time of day. Visit this link and you'll know what I mean.
http://stereopsis.com/flux/

It took me some time in getting used to but has helped me a lot with headaches and eye strain problems.