Hi Mizzi, yes I'm afraid the lines pervade everything that is displayed. However, I would agree that the problem of the lines is very subjective. If you don't see or notice them, then the laptop is great. If you notice them but don't care, then the laptop is still great. But if they disrupt your ability to view/edit pictures, then this seems like a big problem to me.
I am sure many many many people have not noticed and even if they did wouldn't care - it depends on your expectation, on what you are going to use the computer for, and how sensitive you are to the issue.
One thing I would say is this though: this laptop screen in no way compares to the quality of the screen on my iMac G4 17" (identical resolution). Side-by-side in a brightly lit work environment, the PB is not as bright, not as crisp, and has poor colour saturation.
Viewed stand-alone under incandescent lighting, the PB15 fares much better.
OK, one is a desktop, one is a laptop, and one would probably expect these differences. I just want to compare my perception of the PB15 screen to something else that is all.
...finally. I realise that my posted pic is very close up. However, you do not need to be this close to see the problem. The image is that close-up to demonstrate that the cause is due to alternate pixel lines being a shade (about 5%) brighter. Not as was suggested by an AppleGenius quoted in a different forum due to "the way the eye perceives the spaces between alternate pixel lines at such high resolution" (paraphrase) - from my shots, the dark outline of each pixel appears uniform, it is just that half of them are brighter (darker?) than they should be.
For now it is not clear if this is:
- because of the design of the LCD: Is something physical (electronics?) occluding half the pixels?. Thus making them appear darker because they transmit less light (?).
- due to the inherent response of the LCD to an electric current on alternate rows: making alternate rows brighter because not enough crystal is switching and thus more light than expected is being transmitted (?).
- something else: refresh rate (?). I have no idea on this one, but I will say that the interference effects people (including me) see in certain colours points this way. Although this may be an additional, separate issue.
Best thing: just check them out in the store, and then at home for a few days. If it doesn't bother you - great! You have a kick-arse laptop.
If it does, tell Apple. They need the feedback. Then you can decide whether to keep it or not.
For now, I am keeping mine, because it still does a lot of what I need it to do.
Good luck.
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mizzi said:
question...
do you see the lines when you have an image open over your desk top? like...if you were to open safari and go to a website with an image, do yuo see the same lines or is it strictly a desktop issue...?
may sound like a silly question but i'm curious.
I think apple is too slow to fix stuff.
