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How bad are the displays on this 13-inch?

powerbook911

powerbook911

macrumors 601
Original poster
Mar 15, 2005
4,009
398
I think I may go ahead and get the $1599 Macbook.

However, all the talk of screen problems worry me. How bad are the displays? Does anyone find it livable? It will just be my portable, not main computer.
 
The display isn't as bad as some say it is. It doesn't have the best viewing angles but as long as you are looking at it directly from the front it is fine. It could definitely serve as a main computer if for casual use.
 
Jeremy81 said:
The display isn't as bad as some say it is. It doesn't have the best viewing angles but as long as you are looking at it directly from the front it is fine. It could definitely serve as a main computer if for casual use.
Click to expand...

I've said this time and time again, who the hell looks at their computer from an angle??:confused:

But yeah... they're fine.
 
powerbook911 said:
I think I may go ahead and get the $1599 Macbook.

However, all the talk of screen problems worry me. How bad are the displays? Does anyone find it livable? It will just be my portable, not main computer.
Click to expand...

Nope, nobody finds them livable. That's why Apple hasn't sold any... They're going to discontinue the whole MacBook lineup because of the horrible display...

:shakeshead:

The best thing for you to do is go look at one in the store. If you can't do that, then search the forums for the multitude of threads and read people's opinions..
 
Mine looks great......and as others say, who the hell looks at their laptop from the side or straight down?

And to all those that calibrate their Macbook screens....does that make your porn look better?....seriously?
 
Bupkus said:
Mine looks great......and as others say, who the hell looks at their laptop from the side or straight down?

And to all those that calibrate their Macbook screens....does that make your porn look better?....seriously?
Click to expand...

Partially, but I do it so that my movies, applications, and graphic design/art work look better. But that's just me.

Oh, and my Alu MB's display is very livable. If you're doing any colour corrections or heavy duty graphic design/photography, you're better off using an external display. But for everyday use, it's absolutely great.
 
skorpien said:
Partially, but I do it so that my movies, applications, and graphic design/art work look better. But that's just me.

Oh, and my Alu MB's display is very livable. If you're doing any colour corrections or heavy duty graphic design/photography, you're better off using an external display. But for everyday use, it's absolutely great.
Click to expand...

I agree....I never understood all the fuss over the Macbook display. I have a 42" LG HDTV for movies, and a 24" Apple SD/Mac Pro for my digital photography. I use the Macbook for light gaming/surfing while traveling or sitting on the couch. The 13" size bothers me more then color fidelity does in movies/photo work.
 
I personally don't get the whole "woe is me! my screen is gash" thing with the new MacBooks.

My Alu screen is a gazillion times better than my old whitebook - much, much brighter and more vivid colours. And before that, and I've not done a side by side comparison recently, but I prefer my Alu screen to the first gen MBP I had a couple of years back (or at least what I remember). And I would say it's as good as the Sony Vaio TX I had before my whitebook, if not better.

As a matter of fact I can stand up now, cast my eye around my university library, where there is a gazillion different laptops being used, and say that my Alu MacBook is among the better of the screens being used. I find myself occasionally turning my screen brightness down, something unheard of (apart from wanting to eke out more battery life) on other machines I've had in the past.
 
The MacBook has a decent screen albeit viewing angles aren't it's strong points but who looks at it from above? Use one of the calibrated profiles and you'll find it bright and vibrant. I've also had to turn down the brightness to half as it was very bright. Which is a good thing because on my last laptop, a six month old dell, I had to max it out to see clearly. Get it you won't regret it.
 
Its not an HDTV, its a laptop. I think it looks great.

Some fuss over OEM's and such, but unless you're really hard up for a specific supplier you're golden.
 
I just checked a lot of laptops today and the Macbook had one of the worst screens. Washed out, poor black levels, very poor viewing angles. I even tried calibrating it and could not get very accurate colors. By comparison the Macbook Pro and Air were just fine.

Apple isn't the only one using these poor panels but their computers were certainly the only ones that cost 1200€ and has such poor displays.

Then again most desktop displays sold these days are crap too so I guess most people are just living in ignorant bliss.
 
I personally find mine to be amazing. It's not top of the line, but it works well. The viewing angles actually aren't bad compared to some other laptops I have laying around my house.

Best thing to do is go check it out for yourself.
 
For consumers it will be fine, for prosumers/professional it is....not good...enough
 
My screen is fine. Very bright with good contrast and decent viewing angle.

DVDS are not the best as the blacks have some light spots so dark movies are a problem. But most movies are fine.

The gloss is very good and makes everything much clearer.
 
A MacBook is the low end of the Apple laptop/notebook line. If you want professional-quality you'll have to move up the line.
 
After reading all the negative posts I was wary of buying one, I've had it for two weeks now and couldn't be happier.
 
acfusion29 said:
I've said this time and time again, who the hell looks at their computer from an angle??:confused:
Click to expand...

My (casual) audience looks at my computer from various angles.

This is also a reason why glossy is bad for me. I can't adjust the angle to get rid of reflections for every viewer.

Don't you ever have a few friends peeking over your shoulders to view some photos?
 
The vertical viewing angels are quite bad but horizontal is good side to side. The screen itself is actually quite good when calibrated properly. Its probably no Macbook Pro but its a step up from consumer notebooks.
 
My screen looks just fine, i wouldent say its any better or any worse than the screen on my old whitebook, but it sure is a heck of a lot brighter........

But there is no way its a bad screen.......
 
Bupkus said:
And to all those that calibrate their Macbook screens....does that make your porn look better?....seriously?
Click to expand...

"those who calibrate there MacBook screen for porn"
Uh, NO! Any serious photographer, heck even any amateur photographer knows that calibrating the screen is a necessity. Come on now. Screen calibration = porn... Wow sorry
 
i have the new 13" aluminium macbook, with the glossy screen.

to be honest, its fine for casual use :) it is awfully reflective however, but that can be fixed by adjusting the angle of the screen and brightness :) and obviously isnt too good for serious image editors. the only other thing apart from that is that you can't really fit much on the screen. quite annoying when your trying to watch hd videos especially on quicktime but you just select a lower resolution :) it's okay for dvds and youtube.

apart from that its fine. obviously you'll be wanting a matte screen with lots of room if your a serious user :) thats why you'd be best with a macbook pro :)

i love my macbook, it does me fine, i edit photos, but not very seriously, the glossy effect doesnt bother me when editing anyway !
 
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