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How much 'white bleed' is normal on MB screens?

C

chapmac

macrumors member
Original poster
Dec 30, 2007
76
0
UK
Hi all,

Just got a refurb Black Macbook from Apple today and I am really disappointed with the display which seems really washed out, especially at the bottom of the screen.

My wife has an 18 month old 15" Macbook Pro (pre LED screen) and there is a big difference between the two screens, with hers being much brighter and the colours more vibrant. Just tried a DVD and its particularly noticable with the black bars on the screen as the bottom bar definately has a white bleed coming from the base of the screen affecting the bottom inch or so.

Looking through the forums it seems that there is mixed views about the MB screens, but I need to try and understand if I have a duff one or if I'm expecting too much. Trouble is I'm miles from an Apple Store so can't easily check other MB's. Is there any kind of test I can do?

Any suggestions folks?

Thanks.....
 
chapmac said:
Hi all,

Just got a refurb Black Macbook from Apple today and I am really disappointed with the display which seems really washed out, especially at the bottom of the screen.

My wife has an 18 month old 15" Macbook Pro (pre LED screen) and there is a big difference between the two screens, with hers being much brighter and the colours more vibrant. Just tried a DVD and its particularly noticable with the black bars on the screen as the bottom bar definately has a white bleed coming from the base of the screen affecting the bottom inch or so.

Looking through the forums it seems that there is mixed views about the MB screens, but I need to try and understand if I have a duff one or if I'm expecting too much. Trouble is I'm miles from an Apple Store so can't easily check other MB's. Is there any kind of test I can do?

Any suggestions folks?

Thanks.....
Click to expand...

I don't know about any testing process but I can tell you I just got the same refurb 3 weeks ago. I have watched 4 or 5 dvd's on it so far and I experience none of the bleeding that you describe. Sounds like your macbook needs to go back to apple. I know I would not be satisfied with that. Best of luck to you. I would call Apple immediately and I bet they take care of ya. ;)
 
I work with InDesignCS...

on my BlackBook 2.4 Penryn and Mac Pro, and it looks fine on my BlackBook and 23" Cinema Display. Check out the different screens at the Apple Store, despite the many mile gap, it would be to your benefit. I watch DVD's and iTunes movies o a regular basis and find the BlackBook screen to work out just fine. I think you need to experience a few other screens. Happy Hunting. :cool:
 
Thanks for the replies chaps, sound like I ought to make that trip to an Apple store to compare...
 
all macs come with washed out displays comparing to the windows variety (my opinion).
go to system preferences/ displays/ color/ calibrate/ and switch to 2.2 television gamma. that might help :eek:
 
chapmac said:
Thanks for the replies chaps, sound like I ought to make that trip to an Apple store to compare...
Click to expand...

If you have a Best Buy around you they now offer essentially a mini Apple Store with all the laptops on display. Go there to check them out to compare to save the drive.
 
I've gone through three MacBooks now and they've all had this very same issue, so I can safely say that it's not just your computer. Apple are using poor quality panels and/or assembling them improperly, that's all there is to it. As a result, the display has severe cathode bleeding at the bottom. This is worsened by the display's extremely narrow viewing angles, making colors wash out if not viewed exactly straight on.

You should read this section of the AnandTech review of the latest MacBook revision, and then make up your mind.
 
My girlfriends MB isn't too bad on the bleeding front. My SR MacBook Pro is pretty bad but only really noticeable when watching DVDs in widescreen so it isn't the biggest deal. It's just a kick in the face when you own a 1500+ computer.
 
I just bought a refurb Blackbook (2.2) a couple of weeks ago, and the display is great- no light bleed, dithering problems, or anything else. It's the best display that I've had on a laptop. Guess I got lucky :)
 
mrgossett said:
I just bought a refurb Blackbook (2.2) a couple of weeks ago, and the display is great- no light bleed, dithering problems, or anything else. It's the best display that I've had on a laptop. Guess I got lucky :)
Click to expand...

Same here. That's why I recommended in my above post to contact apple cause too me it's not normal. I do have a narrow angle of view on mine like all others report but I don't see that as a defect and I have adjusted my viewing angle where IM very comfortable using it. I guess both of us got lucky--)))

:apple::):apple:
 
Hi Folks,

In the end I did a very simple test to check the amount of white bleed, which was to just to make a completely black powerpoint slide and then put it in slideshow mode. This made the screen black with no other moving images, graphics or colours to complicate matters.

This showed the problem as obvious. Light was escaping from the bottom edge and affecting about the bottom third of the screen. By complete contrast I did the same thing on my wifes MBP and it was near enough perfect.

Phoned Apple, they are replacing the machine with no hesitation.

At least the customer service is good, and hopefully I will get a better experience next time around.
 
chapmac said:
Hi Folks,

In the end I did a very simple test to check the amount of white bleed, which was to just to make a completely black powerpoint slide and then put it in slideshow mode. This made the screen black with no other moving images, graphics or colours to complicate matters.

This showed the problem as obvious. Light was escaping from the bottom edge and affecting about the bottom third of the screen. By complete contrast I did the same thing on my wifes MBP and it was near enough perfect.

Phoned Apple, they are replacing the machine with no hesitation.

At least the customer service is good, and hopefully I will get a better experience next time around.
Click to expand...

Good thinking with the black power point screen. You did good and so did Apple! I see nothing like this on mine. I hope the next one you get does not have this and I consider myself lucky with my new refurb. Perhaps this is an advantage of refurbs as Apple gets to work out any issues before shipping, plus a significant savings to the consumer. Let us know when your new replacement comes in and what you think of its screen. Best to ya! ;)
 
chapmac: Feel free to post how it worked out for you. Not that I'll ever consider going through the process of ordering and perhaps returning a MacBook for the fourth time, but it's always nice to know. I hope it'll all work out for you this time :D
 
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