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iPod Touch: 'Negative Black' Screen Issue

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Original poster
Apr 12, 2001
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iLounge posts an extensive review of the iPod Touch and found that in comparison to the iPhone, it was somewhat disappointing. Of note, they felt that the video screen had a shallow viewing angle and an unusual "shimmering effect" in dark spots.

Similar reports and examples have been posted on various message boards (Apple thread, MacRumors thread, Flickr set, Youtube Video), and discussion has been filling our iPod Touch forum.

The Washington Post's first look at the iPod touch describes the issue in more detail:
Unfortunately the 16GB unit I picked up at the San Francisco Apple store has a display problem that makes many dark scenes almost unwatchable. Video looks reversed out in dark areas, creating a very distracting negative effect.
Click to expand...

The issue does not appear to affect every iPod touch, as at least one user has posted photos of an unaffected iPod touch.

Article Link
 
Article Link
https://www.macrumors.com/2007/09/17/ipod-touch-negative-black-screen-issue/
This seems pretty lame. Apple really needs to work on their display quality control.
 
I have a PSP that does this exact thing, cant stand it. Guess the Touch will be on the refurb list sooner than I thought.
 
For what it's worth, when I look at my iPhone straight on, the black areas look "shimmery" too. Tilting it slightly makes the picture look fine. I was slightly annoyed by this at first, but decided it's really not that big of a deal to just tilt the thing a little.

EDIT: after seeing that YouTUBE video, I can say that my iPhone is not quite that bad
 
bdj21ya said:
This seems pretty lame. Apple really needs to work on their display quality control.
Click to expand...

Couldn't agree more... I've posted several times on these forums regarding my issues with several MBP's that I no longer own - RETURNED! There seem to be so many problems with screens these day's - what is going on here?

Am I glad I got the "old" 24-inch iMac in White!
 
Quality

I just here more and more about quality problems with new Apple products.
It's seems to me that times of G4,G5, power macs and power books are gone
 
Apple has gotten pretty good about their quality control and is one of the few companies that still keep the consumer mind. I'm sure theyll address the problem.
 
Are these assembled in the same plants as the iPhone?
Are they the same components?

Want one bad, but will wait till this is resolved!
 
ddubbo said:
I just here more and more about quality problems with new Apple products.
It's seems to me that times of G4,G5, power macs and power books are gone
Click to expand...

Ever remember the "white spots" issue with the first batch of the aluminium PowerBook G4s? And iMac G5 screen banding issues?

Displays are a big problem for Apple and have been for some time. You'd think they'd learn from these issues. I was interested in the iPod Touch. Think I might wait a while now.
 
I hope these issues are sorted before they arrive in the UK, as I really really want an iPod touch!

About time Apple commented, as this has been picked up by numerous news sites.

Maybe they will do a Q&A in London tomorrow, you know someone will mention it!
 
FWIW, I picked up an 8GB iPhone over the weekend, and it has the exact same problem... although probably not quite as bad. It is still pretty annoying though, anywhere on screen where there's a shadow, or someone has black hair, that area looks kind of silvery. I sure hope Apple can fix this with a software update. :(
 
So how bad is bad, really?

I haven't seen any drastic "shimmering" issues with the videos I've loaded onto my Touch yet, but I do see a bit of the effect in some really dark photos.

My question is how good of a black representation are we really able to expect on a "good" screen?
 
The question is. Is it a video compression issue or a hardware issue? Could it be fixed with a firmware update? Should I wait, or exchange it?
 
ddubbo said:
I just here more and more about quality problems with new Apple products.
It's seems to me that times of G4,G5, power macs and power books are gone
Click to expand...

I love it when someone says something like this. I guess you've never heard of some of the problems Apple had before the Intel switch. Maybe you never had a problem before but tons of people havn't had a problem with there Intel machines either. Here is my list off the top of my head.

Wind Tunnel G4 PowerMacs
G4 Cube touch sensitive power button
iBook G3, G4 logic board failures
Titanium Powerbook display hindge

If anything I'd say their quality is getting better when you see how quiet their machines are nowadays, how thin they've gotten, and how much advanced tech devices like the iphone have in them. That doesn't mean their perfect but we have't seen any logic board recalls recently.
 
Electronic stuff has seen massive deflation in price over the last decade. While some of that has come from economies of scale or cheaper labour markets a great deal of it has come from making everything throwaway and flimsy and having no meaninful quality control.

It's cheaper to throw a load of cheaply-made stuff onto the market and just replace the bad ones than to check them properly before despatch. That's the model, sadly.
 
phakebrill said:
Couldn't agree more... I've posted several times on these forums regarding my issues with several MBP's that I no longer own - RETURNED! There seem to be so many problems with screens these day's - what is going on here?

Am I glad I got the "old" 24-inch iMac in White!
Click to expand...

I haven't heard of any display probs with 24" iMac. I have heard that the 20" iMac is 18 Bit instead of true 24 bit, but I have an 18 bit MBP and have never had a problem, so I doubt I would care about this one.
 
I was trying to decide whether to order from Apple online to get the iTouch earlier or wait until Best Buy receives stock. Think I'll stick with Best Buy since they have an easier return policy.

This is disappointing but not unexpected since it's still a 1st Gen product.
 
powderblue17 said:
I love it when someone says something like this. I guess you've never heard of some of the problems Apple had before the Intel switch. Maybe you never had a problem before but tons of people havn't had a problem with there Intel machines either. Here is my list off the top of my head.

Wind Tunnel G4 PowerMacs
G4 Cube touch sensitive power button
iBook G3, G4 logic board failures
Titanium Powerbook display hindge

If anything I'd say their quality is getting better when you see how quiet their machines are nowadays, how thin they've gotten, and how much advanced tech devices like the iphone have in them. That doesn't mean their perfect but we have't seen any logic board recalls recently.
Click to expand...

Dont forget the battery recalls.
 
I don't think Apple has had any quality control issues above and beyond what any company would have. I think people pay more attention to them because we would expect better from Apple after paying so much money for a premium product.

I was interested in the Touch but I may just wait a while for it first, and get the iPod Classic 160 to tide me over until the Rev B Touch or some version of the iPhone that works with Sprint's network comes out.
 
From a Sitcom Sage

"Mom always said don't buy 1st gen electronic devices." -- Bobby Brady

Funny thing about lust though; it still makes you want to have that which isn't neccessarily the best for you, including the latest iPod that hasn't seen enough street time yet.
 
Here's what my screen looks like. It's an absolute joke. These are made to watch movies on, we can't just overlook it. That's like buying a car that doesn't start, but it's such a cool car that we can just overlook that small defect. Apple needs to do something about this quickly. The only possible way to get a picture that's viewable at all is to do what us who own them are calling "The Tilt Move"...Tilt it up and to the left...

I can hear it now...

"...But there is one more thing. It's a new iPod with touch controls...and we're calling it the iPod Tilt."
 

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