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Is the LED screen better due to placebo?

S

scott9s

macrumors member
Original poster
Feb 27, 2008
86
0
Just wondering out loud, Is the Led Screen better not because of technology and less power, but because of placebo. in other words, we think its better, brighter, so it is.

I do know that LED's don't darken over time. I know they save power and our better for the environment, but would they actually be brighter?

I know I'll see when I get mine in. Sometimes, I wonder when you get something thats newer is it better simply because its newer not because it is?
 
Well if you look at old laptop screens that are 3 or 4 years in use, you will usually see dark spots and stuff. LED screens should fix these issues. I don't really care if its brighter at the moment, but if it lasts me longer, that's good enough for me.

Plus they use less energy and boost battery life significantly.
 
Having both an iBook G4 and an MBP SR and I can say indefinitely that the LED screen is considerably brighter, you'll just have to see for yourself. Other than that it's instant-on (no warm-up) and the brightness can be adjusted with far more control. My fav feature though, is the ambient light sensor under the speaker grills that adjusts screen brightness according to how bright the room is.
 
I just picked up an MBP last week and I set it next to my girlfriend's 12" powerbook. I know there are a few factors to explain the difference, but the difference in image quality is blatant. I showed the laptop to a Windows laptop user, and while she doesn't really have the knowledge to really judge a display she was floored at how nice it looked compared to hers.

So I can't say that the LED is the reason for the better image, but I can say that it's a fantastic display and saving energy via LED is not bad at all.
 
There is a pretty huge difference between the LED-backlit displays I've had and the CCFL backlit ones. I've owned a Dell XPS m1330, Sony VAIO SZ 780, and now Apple MBP all with LED screens and they are infinitely better than any other screen I've had in the past on other laptops I've owned. I'd definitely never buy another CCFL-backlit laptop.
 
No, it really is better. I never realized how dim and bland my old laptops screen was. This is no placebo, this thing is bright and beautiful.
 
The screen is still an LCD, its the backlight that changed.

The old backlights were based on a cathode while the new ones are LED. The downsides with cathodes is that they can produce a soft light and bleed through the edges over time (look at an lcd from a few years ago in a dark room, you'll probably see the backlight bleeding through on the edges and corners especially), as well as the fact that the light they produce can vary.

LED backlights are much more constant and precise, which is why they say that LED backlit screens produce a brighter, sharper, and more color accurate. They should also never bleed through like cathodes do.
 
No I do not believe its a placebo effect. If you were shown 2 identical laptops, both brand new 1 with led screen and one with a ccfl backlight, you can tell instantly which is which.

The led just looks that much more vivid and looks much clearer, not to mention when its first on its at its highest brightness already and the ccfl takes a few minutes to warmup to its highest.
 
i can agree to you to a certain point. I think the newer versions are better. But when people start calling out screen problems I think our minds play games. I was performing the LCD test and I felt like I was on something, seeing stuff.
 
I can't wait for ALL TFT's to have LED backlight...
It'll definitely put a stop to you moaners...
Some peeps are starting to sound like a 'dog in heat' - excuse the pun. :rolleyes:


The LED backlight is the new way of doing things.. it's called technology advancement. If you prefer not to have it, then choose the model without it but you won't get a high resolution screen. ¿Comprende?
 
I can say for a fact, yes they are brighter.

Compared my 2.33 GHz MBP with a friend's 2.4 side by side and at max brightness the whites were whiter and brighter, plus with his glossy screen he had more contrast than mine, mine being a matte.

But he wishes he got a matte screen.
 
Here's my biggest question about LED screens:
How long do they last? Is it less than the LCD screens.

And also--I might just be misinterpreting you guys--are they the exact same as LCD monitors other than the they don't use florescent back lights? That would be pointless to call them LED monitors if the monitors didn't have LED's for the pixels (it's just crazy how small they can make things).

This is actually one thing I don't get about these new computers
 
aapl.jlo said:
Here's my biggest question about LED screens:
How long do they last? Is it less than the LCD screens.

And also--I might just be misinterpreting you guys--are they the exact same as LCD monitors other than the they don't use florescent back lights? That would be pointless to call them LED monitors if the monitors didn't have LED's for the pixels (it's just crazy how small they can make things).

This is actually one thing I don't get about these new computers
Click to expand...

The only thing that has changed is the use of CCFL for the back lighting. It's still the same LED technology as far as that goes but LED back lighting is brighter, consumes less battery, and produces a more even lit display so colors look more vivid. And unlike CCFL the LED backlit displays won't become dimmer over time. Their life expectancy is also quite a bit longer than CCFL I believe.
 
e12a said:
I can say for a fact, yes they are brighter.

Compared my 2.33 GHz MBP with a friend's 2.4 side by side and at max brightness the whites were whiter and brighter, plus with his glossy screen he had more contrast than mine, mine being a matte.

But he wishes he got a matte screen.
Click to expand...

VICTORY :D
 
Okay, I see LCD screen, back lit by LEDs.

I just think we are going a bit overboard with all the protest against the mercury and lead in things. People used to play with mercury, and, if I remember right, people used to use mercury in make-up. They didn't die that quickly (but they did go crazy).
 
Screens have gotten better over the years.
MY Powerbook 12-inch looked crap next to my 15-inch MBP with LED.

My MBP with led also looks slightly better than my friends 17-inch 2.33GHz MBP.

MY mother have a Intel Core2 Duo 1.83GHz HP she bought when i bought the MBP and those screens are day and nigth, the MBP screen is so extremely much better.

Basically all apple products have good screens.
 
The real advantages are battery consumption and lifetime. They do not dim over time. They are more environment-friendly. That's it.

I have had 3 led 15" screens and all of them were far from fantastic. Other MBP screens I have seen were like mine.

Concerning even illumination, color reproduction and overall quality etc. etc. I can only say that many high-end pc-notebook screens, like sony or lenovo, can be considered even better than current apple led screens (at least as goog as). I have recently seen a dual-lamp sony screen and I wish my MBP had that
one.

thistle
 
As everyone else has said, it's down to the brighter capability of the backlight with little in the way of warm-up, the longevity and also the better use of power.

My Airs probably have the brightest screen of any Apple I've had, and they also displays tricky colours about as well as any LED-screen'd Windows machine I've had. In fact I'd say it's about the only thing which I think is genuinely decent on the Air.

But both the 17" and 15" screens represent to me a slight step backwards from the older (and still mediocre in comparison to some competition) CCFL screens in terms of the image presented apart from brightness, so much so I would think an image pro should have misgivings... or if they don't, maybe they aren't as discerning as they think they are.

LED screens do vary between manufacturers. While I've not had a colour problem on the Dell XPS M1330 LED screen, they are dimmer than the Air's and I've had a problem where the bottom of the screen has uneven lighting (Which was fixed - Unlike the MBP screen issues we've encountered which we left in many cases because it was a bigger hassle to keep sending the machines back). My Sony SZ's are slightly brighter than the Airs but brightness control is significantly more coarse and generally speaking it's slightly more difficult to set up as I like it.
 
My MBP is not only my first Mac, but my first laptop as well, so I don't have any previous equipment with which to compare. I've got several other "traditional" LCD displays on my other desktop systems, and I have to say that I love the look of the LED-backlit display on my MBP. The most noticeable difference, however, is the lack of any real heat coming off of the display. All of my other displays generate a noticeable amount of heat.
 
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