If the LG display gives you eye strain, so will the Samsung display. The Samsung was tested by Anandtech to be worse than the LG in terms of contrast and color saturation as well as blacks and whites. Only if you look at your screens at awkward angles on a regular basis, you should look for a Samsung display. Otherwise stick with your LG or simply get a different computer.
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Macbook air lg display horrible!!!!! Text reading is a headache!!!
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If the LG display gives you eye strain, so will the Samsung display. The Samsung was tested by Anandtech to be worse than the LG in terms of contrast and color saturation as well as blacks and whites. Only if you look at your screens at awkward angles on a regular basis, you should look for a Samsung display. Otherwise stick with your LG or simply get a different computer.
Same here.
Oh and here is the anandtech's review http://www.anandtech.com/show/4554/apples-11inch-macbook-air-core-i7-18ghz-review-update
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You're kind of twisting his review aren't you? LG was worse in brightness, better in contrast, had better color accuracy, had a narrower color gamut, and had worse viewing angles.
But better and worse are relative terms because he usually qualified his statements by saying the differences weren't noticeable (well, all except for the viewing angles).
By mentioning what you did, I don't think you understand what I was talking about. None of those things you mentioned have anything to do with my complaints about the display. I am very sensitive to flicker. I could always notice a low refresh rate on the old CRT monitors when coworkers were happily using them with no complaint. I would come to their desk and immediately feel like someone had poked me in the eyes. They thought everything was fine with their monitor. Well, it seems like the LG display is similiar. I (along with some other users on this thread and others) notice something (maybe flicker, crosstalk, whatever) that gives us a headache, eye strain, etc. You can be as dismissive as you want to about it, but it doesn't change the fact that some people are having problems with the display.
Still, thanks for the advice.
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I just thought of a way to test this -- Bootcamp. I'll install Windows 7 on my MBA tomorrow (or maybe over the weekend), and that should be a good proof for or against whether my eye strain/headaches are due to OS X font rendering differences or due to the LG display.
Will report back when I'm done....
Some display`s do, some dont, my MacBook Pro does the same, yet for the use it was intended for the display is one of the best. My corporate Dell easily passes the test, yet in real life use falls short of the Pro.
Just search and you will see, it`s possible to change the way OS X renders the fonts (anti-aliasing) by command line input; launch the Terminal and enter the following command:
defaults -currentHost write -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing -int 2
2 is for medium smoothing which used to be called best for flat panel, 1 is for light smoothing, and 3 is for strong smoothing. After you execute the command you will need to reload Finder and other apps that are open to see the changes in effect, you can reload the Finder by killing it: killall Finder
Or turn off Font smoothing in System Preferences Appearance, you can also set the minimum size for Smoothing. personally I would wait a few weeks before changing anything as you will most likely have no issue by then.
Agreed and that is one of the major points many are missing, not that one vender is producing sub standard displays.
Sounds like a good plan, this way you wont be swayed one way or the other. others may be able to see a difference, then again I am not deliberately looking for issue, nor suffering headaches etc from use.
So you're allowed to waste time inspecting the displays side by side; but if I do it, it is a waste of resources and time? Trust me, my time is much less valuable than yours. I can afford to waste it
It`s your time, and your call, and I should clarify; What I feel is that some people are wasting time resources in swapping out perfectly good system after system in a search for a display quality that does not exist, on the basis of nothing more than hearsay driven by a minority. I am not seeking fault so my time spend is very less
There is nothing imaginary about it, my wife went through the same transition on moving to OS X after being a solely Windows user. Some are more sensitive than others, search for OS X anti aliasing and you be on the right track, with many suffering headaches, blurred vision and even nausea in extreme cases. In general 2-4 weeks down the line all will be good
"Internet OCD" is more aimed at those who are making "mountains out of mole hill`s" both display types are technically very close and barring a minority that are defective they are fit for purpose. if you put a microscope on anything you are going to find imperfection, maybe it`s best just to leave it to the eye, or in this case face value and not rumor
Q-6
Ok, well I have posted many times in the last week about my new MBA 13" LG screen.
My findings were:
My older MBP has way better/vibrant colours. I found it really hard to use my MBA for long periods, whereas my MBP was not a problem. The brightness, or backlight/whiteness seems much stronger and whiter, like a plasma effect (I don't know how to describe it). The resolution of the MBA was difficult to adjust to.
But after exactly one week here's an update:
NO MORE EYE STRAIN! I am now able to use my MBA without a straining feeling in between my eyes.
I'm still gutted about the poor colour gamut but the resolution is STARTING to feel ...wait for it....can't believe I'm saying it .... better than my MBP's.
Yes folks, I simply stopped 'thinking' about how my eyes hurt and I got used to it. STOP THINKING ABOUT YOUR EYES HURTING!
I'm now up to 80% to keep the MBA (colour is the problem), but day by day, every time I go back to my MBP something happens.....wait for it..........
...My eyes now HURT using the MB PRO.
Conclusion: Resolution/backlighting/contrast adjusting takes time.
My findings were:
My older MBP has way better/vibrant colours. I found it really hard to use my MBA for long periods, whereas my MBP was not a problem. The brightness, or backlight/whiteness seems much stronger and whiter, like a plasma effect (I don't know how to describe it). The resolution of the MBA was difficult to adjust to.
But after exactly one week here's an update:
NO MORE EYE STRAIN! I am now able to use my MBA without a straining feeling in between my eyes.
I'm still gutted about the poor colour gamut but the resolution is STARTING to feel ...wait for it....can't believe I'm saying it .... better than my MBP's.
Yes folks, I simply stopped 'thinking' about how my eyes hurt and I got used to it. STOP THINKING ABOUT YOUR EYES HURTING!
I'm now up to 80% to keep the MBA (colour is the problem), but day by day, every time I go back to my MBP something happens.....wait for it..........
...My eyes now HURT using the MB PRO.
Conclusion: Resolution/backlighting/contrast adjusting takes time.
It`a all rather ironic, when the unibody MacBook Pro`s came out many were outraged by the over saturated display, spin forward now many are disappointed in the new Air apparent lack of saturation
In all seriousness the MBP does indeed have a better display; having a wider colour gamut and greater colour accuracy, although for some it is over saturated and that`s why Apple offer the matte high res version which is considered by many to be their finest display. Your eye strain is no doubt related to the Air`s tighter resolution in comparison to the Pro`s I have a 15 inch 4.1 MBP, and I too felt the strain for a few days, that and the differences in Lion`s GUI. The 13 inch MBP display is very much more relaxed to the eye than the high res Mac`s.
Once the new line of MacBook Pro`s are released I will once again revisit them, hopefully they will be designed from the ground up for SSD and retain the matte display option, for the present I will continue to enjoy my 13 inch Air and of course the classic 15 inch MacBook Pro, which is still an incredible machine
If you can handle it, the higher resolution is undeniably better, my next Pro will be High Res
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I don't know how you got that number, but the system uses its own preference, by using this command you actually are creating a "personal" default, wich may be good for you, but is not the default.
If anyone need to remove the personal preference, for restoring the default, use:
defaults -currentHost delete -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing
To read the current value (if you get “…does not exist” it means the setting has been properly removed from the global domain)
defaults -currentHost read -globalDomain AppleFontSmoothing
That's how it is, not overwriting the previous personal preference.
Another way, without messing in the terminal is unchecking and then checking the box in the "Appearance" menu within the SysPrefs that says: Use LCD font smoothing when available.
And of course, restart after for the changes to correctly apply.
Thanks for the tips. What is the default value, so I can go back if need be? (Never mind. Someone posted the answer in a subsequent post.)
I went to my local Apple Store around lunch time to take a look. First, I had very little eye strain on all of the MBP's I looked at. Same for the MBA 13's I looked at. The matte display on the 15" MBP actually seemed easiest on my eyes. The fact that I did still have some eye strain probably confirms that at least a portion of the problem is the font rendering differences in OS X.
All the MBA 13's looked similar to me -- minor eye strain but not as bad as what I remembered with my LG display. This caused me to question whether the eye strain/headaches I experienced were really due to the LG display. So I checked all the MBA 13 displays in Terminal, and they were ALL Samsung. I think that means that my problems were partially due to OS X and partially due to the LG display. Over time, maybe I would adjust to the font rendering differences and the strain caused by the LG display may be minor enough to not bother me. OS X + LG was too much and pushed it over the edge for me, though.
One thing I cannot complain about, though, is Apple's customer service. I made an appointment with a Genius and explained everything to him. Without hesitation, he offered to swap a new MBA 13 for mine, and he made sure I was happy with the display on the new MBA before I left. I'm happy to say that the first MBA he brought out seemed pretty good to my eyes. I then checked what display it was in the Terminal -- Samsung.
To be fair, I really won't know if the Samsung display is better than the LG until I get home and start using it. I need to test it in the same lighting as I was using the LG. That will be the real test.
Unfortunately, my idea of trying Bootcamp on the LG isn't going to happen since I've already swapped it out. I will try Bootcamp on my new MBA and see how the Samsung display is in OS X vs. Windows 7. That should at least allow me to figure out how much of the eye strain is caused by OS X.
There is nothing imaginary about it, my wife went through the same transition on moving to OS X after being a solely Windows user. Some are more sensitive than others, search for OS X anti aliasing and you be on the right track, with many suffering headaches, blurred vision and even nausea in extreme cases. In general 2-4 weeks down the line all will be good
If the LG display wasn't the root cause of my issues, it's good to know that in a few weeks I should be able to adjust.
Honestly, I'm now waiting for laptop display quality to catch up with the iPad display. I have no issues what so ever with my iPad. It is a joy to look at and use. Maybe someday.....
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Awesome. Thanks for the tip.
Honestly, I'm now waiting for laptop display quality to catch up with the iPad display. I have no issues what so ever with my iPad. It is a joy to look at and use. Maybe someday.....
Glad you got it worked out, and also hope we will see IPS displays in Apple notebooks in the near future. it will be interesting to see how you get on with the Samsung display, if the discomfort persists I wouldn't rush to change anything settings etc, as it will cease in a couple of weeks.
So far so good with the new MBA. I do have some eye "discomfort" but no headaches, yet. The slight discomfort must be due to the OS X font rendering differences. Everything else is great. The Time Machine backup restored my laptop in less than an hour back to almost exactly how it was before.
I honestly can't tell any real difference between my old LG display and my new Samsung -- other than the lack of headaches
. So the difference in quality really is unnoticeable, in my opinion.
...or due to a faulty display.
The LG display doesn't have any issues with refresh rate. And as said countless times before, crosstalk doesn't normally appear in the wild, so just because the LG DIsplay is worse at crosstalk that doest mean it will affect you unless you are staring at a crosstalk-test-image.
I do believe you when you say you are sensitive to screens, but the LG is a perfectly fine display unless it is faulty, damaged or whatever.
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Okay, well that sounds great.
My LG screen is really nice. The contrast is excellent and the text is crisp. Before anyone says I don't know what a good screen is, I also have a Thinkpad T60. It has the IPS "flexview" screen. No mac or any other laptop matches it. However, my 13" Air's screen is very good. Recently, I sold my 11" air with Samsung ssd/display. Since the screen was smaller, the text was a little crisper than my 13". Both screens have poor viewing angles. For me, it hasn't been a problem. Either the 13" air or the 11" air is a sweet machine.
Exactly the LG display is fantastic given the dimensions, as no doubt is the Samsung. My Airs display is very close to my MacBook 4.1 and only when you go to test pages such as www.lagom.nl do you see the difference, outside of professional photographic of video work the Air`s display is perfectly fine, the only true criticism being the narrow viewing angle, all this hysteria of LG versus Samsung is simply nonsense.
Even so the power of suggestion should never be underestimated; with even professional reviews stating that both displays are virtually identical, people have been swapping out perfectly good systems simply to get a Samsung display on the basis of rumor
note my MBP 4.1 predates unibody and has a matte display...
Exactly the LG display is fantastic given the dimensions, as no doubt is the Samsung. My Airs display is very close to my MacBook 4.1 and only when you go to test pages such as www.lagom.nl do you see the difference, outside of professional photographic of video work the Air`s display is perfectly fine, the only true criticism being the narrow viewing angle, all this hysteria of LG versus Samsung is simply nonsense.
Even so the power of suggestion should never be underestimated; with even professional reviews stating that both displays are virtually identical, people have been swapping out perfectly good systems simply to get a Samsung display on the basis of rumor
note my MBP 4.1 predates unibody and has a matte display...
Wait til someone suggests that the Apple Logo has some Samsung element in it. Hence, a brighter Logo.
wait til someone suggests that the apple logo has some samsung element in it. Hence, a brighter logo.
Now that`s funny, but dont speak too loudly
i ham happy with my LG screen and Tosh SSD. those few nano seconds to not really bother me as does the screen
Wait til someone suggests that the Apple Logo has some Samsung element in it. Hence, a brighter Logo.
Now that`s funny, but dont speak too loudly
BRB, gonna make a thread....
They still are. Mine has LG screen and not really liking it. I prefer Samsung. IMO it seems less fuzzy vs. LG.
I read about the differences with LCDs awhile back and didn't think much about it.
I just got rid of my 2010 MBP 15 which actually had a pretty decent screen.
I did notice that the MBA screen was giving me a bit more strain to look at for prolonged sessions, but the screen is generally pretty decent after calibrating it.
I haven't checked until I read this thread now, and I realize i have the LG screen. And the screen ain't half bad!
Don't worry if people are telling you that the Samsung is better. Anandtech claim otherwise..
Also when I compare MBA (and the MBP) to my desktop screen, they look bad both!
I have a Eizo, not even the CG series, but a cheaper S series with sVPA.
I just got rid of my 2010 MBP 15 which actually had a pretty decent screen.
I did notice that the MBA screen was giving me a bit more strain to look at for prolonged sessions, but the screen is generally pretty decent after calibrating it.
I haven't checked until I read this thread now, and I realize i have the LG screen. And the screen ain't half bad!
Don't worry if people are telling you that the Samsung is better. Anandtech claim otherwise..
Also when I compare MBA (and the MBP) to my desktop screen, they look bad both!
I have a Eizo, not even the CG series, but a cheaper S series with sVPA.
It's 50/50. But I'd think that if their relationship with Samsung gets any worse, it'll be LG exclusively.
oh.. they're distinguishable alright. place them next to each other. you'll see the huge difference. even my grandmother could tell