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MacBook Pro Grainy Display

The 20" iMac looked way better than the 17" MBP when I was in an Apple Store last week.

Maybe Steve Jobs will announce the addition of proper screens in the MBP line-up at Macworld? I'm still pretty pissed that Apple cheaped out on LCDs for their notebook designed for professionals...you would think that for $2500+ per MBP, they would be able to put a quality screen in! Sorry for the rant, but I was expecting to buy one before the New Year...now I'm stuck waiting, wondering if I should just buy a Sony/Asus.
 
6-bit or 8-bit screens

It seems that quite a few people have noticed problems with color rendition and uneven brightness in addition to the graininess. The color issues and and banding could be due to Apple possibly using 6-bit screens rather than 8-bit screens on their notebooks.

Can anyone verify if this is true?

I asked this on another thread and a few suggested the screens are 6-bit (which seems likely) but could not offer any proof of this.

Curious to see if anyone actually has real specs on these screens, such as contrast ratio, brightness, colors rendered (rather than 'supported'), etc...
 
Chapaev said:
So it wasn't the same problem as with ASUS and the only way is to replace the display(notebook)? :mad:
Click to expand...

That's correct. This is a hardware problem, not firmware or software. However, the problem is that Apple doesn't have replacement LCDs that do not have this grainy quality.

I think I could live with the grain if viewing angles horizontally and vertically were good, but the combination of grain and terrible viewing angles makes the display very poor for anything beyond everyday communications and internet usage.
 
k

i dont know how you guys come up with these codes in sys profiller i get 0x71c5 and its wicked apart from viewing angles and sometimes video looks a little pixelated well not that but u know just not sharp but no banding or grain here

17 mbp c2c dec 06 build

how do u get display manufacterer info
 
The 17" has little to no grain - just a bit uneven illumination when you're looking at solid colors across the display. Overall, it's much better than 15" MBPs. If you go to system preferences and choose displays - then click on the colors tab, choose COlorLCD on the left and click on "open profile" on the right side. A new window pops up. scroll down to # 13 and the profile, including model number, is below.
 
I just got my machine back from Apple. One of the issues was the grainy/sparkly/dusty screen. I was 99% sure it was a hardware problem. I received my machine back with the original screen, however they replaced my mother board. My screen now looks pretty darn perfect. It still has a slight grain to it althought the "sparkle" factor is gone. Strang, because if you look at the screen itself and scroll the sparkle/grain stay in the same place. Suggesting it is the screen itslef. I don't know. But my screen now really does look alot better compared to when it was sent it in.:cool:
 
Hello ^^
I'm new, I don't own MBP but I have a Dell machine which is affected by the same problem.
In fact my original screen was fine, but they replaced it because a "Thrips" went behind it. The new one is simply ugly.

After discussing with support, they told me that they do not use the same screen for manufactured machines as for replacement parts. My old screen was a Sharp and it was ... simply perfect.
The new one is from Samsung, and it has got this unsupportable grainy display. I'm currently working on their replacement machine which has an original Sharp screen and the difference is simply amazing. On the Samsung I was beginning to be seriously tired after less than 30 minutes. With this one I can nearly stay an entire day without any problem!
And even if you only stay for 30 minutes, it is soooo much better when you proudly close your computer without having your eyes literally in fire, you can't even imagine that if you are used to grainy screens! :eek:
Other than that, the two screens are absolutely identical (exactly same angle, response time, contrast, gamma and so on).

As the support guy told me, he thrown some investigations: if other people are getting the same problems, they will simply change their manufacturer, but in any case they will try to find a good screen for me. I hope it was not only "words in the wind", else they'll see :rolleyes:

I guess not every screen has this problem, but as we're talking from Samsung, this problem about their screens seems to be a frequent issue over the web. It's more or less bearable and you it must have a factor of luck and how much you're disturbed by it. I've seen the same problem on iMacs a few days ago, the screen was horribily grainy on ALL machines. They seemed to be 20'' or higher (I don't remember, I wasn't even interested because I would never buy one of these because of this problem). I don't know which screen manufacturer Apple uses, but it must not be the best choice (except for the price, maybe).
 
k

yeah mines the lg screen and its ok ! could it be better hell yeah but what you gonna do ??? my tittanuim kills this thing ,im afaird like anything they dont build'em like they use to !!
 
I used a relative's brand new Vaio with a glossy screen today and...
the grain on it is worse than any of the MBP displays I've seen affected.

He started by saying, "Look at the awesome screen this thing has." :rolleyes:
 
you guys gotta remember that on the 15" apple's using WXGA+ screens...Sony, HP, and Dell all use WXGA. i have not seen a manufacturer who uses the same types of screens with 1440 x 900 resolution. the super small pixels makes the display finish obvious.
 
for those who are getting this type of problem...

unevenlight.jpg


yes it's only in blacks, but still... that's really pronounced. what would you suggest? should i take it in immediately? i'm concerned that they will give me a bad panel again.
 
e12a said:
you guys gotta remember that on the 15" apple's using WXGA+ screens...Sony, HP, and Dell all use WXGA. i have not seen a manufacturer who uses the same types of screens with 1440 x 900 resolution. the super small pixels makes the display finish obvious.
Click to expand...

If this is the case, then how come the 17" MBP is not afflicted by the grain issue? Isnt' Aren't the pixels equally small on these, or am I missing something?
 
PDE said:
If this is the case, then how come the 17" MBP is not afflicted by the grain issue? Isnt' Aren't the pixels equally small on these, or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

Anyone still having screen problems on the MacBook Pros? I returned mine and got a Mac Pro and an Apple Cinema Display and I couldn't be happier. I love having the Mac Pro a lot more than the crappy MacBook Pro with the sucky screen.
 
PDE said:
If this is the case, then how come the 17" MBP is not afflicted by the grain issue? Isnt' Aren't the pixels equally small on these, or am I missing something?
Click to expand...

I cannot say as I do not know the dot pitch on 17" screens.

According to AUO, the newer version of the 15" screen has a .23 dot pitch. I'm not sure about the older one but it can't be too much different.
 
just made new thread of this but mayb shud hav posted here!

---
jus got my replacement 17mbp [ the first one had th screen replaced but stil had uneven lighting so i got a complete replacement ].. the new one is worse! is stil brighter on right side but has a few extra dark patches[is same lcd code].. not really noticed this grain issue.. an lcd panel should b even lit all over i think? ive never noticed such issues on ibooks or powerbooks or imacs.. mayb im bein too critical , but i use this for pro photography and other peopl seeing these screens agree they r badly lit.. a good guide is the top menu bar .. is brighter on right third and goes darker towards left corner .. the differenc between corners is over half an f-stop! mayb appl think this normal.. on all other screens menu bar is perfect end to end..

so a new one on its way again.. in all fairness applcare hav been brilliant, i stil hav orig mbp whilist im tryin to get a perfect one..

startin to regret sellin my perfect pbk cos could hav got refund on this an waited 6months!
 
suneohair said:
Off topic, but didnt Sleater Kinney break up/disband?
Click to expand...

Yes, yes they did. Crushing for me :p At least I got to see them a bazzillion times before they hung up the jerseys. Before they announced those two shows in Portland, their last show was at Webster Hall.. it rocked.

R.I.P

speaking about that... anyone have suggestions about what I should do here with this panel? how normal is this? should I wait until i'm certain they are putting superior tech into the LCDs or is it pretty much unlimited support for the 3 years with applecare; i'm assuming if the replacement is unsatifactory i haven't "used up my quota" i'm patient, i don't have to have the computer for a few weeks if that's what it takes... what are the odds of the problem being resolved if i did send it in? high? low? 50-50?

any insight would be much appreciated.
 
GraciousManatee said:
for those who are getting this type of problem...

unevenlight.jpg


yes it's only in blacks, but still... that's really pronounced. what would you suggest? should i take it in immediately? i'm concerned that they will give me a bad panel again.
Click to expand...
The grainy issue is very bad for the eyes (tires them) but this issue is much worse IMHO, because your eyes will be attracted by that slightly lighter region and always have to adapt when you look at another region of the screen like a corner. The same problem happens with the panels that have a "white light band" on the bottom of the screen, your eyes should become tired much shorter when using that screen, isn't it?
So I would suggest you to exchange it and pray for not getting a grainy screen :(
 
I just got my MBP 15'' C2D from service where i replaced my "glowing" display. I am sorry i did not take note of the model, pretty sure it was 9c60 or 57.

The new one is a 9c60 and looks quite much better. Yes there is grain but the "glow" that was utterly annoying has disappeared. There was also a white band on the lower part of the screen that's also gone. I also feel the viewing angle has improved quite a lot compared with the old one which was terrible.

In my last display there was also an area that looked "dirty" but i believe it was probably poorly distributed antiglare coating that was only visible at certain viewing angles. I think it was the coating that made the "sparkly" effect that was really annoying to the eyes. The new one has much more solid colors and things look much more defined.

What i feel is that probably the screen is not top notch from the begining but additionally there were some units that were totally faulty. I would recommend service to everyone unhappy with his display because even if we are not going to get a top class lcd there is still margin for a large improvement.

As a sidenote the lid/display unit is replaced entirely... and is still warped! The technician told me that they come this way from the factory. Sad, compared to the "nearly-vacuum-sealed-finish" of the macbooks.
 
I've been to a couple of different Apple stores this week and had a look at the MBPs.

To be honest, I looked at about 6 on my visits to the different stores, I though all but one of them looked fine grainwise.

They were all 15" models and a mixture of matte and glossy ones, all 3 matte ones I saw were completely flawless and looked beautiful. Colors were perfect, no grain that I saw (looked real close) or that any of my friends notice either.

The only one that I thought looked a little grainy was a glossy one from the Trafford Centre store. It looked good, but there just seemed to be a slight white dust lying over everything on the screen, but I had to put my head up right next to it and could barely just see it, it wasn't too bad and I probably would have put up with it, since everything else is so flawless.:D

I didn't look at the 17"ers cause I'm never going to be able to afford one.
The good MBP screens (5/6 I looked at) were at least as good if not better as the MBs at the table next to them.

The 24" iMac still made every other computer in the store look like a toy though:rolleyes: .

I didn't get model numbers but I can't imagine they're the newest machines that they had in store, just a guess at that though.
 
iW00t said:
"Mac users tolerate far more than Windows users. Sometimes they also go into denial and pretend issues don't exist"

A quote I found on a forum that seems more and more true the longer I read posts here.
Click to expand...

After spending like $2500.00 on a MBP, and having a grainy display, I would NOT be able to go into denial or pretend about anything.
 
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