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Macbook Pro screen quality

w00t951

w00t951

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Jan 6, 2009
1,834
53
Pittsburgh, PA
After reading a lot about the degrading screen quality between the Unibody Macbook Pros and their predecessors, is the Unibody's screen really that bad? Honestly, I could not tell the difference in the Apple store, just that the older MBP was slightly more dim because of the matte coating, but is that all? A matte coating and lots of biased people? (Applies to the 15 inch Macbook Pro)
 
The screen quality is not bad, I find it to be excellent. Most people just whine about it, as is evident with the numerous posts with everyone b*tching about it. Glare is glare, it happens on any screen. Some situations are worse than others, but it's not hard to tune it out. It's simply not that bad.

Let the other whine about it, just enjoy your new mbp.
 
w00t951 said:
After reading a lot about the degrading screen quality between the Unibody Macbook Pros and their predecessors, is the Unibody's screen really that bad? Honestly, I could not tell the difference in the Apple store, just that the older MBP was slightly more dim because of the matte coating, but is that all? A matte coating and lots of biased people? (Applies to the 15 inch Macbook Pro)
Click to expand...

Of course I'm coming from an older PowerBook G4, but I think the screen quality of my new Unibody MacBook Pro is fantastic. Its all a matter of personal preference with the glossy screen. I do know that Apple Store people were willing to sell me a matte screen cover if I so desired to. However, I really like the new screen.

There is some reflection but I don't sit with the sun/lighting directly behind me so I'm actually perfectly fine with it.
 
The screen quality on the Unibody Macbook Pro is excellent people just say its not just because its glossy.

Its all about what you think.
 
It's a fine screen. I would recommend you go out to a nearby Apple Store or a similar reseller to check out the difference in the LCD panels.
 
It's an awesome screen. Significantly better than Dell's PVAs. I know cuz I use it beside a 2007FP PVA.
 
I've had every single Apple laptop since the 540c and am notoriously picky about my displays. The current crop is the best quality display Apple has used in their laptops, but that doesn't mean that it's very good. They are still using 6-bit TN technology and because of that that these displays are generally low quality displays with poor viewing angles and color shifting. The LG panel also has considerable light bleed up the middle of the panel that can luckily only really be seen when viewing movies in the dark -- the previous LG panels were exactly the same. I think it might actually be the same panel as the previous generation, just that it looks crisper because of the glass layer.

So, IMO:

Pros:

Very bright
Relatively good contrast for a laptop display
Relatively even backlighting, especially compared to older MBPs


Cons:

Poor viewing angles
Color shifts
Limited color gamut
Backlight bleed


For everyday, casual use these displays look great, as long as you have a desktop display for any kind of color critical work.
 
if you ask me, doing a "critical graphics work" on a laptop display day-to-day is as good as doing a critical audio work on a closed portable ipod headphones(not earplugs).

you can do something if you know its faults, but you NEED to check it on real speakers(monitor(s) ;) )
 
considering that i recently got rid of my previous gen MBP and went ahead with the unibody mbp i must say that the glossy screen of unibody is far brighter and the colors are much more vibrant.
 
Every laptop I sit next to with my new MacBook Pro gets outshined :) (and I mean that in a good way)
This is one of the nicest, most vibrant and bright screens I've come across.
I would choose it over a matte screen any day of the year.
 
I love my unibody macbook pro. Screen quality is the best! :)
I've compared the older macbook pro models and you can tell a BIG difference!
 
At this stage the only thing you need to watch out for is consistent quality of the screens in the new Unibody laptops. I had to go through three until I got one without backlight bleeding and flickering - but - the latest one is awesome. Best display I have had on a laptop to date. The glare does not bother me at all.
 
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