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Macbook Unibody screen might be causing me nausea...

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fenrus110

macrumors regular
Original poster
Mar 24, 2008
142
0
Okay, hope this doesn't sound crazy, but I have the Aluminum Macbook and I have a suspicion that it is causing giving me nausea from staring at the screen for too long.

I'm a programmer so I've stared at lots of screens for a long time and can play CounterStrike or Wolf3D for hours without problems. But I don't know, I don't feel right after using my Macbook for a couple hours, even with frequent breaks.

This is my first Macbook I've owned, I've used a matte screen iMac before. My previous laptops have all been glossy screens. Anyone else have problems with this? Perhaps the backlit and glossy is a bad combo for me? Maybe something wrong with the refresh rate? Well any advice or stories would be appreciated!
 
Try turning the brightness down a bit maybe? The screen on here is far brighter than most anything I've used recently.

The refresh is the same as other LCD screens, and you said you used glossy screens, so I doubt that's it.

The other thing could be eye strain from the text smoothing perhaps? That can be adjusted in System Preferences-->Appearance
 
Well backlit screens are pretty new, so I think this is my first backlit screen.

Macbook's glossy screen is pretty glossy, should I consider putting a film over the screen to reduce the reflections?
 
Hm, really? I love the screen on the uMBP. Perhaps it's too bright for you, or the viewing angle + glossy + light behind you just messes with your head..
 
fenrus110 said:
I found this thread, I'm still dissecting it... they recommend putting the screen to maximum brightness. But damn, that's pretty bright.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8155925
Click to expand...

Yeah full brightness is wickedly bright in any lighting condition other than full sunlight. Maybe it is the glass that is bothering you, since most other glossy screens aren't actually glass. You could try one of those Power Support Anti-Glare films and see if that helps, mind you, it will distort the picture ever so slightly.

Good luck.
 
fenrus110 said:
Well backlit screens are pretty new, so I think this is my first backlit screen.

Macbook's glossy screen is pretty glossy, should I consider putting a film over the screen to reduce the reflections?
Click to expand...

Chances are it's just your first LED backlit screen ;)

Every LCD screen is backlit, but unless noted as LED, they're usually CCFL (Cold cathode fluorescent lamp) backlit.
 
fenrus110 said:
I found this thread, I'm still dissecting it... they recommend putting the screen to maximum brightness. But damn, that's pretty bright.

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?messageID=8155925
Click to expand...

Wow, if you think the MacBook (and Pro) have bright screens, I'd hate to see how you react using a screen thats actual good quality ;)

In any case, the MacBook (unibody and "Pro) is nearly as reflective as a mirror. It's most likely the small reflections that you can't quite see but are still there that are causing you problems.

I've had glossy screens before and none of them have been nearly as reflective as my unibody MacBook. It's honestly so glossy it made me turn to a matte display for desktop use. I used to love glossy displays and I was a big supporter of them until the MirrorBook came along.

RapidRepair has a service that will replace your mirror display with a real display
 
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1768816&start=0&tstart=0

There's another thread about this. I think the reflections are a big problem for me. But regardless, the quality of the display never really impressed me that much. And that Apple doesn't state whether they use 6 bits or 8 bits per channel is misleading. I believe a product should work out of the box and I shouldn't need to apply a film or replace the screen to make it acceptable.

I'll see if Apple can help me, worst, I'll have to sell it and downgrade. I guess the worst case would be to put up with it and consume lots of Gravol.
 
Me too!

Yeah, I've had the Macbook Pro 5,3 in my office for a month now, and I'm definitely getting some nausea and faintness since I started using it. My eyes are fine, but I do have problems seeing sports score blocks on TVs that are not that far away. I thought therefore I should order the Macbook with a matt screen cover, but decided to believe the officious prick colleague who told me I don't need it.
 
The brightness on every Macbook model I have seen is turned all the way up by default. Often even 3 bars of brightness is too bright.

Apple is no different from any TV manufacturer, with blown out brightness settings so it impresses in the showroom.

Turn it down if you value your eyesight!
 
I don't think it's anything to do with the brightness levels. I experienced the exact same thing with a Macbook Pro I purchased in January. It was my first Mac with glossy screen too, and after using it I would have eye strain and a slight headache. Apple were kind enough to let me return it, even after the 14 day return period had passed, purely for the fact that it was killing my eyes. It was a fantastic machine and I was sad to have to return it but the eye strain and headaches I was experiencing became too intense to continue using it. I even had my eyes tested afterwards as I had never had a problem like this before, but apparently my eyes are fine. Shortly after I got an iMac (early 2009) and did not have the same problem.

I don't know if it's related, but on the Macbook Pro at certain times I noticed a very slight (barely noticeable!) flicker/pulsating, my friend noticed this too. So it's possible the display was faulty and the flickering was causing my headaches.
Hope any of this helps!
 
jellybean said:
I don't know if it's related, but on the Macbook Pro at certain times I noticed a very slight (barely noticeable!) flicker/pulsating, my friend noticed this too. So it's possible the display was faulty and the flickering was causing my headaches.
Hope any of this helps!
Click to expand...

I have the same flicker/pulsating and I would have returned it had I been in a country with decent service but where I am the resellers will not do refunds...they say send it to service even if it's the day after you bought it. There is no choice if you want to buy either because there are no Apple stores here and shipping abroad and taxes make it cost even more. I am likely going to sell it and take a loss thanks to Poland being behind the times on customer service.

I have been ill anyway so I can't say my nausea is due to the screen but the flickering sure drives me mad. I would bet it's a gpu/logic board issue not the display because lots of people have reported related probelms and replacing the display only never helped from anything I read.

Does the early 2009 iMac you bought not have a glossy screen?
 
From reading that thread it seems LED backlighting may be the culprit not matte vs glossy. Shame since you have no choice but LED backlighting in all Mac laptops now.
 
I thought I was the only one!!!

I think it has to do with brightness. I toned the brightness down and it helped, then I changed my background to the green grass with the water and I have no problems now.
 
It's such a shame, as the computer is beautiful. The colors are so vibrant, but I am used to a matte screen. Apple just replaced mine with a glossy, but I have 30 days to exchange it for the matte screen, and I think I will do just that. I think after a while, you can only get used to it, or it will drive you bananas if you are aware. If this is all any brand was to offer, we would all have to get used to it or perhaps it wouldn't bother us as much. Right now, not sure what to do. Also disappointed with the flimsier lid and trackpad, but what can you do? My older version (almost two years old) is/was more solid and I loved the screen. Oh well.
 
chrono1081 said:
I thought I was the only one!!!

I think it has to do with brightness. I toned the brightness down and it helped, then I changed my background to the green grass with the water and I have no problems now.
Click to expand...

I never look at my background as web pages are always up...it's not a matter of brightness especially for people who see the flicker/pulsing.
 
I have never seen flickering or pulsating, but on the newer models i have not seen anything other than the LP133WX2(TL)(C2) or B133EW04 V.0.

What model LCD do you guys who see the flickering have?
 
I too had/have issues with the screen. The film does little honestly, and they are a pain. I went through 2 or 3 films before just giving up. For the most part I am doing alright. I just turned down the brightness all the way and then increased it until most of the glare was gone. This some times gets too bright, but over all I have been able to work with it.

Not to say I like it, I just found away that allows me to use the computer. I personally still think that Apple needs to address the glare issues.
 
So nobody has had these eye strain, flickering, or anything else unpleasant with the Matte Antiglare MBPs? I am thinking if risking the cost to try but would feel better if some matte owners would chime in and mention of they ever had any flickering/pulsing due to the LED...or weird eye pains or nausea.
 
anti-glare is great..my previous mbp was glossy (not glassy) and it burned my eyeballs sometimes...but that doesnt happen anymore with the antiglare display
 
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