Matte Screen Protectors

[akarmenia]

I'm not really interested in the protection part at all - the glass on the glossy display I have is enough protection from me compared to the naked surface of matte displays.

What I want to avoid is the huge number of reflections I see during the day. Is anyone aware of a screen protector which reduces this glare without causing the dreaded speckle/graininess effect? I haven't seen clear enough photos of before and after shots to determine whether the graininess is so bad I'd rather go with reflections instead, and it's driving me nuts with indecision. Oh, most of them also suffer from bubbles, which is another cost.

Some I found:

* Power Support (UK store, can't find elsewhere). A review from Macworld. Another from MacTip highlighting graininess.
* Moshi iVisor, often considered the best. Does it look grainy though?
* ViewGuard (not MBP specific).
* TechRestore (they remove the old screen and replace it with a cheaper looking Matte one... and I'm not in US).
* RadTech

Pros:
- Reduced reflections
- Protection (which I don't value)

Cons:
- Grainy image
- Washed out colours
- Potential for bubbles
- Not as good as a real matte screen

Most of those cons are removed if looking at the Moshi iVisor, but that one has the issue with the Newton rings appearing. This scathing review turned me away pretty fast though...

EDIT:
To get an idea of how badly users treat graininess, see the Moshi iVisor for Retina review (notice the variance in votes distribution):

This product will protect your screen I agree, but I have received the matte version. There is nothing wrong with having a matte screen but... Matte version creates a pixelated noise on any white areas on your screen ruining the clarity and detail on this high quality retina screen. It reminds me of noise and grain effects you can find in video editing software and photoshop. Unless you like this effect avoid this matte version like the plague. There was no option to select any other version than the matte version as far as I can see. It doesn't even mention matte version on the apple site it just says anti glare. The product box with matte version on it is the only clue that there may be a gloss version out there somewhere. Now I'm going to try and find it.

 

[bkribbs]

Yeah I wanted a matte protector (for protection plus matte would be great) but they all seemed to suck. I purchased a glossy one and as long as it is bearable I'll keep it, but I will keep an eye on this thread.

 

[akarmenia]

Yeah I wanted a matte protector (for protection plus matte would be great) but they all seemed to suck. I purchased a glossy one and as long as it is bearable I'll keep it, but I will keep an eye on this thread.

Thanks for that. I value the lack of the reflections much more than the protection it offers - did you find the glossy did anything at all for removing reflections? (I'm guess no )

 

[bkribbs]

Thanks for that. I value the lack of the reflections much more than the protection it offers - did you find the glossy did anything at all for removing reflections? (I'm guess no )

Well- lets just say amazon sucks. Haven't gotten the correct product yet... ordered sept 10 and had to send back my piano book I received in place of a screen protector...

But no, it shouldn't help, supposedly its way worse actually.

And yeah I know you valued the lack of reflections a lot more- just saying I couldn't find any that didn't degrade the quality.