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MBP: Glossy or Matte?

ok.. thanks for the replies guys!!

so just to clarify, no one screen is better than the other, it all comes down to personal preference!!!

Just on this page, (page 8), i have seen two people both saying "Glossy all the way!!" and "Matte all the way!!" lol

I have ordered a Matte. I figured that with the conditions that I will be using it in, such as office, outside, on the bus, at airports and on planes, that the lighting will be really strange, and i dont really want loads of glare on the screen, so i decided to go with matte as it will have less glare than the glossy.

Also, i'm a designer, both web and print, so i would like the colours to be as true as possible!

Thanks for the help guys! ( I never realised that this thread would become this popular!!)
 
Regarding the "to [sic] much glare" mentioned here, the screen manufacturer has done something to reduce glare on the glossy screens. I'm attaching a rather strange photo I just took which shows my glossy-screen MacBook Pro with a regular piece of glass sitting on it, and they're both reflecting a window covered with partially opened venetian blinds with sunlight directly on them. Also in the photo is a Powerbook G4 sitting on the MacBook Pro's keyboard with its matte screen at about the same angle.

It's definitely nothing like an OCLI screen, but there is something on there for sure.

I'm not trying to hide anything with the Quantarray cloth. It's just so I don't scratch the screen with this very sharp piece of glass.
 

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hqsbud said:
I'm attaching a rather strange photo I just took...
Click to expand...

hqsbud, excellent photographs, thank you very much. Can you post any photos of the lateral (side-to-side) viewing angle of the glossy macbook pro, perhaps even compared to the macbook? The vertical viewing angle looks stunning, but I am left wondering if the horizontal viewing angle is similar.
 
hqsbud said:
When I bought my daughter a MacBook, I was disappointed in the glossy screen's limited viewing angle, and figured I'd never get a glossy MacBook Pro. But then I saw a glossy screen MacBook Pro at the local Apple Store, and was sold. I tried an experiment comparing their viewing angles today, with the result shown. First straight on, then from two angles above.

Both screens have been calibrated with a Spyder2. I just realized how stupid I was to choose this photo for the desktop. The colors are so rich I figured it was a good demo, but the vignetted corners make it look like uneven screen lighting. It's just the photo.
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Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a Spyder too, does it do everything for you automatically?

Figured that since I am so anal about screens might as well make a one-off investment in a screen calibration gizmo.
 
i went to the store to compare the glossy & matte before buying. as others say, it's personal preference.

i really like the glossy. it's like your computer is an aquarium. everything seemed brighter and the colors appeared vivid to me.
 
I have the Glossy and love it. I have had no problems with it. Its quiet, fast, and has even backlighting. Its my first Mac, and so far I'm pretty impressed.
 
ventro said:
hqsbud, excellent photographs, thank you very much. Can you post any photos of the lateral (side-to-side) viewing angle of the glossy macbook pro, perhaps even compared to the macbook? The vertical viewing angle looks stunning, but I am left wondering if the horizontal viewing angle is similar.
Click to expand...

Glossy Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro on the left, Core Duo MacBook on the right.

In the second photo, the MacBook has a vertical line. It's actually a reflection of the post of a lamp. In the last photo, the MacBook Pro screen looks a bit brown, but that's the reflection of a dark oak bannister (split level house).
 

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iW00t said:
Hi,

I'm thinking of getting a Spyder too, does it do everything for you automatically?

Figured that since I am so anal about screens might as well make a one-off investment in a screen calibration gizmo.
Click to expand...

It's pretty automatic. You go through successive screens where it asks you questions about your display. For a MacBook Pro display, the questions are mostly "no," such as whether it has color temperature controls and the like. Then you hang this thing over your screen in a dark room, and let it go for several minutes, then come back and that's it. There's a little bit of a trick if you have dual screens (and the more expensive Spyder package does a better job of this), but it's not much of a trick.

The software is clearly ported from Windows so it's pretty clunky, and it gets completely confused if you run it in a user account that doesn't have admin permissions. But as long as you work around its clunkiness, it works great.
 
hqsbud said:
Glossy Core 2 Duo MacBook Pro on the left, Core Duo MacBook on the right.
Click to expand...
Wow! Amazing. Really helps out those of us who don't have access to an Apple store to make a purchasing decision. Thank you so much for the great work.
 
Matte or Glossy?

I'm looking to order a new macbookpro and i know that the previous glossy screens have been criticized for being too glare prone. Is this issue fixed in the latest revision? What do you suggest. I will be using it for video production and field work.
 
markjones05 said:
I'm looking to order a new macbookpro and i know that the previous glossy screens have been criticized for being too glare prone. Is this issue fixed in the latest revision? What do you suggest. I will be using it for video production and field work.
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if you are going to be using it outisde for long periods of time, or near windows and live in a really sunny place then get the matte.

i have the glossy and LOVE it! except when outside, but the richness of the colours truly make up for it.

Whatever you do, make sure you calibrate the display as soon as you buy the mac.
 
I didn't know there was anything you could do about glare. That's why you now have the option of no glare matte or rich color but glare prone gloss.

It goes down to personal preference. As well as indoors vs outside use. You know, there's always Rent-a-Mac. Try out both screens for a couple of days.
 
powerboy said:
I love my matte - it is just personal preference. I went to the Apple store and compared the 2 side-by-side. It was easy for me to make my decision. You should check out this tread if you want to know more - https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/245435/
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I think you should go with the glossy. The glossy doesn't have as much grain as the matte, or it simply covers it up. Also, it's a myth that you can't use them in the sun. In fact, I found my macbook easier to use outside than the Macbook pro. I don't know the technical aspect of it, but the feeling is that the matte just absorbes the light while the glossy reflects it away. That mens that although there are reflections when using outside, the display underneath is still quite clear and usable. The matte, on the other hand, becomes very hard ot use and see in bright outdoor conditions.

I had three matte ones and they all went back. Today I looked again at the glossy at the Soho store and thought it looked really good compared to what I had, and compared to most of the matte displays on tehe floor.

I vote glossy or that you at least check them out side by side. Good luck!
 
mhuk01 said:
if you are going to be using it outisde for long periods of time, or near windows and live in a really sunny place then get the matte.

i have the glossy and LOVE it! except when outside, but the richness of the colours truly make up for it.

Whatever you do, make sure you calibrate the display as soon as you buy the mac.
Click to expand...

wrong. in direct sunlight the matte becomes unreadable.

I have matte. Tried glossy in an apple store and hated my silhouette and the uneeded reflections.
 
The complaints about glare with the glossy screens are mostly unfounded. I've been sitting in front of a glossy Macbook for about two months now and have had no problems. I came from an iBook, which was obviously matte. Now that I've gone glossy, I don't know that I'd go back.
 
its more of personal preference. i was actually considering returning my mbp matte for a glossy mbp after reading posts about how supposedly good it was.

That was until i saw one in the apple store this past weekend. Didn't care for the reflections of myself and the lights behind me.
 
Went and looked for myself today and talked to the people at apple about it. I went with the matte. No option really, apparantly the gloss misrepresents colors and really crushes black losing multiple layers of grey which would make color correcting almost impossible. Thanks all for the input.
 
you've made the right decision. Enjoy your new Macbook Pro!

not to mention in glossy black areas, a reflection becomes obvious.
 
I struggled with the matte vs. glossy last week when ordering my Macbook Pro. After going to the Apple Store, and having a sales person talk me into getting glossy, I have to say I couldn't be happier. Yes, glossy makes the colors look a little more vibrant but the matte screen is gorgeous and you don't have to deal with glare. Oh, and the viewing angle is better with matte too!

Get glossy...you won't regret it.
 
Kendall015 said:
I struggled with the matte vs. glossy last week when ordering my Macbook Pro. After going to the Apple Store, and having a sales person talk me into getting glossy, I have to say I couldn't be happier. Yes, glossy makes the colors look a little more vibrant but the matte screen is gorgeous and you don't have to deal with glare. Oh, and the viewing angle is better with matte too!

Get glossy...you won't regret it.
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Wow...I'm dumb...

I meant to say get MATTE, not glossy. And the sales person talked me into getting MATTE.

I should proofread my posts better :rolleyes:
 
Digidesign said:
Thanks for this thread and for those of you who provided comparison pictures.

I just wanted to toss in my two cents here and say that I visited an Apple sstore yesterday and checked out both glossy and matte displays on their MBPs. The glossy is very well done and does not detract like i thought it would. Matte is still classic and has its place, but the colors and the vibrancy of the glossy screen seemed to be much higher than the matte.

I'm going with glossy when the time comes to purchase.
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Completely agree! I wassooo sure I would get a anti-glare again, but seeing the two MBP 15" side-by-side yesterday when picking up the iPhone (which has a GORGEOUS display, I am so amazed by this little thing!!), I played with Aperture, Photoshop, InDesign and Color on those machines, sure there is a difference, but as others have noted - the anti-glare will "reflect" a little less obvious, but make it look a little dull/washed out. The glossy screen (which "seems" better quality than on the MacBook (which I don't like that much, to be honest), was so clear, it was almost as looking "through" the "glary bits" (Apple Stores come with a gazillion lights in the roof). I was quite surprised to find myself liking the glossy MacBook Pro more, and I do want it mainly for photography. For working onPhotobooks and layout, it will be hookedupto my matte 30" display anyways, but for "on the road" show-off of the best shots, the glossy MBP will rock and steal the show, no doubt.

At the end of the day, it comes down to personal preference, and I agree that they have to be seen. I have a 2004 15" PowerBook as well, and it served me well, but seeing the new screens (matte or glossy), it is another world now. And a much better one, LOL!


Edit/BTW: On the notion of "blacks fillign up some "layers"(? rather "shades" or "variations" maybe?) of gray: On the road editing will always just be rough editing for me, and there are histograms which will always give you a more detailed understanding of color and luminosity readings in your images. Come to learn them, use them, and your prints will look fine no matter what your monitor/screen is. :)
 
I was going to buy a 17 inch MBP with the high res screen yesterday, but on the high res settings, everything is so crammed and small that legibility is a real issue.

So I've decided to go for a 15 inch MBP with a glossy screen and a 23 inch ACD (or a 27 inch Dell as the 24 inch Dell is no longer available in the UK) and then have the best of both worlds.

Didn't buy in the end as the friendly Apple Store employee who I have got to know over the last few months took a furtive look over his shoulder and then shook his head at me when I announced that I had finally come in to make a purchase. Says I should wait for the new MBP.... :eek:
 
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