[Merged] Hi-Res Glossy or Hi-Res Antiglare?

[cryer]

So after extensive research and in-store viewing... I still don't know. I actually have an antiglare coming even though i need it sooner and, due to how soon i need it, probably should've just gone with the stock model to avoid the custom config delay... But i just don't know how a glossy will serve me for what i need to do.

I will be doing software development and web design work (code, adobe stuff -Photoshop, fireworks, illustrator). With some web surfing and hulu. Also using 99% of the time indoors.

I've been using an old mbp that only ever had a matte screen available and before that i had a PowerBook. So i guess i'm used to a matte screen so i thought maybe something different would be good and thought about getting glossy. But lots posts here swayed me into thinking antiglare would be best. After all, it is what im used to. But it's true, color is more vivid on glossy. But i won't be looking at photos or video for the majority of usage. Much more text based stuff. But is antiglare better for this or is it just a myth that it is and glossy is just fine with no eye strain? So.... What to do....

 

[NKT]

So after extensive research and in-store viewing... I still don't know. I actually have an antiglare coming even though i need it sooner and, due to how soon i need it, probably should've just gone with the stock model to avoid the custom config delay... But i just don't know how a glossy will serve me for what i need to do.

I will be doing software development and web design work (code, adobe stuff -Photoshop, fireworks, illustrator). With some web surfing and hulu. Also using 99% of the time indoors.

I've been using an old mbp that only ever had a matte screen available and before that i had a PowerBook. So i guess i'm used to a matte screen so i thought maybe something different would be good and thought about getting glossy. But lots posts here swayed me into thinking antiglare would be best. After all, it is what im used to. But it's true, color is more vivid on glossy. But i won't be looking at photos or video for the majority of usage. Much more text based stuff. But is antiglare better for this or is it just a myth that it is and glossy is just fine with no eye strain? So.... What to do....

I can sympathize with your quandary. But in the end it came down to my hatred of any reflections on the screen. I made sure my TV doesn't have a glossy screen, put an anti-glare screen film on my phone, etc. All I know is, it would take only 1 time of seeing massive glare for it to ruin my Macbook experience.

I would say keep your AG MBP and don't look back...

My .02

 

[cryer]

I can sympathize with your quandary. But in the end it came down to my hatred of any reflections on the screen. I made sure my TV doesn't have a glossy screen, put an anti-glare screen film on my phone, etc. All I know is, it would take only 1 time of seeing massive glare for it to ruin my Macbook experience.

I would say keep your AG MBP and don't look back...

My .02

Thanks, its a tough choice. If you put an antiglare film on your phone, why not on the mbp?

 

[NKT]

If you put an antiglare film on your phone, why not on the mbp?

To be honest I read reviews of people who got the glossy screen and put a AG filter on it. The majority didn't like it. Add to it that I also like the silver bezel of the AG screen.

On my phone, I didn't have the option of getting a AG screen. So a film was the only choice.

 

[Rithem]

Can't say this enough. I love my glossy but definitely regret not getting AG.

 

[autacraft]

Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag Ag!

I was slightly hesitant as its my first laptop so not that experienced in 'real use' but my GOD am I happy I went with the anti glare, its no word of a lie STUNNING!

Im sat here tapping on my dream machine top specced 17" MBP, and the AG screen is just an absolute gem to work on. Crystal clear, rich and vivid colours, tack (and I mean TACK!) sharp and can work anywhere I like with virtually zero reflective distractions!

The debate seems to hinder mostly around the glossy screens being more suitable for movies/gaming, in which case why would you drop this amount of money on a laptop (they aint cheap lets be honest) when your main concern is movies and games? That seems rather odd to me, surely just buy a fairly good TV and a console!

I dont know, personal prefs I guess, but the idea of laptop to me is mainly a productive tool, and a productive tool that covers all uses well, is far better than one that excels in some areas but not in others

The AG screen doesnt just cover all uses 'well' - it covers them all AMAZINGLY!

Go see for yourselves, but I'd personally recommend the AG screen 110% over the glossy any day, its ammmaaaaaazing!

 

[alexlam]

love my high res anti glare. The font isn't too small for me so it's fine. Anyone know why they usually only have 1 or 2 anti glares on display at apple stores?

 

[cryer]

Can't say this enough. I love my glossy but definitely regret not getting AG.

If you love glossy, why do you regret it?

 

[Rithem]

If you love glossy, why do you regret it?

I sit next to a window in my room and the reflections are really annoying. The black bezel and colors are nice but the reflections get in the way of me enjoying movies/games at some times.

 

[stylinexpat]

Out of a dozen Apple portables, I enjoyed reading on my MacBook Airs and plastic MacBooks the most.

I have a first gen unibody 15" MBP and a mid-2009 13" MBP with glossy screen and I just cannot use them outdoors at all, which is pretty frustrating. Also, they are not great in highly lighted offices.

I would beg Apple to give the 13" MBP an optional anti-glare. The 15" has to stay, as I need its Express Port, but I would sell this overheating/constant fan/2 hours battery (out of the claimed 7) piece of crap any day, if I had the option of anti-glare on 13".

2 hours.??

 

[stphnman20]

I know this is an old thread and probably going to get flamed for it but I think it's good knowledge for those that are in the market for a MB and wanted to know the difference or people opinion in this matter.

I just bought my MBP yesterday. 15" i7 HR AG. Man, let me tell you.. this thing is so stunning! Before this I had a Toshiba laptop that I use for work and school. IN both places, my back is always facing the window so I would always have glare no matter how hard I try to hide it with my body. Also it strained my eye pretty bad that whatever i'm doing on the laptop, I could not read a thing.

So if your in constant light (ie, outdoors, window at your back, etc) get the AG. The HR is plenty bright to eliminate any glare.

 

[gurm42]

Looking at the width of the speaker grilles, I would say it's a 17".

I was at an Apple Store that had the 15" hi-res matte, and the 17" matte side by side, and was able to set up each with the same pages of fine text. For some reason, I found the 17" easier on the eyes with tiny text, even though it has a slightly greater pixel density than the 15" hi-res. Could it be that the 17" matte screen is better than the newly developed 15" hi-res matte screen? Has anyone else noticed this?

You are NOT ALONE! My wife uses a 17" MBP Hi-Res AG, and it is definitely superior to my 15" Hi-Res AG. The dot pitch is 132dpi instead of 128dpi, but that doesn't account for the difference. The 17" is just super crisp. I think that they must use a slightly different process on the panel somehow.

That said, I had to weigh in on this topic. I've been trying to choose between these two units for a couple days now. I actually got to try both at home. Here's my two cents' worth.

1. The Glossy screen is "crisper", in that edges "seem" more defined. I'm not sure what that MEANS, because when I look closely the pixels are all the same on both screens. Glossy +

2. The Glossy screen has colors that POP and seem more VIBRANT. These are vague terms, as the AG certainly doesn't seem "washed out" or anything. Glossy +

3. The glossy panel seems to hide dithering better -on the same background (the pond with reeds) on the AG I can see more dithering at cursory glance than on the Glossy. It's not BAD, per se, but it is PRESENT. Glossy +

4. My last MBP was a 2010 Hi-Res Matte, which I had to give up. So I took the glossy home to try it out... and it literally hurt my eyes at home. I was using it on the couch, in my lap (so maybe 2' from my eyes), by the light of a single yellow table lamp... and it was hard to read, blurry, like I had to focus through 2 panes of glass to see it... really bad. Glossy --

5. In my office they are equally readable. In a conference room the AG wins every time due to the multiple light sources. AG +

6. I ride the train over an hour a day. With the changing light sources and windows? AG +

The final tally? Roughly equal, but for me in particular the AG wins. If my home lighting were different, or if I didn't ride the train so much, I'd go for the glossy in a heartbeat.

 

[Nein01]

maybe someone can help me.

i'm planning to buy a high end 17" mbp when the refresh happens and i have the money ready; the only thing i haven't fully decided on yet is the antiglare vs. glossy issue.

the way i see it:

glossy has more vibrant colors (+)
glossy has bad reflections (-)
glossy has a black bezel (+)

antiglare has less vibrant colors (-)
antiglare has no reflections (+)
antiglare has a silver bezel (-)

i know a lot of people like the silver bezel but to me it's a rather distracting feature in and of itself. it's like having a bright, rainbow or neon colored desktop wallpaper peeking through your document windows while you're working in photoshop - highly distracting! not that the silver bezel is nearly as bad as that, but compared to the all black border of the glossy screen, it's pretty bad. watching a movie in a dark room for example, the silver bezel just sticks out and screams: "hey! here's the edge of your screen!" while a black border is more 'invisible' and easy to forget about.


all in all, i feel like i would sacrifice the more vivid colors of the glossy screen for the antiglare model IF it came with a black bezel option, but it doesn't... and i would go for the glossy, but i don't want to sacrifice the good indoor/outdoor visibility of the antiglare model

what do i do?

does anybody know of safe, quality method of turning the silver matte screen bezel to black? i've searched for vinyl cutouts to fit over it, but can't seem to find anyone online who makes such a thing.

 

[Dalton63841]

does anybody know of safe, quality method of turning the silver matte screen bezel to black? i've searched for vinyl cutouts to fit over it, but can't seem to find anyone online who makes such a thing.

I know a guy who put black carbon fiber vinyl on the bezel. Looked gorgeous too.

 

[barmann]

all in all, i feel like i would sacrifice the more vivid colors of the glossy screen for the antiglare model IF it came with a black bezel option, but it doesn't... and i would go for the glossy, but i don't want to sacrifice the good indoor/outdoor visibility of the antiglare model

what do i do?

For Photoshop use, the AG screen has more accurate colors, the glossy can be hard/impossible to calibrate, depending on who you ask.

The silver bezel usually appears darker than your display when in use, even in a normally lit room, keep that in mind.
I'm retouching on and shooting to Mac displays and MBPs , all with silver bezel .

 

[WardC]

The way I see it (I have looked at both, extensively, compared them for days)....

I am really thinking about getting the 15" Hi-resolution Antiglare display on my next MacBook Pro, I might just wait for the 2011 models to come out before I purchase.

The colors on the glossy display did seem very vibrant, and the display looked visibly very bright, sharp, colorful and vibrant.

I am not a big fan of the black bezel, like most people. I prefer the traditional PowerBook/MacBook Pro look of an aluminum body with a matching aluminum display, not looking at a solid black panel when the screen is off. But, the bezel really doesn't matter much to me, that is a very minor thing in the whole scheme of everything, and what really matters is how the actual display panel really looks. The bezel isn't producing an image for you, the display panel is.

The most deterring factor for me against the glossy was the reflection issue, it is absolutely horrible. Even in mid-lighting levels, when displaying anything with black or dark colors, I could see any reflections on the glass panel. If there was a light, or a window behind me, I could see it on the glass panel. In the Apple Store, the reflections on the glossy panels were absolutely horrible. It was not so bad with the MacBook Air, the reflectiveness on the MBA display is not really an issue. It is this MacBook Pro GLASS PANEL that is just so damn reflective, it is just horrible. For that reason, I would stick to the anti-glare, which I think looks great in just about any lighting conditions.

I did not think the colors looked bad on the anti-glare at all. The new LED-backlit displays are a major step up from the old LCD panels, which were not nearly as bright as these new panels. The colors look really good, but are not totally as vibrant as the glossy. Still, the reflectiveness of the glossy is so bad (for me at least), that I think I have made my mind. My next purchase will be anti-glare high-resolution.

Another note: I looked at the standard resolution 15" versus the high-resolution 15" display, and the high resolution display really does make a HUGE difference, not just in screen real estate. On the Standard-resolution (1440x900) display, I could see the pixels in the screen when looking at photos and screen elements, while on the high-resolution 15", photos looked much better, the pixels were much less discernible, the overall ppi increase made a huge difference. That is why I would definitely go with the high-resolution display over the standard resolution, any day.