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New 17" dirty, filthy white!!

C

cu2010

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Jun 8, 2009
255
5
new york city
Has anyone ever noticed that white isn't "pure" white on the new 17" screen 9C98:mad: It's warm and even slightly yellowish, like a worn-out white underwear, and I would be uncomfortable with this color on my screen.
For some reason, white on my 15" (9C84) looks significantly better. Why?
Is there anything that can be done about this?
 
cu2010 said:
Has anyone ever noticed that white isn't "pure" white on the new 17" screen 9C98:mad: It's warm and even slightly yellowish, like a worn-out white underwear, and I would be uncomfortable with this color on my screen.
For some reason, white on my 15" (9C84) looks significantly better. Why?
Is there anything that can be done about this?
Click to expand...

Do you have a glossy or matte?
 
cu2010 said:
Has anyone ever noticed that white isn't "pure" white on the new 17" screen 9C98:mad: It's warm and even slightly yellowish, like a worn-out white underwear, and I would be uncomfortable with this color on my screen.
For some reason, white on my 15" (9C84) looks significantly better. Why?
Is there anything that can be done about this?
Click to expand...

Did you try to calibrate the screen?
 
bcaslis said:
You need a hardware/software combination to calibrate a screen. Something like the Spyder Pro 3 or Eye One system. What you did isn't calibration.

http://spyder.datacolor.com/product-mc-s3pro.php

http://www.xrite.com/product_overview.aspx?ID=788
Click to expand...

Well then..., calibration is simply beyond me, but the difference in colour is quite apparent even with the same settings. And I've found out this topic had already been discussed in March, and people do feel that the 17" screens are indeed dimmer compared to the 15-inch unibodies. Some even suggested that the 9C98 has an uncalibratable blue tint to it, which I haven't noticed.
 
I got a new 17" last week, and the screen (glossy, 9C98) is so bright I have to wear sunglasses at full blast (I bring it down 4 or 5 notches from full brightness). It's an uncanny white, almost bluish UV tanning bed kind of color. Definitely at the other end of the spectrum from yellow. So, either your screen is defective or you're extremely picky.
 
Anuba said:
I got a new 17" last week, and the screen (glossy, 9C98) is so bright I have to wear sunglasses at full blast (I bring it down 4 or 5 notches from full brightness). It's an uncanny white, almost bluish UV tanning bed kind of color. Definitely at the other end of the spectrum from yellow. So, either your screen is defective or you're extremely picky.
Click to expand...

You gave me a giggle. I may be picky, but in this case I am not the only one who's noticed this. I might have exaggerated a bit, but I'm absolutely sure this is not defective. One must exaggerate, right? :p Little things mean a lot to me, but conversely, I tend to understate really major things; MagSafe adapter comes to mind :D
 
cu2010 said:
You gave me a giggle. I may be picky, but in this case I am not the only one who's noticed this. I might have exaggerated a bit, but I'm absolutely sure this is not defective. One must exaggerate, right? :p
Click to expand...
Oh, totally. ;)

Hmm. I don't see a lot of reports about the 9C98 being yellowish though. I googled and a couple of comments about a bluish tint (like the one I observed) came up. I wouldn't be surprised if there's some variation, I mean... it's Apple. Cheap crap components inside a deceptively luxurious exterior.
 
Hardware calibrating a screen isn't going to fix a backlight that isn't producing the right white balance if doing it by hand didn't work. A screen shouldn't have to be calibrated to produce the right white or black for the most part. I have some old laptops that have faded over time to a yellowish white but its usable. And LED backlit screen should get this and this is mostly a likely a defect in the backlight. Its probably cause apple uses cheapo screens like chi mei in there mobile lineup instead of good manufacturers like Samsung who have solid quality control and decent TN panels.
 
My 17" 9C98 is the same way. Just not super white like my old unibody 15" was. Oh well. It really is panel variance.
 
blackhand1001 said:
Hardware calibrating a screen isn't going to fix a backlight that isn't producing the right white balance if doing it by hand didn't work. A screen shouldn't have to be calibrated to produce the right white or black for the most part. I have some old laptops that have faded over time to a yellowish white but its usable. And LED backlit screen should get this and this is mostly a likely a defect in the backlight. Its probably cause apple uses cheapo screens like chi mei in there mobile lineup instead of good manufacturers like Samsung who have solid quality control and decent TN panels.
Click to expand...

I don't know where you are getting this from, but correcting the white balance, colors, and blacks is exactly what you use calibration for. It certainly will give better results if the LCD natively is correct, but this what this process is for.

Additionally, most people who use calibration on a regular basis (such as print professional) calibration every week simply because displays do change over time.

Finally, what most people miss is that the ambient light matters a lot. Different ambient lights will vary what you see as the color on the screen. A screen needs to be calibrated in the light you are going to use it in to get accurate color.
 
bcaslis said:
I don't know where you are getting this from, but correcting the white balance, colors, and blacks is exactly what you use calibration for. It certainly will give better results if the LCD natively is correct, but this what this process is for.

Additionally, most people who use calibration on a regular basis (such as print professional) calibration every week simply because displays do change over time.

Finally, what most people miss is that the ambient light matters a lot. Different ambient lights will vary what you see as the color on the screen. A screen needs to be calibrated in the light you are going to use it in to get accurate color.
Click to expand...

If the backlight is giving off such a severe yellow tint then no amount of calibration is going to fix it. Its like the people who thought that the colors on the previous generation macbook were washed out because it wasn't calibrated correctly. Its because the panel used on that macbook didn't have a film polarizer that most tn films have.
 
blackhand1001 said:
If the backlight is giving off such a severe yellow tint then no amount of calibration is going to fix it. Its like the people who thought that the colors on the previous generation macbook were washed out because it wasn't calibrated correctly. Its because the panel used on that macbook didn't have a film polarizer that most tn films have.
Click to expand...

I would agree that if it's "severe" you are right. But that's not how I read the OP comments. If it's just a normal variation then calibration will help. But I've never seen a display that was perfect by default. Most displays people see as being very "white" actually have a strong blue tint to them.
 
Calibrate using expert mode and when you get to the color temperature slider you can finely tune the warmness or coldness of the screen.
 
bcaslis said:
I would agree that if it's "severe" you are right. But that's not how I read the OP comments. If it's just a normal variation then calibration will help. But I've never seen a display that was perfect by default. Most displays people see as being very "white" actually have a strong blue tint to them.
Click to expand...

I know what you mean. Whenever I set up the TV's where I work I immediately change the color balance from cool to normal.
 
stainlessliquid said:
Calibrate using expert mode and when you get to the color temperature slider you can finely tune the warmness or coldness of the screen.
Click to expand...

Yes, I tried that. Or maybe I didn't do it properly.
It's just like the iPhone 3G and 3GS. The new screen has a more yellow tint than that of the 3G which is bluer. So I've concluded that the screen's temperature has been deliberately altered in order to produce sharper images.
 
I've noticed this issue. Not as white as my old 15", which I was perhaps spoilt with because it was far whiter than most other displays. But I think it's the backlight, the Apple logo looks a little yellow too.
Seems to be exactly the same issue as the iPhone 3Gs yellow tint. Expect it's entirely even across the whole display.
And the annoying part is the bright lighting in Apple stores etc, tends to hide that backlight tint some what.
 
Try searching the forum for a color profile that was made for your panel. My 15" was really yellow by default, but the right color profile made it a nice bright white. If you can't find a profile to download that works, you might have to buy/borrow a hardware calibrator. If you calibrate both screens with the same device they should look the same, within the limitations of each display.

I don't think color temperature has anything to do with sharpness.
 
m85476585 said:
I don't think color temperature has anything to do with sharpness.
Click to expand...

With LEDs it does have a large impact on perception of sharpness depending on how you like your lighting. LEDs have a lot of variance depending on lot, generation etc. Look at LED flashlights.....ten samples of the same model can range from noticeably yellow to bright blue. Companies have to start using better QC.

Apple tried to tell me they fully test every product and that if something arrived not right it had to have occurred after it left their factory...BS...LED tint and lots of issues are not due to being stacked wrong or bumped in shipping.
 
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