Why buy a glossy screen and add a 3rd party protector to get the matte effect, when you can just order the matte option? Makes no sense at all!
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Ok - final thread on the anti-glare v glossy conundrum
- Thread starter JerseyBill
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Why buy a glossy screen and add a 3rd party protector to get the matte effect, when you can just order the matte option? Makes no sense at all!
I have a 17" MBP - the glossy rarely bothers me, but does get in the way once in a while... on the other hand, I do a lot of HD video work, so being able to see the individual pixels clearly when I need to is important. Also glossy helps preserve the rich, deep blacks which bring out the colors which helps in impressing clients.
If I were doing less graphics and more casual stuff (word processing, internet, email, music ect) I'd have definitely gone with the matte.
If I were doing less graphics and more casual stuff (word processing, internet, email, music ect) I'd have definitely gone with the matte.
Hmm I like them both, granted the matte would look better with silver/grey keyboard.
Sorry but couldn't help myself laughing at the comment.
I try to be entertaining !!
Perhaps said a better way, I bought Sony Vaio laptops for my wife and kids - and a recent i5 one for my in-laws. I have a Lenovo for work. I have a home-built monster water-cooled tower PC at home. What I really want is to sip (not guzzle) the Apple Kool Aid and give Apple a fair chance in my next machine to be my computer of choice. My friends have been pushing me to this for years - and this is my time. As a result, I don't just want OS X but a machine that truly shows off the differences that make it an Apple. I guess I had thought that the glass screen was one of those unique Apple characteristics.... Perhaps it is, but I am slowly getting committed to Matte after spending so much of my waking time on this problem.
The main purpose of the new machine will be Photography and Video Editing - and I am getting too concerned that color clarity and true-ness of representation gets lost in the glass screen version. Too many photographers out there preferring the matte screen....
That fact is starting to sell it for me. That, and I was blown away looking at the hi-res Matte screen at the store last night....
All my coworkers that have the glossy (and don't do graphics work) wish they had the matte.
The glossy is impressive for a few minutes. Or until you go into a room with lights. After that, they say it's a total pain in the rear.
Just sayin'...
The glossy is impressive for a few minutes. Or until you go into a room with lights. After that, they say it's a total pain in the rear.
Just sayin'...
Ok, you are threatening to swing me back again to glossy now that I had made up my mind for Matte...
I do my Photoshop and Sony Vegas work on an NEC 28 inch monitor at home now that has a light matte screen - and find it totally acceptable. I often need to get down to pixel peeping and the fine detail - which is not a problem on that monitor. Are you saying that you get better results on a glossy in that regard?
As for the rich blacks, etc., I have also read here that glossy contributes to inaccurately reading when your highlights are getting blown out and when you are losing detail in the blacks.
These are the things I was looking for last night in comparing the two - and hardly saw a difference - but I could imagine that I might have trouble with managing highlights if there was any interference from the glass.
Oh well, back on the see saw again....
I had a matte and went glossy, and I really noticed how much easier the glossy is to clean. There is no "lip" at the edge of the screen for liquids to fall into, so you can be a lot less discerning with how you clean. Plus the screen is glass, so it is actually more difficult to scratch. With my matte screen, dust would blow behind the screen, through the gap, and get lodged there permanently. Larger objects like pet hairs and dirt would get wedged into the gap, holding it open and making it larger. Retrieving them was difficult without risking scratching the matte finish. Also, it was much harder to get fingerprints and general goop off of the matte screen because its texture tends to "grab" the stains, and if you scrub too hard you risk scratching it.
I might take matte over glossy if it stayed the way it looks in the store, but I think it takes much more care and effort to keep the matte looking like new. Nothing sticks to it, and I'll take reflections over weird stains any day.
I might take matte over glossy if it stayed the way it looks in the store, but I think it takes much more care and effort to keep the matte looking like new. Nothing sticks to it, and I'll take reflections over weird stains any day.
This is particularly disappointing to hear. Should that happen to mine I have the right to walk into the apple store and ask for a glossy right?
I've had no trouble cleaning it, Heck, you don't see all the fingerprints from when morons point to things on your screen, and have to put their little nasty fingers on the screen.
That glossy screen is a fingerprint magnet, and gets scummy fast.
Has anyone ever wondered how the screen looks like when you put an anti-glare screen protector on a matte screen?
It sounds like a silly question.. I am choosing between the glossy and the matte screen and am concerned about a scratched screen. Someone previously pointed out the glossy one is made of glass whereas the matte screen is plastic.
It sounds like a silly question.. I am choosing between the glossy and the matte screen and am concerned about a scratched screen. Someone previously pointed out the glossy one is made of glass whereas the matte screen is plastic.
Same problems I've had - I've had Samsung black mattes before, while they were excellent for a few years. After a few cold sneezing fits and swearing sessions and my young kids drinking fizzy drinks in front of it, wierd stains started to build up. Cleaning kits didn't work infact just seemed to make the smears worse.
my iMac i7 27 is a joy and my current laptop (linux) is also a glossy and sometimes nice to tell if someone is coming up for a chat.
While I like the thought of the matte - I'm just dreading the same problem I've had in the past esp on an expensive kit.
I guess the big Q is: Would apple care cover smearing and scuffing on the Matte screen ?
time will tell.
Ok - I am back to glossy again... Whee !! What a Merry Go Round...
The longevity and durability aspect is higher on the criteria list for me - and the glossy just looks like it would put up with more environemental abuse and not show it.
I have the money to push the button and order today - but this decision keeps holding me back. Well, back to the store tonight to sit and stare at both again....
Or if you try to use it outside during the day...
I just got the matte screen, and I like it a lot so far. I will go to the Mac store to actually compare the two now, but I know that I made the right decision.
(For the 17" anti-glare model, it weights 6.17 lbs* vs the 6.6 lbs** glossy version)
* I measured it in the lab
** Quoted from the Apple store tech specs
Someone so indecisive? Maybe I should just get both....
I think I agree - thanks... If the quality looks comparable, I am not that bothered by the glare and the advantages seem to swing it for me.
I will do one last trip to the store tonight to get comfortable with the decision and go from there....
Thanks all for sharing your perspectives !!
I rocked a matte screen protector on my iPhone for about a year (Power Support) and eventually switched to the glossy one.
The look of the glossy is far better to my eyes then the anti-glare. I hate the slight white haze that you get when you look at anti-glare from an angle. Also, if both matte and glossy were used in a room with super bright lighting, neither would look great. The glossy would have a massive reflection and the matte would have a large fuzzy reflection blob of equal annoyance.
Also, you can go matte after you go glossy via screen films. You can't go the other way around.
The look of the glossy is far better to my eyes then the anti-glare. I hate the slight white haze that you get when you look at anti-glare from an angle. Also, if both matte and glossy were used in a room with super bright lighting, neither would look great. The glossy would have a massive reflection and the matte would have a large fuzzy reflection blob of equal annoyance.
Also, you can go matte after you go glossy via screen films. You can't go the other way around.
films will help cut glare but they are a poor substitute for matte.. especially for someone who would rather have matte to begin with.
