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Ok - final thread on the anti-glare v glossy conundrum

I have an iMac 20" and had a macbook both glossy. Put in my MBP order on Monday.

I was also on the fence for matte or glossy. Than I started using my iMac for longer times and just looking at other glossy screens with viewing angles etc.
Bottom line is I can't stand seeing reflections while I work. Blacks may be deeper and richer on the glossy, but it will also have your face reflecting back even more. Especially if its an image with a lot of black in it!@ I can't wait to go back to a nice matte screen.
 
NOTORIOUS187 said:
Did you not read the thread? He based his decision solely because the glossy screen "LOOKS like an Apple computer." Clearly, one of the main reasons he is buying this computer is because of the "cool" factor of being seen with an Apple computer. If you didn't pick up on that, perhaps you should take some reading comprehension courses.
Click to expand...

In order of size, all Mac's ship with the same default screens....

Shuttle=uhhhhh....its blind, move along
iPod=glossy screen
Nano=glossy screen
iPhone=glossy screen
iPad=glossy screen
Macbook=glossy screen
iMac=glossy screen

Clearly, if Apple is the 'expert' on overall usability features, then Apple believes that the BEST Mac experience to be had is via a glossy screen. Otherwise, glossy would be the option and AG would be the standard.

So if Steve-O's boys think glossy is the BEST out of the box Mac experience to be had, who am I, a mere mortal, to disagree with His Highness?

So add to that list above.....
Macbook Pro=glossy screen

Typing this on my 2010 15" Hi-Res Glossy, of course :D
 
binary10 said:
I guess the big Q is: Would apple care cover smearing and scuffing on the Matte screen ?
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I actually got them to replace the thing after 2 years for the dirt that made it behind the matte, and of course the new one looked great again. 2 more years later, the same problem was back but applecare had since expired.
 
Finally a decision.... and the winner is -

Glossy by a nose (the one I saw reflected in the screen)....

I went after work to the main Apple store on Fifth Avenue in NYC and saw the same set up of 15 inch machines I had seen in the Freehold NJ store - with a high-def matte next to a low-def glossy. The matte won that matchup in picture quality - but it should have.

Unlike the other store, I turned around and was presented with the machine I really want to buy - the 17 inch - and they had a high-def glossy next to a high-def matte. I spent about 20 minutes staring at both (while trying to shoo away the kids checking their Twit-her accounts) and the decision was so clear - as clear as the glossy screen...

Now, this is a personal decision - which is why it took me so many trips and so many threads to work through - but the high-def glossy was just radiant. Everything was so clear and on a very fine font I read everything so clearly from further than a normal distance. The color balance was so much better and not muddy at all. I could work with this screen and enjoy the experience. The matte screen was extraordinary too - but I found myself WANTING to look at the glossy screen much more than the other. The thing I liked the most was the sparkling clean appearance of the glass - like looking into water watching your image. It wasn't that impressive on the low-def screen but screams on the high-def screen.

This really comes down to what you appreciate and want in your interaction. I see the matte screen as a sort or Renoir or Seurat experience - while the glossy is more of a Degas, a Courbet, a Sargent or a Whistler. All are works of art but what do you appreciate in your art ?? Do you want realism or impressionism?

I DID try to create the worst possible glare experiences with both screens - and with the glossy it can get bad - but it certainly exists on the matte as well. When you get glare on the matte, it spreads into a big blob that degrades a section of the screen and just makes everything less clear. The interference is sharper on the glossy - but it certainly exists on matte as well and depending on your sensitivities can be equally annoying.

Anyway, I have removed my concerns about making a mistake and now know I will be thrilled with the glossy high-def 17 inch machine. That is a good thing.

I am ordering tonight through my Company's discount site - which will hopefully pare $500 of the machine (including getting the 512 GB SSD below $1000). I could not be happier.

Thanks everyone for your honesty and emotion on this issue - that is what makes this community so great !! :D
 
One thing I forgot to mention....

I was playing with the sales people there, TRYING my darndest to get them to recommend glossy to me. I researched what their advertising says about glossy and fed this back to them, suggesting that this was what I wanted the machine for. In three or four interchanges, I couldn't get EVEN ONE sales person to recommend glossy. No matter what I said, they steered me to the matte screen. Not one sales person had even one good thing to say about the glossy screen.

Now, I just smell "up selling" going on here. They put the 15 inch machines next to each other in such a way (high def matte challenging low def glossy) that matte is a winner - and then they say that for every application matte is better. C'mon people...

Anyway, I found that entertaining and may continue my experiments in this regard....
 
ReallyBigFeet said:
Clearly, if Apple is the 'expert' on overall usability features, then Apple believes that the BEST Mac experience to be had is via a glossy screen. Otherwise, glossy would be the option and AG would be the standard.
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they are experts in consumer marketing. that's why they come standard with glossy screens.
 
At first I was all set in getting the AG screen since I read it would be more usable in various lighting conditions. And besides I already have the glossy 24 ACD. But then I read this thread about how the AG has a gap all around it, so I went to the Apple store to audition a 17 glossy that was besides a 17 AG.

The AG has have a gap about 0.5mm all round and you wiped/cleaned the screen definitely something could fall in between. AG also has a tacky feel to it that would make cleaning something gooey more difficult than glossy. Glossy has a smooth glass or plastic covering all over, and IMO, does look better with the black bezel.

Glossy definitely had reflections but I was able to focus through the reflections, and glossy does look a bit sharper to me. AG still looks sharp too, but it has a slight diffuse look about it with a white-ish gray-ish color. Perhaps the AG screen is taking the lighting in the Apple store deflecting/diffusing it into this white-ish gray-ish color. Not really noticeable unless you were looking. I don't think AG could deflect strong sunlight so using even the AG on a sunny day outside may not be possible.

So on a scale of 1-10, how bad is the lighting in an Apple store in terms of reflections. If it's below average (most lighting situations better than the Apple store), then I could go with glossy.
 
Tim Lyons said:
This picture posted earlier, did it for me.. awesomeness.
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Ok - you are comparing a 15 inch low-res glossy to a 17 inch high-res matte... yes - comparing a duck to a pommegranite....

And of course we are setting this picture up at exactly the PERFECT angle to maximize glare - note the window shadow behind. Not a realistic computer use situation.

If the author of this had shot them straight on - to not make an extreme point about glare - it might be a fairer comparison. Even in this shot the matte seems less precise an image than the glossy - more indistinct.

What is it about people and glossy screens - is it just the need to justify the extra money spent on matte?

I am sorry to jump on a personal choice - but I honestly think both choices are valid and good for those who chose them. It has been a real beeyatch for me to decide but now my mind is made up. Still I honor the people who like matte because I can see the reasons why.

Please - let's just get off this "one is absolutely better" horse we are all riding. It just ain't true.
 
Sandford said:
HOW can you say that???:confused:
It seems just the opposite!!!
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This picture was made to maximize glare through an open window and show that anti glare works. It does - but I don't normally look at my computer at this angle with the sun shining like this. If you could see the glossy image through the interference, I think it might seem to be a little sharper.

My experience with anti glare is that it does "soften" edges and detail in images - because the surface refraction is interfering with direct transmission of light from the image just the same as it interferes with direct transmission of the glare to you.

Again, this is my personal observation and I am not going to swim upstream against all the people who like AG - I understand and accept that choice...
 
I've been sitting on the sidelines for awhile now, independently debating the exact same issues as JerseyBill. I must say it is strangely gratifying knowing that someone else is finding this decision as difficult as I am!

Anyway to illustrate JerseyBill's prior points, take a look at this picture from an old macworld review. The top screen is glossy, the middle screen has an anti-glare film applied and the bottom is older generation of macbook with a matte screen. Not the fairest tests I know but it is still better than nothing.

138610-threeoptions_b_original.jpg


At the moment I am leaning towards glossy if only for long-term durability concerns.

Adam
 
Coming from an old school Mac guy, the antiglare MBPs look like real Apple computers. The glossy ones look like HP ripoffs.
 
Anyone thought about security aspects of the matte.

So you get the matte, then by example of the lovely picture a couple of posts back, you then start to notice that people by your side (air planes,airports, etc ) is watching your screen. They can't help it ... its a Mac with a silver bezel. The matte becomes a target for the over the shoulder readers.

Anyone used privacy filters with the matte version yet, what is the increase dull damage ?
 
ReallyBigFeet said:
In order of size, all Mac's ship with the same default screens....

Shuttle=uhhhhh....its blind, move along
iPod=glossy screen
Nano=glossy screen
iPhone=glossy screen
iPad=glossy screen
Macbook=glossy screen
iMac=glossy screen

Clearly, if Apple is the 'expert' on overall usability features, then Apple believes that the BEST Mac experience to be had is via a glossy screen. Otherwise, glossy would be the option and AG would be the standard.

So if Steve-O's boys think glossy is the BEST out of the box Mac experience to be had, who am I, a mere mortal, to disagree with His Highness?

So add to that list above.....
Macbook Pro=glossy screen

Typing this on my 2010 15" Hi-Res Glossy, of course :D
Click to expand...

Excellent post, indicating what Jobs, Apple, and its customer's truly value.
 
chopper dave said:
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.
Click to expand...

Nail in the coffin for me. That was the same scenario for all of my previous laptops.
 
Spent about an hour at the Apple Store today looking at the new 17" glossy and matte side by side; photos, movie trailers... tilting screens in the light and looking up close and from back; at detail, colors and contrast.

The matte actually looked better than I thought it would in comparison, blacks were better in the glossy but shadow detail was better on the matte, colors were higher contrast on the glossy, but still looked very good on the matte, and the matte seemed brighter for some reason, that was unexpected.

It was a toss up, both looked great. If you had a gun to my head I would go for the glossy - if it wasn't for the reflection...
 
I went the standard glossy because :
- 150$ is too much for an option that was free before (early 2008)
- I have a mat early 2008 MBP and anyway, can't use it outside when it's sunny, the reflections are diffuse, but they are still there and prohibit a comfortable use of the MBP outside.
- I love the look better
- iPhone experience, use it for 2 years and i love this glossy experience
- 1440x900 is enough for me, so I can game in native resolution
- maintenance is easier on glossy
- stability/durability will be better on glossy because of the glass
- I have a 24" matte display

Maybe I'll regret it... will be a reason to change for next update ;)
 
JerseyBill said:
This picture was made to maximize glare through an open window and show that anti glare works. It does - but I don't normally look at my computer at this angle with the sun shining like this.
Click to expand...

Fair enough!

If you could see the glossy image through the interference, I think it might seem to be a little sharper.
Click to expand...

Ahhhh! Sounds a little different than your previous statement to me:

Even in this shot the matte seems less precise an image than the glossy - more indistinct.
Click to expand...

My experience with anti glare is that it does "soften" edges and detail in images - because the surface refraction is interfering with direct transmission of light from the image just the same as it interferes with direct transmission of the glare to you.
Click to expand...

Well, for the honor of truth the suface refraction is present only if there is a glass (or another refracting surface). So it is totally absent with the matte screen. (Maybe we could talk about diffusion)
Moreover the screen under the glassy surface is the same as the anti-glare one!
But if there is a glass in front of the screen, it reflects light before it arrives to the actual screen. So the impression is undoubtfully sharper (which doesn't necessarily mean more readable!)

Again, this is my personal observation and I am not going to swim upstream against all the people who like AG - I understand and accept that choice...
Click to expand...

Perfectly fine with that. I'm going towards the glossy choice as well, but things must be told in the right way, or all this thread will transform in a "find me some justifications for not to cut my veins for a $2000+ wrong choice"! :cool:
 
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