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rMBP: Brightness and Black Level??

B

bsmr

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Oct 4, 2005
1,182
317
Germany
Hi,

I got a rMBP with a Samsung Panel (god bless) and without any dead pixels, ghosting,...

But in my opinion the black level is not really that good as I thought.

What about your opinions? Is the black level on samsung panels ok for you?

Maybe you can post a picture while running the rMBP on full brightness and a black background?!
 
From brightness-level 2 or 3 I can see a difference between the black display bezel and the display itself (which is brighter than the black bezel).

Is that kind of normal? With max. brightness I can see a huge difference.
 
Black levels will never be "true black" unless it's something like an OLED or a plasma screen where each pixel has its own light source....
 
Blacks are blacker than they are on other laptops as well as desktop displays due to the polarizer glass front.
 
LG Retina Screen has better black levels

In my opinion, the LG has a better overall picture in terms of Black Levels and Color accuracy.

I did an A/B comparison with my LG (no issues) against an Apple Store Samsung with video and images and in the extreme ends (Bright scenes/Dark scenes) the LG was clearly better looking to me.

Another post on the apple discussion page:

Scroll half way down to the Zebra picture side by side. LG on the left and Samsung on the right. LG has much better overall image quality and similar to my side by side view

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?start=1635&tstart=0

Ironic isn't it?
 
buddyspencer said:
For me the samsung looks better if I'm looking at those pictures...
Click to expand...

You can't really do a proper comparison from photos. You need to go into your local Apple store and see it for yourself. Photos do not capture everything that your eyes can see and at the same time photos will contain distortions and artifacts that are created from the multitude of factors that combine to produce your photo.

Also, when it comes to contrast, brightness, hue and whatever else you are looking at, it is really a personal thing.

What one guy finds awesome might look crap to you. This is because the brain plays a huge part in what you see and what you perceive (studied this at uni).

You really have to go the the store and check it out for yourself.
 
AZREOSpecialist said:
Blacks are blacker than they are on other laptops as well as desktop displays due to the polarizer glass front.
Click to expand...

It's a similar effect using a different method. It's much less likely that LG revived their technology from several years ago. I think you referenced the HP a while back, but that design is several years old and remains unchanged. That's not a bad thing if it does the required job. The rMBP isn't superior to quality desktop displays in any area other than dpi. You get more dots per inch. It's a big improvement over their prior notebook displays, but those look pretty bad next to anything IPS. I haven't seen the glow on more recent models. Overall you're possibly comparing to lower quality or just older displays and using visual similarities to suggest they're made the same way. This isn't really correct or remotely scientific. You can see the actual display teardown here.

ivoruest said:
Normally Macbook Pros don't have very good Black levels because the way they are iluminated. They are still very good quality. In the battle of colors between Black and White its all about balance between both ends. Its difficult to have great Black levels and great White levels altogether.

http://www.anandtech.com/show/6023/the-nextgen-macbook-pro-with-retina-display-review/5
Click to expand...

Black levels are overrated. Check out the wiki article for the Adobe 1998 profile.

Archon said:
In my opinion, the LG has a better overall picture in terms of Black Levels and Color accuracy.

I did an A/B comparison with my LG (no issues) against an Apple Store Samsung with video and images and in the extreme ends (Bright scenes/Dark scenes) the LG was clearly better looking to me.

Another post on the apple discussion page:

Scroll half way down to the Zebra picture side by side. LG on the left and Samsung on the right. LG has much better overall image quality and similar to my side by side view

https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4034848?start=1635&tstart=0

Ironic isn't it?
Click to expand...

You'd need a fair sample size and decent measuring tools to know which is better. In terms of accuracy, it's a loaded term. I wouldn't consider the rMBP something reference grade, but I'd suggest that its results are an enormous step over the prior generation.
 
I have bin stunned with the black level without any backlight bleed with my samsung rMBP. Never seen better in any laptop screen.
 

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thekev said:
It's a similar effect using a different method. It's much less likely that LG revived their technology from several years ago. I think you referenced the HP a while back, but that design is several years old and remains unchanged. That's not a bad thing if it does the required job. The rMBP isn't superior to quality desktop displays in any area other than dpi. You get more dots per inch. It's a big improvement over their prior notebook displays, but those look pretty bad next to anything IPS.
Click to expand...

No idea what you're talking about.
 
AZREOSpecialist said:
No idea what you're talking about.
Click to expand...

I pointed you to the breakdown. There's no reason to think that the old LG polarizer design and this one are the same. The ifixit link I posted in my last reply shows one pulled apart. They're also not necessarily blacker. You were suggesting they're blacker than desktop displays. Even at off angles where you would see the glow, this is a problem of older displays. It's not very present on newer desktop displays, which can go significantly darker than the macbook pro.
 
Sound Evolution said:
I have bin stunned with the black level without any backlight bleed with my samsung rMBP. Never seen better in any laptop screen.
Click to expand...

I would like to see that screen in a dim lit room with totally black background and max brightness. After that I could tell if the black levels really are that amazing.
 
Here in the dark, full brightness (hurt my eyes like hell) ;) If I have only a black background you see nothing, so impossible to take a picture. (you would accuse me of turning me macbook off :D) Unlike my macbook air 11" which have light borders all around the rim of the screen, combined with ugly bleed.

The PCB designs on my screen are not from border to border, but you can see the blacks at the border are perfect. For me the retina screen is a delight to work and design on. I use my rMBP all day for my work as designer.
 

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the LG panels are true IPS displays, and get better blacks but are a bit darker overall
 
Tritons said:
Why "God bless"? What's wrong with LG panels? I have one, no issues.
Click to expand...

i think he means because most of the IR problems are with LG panels. My LG panel doesnt have it though. in fact, i compared my LG panel to three samsungs and it actually looks more vibrant and rich. The samsung panels are a tad brighter but somehow feel "electronic" to me. Sort of the way on LED televisions look compared to plasma. LED is much brighter and "cleaner" but plasma just feels richer and has truer tones.

My LG panel feels like plasma in this respect.. Unless all those samsung panels weren't calibrted properly.I really like my LG panel and im glad i got a good one.
 
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