Samsung vs. Toshiba vs. LG

[Kristine]

Ok.. I need to ask...

Did anyone with either LG screen or Toshy SSD (or whatever other combination) actually go back into the store and exchange their machine for another?

If so... what did you say to the guys at the store? And what happened?

Did you get your model at the Perth Apple store or online? Reason I ask is I am in Perth but ordered from online store - arrived last night. Mine had LG screen and Samsung SSD. Only had it out of box for less than five minutes before deciding to call Apple to return it. I just told the operator I didn't like the screen, she said fine you can return it no problem and she arranged first available TNT collection date for my suburb.

Maybe I should rethink this? Since I have Macbook Air here in box I could take it out and spend some time to calibrate screen properly then see how it goes.

 

[Typswif2fingers]

Did you get your model at the Perth Apple store or online? Reason I ask is I am in Perth but ordered from online store - arrived last night. Mine had LG screen and Samsung SSD. Only had it out of box for less than five minutes before deciding to call Apple to return it. I just told the operator I didn't like the screen, she said fine you can return it no problem and she arranged first available TNT collection date for my suburb.

Maybe I should rethink this? Since I have Macbook Air here in box I could take it out and spend some time to calibrate screen properly then see how it goes.

Yeah mate.. Bought it in the Hay St Store the day it came out. Samsung Screen and Toshy SSD...I have to go to the store on Monday anyway... I am having some issues with the screen waking up from sleep when on batteries... But yeah, I got it in the City Store..

You don't like the screen that much, or have some problems with it?

EDIT: Try spending some time to calibrate it... I am not sure about LG ones... but all I did on my MBA was simple calibration... (not using advanced settings)... it looks ok..

 

[Leon88]

Just received my 13" ultimate yesterday and i have a Samsung SSD and LG display. Compared to my 13" MacBook (alum late 2008) display, it definitely isn't as bright and the colours aren't as vibrant. I'm still very happy with my MBA though, its a huge upgrade over my previous MB. One thing i do notice about my display however, is that the edges especially near the bottom seem to be a little bit dimmer, resulting in a 'gradient' like effect (i believe i saw a post related to this somewhere). The effect is very minimal, but i certainly don't see this in my older MB. Anyone else observe this in their MBAs?

 

[Typswif2fingers]

Just received my 13" ultimate yesterday and i have a Samsung SSD and LG display. Compared to my 13" MacBook (alum late 2008) display, it definitely isn't as bright and the colours aren't as vibrant. I'm still very happy with my MBA though, its a huge upgrade over my previous MB. One thing i do notice about my display however, is that the edges especially near the bottom seem to be a little bit dimmer, resulting in a 'gradient' like effect (i believe i saw a post related to this somewhere). The effect is very minimal, but i certainly don't see this in my older MB. Anyone else observe this in their MBAs?

Mate did you try opening the screen fully open.. (i.e. to get a better direct view angle)... Does it still have the gradient?

 

[Leon88]

Mate did you try opening the screen fully open.. (i.e. to get a better direct view angle)... Does it still have the gradient?

Yup, positioned the screen at different angles and its still there. I think its to do with uneven backlighting. Tbh, it isn't really a huge problem for me, just curious whether or not others have the seen this in their MBAs. Did a topic search and found several members also experiencing the same phenomenon on their MBAs. Guess its a manufacturing thing. I wouldn't call it a defect since its apparent in a number of MBAs.

 

[ZBoater]

I dont get it?

Im agreeing with you without wanting to say any more.

 

[Typswif2fingers]

Yup, positioned the screen at different angles and its still there. I think its to do with uneven backlighting. Tbh, it isn't really a huge problem for me, just curious whether or not others have the seen this in their MBAs. Did a topic search and found several members also experiencing the same phenomenon on their MBAs. Guess its a manufacturing thing. I wouldn't call it a defect since its apparent in a number of MBAs.

Well that was the extent of my technical knowledge to deal with it

 

[macbook123]

Wow OP, you're not going to resolve it? You can't be real. This is the most dishonest and ridiculous thread I've come across on macrumors so far. What was the point of it all? To show people with some photos that one can't distinguish the display? But many have claimed they do see differences. Now you're telling them they shouldn't be seeing them? Or are you telling them that there are differences but they don't matter? Well anyway, thanks for wasting people's time. I'll make sure to avoid your threads in the future.

Greetings to everybody else from a happy LG panel owner. Enjoy your machines, the differences are small.

 

[h00ligan]

Appreciate the tests..

Side by side shots of a web browser are irrelevant. Where you will notice the difference is images.

 

[lukekarts]

I've not compared the LG and Samsung screens side by side (nor the Toshiba or Samsung SSD's).

What I can say for certain is the LG screen is great, very clear & vibrant colours, very deep/dark black, much better than my old MacBook (2009 Aluminium model).

The Samsung SSD is very comparable to the Intel 320 series SSD I used to own.

It would not surprise me if someone put a pair of Samsung (or LG) screens side by side they'd find a difference.

 

[TheRealDamager]

I had a MBA with a Samsung screen for about 10 days. Had to swap that machine for a new one because of some other issues. Got 1 with an LG screen - the screen is fine - I literally can't tell any difference. I will say that calibrating the screen made a huge difference in my case.

 

[shawnmac]

I had a MBA with a Samsung screen for about 10 days. Had to swap that machine for a new one because of some other issues. Got 1 with an LG screen - the screen is fine - I literally can't tell any difference. I will say that calibrating the screen made a huge difference in my case.

Did you have to calibrate the Samsung and the LG?

 

[blkonblk17]

Here's a sammy on my new MBA

 

[aCuria]

Ask and ye shall receive.

Side by side Samsung panel vs. LG panel.

Let the games begin! Which one is which?

Hi,

I find it impossible to make a comparison of the viewing angles because the photos are not taken at the same angle. Could you take more photos please? =)

for example, line up the two notebooks, one in front of the other, and take several photos from the two sides, where the camera is equidistant from each screen.

with your original setup, take several photos with the screens at varying angles (max open, almost closed, and several in the middle with this picture showing:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21137544/Be...cbook Air/75285374.oIOvhwYe.AllscaleStep8.JPG


thanks!

 

[clyde2801]

Hi,

I find it impossible to make a comparison of the viewing angles because the photos are not taken at the same angle. Could you take more photos please? =)

for example, line up the two notebooks, one in front of the other, and take several photos from the two sides, where the camera is equidistant from each screen.

with your original setup, take several photos with the screens at varying angles (max open, almost closed, and several in the middle with this picture showing:
http://dl.dropbox.com/u/21137544/Be...cbook Air/75285374.oIOvhwYe.AllscaleStep8.JPG


thanks!

I think the whole point of this thread is that there is no difference between two displays, and users who think there is are obsessing over nothing. He's just being disingenuous about it.

 

[aCuria]

I think the whole point of this thread is that there is no difference between two displays, and users who think there is are obsessing over nothing. He's just being disingenuous about it.

regardless, in order to prove his point, there need be a comparison in a more controlled environment in order to draw any conclusions

Theres at least one difference between the two - they are made by different manufacturers!

I hope the displays are indeed as similar as possible.

 

[mubert]

I have an LG display on my 13inch Air. I was very concerned that my display was worse than the Samsung, so I went to an Apple store today and did a side-by-side comparison.

The two seemed virtually the same.

I'm not a graphics expert, but to my untrained eye, I could only see two differences:

1. The LG display seemed very slightly brighter.
2. When comparing a gradient image that shows blocks of RGB at varying brightness levels, the second column of blocks looked darker on the Samsung than it did on the LG. Assuming there should be a linear difference of brightness between each block in a row, the LG looked more accurate.

I was most concerned about vertical viewing angles, and in my tests I could detect no difference in this regard.

Believe me when I say that I'm seriously picky about this kind of thing, and I would have considered exchanging my computer had the LG display been inferior. After comparing, I honestly don't care one way or another which screen I have (though I'm pleased to have the Samsung SSD).

I'm attaching some photos I took with my phone. Take these with a huge grain of salt, as they don't accurately reflect what I saw with my eyes. For example, I could distinguish each gradient block, but they blend in the photos or appear invisibly dark. Also, the viewing angles are surely not identical between the two screens in each shot. Unlike another poster, I will tell you that the Samsung is on the Left, and my LG is on the right. Both were set to max brightness.

 

[aCuria]

Thanks for the comments, they are very useful.

looks like they are equally bad!

After trying to take pictures of screens today, i think its positively difficult to get a good picture.

Did you compare how text looks with regard to the vertical viewing angles?

I have an LG display on my 13inch Air. I was very concerned that my display was worse than the Samsung, so I went to an Apple store today and did a side-by-side comparison.

The two seemed virtually the same.

I'm not a graphics expert, but to my untrained eye, I could only see two differences:

1. The LG display seemed very slightly brighter.
2. When comparing a gradient image that shows blocks of RGB at varying brightness levels, the second column of blocks looked darker on the Samsung than it did on the LG. Assuming there should be a linear difference of brightness between each block in a row, the LG looked more accurate.

I was most concerned about vertical viewing angles, and in my tests I could detect no difference in this regard.

Believe me when I say that I'm seriously picky about this kind of thing, and I would have considered exchanging my computer had the LG display been inferior. After comparing, I honestly don't care one way or another which screen I have (though I'm pleased to have the Samsung SSD).

I'm attaching some photos I took with my phone. Take these with a huge grain of salt, as they don't accurately reflect what I saw with my eyes. For example, I could distinguish each gradient block, but they blend in the photos or appear invisibly dark. Also, the viewing angles are surely not identical between the two screens in each shot. Unlike another poster, I will tell you that the Samsung is on the Left, and my LG is on the right. Both were set to max brightness.

 

[mubert]

I never observed/understood the problem with text and vertical angle.

 

[jackyyeow]

I'd like to add more of my findings on top of what mubert did wonderfully:

1. My experiences with Samsung panel was the same shown on his post, and darker blocks are harder to see than on the LG panel. LG panel are more consistent in this regard.

2. Due to darker blocks being darker, it also somewhat contribute to the blacks on the Samsung being blacker.

3. Turning brightness all the way up, it will not make the dark colors light up more on the Samsung, while it does on my LG where the dark colors looked washed out.

4. LG panel is slightly more illuminated, thus a little harder to set a balanced brightness setting where the brightness is enough to see, but low enough that it won't hurt the eyes. Samsung, in comparison, backlight isn't so illuminated (hence slightly dimmer), but it feels more evenly lite, and easier on the eyes, hence it looks closer to the panels that you see on thicker display panels e.g. on MBP.

5. Colors are slightly warmer on the LG, and on the Samsung, it's more vibrant instead of being cooler (which usually has slightly blue'ish tint).

Which one is better? At the moment, I'm leaning towards Samsung, though again as mubert mentioned, differences are much smaller than you'd imagined.

 

[macvinc6]

@ mubert


your test had a good intention, but please do it again.

the browser should be on both safari!!!

the most interesting viewing angel is, if the macbook air is maximum open and the picture is made from a lower point.

 

[mubert]

True, I forgot to use the same browser, but if you open the graphic in Safari and Chrome and compare side by side, you'll see there's no difference.

@ mubert
your test had a good intention, but please do it again.

the browser should be on both safari!!!

 

[macvinc6]

so far i can see the pictures are not in the same scale,
just count the buttons from the keyboard

 

[rds]

Seriously, folks. Just. Give. Up.

 

[aCuria]

I'd like to add more of my findings on top of what mubert did wonderfully:

1. My experiences with Samsung panel was the same shown on his post, and darker blocks are harder to see than on the LG panel. LG panel are more consistent in this regard.

2. Due to darker blocks being darker, it also somewhat contribute to the blacks on the Samsung being blacker.

3. Turning brightness all the way up, it will not make the dark colors light up more on the Samsung, while it does on my LG where the dark colors looked washed out.

4. LG panel is slightly more illuminated, thus a little harder to set a balanced brightness setting where the brightness is enough to see, but low enough that it won't hurt the eyes. Samsung, in comparison, backlight isn't so illuminated (hence slightly dimmer), but it feels more evenly lite, and easier on the eyes, hence it looks closer to the panels that you see on thicker display panels e.g. on MBP.

5. Colors are slightly warmer on the LG, and on the Samsung, it's more vibrant instead of being cooler (which usually has slightly blue'ish tint).

Which one is better? At the moment, I'm leaning towards Samsung, though again as mubert mentioned, differences are much smaller than you'd imagined.

This coul be an issue, if the blacks are blacker it means that the contrast on the samsung Is greater - and one issue with the lg is the anemic contrast. The blacks kinda get washed out compared to my other monitors.