So... about that Macbook screen wash-out

[HLdan]

I've got a 9c9A panel and it looks absolutely gorgeous out of the box!! Didn't have to do a single calibra..... Oh never mind, wrong thread - it's my Air I bought to replace the MB.

!00% happy I did even though it did set me back another $900. Principle involved here people, hold on to it and suck up mediocrity or let Apple know it's substandard for the price and it'll get fixed.

I did the same thing as you did MacGuy, I had the new 2.4 Alu Macbook and couldn't deal with the display so I returned it to Apple (waived the restocking fee) and bought the new Air with SSD. Between the AIR and the Alu Macbook there's no comparison in overall screen quality and viewing angles. The AIR has incredible screen and better than the MBP, IMO.

Be nice though, some people are happy with their new Macbook for a couple of good reasons, (1) it's really a great computer in terms of specs and build quality, (2) the price is a lot less than the AIR so it's not like everyone can afford to dump their new Macbook in favor of the AIR.

Remember many of the MR forum members are in the age level of 12-18 years old and they may not be able to afford anything more than the Macbook.

 

[GoCubsGo]

ok, here is a picture I took tonight of my aluminium MB, I took it with a Nikon D40 in raw format so I could adjust the White Balance for the LED light.

It's a scene from the movie "Collateral".

to me blacks are as good as hey should be on a average LCD monitor.

I did the same thing as you did MacGuy, I had the new 2.4 Alu Macbook and couldn't deal with the display so I returned it to Apple (waived the restocking fee) and bought the new Air with SSD. Between the AIR and the Alu Macbook there's no comparison in overall screen quality and viewing angles. The AIR has incredible screen and better than the MBP, IMO.

Be nice though, some people are happy with their new Macbook for a couple of good reasons, (1) it's really a great computer in terms of specs and build quality, (2) the price is a lot less than the AIR so it's not like everyone can afford to dump their new Macbook in favor of the AIR.

Remember many of the MR forum members are in the age level of 12-18 years old and they may not be able to afford anything more than the Macbook.

I believe I'm going to wind up buying the SSD Air myself. I returned my MB as well. I didn't buy the MB because I am 12 and cannot afford it. I have to keep things in perspective here. I want a portable computer that handles multiple tasks and doesn't cap out with my ram. I could cap out the ram on the MB so I'm concerned about it with the Air. But regardless, I want performance and a nice screen. Do I want to pay $2500 for it? I'm unsure. I do have a $3000 machine with nearly another $700 sunk into it sitting in my house. I don't want to buy something portable to do heavy lifting and suddenly find no use for that wonderful desktop machine I have.

The choices, but for me it's about trying to decide if I am willing to spend my money on the SSD model.

Clearly I think it's been determined that the MB has a display ... good to some and bad to others. The Air has a display that seems to be great to all that see it. The MBP is a coin toss as well but the odds favor it is a nicer display overall. I did see someone post a pic of their display, the same display I had on my MB and it was very acceptable to me, not acceptable bad but I mean it was nice and what I would have hoped for from mine.

 

[djellison]

I saw MB's in the flesh today. They all seemed washed out. They seemed to lack contrast and punch. The viewing angles were actually not too bad, but the gloss was just horrid. I couldn't own a laptop with that screen. Sadly - the same was true with the MBP's. Thus, Apple no longer makes a laptop I want. Pity.


Doug

 

[hmai18]

I've been following this thread, but have come to the conclusion that it just doesn't matter that much and ordered my MB yesterday. If I'm at home, I have a hardware calibrated Dell 2007WFP with an IPS panel that I can do colour critical work on. If I'm using the machine as a portable, it'll likely be for Office stuff and surfing, so it's not going to make a huge deal to me.

 

[GUILTIE]

I've got a 9c9A panel and it looks absolutely gorgeous out of the box!! Didn't have to do a single calibra..... Oh never mind, wrong thread - it's my Air I bought to replace the MB.

!00% happy I did even though it did set me back another $900. Principle involved here people, hold on to it and suck up mediocrity or let Apple know it's substandard for the price and it'll get fixed.

Wow you sure showed Apple how substandard their product is. You giving them $900 more really put them in their place!

 

[NC MacGuy]

Wow you sure showed Apple how substandard their product is. You giving them $900 more really put them in their place!

In a way you're right. In another, you don't have a clue. I needed four laptops to replace some aging iBooks. Apple lost three other immediate MB sales. So by my calculations, Apple didn't get at least $4,000 of my business.

 

[jackfrost123]

Hey guys, do you think someone can RECAP what's been said about the mbs and mbp screens because I am kinda lost reading this thread. Is the problem due to one type of panel being bad, are some mb and mbps better than others, or is apple using the same mediocre parts in all (of course diff for mb and mbp)?

 

[Ron21]

Hey guys, do you think someone can RECAP what's been said about the mbs and mbp screens because I am kinda lost reading this thread. Is the problem due to one type of panel being bad, are some mb and mbps better than others, or is apple using the same mediocre parts in all (of course diff for mb and mbp)?

To sum it up, ALL Macbooks use a sub-par lcd panel. The result is very limited viewing angles and horrible black levels. Some folks can live with this while others can't.

The MBP does not have these screen issues.

 

[mac jones]

my screen is just weird. There is a color shift from top to bottom where it's blue at the bottom. Besides this the screen is great.

But I've seen a lot of bad screens but this is so bad with this color shift it's defective.

It may not be the screen though. It could be a defective LED backlight.

But most likely it's a combination of the two.


But I really, really like the laptop so i'm going to try to adjust.
I like the new trackpad so much i'm not going to want to switch to anything else.


Update: I'm trying calibrations with some success. I wouldn't think this could help that much , but it does a little......good

 

[nishishei]

Left = Macbook
Right = Macbook Pro

Still think the design is fugly too compared to the old MBP and 12" Powerbook.

 

[haoqfu]

Left = Macbook
Right = Macbook Pro

Still think the design is fugly too compared to the old MBP and 12" Powerbook.

totally agree. talking about screen quality. anyone has a white macbook and white imac, put them side by side, open up the same pictures and compare the color side by side, you will see the huge difference.

my gf didn't believe how bad the screens are with her macbook, so i showed her the difference and now she wants to trash her macbook. considering the screen of the new macbook is even more washed out than the old one, i definitely wouldn't buy one. This is just unacceptable!!!

 

[Roller]

Left = Macbook
Right = Macbook Pro

Still think the design is fugly too compared to the old MBP and 12" Powerbook.

Interesting that the review from which those pics were taken has the following to say about the display:

"Alike its bigger brother, the MacBook Pro 15", and the iMac, also the MacBook got a scratch-proof and stable glass pane in front of the display, which extends over the black border. This leads to a seamless look. As in former models, the display is 'glossy' and reflects. However, the brightness is sufficient for working in usually bright environments without big problems.

Our measurements show a moderate illumination of 76% and a relatively high black value of 1.67 cd/m². The later gives a clearly worse contrast than the MacBook Pro and therewith less strong colours. Nevertheless, our personal impression was that the colours are rather good. Also skin colours appeared to look like in reality.

The viewing angles are marginally worse than of the MacBook Pro, but still do not restrain (single) users much. The reaction speed was subjectively also alright, because there was hardly any studdering."

 

[jackfrost123]

To sum it up, ALL Macbooks use a sub-par lcd panel. The result is very limited viewing angles and horrible black levels. Some folks can live with this while others can't.

The MBP does not have these screen issues.

Hey bro, thanks for that! The previous gen. macbooks had sh it screens too, what is the consensus, have things at least improved from the horrid, horrid screens of the previous generation? Plus how do the macbooks compare with lappies from the same price range?

 

[Diversion]

David's color profile made my LCD on my new MacBook look night and day better.. blacks are better, colors look richer, etc.

I just believe the panels in the new Macbooks are poorly calibrated in native mode.. Still sucks for this, but atleast a lot of the color issues are straightened out through a new color profile.

 

[jackfrost123]

David's color profile made my LCD on my new MacBook look night and day better.. blacks are better, colors look richer, etc.

I just believe the panels in the new Macbooks are poorly calibrated in native mode.. Still sucks for this, but atleast a lot of the color issues are straightened out through a new color profile.

Can you please post a link to that?

 

[nishishei]

Interesting that the review from which those pics were taken has the following to say about the display: snip

A picture > a thousand words and pivoting clauses.

 

[Jonesy85]

I have the Macbook and the screen doesn't bother me most of the time, but there are some moments when it can be bothersome.

I've had my Macbook for about 2 weeks now. If I want to, can I still exchange it? I bought it online rather than in Apple's store. I can't find their exchange policy...

 

[Luvion]

To sum it up, ALL Macbooks use a sub-par lcd panel. The result is very limited viewing angles and horrible black levels. Some folks can live with this while others can't.

Exactly. After using it for a week, I know now that I can't live with it. The display really is sub-par, especially for a $1,599.00 notebook. Calibrations with my i1 display 2 had little effect, as expected. Calibration brings out a bit more detail, but the blacks are still washed out.

Anyway I'm returning mine. Will try a Macbook Air instead.

 

[Jonesy85]

After checking, I've had mine for 9 days, so I can still return it, I believe. I think I'm going to upgrade to the low-end Macbook Pro.

Will I for sure have to pay a restocking fee? And how much is that usually?

 

[mkelly]

Exactly. After using it for a week, I know now that I can't live with it. The display really is sub-par, especially for a $1,599.00 notebook. Calibrations with my i1 display 2 had little effect, as expected. Calibration brings out a bit more detail, but the blacks are still washed out.

It's the same display as what was in the previous MacBooks, is it not? The MacBook line has *always* had a lower quality display than the pro line.

I'm confused as to why everyone is suddenly comparing the MB display to the MBP and MBA models and acting as though somehow the MB has suffered some sort of spontaneous downgrade?

(Note: I'm not saying that there isn't a difference - there obviously is. However, the difference has been there all along as far as I can recall, and I sold MacBooks and MacBook Pros for an Apple retailer here in Canada)

 

[Philflow]

I'm confused as to why everyone is suddenly comparing the MB display to the MBP and MBA models and acting as though somehow the MB has suffered some sort of spontaneous downgrade?

I think it's because this is the first time the Macbook has a LED display. MBP and MBA have had LED for a while now.

Some people were hoping that they would use a similar quality panel in the MB now. Sony does it, Lenovo does it, so maybe Apple would do it too. Too bad they didn't.

Everything else about the macbook is top quality, like the MBA and MBP. Alu unibody, keyboard, touchpad, but not the display.

 

[PresentACat]

The fact is, when you buy a name brand product such as Apple or Sony or Pioneer, you expect quality components. Whether you can see the components or not.

The old addage "you get what you pay for" comes to mind right now. I paid a premium for this laptop. I feel I got a premium laptop, except the screen. I didn't expect a MBP quality screen, but a screen better than a $500 Dell was expected.

Would you pay $1300 for a $500 Dell wrapped in aluminum?

Correct attitude.
It's not unuseable, but neither was the $500 Dell, so why pay close to three times that amount for the same crap.

 

[PresentACat]

Exactly. After using it for a week, I know now that I can't live with it. The display really is sub-par, especially for a $1,599.00 notebook. Calibrations with my i1 display 2 had little effect, as expected. Calibration brings out a bit more detail, but the blacks are still washed out.

Anyway I'm returning mine. Will try a Macbook Air instead.

Yep, I sat for 2 days staring at it. Sometimes I would think I'd keep it, but 99% of the time I was just thinking that this is not even half the screen that ought to be in a laptop of this cost. I've genuinly never had a screen as bad and I've owned and used a lot of very cheap machines.

 

[PresentACat]

It's the same display as what was in the previous MacBooks, is it not? The MacBook line has *always* had a lower quality display than the pro line.

I'm confused as to why everyone is suddenly comparing the MB display to the MBP and MBA models and acting as though somehow the MB has suffered some sort of spontaneous downgrade?

(Note: I'm not saying that there isn't a difference - there obviously is. However, the difference has been there all along as far as I can recall, and I sold MacBooks and MacBook Pros for an Apple retailer here in Canada)

I don't care what was in the last Macbook, I decided to get the new and very expensive Alu Macbook as my first Apple computer, and the screen is a heap of ****. Perhaps people thought as the machine obviously tried to take a step upmarket to Prosumer territory they had put a better screen in?

Either way for me, it looked like turd (in a relative sense) and was not good enough.

 

[Luvion]

It's the same display as what was in the previous MacBooks, is it not? The MacBook line has *always* had a lower quality display than the pro line.

I'm confused as to why everyone is suddenly comparing the MB display to the MBP and MBA models and acting as though somehow the MB has suffered some sort of spontaneous downgrade?

(Note: I'm not saying that there isn't a difference - there obviously is. However, the difference has been there all along as far as I can recall, and I sold MacBooks and MacBook Pros for an Apple retailer here in Canada)

You're right. But it's hard to understand why Apple didn't upgrade the screen after more than two years. I expected a better panel with the introduction of the LED-backlighting and the complete redesign of the Macbook. But compared to my white MacBook the screen is about the same, which is dissapointing.