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So... about that Macbook screen wash-out

mcdj said:
ugh. here we go. this is starting to remind me of the iphone threads from last year..."week 36 iphones are the best!"

how do you know you "need" a 9C8C if you haven't even seen one?

if you think you're going to have a Genius open 5 boxes to find the screen you "need", you are in for a disappointment. don't take a couple of users' words for it. their eyes may be more or less sensitive than yours. there are so many factors as to why 2 screens, even with the exact same part number, may look different. it's not an exacting science. these are consumer notebooks.
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I agree with you to a point. Until you actually see the other display and even take yours in and set it right down next to it and make sure it's significantly better, you won't know if you need it or not.

I do take issue with your "consumer notebooks" thought though. At $1600 these are hardly cheap. I would think at that price I would have an above average display.
 
NC MacGuy said:
I do take issue with your "consumer notebooks" thought though. At $1600 these are hardly cheap. I would think at that price I would have an above average display.
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Never said they were cheap. A Canon 5D is not cheap, but it is still a consumer level camera. That's not to say pros don't use them. But compared to a professional Canon, there are corners that have been cut. (weather sealing, etc.)

I don't recall anywhere near this amount of noise about the screens of the previous Macbooks. People back then compared them to iBooks and Powerbooks and were very happy. Now the differences are not large enough between the previous gen and the aluminum models, so people are shifting their comparisons to the Air and MBP. Those are simply spendier machines. The MBP is pro level, and the Air is a luxury product. It stands to reason their screens would be different, and better.

In a month, this will all die down as people stop obsessing and get back to computing.
 
mcdj said:
ugh. here we go. this is starting to remind me of the iphone threads from last year..."week 36 iphones are the best!"

how do you know you "need" a 9C8C if you haven't even seen one?

if you think you're going to have a Genius open 5 boxes to find the screen you "need", you are in for a disappointment. don't take a couple of users' words for it. their eyes may be more or less sensitive than yours. there are so many factors as to why 2 screens, even with the exact same part number, may look different. it's not an exacting science. these are consumer notebooks.
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I just saw a 9C8C screen at my campus Apple store ... it's definitely better than the 9C89 ...
 
I agree with you. There seem to be a lot of folks posting who expect a LCD on a 1299 laptop to be the same as a much more expense laptop, re the MBP and MBA. Have you complainers ever taken a course in Economics? Geez
mcdj said:
I don't recall anywhere near this amount of noise about the screens of the previous Macbooks. People back then compared them to iBooks and Powerbooks and were very happy. Now the differences are not large enough between the previous gen and the aluminum models, so people are shifting their comparisons to the Air and MBP. Those are simply spendier machines. The MBP is pro level, and the Air is a luxury product. It stands to reason their screens would be different, and better.

In a month, this will all die down as people stop obsessing and get back to computing.
Click to expand...
 
mcdj said:
Never said they were cheap. A Canon 5D is not cheap, but it is still a consumer level camera. That's not to say pros don't use them. But compared to a professional Canon, there are corners that have been cut. (weather sealing, etc.)

I don't recall anywhere near this amount of noise about the screens of the previous Macbooks. People back then compared them to iBooks and Powerbooks and were very happy. Now the differences are not large enough between the previous gen and the aluminum models, so people are shifting their comparisons to the Air and MBP. Those are simply spendier machines. The MBP is pro level, and the Air is a luxury product. It stands to reason their screens would be different, and better.

In a month, this will all die down as people stop obsessing and get back to computing.
Click to expand...

I've had Apple laptops since Apple first started making them including all you've mentioned. The display on the new MB's is different in a way that has been hard to put my finger on - or get used to. Out of the box it's not usable for me which is saying quite a bit since I'm fairly tolerant. The canned display color profiles with the limited viewing angle compounded for an unpleasant extended computing experience. Bluer than blue.... I felt like I'd been taking Viagra every stinking day since I bought it. Headaches and seeing blue tinted everything.:eek:

I'm not talking just shiny, reflections or can't get colors right in Photoshop or Aperture or the matte vs. glossy never ending story. This thing was downright unbearable for typical "stuff." The newest color profile truly seems to have helped. If I was a real whiner or obsessor, I'd have taken it back last week but I'm trying to make it usable since it's my only gripe with the machine. (or maybe I'm just too lazy to go through "genius" appt. BS.)

The new MB display as far as I saw it was a downgrade from previous models where everything else was upgraded to maintain Apples price point. $1600 is quite a bit these days for a "consumer" machine. Had it been $800, I wouldn't say a peep and just returned it.
 
joegomolski said:
I agree with you. There seem to be a lot of folks posting who expect a LCD on a 1299 laptop to be the same as a much more expense laptop, re the MBP and MBA. Have you complainers ever taken a course in Economics? Geez
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Last time I checked, $1299 is a lot of money. A Dell and HP computer for $1299 has better specs than the MacBook. It only has 2 USB ports, no FireWire, and only 2GB RAM, and no option for a 7200rpm HDD.

A Dell or an HP configured for the same price is a much better value.

And seriously, please enlighten me as to what aspect of Economics you are referring to here ... I'd really like to know.

I don't think it is unrealistic to expect a decent LCD on a $1299 laptop. Except, the LCD on the MacBook is dismal, way worse than decent.
 
Sometimes worse than previous gen

OK,

I'm really peaced off because to me, the higher price and LED display of macbooks meant a display quality finally equal to macbook pro's.

But I went to the App store the morning and made a comparison between my current white macbook and the new macbooks / pro / Air.

The unibody macbook's screen is definitely better backlight than my macbook, but the colors are blueish and cold.
What really bothered me, however, is that while the quality seems better on regular use (with photos, word processing, etc...), the quality dropps enormously when you use dark materials, especially movies. Then, I swear the blacks are far less black than my current macbook. It's got a white reflection that we used to see on old laptops.
Once again, Apple tries to make some extra money on a machine that is already way more expensive than comparable laptops.

The macbook pro's screen, on the other hand, is gorgeous. But I didn't want to have a big and heavy laptop.
With Apple's strategy, you can't have a decent machine under 15,4" screen: the macbook's screen sucks, and the macbook air is limited to 2GB of memory (so it's basically already obsolete).

Maybe the best solution is to try and install mac os on a PC... Asus has very nice machines for half the price.
 
Sorry to interrupt this thread but, where in the world do you find what kind of display it is? I've looked everywhere. Thanks.
Edit: Nevermind found it. My replacement has 9C89 just like I suspected =(. The macbook I had originally was amazing looking but it stopped getting power while plugged in so I had to get it replaced. I immediately noticed the difference on my replacement. Sigh. My touchpad is also significantly harder to click then my last one or any in the simply mac store near my house. My thumb has actually started to get really sore and develop a blister from clicking with it =/
 
I compared the screens today at the apple store between all 3 laptops

At the perfect angle, the new macbook easily looks like the Airs. The Air screen is better from all angles, but the macbook can achieve it by tilting the screen to the right spot.

The pros screen were a different story, they are clearly better but is justified. It is a pro machine and costs much more.
 
bidwalj said:
At the perfect angle, the new macbook easily looks like the Airs. The Air screen is better from all angles, but the macbook can achieve it by tilting the screen to the right spot.
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Yeah, I owned a couple of MBA's when they were first released. I really haven't seen the current MBA screens, but the original MBA screens were nice but they were far from perfect. They didn't have the best viewing angles and they suffered from dark blotches and dark vertical stripes. I finally gave up finding a good display. Contrast that with the new MB displays and they aren't that bad. The viewing angle isn't the best but at least it isn't blotchy and stripped.
 
The more I use this machine for day to day use the more I'm growing to like the screen.

I set up iPhoto last night and imported my old photos into it. They looked amazing compared to how they looked on my old Dell notebook. So much more pop and colour impact. It's hard to describe.

The vertical viewing angle isn't great, but when you're sitting down looking at the screen in normal use it's no where near as bad as some people are making it out to be.
 
Greystorm said:
The more I use this machine for day to day use the more I'm growing to like the screen.

I set up iPhoto last night and imported my old photos into it. They looked amazing compared to how they looked on my old Dell notebook. So much more pop and colour impact. It's hard to describe.

The vertical viewing angle isn't great, but when you're sitting down looking at the screen in normal use it's no where near as bad as some people are making it out to be.
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exactly. the screen is quite good when set at the direct view angle. It easily looks good as the Airs. I dont know why someone would want to view the screen from different angles, but its not that hard to adjust.

For the average consumer, the screen is quite good.
 
bidwalj said:
exactly. the screen is quite good when set at the direct view angle. It easily looks good as the Airs. I dont know why someone would want to view the screen from different angles, but its not that hard to adjust.

For the average consumer, the screen is quite good.
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Try and watch a movie with a lot of dark scenes and get the screen angle so you have black blacks from top to bottom.

It's not easily as good as the Airs - I have one of each and know.
 
I got the new 2.4 one last week and I'm taking it back and getting the Pro. The screen is just horrible and for the price it is a rip off. My friends have the Air and Pro and their screen are so much better than this one. My friends $700 Dell is better than this one. This isn't acceptable. I sold my loved blackbook because I wanted a better screen. This one is better, but not better like some of you are saying. If you want a decent screen and stay with Apple, then this Macbook isn't for you.
 
NC MacGuy said:
Try and watch a movie with a lot of dark scenes and get the screen angle so you have black blacks from top to bottom.

It's not easily as good as the Airs - I have one of each and know.
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fair enough, for that it might not be as good but I dont think many primarily watch dark scene movies all the time on their macbook. When that need arises, I'm sure the macbooks screen will be adequate for that situation.

People having been ripping the screen on here to great lengths as if its leaps and bounds inferior to the air. other than more viewing angles, the Air's screen is not THAT much better where the macbooks doesnt get the job done.
 
bidwalj said:
fair enough, for that it might not be as good but I dont think many primarily watch dark scene movies all the time on their macbook. When that need arises, I'm sure the macbooks screen will be adequate for that situation.

People having been ripping the screen on here to great lengths as if its leaps and bounds inferior to the air. other than more viewing angles, the Air's screen is not THAT much better where the macbooks doesnt get the job done.
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My brother has the Air and he is right here with me. We are looking at my new 2.4 and his Air and his looks wayyyyyyyyyyyyyy better. Nice try though.
 
bidwalj said:
fair enough, for that it might not be as good but I dont think many primarily watch dark scene movies all the time on their macbook. When that need arises, I'm sure the macbooks screen will be adequate for that situation.

People having been ripping the screen on here to great lengths as if its leaps and bounds inferior to the air. other than more viewing angles, the Air's screen is not THAT much better where the macbooks doesnt get the job done.
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Or go to a website with a dark background and try to differentiate blacks/grays/browns. Oh, yeah, got to readjust the screen - again!
 
NC MacGuy said:
Or go to a website with a dark background and try to differentiate blacks/grays/browns. Oh, yeah, got to readjust the screen - again!
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If you have the angle set correctly, I feel the screen revivals that on the Air. I dnt think you need to re-adjust more than once in one sitting. Have it set at the setting you feel works best and the blacks, darks all look great.
 
NC MacGuy said:
Do you have one? Do you have an Air?

Very curious to know.
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no he owns a new macbook probably and wants it so desperately to be as good as the screen on the air and pro.. it is a stupid argument to make. it is a lot worse.
 
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