Mine's going back.
I figured out how to get around the gradient issue I was having. It appears that booting from the standard Color LCD profile (or any profile created with ColorSync) caused distinct banding when looking at the color gradient image posted earlier on this thread. However, if I switched to the sRGB profile or another color profile that I downloaded off the forums (I assume they were not created using ColorSync), restarted my MBP, and then looked at the same color gradient the banding was less apparent. I tested this on a friends SR MBP and got the same results. Once restarted you can even switch back to the standard Color LCD profile and the gradient will still look good. However, you're back to square one if you restart (or I think even if you load LCD Test 2) with that profile. This makes me think the color banding that some people see is not only a result of the 6-bit screen but some other issue with the actual color profile aswell.
However, I still can't get rid of the yellow/sepia hue I see toward the bottom of the display. I've tried calibrating, I've tried using other color profiles, I've tried different light with no luck. It's so faint that I was questioning if it was even there but the more I try to ignore it the more I can't help but notice it, especially when looking at webpages that have white backgrounds. Other people see it too, but just barely. I even took a few photos of the screen (displaying a completely white image) in a dark room using my Rebel XTi. No matter what angle or distance (my max range was about 2 feet from the screen) the screen looked distinctly darker toward the bottom. The camera didn't seem to pick up the yellowish tint but it definitely appears that the screen is distinctly darker toward the bottom 1/3 of the screen. Lastly, I created these two simple images to observe how the screen is displaying white at the top of the screen and at the bottom. Looking at both, I notice the white rectangle toward the bottom is more yellow or dull when compared to the top in both images.
As a result of all this, I'm taking it back and hopefully getting an exchange. I was very excited since this was my first Mac but I think if I don't try to resolve this screen issue then I'll always notice it and it would frustrate me even more. It's disappointing since I bought it with a friend who also bought one and his Samsung screen looks perfect. (Besides my screen issue, my MBP would be perfect too.)
I just hope the employees at the Apple 5th Ave store will see the issue and not give me a hassle. I also hope that I won't get another yellow screen or a MBP with other issues.
Wish me luck.
I figured out how to get around the gradient issue I was having. It appears that booting from the standard Color LCD profile (or any profile created with ColorSync) caused distinct banding when looking at the color gradient image posted earlier on this thread. However, if I switched to the sRGB profile or another color profile that I downloaded off the forums (I assume they were not created using ColorSync), restarted my MBP, and then looked at the same color gradient the banding was less apparent. I tested this on a friends SR MBP and got the same results. Once restarted you can even switch back to the standard Color LCD profile and the gradient will still look good. However, you're back to square one if you restart (or I think even if you load LCD Test 2) with that profile. This makes me think the color banding that some people see is not only a result of the 6-bit screen but some other issue with the actual color profile aswell.
However, I still can't get rid of the yellow/sepia hue I see toward the bottom of the display. I've tried calibrating, I've tried using other color profiles, I've tried different light with no luck. It's so faint that I was questioning if it was even there but the more I try to ignore it the more I can't help but notice it, especially when looking at webpages that have white backgrounds. Other people see it too, but just barely. I even took a few photos of the screen (displaying a completely white image) in a dark room using my Rebel XTi. No matter what angle or distance (my max range was about 2 feet from the screen) the screen looked distinctly darker toward the bottom. The camera didn't seem to pick up the yellowish tint but it definitely appears that the screen is distinctly darker toward the bottom 1/3 of the screen. Lastly, I created these two simple images to observe how the screen is displaying white at the top of the screen and at the bottom. Looking at both, I notice the white rectangle toward the bottom is more yellow or dull when compared to the top in both images.
As a result of all this, I'm taking it back and hopefully getting an exchange. I was very excited since this was my first Mac but I think if I don't try to resolve this screen issue then I'll always notice it and it would frustrate me even more. It's disappointing since I bought it with a friend who also bought one and his Samsung screen looks perfect. (Besides my screen issue, my MBP would be perfect too.)
I just hope the employees at the Apple 5th Ave store will see the issue and not give me a hassle. I also hope that I won't get another yellow screen or a MBP with other issues.
Wish me luck.
Going back for a full refund this Friday.