The Ultimate rMBP Image Retention Test

[Woodcrest64]

Well I hate to say it but my retina Macbook Pro with the LG panel now has the dreaded image retention.

I didn't have the issue when I got in August of this year but now it shows up and stays there for over 5 minutes. I have booked an appointment with an Apple certified reseller who has licensed Apple technician . I got a case number through Apple so I will see what happens.

From what I have read in this thread my issue is certainly not with in spec. Its pretty bad. The interesting thing will be if they replace it with another LG panel or a Samsung one.

 

[lightz39]

I haven't and will not check my screen manufacturer. I never would have if I came here and thus I don't plan to. Why try and find/make things that are wrong?

 

[ct1211]

You're right

The tone of this thread is image retention as defect and a permanent problem - which it is not. You cant permanently damage an LCD with burn in - period. Having said that, if you guys run the checkerboard test for 45 minutes instead of 15 minutes a clear outline of the Apple logo on the back of the lid appears on the screen as well! Whats up with that?

If you were an A/V engineer you would know that image persistence (temporary) has always been apparent with some IPS panels.

 

[krravi]

Just curious, this IR test seems to be prevalent in rMBP.

How many of you have tested this in other models? Say your iMac or old MBP or even your other monitors?

Am going to do it on my iMac and see what happens.


Also had another thought, for the sake of argument with Apple.

Forget the checkerboard test, as the consensus is that, under normal use we don't really do that.

So the closest in real world use for that test would be the Apple Chess program under games. Change the color scheme of the board that has high contrast and do the test and see if their is image retention.

Considering that a chess game stays lit on the screen for more than 20 mins on average for a game, that would be the deal breaker.

Try the "Marble Board" and "Metal Pieces" as thats closest to that test.

 

[millerrh]

Just curious, this IR test seems to be prevalent in rMBP.

How many of you have tested this in other models? Say your iMac or old MBP or even your other monitors?

Am going to do it on my iMac and see what happens.


Also had another thought, for the sake of argument with Apple.

Forget the checkerboard test, as the consensus is that, under normal use we don't really do that.

So the closest in real world use for that test would be the Apple Chess program under games. Change the color scheme of the board that has high contrast and do the test and see if their is image retention.

Considering that a chess game stays lit on the screen for more than 20 mins on average for a game, that would be the deal breaker.

Try the "Marble Board" and "Metal Pieces" as thats closest to that test.

I've done the test to my Cinema Display (also IPS) and did not get any retention.

 

[bill-p]

Just curious, this IR test seems to be prevalent in rMBP.

How many of you have tested this in other models? Say your iMac or old MBP or even your other monitors?

Am going to do it on my iMac and see what happens.


Also had another thought, for the sake of argument with Apple.

Forget the checkerboard test, as the consensus is that, under normal use we don't really do that.

So the closest in real world use for that test would be the Apple Chess program under games. Change the color scheme of the board that has high contrast and do the test and see if their is image retention.

Considering that a chess game stays lit on the screen for more than 20 mins on average for a game, that would be the deal breaker.

Try the "Marble Board" and "Metal Pieces" as thats closest to that test.

Better test: set wallpaper to solid dark grey color (should be one of the default color options. Choose the darkest grey), then open a blank Safari window (white background) and just leave it there. After 10 minutes, move the window elsewhere and see if you don't get an impression of where the window was.

That's as "normal use" as it can get, and trust me, I've seen the whole window, complete with the address bar and other buttons, retained on my rMBP.

Since Apple replaced my LG screen with a Samsung screen, I've had the dark grey wallpaper forever, and I have left Xcode windows on for as long as 6 hours straight. No retention. None whatsoever.

 

[bushido]

whats the command for the 13 inch? the posted comand doesnt show anything in terminal

edit: well fml just got it today -.-

 

[nickbarbs]

I've come to the following conclusion about this LG vs Samsung debate

1.) LG has better whites and better colours, the kind that really pop and make you go wow, that is a nice screen.
2.) Samsung has slightly yellower whites, more dumbed down colors. No IR in any situation.
3.) in cases where you dont reproduce IR which is most of the time, the LG is better.
4.) The IR really only shows up on a specific range of greyscale images.


The IR is an issue, it shouldnt happen. but comparing the screens for me I'm going to stick with the LG and its downsides because I find it to be sharper, more colorful and more pleasing on the whites. I plan on seeing what this year's roll out on the new RMBPs shows; I'm assuming they will not be changing the screen or form factor, but instead will do a small refresh to the internals, and possibly source updated screens from LG/Samsung/Whoever.

Assuming they pool the upper clamshell, eg 2013 and 2012 macbook pro retinas have the same part, or they refresh the part being used in their supply chain for RMBP 2012, I will then look at changing out the screen for IR (which is easily reproducible) in hopes they have rolled out a screen that is as nice as the LG minus the IR (i'll keep an eye on these forums to see what people are saying)

For now, I'm super pleased to be back with an LG.

I have gone through these screens thanks to this issue and some others that cropped up along the way

1.) July, LG
2.) August, new replacement, still LG
3.) September, In store clamshell replacement for screen, Samsung
4.) Mid September, Another in store clamshell replacement for screen, Samsung, due to dead pix (and top case because tech dented the macbook)
5.) December, entire computer was replaced because of new intermittent issues after top case replacement) my replacement came with a freaking LG (back to square one)

funny enough, after using the samsung screens for 2 full months, and going back to LG, my first impression was WOW. The LG really was that much nicer. I had them side by side for like 5 mins before being completely satisfied that I was lucky to get an LG back as it is just such a more pleasant screen.

I remember being slightly dissapointed by the reds of the samsung.. but getting used to it. After getting my replacement machine in december which came again with an LG, I decided to quit wasting my time for this issue and put up with LG for now. The IR for me that shows up almost never is worth the better whites and colors of the LG.

I realize its not great, but i have 3 years warranty on this thing, and Apple knows this is an issue. I'll call my rep in a year's time when hopefully the have better options. They already upgraded my cpu from 2.3 -> 2.6 on the latest machine as a gesture of good will for the BS i put up with so i'm confident they will take care of me when the time comes.

This is the unfortunate price of being an early adopter, and its not right that Apple puts us through this, but hopefully as someone who has experienced about 5 of these panels both LG and SAMSUNG this stuff is helpful to you 🙂

 

[Fleer]

LG vs Samsung

Interesting how LG owners tend to focus on (a number of) perceived advantages, such as color depth, to balance the disadvantage of ghosting.
I too have experienced a few (3) LG's before I got one (1) Samsung.
All I can say is that, in a side-by-side comparison, the Samsung screen is definitely the nicest to look at and work with, apart from the fact that it does not suffer any ghosting.

 

[krravi]

Interesting how LG owners tend to focus on (a number of) perceived advantages, such as color depth, to balance the disadvantage of ghosting.
I too have experienced a few (3) LG's before I got one (1) Samsung.
All I can say is that, in a side-by-side comparison, the Samsung screen is definitely the nicest to look at and work with, apart from the fact that it does not suffer any ghosting.

When you say 3 LG's, did you get three laptops with LG's and kept returning them till you got a Samsung?

If so, what did you tell Apple when returning? Just curious.

 

[Fleer]

No, I didn't really want to play that game. However the 3 LG's started developing some form of ghosting, although not serious, within the 14-day period. Then, when I got the fourth one (with Samsung screen), I still had the third one (with LG) to compare, before returning it to Apple. This way, I coukd clearly compare both.

 

[krravi]

whats the command for the 13 inch? the posted comand doesnt show anything in terminal

edit: well fml just got it today -.-

Image

Finally I have seen a pic with image retention. That does look bad.

How long does it stay before it fades away?

 

[Dominus Mortem]

No, I didn't really want to play that game. However the 3 LG's started developing some form of ghosting, although not serious, within the 14-day period. Then, when I got the fourth one (with Samsung screen), I still had the third one (with LG) to compare, before returning it to Apple. This way, I coukd clearly compare both.

Was this a 13" or 15" rMBP?

 

[bushido]

Finally I have seen a pic with image retention. That does look bad.

How long does it stay before it fades away?

5 - 10 minutes 🙁 same time it took to appear

just got it today ... jeeze. oddly enough it was manufactured in nov already.
guess ill have to take 2 macbooks to the store on monday cuz my old cmbp is also broken *sigh*

 

[krravi]

5 - 10 minutes 🙁 same time it took to appear

just got it today ... jeeze. oddly enough it was manufactured in nov already.
guess ill have to take 2 macbooks to the store on monday cuz my old cmbp is also broken *sigh*

How do you see the manufacture date? Is there a site that tells you that based on your serial number?

 

[bushido]

How do you see the manufacture date? Is there a site that tells you that based on your serial number?

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html/

 

[krravi]

http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html/

Thanks mine was made in december the same month I ordered it.

Now I did the test for 5 mins and when I switched to gray I had very faint squares left over on my screen.

Then went to Apple website (lot of whites) and then the squares were gone.

I feel like this is normal?

I would bet that it will also happen on the Samsung screens. People just arent seeing it because they have become programmed to think that it cannot happen on Samsung screens.. 😉
tHaving said that, I can't really find any fault with my screen. The white is just pure white and brite and no tinting or anything anywhere.. Just a fantastic screen to look at.

So, I am going to keep this. Its a LG screen but in the end its the experience that matter and I am thrilled by this screen and its clarity.

So people who have done image retention tests(10 mins is a stretch really. I bet that will happen on any monitor and TV)..If you have image retention even when doing daily tasks like browsing or typing documents using pages or etc.. then exchange it.

But if you notice it only by doing that test? Then just ignore it. Most of the LCD test's are designed to task the LCD's with oddball images.

So that's my take on it. Yes, I spent close to 2600 bucks on my machine and so far I see no reason for it to be returned. This notebook is one of the, if not the best Mac,Apple has ever made in terms of fit and finish and quality control. So enjoy the machine, 6 months down the line you won't even think about all these things... 🙂

 

[KPOM]

As far as I can tell, there are no issues with my 13" rMBP. Since the script doesn't work, I can't tell what LCD it has. However, according to the chipmunk website my model was produced in week 42 (October), though I just got it 5 days ago.

 

[krravi]

As far as I can tell, there are no issues with my 13" rMBP. Since the script doesn't work, I can't tell what LCD it has. However, according to the chipmunk website my model was produced in week 42 (October), though I just got it 5 days ago.

The same script doesn't work on all Mac's.I believe there is some change for each model.

But trust me, not knowing what LCD you have is probably for the best. You will use and view your computer objectively.

 

[KPOM]

The same script doesn't work on all Mac's.I believe there is some change for each model.

But trust me, not knowing what LCD you have is probably for the best. You will use and view your computer objectively.

I couldn't care less what model display it has. It blows away the one on the MacBook Air that I replaced, and that's what matters. 🙂

 

[IGregory]

I have a a rMBP and it's absolutely gorgeous and it came with an LG screen. I thought I did not have any image retention on my display but I learned in another forum how to accurately test if my screen displays an image retention issue. So, following these somewhat extreme instructions I was able to finally see the issue. This test opened my eyes to the issue!

Now I am curious if others with either Samsung or LG who previously did not see any image retention issue if you see one running this test.

1. Run the command in a terminal window to see if you have LG or Samsung: ioreg -lw0 | grep \"EDID\" | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

2. Set your desktop background to the darkest of the 3 solid gray backgrounds that come with OS X. Then, open up a picture of a black and white checkerboard with preview and blow it up until it fills the screen.

3. After about 15 minutes, minimize the checkerboard image and uncover your screen.

4. Report your results.

Image

If I want to invent a problem and I work hard at it I'm sure I can find the problem.

 

[Fleer]

was this a 13" or 15" rmbp?

15

 

[Veriac]

How can I let the IR fade away? Open up a white web page or something?
Can someone upload something to make it easy to let this blocks fade away?
My skype icon in the dock is also visible on a grey background...

15" MBPr

 

[dr0pi]

I went to lunch today leaving a video open (so no screensaver). After 20 minutes I returned and the browser window showed slight image retention.

I just did a quick IR checkerboard test for 3 minutes and obviously my screen just began to show the defect. After 1 minute of waiting I could barely see the checkerboard, BUT could still see the burned-in text from the browser.

(Week 45, 15inch, LG)
Next stop Applestore!

 

[Woodcrest64]

I went to lunch today leaving a video open (so no screensaver). After 20 minutes I returned and the browser window showed slight image retention.

I just did a quick IR checkerboard test for 3 minutes and obviously my screen just began to show the defect. After 1 minute of waiting I could barely see the checkerboard, BUT could still see the burned-in text from the browser.

(Week 45, 15inch, LG)
Next stop Applestore!

Did you go to the Apple store yet. The supervisor from Apple I spoke to on the phone said he could not help me.

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http://www.chipmunk.nl/klantenservice/applemodel.html/

Bushido did you end up doing anything about your rmbp and the image retention?