Sidebar Sidebar
Become a MacRumors Supporter for $50/year with no ads, ability to filter front page stories, and private forums.

The Ultimate rMBP Image Retention Test

Did you see Image retention on your rMBP with this test?

  • Total voters
    706
test results

So, here are my test results.

T11459T2002P1G5aBd0I1

I didn't see any image retention, but I haven't since using the machine. The ONLY complaint that I might have for this machine is relatively low brightness and battery life. Not sure if I should return it or not, don't want to play the lottery again and don't want one that might be worse.
 
AzN1337c0d3r said:
If you go to the First Colony Mall in Sugar Land and have a rMBP, take it in and show the Genius that you won't accept this "normal display characteristic".
Click to expand...

I just came back from the FCM Apple Store. They said that someone came in the other day and was requesting a replacement with a Samsung screen. I said I just want another machine but then the genius said that the manager said no.

So what next? Keep nagging someone until something happens? First time Apple support is being useless for me...
 
This is a little bizarre. The first test went as stated in my previous post. I manage to reproduce it every so often, if I leave it for 10+ minutes. However after minimising my dock - nothing was there. A little weird. Wondering if it's actually worth returning as it seems relatively confined.
 
vow said:
I just came back from the FCM Apple Store. They said that someone came in the other day and was requesting a replacement with a Samsung screen. I said I just want another machine but then the genius said that the manager said no.

So what next? Keep nagging someone until something happens? First time Apple support is being useless for me...
Click to expand...

Call Applecare and describe your issues, making sure to point out relevant threads if possible, and also ask to escalate to the "Senior Applecare Advisor".

I've had 100% success with 3 times call to Applecare in getting someone who understands that IR/burn-in is unacceptable.

At that point, if you are out of 14 days, they will give you 1 of 2 options:

1. Mail you a box to get it to a repair depot where they can't guarantee you a Samsung screen. Quoted time for me was 7-10 days.

2. Applecare can setup the display part to be ordered for you (again they can't guarantee a Samsung panel) and sent to the FCM Apple store where they can do your repair. However the head genius I spoke with (Jason Gwen) claims that they are backed up with repairs and that he will just mail off my laptop to the depot (but I think he was just being an ****** because he thinks I'm wasting his time).

3. Another alternative (which I chose) is to go to the Galleria Retail Store. The geniuses there apparently did not know about the issue yet so I think they accepted it for a repeat display repair. Again, they can't guarantee a Samsung panel.

Anyways, I'm never going to the First Colony Apple Store ever again even though it is like a 5 minute walk from my house because of those Genius ******s. When/If Apple officially admits this is a problem you can be sure I"ll be writing to Executive Relations about the poor treatment I received.
 
Last edited:
Just got back my 2nd replacement (3rd screen). Lo and behold, it's LG again. I was even able to reproduce IR in-store. I spoke to one of the managers in the Galleria store and he said that he wasn't going to keep replacing screens and that he would be in touch with Applecare and he would call me back.

Let's see what happens...
 
My rMBP has been in repair since Aug. 15th. I got a call Friday from the repair center. The claimed they were able to reproduce the IR. I asked them if they were replacing the screen and if so how would I know that the new screen would not have IR. They claimed "if" they replaced the screen it would be rigorously tested and when i got it back it would not have the problem. I would assume that they would have to replace the screen before testing to see if the IR was indeed gone. One thing for sure is it is still at the repair depot today 11 days later so something has to be happening???? I also received a call Friday from an Apple support rep who told me she would call me Monday with an update and a list of parts that were used in the repair.
 
returned

I simply returned mine. I hadn't had enough time to really test it enough, it was light on the brightness which I didn't like. I didn't want to get in the racket of having to deal with applecare this early in the life. If Apple will return it NQA, I'm just going to buy another one.
 
LG Panel. I didn't perform the test, but I already know the issue exists. I had Finder and iTunes open for over an hour or so (I was organizing my library). After I closed both windows, I noticed a portion of the screen was slightly yellow - Where the windows had been.

I'm not going to bother returning it right now, as its too soon to the school year. But I'm interested to see what happens.
 
Last edited:
Pretty bad image retention on my LG screen. I noticed that even leaving a browser window open for more than 10 minutes causes the address bar to "burn-in". This is noticeable only on the dark grey background and it does fade away, but I guess its still an issue. I am OK with the screen now as it doesn't affect my usage in any way, but will definitely get it replaced if things get worse in the future.
 
Is the non-Retina MBP known to have issues like this? I've jumped from a 13" to 15" laptop and feels a little awkward in size. Starting to think about just getting the higher end 13"?
 
Fed said:
Is the non-Retina MBP known to have issues like this? I've jumped from a 13" to 15" laptop and feels a little awkward in size. Starting to think about just getting the higher end 13"?
Click to expand...

I doubt it. IPS LCDs are more susceptible to IR than others due to how their built. But a well-made one should have nearly no IR.

Mine exhibits some IR, but I can only notice it on the dark grey background. Everything else about this machine seems perfect, so I'm extremely hesitant to have it replaced.
 
golf1410 said:
Thank you. I did not know IR is stand for image retention. I thought it was stand for infrared receiver.
Click to expand...

Haha, you are correct. That is nomally what IR refers to! However, in the Video and Display world, it also mean Image Retention, which is different from Image Burn-in. Image Burn-in is permanent, while Image Retention aka IR fades away gradually.

But, you were correct in your assumption :)
 
So today in the SanFrancisco store I walked in and I tested to rMBP's. The one on the left had an LG display. The one on the right was a Samsung display. I set both to the dark gray background and immediately demonstrated the issue. Needless to say I had a crowd of Apple employees and customers who were in utter shock after seeing the image retention comparison and the explanation of how this only happens on the LG screen vs. the Samsung Screen. They said they would look into it but they agreed that this was a serious issue and one that needed to be looked into. They also acknowledged that the manufacturing is separate from the retail so they would likely be able to do very little to help.

My personal experience is that some LG displays show the image retention worse than others. Give it enough time and the LG displays will decline and start showing image retention more and more. Don't accept LG panels from Apple on these expensive machines. It's not worth your hard earned money.
 
"Ghost Images on the MacBook Pro Retina Display

Some users have been reporting ghost images or image retention on the MacBook Pro Retina Display. If you leave a bright static image up for a while and then switch to a uniform dark gray image you may see a ghost of the static image that may take up to 5 minutes to disappear.

This is not peculiar to IPS displays as some news reports have claimed. We've been testing for this effect for over 15 years and have seen it in all sorts of display technologies, including LCD, Plasma, and even CRTs - our DisplayMate products have specific test patterns to look for ghosting and image retention. In some cases it can take hours for the ghost to completely disappear. The ghost can be either a positive or negative image, and either color or monochrome depending on the cause.

It used to be much more common, but now it's unusual to see it in a display. The cause varies: an electrostatic build up, a chemical impurity build up, a thermal imbalance, or an electronic levels issue within the panel. Depending on the cause it can be better to leave the display on with a dark uniform image, on with a bright uniform image, or turn the display off all together.

We don't have a MacBook Pro Retina Display here to test yet, but there is absolutely no detectable ghosting on our new iPad 3, which is an even higher PPI IPS display.

This is most likely a start-up production problem that may already be fixed. "

Source: http://www.displaymate.com/news.html
 
Hi folks,

This is my first post in macrumors. I am a new macbook pro (with LG screen) user. My device suffer from image retention which I can test in OSX environment (I have no doubt with it). However, something interesting come out. When I try to use bootcamp with windows 7, I can't replicate the image retention issue anymore in windows environment (use the dark gery background).
Just curious, did anyone test with this setting before?
I doubt whether any driver/software issues there?

thanks guys.
 
KevinDavid said:
Hi folks,

This is my first post in macrumors. I am a new macbook pro (with LG screen) user. My device suffer from image retention which I can test in OSX environment (I have no doubt with it). However, something interesting come out. When I try to use bootcamp with windows 7, I can't replicate the image retention issue anymore in windows environment (use the dark gery background).
Just curious, did anyone test with this setting before?
I doubt whether any driver/software issues there?

thanks guys.
Click to expand...

I most certainly can replicate this on Bootcamp. Perhaps you aren't using the right shade of grey.
 
My replacement for my original (both LG) was originally perfect, but has degraded very quickly - this is what it looks like now.

Will be taking it in tonight - very peeved to have to be dealing with this issue a second time.
 

Attachments

  • photo.JPG
    photo.JPG
    465.2 KB · Views: 251
Not all LGs are bad :)

My test results:

Color LCD
LP154WT1-SJA1
DCN23072CUKDMJ0AN
Persistent image time: 14:59
Ghost persistence time: 00:00
Used gray tone: 90
Display brightness: 100
Used pattern: Chessboard
Result code: T11459T2000P1G5aB100I0

I stopped by the Apple Store this weekend and found one Samsung Screen rMBP out of 6 on display. I had my machine with me and booted up a 1080p video on both to check out the differences.

My opinion through my eyes.

The Samsung is "maybe" a notch higher in brightness than my LG but that's where the +'s ends. My LG seemed to have better contrast, color depth, shadow depth, and overall more pleasing picture in the extreme ends (bright scenes and dark scenes) the middle/mix scenes appear to be equal.

I hope this info helps those out there. I just got my BTO rMBP straight from the factory delivered a few days ago and I love it.
 
Last edited:
My high-res/antiglare MBP (not an MBPr) arrived today, and for what it's worth I was able to make out the outlines of the checkerboard for a few seconds once I'd minimized the browser following the 15-minute test. Definitely gone now, though. Moral of the story: don't panic if you see a little something very briefly on your screen.
 
kaput said:
My replacement for my original (both LG) was originally perfect, but has degraded very quickly - this is what it looks like now.

Will be taking it in tonight - very peeved to have to be dealing with this issue a second time.
Click to expand...

That's horrendous!! :eek: I hope they swap it out, and you get a Sammy screen!!

The thing with [some] LG screens is that the IR starts to show up after a few days!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Register on MacRumors! This sidebar will go away, and you'll see fewer ads.
Top Bottom
Back