To those of you with iMac Retina 5k with backlight bleed.....

[gizmo84]

can you type this code in the Terminal app?

ioreg -lw0 | grep "EDID" | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6

does this still work to get the manufacturer of the LCD module? im trying to see if there are any models that have samsung panels in them or if they all have LG panels?

I really want to buy one of these but i dont want one with a crap LCD in it.

 

[prudenspatiens]

I tried entering the code in Terminal and it said I needed Xcode or something, so I stopped there.

Anyway, I don't have backlight issues on the replacement unit I am working on right (and that I plan on keeping).

But I wanted to say that there was a very very clear difference between the first display that I got and the replacement I have now. I would be very surprised if they came from the same place. The first was way more bright and blueish, and had pretty bad backlight bleed and clouding. The new one is more yellow and confortable to look at.

I would bet that there are effectively different manufacturers.

 

[redheeler]

does this still work to get the manufacturer of the LCD module?

Apparently not, as it only returned empty spaces.

 

[WilliamG]

I tried entering the code in Terminal and it said I needed Xcode or something, so I stopped there.

Anyway, I don't have backlight issues on the replacement unit I am working on right (and that I plan on keeping).

But I wanted to say that there was a very very clear difference between the first display that I got and the replacement I have now. I would be very surprised if they came from the same place. The first was way more bright and blueish, and had pretty bad backlight bleed and clouding. The new one is more yellow and confortable to look at.

I would bet that there are effectively different manufacturers.

I'd bet they're all LG.

 

[prudenspatiens]

I'm really not a specialist on these questions, but I did compare them side by side for a while and with multiple tests (colors, etc.) and I can tell you that it felt as if they were two different screens.

Maybe there can be important differences in a single manufacturer's production, I don't know.

But the blacks were of a somewhat different nature (a lot more profound in the replacement, and even the fonts did not alike (the replacement being a little bit less crisp, if that is even possible).

This is just my experience, but I know what I saw.

Can this have something to do with the fact that one had the M290x and the other M295X?

 

[WilliamG]

I'm really not a specialist on these questions, but I did compare them side by side for a while and with multiple tests (colors, etc.) and I can tell you that it felt as if they were two different screens.

Maybe there can be important differences in a single manufacturer's production, I don't know.

But the blacks were of a somewhat different nature (a lot more profound in the replacement, and even the fonts did not alike (the replacement being a little bit less crisp, if that is even possible).

This is just my experience, but I know what I saw.

Can this have something to do with the fact that one had the M290x and the other M295X?

Anything is possible, I suppose, but I've seen, for example - several different pre-2014 iMacs (all LG panels) that look like they came from different planets. Panel variance is a very real thing, and it can be VERY annoying, especially if you're trying to calibrate them similarly (which can be quite difficult).