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Um, Matte MBP... (why so ugly?)

angemon89

angemon89

macrumors 68000
Original poster
Feb 5, 2008
1,849
111
Northern CA
Ok, I'd like to start off by saying that I love matte screens. Ever since the new MBP's were announced I"ve been pretty pissed that they didn't include them as an option, and up till now, that they haven't included it on the 15"

In the past I even owned a 2.4GHz LED Matte MBP for a short while. The display was brilliant and the best looking laptop display I had ever seen for a 15"

So, today I went into the Apple store and to my surprise they had the 17" anti-glare on display. I immediately did a double take and thought to myself why does it look so horrible? At first I thought the brightness might have been down, but no, the brightness was at full. It just looked so dull and dark. It looked nothing like the LED matte display in my old MBP.

For those that have seen/own one, is that just how the look? This is the first time I had ever seen a unibody anti-glare so I don't know. Maybe the one on display was a lemon or something?
 
I don't like the new "anti-glare" options, they make the screens look weird, and that grey bezel is blegh.. they should have true matte screens, that don't have too washed out colors
 
Hmm, is that what washed out means? I hear that all the time but I never really knew what it meant when referring to computer monitors.

If so, then yeah the colors definitely looked washed out.

Also, its not a matte screen that they put in there? wat? If it's not a matte screen then what is it?
 
I am very disappointed with the "anitglare" option - it certainly isn't a matte screen. Also, that gray/aluminum bezel around the antiglare screen looks horrible. I am really holding out hope for a true matte option in the future. For now, I will keep using my old matte MBP.
 
powerboy said:
I am very disappointed with the "anitglare" option - it certainly isn't a matte screen. Also, that gray/aluminum bezel around the antiglare screen looks horrible. I am really holding out hope for a true matte option in the future. For now, I will keep using my old matte MBP.
Click to expand...

But then it's not selling is as a matte screen. They're selling it as you say, as
an "optional antiglare display". Least it's a start. Who knows. They're not seeming to stop with their push for glossy, but they might try and improve the anti-glare matte-like options for the next update.
 
i got the very last of the all alu MBP's released last year in october. the screen is superb.

its unnerving to hear the "anti-static" version is no where near the quality of the matte screens of ol. i dont get it. did apple just not put a glass over the screen (as in glossy screens) or put an anti-glare coat over a glossy screen sans glass and hence we have a sub-standard screen?

that plus axing the full DVI port and leaving us with the mini display port dual link issues
 
The matte screen is excellent on my 17" unibody MBP. It is sharp, bright, and the colors better than my old classic 15" MBP.

Also, the screen is anti-glare or matte, with the surface looking very close to my 30" display. The terms matte and anti-glare are interchangeable as far as I can tell. I don't know what everyone else is talking about.

Perhaps the OP was looking at a 17" MBP with an older build of OS X, which is known to make the 17" display look blue/purple and dark.
 
youssefm said:
I don't like the new "anti-glare" options, they make the screens look weird, and that grey bezel is blegh.. they should have true matte screens, that don't have too washed out colors
Click to expand...

This is completely false, they did use true matte screens.
 
Teej guy said:
This is completely false, they did use true matte screens.
Click to expand...

There are more than two of glossy/ matte. Look at the dell precision line with the wuxga screens. Those really set the bar for the perfect balance between the two on a notebook. Sony/Samsung also use this coating on their S-PVA televisions/monitors. However my problem with the matte option is that having the black outine around it looks really bad and ugly. It should look more similar to the previous generation screen bezel.
 
- It is a matte screen.

- Washed out in comparison to what? Hold the 17" up to a 30" ACD and you'll not notice any washing out. It's only the consumer-colour-boosted nature of the glossy MB"P"s that makes them look washed out in a direct comparision.

- I prefer the silver bezel. A cleaner design.
 
blackhand1001 said:
There are more than two of glossy/ matte. Look at the dell precision line with the wuxga screens. Those really set the bar for the perfect balance between the two on a notebook. Sony/Samsung also use this coating on their S-PVA televisions/monitors. However my problem with the matte option is that having the black outine around it looks really bad and ugly. It should look more similar to the previous generation screen bezel.
Click to expand...

The person I was replying to was implying that it was a glossy screen with a matte screen cover thing on it (I believe that's what he/she was saying anyway.)
 
Teej guy said:
The person I was replying to was implying that it was a glossy screen with a matte screen cover thing on it (I believe that's what he/she was saying anyway.)
Click to expand...

Oh ok, yeah its a matte screen. There are matte screens out their that are far from washed out too, especially with wide gamut backlighting.
 
Most of the in-store display models are running an OS X install from a common disk image, which is not the same OS X install that comes with the 17", so the graphics settings are likely incorrect and the display on an out of the box 17" MBP will be a lot brighter. This has been discussed on this forum before, but I'm too tired to search and link to it.
 
I have the uMBP 17'' anti-glare one and i think it's actually prettier than the glossy one. Especially considering when you have all those light reflections/ glare and smudges going on it looks horrible and like cheap plastic.

If you're doing some serious visual work on the road (with a lot of changing lighting situations) i don't think glossy is an option.

Though i hope in future Apple will make the design consistent so the anti-glare has the black bezel around the screen too or ideally get rid of the bezel as much as possible.
 
Ok, so the possible reasons for the washed out colors I saw at the Apple store are either:

a) they weren't washed out. They just looked washed out in direct comparison with the glossy models

b) incorrect drivers/settings made the screen looked washed out.

I don't know which is right. I just know that the anti-glare looked nothing like I was expecting it to look like. Ever since the uMBP was announced I've been holding the matte screen on a pedestal and even recommending it to people because of my experience with the LED matte screen on the previous gen MBP.
 
LED is just backlight tech. It won't do any good if the screen itself is ****. And that might be the case.

Check the unibody Macbook screen versus MBP screen (both glossy). I didn't even realize how BAD Macbook screen until I saw the two together. Or check it out against 24" ACD (is it IPS panel? probably... old ACD's had IPS panels). The difference is incredible...
 
pdxflint said:
Most of the in-store display models are running an OS X install from a common disk image, which is not the same OS X install that comes with the 17", so the graphics settings are likely incorrect and the display on an out of the box 17" MBP will be a lot brighter. This has been discussed on this forum before, but I'm too tired to search and link to it.
Click to expand...
This is very true as I went back to the local Apple Store and checked about the OS X build and to add to that at some stores the graphics are not set at the best 9600 but the lower one and if you did or could check, you will find that it can't be changed because of the build # pre installed.
I had posted about this a few weeks back in a few threads and as the quote above from pdxflint states, I've found everyone that does a fresh install of OS X or has a newer build raves about the screen yet agrees it looked bad in the store.
Last…a black or gray bezel has absolutely nothing to do with the screen quality that some say effects the looks of said display :rolleyes: We all know it serves one realistic purpose, it keeps the screen of your choice in place so that multiple threads can be made for the which is better polls ;)
 
Artful Dodger said:
This is very true as I went back to the local Apple Store and checked about the OS X build and to add to that at some stores the graphics are not set at the best 9600 but the lower one and if you did or could check, you will find that it can't be changed because of the build # pre installed.
I had posted about this a few weeks back in a few threads and as the quote above from pdxflint states, I've found everyone that does a fresh install of OS X or has a newer build raves about the screen yet agrees it looked bad in the store.
Last…a black or gray bezel has absolutely nothing to do with the screen quality that some say effects the looks of said display :rolleyes: We all know it serves one realistic purpose, it keeps the screen of your choice in place so that multiple threads can be made for the which is better polls ;)
Click to expand...
Thanks for the reassurance. I'm still holding out for a 15" matte option myself.

I probably will go to the Apple store to confirm this sometime this week. I still would really like to see a "real" one in person before I buy though.

As for the display bezel, I personally think it looks way better in silver too.
 
On a 17" matte MBP that you would buy, there should be no need to re-install OSX doing a fresh install, because only the display units were imaged with the common OS X version seen in most stores. The ones out of the box would be much better. Don't know why Apple isn't doing something about this, because it's giving the wrong impression of the matte display model. There's no reason for it to be dull looking normally just because it's anti-glare. My matte screen 15" looks very bright and sharp, and I know the 17" anti-glare is supposed to be as good or better. Just be informed, and ask the right questions. Don't be easily dissuaded just because of misinformation.
 
As many have said, I love the look of my 17" matte screen MBP. I too think it has a cleaner design. And the screen is fantastic. Photos look sharp and vivid, not in the exaggerated glossy way. My local reseller said the configuration I bought is very popular, especially with photographers. But in the end each to their own, so if you don't like it, save yourself £35 and go glossy.
 
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