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Your experiences with Matte screen protectors!

R

ramzhh

macrumors regular
Original poster
Apr 21, 2010
173
0
Hey guys,

Just wanna know what your experiences have been(if any) regarding matte screen protectors for you Glossy Macbook pro users that like the glossy screen more. Chris Pirillo is probably getting one of those too, just so you know ;)

Do you find it better than the standard Anti-glare? Did it fit at 100%?

I would had made a poll if I had found the option, Urrgh.

:apple:
 
If you want matte, go for the matte screen...

The matte screen protector can't be any better than matte screen, it's like something on top the screen
 
I'm using a Power Support anti glare film on my 13"MBP and I am extremely happy with the results. I took it to the Apple store and compared it with the AG 15" MBP and the difference was miniscule! Highly recommended.
I'll take pics if you want.
 
stumbletown said:
Suppose you spend most of your time computing in your cave like apartment and take your laptop outdoors every once in awhile? That's the boat I'm in at least.
Click to expand...

You can still get the anti glare display. It won't make your indoor computer experience worse, just your outdoor experience better.
 
alphaod said:
You can still get the anti glare display. It won't make your indoor computer experience worse, just your outdoor experience better.
Click to expand...

not true.

As per below link:
Update: I finally had the time to compare the standard glossy display to the "hi-res, non-glossy" one. The verdict: I love the extra resolution. The anti-glare surface works, but colors aren't as nice (they don't "pop" as much). Now it's your choice.
Click to expand...

Here is the Link to the quoted Review
 
I had the Moshi matte screen film on my old MacBook Pro, listed in my signature. The problem with all screen films is that the unibody MacBook Pro has a layer of glass on top of the LCD. When you put a film on top of that, you can really see the depth between the film and the LCD, which means that if you are not looking at text dead-on, it will have a fuzzy appearance. This even means that if your head is centered on the screen on your MacBook Pro, text towards the edges will appear slightly fuzzy. Therefore I don't recommend them, and recommend that you instead go for an anti-glare display from the factory.
 
Because of the thickness of the glass, a matte film will make the display fuzzy. A matte display is not fuzzy at all, though (anyone who says so hasn't used one). A film also won't reduce reflections since the glass behind it is reflecting just as much light, so the diffuse reflected light from a glossy display with a matte film is more than that from a real matte display. In short, a matte film over a glossy display is the worst of both worlds.

I do keep a matte film on my iPod for the sole reason that it makes the touchscreen feel more responsive since the friction is more consistent. I don't even need it for the scratch resistance since in a year with no screen protector there isn't a scratch on the display (the back is another story).
 
I'm getting different answers from you guys... :)

I would buy the original Anti-glare, but the silver bezel is so...urrgghh ... Are any words that can describe it?... Looks like an old Powerbook.

Why couldn't they just put a damn black bezel around the Matte screen?
 
ramzhh said:
I'm getting different answers from you guys... :)

I would buy the original Anti-glare, but the silver bezel is so...urrgghh ... Are any words that can describe it?... Looks like an old Powerbook.

Why couldn't they just put a damn black bezel around the Matte screen?
Click to expand...

I strongly agree with your "urrgghh" to describe teh silver bezel! That makes me want the glossy instead of the matte - Only if matte does not have the silver bezel...
 
ramzhh said:
I'm getting different answers from you guys... :)

I would buy the original Anti-glare, but the silver bezel is so...urrgghh ... Are any words that can describe it?... Looks like an old Powerbook.

Why couldn't they just put a damn black bezel around the Matte screen?
Click to expand...

I will tell you why sir. Silver (or more specifically grey) is the mid point between black and white. If you are doing graphical design work, you want a neutral border around your screen so it doesn't artificially "color" what you are doing. Same reason movie screens are grey.

A black (or white) border will shift (brighten or darken) the colors you perceive with your eye. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
 
henry72 said:
If you want matte, go for the matte screen...

The matte screen protector can't be any better than matte screen, it's like something on top the screen
Click to expand...

If you want to buy the 13-inch MacBook Pro (for cost reasons, size reasons, weight reasons, usability reasons etc) you don't have this option though.

iag48 said:
I'm using a Power Support anti glare film on my 13"MBP and I am extremely happy with the results. I took it to the Apple store and compared it with the AG 15" MBP and the difference was miniscule! Highly recommended.
I'll take pics if you want.
Click to expand...

I am going to have to buy a 13-inch MacBook Pro in the next month or two and hate the super glossy screens Apple uses (the glossy screen on my MacBook Air is as glossy as I would want) so I would love to see some photos of this (and also anyone who has used the Photodon, ViewGuard etc equivalents). :)
 
Matte Screen FTW. And the gray bezel looks just fine...you'll get used to it. Not to mention the last gen MBPs all had gray bezels.
 
mosdef said:
I will tell you why sir. Silver (or more specifically grey) is the mid point between black and white. If you are doing graphical design work, you want a neutral border around your screen so it doesn't artificially "color" what you are doing. Same reason movie screens are grey.

A black (or white) border will shift (brighten or darken) the colors you perceive with your eye. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Click to expand...

A bit of a far stretch, no?

I'd like to see some sort of proof backing this bold statement up. I've never heard of this before...
 
The first time I heard of it was when the original aluminum studio displays came out. Apple talked about it in their ad. No link, sorry. Plus I work in the professional audio video industry, and its just a known thing. It makes perfect sense to me.

No matter if its a bright color, all white, a dark color, or a totally black screen, the overall average is closer to grey than any other color/shade. It is the most neutral possible. I believe the technical term is "Neutral Density Grey".
 
m85476585 said:
See for yourself
http://mevanareza.wordpress.com/2009/06/28/optical-illusion/

I don't know if it would make that much difference on a computer, though, and a lot of programs I've seen put whatever you are editing over a gray background (Photoshop, Word, etc).
Click to expand...

That was a cool link. I didn't believe it until I photoshopped it myself. Plus when you look at that shade of gray, it has 107 (even amounts) Red, Green, and Blue. I didn't know you could make gray from even amounts of RGB. Cool stuff.
 
You could also think of it as one of those ambient light tv's. If a scene is primarily green, like people running through a green field, the tv puts out a green background light for "mood". If the room is one color, it helps saturate the image you are looking at if its the same color.

http://www.engadget.com/2004/07/08/philips-ambilight-tv/

If your screen border is neutral, it will accentuate other colors the least amount on average. A black border would make everything look slightly darker, but its one of those "illusion" type things that is hard to detect.
 
ramzhh said:
I'm getting different answers from you guys... :)

I would buy the original Anti-glare, but the silver bezel is so...urrgghh ... Are any words that can describe it?... Looks like an old Powerbook.

Why couldn't they just put a damn black bezel around the Matte screen?
Click to expand...

Hey, hey, hey now... Why you gotta go and insult a Powerbook? And who are you calling "old"? Yes, my 8 year old Powerbook is so slow, even the iPhone has better multitasking abilities, but let's not call it "old". How about... "wiser" =)

I'm one of the many people who didn't buy the new 13" because of the lack of anti-glare (and so many other things). I've been considering one of those anti-glare films. I'm also wondering which is the best. I've heard some good things about ClearCal from Radtech
http://www.radtech.us/Products/ClearCal-Displays.aspx
 
mosdef said:
I will tell you why sir. Silver (or more specifically grey) is the mid point between black and white. If you are doing graphical design work, you want a neutral border around your screen so it doesn't artificially "color" what you are doing. Same reason movie screens are grey.

A black (or white) border will shift (brighten or darken) the colors you perceive with your eye. Now you know, and knowing is half the battle.
Click to expand...

That actually makes sense. Thanks, it's a point of view I don't see a lot here.
 
I got one of those anti-glare screen covers at the Apple shop here in Taipei. I was getting eye strain from the Macbook Pro screen that I had and I can say that it made quite a bit of difference and I now longer get the same headaches I used to get from looking at my screen for extended periods of time.
 
alphaod said:
Just because another reviewer disagrees does not negate my experiences in anyway. :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Totally agree. I think a lot of people mistake the unnatural over saturation of glossy displays for some sort of "wow" factor. It's a personal preference though, and I prefer not looking at a mirror while also retaining natural vibrant colors.
 
I used a clearcal on a 13" a little while back.

It worked great. Whites were a little prismatic, which means if you were looking at a huge field of white, you could somewhat see different colors in it. Think of those times you may have accidentally gotten a raindrop on your cellphone screen, but not nearly as intense. It was really minimal and only happened when you really focused on a huge white spot.

I didn't mind. I just wanted it because I used it primarily in a white library with tons of bright lighting, and I went camping often so I enjoyed using it outdoors to do some writing.

It worked great, and was $20. It didn't make anything appear fuzzy to me, it reduced headaches.

I only had it about 2 weeks before my notebook was stolen though. It was amazing those 2 weeks. I'm ordering a 15" low resolution in a few weeks and I'm already placing an order for another ClearCal from Radtech. They seem the cheapest.

It took 15 minutes to apply because my home is under construction so it's rather dusty. It's really, really easy to apply. Just use compressed air and a piece of tape to pull off the dust from the screen. I did wash the screen once because it just got too much dog hair under the static for me to pull out. It stuck right back on no problem!
 
I am waiting for a powersupport anti-glare to come in on monday for my 15" mbp. I really wanted a matte screen but you can't be choosy when you bought your computer for a really great deal. It was VERY expensive - $40 bucks to be precise - that is because I could not find it anywhere but power support's site. I could be wrong though - I didn't look that hard for it. I just wanted my anti-glare to come in fast. I will post findings when it comes in and after I apply it.
 
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