May
16
Maybe I just missed it before, but it looks to me like along with introduction of the new “glossy” 13.3″ display on the MacBook Apple has extended the option to the pro line. The MacBook Pro now has a a free “glossy” display option (see below) for both the 15″ and 17″ model.
This sounds really cool, but I don’t quite get why they are keeping the old display.
I mean don’t you anyway want as crisp pictures and as Blac, black as you can get anyway?
These new “glossy” displays use technology like “TrueBright” and are esentially just a special coating that gives the impression of a brighter display. Most PC users think this is a great trick, but for graphics professionals (Mac users) this is horrible. The gloss causes bad reflections off the screen, plus give up any chance of getting any kind of color accuracy out of a glossy LCD display.
I agree… those glossy screens may look “nice” at first, but the colours are far too saturated. I’d stick with the matt screens given the option.
I. Hate. Glossy. Displays.
They reflect light like a mirror. Every light source in the room will reflect off of your screen. I once had a screen protector that was shiny, and it renderd the disply ABSOLUTLY USELESS. Yuo could see everyhting with it. It was like one of those one-way mirrors. If it was pitch black in the room, you could see what was behind it– a screen– and if not, it was essentially a mirror. You can see a glow or minor reflection on the current matte displays, but they aren’t mirrors. Shiny displays suck.
So is this like Sony’s X-Brite (or x-black – in the UK)?
Can someone please clarify?
I’ve never had the glossy display on my laptops until my Dell XPS and now I love it. I use my laptop 8 hours a day – the extra contrast helps with eye strain, especially on a high resolution display. I’ve never seen a blacker black than on a glossy screen – excellent for pics and video. I thought the reflections would bother me, but I don’t notice them at all.
The older, non-glossy displays would diffuse the ambient light across the screen, casting a glow. The glossy ones cause a direct reflection of ambient light, and therefore, don’t take away from the contrast. I have also done a comparison in direct sunlight and they both look equally as bad – nothing can help that.
All in all, I think most consumers will appreciate the glossy screen – good move for Apple.
Check out this photo of the glossy screen:
http://w73.photobucket.com/albums/i224/chrisholland/DSC00193.jpg
I don’t like it! It’s not as good as Sony’s shiny screens.
Another pic of the glossy screen:
http://w73.photobucket.com/albums/i224/chrisholland/tooshiny.jpg