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djmpower · Sep 16, 2004, 11:13 PM

I owned both the rev. A 867mhz 12" Powerbook, as well as the rev. B 1ghz 12" Powerbook. I never had any problems with the rev. A 12", but I had to return the rev. B 12" because the screen strained my eyes and made them tear after moderate to short usage (1-2 hours). The screen quality seemed quite bad (bad coloration at different angles and everything looked slightly fuzzy). I had to return it for a 15" Powerbook.

However, I am now looking at a rev. C 12" because of its small size. For those of you that have them, how is the screen quality? Is the screen still plagued with bad coloration from different angles and fuzziness? Is the screen simply poorly calibrated from the factory and does it need to be adjusted?

I do not mind the limited screen real estate, but need a screen that is sharp and has uniform color throughout (does not overly strain the eyes). Did I just have a bad rev. B 12"?

Any help would be greatly appreciated...I am itching for the small powerbook again.

Thanks,
DJ

Lancer409 · Sep 17, 2004, 01:22 AM

i and many people i know think it's fine ... some people arent happy with 'em ... all i can say is go check it out in person. see if it's "good enough" for you.
good luck

iREZ · Sep 17, 2004, 03:17 AM

I have a 12" Rev B and never noticed any problems with my screen. Although the 15" and 17" have better LCD's the 12" isn't as bad as people make it seem here on these forums. Besides your not supposed to do any color corrections on a 12" screen in the first place, that's why you have spanning mode available.

phantomac · Sep 17, 2004, 04:05 AM

No problems here. The screen is totally decent and easy to look at from most angles. (Rev. C 12")

im_noahselby · Sep 17, 2004, 04:40 AM

The 12" PB rev c display is supposedly brighter than the rev a & b models before it. Other than that, I don't think there is much of a difference. It definitely isn't as nice as the 15" & 17" PB's, which have stunning displays.

I'm happy with my screen, but I wish Apple would adopt better display technologies for their laptops, like Sony has.

Noah

sniffer · Sep 17, 2004, 12:52 PM

I think the angle is to narrow, but otherwise I am very satisfied with my PB 12".

freakboy2 · Sep 17, 2004, 02:15 PM

i like mine.. hven't used any other powerbooks recently, but its a ncier screen than the g4 ibooks..

fb

fisherKing · Sep 17, 2004, 05:11 PM

the revC 12" screen is fine, i use mine at about 60% brightness.
but...when i put it next to my girlfriend's new 15"...hmmmm.
the 15" screen is brighter, sharper.

yet i wouldn't trade this one for anything (well, maybe the NEXT 12"..)

i live on this machine, and the screen is perfectly usable.

Voch · Sep 17, 2004, 06:52 PM

I tinkered with the 12" demo unit at my local CompUSA. The screen was nice...

Voch

icruise · Sep 17, 2004, 07:50 PM

I just bought a rev C 12" powerbook to replace my rev A version. I have them standing right next to each other, and I don't think there's all that much of a difference in the screens. The new one is probably a bit brighter, but that might just be because it is newer, and LCDs tend to get less bright over time. I don't see much of a difference in viewing angle or colors. It's not as nice as the 15" or 17" models, but it's still a very good screen. Most of the complaints I've heard about the screen have not been about the image quality, but rather the size and resolution.

Homer1946 · Sep 17, 2004, 09:48 PM

Originally posted by Icruise:
I just bought a rev C 12" powerbook to replace my rev A version. I have them standing right next to each other, and I don't think there's all that much of a difference in the screens. The new one is probably a bit brighter, but that might just be because it is newer, and LCDs tend to get less bright over time. I don't see much of a difference in viewing angle or colors. It's not as nice as the 15" or 17" models, but it's still a very good screen. Most of the complaints I've heard about the screen have not been about the image quality, but rather the size and resolution.

I upped from a Rev A to a Rev C and I can tell no difference. The default color settings were terrible both timews but after some time with the calibration tool is was ok, but still worse than my iBook 500. Bottom line, the screen is ok.

cxwing · 12:02 AM

Originally posted by Homer1946:
The default color settings were terrible both timews but after some time with the calibration tool is was ok, but still worse than my iBook 500.

Is there a built-in calibration in OSX or did you buy one of those fancy calibration camera you put on the screen to compute the right color correction curve? Thanks.

Edit for future Mac users like me: I went to the Apple store to show the PB12 I'm going to get to my wife (first Mac, final approval

) and I looked at the Preferences utility: there is a calibration utility to create a display profile.

8minute · Sep 19, 2004, 07:35 PM

The screen on my Rev C is alright. If there was anything I'd wish for, it would probably be to have the screen a bit brighter and higher resolution.

NYCFarmboy · Sep 19, 2004, 08:34 PM

the screen is hit or miss.

Apple uses at least 2 different venders to supply the LCD screen.

I have a 1.33 ghz g4 powerbook 12" and can say in my opinion the quality is marginal at best.

I very much prefer using my 2 year old white ibook as it has a MUCH better 12" screen than my 6 month old powerbook.

I would most definately look at the exact powerbook in person and have them turn it ON before buying.

other than the very low-end screen the rest of the 12" 1.3 powerbook is awesome!

Here is a pic I took of the two...the strange part of the new powerbook screen is you get really odd color distortion from side viewing angles..which you don't normally view from anyhow..but its still annoying.

TommyLeeRoth · Sep 19, 2004, 11:22 PM

I have had a replacement screen installed on my pb 12" which turned out to be slightly duller, but with a better viewing angle than the original. I guess it depends on which model you happen to get with your pb.

Simon · Sep 20, 2004, 01:53 AM

NYCFarmboy, interesting comparison. It would be nice if you could take a shot from the other side as well. Just so we know what part of the distortion is due to the PB's screen and which is due to the angle. The iBook's angle is less in this pic than the PowerBook's after all.

Lancer409 · Sep 20, 2004, 03:12 AM

Originally posted by Simon:
NYCFarmboy, interesting comparison. It would be nice if you could take a shot from the other side as well. Just so we know what part of the distortion is due to the PB's screen and which is due to the angle. The iBook's angle is less in this pic than the PowerBook's after all.

same thing crossed my mind. nice wallpaper btw

NYCFarmboy · Sep 20, 2004, 09:39 AM

another comparison...I'll take some more pics later this week when I can have both side by side and show them again from the same position but with the computers switched etc.

The issue is the purple/magenta cast that you get when viewing from the SIDE which is only a issue when VIEWING from a angle/side. When you look dead-on it is a fine screen. I've had the thing for a while now and have acclimated to it but very much wish Apple would have put a better screen on the laptop.

Oh...here is a link to the desktop pic I use..of some Dafadils I photographed. Its only 800x600 but seems to work well at larger resolutions.

click on the pic for the larger version

iMacfan · Sep 20, 2004, 11:42 AM

I'd guess that this is not really too much Apple's fault. The hot spot for LCD tech has moved way beyond 12" XGA screens, so there is probably little R+D going into them apart from price gouging initiatives, which may well have sacrificed some quality.

You must remember just how large a proportion in terms of cost the flat-panel on a powerbook used to be. I have a Powerbook 1400c, which is only about 7 years old - and that cost at least $5000 new! (though luckily I bought it 2nd hand for only about $1000 a year and a half later)

So, maybe the correct comparison is between the current screens in the 12"PB and the iBook, they are probably (though I am not certain) the same. Though Apple is not completely out of the blame frame (hey - I like that phrase - I'll try and remember that one!) here. This is because I seem to remember them pumping in a huge amount of money into Samsung's LCD tech division.

There is one possible bonus with these screens, though - privacy. The reduced viewing angle might be very useful when surrounded by other members of the public in a Coffee shop or train.

What I'd like to see is comparison photos between the two books already shown, but each straight on into the camera to see what the best possible quality is from each. Also, have they both been calibrated well?

David

icruise · Sep 20, 2004, 11:48 AM

I've used a couple of iBooks (rev a 500mhz and rev c? 800mhz) in addition to two 12" powerbooks and I don't think there's any meaningful differences between the screens. I'm sure there are some differences due to different display manufacturers, but it's not a big deal.