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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > 17'' screen too dim?

17'' screen too dim?
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vandelay
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Dec 18, 2004, 08:43 PM
 
I got my 17'' PB after the last update, so it's about 7 months old.
At first i was very impressed with the screen, but by now it seems to be much dimmer.
Comparing it with a 20'' iMac G4 i just got, it seems like the highest brightness setting on the PB is roughly the equivalent of the lowest on the iMac.
I've been using the PB quite a bit, but this kind of deterioration doesn't seem right.

Any similar experiences here?
     
TailsToo
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Dec 18, 2004, 11:42 PM
 
Laptops are usually dimmer than Desktops... but your LCD will get dimmer over time.
     
vandelay  (op)
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Dec 19, 2004, 09:05 AM
 
Originally posted by TailsToo:
Laptops are usually dimmer than Desktops... but your LCD will get dimmer over time.

I'm aware of that, it just seems like a bit too much in a relatively short period of a time for a pricey laptop like this. I mean if it were an iBook, i might be a bit more understanding.
     
mhuie
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Dec 19, 2004, 07:20 PM
 
Have u tried recalibrating your Display in prefs->display->color?
MBP 1.83
     
Pierre B.
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Dec 20, 2004, 04:32 AM
 
Originally posted by vandelay:

Comparing it with a 20'' iMac G4 i just got, it seems like the highest brightness setting on the PB is roughly the equivalent of the lowest on the iMac.
How do you know that you would not say the same if you did the comparison between a brand new 17" Powerbook and a brand new 20" iMac?
     
Randman
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Dec 20, 2004, 04:38 AM
 
Are you sure you don't have the backlit setting on? That'll dim the screen some.

This is a computer-generated message and needs no signature.
     
vandelay  (op)
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Dec 20, 2004, 10:54 AM
 
Originally posted by Pierre B.:
How do you know that you would not say the same if you did the comparison between a brand new 17" Powerbook and a brand new 20" iMac?

Because i've been thinking that my PB wasn't looking as bright as it used to for a while, getting the iMac and comparing the two just made me realize how dim the PB really is.
     
vandelay  (op)
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Dec 20, 2004, 10:56 AM
 
Originally posted by Randman:
Are you sure you don't have the backlit setting on? That'll dim the screen some.
No, that's not it.
     
vandelay  (op)
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Dec 20, 2004, 11:00 AM
 
Originally posted by mhuie:
Have u tried recalibrating your Display in prefs->display->color?
After browsing the forums i tried SuperCal, but it still doesn't change the sort of washed out, dim look.
     
macxtal
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Dec 20, 2004, 11:22 AM
 
After a few hundred hours of use the backlight gets much dimmer. Compare a year old powerbook to a brand new one and the difference is striking. You can in theory put a new backlight in, but it's not practical to do.

All the more reason to regularly (12-18mo) sell and upgrade a notebook computer. Macs have a great advantage there in that they hold their value much longer than most computers.
     
jamil5454
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Dec 20, 2004, 08:20 PM
 
If that is the case, does this mean that LCD flat-panel monitors also dim after some usage? This almost worries me enough to look into a CRT for my future Mac.
     
danny_gasperini
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Dec 20, 2004, 10:47 PM
 
Originally posted by macxtal:
After a few hundred hours of use the backlight gets much dimmer. Compare a year old powerbook to a brand new one and the difference is striking. You can in theory put a new backlight in, but it's not practical to do.
This is true, but not as much as a CRT display dims over time (LCDs have on average, twice the life of a CRT when used in the same way). The big difference between older and newer LCD displays (in both desktops AND laptops) is the technology and quality of the back lights and the panels themselves. Comparing a Rev A 17" PowerBook to a Rev C 17" PowerBook is quite amazing in terms of the brightness differential. Working at an AppleCentre I see a lot of LCD panels come in for replacment in PowerBooks and even the variation in brightness in those panels (depending on brand and date of manufacture etc) is quite huge!
     
TailsToo
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Dec 21, 2004, 12:10 AM
 
My 15" TI PowerBook at full brightness is about as bright as my 20" ADC Cinema at about 50%.

Now I've used the PB screen for many more hours, so I can't tell if that's why, but I think that you will always see a big difference. (I can't use my 20" at full brightness... it hurts my eyes!)
     
vandelay  (op)
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Dec 21, 2004, 08:03 PM
 
Originally posted by TailsToo:
My 15" TI PowerBook at full brightness is about as bright as my 20" ADC Cinema at about 50%.

Now I've used the PB screen for many more hours, so I can't tell if that's why, but I think that you will always see a big difference. (I can't use my 20" at full brightness... it hurts my eyes!)

Thank you, that's basically what i was looking for, someone else's impressions of the difference in brightness between Apple laptops and desktops.
Having said that, i'm still under the impression that my PB screen has aged quite a bit in the last seven months and at full brightness isn't nearly as bright as my iMac at half.
Maybe i'm also just a little bit in shock, because up until now i've been only using portables ( Mac and PC ), and i didn't realize there would be such a huge difference with the screen on a desktop system.
     
chrisutley
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Dec 22, 2004, 10:34 PM
 
CRT's degrade over time as well. I find more so in clarity than in brightness, but your mileage may vary. Put a PowerBook next to an ACD (both new) and the PowerBook is going to be dimmer every single time assuming there are no defects involved. I really doubt that your PowerBook has degraded that much in 7-months.
     
striker100
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Dec 24, 2004, 12:24 PM
 
I have a 1.33GHz 17" Powerbook and recently purchased an IBM Thinkpad T42. I thought the Powerbooks display was beautiful until I put them next to each other and was very surprised to see how much dimmer and fuzzier the Powerbooks display is than the Thinkpads, this is when both are on AC power at the highest brightness setting. The Thinkpads display is not one of the shiny reflective displays like the Sony's Xbrite but it is so bright and sharp. I wish I had not compared them, now I feel the Powerbooks display is less than.
     
vandelay  (op)
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Dec 24, 2004, 03:01 PM
 
Originally posted by chrisutley:
....... I really doubt that your PowerBook has degraded that much in 7-months.
Of course this is a subjective observation , but that's how it looks to me.
     
B_2
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Jan 15, 2005, 05:27 PM
 
I have a one week old 17" PB and the quality of the display aint very good.

I have my brightness at Max and it is bearable, obviously having the brightness set at Max aint good in the long run.
     
   
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