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kybernaut · Jan 26, 2003, 01:54 PM

I recently set up a new iBook 700 CD for a friend and was quite shocked how bright his screen was in comparison to mine (late 2001 iBook 600). Also the colors were much more saturated. The "white" on my screen seemed kind of gray-ish and/or green-ish. The color profile on both machines was "ColorLCD".

I wonder if anybody else noticed this or if something might be wrong with my screen?

Thanx for some thoughts...

kybernaut

icruise · Jan 26, 2003, 02:00 PM

Brightness tends to decrease over time, so it may just be because the ibook you saw was new. Although I wouldn't think that would affect the colors -- it's possible they are using a different brand of screen now.

Guy Kuo · Jan 26, 2003, 06:37 PM

I'd agree that the difference is probably due to the back light lamp dimming over time. A brand new lamp's phosphors will glow quite a bit brighter, initially. After the first few hundred hours, the screen isn't as bright any more. This is normal. It happens gradually, so you don't notice the dimming until you put your machine next to one with a brand new lamp. Tends to make the "new" laptop almost always be brighter even if they have identical screens.

It is possible to replace the backlight bulb. That would bring your display back up to high brightness (for a while). The cost for doing that is a bit steep.

AlfaMunky · Jan 26, 2003, 11:29 PM

Nay I had a 500 mhz ibook and now have a 800 combo. 1st thing I noticed is how nice the screen is. Even on day one my 500 mhz ibook's screen was no where near the crisp contrast and the quality of the whites on the newer ibooks.

In the Apple Store here in Miami I compared the 600 mhz iBook they still had on display to the newer 800 it obvious that the older screen is more yellow.

Guy Kuo · Jan 27, 2003, 01:20 AM

Another thing that very dramatically affects how the screen looks is how well calibrated it is. The exact color profile varies from one unit to another so the generic to model ones that Apple can supply simply can't optimize for the variations of each unit.

I'm lucky in having an Eye-One Spectrophotometer by Greta-Macbeth for setting up my displays. Unlike tristimulus calibration systems, it works accurately for LCD, DLP, LCOS, and CRT displays. Once you've used a screen that has been accurately calibrated to a 2.2 to 2.5 gamma and D65 grayscale, you can't go back an uncalibrated display. It makes a world of difference in color and perceived contrast, but is alas too expensive for most consumers. If you know somebody who has an Eye-One, get them to do a color profile for your particular unit.

kybernaut · Jan 27, 2003, 07:58 AM

Thanx for your replies! At least it doesn't seem to be a flaw on my specific screen. I already started to think about the whole send-it-back-to-apple and decrease-of-resale-value issue

I'm slightly getting paranoid, I think...

I agree that calibration should make a huge difference. Lacking a hardware calibration system, I played around with SuperCal which does a fairly nice job. After a thourough calibration, contrast and readibility of text seems to be a lot better, although at the cost of (perceived) color quality.

Greetings

kybernaut

iLashes · Jan 27, 2003, 10:08 AM

Hi,
say would you mind posting your calibrated profile ?

I know that the screens are different from model to model but very similar nonetheless.

I remember when i had a 2400c (cool machine BTW) someone posted a adobe gamma profile that helped a lot in getting rid of the blue tint.

So I'd really like to give it a shot

TIA

Guy Kuo · Feb 5, 2003, 10:17 PM

iLashes, I wouldn't mind posting my color profile but it wouldn't be a perfect match to any iBook other my own. It would still probably be better than the stock profile and worth a try. That said, I don't see a way to attach a file here.

Agent69 · Feb 6, 2003, 12:23 AM

Guy Kuo,

How much does that calibrator run? It's expensive, isn't it?

escher · Feb 6, 2003, 12:43 AM

Originally posted by kybernaut:
Lacking a hardware calibration system, I played around with SuperCal which does a fairly nice job. After a thourough calibration, contrast and readibility of text seems to be a lot better, although at the cost of (perceived) color quality.

I coincidentally calibrated my iBook's display with SuperCal this morning after using the default profile since May 2001. Proper calibration makes a world of difference. I now can see elements of the Aqua UI that I had never seen before! (E.g. previously, my menu bar and window frames were white. Now I can actually see the pinstripes.)

For those who don't have the money for a hardware calibration system, SuperCal is a great compromise. It's $19 shareware, but the unpaid version doesn't seem to have any limitations for the occasional user. In fact, calibrating my iBook's LCD made such a big difference that I think I will shell out for a hardware solution sooner or later.

Escher

wataru · Feb 6, 2003, 01:21 AM

Holy sh*t! I just tried SuperCal and it really did improve my display.

It was hard to tell at first, but when I quickly switched back and forth between my calibrated profile and the default profile, I could see that the default was way too blue. Now brushed metal really looks like metal!

iLashes · Feb 6, 2003, 11:37 AM

Hello Guy Kuo,

well since there is no way of attaching the file,

I think it would make my screen look better nevertheless

TIA

iLashes · Feb 6, 2003, 11:40 AM

must have made a mistake,
i wanted to say, you can send it to: [email protected].

thanks mate

Guy Kuo · Feb 7, 2003, 01:44 AM

Should be in your mailbox. Hope it works for you.

pat++ · Feb 9, 2003, 11:37 AM

New iBooks do have much brighter/crisp screen. It's probably due to the new Radeon card and maybe some new screen too. I immediately noticed the difference between my dual USB iBook (500Mhz/DVD) and my brother's new 700 (the old 700, not the lastest one with Radeon 7500).