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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > MacBook Pro, did Apple finally get it right?

MacBook Pro, did Apple finally get it right?
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lizardgator
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Jul 23, 2006, 02:51 PM
 
I'm at an Apple Store right now typing on a new 15" MacBook Pro with the glossy display. The display is stuuning, it's sitting right next to an older 15' MacBook Pro with the matte display and there's no comparison. The best thing is it's not even warm like all of the other MacBook Pros I've used that were down right hot.
Maybe Apple finally got all of the problems resolved.
     
Tomchu
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Jul 23, 2006, 02:57 PM
 
The glossy display is indeed in a league of its own when compared to the matte display.
     
imitchellg5
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Jul 23, 2006, 03:00 PM
 
I think the latest MacBook Pros are very close to perfect they are beautiful machines.
     
mduell
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Jul 23, 2006, 03:07 PM
 
I had the opposite experience looking at a glossy Mac in an Apple Store... the way it was lit make the screen into a great mirror, but not such a great computer.
     
imitchellg5
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Jul 23, 2006, 04:00 PM
 
Apple Stores are too brightly lit though, use it in the dark and the colors really come out.
     
iREZ
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Jul 23, 2006, 04:33 PM
 
used in the dark, ANY notebook screen looks bright.
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imitchellg5
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Jul 23, 2006, 04:48 PM
 
True, but I think the MacBook and MacBook Pro excels.
     
tylerlg
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Jul 23, 2006, 05:00 PM
 
They have to be getting closer by now , too bad for the people who bought the MBP's on launch.

How many models have they ( silently ) introduced now - 4 ? 5 ?
     
bloodline
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Jul 23, 2006, 05:07 PM
 
Glossy screens are great for home users... but not pros.
     
Burn
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Jul 23, 2006, 07:39 PM
 
Originally Posted by bloodline
Glossy screens are great for home users... but not pros.
coughcougHAHAHAHAHcoughcough...

Okaaaaayy
     
iREZ
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Jul 23, 2006, 08:48 PM
 
i think its all personal preference, but i dont see a typical pro wanting to put up with any reflections on their screen whatsoever if it could be avoided. the only difference i see between the two is that while the glossy tends to over saturate images with its contrast, it also glares where as the matte is perfectly bright for use pretty much anywhere and there is no glare.
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imitchellg5
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Jul 23, 2006, 08:49 PM
 
I think I would still buy a matte, even though I think the glossy is nice sometimes. As an occasional Final Cut user I would get annoyed while editing videos on a glossy screen.
     
hldan
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Jul 23, 2006, 09:27 PM
 
I nearly started this thread before the original poster. I just spent a good hour at the Apple Retail Store today in the SF bay area. They finally had both the 15 and the 17" MacBook Pros with the glossy on display. My mouth dropped to the floor when I saw the 17" with the glossy especially since it was sitting right next to a matte screened model.

Here are my thoughts and opinions:

I currently have a 17" PowerBook so seeing the MBP 17" with the glossy blew me away but there's only one thing, while the glossy looked good and made the blacks really black and colors deep the matte screened 17" looked more suitable for a photo editing pro, web designer or graphics professional as the deeper color from the glossy may not give the true and natural finished pic.

Now the 15" MBP is a different story. The glossy was made for the 15". It just seemed to fit it and didn't look like an oversized overlay of glass as it did on the 17" model.
The 15" matte screen didn't even compare.
It's 100+ degrees here today and the Apple store was warming up because the front door was open so the computers were warm but the 17" model only heated up after playing a movie trailer in Front Row and it didn't feel any warmer than my 17" PowerBook G4.
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hickey
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Jul 23, 2006, 10:00 PM
 
I love my matte display on my 15" pbook, I think Id get extremely bother by constant glare problems.
     
mrgaskell
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Jul 24, 2006, 02:11 AM
 
I thought that I would not like the glossy screen, but after a week with this machine, I am loving it. I have had it at the coffee shop, under flourescent lighting, etc and have had no problems with the screen. I like it a lot better than the matte screen on my 15" PB (HD screen).
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Simon
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Jul 24, 2006, 02:56 AM
 
I bought my MBP before the glossy option. Ever since I also got myself a MB and started enjoying the glossy screen, I'm thinking I'll get a glossy MBP when the Merom model comes out in the next few weeks. I'm not a photographer and I don't do web design. I use my machine mainly for number crunching and a lot of typing. For what I do, the glossy is just beautiful. I think the glossy vs. matte discussion has more to do with religion than facts.
     
analogika
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Jul 24, 2006, 03:15 AM
 
Originally Posted by Burn
coughcougHAHAHAHAHcoughcough...

Okaaaaayy
GRAPHICS pros.

The contrast is heavier, and the colors are more saturated. That makes it richer and more vivid, much the same way a Fuji Velvia or Kodak Ektachrome will look more vivid than regular color films.

If you're a consumer, or somebody not in the visual professions, that's fine - you WANT the DVD you're watching or that family snapshot slideshow to smack you in the face.

However, you DON'T want that if you're making your living dealing precisely with such nuances.

Also, the view angle isn't as good as with the matte displays. Viewing them slightly off-center will give the image a slight nicotine tinge, changing colors. A graphics pro can be pretty sure that when he calls over his client to look at the project on his display and they look at it standing side by side, they WON'T be talking about the same image.
     
SierraDragon
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Jul 24, 2006, 12:18 PM
 
What analogika said about graphics pros' needs. I would not dream of buying a glossy screened box.

Personally I am hoping the best Merom MBPs will allow 4 (ideally more) GB RAM, FW 800, and two hard drives. When that happens we will for the first time have a true laptop graphics box. And I could care less about battery life, admittedly an issue with such a (probably 17" only) beast.

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Burn
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Jul 25, 2006, 03:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by iREZ
i think its all personal preference, but i dont see a typical pro wanting to put up with any reflections on their screen whatsoever if it could be avoided. the only difference i see between the two is that while the glossy tends to over saturate images with its contrast, it also glares where as the matte is perfectly bright for use pretty much anywhere and there is no glare.
You're making the assumption that all pro's typical or otherwise work in poorly lit offices. We've made due with reflections on CRT monitors for years.. it's a matter of a decent office layout. You've been making this point elsewhere and thats cool.. but talk about beating a dead horse!

I know LOTS of pro's using MBP's and PC laptops with Glossy screens. I have a glossy and do not recognize that my work is saturated or being affected by by contrast or glare problems.

Many people will experience the exact same thing.
     
Burn
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Jul 25, 2006, 03:29 PM
 
Originally Posted by analogika
GRAPHICS pros.
Ok, show me one GRAPHICS (why'd you put that in all caps anyway?) pro that relies ONLY on what they are seeing on their laptop screen for professional work (discarding the knoweldge in the professional gear they use to shoot, the medium they're working with, the type of job being done - print, web.. vid...) I am sure it's done - but laptops are no where near as colour accurate as a desktop display, I wont even get into ram and HD limitations. So, stating that a certain type of screen is the only choice for pros is ridiculous.. you're making a comparison between two lesser options. MOST people don't even calibrate their displays and rely on the profile they ship with.. forever.

As a portable or 'in the field' machine, it's more than enough and either screen works for professionals. Outside or in a poorly lit office, sure, go matte. In a propoerly lit room, with no glare and windows in a strategic location... I prefer glossy. It is very likely more due to what we are familiar and comfortable with and thats fine.

Use what you want... as iRez mentioned.. it IS personal choice - it has absolutely nothing to do with being professional or not.
     
SierraDragon
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Jul 25, 2006, 06:14 PM
 
Originally Posted by Burn
I have a glossy and do not recognize that my work is saturated or being affected by by contrast or glare problems.
I would _respectfully_ submit that whether any particular individual notices it or not, for folks dealing in image nuances there is a difference - a very substantial difference - in the way the same image presents on a glossy screen. If there was no visible difference there would be no reason to have two kinds of display.

Some folks like that extra "zing" added by the screen and some do not, just like using Fujichrome. Personally I think that from the standpoint of a graphics professional it is better not to be adding display-based "zing" to an image a client may be viewing (e.g. during image review at a photo shoot), if for no other reason than the fact that the next time the client sees that image without the glossy screen it will view differently. IMO.

-Allen Wicks
     
iREZ
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Jul 26, 2006, 03:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by Burn
You've been making this point elsewhere and thats cool.. but talk about beating a dead horse!
ive expressed my opinion in the million threads covering the issue to give exactly that, my opinion. its not like i mention the same things 10+ times in the same thread, so beating a dead horse or not...im going to give my opinion when i feel appropriate, my apologies for the reiterations.

also what exactly do you mean by poorly lit? i hope you dont mean low light, as i would think a low lit room would produce less glare as oppose to a room with lots of light.
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PJJames
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Jul 27, 2006, 01:07 PM
 
I got my new Macbook Pro this morning. it's a build week 29 and it is so quiet it's beautiful. They did get it right and always have.
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DarkVader
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Jul 27, 2006, 04:35 PM
 
If I wanted a mirror, I'd buy a mirror.

I want a computer, and I don't want glare and reflections. Laptop screens were just about perfect before this glossy silliness started.

Now Apple has done a better job than most, but glossy still stinks.
     
Tomchu
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Jul 28, 2006, 10:57 AM
 
No reflections here. I'll take the super-black and colour saturation of a glossy anyday. Oh, and have you tried to use a matte screen in the sun? Completely useless. Just the other day I spent 2-3 hours using my glossy MBP out in the yard in full sunlight.
     
shabbasuraj
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Jul 29, 2006, 12:57 PM
 
Glossy = mirror... yuck
blabba5555555555555555555555555555555555555
     
Tomchu
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Jul 29, 2006, 04:32 PM
 
I have to ask ... have the people that keep claiming a glossy MBP is like a mirror actually *used* a glossy MBP?

My Spidey-sense is telling me "no".
     
Simon
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Jul 29, 2006, 04:42 PM
 
You're absolutely right about that one. 90% of the glossy bashing is religious. Some people need to grow up and get over themselves.
     
SierraDragon
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Jul 29, 2006, 04:59 PM
 
Originally Posted by Tomchu
...have you tried to use a matte screen in the sun? Completely useless. Just the other day I spent 2-3 hours using my glossy MBP out in the yard in full sunlight.
That is interesting info. Yes, matte screens are badly degraded in the sun. I had no idea glossy was better. Not that I will buy a glossy, but do you suppose the Apple store will let me take a glossy MBP for a walk in the sun? :-)
     
iREZ
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Jul 29, 2006, 05:00 PM
 
i think we have to create another forum seperating the glossy macbooks vs the matte macbooks (ie politcal/war lounge)
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slffl
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Jul 29, 2006, 10:42 PM
 
Can't the displays be calibrated to give 'pro' colors whether they are matte or glossy?
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Tomchu
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Jul 30, 2006, 12:30 AM
 
I was as surprised as anyone to learn that the glossy display is actually very usable in sunlight. Once you think about it, it makes sense ... not only do the matte displays diffuse light coming out from the display, but they will diffuse light striking it as well. A glossy display will simply reflect it light striking the surface, without clouding over the picture trying to come through.
     
stwain2003
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Jul 30, 2006, 12:44 AM
 
Originally Posted by Simon
I bought my MBP before the glossy option. Ever since I also got myself a MB and started enjoying the glossy screen, I'm thinking I'll get a glossy MBP when the Merom model comes out in the next few weeks. I'm not a photographer and I don't do web design. I use my machine mainly for number crunching and a lot of typing. For what I do, the glossy is just beautiful. I think the glossy vs. matte discussion has more to do with religion than facts.
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Kdog01
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Aug 27, 2006, 07:31 PM
 
Getting back on topic, I completely agree with Lizard's first post. When the MBP's first came out, I simply could not stand the massive amount of heat that was coming out of these things. Today I went and used a MBP 17" for about an hour today and didn't notice ANY heat issues, in fact, I felt like it was running cooler than my current 1.5GHz powerbook. I have been on the sideline now for about 1.5 months waiting for Merom and if it comes out in the next 2 weeks which it seems like it will, i will be trading in my powerbook with Powemax.com and buying a new 17" macbookpro. Apple seems to have gotten it right.
     
   
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