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You are here: MacNN Forums > Hardware - Troubleshooting and Discussion > Mac Notebooks > Matte VS Glossy - poll?

Matte VS Glossy - poll?
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pcryan5
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May 28, 2007, 03:38 PM
 
Shopping for a 2nd new MBP today my rep said they are only stocking matte screens. She reports only 2 out of 300 customers wanted a glossy screen.

I'm surprised as I find my MBP glossy much better than my Macbook matte. Granted I do not use either under bright lights which seem to be the deciding factor according to my sales rep. So I wonder - is the improvement between a MBP and MB the video card? Any thoughts on this other than http://forums.macnn.com/images/smilies/censor.gif
     
elppa
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May 28, 2007, 03:51 PM
 
Glossy on my MacBook, looks so much better than the Matte screens I have seen. Love it!
     
viruscool
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May 28, 2007, 04:00 PM
 
I prefer not to see my face and the surroundings in my screen, so I vote for Matte
(The dark lord has risen again......Beware)
     
uicandrew
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May 28, 2007, 04:03 PM
 
mods, please lock this thread. there already has been 2 threads with actual polls with over 70 combined responses

http://forums.macnn.com/69/powerbook...vs-matte-poll/

http://forums.macnn.com/69/powerbook...sy-matte-poll/

no need to clog up the forums.
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pcryan5  (op)
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May 28, 2007, 04:23 PM
 
<>mods, please lock this thread. there already has been 2 threads with actual polls with over 70 combined responses

2 things

1 - sorry about that - I searched and found no hits. Went back now and searched no hits. Searched on the word "ram" which should give lots of hits - none. I need to figure why I am not getting hits on my searches.

2 - Too bad we can not kill / lock our own posts!

~P
     
mac128k-1984
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May 28, 2007, 04:25 PM
 
Originally Posted by uicandrew View Post
no need to clog up the forums.
Really we don't need posts or threads to clog up the forum

I think matte screen is a better screen especially if you're looking for color accuracy. The glossy screen tends to over saturate colors and that can be troublesome if you're working on photos.
Michael
     
ghporter
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May 28, 2007, 04:47 PM
 
You can always order your MBP straight from Apple. Sure, you won't have it in your hands immediately, but you'll get the configuration you want.

Discussion is never a waste of time or space. Blathering and bickering are, and at least one of those linked threads turned into that sort of poo very early on.

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imitchellg5
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May 28, 2007, 04:50 PM
 
How did the OP get a matte MacBook?
     
EndlessMac
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May 28, 2007, 05:10 PM
 
Here is a link that you might be interested in reading: Dr. Mac: Rants & Raves - Glossy or Not? || The Mac Observer

You should also ask how MacBook owners are liking their screens because I believe MacBooks only come in glossy. I have a friend who has a MacBook and I have to say the glare problem is a little overblown on internet discussions.

I'm also deciding on whether I want matte or glossy for my next laptop so I'm in the same situation as you. Matte screens tend to look dull and faded in comparision. The glossy screens seem to have more accurate or truer blacks which people say looks closer to CRT monitors. How can you really get accurate colors if you can't get a true black?

You really have to calibrate your monitor to get accurate colors anyway. My CRT monitor also has the ability to oversaturate colors too so I don't think that's really a negative for glossy screens...because once my CRT is calibrated it has accurate colors. Matte screens may never get accurate colors if they can't even get a true black. Of course this is only important if your work requires accurate colors. My job does so it's an important issue for me.

It's definitely a good idea to see both and make your own opinion but I don't hear a lot of MacBook users complaining everywhere about how crapping their glossy screens are.
     
mac128k-1984
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May 28, 2007, 07:05 PM
 
Originally Posted by imitchellg5 View Post
How did the OP get a matte MacBook?
I think he asking about the MacBook Pro which the glossy screen is an option.
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ghporter
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May 28, 2007, 07:08 PM
 
I have two classmates with MacBooks, one white, the other black. Both screens are glossy. Both look great in the classroom (bright lighting and all). By the way, I sit beside one and behind the other, so I get a good view of both. Neither classmate complains about the screen. Neither thinks my matte MBP screen (or the OTHER classmate's matte 17" MBP screen) looks bad, either.

This is the foundation of the bickering and bashing I mentioned earlier-lots of "matte is crap on a broken stick" versus "I can't see jack for the reflections on the glossy screen". Balderdash and nonsense.

Glenn -----OTR/L, MOT, Tx
     
TyPod
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May 28, 2007, 07:42 PM
 
I would go with a glossy screen. I really like the look the screen, and i'm suprised only two people wanted a glossy.

Glossy>Matte
     
SEkker
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May 28, 2007, 07:57 PM
 
I was in the Apple Store last week, looking at a MBP 15 with a glossy screen sitting right next to a MBP17 with matte.

There is no question which one had the greatest clear viewing angle - for both colors and text, it was the matte.

As I sit here with my matte MBP in my living room with my back to the sun, I can readily see the text. If this were a glossy screen, I'd almost assuredly have to close a shade.

As always, YMMV. But - my advice stands - if this is a big deal to you and you have an Apple Store nearby, go check the screens out yourself before you buy!
     
mac128k-1984
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May 28, 2007, 07:59 PM
 
I have a Macbook, and I've been pretty pleased with it, glossy screen and all. I do need to be careful when I'm editing pictures because the glossy screen does over-saturate. the issue with reflections really is a non issue for most people. I've used the MB in various places and I've not run into a situation where the reflections were bad or I was unable to use it.

I am looking for a MBP and depending what comes out at WWDC will dictate whether I get one. If I do, it will be a matte screen solely for the fact that I want better color saturation (also the size difference between MB and MBP).
Michael
     
mduell
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May 28, 2007, 07:59 PM
 
These threads are always amusing because the posters on both sides of the issue think the people on the other side are blind retards. Tons of exaggerations about how their choice of screen coating saved the day and the other option is totally unworkable and useless.
     
EndlessMac
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May 28, 2007, 08:15 PM
 
Originally Posted by ghporter View Post
I have two classmates with MacBooks, one white, the other black. Both screens are glossy. Both look great in the classroom (bright lighting and all). By the way, I sit beside one and behind the other, so I get a good view of both. Neither classmate complains about the screen. Neither thinks my matte MBP screen (or the OTHER classmate's matte 17" MBP screen) looks bad, either.

This is the foundation of the bickering and bashing I mentioned earlier-lots of "matte is crap on a broken stick" versus "I can't see jack for the reflections on the glossy screen". Balderdash and nonsense.
That's a good statement. Lots of opinions on the internet seems to be exaggerated on both sides. Everyone has a different preference so what is bad for someone is barely noticeable by someone else. It just depends on what each individual person wants from their computers.

Originally Posted by mduell View Post
These threads are always amusing because the posters on both sides of the issue think the people on the other side are blind retards. Tons of exaggerations about how their choice of screen coating saved the day and the other option is totally unworkable and useless.
lol isn't that how most internet discussions are.
     
ghporter
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May 28, 2007, 09:17 PM
 
Originally Posted by EndlessMac View Post
lol isn't that how most internet discussions are.
Insightful this one is.

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SierraDragon
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May 28, 2007, 09:48 PM
 
Personal preference. I prefer matte.

-Allen Wicks
     
G. I.
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May 29, 2007, 01:12 AM
 
Neither from the current ones.
     
ibkc
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May 29, 2007, 10:20 AM
 
The normal working environment of the user is a big factor here. I love the better color saturation on the glossy screen, and I mostly use my MBP in a room with low light, and in that environment I get zero glare. In a room with bright overhead flourescent lights, it's glare central, but since I very rarely work in that kind of environment, it doesn't matter to me.
     
inkhead
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Jun 2, 2007, 08:41 PM
 
I'm spend all my time designing. I have 3 macbook pros. My first one of course the idea of glossy was against every design bone in my body.

However the second macbook pro I got gloss. Using stick on color temp (to measure screen colors) the glossy ones are MUCH, MUCH more accurate for COLOR proofing, as well as a white brightness of almost 2x the matte screen. These are measurements I took, not "my opinion"

I rarely use my matte macbookpro anymore, it doesn't feel like it goes bright enough when proofing color or for brightness. The Gloss also have much better blacks.
     
G. I.
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Jun 3, 2007, 06:36 AM
 
Yeah, this is an urban legend that "only matte screens are usable for graphic design, glossy ones are too saturated, blah blah". That's what calibration/color profiling is for. It's possible to simulate a smaller color gamut in a bigger one, but making bigger from a small is NOT. And, hopefully this time Apple won't shop from some Chinese recycle bins for screens, and the new MBPs will have high quality LED TFT screens with even bigger color gamuts.

Now, the reflection of the glossy screen is another question.
     
Silky Voice of The Gorn
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Jun 3, 2007, 09:15 AM
 
Whenever I use a glossy screen I feel like I'm submerged in a Tony Scott film.
I'm ready to plunk down for a MBP as soon as the new ones come out (next week? WWDC? purdy please), and it will be matte, as my particular god intended.
     
EndlessMac
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Jun 3, 2007, 12:54 PM
 
Originally Posted by inkhead View Post
I'm spend all my time designing. I have 3 macbook pros. My first one of course the idea of glossy was against every design bone in my body.

However the second macbook pro I got gloss. Using stick on color temp (to measure screen colors) the glossy ones are MUCH, MUCH more accurate for COLOR proofing, as well as a white brightness of almost 2x the matte screen. These are measurements I took, not "my opinion"

I rarely use my matte macbookpro anymore, it doesn't feel like it goes bright enough when proofing color or for brightness. The Gloss also have much better blacks.
Thanks for your post. I was hoping someone who required color accuracy was going to post. That's a very important issue for me because to me the point of a laptop is the portability so I don't want to always have to hook my laptop to my CRT for accurate colors. My job requires color accuracy but I'm not always at my desk either. I currently own a matte laptop and the colors are not accurate at all. Also as G.I. said a person can't really say one is more color accurate without first calibrating the colors.

Whichever issue is higher on a person's priority list then that's the screen they should choose. I don't think either one of them are perfect as they are.
( Last edited by EndlessMac; Jun 3, 2007 at 01:03 PM. )
     
mpancha
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Jun 3, 2007, 02:32 PM
 
FOr me it was Matte all the way. I find myself in a lot of situations where I have the sun glaring at my screen, and personally find that Matte gives me a lot less glare.

I don't have both glossy and matte MBPs at my disposal to check, but my wife has an HP with a glossy screen. When I take both out on our balcony in the evening with the bright sun shining at the balcony... I find the Matte to be much easier on my eyes, I have to squint less, and I perceive less glare on the Matte.

Its all a matter of perception. ANd just like with clothes, the lights in the Apple store are designed to make everything look great. Take the same product to the mall/street right outside the apple store and you things might look a bit different.
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tiger
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Jun 4, 2007, 12:12 AM
 
Matte, I use a Cinema Display which is much better than my MacBook's Glossy display.
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D'Espice
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Jun 4, 2007, 06:28 AM
 
Couple of weeks ago I tried using a friends' MB in the library. It's not the brightness that really bothered me, and neither was it the rich black or the rather british white. It was the fact, that instead of the Word document I was trying to edit I could only see myself. Not like Word was completely invisible, but it was really hard to see anything at all.

Maybe if I would not have been sitting right next to a huge window with the sun shining outside I might've seen more and actually been able to work. But then again, not like I always get to pick a place to sit since they're usually all taken by 10am.

Never ever am I going to get a glossy screen... mirrors are way less expensive and get the job done even better
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phoenix78
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Jun 5, 2007, 10:21 AM
 
I have a mbp17" with matte screen. i like it better because i dont like reflections.

My mother has an asus with glossy screen and it is a gorgeous screen! make no mistake about it. Just not good with strong lights around lol...

Its personal preference.

I guess wether you are using matte or glossy you still need to avoid strong light sources because it reduces contrast for both and glossy becomes unusable.... so you would need to adjust your environent in both cases.

moral of the story..... go to the shop before you buy and decide for yourself Ask yourself a qn: Am I prepared to live with this?
( NB: This is a useful general strategy. Especially when getting married )

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