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Glossy or Anti-Glare?


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What is the current consensus on the display for the Macbook Pro? I took a non-professional user to the Apple Store and got the opinion that the glossy display was sharper, as if the antiglare screen seemed to have an overlay on it.  I received mixed reviews from a few DITs, though most seemed to prefer the glossy.  A removable overlay is available, though it is apparently difficult to apply in a professional manner.

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I bought my glossy screen MacBook Pro under protest, but I've found that since the screen can tilt and gets bright enough that sunglasses are required at the brightest setting I'm pretty happy. Sharp and very very bright.

The Apple Store is the worst possible place to make a decision about the screen if you ask me. All the lighting is directly above you and everything is white. But that's just me.

Best regards,

Jim

PS: Save some money and buy a refurbished unit online. I've bought a Mini and a MacBook Pro and am extremely pleased with both.

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What is the current consensus on the display for the Macbook Pro? I took a non-professional user to the Apple Store and got the opinion that the glossy display was sharper, as if the antiglare screen seemed to have an overlay on it.

I have had both, the matte screen and the glossy (and have experience with glossy on several iMacs), and the glossy screens have always looked brighter, clearer and sharper than the matte screens. That said, I also have not had any real difficulty with glossy screens, even on laptops, but there have been times when I have had to change my seating position or make several adjustments to the screen to minimize glare. One thing to consider is that the decision, matte or glossy, is not so crucial as you might think since there is now a company that will "upgrade" your glossy screen to a matte screen (if you should discover that you hate the glossy screen). The company is named Techrestore and I can confirm that they do excellent work and they promise and deliver a 24 hour turnaround. The cost is an unbelievably low $199.00 --- I don't know how they do it (but I had it done to a 13" black MacBook and it took a total of 3 days, 1 day shipping to them, 1 day to do the work, 1 day shipping back to me).

http://techrestore.com

Regards,  Jeff Wexler

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I took a non-professional user to the Apple Store and got the opinion that the glossy display was sharper...

As to which kind of display has sharper picture shouldn't govern your decision making. This issue between the two is glare. I think it really boils down to personal preference, and I personally don't like glossy screens. When I look in the screen of the current Mac laptops, iMacs, and their new 24" display, I cannot look at them without noticing lights and images that reflect on the glass. For me it's a constant distraction.

It's a shame too because I think the glass displays look really nice. The MacBook Pros that have the anti-glare display are not as aesthetically pleasing. I've been holding off on buying my next laptop, hoping that the several years old Core 2 Duo processors get upgraded soon. When I finally buy my next Mac I'm going to get an anti-glare screen.   

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Noted Mac pundit Jason O'Grady (of ZDNet's Apple Core website) really hates the glossy display, and did a column a few months ago about it, <b>at this link</b>.

I think if you can control the lighting around the monitor, the glossy screens are OK, but god help you if you're using it outside or on locations...

--Marc W.

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For location work, esp outside, I'd rather have A: matte screen, B: a MB PRO (not a Mac Book) or anolder G4 Powerbook (not an iBook).  One thing you get when you spend more on an Apple laptop is a MUCH brighter

display.  Outside, my MacBook needs a hood a lot of the time--I rarely need on for my Powerbook and I think the Mac Book Pro screen is even brighter.

Philip Perkins

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Amen to what Phil says above. I have to say, though, Apple did do two good things: 1) the screens are much brighter nowadays than they were even a couple of years ago, and 2) at least the batteries last a lot longer now.

If I have to use Metacorder in the near future, I'm seriously contemplating a 13" Mac Book Pro, which I think is the ideal compromise between performance and weight.

--Marc W.

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  • 1 month later...

I always had matte Mac screens, I bought a Fujitsu win XP computer with a glossy screen and did not find the reflections that bad compared to the perceived increase in sharpness. So on my current 17" MacBook Pro I went for the glossy screen.

So a couple of weeks ago a VFX guru gal, who's opinion I value a lot, told me that a glossy screen while evaluating an on-site grade will alter the perception of the black levels. That a matte screen is much more accurate for the down line picture pipeline. I only mention this for people you might know that need an accurate representation of a digital location image.

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Brian, I think you can manually adjust laptop LCD monitors to fix these issues to a point. But the reality is: the monitors on all laptops suck and should never be used to judge picture quality. Sadly, many thousands of directors and editors do, which drives cinematographers, colorists, and VFX people crazy.

I do agree with the overall point that glossy monitors are dodgy.

--Marc W.

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