WOW it's GLOSSY !!!!

I can barely see on my brand new MBP when sitting in front of my TV. Why? Cause the window is right behind me, and with the blinds ON I can not focus on the screen. I see 10 blinds on the screen, with various light (from intense white to none) and this is really messing the experience.

Now I am in my home office and the window is on the left side, not in the front/back of the laptop/sitting position. Still, 25% of the screen is not readable, I keep changing focus from the image to the reflected image. It's somehow usable, but compared to my wifes Mac Air it's so baaaaad it makes me scream! I really think of calling Apple in order to return it, the only thing that stops me is: I really need a laptop ! The Air might be to slow for what I do, MacBook is the same glossy thing and I would have to switch to other makers, no impressive laptops around (at 15" all are really bulky compared to the MBP).

Is there anything I can do to remove the glossy surface? I probably ask for breaking down the laptop, but anyway, can I remove !SAFELY! the glass in the front and still have a working laptop?

I will try to post pictures, but I am really dissapointed. My office at work has tons of light/windows, it would be almost impossible to work without getting glare on the screen. The bad thing is I also ordered the new 24" LCD and I think it's the same super high glossy type as the MBP, it's arriving Friday. Sucks!

 

you can try anti glare plastic films but i heard that they do not cover the glass bezel

 

what brightness setting are you using?

 

Maximum brightness, as of right now. I dim it down in the night of course, but then there is no issue, in the dark the screen is excellent. As long there is no light right behind my back.

It looks worse than you can see it in the pictures. My camera is a plain Sony. In reality the light is brigther on the screen and in the office room too - all the background looks like it's 9pm, but it's actually 11:20 am with a bright a nice sun outside.
First 2 images are in the office with the window/blind open.
Last 2 images are in the livingroom with the blinds as shut as possible.

 

it must be the maximum coz the ambient light sensor is enabled by default...


Oops...late by 1 minute

 

I believe the glass is part of the structural design, so removing it is probably out of the question.
Adding an antiglare filter will probably solve your problem but degrades the quality to some degree (some may notice it, some may not).

 

removing it will surely void the warranty

 

I'm stunned that the MBP line has no options for a matte screen or a 1680x1050 resolution. I wish Apple would consult me in these matters.

 

holy ..... thats 1 glossy screen.

its like a mirror. how can u work on photoshop like that lol?

 

push up your brightness to the maximum...that's what i do and i works pretty well

 

I'm going to invent the iTent. When using your MBP, you go into the iTent and enjoy a glare free computing experience. When you are through with your productivity, you exit the iTent and return to the real world.

 

Honestly, I have no idea why Apple did this. It is one thing on the iMac where it can be positioned to avoid glare, but on portable? There is no way to control lighting situations on a notebook. I am of the belief that they will either have better anti-glare coating or offer a matte version in the next version. If not, I may have to find another notebook to replace my MBP.

 

1st 2 aren't that bad

 

Same with my G50V screen, I hate it because its too glossy, the hybrid screen on my old C90S was perfect. It had the advantages of glossy without becoming a mirror. There is nothing you can do except change your environment or the angle of the screen.

 

I think it's EASIER to control lighting situation on a portable, compared to a desktop, the problem is that the portable gets moved around a whole lot more, which makes it almost inevitable that the environment will at some point be less than optimal.

Going to Starbucks or a client office... you are likely to encounter glare.

I work in a Marketing department. This glossy screen craze seems driven by marketing - brighter colors! recyclable glass screen! so green! looks great in product shots! Where it fails is in the real world.

Apple had better not foul up the next 17"MBP revision.

 

Well you could get different blinds, or return the laptop.

The cheaper of the two (assuming apple has a 15% restocking fee) is just getting new blinds.

 

It is really quite amazing that despite the new MBP being virtually unusable for a lot of people that the idea to just get a comparable 15" - 17" PC notebook is somehow not an option. This kind of brand dedication boggles the mind. There is no way I would put up with a virtually non-usable display in normal lighting conditions.

You know, if you used a PC in the interim you can always buy a macbook again in the future when Apple gets its head out of its arse and fixes this silly display issue.

 

or you could change the position you are sitting in your room

 

these will temporarily change your glossy to a matte or vice versa and it does gets rid of nosy people assuming there is no one behind you.

http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824991010

 

yeah, I know, how can I work ?! I CAN'T. Very bad decision to buy a glossy screen. But I had no idea is that bad. Photo Shop only in the dark, no way around that! But I can't even see the letters if the light is right over them.

The brightness is at the higher level! Can't go higher. I am really upset and dissapointed, and really worried about how will it look at my company's office, since I will have tons of windows around me ..

Anti-reflective stuff ... I will look for something like this, but if it's decreasing the quality, what good does it do then ?

 

It's like that, but it's more complicated than that. I use Windows and Macs but some part of me prefers Macs, even though, at the end of the day, they produce the same work product/files.

Also, there is software, once you choose a platform, it's very expensive to change platforms (even fonts) over a stupid decision by Apple to make only glossy screens.

Apple has always had a fanatical and loyal fan base, but we definitely love to complain about things. This is not the first questionable move Apple has ever made. To Apple's credit, they are often right - ie the killing of the floppy disc. Sometimes the just do things that really annoy like dropping superior Firewire, but it's harder and harder to find Firewire peripherals, so, the writing is on the wall for Firewire and USB 3 looks promising, although the main thing Firewire has is better latency which matters for things like audio.

Some things just baffle - no matte option, no 1680x1050 res on the MacBook Pro.

 

Basically, it's putting anti-glare plastic on the screen. Without even seeing it yet, you can already tell how crappy a solution that is going to be.

 

I just paid for the Adobe CS4 (MAC version), I paid for the extended warranty, for the Final Cut Express, for a few other things PLUS the 15% restocking fee on the laptop. So switching to a PC where I can not use any of my software doesn't make much sense. The only option is to stick with the MBP or get the Air (if I can convince Apple to exchange the MBP<>AIR with no restocking fee) but then the Air is really slow for what I would like to do. Besides the whole thing of money, I do like Macs so I would like to stick to Apple. BUT in the same time ... I am a really upset Apple customer right now.

 

You don't want to do primarily graphics work on an Air. The 1280x800 screen res will drive you up the wall.

Sell the new MBP or suffer the restocking fee. I still see a lot of the very last Penryn MBPs for $1400, new.

 

I just found out I can see behind me all around the room, I just have to move my head around a little, and wonders happen. Or mirrors!!!

Another nice image of my backyard ... it's much more glare in the real life than it show in the picture ..

 

one of the reason why i much preferred the early 08 mac

had a rubbish glossy PC notebook and i swore not another glossy

that glare is actually really honestly(blah blah blah) bad... but hey! you get yourself a nice security mirror so no one could murder you before you are dead

talk about security measure

 

Why don't you pull down the blinds (easy solution)? The only picture with the blinds shut is the one where you're holding it directly behind the blinds.

And if you want to use your macbook directly behind the closed blinds while standing then why not get those blinds that you pull down rather than the ones with the cracks in them? (a $30 solution, home depot has them)

 

That's the whole point of the topic

 

get a cheap lcd screen and hook it up?

 

lol just return it and get a HP or something! Need to use a mac for work? Buy an external monitor? Deal with it.

 

you do realize it is a notebook computer right? and those pictures don't look bad at all.

I love how people are so SHOCKED when they knew exactly what they were buying.

again I will hold my normal stance on this issue. you are definitely not in a majority, most people love the the new screens, a huge majority infact.

 

Maybe a tall piece of cardboard, folded for stability (bet. you & the window) would do the trick or moving your table/desk so your back & MBP are facing the wall instead of the window.

Or even better, maybe Apple could introduce the "new" matte-display MBP next year.

 

Not bad at all?? And he said he didn't know it was going to be that bad. Go to macrumors for one, MANY people, I'd say in the majority, don't like the new screens.

As I see it, you could either return it, and get a previous gen clearance or refurb, or, you could get an external monitor, or try an anti-glare film as others suggested. But I disagree with unnamed to return it and just get an HP. If you need/want OS X, I'd say stick with it. Atleast you have a few options.

 

Well you can get the Anti-reflective crap and decrease the quality or get a matte screen and decrease the quality, What ever floats your boat.

After checking out the other pics, a solid cloth blind with out slats will solve your problem.

 

their top-of-the-line infinite screen is glass(?) cover which is glossy as well

 

I think that people in forums kinda represent a minority. Majority of consumers and other people ive talked to love the glossy screen. It seems like only people who are (kind of?) more techchnically inclined like more matte displays.

It's the same with HDTV's, some companies put out tvs with crazy glossyness (i think samsung last time i checked), with others using a more matte screen (my sony is pretty matte)

So yea, it all depends, some people love it, some dont. I'd think the majority of consumers actually do like it, while minority of tech inclined ones don't. I won't be buying one unless they make it matter, or iono.. It kind of seems like the laptop market is moving towards glossy screens, kind sucks too that apple used to give the option of matte, but who knows now..

 

Dude, you need to close the blinds the other way. They need to be facing upward to reflect light out... The way they are in the photos is definitely allowing slivers of light in. Try them the other way I think you will reduce the glare substantially.

 

When people hate something they usually post and complain, but when they love something they don't usually post. I love the glossy screen but I don't make threads on how much I love it. You can't say the majority don't like it because of what people say on a forum.

Also I think the reason why there is no matte option is because they can't. The glass is part of the structure of the lid and you can't have matte glass, with out it looking like crap.

 

Wows its super reflective when the background is black. I can almost make out which phone you are using to take the pic. Too bad the screen is white on that part cutting off half your phone, otherwise i'd totally be able to make it out.

 

Ugh, yea! Eyestrain central! I purchased a new aluminum Macbook a few weeks ago and returned it the next day. It would have been my 6th Mac laptop and was the first I have not completely loved. I hated it in fact.

You know, all these folks keep saying the "vast majority of consumers like glossy screens". What I don't get is, think of all the Macbook Pros you've seen in the last 2 years at cafes, school, work, the airport, conventions, meetings, etc. Do you REALLY see that many glossy? I sure don't. It's something I notice and I'd say I personally see maybe 5% of the Macbook Pros here in the Austin, Texas area actually are glossy. We have a very large Mac following here so I see a lot of Macs period.

Our two local Apple stores also have managers in them which both have told me that they've seen a lot of returns from people who can't stand the gloss and many others still who complain and don't buy.

I'm going to get a 17" MBP High-Res Matte sooner or later, before they ruin that one too.

I want FACTS, hard facts from Apple, or any other credible source, on the vast majority of people requesting/loving glossy screens. 1st gen Macbook sales don't count; there was never a matte option. Crappy PC laptops (other than some great, *ahem* matte thinkpads) don't count, because gloss is the only choice there as well.

It's being forced on us...as a collective whole, we are not *choosing*....

*Disclaimer: I used to be a mega Apple Fanboy. Perhaps the new notebooks have sobered me up a bit.

Sorry, I'm done ranting now.

-Andrei

 

I see not many alternatives for the MBP, but I would definitively mention Dell M4400 (RGB backlit LED!!!) or the E6400. The Lenovo T400 and T500 are also fantastic alternatives.
The problem is that Apple should stop calling the MBP a Pro laptop. It is a lifestyle product, the pro books you find at Dell & Lenvo & HP.
Apple simply doesn't care about "Pro" users, because they know perfectly well that 80% of MBP were sold with matte displays. On the other side they also know that 99% Companies buy Lenovo, HP and Dell for their staff.


You can't deal with PC, so you have to live with the gloss or try some Antiglrae coating. 3M is doing very good ones.

 

bahaha form over function

Apple should start selling the iShade with all their new glossy products

 

Then that would defeat the purpose of a laptop.

This is sad, I tried to persuade two of my friends to purchase PC's to do their video editing but they have been brainwashed to think MAC is the end all of that and ordered the new 15".

Boy are they in for a world of pain.

 

Lol at above above pic.

The reviews seem to be fairly mum about the screen. Sure they've mentioned it but I haven't heard any say that its a dealbreaker.

 

It's Mac not MAC. Anyways, why would they be in a world of pain? Just because some people don't like the glossy doesn't mean everyone does.

 

**Hugs 1st Gen MBP and ThinkPads**

That really sucks. I used a friend's glossy screen notebook. I could not stand it. Glossy looks cool in photos but is a nightmare for me to use in the real world.

All my TV's and monitors in my house are matte. Glossy is stupidest invention in computing technology. Were not anti-glare coatings on CRTs an advancement? Now Apple decides to go a few steps backward like almost every other company and have glossy, reflection-laden screens.

 

I wish Apple would put some real anti-glare treatment on those screens. I have an old eMac which a glass screen and it is not as reflective as the new glassbook pro.

 

really?you need to see my HDX-it is worse then this apple

 

Someone with photoshop should make a mockup of this and a laptop.

 

My last 2 laptops were both glossy (DELL XPS Gen2 and GatewayFX 6831) and I've grown to love glossy only. And upon seeing that the new macs have that piece of glass reinforcing the screen for less flex, I was even more sold on it. I'm just waiting for the 17" version of the new mbp and I'm all over it.