[Macworld]

Post your comments for Expo Notes: Restoring the matte screen here

[AnubisIV]

Your picture helps to make things a bit clearer, since we can see the reflection of the security lock in the corner of the glossy screen on the left, but no such reflections from the matte screen in front.

[randombob]

I could be wrong, but I don't think that's actually possible. From where the picture was taken, and the angle the MBP is sitting at, the reflection doesn't seem that it could be something to the RIGHT of the reflection; it has to be reflecting something more to the left. If it IS a reflection, that is.

[jvora]

For the last paragraph, first line, don't you mean "So if GLOSSY bothers you a lot, . . . " and not "So if matte bothers you a lot, . . ."
Jai

[vulpine]

The picture might have been more useful if you'd actually taken a picture of both machines side by side. The simulated image in the display is very unrealistic. Granted, under those specific circumstances the matte screen might have reduced some glare, but only at the cost of some contrast and brightness.
I don't fault that some people feel the need to have a frosted "anti-glare" display; however, I have found the polished glass much easier to see and work with, in particular the black background of my fireworks images being a true black and not a dark grey. This has also made reading and writing text documents much easier since the edges are crisp and clear, allowing me to read a page full of text rather than the 'zoomed-in' version on a matte screen.
Yes, the environment behind the user may be a little bright for some, but with the current flat panel displays, you're not getting reflections like you did with the old CRT displays. A small positioning adjustment can eliminate almost all distracting reflections.

[folklore]

The good folks at Macworld should try to acquire one of these units and put it through the labs. Questions I have:
1. Quality of the display. From their website, it looks like they actually replace the entire LCD. Is the replacement LCD of the same quality as a genuine Apple display? Is it as bright? Are the colors as uniform across the entire display? What about the viewing angle?
2. AppleCare. Does this installation invalidate Apple's warranty on the rest of the laptop?
3. Color calibration. One of the complaints about glossy screens is that they're hard to calibrate. It'd be nice to see this replacement go head to head with the original screen, using professional calibration equipment, to see if that's an accurate complaint about the glossies.
4. Comparison to Apple's matte option on the 17". How does the TechRestore matte screen compare to the Apple-supplied matte option in terms of all of the above? And, somewhat tangentially, has Macworld asked Apple if the matte option is coming to the 15"?

[Cloudmover]

Rob,
I would like an unbiased opinion of the matte screens impact on the structural stability of the Macbook. The comment "The new screen is somewhat more flexible than the original" scares the heck out of me and is a definite deal breaker.

Your weak reassurance about this flexing falls flat since you already have an "undisguised hatred for all things glossy." I think you would be willing to accept more flexing than the average consumer in order cleanse your heart of "gloss hate." ;)

[Macalways]

I just got a 28" I-INC LCD from Tiger Direct for $400 CDN, i.e., $336 US.
Stopped by a colleague friend of mine who has a new iMac 24 and a new LED LCD Cinema Display connected to a new MacBook Pro 15"
Hooked up the I-INC to my Macbook Pro 15 (matte-last June) and I was amazed that the screens looked pretty damn close. Except that the I-INC colours were more vivid. That's when we noticed that I hadn't taken the acetate cover off the screen.
Then we both viewed the screen blind i.e., hiding the outer frame and each in turn unknowingly to the other would place or remove the acetate for the other to note their preference. Then we got the kids involved.
Results. With a little adjustment, i.e., making sure the light behind the monitor was brighter than in front, the winner was clearly with the acetate cover.
Reflection was not an issue, but it was noticeable from the side and if the screen was dark, something that occurred definitely when the monitor was turned off or when viewing web pages or images with very dark backgrounds. Not the normal situation in most cases and not as the setup as portrayed on the TechRestore site. http://www.techresto...&cat=273&page=1
As one can see, the background image is dark but when we open virtually any application that we normally work in, there is no reflection.
Bottom line, I have taped the acetate to the I-INC frame and have ordered a custom piece of glass that I can easily remove if necessary.
I will probably get a new MacBook Pro and the LED LCD Cinema Display this summer. My current MacBook Pro matte screen was a big mistake.
By the way, I was fortunate enough to attend the iPhone Tech Talk last year. Out of the 300 or so attendees, about 50 had new Macbooks and as many of us commented, reflection was only obvious when looking over the users' shoulders or from the side. BUT not if you were lucky enough to be using one.

[WarrenS]

lol @ anyone who would agonize over this. go to the hardware department at wal-mart and get a sheet of contact paper.

[Speed_Racer]

I'm really surprised that no accessories company or enterprising entrepreneur has come out with an adhesive-backed matte film.

[palane]

They don't replace the entire LCD display, just the glass cover. Given that it's a $200 service, there's no way it could include a new display.
I'm not bothered by glossy, but respect those for whom it's distracting. I have a large window behind me at the moment and can see a small reflection.
BB

[griffman]

OK, a few follow-ups in one reply...

1) I fixed the silly matte/glossy mistake at the end; sorry about that.

2) We're intending to send a machine through the process. I'm not sure who will write about it, but thanks for the ideas on things to look for.

3) Regarding screen flex: I had my 15" matte MBP with me, and compared the amount of flex in its screen to that of the TechRestore model. Hard to tell on the show floor, of course, but to me, it moved no more than (and probably less than) does the screen on my 15" when I grab it by a corner and pull a bit. Obviously, this solution is going to be notably less rigid than Apple's glossy solution, because they're using a full sheet of glass to provide the structural integrity.

4) Apple won't comment to anyone, not even us, about unannounced products. Therefore, asking them about a matte display option on the 15" won't get us anywhere. If I had to guess, I'd say the option will not be coming to the 15". This would basically be Apple's way of saying "Want matte? Good, we have it in our 17" model."

5) I looked at the new 17" matte MBP on the show floor - they had exactly one such configuration, and only four total of the new 17" machine! I couldn't get a sense, really, for the reflectivity of Apple's solution, because there were lots of people jostling about. It's definitely not as shiny as the glass-covered models, but as I understand it, it's not actually a true matte screen. One thing that I did notice is that the silver bezel looks notably worse than the black bezel that Tech Restore puts on their modified version.

6) Regarding glossy vs. matte in general: I honestly believe there's a physiological difference in some people. Regardless of whether I'm using the machine directly, or looking over someone's shoulder, the first things I see -- always -- are the reflections. It doesn't matter how small they are, or where they're located on the screen. My eye finds them and focuses on them. I have a good friend who, sitting in the same room and looking at the same screen on an iMac (from the same position) said that he couldn't see any of the reflections, and that they weren't distracting to him.

Some people say "give it time to adjust, you get used to it and stop seeing them." I used a MacBook (gen 1) for six months, and never got used to the reflections. So I really think there's something more than just preference at work here; I simply cannot look at a glossy screen without seeing the reflections. (Yes, that's even true of the iPhone, but it's usually easy to move the phone around to remove the reflections.)

7) The image in the story was shot in a hurry. I've attached a thumbnail (linked to a 320 pixel wide original) that shows the old and new screens, and makes the differences much clearer. If you prefer, I've also made a 640px wide medium size (129KB) and a 1000px wide large size (262KB) available.

!matte_small.jpg|thumbnail=true!

8) Warranty: For sure this voids the screen warranty :), but if we do the project (which we intend to do) we'll find out about the rest of the warranty as well.

-rob.

[griffman]

There are companies that are making such films. However, if you've ever tried attaching such a film to the small screen of an iPhone, you know what you're in for with a 15" version: bubble hell.
With a lot of practice, I've gotten reasonably good at putting on the iPhone films. I doubt, however, that I could possibly put on a 15" version of the same film without some serious bubbling issues -- and once there, it'd be tough to convince yourself to put enough pressure on the film to get the bubbles to migrate out to the edges so they can vanish.
We do, however, intend to test a few of the film products as well.
-rob.

[griffman]

"They don't replace the entire LCD display, just the glass cover. Given that it's a $200 service, there's no way it could include a new display."

Actually, that's what makes this such an interesting proposition: they do replace the entire LCD (and build a new matte-black bezel for it). From their product page:

"Replacement of the super glossy, super shiny LCD screen on your MacBook Pro with a matte finish, non-glossy screen."

I assume they use the glossy screens as replacement parts in their repair business, which explains the low cost.

-rob.