MacBookPro screens working in moving picture applications - matte or gloss ?

[Chris Millar]

Hello,

 

I am buying a MBP 15" version with 3gig RAM and the 7200rpm HD soon

 

I have used matte screens up till now with no complaints but have noticed the trend towards glossy screens for supposedly deeper blacks at the expense of some occasional glare (direct reflections from the sun could blind you at the extreme :rolleyes: ).

 

A search of the net finds many opinions from mostly fans and haters - nothing much between ...

 

So, is it really an issue which would be best for motion picture editing ? (FCP on the road with no access to a calibrated monitor)

 

Or do I just go with the personal preference, which for fear of getting something I dont like I'll just stick with what has always worked (matte)

 

any ideas ?

 

Chris

[Satsuki Murashige]

If I were you, I'd go to a local CompUSA or Apple Store to test drive a glossy screen for yourself before committing. Personally, I got a 17" MBP with the glossy screen because I use it in controlled lighting situations most of the time, but I can see how a matte screen would be better if you were outdoors a lot. Either way though, don't expect the MBP's LCD to be color correct even after calibration. I have my MBP set up next to a 23" Cinema Display in dual screen mode, both calibrated with a PanTone Huey Pro (pretty cheap, but it works okay) and the Cinema Display is far more saturated especially in the greens, reds, and yellows. I'd imagine that a proper CRT broadcast monitor would also produce a very different picture than either display, but that's not really an option with the MBP because of the lack of a PCI slot.

 

* BTW, I hope you're not paying Apple to install that extra gig of RAM - it's way cheaper to buy memory from an online vendor like Newegg and install it yourself. ;)

[Chris Millar]

If I were you, I'd go to a local CompUSA or Apple Store to test drive a glossy screen for yourself before committing. Personally, I got a 17" MBP with the glossy screen because I use it in controlled lighting situations most of the time, but I can see how a matte screen would be better if you were outdoors a lot. Either way though, don't expect the MBP's LCD to be color correct even after calibration. I have my MBP set up next to a 23" Cinema Display in dual screen mode, both calibrated with a PanTone Huey Pro (pretty cheap, but it works okay) and the Cinema Display is far more saturated especially in the greens, reds, and yellows. I'd imagine that a proper CRT broadcast monitor would also produce a very different picture than either display, but that's not really an option with the MBP because of the lack of a PCI slot.

 

* BTW, I hope you're not paying Apple to install that extra gig of RAM - it's way cheaper to buy memory from an online vendor like Newegg and install it yourself. ;)

 

I've played with both in store enough not to dislike either for whatever reason but was wondering if there was any factors I hadn't considered due to not having it out in the real world ...

 

and yes I'm pulling the ram from my iMac (which I bought separately and installed)

[Jonathan Bowerbank]

Could try a filter from 3M. Their "Privacy Filters" have a glossy or matte finish on either side.

 

http://solutions.3m.com/wps/portal/3M/en_U...PrivacyFilters/

 

CompUSA is dead, by the way. It's worth it to go there right now though and take advantage of all their sales. I managed to get iLife '08 at half price. The one here in SF cleared its Mac computer inventory, I think by just shipping everything back to Apple.

[Jason Sikorski]

I've owned or used MBPs with both the matte and glossy screens, and they're both basically unusable in direct sunlight. You may want to consider one of those laptop cases that fold out into a sun shade around the screen:

 

http://www.teamworkphoto.com/images/seaport/ivisor.jpg

 

That's a picture of the Seaport Digital i-Visor (the one I happen to own).. although I'm sure there are myriad alternatives.