Matte v Glossy

ssssss
Posted:
in Current Mac Hardware edited January 2014
I'm sure this has been done before but if someone who knows alot about but list the pros and cons of each and their verdict on which to get.



Mainly in regards to the MBP 17" Hi Res.......



Many Thanks.

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 14
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by SSS View Post


    I'm sure this has been done before but if someone who knows alot about but list the pros and cons of each and their verdict on which to get.



    Mainly in regards to the MBP 17" Hi Res.......



    Many Thanks.



    Easy...



    Glossy

    Pro: More vivid colors

    Pro: Less susceptible to keyboard imprint on screen from when laptop is closed.

    Pro: More sturdy screen (easier to clean)

    Con: Glare

    Con: More easily scratchable



    Matte

    Pro: Limited Glare

    Pro: Less susceptible to scratches

    Con: Less sturdy (harder to clean)

    Con: More susceptible to keyboard imprint on screen from when laptop is closed.



    Notice I don't put "Less vivid colors" as a con for Matte. It really isn't a con... you just don't get the added "shine" you do with glossy.
  • Reply 2 of 14
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icfireball View Post


    Easy...



    Glossy

    Pro: More vivid colors

    Pro: Less susceptible to keyboard imprint on screen from when laptop is closed.

    Pro: More sturdy screen (easier to clean)

    Con: Glare

    Con: More easily scratchable



    Matte

    Pro: Limited Glare

    Pro: Less susceptible to scratches

    Con: Less sturdy (harder to clean)

    Con: More susceptible to keyboard imprint on screen from when laptop is closed.



    Notice I don't put "Less vivid colors" as a con for Matte. It really isn't a con... you just don't get the added "shine" you do with glossy.



    Well, I would have added Better color accuracy as a pro for Matte. The reason Glossy appears more vivid is because they increase color saturation. True, it's all a preference, but for me, the world is not a Tim Burton movie.
  • Reply 3 of 14
    stevegtastevegta Posts: 75member
    I had this dilemma myself. In the end I went with glossy. Reason being that I have I like the looks of glossy and have come to find that most bad things about the glossy screen are rumors.



    In the end you can't go wrong though, they're both great choices it just depends on what you personally like more.
  • Reply 4 of 14
    filburtfilburt Posts: 398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icfireball View Post


    Easy...



    Glossy

    Pro: More sturdy screen (easier to clean)



    Matte

    Con: Less sturdy (harder to clean)



    I don't see the correlation between difficulty of cleaning and sturdiness.
  • Reply 5 of 14
    I have a glossy HP notebook and it is fantastic for watching media. I plan to get glossy on my MBP as well.
  • Reply 6 of 14
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by filburt View Post


    I don't see the correlation between difficulty of cleaning and sturdiness.



    When you are cleaning a "glossy screen" you are not cleaning the screen... you are cleaning the plastic/glass that is in FRONT of the screen. This is more sturdy than the screen itself at with Matte. (Matte has a very thin plastic layer which for all intensive purposes is part of the screen).
  • Reply 7 of 14
    filburtfilburt Posts: 398member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icfireball View Post


    When you are cleaning a "glossy screen" you are not cleaning the screen... you are cleaning the plastic/glass that is in FRONT of the screen. This is more sturdy than the screen itself at with Matte. (Matte has a very thin plastic layer which for all intensive purposes is part of the screen).



    Perhaps you are right but I have never seen matte LCD tear off or show other blemishes. With a wet towel, everything wipes off pretty easily. I am sure if I throw a rock at it, it will crack, but it's pretty darn sturdy in my experience.



    On the other hand, glossy screen is far more prone to scratch.
  • Reply 8 of 14
    That is why you treat it like a baby. Would you let a flying object get within 2 inches of a baby?



    You sick person!
  • Reply 9 of 14
    I really dislike glossy screens. I think its because, to me, they have always been for the PCs while Macs always had matte screens. Also, most PC users LOVE to touch their screens and I have so many friends who's glossy pc laptop screens have finger prints all over them and the light catches every groove of the print and just the reminder of that horrid image keeps me away from glossy. I don't know, it seems cheaper to me. Then again, I prefer to watch my movies on my TV, not my MPB. However, I would say that color-wise matte screens are stunning. I suck at explaining things.
  • Reply 10 of 14
    I have a MacBook with a glossy screen. (Well, I wouldn't have one with a matt screen would I?)



    I very nearly didn't buy one when I found out they had glossy screens - I've always thought the major benefit of LCD screens over CRT's was that they don't reflect light so well, so no reflective distractions (I don't know why people call this 'glare' - I thought glare is when something is too bright you can't look at it!)



    At work, someone ordered some swanky glass-coated black LCD monitors for our plush new teaching/workshop room before consulting me, and everyone seemed to think they looked great apart from me, because I knew that as soon as they were put out on the long side bench specially built to house the PCs, people would start to moan - because this faces a big bright window that has sun all day long! Doh! And guess who has to clean all the fingerprints off?



    And I couldn't understand it when all the major laptop brands started using glossy screens - and how these are nearly the norm now.



    But I have to say that I am reassessing my phobia to glossy screens as I am so impressed by the sharpness, clarity and vividness of my MacBook's screen, and there's only been a few occurences of reflective annoyance - and I use it everyday.



    However, I do not trust its colour representation. True, colour is very bright and saturated, but I did a layout design on it in Photoshop for a friends wedding planning site, and what I thought was a subtle lilac background turned out to be a pale Barbie pink on nearly all the other monitors I looked at!



    From now on I think I'll do my graphics work on an external monitor - the MacBook's rez is too low anyway.



    However, I think the pros far outweigh the cons here - I'm not sure how much better and more colour accurate the new glossy MB Pro is than the MB, so if you are a finickety graphics person you might want to check both the glossy and matt out side by side.
  • Reply 11 of 14
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by icfireball View Post


    When you are cleaning a "glossy screen" you are not cleaning the screen... you are cleaning the plastic/glass that is in FRONT of the screen. This is more sturdy than the screen itself at with Matte. (Matte has a very thin plastic layer which for all intensive purposes is part of the screen).



    This is one thing I really dislike about matte finishes, I always feel like I am going to break it when I clean it.



    Also not mac related, but icfireball, you said "for all intensive purposes". The phrase is actually "for all intents and purposes." Just a little fun fact.
  • Reply 12 of 14
    icfireballicfireball Posts: 2,594member
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by john.outwater View Post


    This is one thing I really dislike about matte finishes, I always feel like I am going to break it when I clean it.



    Also not mac related, but icfireball, you said "for all intensive purposes". The phrase is actually "for all intents and purposes." Just a little fun fact.



    haha. good point mate.
  • Reply 13 of 14
    ssssss Posts: 30member
    Cheers for the explanation guys. I think I'm a glossy type of person
  • Reply 14 of 14
    easyceasyc Posts: 69member
    Personally I prefer matt screens because of my eyes. I have astigmatism (I know thats not corrrect) and for some reason things with a gloss finish on them hurts my eyes and eventually gives me a headache. I personally go for matt on everything. I do black and white photography and prefer matt because of the finish but also because if im developing and putting together a presentation with gloss prints me head feels like its going to split. Just something else to consider.
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