PowerBook AL 15" cold screen uneven brightness
Recently i have been seeing this new phenomena on my AL 15" PB and I was wondering if i am alone in seeing this.
when I wake my PB from sleep in the first minute or so there is a section in the LCD (bottom right area about 2" x 2" size) where the screen is noticeably dimmer and i mean really like a dark cloud over that section. then after about 45 seconds to one minute as the screen warms up to full brightness that dimness disappears and the entire LCD is evenly lit again - bizarre...
Has anyone seen this before on their PB? - any fixes or do you guys think its really a non issue since the dimness just goes away very quickly... why is it happening?
when I wake my PB from sleep in the first minute or so there is a section in the LCD (bottom right area about 2" x 2" size) where the screen is noticeably dimmer and i mean really like a dark cloud over that section. then after about 45 seconds to one minute as the screen warms up to full brightness that dimness disappears and the entire LCD is evenly lit again - bizarre...
Has anyone seen this before on their PB? - any fixes or do you guys think its really a non issue since the dimness just goes away very quickly... why is it happening?
Comments
Just as a test, turn your brightness down to 3 or 4 (What you might have it on if you wanted maximum battery life, or if you were in a dark room) and wait for 15 mins. Does your shadow come back?
This is the image from my first screen...
...after the repair, it was all OK for about 4 weeks, but the problem has come back now. Its even worse this time.
Originally posted by rashumon
Recently i have been seeing this new phenomena on my AL 15" PB and I was wondering if i am alone in seeing this.
when I wake my PB from sleep in the first minute or so there is a section in the LCD (bottom right area about 2" x 2" size) where the screen is noticeably dimmer and i mean really like a dark cloud over that section. then after about 45 seconds to one minute as the screen warms up to full brightness that dimness disappears and the entire LCD is evenly lit again - bizarre...
Has anyone seen this before on their PB? - any fixes or do you guys think its really a non issue since the dimness just goes away very quickly... why is it happening?
Got the same problem with dark area at base of screen after switching on. Have decided to live with it since, as you say, it largely goes away after a while. Got 1 year's worth of Apple Care to play with anyway if it starts to annoy me.
EDIT: thinking about it. I find that after doing something really stressful for the comp - like playing a game - the heat from the grill at the base of the screen makes the clouding worse.
Originally posted by Gargoyle
Not wanting to disshearten you, but my PB is about to go back to have this fault rectified for the SECOND time.
Just as a test, turn your brightness down to 3 or 4 (What you might have it on if you wanted maximum battery life, or if you were in a dark room) and wait for 15 mins. Does your shadow come back?
This is the image from my first screen...
...after the repair, it was all OK for about 4 weeks, but the problem has come back now. Its even worse this time.
MEGA DOH!! - you are right! same here, its even worse when i leave it at 3 or 4 brightness for a while... and this is a replacement screen i had for the spots issue - WTF is going on with these PBs? looks like i'll have to take it back as well... you're based in the UK right? so am i... where are you getting it fixed?
Oh and another thing - how do you carry your PB aroundd? i mean - do you think this could be the result of the PB screen being pressed too hard while in the laptop bag?
Originally posted by rashumon
Oh and another thing - how do you carry your PB aroundd? i mean - do you think this could be the result of the PB screen being pressed too hard while in the laptop bag?
I know this wasn't to me, but no. I noticed this a long time ago and I hadn't even been carrying it around at that point. I feel pretty safe with it in my computer, and once I send it back for white spots, uneven dislay brightness like you guys, and a few minor other things. I hope when it gets back the metal behind the display is stronger though.
All of these issues may be do to improper power management of the individual lamps.
Just a thought. It will probably take a motherboard revision to fix the problem if this is the case.
I always thought it was a single electro luminescent background with color filters mounted in front. That way if you want color green, blue and red are filtered out.
But I am not sure how they work either.
Given their strange behavior in office lights, I am really shocked that problems like this dont occur more often.
Heck, in the last year, my Pismo screen has always been VERY pink when first starting it up, but it goes away.
If the problem sticks and doesn't rectify itself, though, get it looked at.
since it does not intrude on my work or play, I don't mind it.
The backlit keyboard, I've noticed, is uneven, but after an hour or so of being on, it usually, not only is brighter, but it becomes even.
another word on the backlit keyboard, I think it's a great idea...for regular keyboards, not laptops, well, maybe if the laptop had black keys, then it would work, but the current keyboard, is illuminated just fine by the light from the display, in fact, more often than not, in semi-low light conditions, the backlit turns on, but only half way or so, and it gives me a faint gray color that blends in with the aluminum and makes it HARDER to see the keys.
on my old iMac with a Pro keyboard, I would have LOVED to have had the same type of 'letters only' backlight in the keyboard, oh well, the backlight is still kind of useful, when it's REALLY dark, otherwise, it's more gimmick than anything else.
Originally posted by Gargoyle
Not wanting to disshearten you, but my PB is about to go back to have this fault rectified for the SECOND time.
Just as a test, turn your brightness down to 3 or 4 (What you might have it on if you wanted maximum battery life, or if you were in a dark room) and wait for 15 mins. Does your shadow come back?
This is the image from my first screen...
...after the repair, it was all OK for about 4 weeks, but the problem has come back now. Its even worse this time.
I had the same thing happen to me in November, sent it in, they replaced the screen and the diffuser array, and today, it happened again. At least I don't have the white spots now but it looks like the diffuser or lamp thing is acting up again so it has to go back, dammit.
My first repair report stated that the machine had a new lcd module. This must be just the screen, as the lid still has a ver small scratch.
The second repair, stated that the lcd module had been replaced again, along with a new base assembly !?!? This is deffo the bottom aluminium, as a few small marks from the bottom have gone, but the small scratch on the lid is still there. The lid fits better now tho, It used to have a gap at each front corner when closed... the gap is now even and smaller.
Also, the silly engineers have not tightened the bolt in the bottom right corner of the lid! I am going to leave it like this since the bolt doesn't seem to be about to fall out.
Originally posted by Gargoyle
Well I have got mine back (for the second time), and all the screen is even. Last time it got "fixed" it took a few weeks for the problem to re-appear, so I have my fingers crossed.
My first repair report stated that the machine had a new lcd module. This must be just the screen, as the lid still has a ver small scratch.
The second repair, stated that the lcd module had been replaced again, along with a new base assembly !?!? This is deffo the bottom aluminium, as a few small marks from the bottom have gone, but the small scratch on the lid is still there. The lid fits better now tho, It used to have a gap at each front corner when closed... the gap is now even and smaller.
Also, the silly engineers have not tightened the bolt in the bottom right corner of the lid! I am going to leave it like this since the bolt doesn't seem to be about to fall out.
How long was it away for?
I have arranged for it to be sent back to apple for repair but I'm really starting to loose my patience with these screen problems!
How Fecking difficult is it for Apple to use decent quality parts in their laptops? not only are their LCDs lower rez than comparable PC laptop LCDs, they also seem to be much less reliable too! is this why we pay more for Apple hardware?
Do owners of the 1 ghz 12" minibook have this problem as well?
Originally posted by naderby
How long was it away for?
Yes, i also want to know, as i'm also about to send my for repair in the UK... how long did they take to replace the screen?