Q: MacBook Pro Retina display burn-in?

I also just got a new rMBP 2.6/16GB/256GB and I have the same serial number for the screen (LP154WT1-SJA1). I was at the Genius Bar the day after I got it and had them run a simple diagnostic on it. It finished while he was in the back doing something so I poked around on the diagnostic results screen and saw that the screen was manufactured in 2011 (I think it was May, but to be honest I don't remember the month, definitely remember the year).

That being said, I don't think this problem will be going away any time soon, it was manufactured in week 42. Thus, I can only assume that they made the screens awhile ago and are just using stock they have to make the retina computers.

I am frustrated because I already had to replace the computer once already because the keyboard was making a buzzing sound (diagnostic found that it was faulty), and the first one I received was a Samsung display with excellent picture. I don't feel like playing the lottery some more and I'd rather wait till the problems are fixed and the Haswell architecture comes out (which will hopefully address the problems of the Ivy).

My dealer also just informed me that Apple has changed the order number for the screens, so he assumed the new screens don't have the issue. He told me he would order one right away.

I was told the same thing too. Either it hasn't happened, or it isn't true. They probably just want to clear stock before they do it.

Quick update for those that are following.

I spoke at length with Apple UK about this problem and at first went straight in for the full refund option. At the same time I told them that there are only losers in this situation and it's really only the last resort. It wouldn't solve anything and I'd still have to out and buy another Mac of some sort anyway.

I was offered a last replacement at this point, pending manager approval, and that the options of a repair or full refund would still be available if this still wasn't suitable.

Thinking I've got nothing more to lose here, I took this offer of a final replacement with specific instructions to check it has a Samsung screen before shipping. The rep I spoke to was extremely helpful and said she'd do everything she possibly could to ensure this, even if it means opening the box and checking the computer itself but of course she couldn't promise anything.

Interestingly, she said that she had heard of the IR problem and that she'd handled many returns because of it. The previous person I had spoken to had not heard of this issue, no surprises there then. She also said that she'd put requests in before for a Samsung screen replacement but so far this has proved fruitless. This didn't stop her from saying she'd do everything she possibly could to get a Samsung replacement in my case though.

Roll on replacement number 4. Not exactly what I had in mind at this point but at least my options are still open if it's nothing less than perfect?

rrahimi wrote:

 

 

If this wasn't enough, for the first time I've noticed just how HOT this thing runs - to the point that it's uncomfortable on my lap when doing anything remotely CPU intensive.

 

 

Just a health advice: Assuming you are a guy and interested in ever having children, do not put laptops on your lap for more than a couple of minutes regardless whether the heat is tolerable or not.

 

Buy a soft mat/pad if you have to.

The industry has generally shifted away from the term "laptop" now in favour of "notebook". Metal transfers heat much better than plastic, so the fact that you can feel it is a good thing. It means that the processor is being kept cooler than it would be in a plastic chassis that had to rely almost exclusively on the fans. I've noticed that many machines place their fan exhaust ports in poor locations, which causes a problem when the machine is placed on fabric (i.e. pants, bed spread). I use a Belkin F8N044-SLV CushTop Notebook Stand. It's pretty awesome because, in addition to shielding my lap from the heat, it has a nice space for storing your power supply cables or covers. Also, when placed on my desk beside my auxiliary monitor, it raises my rMBP up to the perfect height so that both displays are more or less at the same level. I highly recommend them.

I'm not sure that the change in terminology from 'laptop' to 'notebook' is entirely to do with heat issues alone but you are correct in that metal does conduct heat much better than plastic.

I wouldn't agree that being able to feel the heat due to the metal chassis is necessarily a good thing as at least plastic prevents the underside from becoming a hot plate. Heat is meant to be channelled away through vents, not directly to the end user and this is the basis for a good thermal design whether it's made of metal or plastic. Basically a metal chassis such as the one in all MBPs should make little difference to the end user where heat dissipation is concerned.

I won't waste time going into this issue here as I have started another thread to do with this https://discussions.apple.com/thread/4442794

Let's keep this thread on-track in regards to the IR issue. Out of interest, is there anyone still active on here that has received a rMBP after week 40 / 41 with a Samsung screen? It seems that LG is by far the most favoured supplier now of retina screens but I'd love to be proven wrong.

Hi guys.  I am still on the fence about the burn in issue.  I have MBPr that also has some slight IR.  Week 41, Still within 14 days.  I found info that is somewhat interesting.  I looked at both manufactures sites regarding IR and both address it.  What I take from both of these articles is that IR can potentially be on both models and is not defective.  This seems to be one one drawback to this technology but is not defective.  Check this out

Samsung

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/SupportOwnersFAQPopup.do?faq_id=FAQ00001261&fm _seq=1429

Although much less susceptible than Plasma TVs, LED TVs are still subject to screen burn in (image retention). In general, you should avoid keeping a static picture (that is, a picture that contains no or few moving elements) or a picture with static elements (black bars, black borders, logos, etc.) on your LCD TV for more than two hours at a time. If, for example, you have your TV set to 4:3, and have black borders on the top and bottom, or on the sides, changing the picture size for a minute or two every couple of hours, say during commercials or in between shows, would decrease the chance of screen burn in. Reducing the brightness and contrast of the screen when it is displaying static elements will also decrease the chance of burn in.

If you are using your LED TV as a computer monitor, the same general rule holds true: Avoid keeping a static picture or a picture with static elements (black bars, black borders, logos, etc.) on your LED TV for more than two hours at a time. Make sure you change the image on your screen periodically. Also, if you intend to leave your PC unattended for long periods of time, or you leave the same image on your screen while you work on other things for extended periods of time, you should set up a screen saver that goes on after about twenty minutes, or set up your monitor so that it turns off if unattended for more than twenty minutes.

The advice above also holds true if you are using your TV to play video games. Avoid keeping a static picture or a picture with static elements (black bars, black borders, logos, etc.) on your LED TV for more than two hours at a time. Make sure you change the image on your screen periodically.

Important: Burn in damage is not covered under warranty.

Changing Picture Size If You're Watching TV For Long Periods of Time

If you are watching your LED TV for an extended period of time, and you have black bars, black borders, etc. on the screen, it is a good idea to change the size of the picture occasionally if you can.

Here's LG

http://www.lg.com/in/support/product-help/doc-1342586678228-en-LGEIL

IMAGE BURN OR IMAGE RETENTION Image retention is often due to static images left on the screen for extended periods of time. The result of this is known as Burn-In. Plasma televisions are the most susceptible to this issue due to the way the light is produced. It is normal to see a little image retention for a few seconds when changing channels or switching inputs and is not generally something to be worried about unless the image does not dissipate. Note: Image burn is not an issue covered under the manufacturer’s warranty as it is a preventable issue.

Preventing Image Burn-In Orbiter may help prevent image burn however it is best not to allow any fixed image to remain on the screen for an extended period of time. It is recommended that you enable the Orbiter feature as it only has a very minimal effect on the picture quality and tends to function unnoticeably. Note: LG LCD/LED televisions do not offer any preventative ways to remove image burn due to the risk being very rare with this type of technology however it is still important that you do not let a still image remain on the screen for more than an hour at a time.

Eliminating Burn-In There are two different ways to attempt to eliminate Burn-In on Plasma televisions: White Wash: White Wash attempts to remove ghost images from the screen. Use this feature sparingly. This feature should be used in 20-25 minute increments about every 1-2 hours. When this method is selected, a solid white screen will be displayed until it has been disabled. The solid white screen will try to burn the TV back to a solid screen state to remove any type of ghosting or image burn. After 20-25 minutes of use, disable the White Wash method and let the TV run normally for 30-45 minutes to see if the ghosting or image retention has been eliminated. If not, repeat this step a few more times. Color Wash: Color Wash attempts to remove any image retention that tends to only appear on certain colored screens. This method will constantly scroll several colors on the screen until disabled. This will attempt to reduce or remove any ghosting or image retention that appears during those colored screens.

So what I take from both of these articles is that this type of technology is not designed to have static images on the screen for long periods of time.  The manufactures recommend to use some type of screen saver built into their screens.  This appears to be a characteristic to this type of technology rather than a defect.  Interesting...still on the fence though. 

@nt wrote:

 

Hi guys.  I am still on the fence about the burn in issue.  I have MBPr that also has some slight IR.  Week 41, Still within 14 days.  I found some that is somewhat interesting.  I looked at both manufactures sites regarding IR and both address it.  What I take from both of these articles is that IR can potentially be on both models and is not defective.  This seems to be one one drawback to this technology but is not defective.  Check this out

 

Samsung

http://www.samsung.com/us/support/SupportOwnersFAQPopup.do?faq_id=FAQ00001261&fm _seq=1429

 

Although much less susceptible than Plasma TVs, LED TVs are still subject to screen burn in (image retention). In general, you should avoid keeping a static picture (that is, a picture that contains no or few moving elements) or a picture with static elements (black bars, black borders, logos, etc.) on your LCD TV for more than two hours at a time. If, for example, you have your TV set to 4:3, and have black borders on the top and bottom, or on the sides, changing the picture size for a minute or two every couple of hours, say during commercials or in between shows, would decrease the chance of screen burn in. Reducing the brightness and contrast of the screen when it is displaying static elements will also decrease the chance of burn in.

If you are using your LED TV as a computer monitor, the same general rule holds true: Avoid keeping a static picture or a picture with static elements (black bars, black borders, logos, etc.) on your LED TV for more than two hours at a time. Make sure you change the image on your screen periodically. Also, if you intend to leave your PC unattended for long periods of time, or you leave the same image on your screen while you work on other things for extended periods of time, you should set up a screen saver that goes on after about twenty minutes, or set up your monitor so that it turns off if unattended for more than twenty minutes.

The advice above also holds true if you are using your TV to play video games. Avoid keeping a static picture or a picture with static elements (black bars, black borders, logos, etc.) on your LED TV for more than two hours at a time. Make sure you change the image on your screen periodically.

Important: Burn in damage is not covered under warranty.

Changing Picture Size If You're Watching TV For Long Periods of Time

If you are watching your LED TV for an extended period of time, and you have black bars, black borders, etc. on the screen, it is a good idea to change the size of the picture occasionally if you can.

 

Here's LG

http://www.lg.com/in/support/product-help/doc-1342586678228-en-LGEIL

 

IMAGE BURN OR IMAGE RETENTION Image retention is often due to static images left on the screen for extended periods of time. The result of this is known as Burn-In. Plasma televisions are the most susceptible to this issue due to the way the light is produced. It is normal to see a little image retention for a few seconds when changing channels or switching inputs and is not generally something to be worried about unless the image does not dissipate. Note: Image burn is not an issue covered under the manufacturer’s warranty as it is a preventable issue.

Preventing Image Burn-In Orbiter may help prevent image burn however it is best not to allow any fixed image to remain on the screen for an extended period of time. It is recommended that you enable the Orbiter feature as it only has a very minimal effect on the picture quality and tends to function unnoticeably. Note: LG LCD/LED televisions do not offer any preventative ways to remove image burn due to the risk being very rare with this type of technology however it is still important that you do not let a still image remain on the screen for more than an hour at a time.

Eliminating Burn-In There are two different ways to attempt to eliminate Burn-In on Plasma televisions: White Wash: White Wash attempts to remove ghost images from the screen. Use this feature sparingly. This feature should be used in 20-25 minute increments about every 1-2 hours. When this method is selected, a solid white screen will be displayed until it has been disabled. The solid white screen will try to burn the TV back to a solid screen state to remove any type of ghosting or image burn. After 20-25 minutes of use, disable the White Wash method and let the TV run normally for 30-45 minutes to see if the ghosting or image retention has been eliminated. If not, repeat this step a few more times. Color Wash: Color Wash attempts to remove any image retention that tends to only appear on certain colored screens. This method will constantly scroll several colors on the screen until disabled. This will attempt to reduce or remove any ghosting or image retention that appears during those colored screens.

 

 

So what I take from both of these articles is that this type of technology is not designed to have static images on the screen for long periods of time.  The manufactures recommend to use some type of screen saver built into their screens.  This appears to be a characteristic to this type of technology rather than a defect.  Interesting...still on the fence though. 

There's no "burn-in" happening. The "image retention" is temporary. As for LCD TVs, generally speaking, the images are almost always dynamic and they're just not used in the same was as computers are. Screen savers? They don't even belong in the converstation regarding the IR issue. Some people are experiencing image retention in a few minutes. Who sets their screen saver to come on in under 5 minutes and who sits with a static image on their screen (i.e. a CNN article for instance) and doesn't move the mouse to scroll down through the article? The average news article takes about 5 minutes to read. During that time, the entire image, except for the body of the text and maybe a few advertisements, is static. That's normal use. Articles, like the one's you've posted above, contribute almost nothing to the conversation and are largely irrelevant unless they're being cited as examples of what Apple is telling it's customers (i.e. IR is normal). Image retention, at least the kind many rMBP customers are seeing, is NOT normal. Period.

Samsung here. Bought this week.

dvh2012 wrote:

 

Samsung here. Bought this week.

How is it?

Fine. Slight yellow tint. But no IR. No dead pixels. Bought in the UK

dvh2012 wrote:

 

Fine. Slight yellow tint. But no IR. No dead pixels. Bought in the UK

I've heard from some photographers that most people's expectations of white are actually too blue. I'm not saying that yours isn't too yellow, but it would be interesting to get it calibrated and see. I know of a guy who calibrated his rMBP dispay with the same calibration tool as I did and he says that he thinks his display is too yellow. I'm quite happy with my new post-calibration colour profile, so I'm not sure how much this has to do with personal preferences or expectations and how much has to do with reality.

My LG screen was replaced 3 days ago by Samsung. My Samsung has no light leak, dead pixel and image retention. But it has yellow tint. I used Spyder 4 Pro to calibrate to screen. It looks good now. It matches 97% sRGB.

Should I be really worried about yellow tint on my screen? I know deep down that this screen has a problem. I am worrying about it all the time.

Should I be really worried about yellow tint on my screen?

They real problem is that the tint is not uniform across the entire screen (Edit: I'm talking, of course, of my own screen). Even if you calibrate (objectively with appropriate tools or subjectively), the whites on the lower part are less accurate (i.e. yellowish) than those on the upper part. It's not something that screams out, but it's just one of those little things. It seems that the more you try to achieve a correct calibration, the more the difference in whites becomes apparent. In fact, I think it's best left at the default profile. A friend tried to calibrate with Eye-One Display in his workshop. We did this in a very careful manner, controlling the ambient light, angle of screen, reflections, etc. But it doesn't change the fact that the whites are not applied uniformly. Perhaps there's a subjective notion in play here, but all those that have seen the screen (i.e. 6 or 7 people) have had the same subjective impression. At the end of the day it doesn't bother me enormously as I'm not a professional photographer and I didn't buy the machine for that purpose.

Seems pretty relevant to me. 

Image retention is often due to static images left on the screen for extended periods of time. The result of this is known as Burn-In. Plasma televisions are the most susceptible to this issue due to the way the light is produced. It is normal to see a little image retention for a few seconds when changing channels or switching inputs and is not generally something to be worried about unless the image does not dissipate.

Note: Image burn is not an issue covered under the manufacturer’s warranty as it is a preventable issue

Also...I think if you have the retention lasting longer than a minute then for sure take it in.  I had an image on for half an hour and switched to the gray background and it was gone in under a minute.  Not saying people aren't having real issues.  If it's sticking around for longer than a minute take it in.  Just wanted to point out that LG has addressed along with Samsung and Apple.  Seems like its the type of technology.  Hey when Plasmas came out we all knew they about the burn in damage that was possible and we still purchased.  Also, I notice all the pictures posted have gray backgrounds.  Do all of you really use gray?  I notice it only when I have a gray background.  In the end Apple has really anal customers.  I know this because I am one of them.  They catered to the perfectionist consumer for many years so I understand all of your concerns because I have them also.  I think this issue will improve as the technology improves but as far as all LG's being defective due to minor IR...I think its just the nature of the tech.  If you don't like the non retina macbook is still an awesome machine. 

And as far as who sets the screensaver for 5 mintes...probably people who don't want to be bothered by image retention.  Think about it.  You don't want IR.  LG and Apple recommend and screen saver.  Don't want the screensaver?  Well try not using the gray background.  Don't want to use the gray background? Then grab the non retina macbook.  Don't want to grab the non retina?  Then play the LG Sammy switching game.  Sammy screens are yellow?  Get rid of the machine.  Doesn't really seem like there's any solution for some of you.  LOL!