24 inch iMac aluminum - Screen irregularities - (Photo!)

I'm definitely scared of getting a new iMac until the issue's resolved.

I have a £240 22" fujitsu tft monitor and I would consdider it far from professional but the output is immaculate across the whole screen, and thats with a vga connection! something else apple is filling people with ****, Mr Jobs... want to buy a car from me? the right hand side is a bit darker than the left but that doesn't matter does it?

Well, I have been following that thread an others because I also have uneven backlighting but it's not bad to the point that I would want to change the iMac. What I am less and less certain I can live with is the yellow/brown tinting starting in the middle (same as described by others). It's getting very distracting when reading text on a white background. My iMac is mounted on a VESA arm and I really don't feel like uninstalling everything, putting back original RAM and so on ... Why oh why?? I am in a dilemma here, I feel like getting a replacement will probably get me a machine with a similar flaw. I really like the form factor of the iMac and it is working very well (apart from 3 freezings but no more of these ...), I don't need the power of a Mac Pro and don't want a mini either.

Now, could it be a glass panel flaw that causes it (unlikely I know)? Did anyone try to remove the glass panel and see if the problem persists?
Is it that the panel is good but the all-in-one design and all the crammed stuff behind the display is causing interference with it, hence the discoloration?

I've had an AppleCare on-site repair contractor over twice working on my 24" iMac -- specifically in regard to the brightness gradient issue. Apple sent a new panel for the first visit.The gradient was clear to the contractor when I showed it to him. I saw the glass removed, and I can testify that that's all it is -- clear glass. Anyway, after several hours the panel was replaced and we turned it on. It wouldn't power up. We could hear the fans going, but that's about it, so the computer was toast. Next they sent a new logic board and power supply. It takes a long time to take the machine apart, insert these new components, and put everything back together again. Result? It booted, but there was no change at all. The same gradient is there. Next, they are reportedly sending the last conceivable active component: the video board. This will require yet another extensive disassembly and a lot more of my time having to be there, and I'm getting doubtful that this will solve the problem either. This is adding up to a lot of time, beginning with the many hours on the phone and the clean install that they insisted I do. Not to speak of the time off from work. It is getting to be extremely stressful and fatiguing.

I might add one more little technical note: the inverter is actually physically part of the display assembly. It's thin and is attached to the left hand rear of the panel (looking from the front), and is not a separate board.

Very interesting Arielle, I was about to remove the glass to see this week-end but your post is saving me this useless step. From your post, it looks to me that the panels are faulty, unless (unlikely) it's the graphic card but your experience will tell us. Please keep us updated as soon as the do the next surgery on your iMac, you may be able to answer a lot of our questions. Thank you very much.

This is adding up to a lot of time, beginning with the many hours on the phone and the clean install that they insisted I do.

Yep, I share your pain. Countless hours on the phone. Since Sept 19th, I've talked to eight different Apple reps, specialists, and assorted experts -- also sent several emails, and left a few (unreturned) voicemail messages. Fourteen contacts, zero results.

Apple has my iMac photos ( http://www.picasaweb.google.com/TheLooby), but as yet, they've been unable to give me a straight answer on whether my iMac would meet Apple's *"stringent visual ergonomics (front of screen) criteria."* ( http://images.apple.com/environment/resources/pdf/APES24-in_iMac8-07-07.pdf)

The "criteria," themselves, are apparently a tightly-held state secret; and there seems to be no stringent definition of "stringent."

...BTW, didya notice Apple's corporate street address? .... *1 Infinite Loop*, Cupertino, CA

Looby

I suspect that the people who are complaining about eye strain with the 24" version are not having problems with the glass, but with the very unnatural brightness gradient across the screen. You can even see the gradient inside of, say, a browser window, that's centered and only half the width of the screen. It's distinctly brighter on the left side than the right, so you can imagine what the full width is like. It really is irritating and fatiguing to the visual system, and not appropriate for granny let alone professionals of any type.

I've heard of one person who was advised to try to mask the problem with varying non-solid-color backgrounds. Not only is this "solution" a cop-out, it also has two severe problems. One is noted in the above paragraph. It appears not only in solid color backgrounds, but also in standard windows that we use all the time. Furthermore, anyone who does serious work on the computer like editing photographs or writing technical academic papers, is not going to appreciate the visual distraction around their work. I'm doing both, and I hate that extraneous stuff around my work, and in fact, I always use the graphite theme with a grey background in order to minimize unnecessary distracting colors.

The suggestion that has been made to some that professionals of any sort should be using Mac Pros with Cinema Displays is absolutely ridiculous. For example, many academics would just never be able to afford these things.

It really is a shame. I saw this thing taken apart, and the effort that went into designing and constructing this thing is remarkable. The technician, familiar with the old iMacs, was impressed with the construction. However, this screen ... it would be an embarrassment even for Dell. It might be OK for Fisher Price toys.

Not that it is a solution but I found that creating a profile with a gamma of 2.2 and setting the color temperature to 6707K makes the yellowing and gradient much less apparent in every day use on my machine. For those that need color accuracy that would not be met with those settings you will need to change profiles for different tasks I guess.

Arielle The Dog wrote:
The suggestion that has been made to some that professionals of any sort should be using Mac Pros with Cinema Displays is absolutely ridiculous. For example, many academics would just never be able to afford these things.

It's laughable regardless of how deep your pockets might be. One could buy a 24" iMac (USD $1799), turn the hideous screen to the wall, and connect a 24" Dell 2407WFP (USD $699, and consistently rated higher than the 23" Cinema Display). Grand total: $2498. That's one dollar less than the bare Mac Pro 'box' -- which comes with a smaller disk, no BlueTooth, no WiFi, no camera, no microphone, and no speakers. The Mac Pro also requires insanely expensive ECC memory -- while providing NO significant CPU performance advantage (only 7% faster according to MacWorld benchmarks).

...how insane is that?

Looby

Arielle, please keep us updated and thanks for your comments.

I decided to place a hold on my new order for an iMac 20'' until this serious issue is resolved. What strikes me as remarkable is that by the looks of it (for example, some members of this forum have expressed they still have the some issues after 3 exchanges!), this is an issue on EVERY unit!

Anyone of you guys have a NON-faulty unit??????????????

I'm living in Switzerland. Got a new 24 last week. Screen is perfect and the machine is truly awsome.
Ermanno

Ermanno, not to doubt you but perfection is a subjective matter when it comes to evaluate a display. Actually, I am yet to see anyone saying they have a perfect display post a picture with a solid medium gray background to prove it. Could you post a pic if you don't mind?

I wish Apple would just go back to using the same brand, make, and model of displays it used a few months ago in its mid-07 white iMacs. Considering all of the money Apple is spending on futile repairs and multiple replacements, not to mention the beating Apple is taking in terms of its customer relations, it would have been cheaper in the long run just to stick with the better screens.

I wish Apple would just go back to using the same brand, make, and model of displays it used a few months ago

Agree 100%. I have to wonder whether the problem might be related to the new "thin" package. The ALU 24" uses basically the same LCD panel as its predecessor (LG.Philips LM240WU2-SLB1 versus LM240WU2-SLA1 for the white 24").

I don't know what the suffixes indicate, but it could be that the ALU version is thinner -- with less space for the backlight/diffuser assembly. That's pure speculation; it might be nothing more than matte vs. glossy finish on the panel face.

OTOH, the 20" downgrade is clearly a cost-cutting measure.

Looby

The new panel assembly is very thin. I haven't seen the previous version, so I can't make a comparison.