User profile for user: plaidpixel
plaidpixel Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

Gradient / color shifts / yellow hue on refurb 2.8GHz 24" iMac

Hello,

New owner of a refurbished 2.8GHz 24" iMac. I was very happy with the machine until I put something solid on the screen.

I can't believe just how terrible the screen is. All four edges have a yellow gradient that is really noticeable. Even the center of the screen shifts to a warmer/darker color that makes me keep trying to blink to clear up what I am seeing.

I use a white 20" iMac at work and have found the screen to be excellent. I also have a PowerBook G4 which has a great screen. Too bad so many of us are having trouble with non-uniform color and backlighting on these new models.

I am hoping Apple will refund my money, as it sounds like this is a problem on all 24" iMacs. I went by the local Best Buy and the 24" on display looked just as bad as my refurb. I guess I'll have to buy a 20" white iMac model and hope I don't run into hardware issues since most are out of warranty.

I'm posting an image of the problem here. This is a Keynote slide set to a light grey solid background (well, it is supposed to be solid, anyway!). I have upped the contrast in photoshop +20% to make it easier to see, but it is -very- noticeable with casual use. IMAGE LINK: http://homepage.mac.com/plaidpixel/24imac.jpg

Does ANYONE have a good 24" iMac screen? It seems the answer is no. I don't want to get talked into switching the machine out and wasting my time (and Apple's money) if this is just how it is.

Thanks,
Stephen

Aluminum iMac 24" 2.8, Mac OS X (10.5.6)

Posted on May 5, 2009 10:16 PM

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10 replies
User profile for user: plaidpixel
plaidpixel Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

May 6, 2009 9:49 AM in response to 3eye

Sorry to hear you are having the same problem! I would say mine is almost as bad as yours in real life, but my digital camera wasn't able to capture the issue very well.

I just spoke with AppleCare. They are making me drag the thing into the Apple store... ugh. My 14 days are ticking away, and I am not going to end up stuck with this awful screen.

If they would replace it with an iMac with a good screen, I would be more than happy to let them keep the money I've already paid them, but I would never purchase a machine for any amount with such a terrible screen.

Hope you can get the issue resolved!
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User profile for user: 3eye
3eye
User level: Level 1
0 points

May 6, 2009 6:16 PM in response to plaidpixel

Yes it is hard for the camera to capture the true extend of the irregularities. That said even the Apple Genius I took it into said 'I cannot see anything'?!&! (After looking at it for a mere 2 secs mind you). Then he admitted 'my eyes aren't good for seeing these things'. Then I was told we cannot touch this or look at it until we speak to customer relations. I go sent away for 30min while they were looking over notes. I came back and was told 'you'll have to wait till Mon'. Like what the! I left the store quite annoyed. The previous genius could clearly see my display issue on the previous iMac and I was able to get a new replacement for the one I have now which is the same! Its not right and I'm not satisfied with the outcome. Apple genius told customer relations on Mon that 'they could not see anything and maybe the store florescent lights are making it hard to see'. I never got told that IN PERSON or anything really, while at the Apple Store, I was simply sent away and told to wait till Mon. I was simply dismissed.
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User profile for user: plaidpixel
plaidpixel Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

May 6, 2009 10:06 PM in response to 3eye

Very interesting... I actually had a really similar experience tonight, but it turned out better. The Genius I spoke to also said he wasn't good at seeing that type of thing. He saw the yellow around the edge but just barely -- he didn't see the problem in the middle of the screen at all. Then a person came from the back of the store -- this guy said he did see the problem, but said we should look at the models on the floor before deciding what to do. We both saw that the 24" display models (both of them!) were actually worse than mine ⚠ and he said, while they could switch it out, I might not be happy with the replacement, either since it seems to be generally the way they are.

I'm not interested in playing the "good iMac lottery," so I asked them to document on my AppleCare support case that they verified the issue & that the two models in the store also had the issue. As I left the store I called Apple Store returns and the lady agreed to waive my restocking fee. She asked that I pay shipping back for the unit, but that would be about $50 so I said I would not want to do that. She said it was rare but they would both waive the restocking fee and pay return shipping since I had such a bad experience.

All in all, I'm happy that I wasn't treated rudely and that this experience won't cost me anything other than the time and gas that went into it. I really like everything about the machine except the yellow screen, so I'm very sad to see it go. I guess I'll get a Mac mini and used Apple 23" Cinema Display for now.

Good luck to all of you with iMac screens driving you crazy! Kind of bummed about the whole experience. Hopefully the next iMac revision will have better screens!
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User profile for user: plaidpixel
plaidpixel Author
User level: Level 1
10 points

May 10, 2009 1:35 AM in response to plaidpixel

Another update for anyone not happy with their screens:

Did some shopping today. Didn't really want a laptop, but gave the MacBook Pro a shot. The screens were not as good as the LCD on my older PowerBook G4. Some of the MBP screens had a yellow hue; all of them had a bad viewing angle.

The 24" LED Cinema Display is gorgeous, but apparently these run pretty hot and have some issues. I was tempted, but didn't want to deal with more monitor issues and the price is high.

I ended up going to Best Buy today getting a Mac Mini.

They had a display model set up with a 24" LG LCD monitor that looked WORLDS better than the built in screen on any of the 24" iMacs I'd seen -- and it was only $229. The color was very consistent all over the display and the viewing angle was good. I will say that it was not as bright, but that was okay with me.

I considered going with the LG screen, but they had one last 20" Apple Cinema Display in stock and I liked the way it looks. Not a glossy display, but the color is very good and the image is really striking. Most important, it is very consistent from side to side.

Since the Mac mini has such a tiny hard drive, I bought an external 1 TB FW 800 drive and have installed OS X on that drive. The optical drive on the mini seems very slow, but once the install was complete the machine is very responsive.

All in all I got the entire setup for $1120 + tax. Not an amazing value compared to the iMac, but I'm happy with the result. It seems that the limiting factor on the mini is the video card. Hopefully this won't come back to bite me.

Note that if you go the Mini route, you'll have a lot more cabling to deal with. You'll also have to bring your own keyboard, mouse, and monitor. Good luck!
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Gradient / color shifts / yellow hue on refurb 2.8GHz 24" iMac

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