Q: MacBook Pro Retina display burn-in?

I don't know that anyone has said that image retention is a problem with ALL screens (if someone did, I must have missed that post), but I do know for an asolute fact that it does exist on other other than the affected Retinal dislplays being discussed. here. I can say this with certainty because (as I posted earlier), I have two Samsung SyncMaster 213T monitors I use at work, and when I did a similar test (dark gray background, max brightness with a window containing a combination of light and dark areas) for 30 minutes, I definitley saw image retention on one of the screens but not the other. The effect wasn't as pronounced as it was on my rMBP (and took less time to disappate), but it was a very obvious image retentation problem of the type I see on my rMBP.

Also, based on your description of your testing (white screen rather than a screen with both light and dark elements, as well as color elements), I'm not sure you'd see the problem as easily as others have.

Again, that doesn't mean that all screens have the problem, but it does mean the problem isn't limited to the rMBP.

bcar1ton wrote:

 

There are a couple of ways to find your serial number. You can either click "Print Invoice" on your Apple Store tracking webpage, which will show your computer's serial number

Ta this worked. Appears mines a Week 6 or week 33 build. Pretty annoying that Mountain lion isnt already installed on it, I mean its been out for a while now? I was pretty excited for my new laptop, but this forum certainly puts a certain dull on that

Hopefully mine turns out alright, otherwise I might have to return it and head down the cMBP route, and stick in 2 x 490GB OWC SSD's in raid 0 with 16GB RAM, and just put up with the crapper screen rez larger weight and size.

So! I have been following the thread right from the start and here is my story. Today i received my Macbook retina 2.6/16/512, and after reading everything here I was really hoping for a Samsung screen.. BUT of course it has an LG, and may I just say it is absolutely flawless. The laptop body, keys, software, sound etc are in every way perfect. As for IR issues there is nothing at all in the slightest, and with the brightness cranked the white colours are just as pure as they are on my 4S I really couldn't be happier. I didn't want the LG but i can't fault it in anyway!

I hope others have the same luck with other LG screens.

My apologies, I am new to this forum and didn't realize that when I selected "reply" to a post, that the reply would not be associated with that post.  When I mentioned that not all LCDs screens have this problem, I was referring to this:

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HongLJ

   I called applecare and they said it was normal, unless it was very obvious. I spoke to a advisor and he later forwarded me to a senior advisor when i asked for a replacement. The senior advisor said this was perfectly normal as all screens have a tendency of image retentivity if a static image is left for extended periods of time on the screen. He said apple engineers are working hard on this issue and it isn't a defect unless the IR is severe.

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If a senior adviser at Apple is claiming that all LCD screens have some degree of burn-in, then I think that adviser is wrong.  But to clarify: I am talking about perceptible burn-in under non-extreme circumstances.  I am not saying that if an image is left on an LCD for 1 year that it won't show some burn-in.  What I am saying is that the implication that all LCDs exhibit burn-in under normal circumstances is wrong.

However, reading it again I guess that the adviser wasn't really saying anything, since the terms "tendency", and "extended" are very nonspecific terms.  I interpreted it as implying that noticeable burn-in is a fact for all LCD screens, but perhaps the adviser was just making the (useless) comment that for every LCD screen, there is a duration of time for which a static image is displayed after which there will be burn-in (even though for the vast majority of LCD screens, this duration of time is in the hours or tens of hours).

jarad578 wrote:
 
So! I have been following the thread right from the start and here is my story. Today i received my Macbook retina 2.6/16/512, and after reading everything here I was really hoping for a Samsung screen.. BUT of course it has an LG, and may I just say it is absolutely flawless. The laptop body, keys, software, sound etc are in every way perfect. As for IR issues there is nothing at all in the slightest, and with the brightness cranked the white colours are just as pure as they are on my 4S  I really couldn't be happier. I didn't want the LG but i can't fault it in anyway!
I hope others have the same luck with other LG screens.

I felt the same as you did the first month; but a month later I have tried reproducing the burn-in effect and found that I can.  You may want to try again after a few weeks to ensure that you don't have the problem.  You will also have to decide for yourself how important an issue this is and what the appropriate course of action is for you.  As for me, it's not super important but I do want it fixed eventually because I tend to keep my notebooks for a long time (last two lasted 6.5 years and 7.5 years, respectively) and I am uncomfortable with a problem that might get worse over time.  So unless it is a bad idea to do so, I will wait a few months before acting on this problem.

By the way, aside from this (in my opinion) minor burn-in issue, I am exceedingly happy with this laptop; in fact it's hard to imagine what I would improve.  In the area of "completely and utterly trivial issues", it kind of annoys me that the M key is just the W key, upside-down.  An M is not an upside-down W!!  I feel that it's a little chinzy to use the same key for both, but ... as I said, it's a pretty trivial issue.

bjiibj wrote:

 

My apologies, I am new to this forum and didn't realize that when I selected "reply" to a post, that the reply would not be associated with that post.  When I mentioned that not all LCDs screens have this problem, I was referring to this:...

No worries, but that puts your comments in a different perspective so thanks for the clarificaiton. I think two terms are being used interchangeably by Apple for very different things: Image Retention (IR) is not the same as Burn In (BI).

IR is where there is an after-image that goes away, while BI is something that does not go away no matter how long you wait.

IR can occur in a relatively short period of time (5 minutes for my rMBP) and goes away fairly quickly (usually within 5 minutes for my rMBP).

BI occurs when you leave the same image on the screen for a very long time...typically days, weeks or months. Once it occurs, you might as well toss the monitor because you can't make it go away.

The Apple advisor's comments (as reported by the poster) definitely have the stink of someone trying to avoid acknowleding there is a problem by making misleading comparisons. Fortunately, none of the Apple people I showed my rMBP to attempted to argue that it was "normal" in any way. But if you only call over the phone to report the problem w/o sending in any screenshots, I can understand where the person might not be willing to ship out a replacement w/o being able to qualify your statements regarding the severity of the problem.

In my case, I had taken my rMBP into the Apple store and while the guy was pretty useless with getting it fixed (he just told me to call AppleCare), he did enter notes in their system that made it easier for the AppleCare guy to understand what was going on. That said, the guy on the phone still asked for photos of the after-image problem (which I promptly sent) and it was pretty simple from there (other than the uncertainty with trying to get a screen that doesn't have the problem).

bjiibj wrote:

 

By the way, aside from this (in my opinion) minor burn-in issue, I am exceedingly happy with this laptop; in fact it's hard to imagine what I would improve.  In the area of "completely and utterly trivial issues", it kind of annoys me that the M key is just the W key, upside-down.  An M is not an upside-down W!!  I feel that it's a little chinzy to use the same key for both, but ... as I said, it's a pretty trivial issue.

LOL, that's M/W thing has been driving me crazy for the last 4 years! With Apple's history with fonts and typography, I can't believe that they allowed this to occur and continue to perpetuate it. Shoot, they might as well use a sideways N for the Z...wait a minute!?!...ah, good to see they didn't actually do that also, had myself worried for a sec.

I'm also noticing a squeaky "delete" key (which due to my less than stellar typing skills, I use quite often). If it gets worse, I might have to report that too, but I'm not sure how they can fix that w/o taking the entire **** thing apart.

JustSayNo wrote:

No worries, but that puts your comments in a different perspective so thanks for the clarificaiton. I think two terms are being used interchangeably by Apple for very different things: Image Retention (IR) is not the same as Burn In (BI).

 

That was a great post clarifying the differences between the two terminologies.  I agree that it helps to be specific with terminology and I apologize for having been loose with the terms.  When the problem is as subtle as rMBP image retention, we need more clarity, not less, so I will definitely make an effort to be clearer in future.  Thanks again!

I really am trying to produce any kind of image retention with my rMBP LG screen and I simply cannot.  I have even scaled it, tried images using different colors with strong patterns etc and with my dark gray background I see no sign of any lingering image.  I guess I should be happy about that (and I am) but I think it goes to show that not every LG screen has an image retention issue.

I'll keep trying though.  :-)

If it hasn't been suggested already, why doesn't someone on this thread come up with a reference image that's guaranteed to trigger the issue then upload it somewhere that the rest of the people in the thread can get to so they can all test with the same image.

you don't need an image that will trigger it...you will see any window or icon that is on the screen. In the image i posted on the last page you can still see the icons after the dock was hidden. i'll post it again.

The best way forward surely is to

- run the tests, see if you get IR

- then use the computer normally for the first 12 days in whatever normal workloads you use it for and see if IR ever showed itself to be present OR a grief to you

Then decide whether you care or not if it was present

Then decide whether you want your money back or you want to play the "hopeful it'll get fixed one day" game.

I dont believe there are gurantees or warranties from any screen manufacturer that LCD's wont produce IR, it is phenomenon associated with the way a LCD screen works and it is not fully understood what causes it to occur in the technical realm. i.e we understand that the crystal stay conformed slightly to their energized state but what exactly causes that is not 100% understood.

Temperture, manufacturer, brightness, contrast etc all play a part of the bigger picturer, and then voltage discrepencies and a whole host of other jargon that is high level language to me.

So long story is to remember 5million pixels on a 15 inch screen is new technology, Apple wants to make money and be the first. We like the idea of new technology thats better than old, and as shown from this forum there appears to be some qwirks with that new technology. The old technology through its many years of existing has had its qwirks "greatly minimized/eliminated".

The big question people should be asking is... does Apple's warranties cover screen IR? Has anyone checked. Cause you may go past your 14 days hoping for a fix, and Apple may decide later that it cannot be fixed and if your unhappy with the level of screen IR on your laptop it may just be a case of "too bad".

At this early stage in the game, i'm sure they will attempt to fix the problem, or at least make their customers feel it will be fixed....but it may never be fixed? Then what?

Lets see someone bring out some warranty information informing us that IR is unacceptable screen behaviour and thus an acceptable reason to be repaired or replaced with a equal valued product free from the flaw?

Its a hard decision for all of us it is $4k after all, but it is also new technology.

Just received week 32 2.6/16/512 model with a beautiful samsung display, no IR at all.  Just trying to pass a little hope to people who just ordered.

Week 33 for me! CMON!!!! samsung for the win

Nooooooo I spoke to soon! :( My LG screen does in fact have IR.. Under further testing and turning off the fluorescent office lights (which seem to hide it quite well :p) I could barely make out out IR left by open windows.. Not very happy after spending thousands, but the phone call was a breeze, advanced replacement will be here in exactly a week :)

Once again praying for Samsung :D