Q: MacBook Pro Retina display burn-in?

Canuck1970 wrote:

 

I orginally calibrated it with the assistant, and then I bought the Spyder 4 Pro. The difference between my calibration and the S4P was pretty noticeable. I just don't think my eyes and Mac OSX's calibration utility quite cut it.

You said you calibrated your display tonight. If you are willing, I would appreciate it if you would take your calibrated Mac to the Apple store and set your machine next to another display model and take a photograph of the two side-by-side and see how your calibration compares with a store unit. Sometimes, under certain lighting, I can look at my Samsung display and feel like it looks normal, like my old display did, but when I set mine next to a store unit I know it's not. Here, I'll attach a photograph. The display on the right is the Apple store unit with the identical model as mine on the left, the Samsung LSN154YL01001. Both set to Color LCD. Which one is accurately showing 6500K? Both? Neither? Mine? Theirs? I'm not buying a colour calibrator because I believe that the display itself is defective and can't be calibrated. But I haven't tried and I don't appreciate having to spend another 200 dollars on this machine.

I'm a lucky guy.. I'm reading this thread since it started, and noticed that all of purchased macbooks came with SJA display.. Here in Brazil we don't have any apple retail store yet(first one will open this year at december), and buying a 15" retina display mbp here at Apple Brazil, costs R$ 13,000.00(US$ 6,300.00) due to f*cking country unexplainable taxes.. I aked to a friend to bring me one from San Francisco and I was afraid of it comes to me with ghosting/burn-in issues. Fortunately it came from factory with LSN samsung display with no warm colors. PERFECT display. And I must say,even if you experience the most tiny little small issue on it. Go to the retail and force them to exchange it. "ohhh they said me it's not an issue" **** them, insist and insist and insist again. They will fix it.

Strobel wrote:

 

Go to the retail and force them to exchange it. "ohhh they said me it's not an issue" **** them, insist and insist and insist again. They will fix it.

I've been amazed to read about people who just walk into an Apple store and just ask for an exchange and get it multiple times. I've gone to the Genius Bar twice and denied an exchange for my yellow display. First time the genius agreed it was warmer but said it was within specifications; second time the genius said that all displays are different and it's normal. But I will continue going in to Genius Bars when I have time and keep asking. Because this is how Apple makes you hate yourself for using their products.

Probably because you didn't show them energy on asking for repair.. I was able to repair 2 iPads(still in warranty) and 1 iPhone(2 months after warranty is over) from telephone, just being energetic and cutting any of their arguments.. "Every screen is different" you should answer "Sure it is.. Some is faulty and some don't.. Mine is faulty yellow and I want a new one now."

Strobel wrote:

 

Probably because you didn't show them energy on asking for repair.. I was able to repair 2 ipads(still in warranty) and 1 iphone(2 months aftter warranty is over) from telephone, just being energetic and cutting any of their arguments.. "Every screen is different" you should answer "Sure it is.. Some is faulty and some don't.. Mine is faulty yellow and I want a new one now."

I don't believe in being pushy like that. I would rather just go buy a different product from a different company. Unfortunately no one else is making such innovative products as Apple is so I feel like I have to put up with their numerous defects.

I understand you don't want to act like this, sometimes I feel bad of doing this too(employers just follow orders), but you have to put in your mind that any company in the world just want to sell it's products/services and if that's the case, they will do anything to make you keep a faulty product so they don't need to expend money fixing it. With Apple you still have the chance on insisting and arguing.. 2 years ago I bought a Samsung 24" display, and it stoped functioning after 4 months(two year factory warranty).. they practicaly said "Ok, don't like it? Sue us." So.. They don't care about us.. You have 2 options. Be energetic or be victim.

Strobel wrote:

 

You have 2 options. Be energetic or be victim.

I will continue visiting Genius Bars and complaining about my yellow display. But I think there's a third option: stop buying Apple products.

This is an option for sure, but it will be an option again if you need warranty support at other companies. I'm not defending Apple, I'm saying that you can't be comprehensive to warranty service of any company in our planet. Maybe in Mars you could be a gentleman with them.

Well, it's 3h40AM here and I'm tired haha, good luck for all you guys..

Thats because neither display is properly calibrated. My display was much warmer than the one in your picture and when I calibrated it properly, it came right to where it is supposed to be.

Make no mistake folks. Screens cannot be properly calibrated with your eyeballs. Your eyes naturally adjust "White Balance" to make things that have a warm or cool "tinge" seem white.... when they are the only "white" in the vision.  You can often only tell when you present your eyes with something else that is more "white" to properly compare.  Which is why you cannot trust your eyes to actually calibrate.

If you are serious about color, then you need a calibrator, its just that simple.  ALL... I repeat ALL.... ALL ALL ALL screens do not come calibrated, they are all slightly off because of production variations, environment etc.... This is why serious Graphic Artists have $500+ Calibration Kits and Calibrate their screens at least weekly. Just from the screen getting hot from use will shift the color.

You can pick up a calibrator for resonably cheap if you get an previous version on sale or used. If you want to use the built in calibration software you are going to have to just play with it unil you get the setting you want. The software is not going to be perfect because it does not have an external source that is "viewing" the screen to gauge what to adjust. Thats like asking someone to do a "Taste Test" when they don't have a Tongue.

MartyF81 wrote:

 

Make no mistake folks. Screens cannot be properly calibrated with your eyeballs. Your eyes naturally adjust "White Balance" to make things that have a warm or cool "tinge" seem white.... when they are the only "white" in the vision.  You can often only tell when you present your eyes with something else that is more "white" to properly compare.  Which is why you cannot trust your eyes to actually calibrate.

 

If you are serious about color, then you need a calibrator, its just that simple.  ALL... I repeat ALL.... ALL ALL ALL screens do not come calibrated, they are all slightly off because of production variations, environment etc.... This is why serious Graphic Artists have $500+ Calibration Kits and Calibrate their screens at least weekly. Just from the screen getting hot from use will shift the color.

I second this.  Never trust your eyes. 

A good example of how your eyes can deceive you is this.  Have you ever worn those orange tinted sunglasses for awhile?  Then when you take them off, everything seems blue?  That's your eyes adjusting to the white balance being more orange and correcting it in your brain.  So when you take them off, things look blue, until your eyes can re-adjust.

Use a hardware calibrator if you care about color despite this isue.  Monitors don't come perfectly calibrated from the factory.

Merch Visoiu wrote:

 

"I would appreciate it if you would take your calibrated Mac to the Apple store and set your machine next to another display model and take a photograph of the two side-by-side and see how your calibration compares with a store unit" 

I'd appreciate it if my boss would give me 10 weeks of vacation instead of 4.

LOL, just kidding.

Unfortunately, I just don't have the time to do this right now. Perhaps you could take your machine into a photography shop or something. Maybe they'd calibrate it for a small fee, or maybe even do it for nothing. Just make sure that your display has been on for at least 30 minutes before you start the calibration process.

millerrh512 wrote:

 

MartyF81 wrote:

 

Make no mistake folks. Screens cannot be properly calibrated with your eyeballs. Your eyes naturally adjust "White Balance" to make things that have a warm or cool "tinge" seem white.... when they are the only "white" in the vision.  You can often only tell when you present your eyes with something else that is more "white" to properly compare.  Which is why you cannot trust your eyes to actually calibrate.

 

If you are serious about color, then you need a calibrator, its just that simple.  ALL... I repeat ALL.... ALL ALL ALL screens do not come calibrated, they are all slightly off because of production variations, environment etc.... This is why serious Graphic Artists have $500+ Calibration Kits and Calibrate their screens at least weekly. Just from the screen getting hot from use will shift the color.

I second this.  Never trust your eyes. 

 

A good example of how your eyes can deceive you is this.  Have you ever worn those orange tinted sunglasses for awhile?  Then when you take them off, everything seems blue?  That's your eyes adjusting to the white balance being more orange and correcting it in your brain.  So when you take them off, things look blue, until your eyes can re-adjust.

 

Use a hardware calibrator if you care about color despite this isue.  Monitors don't come perfectly calibrated from the factory.

I agree whole-heartedly with both of you. Use a decent quality calibration device, which is not prone to subjectivity.

I had the IR issue acknowledged with by Apple and had it replacedwith a Samsung. While the Samusng has a warmer tint, it doesn't mean it's defective in any way as the LG in terms of color, as both are not calibrated for accuracy out of the box. That includes reading the specific properties of the monitor on your laptop and taking into account ambient light. A proper device for monitor calibration will fix that(which I use and need as a graphic designer). Anything outside of that can be adjusted simply by Apple's monitor calibration by the user particular taste.

Hello everyone!

I just wanted to share my awful experience with Apple and hopefully get some insight on this tedious problem that so many of you are experiencing.

I had some major issues with my built-in camera (was not working at all and had some weird vertical lines going across the image when trying to use it in Photobooth or on Facetime). I left it for a while hoping that it will go away but it didn't. I then decided to take it in to my local Apple Store and they said that the screen needs replacing.

Now I got it back 2 days ago and my clear amazing screen that I loved so much is gone and has been replaced with a new screen with a yellow tint.

I was horrified and went back to the store and spoke to the most patronising and obnoxious guy in the world. When I first started to tell him about my problems he immediately got defensive and kept interrupting me. I got to hear that he couldn't see the yellow tint and that it was a matter of perception and that everyone perceives things differently. This was all rubbish since I compared it to one of the models in store and my boyfriend and I could clearly see the difference. The "Genious" kept insisting that the problem wasn't there. I mentioned this thread to him and that it clearly is a problem and he just said that I shouldn't read anything on the Apple Forums because in the end of the day people on the forums are not Apple engineers and it's all just speculations.

I just could not believe it. These forums have helped me so much in the past and they help you to identify issues and maybe even solutions?

After a while the obnoxious "Genious" agreed to replace the screen one more time just to make me happy. But he kept insisting that we could keep doing this for ages and that I might never be happy with the result.

I asked them to replace the screen and 16 hours later they call me and say that the repair has been made and that the macbook is ready for collection even though he kept telling me that it would take 3 - 5 days. I pick it up and the screen looks exactly the same. The colours are dull and the screen has a yellow tint in it. The girl I spoke to this time just said that every screen is different and they all have different anomalies... I don't even think that they replaced the screen the 2nd time. They just lied to me to make me happy and make me go away.

I just cannot believe this is happening to me. I bought this particular laptop due to the amazing Retina display and now I need to settle with something that is not as good as the product I first bought and that they clearly are displaying in the shop?

How can they do this to people? Should it a matter of luck if you end up getting a good and bright screen?

I am so dissappointed with Apple. I never imagined that their products would be like this and a repair can go so wrong. I now regret taking it in for service and I should have just lived with the malfunctioning camera.

I guess I have to spend the rest of my evening calibrating the screen trying to get the vivid colours and brightness back...

I am so tempted to take things further as I don't think they should have 2 screens on the market that are so different from one another. I think more people should report this problem and they maybe address it.

Sorry to break it to you, but sourcing LCD's (or any other component) from multiple suppliers is something all Manufacturers do. It's a supply thing. The X-Box for example gets its DVD drive from at least 4 suppliers. The Retina has 2 suppliers for LCD. Samsung and LG.  The LG tend to default to a more "Cooler" (blue) color and the Samsung tend to have a "Warm" (yellow) color by default. The majority of people never know the difference unless they are placed next to each other making it "obvious".

Since you say yours is "Yellow" I would consider yourself Lucky because that means you got a Samsung LCD. The LG screens have really bad image retention issues, also known as "Ghost Images" or "Burn in".  You can easily calibrate the "Yellow" out of the screen. There are a ton of people in this thread who would be happy to trade places with you right now.