MacBook Pro 15" Grainy Matte Display

I went to my apple store last night about this issue. The Genius told me that it's an issue with the pixel density that leads to this sparkly effect that some of us seem to be bothered by. All of the displays with a higher pixel density are effected by this issue, but it only seems to bother a few of us, though he did say that another guy was in to the store earlier that day with the same complaint.

Now I'm trying to figure out if I can live with it, or whether I'm going to return it and try something else. The 20" iMac is somewhat less affected by the problem, and the 24" looked perfect, as did all the Macbooks.

I think the solution is to not see the problem, but if that's not an option for your eyes, then either get an external display or return your computer.

I took some photos of my MacBook Pro screen with my digitalcamera with macro lens. The photos have been taken very near the screen, so you can clearly see the grainy pixel patterns. The first photo is supposed to be a solid black on a website background. The second one is taken from gradient fill (gray to black) in Photoshop. The third one is a picture of a car tire.

And yes the same kind of grain was created by ATI Mobility X1600 graphics card (same as apple is using) on ASUS computers, and they fixed it with a bios update. So I think there could be a way to update the bios for Mac as well.

Here are the pictures: http://www.laspalmas.nu/macbookpro_grain.jpg

This is a known problem when running Windows XP on a MacBook Pro. Can you confirm whether you are running OS X or Windows XP when you see the problem?

I do not have any grain at all in OS X, but it is very noticeable in XP.

Hello! I'm at the Apple Store! Here's my story.

I returned my MacBook Pro but, they insisted that I pay the restocking fee... Which is fine, I figured I would have to anyway.

The screens I looked at:

MacBook Pro 15" - Bad Grain, very visible (like my old MacBook Pro)
MacBook Pro 17" Glossy - Happens to be a Core Duo - Little or no grain
MacBook Pro 17" Matte - Also a Core Duo (for some reason) - Little or no grain
iMac 24" and 30" - Very impressed... Virtually no grain or sparkle at all (love it)
iMac 17" - Not so much... more like the MacBook Pro 17 as far as grain goes.
20" Apple Cinema Display - Little grainy but, the bigger pixels make it look better - Not bad, I wouldn't mind it
24" Apple Cinema - Same as 20"
30" Apple Cinema - Same as 20"
MacBook - Pixel perfect - Whites are pure white - No grain that I could see

I obtained a refund today due to the 'grainy/hazy' display issue. No questions asked which slightly surprised me.

It's a shame as I was really looking forward to using my new MacBook Pro. Having used a PowerBook for many years, I am very disappointed with the overall build quality of the MBP. The keyboard is awful compared to my old PowerBook - very spongy. The trackpad also appears to go AWOL every now and again.

The MBP just feels cheap and not what I have come to expect from Apple. I read on another thread that someone was hooking up their MBP to an external display in order to obtain a good, clear display. But we shouldn't have to do this. On a top of the range laptop it's nonsense that people are reduced to these measures.

So I'm going to stick with my PowerBook for the foreseeable future and keep an eye on quality issues with the MBP.

Very sad

I took my MBP C2D into my local Apple Service Centre ( it's not an Apple store - it's an Apple Premium Centre - they're very good there), anyway, I had 2 of their technicians look at the screen. They brought down a 2.16Ghz MBP C2D to compare my 2.33 against.

Their screen showed the same grainy effect, although it wasn't as noticeable, as their screen on full brightness was at the same level my MBP when it's on 6 bars brightness level, so their screen was much duller.

At first they couldn't see what I was talking about, both techs said my screen was amazing. After about 45 minutes, one of the technicians said "what's that on the screen". I asked him to elaborate and he said it's a sort of grainy shimmer effect on the screen. (Bingo! I thought at long last) he then looked at his own MBP screen and said it was on his too only not as noticeable.

The second technician only saw it when I set the background to a solid colour, he said it was as if the screen was moving.

So, it only took best part of an hour of constant looking at the screens for the technicians to both agree there was something odd about them.

They offered to replace the screen, but said they didn't see much point until they investigate with Apple the cause of the issue. I tend to agree with them in that regard. They know of the problem now so when they come up with a suitable fix, they will get in touch. Both agreed the MacBook has a better displayed image than the MacBook Pro - I responded "when the MacBook is primarily aimed at stoned students and the MacBook Pro is aimed at professional creative sorts who need a high quality display, why would the stoned out students get the better of the two?" Both techs laughed at my analogy, but agreed it made no sense that the MacBook Pro has such a lesser quality display than that found in the MacBook.

So, my advice, if your screen is grainy, take it into Apple or an Apple authorised service centre and take as long as it takes for them to see the problem. Show them on a solid light grey background, that's what showed my screen at it's worst, and they can't fail to see it. If they do, they're either blind or lying.

Only when a high number of service centres get in touch with Apple, will they (Apple) start looking into the display issues we're experiencing.

If Apple do nothing to resolve this matter, I think that shows clearly what Apple think of it's customers, in which case, direct action is required, i.e. arranging a specific day and time, where we all march upon our nearest Apple Stores or resellers, MBP's in hand and demand action. I think if several thousand people around the world turned up to complain about their MBP displays, Apple would have to take notice - especially if TV media was involved - think of the bad press so close to the holidays!

yes, this is common with the 15 " displays...both matt and glossy finish. just go to the apple store and compare them to the lower priced macbooks (black and white ones). you will notice they have a much better display without grain or spots. i have been to three of the apple stores to compare the issue and will be at two other stores tomorrow. the three stores i checked, had the problems on display and the employee pretended not to notice or not to be aware of the problem. however, when i pointed it out to some potiential buyers, they noticed it without a problem and walked away from the purchase. i have a mbp and my friend and we both see the problem clearly. some of the models are actually terrible and the amount of grain seems to vary from one to the other but it is clearly on all.

I am on my second MBP. First was "captured" by the engineering dept. No one has said that they have heard of this problem at AppleCare but while describing the issue to pro level support something flagged my machine and it was sent off to the engeneering dept.

This second one has a lot of graininess to it too. I am describing it as having some crystalization inside the screen. Viewing photos is not so painful as my first one but trying to do document work with print is almost unbearable. Putting the brightness down does enable me to work a bit longer but totally unacceptable.

The viewing angle on this unit is a lot better. The first one I had became near compleatly dark by moving my head a bit to any direction. The second turns pretty yellow in areas...

Anyways, youve read it all here and just wanted to add my comments as well as say that got off the phone with AppleCare pro level on this new machine and again agent said he had not heard of any display issues with these machines. I had him make notes on the unacceptable display on this second unit and told him that I would like to talk about having this unit fixed or replaced in the future but not now as I was over a month without a machine due to ongoing Apple repair issues, a lemon and now display problems. He said that they would do either (repair or replace) whenever I was ready to do that. Of course, I got his extension.

With this one unit getting a bit better I do have hope that there is a great unit somewhere out there for me.

good luck all,
frank

I suggest everyone with this display questions try this test:

Open up Photoshop (if you've got it)
Go to the color picker
Scroll up and down the color bar, noticing the smoothness of the gradients as you move it. Most of the MBP's I've seen have issues with banding in the gradients when doing this.

It's most obvious when looking in the Reds and less prevalent in the Greens. The people at the local Apple store acknowledged that they saw the banding, but on seeing that the other MBP's had the same issue, glossy or matte, 15" or 17" suggested that it was not an issue but a trait of the hardware.

I'm flippant, because this means that this machine is absolutely useless for Photoshop retouch work because I can't trust the colors I'm seeing. From what I've read, this is because the current displays only render at 6bit as opposed to 8bit using dithering to compensate - that's what gives things the graininess.

I don't know what I'm going to do because I didn't get to the bottom of this problem in time to return the thing. I thought for so long that it was on my end, a calibration issue, or some setting that I didn't understand properly since this is my first Mac.

I can't do my work on the road like I thought. I need to be tethered to a monitor to get colors to show properly. This MBP is a $3k anchor.

Definitely physical, because the pattern sparkles and changes when you move your head around (even slightly).

I changed my browser background to dark gray to avoid the distraction of the extra layer of "dust" on bright white. Very dark colors help a lot, far more than turning the brightness down. Of course, bright color pictures, title bars, dialogs, and other apps I cannot adjust the color on, are still jarring.

Looking at the display from a high angle seems to help. The tradeoff is reduced color accuracy.

It's kind of sad, really.

I wonder if apple has bothered to address this issue with any kind of statement. I have gone to three of the apple stores and the problem is clear on all 15 " displays, both matt and glossy finish. the problem isn't on the cheaper priced macbooks (black or white laptops). the apple employee pretend to not be aware of the issue or not notice it when you point it out. however, if you point it out to a potiential customer, they will notice is immediately and then walk away from the purchase. I go there just to help others not make the same mistake that i have made and many others. i am not sure why a company like apple would want to lie or hide information from a customer. the best thing to do is admit a problem and fix it and stop selling computers with a known problem. i expect much better from apple and they are making a bad name for themselves through this behavior. I had planned to buy more laptops for a small company i own, i have now put that on hold until this problem is discussed openly by apple and a fix provided.

i will be at two more apple stores on the east coast tomorrow and will check the displays and plan to use a HD cam to get some pictures or maybe my high res digital camera so we can show this issue to those wondering about it. the best thing to do it go see it for yourself in the store and then ask the apple store employee some questions. watch how they attempt to avoid it or make excusses or not even notice the issue. pretty sad

I received my MBP today, it's a refurbished unit in truly amazing condition. Very pleased with it. I do see the "grain" as it is being described. This phenomena can also be seen with widescreen DLP and LCD RP televisions as well. In the TV world it is referred to as SSE, or, Silk Screen Effect. At least with TVs, it is as a result of the low glare, high gain material the front screen is made of. It was unbearable with the DLP I purchased, and finally was driven to return it and spend quite a bit more on a plasma.

In the case of my MBP, although I can see it if I look for it, it's not a problem. Doesn't bother me at all. That said, considering what I went through exchanging three TVs before finding one without SSE, I can certainly sympathize with those who are bothered by it.

SSE is regularly discussed over on another forum I frequent called avsforum.com. Some are bothered by it, others don't see it or don't mind it.

MacBook Pro 2.0 GHz Core Duo 15.4 Mac OS X (10.4.8)