MacBook Pro 15" Grainy Matte Display

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 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)

Are there any updates to this problem? I would assume over the x-mas break lots of people would have recieved quite luxurious gifts from Santa like a Mac Book Pro.

Shortly before x-mas I ordered a CoreDuo Refurb from the apple store and returned it immediately due to excessive wear and countless other cosmetic damages. I'm still waiting for them to process my return as it has arrived back at their facility on Dec 21.

I'm about to order a new 15.4" C2D 2.33 Ghz and I would really like to know if the newer batches of machines have had this problem fixed. If so what week number was your machine? Perhaps I should have the custom configured 15.4" with a 160 gig HD so I get the latest week? I'm not getting worried because spending 3000 bucks on a new machine only to have marginal build quality is not my idea of money well spent.

If the new 15" macs don't have a new display I would suggest waiting until after "Steve Jobs Day" -I think sometime in the 2nd week of Jan. I too plan on purchasing a 15" macbook pro but am holding off due to the sucky displays.

What is Steve Jobs day?

15.4" MacBook Pro Core 1 Duo Mac OS X (10.4.8)

I ended up having to return my refurbished MBP.The MBP C2D I have now has a much better screen. The other had quite noticeable grain, although it didn't really bother me. This one has almost no noticeable grain at all. You really have to get up close and look to see any.

As a side note, I am unimpressed with the recent refurbished units. Over a year ago I bought a PowerBook G4 from Apple that was mint, and I've never had any trouble with it. But I got two bad MBPs in a row, and one was warped enough that it would not sit flat on the table. But my new C2D is perfect.

Macworld 2007! Where all the devoted Macaddicts make a pilgrimage to San Fran in order to see Steve Jobs 🙂

I'm sitting here on a new Compaq laptop and the glossy widescreen has the same grain as all the MBP's C2D I've seen. Seems to be a common trait these days with laptops, not just MACs. But my iBook 1Ghz G4 has a mint screen!

I got a MBP for Christmas, which I believe had been purchased back on the first week of December. If there is grain, I'm not really seeing it..but maybe that's because I'm used to having stared at the screen of a 2001 Graphite iMac for 5 years....

Maybe I'm not that picky as some.

My GLOSSY MBP Core 2 Duo has a somewhat grainy display. Or I think "shimmering" or "silvery" is a better description. When I first got it, I was quite disappointed, because I thought it was quite a step back from my MacBook 13" which has what I consider close to a perfect display. The white of the MacBook is true white, whereas the white of the MBP is more like silver.

However, I might be picky. Most people I've shown it to, don't understand what I'm talking about at all, and my wife thinks the screen is so fantastic that she suddenly thinks her relatively new (1.33Ghz G4) iBook looks just so old now 😉

Hi Folks,

Just to keep this thread active...I have a glossy MBP15 that I bought about a month ago....WITH THE GRAINY SCREEN!

Three other folks I work with bought MacBooks at the same time. Their displays are MUCH clearer than my MBP.

QUESTION: Has anyone tried hooking their MBP up to an external monitor to determine whether it is the ATI card or the display?

Did you guys find a fix for Matte grainy display on the MBP. I bought one few weeks ago. I didnt notice it when i was purchasing it. But when i Got home and started using the computer i saw that screen looks really dirty like i got dust inside the screen coz i couldnt clean it from outside.
It gets really annoying after a while now.

I have a new mbp with the 9C60 display. It is definitely grainy. I went to the apple store to compare matte to glossy, and both are affected equally by grain. The regular macbook screen is beautiful, and yet the Pro version is really crappy. I would love for an apple employee to reply to this page and address the issue, but somehow I highly doubt that would happen.

by the way... to address whoever asked about external monitors:

I tried hooking it up to a 19" Gateway widescreen HD capable LCD monitor via DVI and it looks absolutely perfect. No graininess whatsoever. The problem is definitely not the video card, it is on the screen itself.

To whomever has returned or exchanged an item with the apple online store:

Say I wanted to have them replace my system, would I have to foot the shipping bill? Also, do they make you send yours back before they send out a new one (e.g. you're without a computer for a week or more)?

Say I wanted to have them replace my system, would I have to foot the shipping bill? Also, do they make you send yours back before they send out a new one (e.g. you're without a computer for a week or more)?

JJSS09, If they determine that it is an Apple problem then they will pay for shipping. If you send it back in order for them to determine that there is a problem then you will be without your machine for some time but there was one chance for them to take my credit card info so that I could transfer my current info to the new unit. If I didnt return the old unit within a specific time then they would change the card...

hope this helps,
frank

MacBookPro2.2 C2D 2.16 GHz, 2GB, 667 MHZ, DDR2 SDRAM Mac OS X (10.4.8)