Screens: glossy or anti-glare? - Poll @ lenovoblogs

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bofh · #1 Post by **bofh** » Fri Oct 06, 2006 3:29 pm

David W. Hill, Executive Director, Lenovo Corporate Identity and Design wants to know: Which surface treatment would you prefer for your display? Anti-glare (matte) or "Glossy?"

Right now, it looks like people prefer matte - a good decision IMHO.

Take the poll at Design Matters.

#2 Post by **BillMorrow** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 4:15 am

why would ANY sane computer user want a display with a glossy finish..??

christopher_wolf · #3 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 2:29 pm

BillMorrow wrote:why would ANY sane computer user want a display with a glossy finish..??

Massive amounts of glare whilst working on something in the office or lab?

Say, there is an idea; sell laptops with glossy screens, then sell anti-glare filters for them when people complain. Easy way to make more money. It boggles me why one would get a glossy screen, then apply *another* screen over it as I have seen.

Kinda reminds me of a certain Motto;

"If you aren't part of the solution, then there is money to be made in prolonging the problem."

DIGITALgimpus · #4 Post by **DIGITALgimpus** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 9:01 pm

BillMorrow wrote:why would ANY sane computer user want a display with a glossy finish..??

Because many people aren't sane.

You know how many times people told me there's no difference between a $600 Dell laptop and a $2000 IBM Thinkpad?

Manarius · #5 Post by **Manarius** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 11:09 pm

I got to test out a 1yo Toshiba today - that thing was beat to pieces. It had been used hard and it showed it. I was surprised that it even worked. The lid was all floppy and the latch was broken and that was only after one year. Talk about a major difference between mine and his.

My point though: There's a big difference between a 600 Dell and a 2000 Thinkpad. In the Laptop world - you do get what you pay for.

As for screens: For use purposes, I like the Matte. But, the colors on the Glossy are superb - sometimes I miss having it.

mattbiernat · #6 Post by **mattbiernat** » Sat Oct 07, 2006 11:18 pm

BillMorrow wrote:why would ANY sane computer user want a display with a glossy finish..??

i guess only people who work outside (as i heard that glossy is better outside than matte) and people who only use their computers for watching movies.

i wonder thou how does glossy compare to flexview when you take your notebook outside or when you play movies.... anyone got flexview and glossy to perhaps take some pictures?

gearguy · #7 Post by **gearguy** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 4:14 pm

Gloss does indeed have a number of advantages, for example, if a gloss screen is scratched, you don't get distortion around the scratch as there is no light refracting layer to damage.

Also, because there is no light refraction they can be used in direct sunlight and still be visible (albeit not very well) where as on a screen with a matte coating the light gets spread over the surface, masking the image underneath it.

I use CRTs when at the Desk, so I have no problem with glossy LCDs, all I care about is colours being accurate and response times fast enough to play OutRun 2006. :p

Torque · #8 Post by **Torque** » Sun Oct 08, 2006 5:11 pm

Non-gloss. I like the clarity of the glossy screens, but the reflections are incredibly annoying and unbareable to work with.

FredFromNYC · #9 Post by **FredFromNYC** » Thu Oct 12, 2006 10:55 am

As of Thursday, October 12, 11:50 AM Eastern time, the votes are distributed as follows:

Anti-Glare: 85% (262)
Glossy: 9% (28)
Indifferent: 6% (18)

#10 Post by **tomh009** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 11:01 pm

BillMorrow wrote:why would ANY sane computer user want a display with a glossy finish..??

I would love a glossy display -- for editing digital images. The colour and saturation on an image are difficult to judge on a matte display. (Have never yet watched a DVD on any computer so that one is not for me!)

I might even settle for a glossy external LCD monitor, but almost all of those are 1.6:1 aspect ratio, and the X3/X4 series ThinkPads don't support the required resolutions (not sure about the X60).

Dimitri_P · #11 Post by **Dimitri_P** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 11:07 pm

BillMorrow wrote:why would ANY sane computer user want a display with a glossy finish..??

Because they don't know better

Dimitri_P · #12 Post by **Dimitri_P** » Sun Oct 22, 2006 11:11 pm

BTW, all IBM/Lenovo LCD screens on ThinkPads have matt film/filter on them

Those who don't like it - feel free to peel it off

D.

RUSH2112 · #13 Post by **RUSH2112** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 9:30 am

I'll stick with 4:3 matte and the highest resolution possible. I've tried (and owned) them all, nothing beats the classic in this case.

snessiram · #14 Post by **snessiram** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 10:25 am

Matte here too. I worked outside (although not in direct sunlight) with it and was happily surprised it had still such a great image. It's a LOT better then my mom's Packard Bell (don't mention what kind of crap it is, I know) glossy screen wich reflected the trees so hard it really was awfull to look at.

RUSH2112 · #15 Post by **RUSH2112** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 11:21 am

snessiram wrote:Matte here too. I worked outside (although not in direct sunlight) with it and was happily surprised it had still such a great image. It's a LOT better then my mom's Packard Bell (don't mention what kind of crap it is, I know) glossy screen wich reflected the trees so hard it really was awfull to look at.

Packard Bell? I didn't think they ever made laptops... Didn't they go out like 10 years ago...?

christopher_wolf · #16 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 2:12 pm

RUSH2112 wrote: Packard Bell? I didn't think they ever made laptops... Didn't they go out like 10 years ago...?

No, not really; NEC recently sold Packard Bell just a little while ago (heard about it on the 16th). PB grossed about $1B per year but, somehow, never really managed to make a profit.

wolfman · #17 Post by **wolfman** » Mon Oct 23, 2006 5:16 pm

First "nice" pc I bought was a Packard Bell...486 sx 25mhz from Sears to replace my Tandy 1000 RL.

Good to see they are still afloat somewhere...

#18 Post by **K. Eng** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 9:53 pm

christopher_wolf wrote:Say, there is an idea; sell laptops with glossy screens, then sell anti-glare filters for them when people complain. Easy way to make more money. It boggles me why one would get a glossy screen, then apply *another* screen over it as I have seen.

I think that is an excellent idea.

HP has a similar feature in its nc6400, except the filter that goes over the display is for the purpose of restricting viewing angle so that nobody can see what is on your display.

#19 Post by **tomh009** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:27 pm

K. Eng wrote:HP has a similar feature in its nc6400, except the filter that goes over the display is for the purpose of restricting viewing angle so that nobody can see what is on your display.

Those are the 3M privacy filters. They'll fit ThinkPads, too -- you can find them on eBay, among other places. Certainly helpful if you are working on an airplane and don't want the guy in the next seat to be able to read your display ...

christopher_wolf · #20 Post by **christopher_wolf** » Fri Oct 27, 2006 10:31 pm

Yeah, 3M actually makes those microlouvers. HP probably bundles them with new systems. They fit on Thinkpads and PowerBooks, now I assume MBP and MacBooks, as well.

EDIT: Tom beat me to the punch

Screens: glossy or anti-glare? - Poll @ lenovoblogs

Screens: glossy or anti-glare? - Poll @ lenovoblogs

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