Color Calibration / New Macbook Displays?

Can the new glass, glossy displays on the MacBook and MacBook Pro systems be color calibrated (e.g., using Colorvision's Spyder or Pantone's Huey calibration tools)?
I was under the impression from Apple that only the matte displays on the MacBook Pro's were capable of proper color calibration. However, it does not appear that a matte screen is even an option now.

Not sure about the specificity of those devices myself, but IMO the colors on LCDs are not constant, especially at slight viewing angles, so calibration doesnt really do much. Unless you position yourself in the EXACT same position every time, you will get slightly different colors, contrasts, brightness, etc.

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New MacBook Display is Horrible

I just got my new Aluminum MacBook last night, and it's going right back for refund this morning. The LCD is far inferior to my 1st generation MacBook display, and it's actually one of the worst displays I've seen on a modern notebook computer. I've been an Apple owner since I bought an SE/30, but Apple has screwed up badly here, and I find the new MacBook nearly unusable. (Please note, my current MacBook has a glossy screen; that level of glossiness is not the issue here.)
The issues:
1. The whole screen has an icky blue cast, and nothing in the display calibration settings will fix this. My old MacBook has a much more pure and natural looking white. I think Apple needs to work more on the LED back-lighting (or maybe they cheaped out on the MacBook LEDs).
2. The blacks on the new display are washed out. This is obvious on the start-up animation (with the multi-lingual "welcome" animations against the Leopard nebulae in space). It's not just an issue with black images, however, this propagates to everything looking less crisp. And it's not an issue of adjusting brightness or screen angle. In fact, if you try to adjust the screen angle to get some reasonably good blacks, you get parts of the screen where you have a metallic or posterized effect. I saw this in the store displays as well, but I didn't realize that it would occur under normal viewing angles vs. extreme situations.
3. Colors are not vibrant (nothing compared to my 1st generation MacBook). By not vibrant, I mean that different hues of blue, for example, are not distinct from one another. When I open Word, the splash screen has four different blue colors in the "feather" shape at the top right. On the old MacBook the blues are distinctly different and colorful, on the new MacBook they are much closer in hue and more dull. I think this is a result primarily of issues one and two above, but it may also have to do with other aspects of the inferior LCD on the Aluminum MacBook.
4. The new MacBook screen should be called "mirrored" not "glossy". My 1st generation MacBook has a glossy screen. It's good. I rarely have an issue with visible reflections from it. The new MacBook is a constant battle. One major problem is that the screen needs to be pushed farther back to get reasonable contrast, but this angle directly reflects ceiling lights at the user. It's also so significantly more reflective than the previous glossy screen that it picks up windows and floor lamps and everything else a lot more easily. It's a mess.
I hope this helps other folks avoid my mistake in seeking to upgrade from an existing MacBook. The new one is not any faster in day to day use (3D rendering excepted), and it has crippling issues with the display.

Hey Araboston,
Unfortunately, I personally don't see what you're talking about on my machine, however I want to help in any way I can. First off, it's possible you're seeing two different problems emerge. Using the mini-display port is a different technology than the mini-dvi port of yesteryear. I know from experience, when I hook up components to my hd tv using different connections (hdmi vs. component cable) I notice a difference. With the new technology you may have to re-calibrate your secondary monitor.
As for the laptop screen, I'd be interested to know what lighting conditions you're using your laptop mostly in. Mine worked great in all conditions, right out of the box. But, I'd like to also note that when I checked, the battery count showed a count of 7. In real world terms, that means that the battery was discharged and recharged 7 times. I'm wondering if they do some sort of in-house calibration, that was possibly missed on your machine. The best test would be to take your macbook into the apple store, set it next to a display macbook and see if yours looks any different.
Best of luck.

My new MacBook display has a pink-ish tint

I just got a white 1.83 MacBook yesterday. I do some graphic design work (nothing major). While comparing the same shots of a creme-colored building on both the MacBook and an Intel iMac, the 'Book displays the color as orange-pink rather than the ivory/off-white that it should be. I notice that it just seems to distort any light colors but doesn't affect darker earth tones.
Lovely.
intel iMac Core Duo 20", MacBook Pro 2.0 Ghz Mac OS X (10.4.6)

Embarassingly, I didn't look close enough to discern. The Genius claimed to have "calibrated" the MacBook for me and essentially sent me on my way. It wasn't until I got back to the office and began comparing the same screen and image across various computers when I noticed that all he did was make the colors "cooler" (bluer) to offset the pink.
To illustrate, the Airport menubar when it is not active should have gray "reception waves" to show that they are dimmed. Well, mine aren't gray but more like a dirty gray or bronze.
I've tried to adjust every calibration setting in advanced mode in every which way to no avail. I just cannot seem to replicate the tones on the iMac or even a Dell on one of my colleague's desk. Furthermore, I took into account that the glossy display might be an issue here with regards to the angle, but even adjusting the tilt didn't change anything.
Anyway, Apple tech support has agreed to allow me to swap the machine. Others should be aware of this potential defect -- assuming it's not an insignificant anomaly.

Can closed lid mode damage new MacBook display?

I would like to buy one of these new 24" LED Cinema Displays to use it with my new (late 2008) MacBook. Actually I would love to mount the display on my wall in order to use it at a TV with the MacBook (if longer cables are available).
Apple advertises to use the new MacBook in closed lid mode with the build in iSight. Now I heard at my local dealer, that the MacBooks heating can seriously damage the internal display when the lid is closed.
I allways thought that these two devicews are made for eachother. Do I risk to damage my MacBook when using as a video or TV source for several hours? Do I loose warranty?

Thank you Malcom. I read these articles. They describe how you enter the clamshell (or closed display) mode. But I still feel that they don´t not really cover my question: Can extensive use of the Macbook in clamshell mode damage the internal display (for example while watching movies on the connected 24" LED Cinema Display)?
It is just because this guy at the Apple dealer over here (GRAVIS) said something like: "oh - this is the worst thing you could do to your MacBook ..." and: "everybody is saying that ..." and so on.
Has Apple taken specific care of ventilation in clamshell mode on the new unibody MacBooks? Does the heat then flow out of the rear of the machine or is the MacBooks glass display somehow less sensitive for heat?
Thanks again.
Message was edited by: titusm

Monitor color calibration

What system/equipment do you guys recommend for color calibrating a macbook and an external monitor?
I'd rather pay a little more for a better system than save a buck, if the results will be better.
Thanks.

I would look at the Spyder Express (link below). It gives you the same results as a Pro series, but is less expensive. The other thing you need to check is your Creative Suite Color Settings. You can set these up in Bridge (Edit>Creative Suite Color Settings). Hardware calibration is only one part of the equation, software is the other.
Thanks
Kevin
http://www.amazon.com/ColorVision-S3X100-SPYDER3EXPRESS/dp/B002OCF57K/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&s =electronics&qid=1264436096&sr=1-5
Kevin Stohlmeyer
Adobe Community Professional - Photoshop

Color fidelity and the New MacBook Pro glossy display like iMac

I'm very concerned about the new MacBook Pro display which is glossy like the iMac. Can Apple guarantee precise Color fidelity and correct calibration for Pro users? Aren't glossy glass screens more saturated, deeper Blacks and higher contrasted. Aan Apple answer to this very important question that will draw or throw thousands of Professionals off the new Pro laptop.

Sorry, your comments only confirm the post above. Below is a copy of a comment from Charles Higgins posted to Maintouch. I copied it for posting here (I hope that is legal).
Charles Higgins
To those who must work in bright, unshaded sunlight, Hoodman makes a pretty good reflection/glare 'hood' (sic) that does its job, except it's godawful ugly and bulky.
To everyone else (designers, photogs, and image editors), who must often work in less than ideal outdoor and indoor environments with their MBP's (including the dreaded airline seat), I feel your pain. I do ALL of these jobs, professionally, am an Adobe Beta Tester, have a Cisco CCNE and independently consult for folks like The University of Massachusetts (all campuses), Smith College, Middlebury College, to name a few, on everything from spec'ing Video, Graphics, and Photography labs to deployment, training, etc...
However - the MBP's screen, reflective though it may be, is my favorite laptop screen so far, and I've tried all brands for a long time. I've owned and professionally used, daily, Mac laptops/notebooks since Wall Street.
If it's a deal-breaker to have a glossy screen, you need to re-examine your techniques for use- how you work, where you work, light sources, etc.- because it's a really good indicator of how accurately you perceive color, brightness and tonality accurately... in other words, under conditions that I get unacceptable glare and reflections on my new MBP's glossy screen (CTO 2.8, 320GB 7200 RPM, new 24" on order, DP to DVI adapter out to 30" Cinema Display in home office), I would be getting unacceptable 'light pollution' onto my matte 30" Cinema Display, or any number of CRT monitors I used professionally in days past (Sony Artisans, Barco, etc.), and that's a good barometer, to me, of whether I have a 'pure' viewing environment for critical color work. Just because one can eke out a good or acceptable image view on a matte LCD MBP screen, doesn't mean you should do color critical, submit billing to client work in that already compromised situation. The matte screen often delivers a 'false sense of security' to those folks who work professionally in graphics, video and image editing. I find, or create, an environment that I can work well in with regard to screen viewing, and that's where, matte LCD screen or Glossy, I can get the best results. If I cannot get that environment, I curse my lack of resourcefulness and do work that isn't color-critical, just as I would with any matte screen Mac notebook LCD. In my long experience, and comparing them to even midlevel CRT monitor screens (Mitsu Diamond Pro 22", etc.) is absolutely no contest. Matte screens have an unacceptably low contrast and brightness, and a more primitive rendering of fine tonal gradations and shadows to blacks. My 30" Cinema Display has some of these same shortcomings, of course - but to a far lesser degree. Still, those shortcomings are there, and for the same reasons. The new, DP equipped 24" Cinema Display is a piece of pro equipment that I look forward to immediately calibrating and putting to work immediately!
The clients I've converted to MBP glossy screens because of the shortcomings of any laptop matte screen BTW, my new MBP has a noticeably better screen than the glossy one on my early 2008 MBP (LED backlit); I calibrated both with Gretag MacBeth calibration hardware. I have been able to hardware calibrate the newer MBP to a tighter tolerance.
Got glare? That's a symptom you're gonna probably get less than accurate results from any screen. Having used matte LCD screens in Mac notebooks for many years, I'll take the new LED backlit glossy MBP screens over anything available so far.
----------------------------------------------------

New Macbook air display being washed out -- faded colors.

I have a new 2012 intel i5 128 running Lion 10.7.2. I have tried every adjustment that I am aware of: contrast settings; color calibration; brightness. But the display just looks faded. Next to my older Macbook Pro it looks really bad. I read on other blogs that several people have reported the same problem but there doesn't seem to be any solution. Advise?
thx,
Malthus

I have been researching the macbook air as I'm thinking of buying one. I found a story that the display can be made by either Samsum or LG. And the LG may appear not as good, but it is a matter of fixing some obscure settings, not really an LG hardware deficiency. See:
http://osxdaily.com/2011/10/30/how-to-check-for-an-lg-display-in-a-macbook-air-a nd-make-it-look-better/
(this is not the only article on this topic)
It all seems to involve hairy command line stuff however, so I suggest you google around the topic (macbook air LG versus Samsung displays) a bit more and be ready to restore your system if you try it and it ends in tears.
Good luck.

Color Calibrating MacBook + 24" LED Displays

I'm using a Gretag-Macbeth Eye-One Display 2 system to color calibrate my monitors. The question is, when the LED is connected to the MacBook, and I calibrate it, does this affect the calibration of the display on the MacBook itself? After my last calibration, my LED looks fine, but the MacBook's white balance is way too cool. How do you calibrate for one without affecting the other and is there a way to automatically select the color profile depending on which monitor you're using?

There is no issue with it. I have exactly the same set up. You have to close the lid for the graphic card to display at 1920 by 1200. But I have a wireless keyboard and trackpad so I woke the computer up with it and the computer is running with the external display running at 1920 by 1200.

New MacBook Air display has same 6 bit color? I bet it does.

Sadly, all we have for color depth in the tech specs is the same old 'support for millions of colors' which we know in the past to have been a total lie. All the laptop displays have been 6 bit color, 262,144 colors, period. A great article on 6 bit versus 8 bit color can be found at:
http://compreviews.about.com/od/multimedia/a/LCDColor.htm
The tech specs for the new laptops don't indicate any improvement.
And yes, the displays use dithering to fake millions of colors. Yes, all displays use mixing of RGB colors to fool the eye into seeing millions of colors. And yes, not one laptop display I am aware of, including PCs, has adequate color depth to allow any real color matching for professional use. Use a high end external display for color matching purposes. CRTs are still considered adequate if not superior for this purpose.

Umm...
Every laptop has 6bit colors. There aren't any 8bit laptop panels that Apple could use infact. Except for some very new 17" ones...
The thing is, 8 bit panels use more power and are regarded by most of the industry as overkill for laptops.
Anyway I repeat, there are no 13" 8bit panels in existence.
You want 8 bit color? Plug in a CinemaHD or a Dell VA or IPS panel.

I have a white vertical line down the right side of my internal brand new macbook pro 13" display

I have a white vertical line down the right side of my internal brand new macbook pro 13" display. I've done the following:
-Shutdown the computer, and restarted in Safe Mode by pressing the Shift key after the restart tone
-Shutdown the computer, and restarted by pressing Command, Option, P & R after the restart tone
-Checked display resolution, Best for Retina
-Hooked it up to a Dell external monitor and via projection to screen. There are no lines on the external or secondary screens
-Just curious, I ran a color utility which can not repair 4 items, maybe this is another issue.
This is a brand new Macbook Pro, just out of the box. It was fine for two days without any issues, fine last night while in use, opened it up this morning with the line.
Anyone now how I can fix this on my own?
Details atta
<Edited by Host>

If you are within the first 14 days from the date of purchase, return the MBP for a refund or an exchange. If you are after the first 14 days of the date of purchase, have the MBP repaired under the warranty provisions.
Ciao.

Potential problem with all new Macbook Aluminum Displays

I have read in several threads across the internet (including this one) that people who have received the new aluminum Macbooks have been disappointed with the "greyish" quality of the displays, as well as the color saturation when compared to the older and newer Macbook Pro LED displays, as well as the original Macbook Air displays. Can current owners verify this?

I hadn't seen other threads until just now actually, but earlier today I posted a comment on this board asking for comments from others who've seen both the new MacBook and Pro next to each other so they could tell me whether I was crazy or not. Essentially the MacBook screen seemed washed out compared to the clearly more vivid colours on the Pro. The Air even seemed to have a better, brighter screen. Not sure what's the issue to be honest, but I went into the store set on a new MacBook, but left considering for the first time ever the bigger Pro simply due to the screen.
Edit: Another user posted this review, and if you scroll towards the end (where they show a DVD in the dark) the pics are quite telling and confirm (for me) that I'll get a Pro or wait for the refresh for hopefully better screens. http://gizmodo.com/5063492/macbook-and-macbook-pro-dual-review
Message was edited by: Nick A

Will new Macbook Air display browser in 1080x1920 on HDTV?

I am about to buy a Macbook Air. A primary use for this will be to 1) Mirror browser content to an Apple TV or 2) Use Apple TV as an extended display. I understand the extended display feature may come in Maverick.
I have a MacBook Pro that will not screen mirror. It was 11 months old and Apple said the hardway would not support it. They almost lost my future business with that. AirParrot does not work on it either.
When I use an iPad III the screen ratio on the HDTV connected to AppleTV is 4:3 ratio when displaying an app or browser content. For some apps like netflix, the iPad goes full screen.
So, for those of you using the new Macbook Air, can you tell me if it will mirror a browser session to Apple TV connected HDTV and will it be in a 16:9 (1080x1920) format?
I really want it to act like an extended desktop so I could be displaying a browser based TV show on the TV and use the screen on the airbook to do other stuff. Does anyone know if that will be possible on the MBA or is that functionality reserved for better hardware?
Is anyone having issues with the mew MBA that seem to be common place?
Finally, I am getting the 13" model, 256GB but wonder about upgrading to the i7 processor. Its not a primary machine, no high CPU video editing but lots of screen mirroring of HD content. I do have a new Airport Extreme that can use 802.11 AC.
Thanks,
Kevin

Umm...
Every laptop has 6bit colors. There aren't any 8bit laptop panels that Apple could use infact. Except for some very new 17" ones...
The thing is, 8 bit panels use more power and are regarded by most of the industry as overkill for laptops.
Anyway I repeat, there are no 13" 8bit panels in existence.
You want 8 bit color? Plug in a CinemaHD or a Dell VA or IPS panel.

Brand new macbook pro 2012 (no retina display) 95% battery health with 5 cycles? is that okay?

I know, another battery related question. I have recently bought a brand new macbook pro (no retina display), I calibrated the battery at least twice since Ive had it and it states that I am at 95% battery health with only 5 charges. Is that normal or should I bring my macbook in to be checked? Id like to get this settled before school starts in September since I depend on my macbook a great deal.
thanks !

Full cycle? 100%, of course.
How you get there is another matter. It can be a battery killing full discharge that will certainly ensure a brief life. Or a leisure set of discharges down to 20%, 30% or more. When they all sum up 100%, winner! You've got a cycle!!
Apple recommends you enjoy your Mac and don't obsess too much on battery stuff. Just exercise the electrons every so often by bringing it down to, say, 20% and charge it back up. Going all the way down to the bitter end, when the Mac forces itself to sleep is sort of ok too and won't do (too much) damage, provided you don't make it an engrained habit. We all forget the power brick occasionally and get caught out in the wild with whatever charge was left inside.

Pink color cast on macbook pro 15" with retina display

Hi,
I just got my very first apple computer a few weeks ago, but I had a annoying pink color cast of the display.
I changed my first deivce but even the 2nd had the same issue..
I noticed, that even the Apple logo shines in a pink cast, so it seems to be an issue of the display light itself.
Trying to calibrate the display with a spyder did not work, i got a very strange green color cast what seems to be clear, if the main problem is not the display itself,
but the display light.
I went to the Apple Sore in Hamburg and I found out, that all new macbook pros 15" with retina display had the same issue, but not older macbooks or some macbook pro 15" with retina display from clients.
As a photographer, I find this pink cast very annoying and I gave back my 2nd macbook pro 15" with retina display..
Is there a way, to get a macbook pro 15" with retina display without a pink cast, where the Apple logo shines in pure white instead of a pink color cast?
I don´t want a pink apple logo, nor a display with a pink cast..

WOW 0_o
Go back and get another one.. They will certainly try and make your day better by offering free items, try to get Apple Care free.
In all my time as being a technician I am going to have to put you on a list I have prestigiously placed for situations like these.
List of multiple repeat post-replaced failures.
Basically.. It's a list of all the people that have had to get a computer / part replaced and received the same issue again after the replacement.
HERE IT IS:
3x Logic board replacement (Warranty). I had to replace three logic boards for this one poor sod that had the same issue over and over again. In the end Apple gave him a whole new computer.
"" Same as above but happened to my friend the other day ""
* YOU *
Graphics card causing display anomalies.

New Macbook Pro Retina Display Issue

Hi,
I just purchased a new Macbook Pro, 15" Retina Display, 16Gb Ram, 2.3Ghz and finally got my hands on it last week after more than 5 weeks of waiting.
I have a issue for which I wasnt able to find anything on either Google, or this or any other forum.
At one point, after succsessfully installing windows 7 through Bootcamp, I got a set of 4 differently colored vertical stripes going along my MBP screen, starting with a very dark blue stripe on the far right, purple slightly thicker, then a copy of the first blue stripe and at last the thickest stripe which is sort of a very transparent black overlay (around 10% black overlay).
I can think of nothing, deleted windows, it's partition & all that (not that I would've made a difference but I'm kinda desperate). I am including a screenshot (in which everything looks normal even though the stripes are there) and a photo I just took with my iPhone.
The 4 stripes now turned into 2 (at least visibly). the transparent one and the 3 colored ones joined together as black.
Anyone ever got a similar problem?

Screenshot:
http://img684.imageshack.us/img684/8574/screenshot20120731at422.png
Photo:
http://img545.imageshack.us/img545/4020/fotord.jpg

Color Calibration / New Macbook Displays?

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