iMac screen washed out

[Biffo347]

My screen is simular to that. Apple solution replaced the screen 4 times still ongoing.

[raahr]

do they all do this?? I just bought an Imac released in 2007. I think it was closer to 2008 though. Havn't plugged it in yet.

[raahr]

do they all do this??

[FormulaOneSpy]

I've read the 20" model was replaced... but are they all still TN panels?

[SCAREDofSTICKS]

I have a 24 and same problem except from left to right so...

[evansmorgan]

yeah should've gone with the 24 inch :P

and I hope you're not still running Tiger

[bibirmzboi]

just dont get a 20"

[amarmitra]

Viewing angle????

[dumbnameiknow]

apple takes care of this, haha. they fix it. how long did it take for microsoft to figure out the Ring of Death issue on their video game system... microsoft still cant ven make a functional operating system. and they cant make people use it without changing its name (mojave). look on the bright side... you wont have to switch to Vista.

[HowlBlack]

Is this for all the imacs? Or just a few of them?

[dumbnameiknow]

naw, its a small amount. they just released a whole new batch of upgraded iMacs. its normal to see faults like these and plus around September of 2007, the iMacs (at the time) were only a couple of months old. all in all, apple would be fine with fixing whatever problems you have.

[Trusten1984]

What i mean, Apple are not always = quality !

[loudspeaker911]

that's because macs suck arse!!

[thereslikenoway]

But that's only because it's an LCD screen. It's not Mac's fault.

[Fernoe]

I've never had this problem with any LCD screen computer unless the screen was damaged, and there's lots of iMac users who have the exact same problem (exact same part of the screen is faded), it is mac's fault.

[Intelpentium54321]

My dell is better so yes it is macs fault

[Trusten1984]

Mac are not = quality !!!

[Intelpentium54321]

just the laptops are.

[alexanderlvt]

I just checked my Mac mini Core Duo with Dell 22" screen and it does the same. Haven't checked everything, but the finder window is definitely darker on the top than the bottom.

So aparentely it isn't iMac specific.

Did you check it with something like ColourMunky that checks screen coulours? To me it's not such a big deal, since I'm not into grapics a lot.

[montaigne]

So take it back to the store. Isn't this obvious?

[Wraithdagger]

lol macs

[rayrevalee]

this is gay, just send it back if you feel it's defective, plus we can't see shit on a damn youtube video.

[lipevolcom2]

LCD screen is the worse thing ever!

I have one brand new HDTV LG 22" and comes with a green stuck pixel from factory ): but they only replace if is more than 5 ones.

check on my videos!

[carlitopr]

The same thing just happened to me i have 20 inch imac. I LOVE IMAC BUT THIS SHIT SHOULDNT HAPPEN I PAYED A SHIT LOAD OF MONEY FOR THIS> IM FUCKIN PISSED

If there any body thats nows a way to fix this tell me or what should i do please tell me

[erikzappc]

what a faggot

thats not a problem like man

who cares

[gawtmeelk]

A limitation of various LCD screens. Moron.

[angelcar22]

mm. how come my Samsung LCD screen doesn't do that?

[alysdexia]

size? resolution? cost?

[KidKlassic91]

WOW... return it and get a PC if you're complaining about that little problem. I think that's how they designed the OS because in Photoshop there's no wash out in colors towards the bottom of the screen compared to the top... Maybe you should look at more programs to see if it's a wash out or a design for self.

[Nixdad85]

expecting a monitor to operate as it should isn't being a perfectionist. Especially when you pay (or should i say overpay) over 1K for a computer. If the Mac costs $500 it wouldn't be such a big deal. But were talking about a mid-range computer that has a high-range price tag.

there is a word to describe people that say they would buy an iMac even though it has this problem:fanboys.

[ioncomputershow]

-_- gosh some people

if it was a pc you would be Whatever...

when its a mac is ZOMG THAT MAC IS DEFECTIVE

its not defective its just a bad screen choice on apple cause TN screens are not that great

and i would still buy a iMac even with this problem. i had stuck pixles on a monitor and it dont bug as long as it is readable and can be used

fucking perfectionists stop being ZOMG ITS WASHED OUT.

i'd be like. Whatever at least it ISNT BLACK OR VERTICAL LCD COLOR DEAD LINES ^^

[angelcar22]

glad to see you're willing to pay top dollar for defective hardware

[johnmaingrowe]

iMacs are a ripoff! It's a HUGE MİSTAKE to buy an iMac, a Mac.

[Likoliz]

I saw the same thing with the 20" at my local Mac store. The 24" was a lot better, actually it was perfect. Decided to pay a little more and go for that one. I must say I was a bit worried as some people had problems with that screen aswell. Dead pixels, weird colour changes etc. When I got my 24" Mac I tried my best to find something wrong with... nothing. It's perfect, except for one thing: it's a bit on the bright side.

[videoCWK]

Don't these also have uneven backlighting in some cases?

[pollypoll0]

it is 'made in taiwan' TN panel problem.

AUO, CMO...

[mathuetax]

I'm afraid all I see is the viewing angle characteristics of the type of display that the machine has. My Dell monitor and my Princeton (or my IBM/Leveno lappy) do the same colour shifts. If one wants colour consistency across the entire screen you are better off going with a CRT. That's just the way LCDs are, they use a polarizing film as part of their design, some types of LCDs are better than others. The budget iMacs have a screen that's more prone to this but it's hardly a defect.

[OutletEntertainment]

I just retuned mine due to this issue. Apple get your act together!

[mykeman83]

those angles are not viewable. CRT although they take a lot of space and are huge, when it comes to angle viewing, they will always remain the best. Its not that imac has a problem. Its your weird angle viewings. Thats why they made the panel adjustable; this applies also to laptops. I mean u usually face your screen directly and not sideways

[higherdestiny]

Dude. Even directly, the screen shows massive colour fade. It's a fault and a problem worthy of Apple recalling all effected models.

[mykeman83]

well i have a 20" imac and i disagree with your statement. If you have a problem like yours, then it's more of a specific thing rather than general. So all you can do is go back to where you bought it and get another one coz my display is cool directly but like i said when you watch movies or have it on front row, angle views are great. Overall, im so happy my imac; worth the cash

[mihaitarmure]

I confirm. Just visited a couple of 20" imacs, and I did the duplicate window test. One on top, one on bottom. Even at low angles, such as 10-20, the difference was quite visible. One windows was gray, the other was greenish.

So, if I wanna do lets say webdesign, what am I suppose to do? Spend over $3000 for a mac pro with my choice of display? Or drag my feet with a mini mac? The imacs have way to poor, cheap LCDs for a middle class computer.

[NonSpecificUser]

Well, what do you expect from Mac? Steve Jobs is by far the best salesman of all time. Just suck it up and keep buying his stuff, you are immune to logic and your own personal experience, God knows there's no way any one can stop you. Enjoy the Mac experience.

[AARRGGHHH]

Well, there was a time when paying more for Apple bought you better hardware, let's not deny that. Although now, it just seems to buy you better commercials.

[nfoo]

Well, actually, the new 20 iMac is sort of better.

20" is the new entry level iMac which replaces the 17" - the 17" had a really bad display ... so this display is actually a big improvement.

The viewing angel is a problem with all TN-Displays. So just go for 24", which just got cheaper ...

[AARRGGHHH]

The 24" just got cheaper? On what planet or in what country? Do you have a URL? Or an interplanetary starmap?

Here in the US, they start at $1800 USD, same as always, except for Black Friday, the one day they were on sale for a few $ less.

By the way, there are similar problems with many 24" models. I love the way you true Apple junkies solve all your problems by spending MORE money on the company that's screwing you.

You sound more like drug addicts than customers...

[johnmaingrowe]

Well put!

[dh003i]

If you want really ultra-high unquestionable quality, you have to go beyond these monitors. You need to go with something like Eizo or NEC or Planar or IBM. Eizo's are in a class of their own, with perfect quality and many features. You could also go back to CRTs, which still have many advantages (cheaper, better color, perfect viewing angle, better uniformity).

[dh003i]

For PVA panels, there is the HP L2465, Samsung 244T, Samsung 245T, Dell 2407WFP-HC, and Gateway FHD2485W. All of these are I think PVA or IPS (maybe Dell) panels, and all are 92% of the color gamut, except the 245T which is 97%. Not sure about the FHD2485W, but I think that's 92%. Apple's CinemaDisplay monitors are in the class of these monitors (prosumer), although I think maybe not as good. I think the CinemaDisplay's specs aren't quite as good, and doesn't offer as many inputs.

[dh003i]

If you want consistency, you can't have a TN panel; no TN panel is good for graphics work. They're only good for productivity. They may look pretty, and display beautiful vibrant colors, but they have viewing angle problems, magnified by large screens; might also be backlight consistency problems. TN panels tend to be glossy, probably to make them look better. Never seen a PVA or IPS panels that's glossy.

[dh003i]

iMac 20" monitors use a TN panel, which has a 160 degree viewing angle (this is on the specs for website, the viewing angle). Not sure why the problem occurs on some 24" monitors; could be backlight brightness uniformity issues. This suggests a lottery in terms of either panel type or backlight quality.

[spreedcom]

I got a 20″ iMac from Apple Europe. The silver aluminium iMac replaced my white 20″ iMac which I have sold recently.

What can I say? Replacing my old (white) iMac with the silver one was a HUGE mistake. The LCD display of the silver 20″ iMac is the WORST DISPLAY I have ever seen. And I know of many different LCD's. The computer displays of the desktops in my company are all LCD's. But this new Apple iMac display is UNUSABLE for many tasks.

[spreedcom]

I got a 20″ iMac from Apple Europe. The silver aluminium iMac replaced my white 20″ iMac which I have sold recently.

What can I say? Replacing my old (white) iMac with the silver one was a HUGE mistake. The LCD display of the silver 20″ iMac is the WORST DISPLAY I have ever seen. And I know of many different LCD's. The computer displays of the desktops in my company are all LCD's. But this new Apple iMac display is UNUSABLE for many tasks.

[jackpierce10]

Have you ever heard of viewing angle ? i dont see myself editing a video while towering above my Mac or slightly to the side

[randomisgolden]

so much for trusting your mac for art or video editing where the colors need to be correct.

[flabbmaster]

hah ya i have a 19 inch veiwsonic that dosent do that. apples computers suck now, i have watched the degrade to a piece of shit the new G5's have nothing good to upgrade or anything it seems like apple is only worried about the ipods and iphones. too bad for their computer fans

[thotho79]

My 20" aluminum imac does it too! I dont care if I wanted a good display I would have paid more for a good quality PC

[babystinky]

I can definitely confirm your findings. Someone mentioned that they have a 226bw Samsung and its the same, well that is not true. I have both the Mac and the Samsung panels, my Samsung is the "S" panel and it is consistent, it does have some change in color but nothing like the imac display. There is something wrong with the monitors and they are very washed out.

[pranza]

imac's are cheap, you get what u pay for

[nightkit]

You're a moron, you can try this on any LCD and you will see the same issue, that's the nature of LCD angle. I'm using a dell laptop; I have a folder on the top and a folder on the bottom of the screen. Both of them are different colors no matter what vertical angle I'm looking at. I asked someone to try this on a Samsung LCD and they tell me the same thing.

[cerebrete]

In case you didn't know, you're an idiot.

[randomisgolden]

go check out some lcd's in a store. they do produce better lcd's now.

[randomisgolden]

i replyed to someones comment how come it wasnt nested

[pixello]

Have u ever used an old white 20" imac? it's perfect. But new 20" imac has cheap TN lcd panel.

[cobalite]

This is a common problem with 6bit TN panels. My Samsung 226BW has the same issue. If you tilt the panel inwards at the bottom do you still get the same issue? I don't on my 22^BW but I don't want my screen tilted inward at the bottom. Some lCD's come with the panel fixed at this angle purely because of this issue. LCD panels that have higher quality screens are over $1000.00 and have a slow response time.

[robertgall]

this is fuckt uppp!!!!aple gets a bighed now they produceing shitttttttttt!!!!!!!!!!!is ok for net monkeys but not for profacional use not with a efect like this!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[kidwithAnose]

Macs will always be better then PC's. Not at gaming obviously. They're for families, and they 're amazing pieces of equipment. I don't know what the deal was here, maybe Apple finally made an oopsie. =P

[AlexanderStore]

The only thing with mac that sucks ,is that you can´t play all games on them...however..mac is beter than windows,less problems,but you should be able of playing all sorts of games...

[cruiseoveride]

rotten apple, so sad even, every time i come close to buying a mac, something dumb like this happens

[scottwilkins]

My Dell 24" screen doesn't do this.  I wouldn't call that scrutiny either, just dumb people buying iMacs and thinking they are as good as PCs when they obviously are not. LOL

[issar85]

I wonder if using an LED backlight instead of flourescent might affect the issue.

[issar85]

its amazing the level of scrutiny Apple machines go through compared to regular PCs. People just expect something to be wrong with their PC when it arrives but the Macintosh must be absolutely 100% perfect. Considering the advertising and its pricing, should it be any less?

[theslimeylimey]

Well when you look at how much Apple chrages for their hardware, and their own high opinion of themselves, I'd say they should be held to a higher standard, yes. Basic QC should have caught this problem.

[Jake2q]

not the mention what Jobs said during wwdc "we buy best of the lcds first and other pc companies buys what we rejected"

we can accept that it can happen in one or two of the computers they shipped but this problem is persistent on whole 20" imacs they ship its ridicilous

[usa1mac]

It's a shame the display sucks. For the price they charge, it should be a lot better than that.

[Foxynews]

all tft's have this.

close viewing angle.

[Senator1]

Foxynews is correct.

I have verified this.

It's all about the viewing angle.

If the camera would have panned downward, where the grey is suppossedly washed out, it would appear to be brushed metal just like the top part.

Everyone with an LCD try this:

Move u head up and down vertically when viewing this page. You'll notice that when your head is up the gray bars look fine but the bottom ones dont...but as u move ur head down they will all look identical

[kifsator]

love the accent. are u norwegian? or swedish? ..i so wanna go there

[Drekafluga]

What? He's Australian. Scandinavian accent is fantastic, though =)

[Geardos]

I have a 20 inch and it has the kind of problems you get with a cheaper quality panel. The 17-inch model has some weird gradient issues too. Most cheap LCD displays have these kind of problems.

[Geardos]

I'm trying REALLY hard to get this to happen on mine and it isn't easy.. it definitely does not have the most even back lighting, but the issue is a very minor, nearly unnoticable one for me at most. I recently printed a large photoshop image I created on this machine on a pro quality injet printer and the printout looked very well matched compared to what I saw on the screen, but I do use my own profile. The default one makes everything look "brown".

[electrobc01]

It took me forever to move over to Macs, and now I'm having these problems. I think I may have switched over at the wrong time

[MysticMaven]

In my experience, all TN type screens have the viewing angle problem. That's why I don't buy TN screens.

[nuts4god]

Yeah dude! Rub it in!

[tysusmed]

I feel your pain Stelex. Last year, I purchased a 30" Cinema Display only to discover the monitor was plagued with the dreaded 'dancing green pixels' problem. The next day I tried returning the monitor, but the Apple Store refused to exchange the item.

[djrobx]

Dancing green pixels on a 30" cinema display might be a video card problem. I had that on and off for months. Changed the video card out and haven't seen 'em since.

[crazychris3992]

i dont give a damn, i still want one!

[pixello]

apple says there is no problem with screen. who is blind? and still waitting for my keyboard and leopard DVD. the worst apple product i've ever seen.

[kadvid]

That's not a new problem. You get that with every TN panel display you buy (the cheaper ones). Sometimes manufacturers try to hide that a bit with making it glossy (which IMHO makes it all just worse).

So the only problem is that Apple is to cheap to use proper panels. The 24" models have the same problem? In 20" screens I can somehow understand it, because almost all panels are TN. But there are plenty of 24" displays without TN technology.

[CommodityBR]

I hope this video will, hopefully, make Apple change something about this problem.

[pixello]

i have the same problem and waiting for recall. calibrating is not  a solution for professional users. i cant see the lighter lines on illustrator. im happy with my old white imac.

[Salierious]

Whats your wall?

[violetmount]

It's not so much a problem, just the displays that Apple have bought. Yes there's a gradient and yes the screen isn't as good as the old iMac. But calibrate it well and you don't notice the issues after a few days of use.

[mrkalck]

Not an acceptable solution at all. Why accept an obviously inferior product?

[viciousdave119]

Inferior? iMac is not inferior to windows shit.  The screen is not that bad, you're just one of those really picky people and I hate picky people like you.

[mrkalck]

I was not comparing Mac with Windows. Why would I? I simply have been an Apple customer for 20 years and have consequently established certain expectations. Long time Apple users would understand my viewpoint.

[AARRGGHHH]

Why even bring up Windows? This thread has nothing to do with Windows. Compared to other displays, this one is a POS.

[AARRGGHHH]

Who brought up Windows? Why are you Mac Fanbois so freakin paranoid? If you got struck by lightning, would you blame Bill Gates?

[IKLIPTIC]

Im a freelance designer there is no way in hell i could design a print piece or a web mockup and guarantee any color to be accurate on this monitor. Depending on how I'm sitting in my chair my colors may be completly different from the true final product viewed by the public. How can you call that being picky.

[AARRGGHHH]

Not so much a problem? $1200 to $1500 for a computer with a crap display is not so much a problem? I'll give you one thing, you Steve Jobs fanbois are consistent.

[angelcar22]

violetmount:

HAHAHA, "after a few days it's not so bad"

WTF is wrong with you , you moron? YOU PAID A LOT OF MONEY FOR IT!! Don't you think it should work properly???

[viciousdave119]

Hmm, iMac is good looking, but the monitor, hmm, it's just washed out cause of that glass overcoated screen.

[mrkalck]

I had an authorized Apple Dealer Tech remove the glass and the bottom of the screen was still wahed out. The tech then replaced the screen and it was still washed out.

Conclusion: I WILL CONTACT APPLE AND DEMAND AN ENTIRE NEW COMPUTER!

[AARRGGHHH]

It's not the glass. The glass is the same color from top to bottom. It's the display itself.

[mylife55]

My 10 day old iMac 20" has gone back to reseller. The gradient problem is clearly evident (as in video) in all the in store display machines I've come across. guess I'm stuck with my Dell till they FIX the problem.

[mrkalck]

This video clearly describes the problem with the new iMac 20" screens. Well done! Hope S. J. gets a chance to see it!

[JohnMSawyer]

If Jobs sees this video, his reaction will probably be, "Whatever..."

[legumbro]

like paolotonon said before we should start a petition for a mass substitution campaign.

This problem affect all 20" iMac and I think it's a shame because at home I have two cheap LG screens that looks lots better.

Let's start a petition online or something.

[angelcar22]

Why is it a shame? Just stick to your LG screens.

They work, and are cheaper. What more can you ask for?

[Mat5913]

This affects just the lucid panels because this problem is due to the lucid layer. Remove the lucid layer, and the color will be perfect, even if black will not be lucid black.

[pechspilz]

That's not true. The 24" doesn't have THIS problem. It has another problem (vertical gradient) as anyone can read even in Apple's own discussion forums.

[Mat5913]

I didn't know this and i'm sorry but that thumbs down is not so fair

[angelcar22]

just for whining about getting a thumbs down you earned a couple more

[Mat5913]

That's not a problem. The next month Apple will change all the panel at no price, i'm sure. Anyway the 24 inch has a stunning screen... :-D

mac4life

[AARRGGHHH]

Apple has changed NOTHING. Thus, this thumbs down was well earned.

mac4life? even if they sell you total crap and overcharge you for it? okay man, it's your money, go for it.

[Mat5913]

Oh you're so clever

iMac screen works a little bad = Apple sucks.

Fuck you, people like you make me embarassed to be human

[AARRGGHHH]

You addressed nothing I said, just lashed out with sarcasm, mindless defense of Apple, and onscenity. Do you work at Apple?

Anyway, regarding: "iMac screen works a little bad = Apple sucks.". Well, yeah. Kinda like, "if you're a little bit pregnant, you had sex.". A little is more than enough.

iMacs are overpriced. If nothing else, they should perform flawlessly.

[Mat5913]

You nickname shows the world your mental problems, have you ever seen emeek77's video? You should, his video are the perfect response to people like you

[IKLIPTIC]

Macs are overpriced. I'm a big Mac fan but I refuse to buy anything directly from Apple their pricing is incredably overpriced. Comparing just the increase of upgrading 1 processor to a newer one it would be better just to buy the processor from newegg and replace it. Far far cheaper hundreds of dollors not like 1 or 2 but 3+ hundred. Thats a killing and that doesnt include the price of ram and their hard drives. Building a pc is a better option other than osx doesnt come on pc =(

[Mat5913]

omg it's so difficult

mac's are for serious work

if you work you wont lose your work

if you wont lose your work you must use hi-quality tested hardware

if you want HQ tested hardware you have to PAY!!!

[IKLIPTIC]

That is the stupidest thing i have ever heard. Your comparing Quality based only on price, so you would buy a jaguar when its made by ford is has horrible quality compared to Honda and Toyota. You waste your money on apple. I'll continue building my machines for 1/3 of what apple would charge me and have the exact same products or better than APple offers. Your stupid bottomline.

[b8375629]

You sound like an apple fanboy engaged in blind obedience

[b8375629]

Please spare us the personal attacks

[paolotonon]

If this affect all 20 inch iMac you should start a petition for a mass substitution campaign

[AARRGGHHH]

Agreed.

[mrkalck]

Have you ever actually returned a new mac? If so, how was your request received by Apple?

[peppertooth1971]

I had the same thing...iTunes really shows how bad the screen is. The pale blue and white mix together. I tried changing the Gama and white point that made it better but far from acceptable. I returned the Mac and was going to get another and noticed all the display models had the same gradient even the 24". I guess I didn't notice it at first because of the florescent light in the store. I'm writing Apple today. Purchased 07.09.22 returned net day...

[mrkalck]

I just purchased a brand new 20 inch silver iMac and almost immediately noticed that all images and colors are significantly washed out at the bottom of the screen. Just wondering why Apple is releasing such an obviously defective product from their factory?

[peppertooth1971]

I hear there's a fix in the works, supposedly at the end of Oct ??? You can adjust the levels in Display and the advance feature. Makes it better.

[Tommerd]

No, thankfully.

"The issue does not affect 24in iMacs, which use a higher-quality in-plane switching (IPS) LCD panel." :)

The 24 incher is GORGEOUS!

[TakuyaMurata]

well done

[Cobrascout]

Does that affect the 24 inch model as well?

[srjuanjo]

Yeah it affect 24 inch model.. with a left to right gradient (much more bright at left than right) but it affect independent of angle you are watching. Uniform panel, with uniform gradient at left...

mine 24" imac alu