What's the deal with reflective/glossy screens on lappys?

ThE_BiG_O · 19th September 2006, 3:05 PM

My dad bought an Asus A6VM with one of those crystal bright glossy reflective widescreens. Looking at it drives me nuts, for starters it turns into a mirror when there's black/dark colours in the background. Even on programs with white backgrounds it's still annoying if you take them outside.

So why do they make them like that? The whole idea of a laptop is portability so it's extremely bad design. They are pretty much limited in their use to word or excel indoors.

I was in David Jones the other day and they had about 20 laptops on display there. Only 3 or 4 had the matte screen, the rest had those damn reflective screens

Is there anything I can do to take away the reflection on my dad's glossy screen? Can you get them spray coated with the same stuff they use on glass lenses or won't that help?

SLATYE · 19th September 2006, 3:49 PM

Apparently they're much better for games and movies - but absolutely pathetic in sunlight (although matte screens aren't very good in sunlight either).

There are coatings which can be applied to matte screens to give the glossy look, but I haven't seen one which does the opposite. It'd be worth giving it a few days - a lot of people find that they get used to it very fast, and then they prefer it over matte screens.

Most consumer notebooks do use the glossy screens now. Business ones don't (have a look at Dell's Inspiron and Precision range). Similarly, consumer notebooks tend to be widescreen, while business ones are still 4:3.

redav · 19th September 2006, 4:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

...but I haven't seen one which does the opposite.

PVC glue

Disclaimer: I wouldn't try it

SLATYE · 19th September 2006, 4:58 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by redav

PVC glue

Disclaimer: I wouldn't try it

I would have thought that PVC would be glossy, as long as it didn't have air bubbles in it.

spikes · 19th September 2006, 6:16 PM

oh god that would be funny to do. I have an old matte TFT from a lappie about 6 yrs old. its about 10" I'll try it and post so pics. but I'll have to get some PVA glue first, the craft one will do won't it. I got some wood glue but it may be a waste

josh81 · 19th September 2006, 6:35 PM

I've always prefered the glossy screens, they look much classier and make the screen look crisper and vivid. Also, i thought they might have a larger viewing angle.
But i've only ever seen them in stores, so i don't know about their practicality in real world use.
I've noticed they tend to be on the higher end laptops (or they used to be), so i assumed it was generally considered to be better.

TERRA Operative · 19th September 2006, 6:52 PM

Just give it a rub with emery....

-=Alfonzo=- · 19th September 2006, 9:00 PM

I haven't looked too much into regular notebook screens, but I know for a fact the tablet screens use it as a scratch resistant cover (since you write on it constantly)

FTR, the Dell Inspiron 6400 also has the glossy cover. I've been staring at it for the past hour and a half

redav · 19th September 2006, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SLATYE

I would have thought that PVC would be glossy, as long as it didn't have air bubbles in it.

Hmm... could be, so long ago. I know that we used to colour our wooden rulers then stick stickers and skate / surf / footy / music logos onto them and cover them with PVC

ThE_BiG_O · 20th September 2006, 1:09 AM

I'll see if I can post some pics tomorrow to show just how bad it is. I'm not even sure if it's supposed to be that reflective.

I'd say that the picture looks a bit better, maybe more CRT-like (that's a horrible description but the best I can come up with) but that's a huge price to pay for the reflectiveness.

T1tan · 20th September 2006, 8:30 PM

could you find polarised film?

MrSmith · 20th September 2006, 9:20 PM

The colours are LOADS better when compared to a matte screen.

Kharn · 20th September 2006, 11:59 PM

I find glossy screens unbearable on a laptop.

ThE_BiG_O · 21st September 2006, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by T1tan

could you find polarised film?

Cool idea. Just had a bit of a google and it may be the stuff I'm looking for.

Possibly something like this would do the trick:
http://www.optigrafix.com/circular.htm

ThE_BiG_O · 22nd September 2006, 2:15 PM

I got around to taking some quick photos.

Anything with white/bright background is fine but when you get dark background colours it becomes extremely annoying.

Screen off:

Screen on:

I thought that all screens had at least some kind of polarized coating on them - maybe they just forgot on this one. It can't possibly be normal like that can it? There's no way you can get used to that if you're playing games or watching movies.

19th September 2006, 3:05 PM	#1
ThE_BiG_O Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 627	What's the deal with reflective/glossy screens on lappys? My dad bought an Asus A6VM with one of those crystal bright glossy reflective widescreens. Looking at it drives me nuts, for starters it turns into a mirror when there's black/dark colours in the background. Even on programs with white backgrounds it's still annoying if you take them outside. So why do they make them like that? The whole idea of a laptop is portability so it's extremely bad design. They are pretty much limited in their use to word or excel indoors. I was in David Jones the other day and they had about 20 laptops on display there. Only 3 or 4 had the matte screen, the rest had those damn reflective screens Is there anything I can do to take away the reflection on my dad's glossy screen? Can you get them spray coated with the same stuff they use on glass lenses or won't that help?

19th September 2006, 3:49 PM	#2
SLATYE SLATYE, not SLAYTE Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Canberra Posts: 21,040	Apparently they're much better for games and movies - but absolutely pathetic in sunlight (although matte screens aren't very good in sunlight either). There are coatings which can be applied to matte screens to give the glossy look, but I haven't seen one which does the opposite. It'd be worth giving it a few days - a lot of people find that they get used to it very fast, and then they prefer it over matte screens. Most consumer notebooks do use the glossy screens now. Business ones don't (have a look at Dell's Inspiron and Precision range). Similarly, consumer notebooks tend to be widescreen, while business ones are still 4:3. __________________ Main system: Pentium-D 805 \| 1GB (2x 512MB) PQI DDR400 \| Gigabyte 8I865GMK-775 \| Xtreama Radeon 9800Pro with Zalman ZM-80HP-D \| 320GB WD SATA HDD \| Antec SmartPower 2.0 500w Laptop: Compal EL80 \| C2D T7200 \| 320GB Fujistu HDD \| 2GB DDR2-667 \| GF Go 7600

19th September 2006, 6:52 PM	#7
TERRA Operative Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Niraikanai Posts: 3,883	Just give it a rub with emery.... __________________ Tereno Empireo Rapidmova Reakcii Armeno B3Motorsports.com - JDMLevin.com

19th September 2006, 9:00 PM	#8
-=Alfonzo=- Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Redland Bay, BrisVegas Posts: 7,191	I haven't looked too much into regular notebook screens, but I know for a fact the tablet screens use it as a scratch resistant cover (since you write on it constantly) FTR, the Dell Inspiron 6400 also has the glossy cover. I've been staring at it for the past hour and a half __________________ successful trades \| car

20th September 2006, 8:30 PM	#11
T1tan Member Join Date: May 2002 Location: Sydney. Posts: 3,852	could you find polarised film? __________________ --Nik

19th September 2006, 6:16 PM	#5
spikes Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Lismore 2480 Posts: 1,590	oh god that would be funny to do. I have an old matte TFT from a lappie about 6 yrs old. its about 10" I'll try it and post so pics. but I'll have to get some PVA glue first, the craft one will do won't it. I got some wood glue but it may be a waste

19th September 2006, 6:35 PM	#6
josh81 Member Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Bellbowrie, Brisbane Posts: 2,414	I've always prefered the glossy screens, they look much classier and make the screen look crisper and vivid. Also, i thought they might have a larger viewing angle. But i've only ever seen them in stores, so i don't know about their practicality in real world use. I've noticed they tend to be on the higher end laptops (or they used to be), so i assumed it was generally considered to be better.

20th September 2006, 1:09 AM	#10
ThE_BiG_O Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 627	I'll see if I can post some pics tomorrow to show just how bad it is. I'm not even sure if it's supposed to be that reflective. I'd say that the picture looks a bit better, maybe more CRT-like (that's a horrible description but the best I can come up with) but that's a huge price to pay for the reflectiveness.

20th September 2006, 9:20 PM	#12
MrSmith Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: nor perth Posts: 2,393	The colours are LOADS better when compared to a matte screen. __________________ [X2 4200+, Asus 8600GT Silent, 1gb, modded Antec Plusview2] [Dell i6400/1.83Ghz C2D, 1gb ddr2, 256mb X1400] [Middlesbrough FC, Fremantle Dockers, Perth Glory] [Myspace, trades] \|\|Dr. Pepper Club Member #001\|\|

20th September 2006, 11:59 PM	#13
Kharn Member Join Date: Sep 2002 Location: See the world they said. So i bought a mac. Posts: 1,781	I find glossy screens unbearable on a laptop.

22nd September 2006, 2:15 PM	#15
ThE_BiG_O Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Adelaide Posts: 627	I got around to taking some quick photos. Anything with white/bright background is fine but when you get dark background colours it becomes extremely annoying. Screen off: Screen on: I thought that all screens had at least some kind of polarized coating on them - maybe they just forgot on this one. It can't possibly be normal like that can it? There's no way you can get used to that if you're playing games or watching movies. Last edited by ThE_BiG_O; 22nd September 2006 at 2:21 PM.