O.K. people. I searched for reviews on the glossy screen issues. It seems that most people that respond do not own one. They are also comparing them to PC glossy screens that are pitiful at best. My interest is not in the macbook's screen, but rather in the 17" pro version. I own a world class audio and video studio. It is more important to me that it better represents a true to life color, rather than "cool looking" or exaggerated colors. Many of the people that have seen them in person and have given their opinion on these screens have seen them in a "Worst case scenario". In retail stores, the lighting is so, that everything looks bright and sparkly. Just look in a diamond or jewelry store sometime. Even the $69.00 diamond chip pendant looks like a million bucks. The glare and reflections are at their absolute worst. In the field of Graphics, Photography, and HD video, you would never have florescent lighting to determine any color or contrast editing. It produces the wrong color of light. I have now had the opportunity to own two fully loaded 17" mackbook pros, one with a matte screen, and one with a glossy screen, and here is my assessment:
The matte finish:
When I first got my 17" #1, this is what it came with. There was no choice yet. But upon using it for the first few minutes, I did notice a drastic difference in the contrast ratio from my last 17" powerbook. The screen was a bit brighter, but it almost seemed that the "Brightness" was turned up. I compared the two side by side. The colors were about the same, but the brighter screen on the intel version made them even nicer. The blacks looked pretty good on the Macbook pro, but were not as rich as on the Powerbook. Using the infamous "Look at it with the screen off" technique, I noticed that the Mackbook Pro's screen was frosty and had a green tint to it. On the Powerbook, the screen was deep black.
Although the Mackbook Pro had many "Pros" vs the Powerbook, I did feel that the screen was better suited for those working in glare conditions. Even more so than it's predecessor the Powerbook. A definite improvement in that situation. But for Video and such, I found it to be almost unusable for my type of work. But I must say, I would have adapted, and just compensated for the differences between what was "True" and what I was seeing on the Mackbook Pro.
The Glossy screen:
Since my main use was to be DVD and Film and Video, as well as Photos and graphic design, I ordered another, this time with the Glossy screen. I must admit, i was skeptical about this decision, but figured that I had the matte finish if it was not going to work.
First of all, the glare is absolutely not an issue, even outdoors where I do use it quite frequently. The brightness of the screen overpowers any thought of interfering with your view. And I am one, that when you can refocus your eyes, and see the lights or objects around you, that seriously bothers me.
The colors seemed to look about the same, but the contrast ratio was noticeably better. As well as the video black shots or letterbox bars on the screen. This was defiantly the choice for my work. But the real decision came when I saw how well the work that I had done, translated to other sets, projectors, and film. This was all very acceptable and a far better improvement to the matte finish, that made you want to overcompensate to achieve the same results in blacks. I also had a chance to compare the Glossy screen to that of a Glossy screen on my employee's new HP laptop. When I had grilled him on whether or not he had reflection issues with his, he said it never even bothered him. But upon comparing the two side by side, there was a noticeable quality difference. The mac was about 75% less reflective. I would not have found his to be useable at all. The image was much brighter and sharper on the Mackbook pro. Also, on the HP, the colors seemed to be exaggerated and over-saturated. Again this would not have ever worked for me.
Summary:
Both screens are good. Apple is not making a bad screen. I would have been happy with either, but since the choice is here, the glossy worked best for me. Glare was never an issue on the Mackbook Pro as some are making it out to be. If Video is not your primary use of this computer, and you are in extreme lighting situations all of the time at work, then the matte is a good choice. I had trusted Apple when I ordered the Glossy, because I do not live close enough to an Apple store to have seen one for myself. I figured that time and time again they have proven to me that their quality and design are always quite a bit more impressive than others. Time and time again, I have gained the envy of PC users when they have seen my previous Mac portable screens, and immediately noticed how much sharper, and brighter and better they looked than theirs. What they did with their version of a glossy screen was no different this time around. They did not merely grab from HP's or Dell's supply chain and put it the Macs.