what's the difference between a glossy widescreen display and an anti glare widescreen display?

Question

im asking because of the choice between screens on the macbook pro im about to buy

Answer 1

Get the Glossy Finish Tho... it has a glass protection for the screen..

Most LCD don't have such protection...

Answer 2

It is the anti-reflective coatings.


Matte screens have a roughened surface treatment. This scatters the reflected light so that the screen does not act like a mirror, but more like frosted glass. The down side is that this also scatters the light coming from the screen slightly, making the image slightly fuzzy.

Glossy screens may have no treatment, or may have a 1/4 wavelength treatment. With a 1/4 wavelength some light gets reflected from the top of the coating, while some goes 1/4 wavelength further and gets reflected of the bottom of the coating, goes another 1/4 wavelength and comes out the top of the coating and so is now 1/2 a wavelength (1/4 + 1/4) out of phase with the first reflection and so they cancel.

Great, except the reflections have to be identical and it only works for that specific wavelength (colour) of light. So you get multiple coatings for different spot frequencies to try to reduce the overall glare.

The image is now perfectly crisp, but you tend to have a screen you can shave in.


So, if having a slightly blurred image really bugs you, get the glossy.

If having a screen where you can see the reflection of everything behind you is a problem, get the matte.

For my choice, seeing the reflections of lights and movement really annoys me, so I prefer matte. But there really is no universal right or wrong answer, it is just what you prefer.


Another factor you might consider is durability. Matte screens are more durable than a 1/4 wavelength coating. However, with proper care and cleaning neither should be a problem.

Answer 3

However, there is no way around an anti-glare coating causing some reduction in image quality - it's an extra layer between you and the liquid crystals.

It is difficult to appreciate the benefit of the matte screen unless it is alongside a glossy screen under conditions where reflections cause a problem. If you don't see the problem then you don't know it's there. You also get used to whatever display you are using and not fully aware of how good or bad it is unless it's alongside another one (unless the display is so bad it hurts your eyes). The best matte screen I have used is on my Sony G11, probably because of the very bright LED backlight.

One other difference between matte and glossy are that the latter are much easier to keep clean because of the smooth surface. The anti-glare coating tends to absorb dirt and finger prints and is more difficult to clean without ending up with smears.

Answer 4

you're far more concerned about this than i was. i'm just a basic surfing/music/movies kinda user. i went in going back and forth between the two sreens and meant to ask what they recommended. in the midst of everything else they just gave me the glossy without asking and i had forgotten until i got home. i've been happy with the glossy one and had no problems. i just have the mac book, so perhaps it's different, but it is not a hard surface, it's still soft like my old anti-glare was. in truth, chances are both are fine, but i dont think you'd have a problem with the glossy. good luck. i love my mac! :)

Answer 5

I am not rally sure, but perhaps a glossy screen is glossy like a glossy photo paper, while anti glare screen is...like you can look directly at it even under strong light conditions (the normal screen in a strong light condition would look a bit dimmed, therefore hard to see)