glossy vs matte lcd screen brands
Yes, matte screens objectively don’t look as good as glossy. But that’s in a highly controlled environment. In the real world, matte monitor surfaces are the only practical and rational way to go.
Matte monitors employ plastic surfaces made of different polymers that undergo an etching process. Either chemical or mechanical, the etching creates an enormous number of grooves or indentations in the screen surface. These serve to reduce reflectivity by scattering light that hits the monitor. While some minor glare may still occur, it never even comes close to the full-on reflections you have with glossy displays.
But a screen that rejects light invariably also blocks light. While glossy screens allow whatever the display shows to come through nearly unfiltered, matte screens block much more of the monitor’s light output. In essence, with matte screens you get less image illumination, or just less image. Some minor details may be diminished, contrast gets lowered, and colors don’t appear as alive as with a glossy screen.
But your poor eyes also don’t need to put up with stressful reflections and tiresome glare. Nor do you need to fear touching the screen, as matte displays don’t grab fingerprints as readily as glossy screens. Thus, for monitors matte makes the better option. You don’t need to worry about placing a lamp on your work or gaming station, because reflections won’t be an issue. You don’t have to think ten times before opening the curtains and letting some light in. With matte screens, light isn’t your enemy.
Unlike TVs, for monitors matte makes for an absolutely obvious choice, especially since modern monitors continue to add brightness. While even five years ago a 300-nit monitor was good, today you easily get 500-1000-nit panels that meet DisplayHDR 400 and DisplayHDR 1000 requirements. While monitors get brighter, matte materials stay the same and so in effect more light shines through the anti-glare protection. Simply put, image quality on matte monitors keeps improving. You’d be hard pressed to tell the difference in most cases.
While matte screen coating effectively reduces reflections, it also makes the image quality slightly more dull and hazy. Glossy monitors, on the other hand, have a more vibrant and intense picture quality, but a very reflective screen.
The type of screen coating plays a big role when you’re looking for a new PC monitor or a laptop. Besides the effect of the screen surface on the image quality itself, ambient lighting is a crucial factor to take into account as well.
Glossy screens allow for more vivid colors and expressive contrast, but under heavy sunlight reflection or too bright room lighting, they can become mirror-like and not very pleasant to use.
The matte finish monitors, on the other hand, include an anti-glare treatment, which eliminates the issue of reflections. However, the image quality is more grainy and less clear.
Other benefits of matte-coated monitors are that dust is less visible, and they’re better for your eyes as you don’t have to look through the reflections like you would with glossy displays.
For instance, if you’re looking for a laptop for outdoors, a matte screen laptop is the obvious choice, whereas if you spend most of your computer time in a dim-lit room, you will benefit more from a glossy screen.
As none of the screen coating types are perfect, manufacturers are working on improving them. So far, there are certain semi-glossy and light matte screen finishes that deliver an in-between and more balanced result. All of these are essentially matte coatings, but with lesser light diffusion and thinner layers.
AU Optronics developed a semi-glossy coating for their VA panels, which features only 13-18% haze value as opposed to the regular 25%. This low-haze matte surface makes for a considerably less grainy image, but it’s also a bit more reflective than the usual matte finish.
Samsung also has its own ‘very light matte’ surface that they featured on some of their latest curved VA panel monitors. These offer an 18% haze value as opposed to the usual 24-28%. The result is pretty much the same as it’s with the semi-glossy surfaces and some of LG’s AH-IPS panel models.
In the end, you’re back where you’ve started. The panels with the lighter matte surface may preserve image quality more than the common matte finish does, but not as effectively as glossy ones.
You’ll also find glossy screens with anti-glare (low 1-4% haze) or anti-reflective treatments. These are a bit less reflective than the standard glossy screens, but still not nearly as efficient at mitigating glare as matte coatings.
Can you not see your laptop’s screen in a bright room, or do you think the colors on your desktop computer’s display look dull and lifeless? Maybe you chose the wrong type of display coating.
Glossy and matte displays use the same LCD panels. The only real difference between these two types of displays is the coating applied to the screen. In controlled situations, glossy and matte displays will look fairly similar.
This similarity is why there’s such a great debate between the two. Manufacturers can’t settle on one best coating, and different users prefer different coatings based on what they want out of a screen. You have a choice between screens with different coatings when buying a computer monitor or laptop.
Glossy displays have more vivid color and contrast. Colors appear more intense and saturated, while blacks appear deeper. However, light shining on the display can cause extremely noticeable reflections. Sunlight is the worst case scenario — either direct sunlight outside or even just sunlight coming in through a window. Reflections can make a glossy display basically unusable in direct sunlight.
Matte screens have an anti-glare coating applied to them, so they’re much better at preventing reflections. It’s easier to see a matte screen in a bright room, whether you’re dealing with sunlight or just intense light from overhead fluorescent light bulbs in an office. The downside is that this coating makes colors appear a bit more dull.
Glossy displays tend to look better in stores where there are no bright lights to cause glare, but you may want a matte display if you plan on using the display in a bright room. Matte displays may counteract glare much better, but that doesn’t really matter if you’re never going to use it in a bright area.
In the below image, you can clearly see the difference — both in color and glare — between a matte Dell display on the left and a glossy Apple display on the right. Bear in mind that these are different monitors using different panels, so you can’t make a direct comparison. Not all of the difference in color is down to the matte or glossy coating, but it’s still instructive.
If you’re buying a monitor for a desktop computer and you always use its display in a room that isn’t extremely bright, you’ll probably want a glossy display for the more vibrant colors.
If you’re buying a laptop and might want to use it outdoors or in a bright room on sunny days, you’ll probably want a matte display. Even a matte display isn’t perfect here — in direct sunlight, you’re going to get some glare. It’s just less extreme on a matte display.
On the other hand, maybe you’re buying a desktop computer monitor for a bright room, whether it’s for a desk that gets direct sunlight or an office with bright overhead fluorescent light bulbs. You’ll probably want a matte display to reduce the glare.
You may also be buying a laptop that you intend on using indoors and out of direct sunlight, so you may prefer a glossy display with more intense colors versus the matte display and its anti-glare coating.
Let’s be honest — it’s tough to know exactly how you plan on using a display for its entire lifetime, especially if it’s a laptop. Maybe you want a matte display for the increased flexibility, or maybe you want a glossy display for the more vibrant colors. Either way it’s a trade-off.
In the photo below, bear in mind that the display on the left is on an older laptop, so you can’t directly compare the displays. The differences are due to much more than a glossy or matte coating.
There’s no end to this back-and-forth weighing of positives and negatives. It goes on and on, and it’s all a matter of personal preference and how you plan on using the display. There’s no one clear answer for everyone. If you think about it, you may find that there’s not even a clear answer for you.
If it were possible to flip a switch and change a display’s coating from glossy to matte, we’d probably switch between glossy and matte depending on the situation we found ourselves in. Sadly, it’s not — we have to pick one. (You can buy anti-glare screen films for some glossy displays, but you’re probably better off just getting a matte display in the first place if you’re going to do that.)
There’s not much you can do here besides look at displays in person, but even that won’t help much because the glossy display will look better in an electronics store where reflections and glare aren’t a factor. Actually using the different types of displays in your day to day life is the best way to really know what you want — and, even then, you may prefer different types of displays in different situations.
A few people even claim to prefer the colors on a matte display, saying that they’re too vivid on a glossy display. These people may just be used to matte displays, but they still have a real personal preference. This is a complicated choice.
When searching for the best TVs, one of the most important areas of consideration is the display. There are a few major areas of difference when it comes to matte vs glossy TV screens, and it’s important for any TV shopper to know what they are.
The main difference between glossy screens and matte screens lies in how each reflects light. Matte surfaces have an anti-glare coating feature built-in, whereas glossy displays don’t. Matte displays, absorbing more sunlight, have duller visuals but remain visible in the presence of intense light. In a controlled environment with little natural or bright light, glare isn’t noticeable in either. It’s when they are put in direct light that the difference is noticed. These differences are extremely noticeable, unlike the comparison of 1080i vs 1080p. And if you are wondering what are TV screens made of, we have an article you can check out as well.
If the screen in question needs to be used in direct sunlight, it would be a good idea to go with a matte screen. The reason is that a glossy surface in sunlight is nearly unusable, and a matte finish is designed for places with glares, similar to the difference between LED vs LCD TV screens.
However, if the screen in question is going to be used outside, in a room with lots of natural light, or somewhere with bright lights, it may be best to go with a TV screen with a matte display. Additionally, when cleaning your matte screen, ensure not to damage the anti-glare coating. Use a microfiber cloth to clean your screen. Whether you use high vs low-pile microfiber is up to your preference.
It’s commonly understood that when it comes to a bright display and depth of color, glossy screens are superior to a matte finish. This is why glossy screens remain relevant even though they are hard to use when exposed to bright light. Matte displays, on the other hand, do not produce vivid color or significant color depth. This should be taken into account if you want an HDR display so you can get the full benefit of HDR. Be sure to read our article to learn more about the benefits of HDR vs non-HDR TVs. For those considering a screen for gaming, it’s also essential to understand the differences between a monitor vs LED TV.
Because of the nature of the finish, matte screens are far better on the eyes whenever a glare is present. It’s better because a matte tv screen absorbs ambient light and doesn’t reflect into the viewer’s eyes. With glossy screens, the light bounces off of the screen and reflects into the retina. For this reason, the matte anti-glare screen is better for the eyes when comparing a glossy vs mirror-like TV. Your field of view will also have an effect on your eyes. If your TV is too large or your sitting too close, you may hurt your eyes trying to keep up with the action on the screen if it’s not directly in front of you. You can read more about this in our article on TV screen size comparison. Additionally, if you are in the market for a big-screen TV that is anti-glare, you can read our Samsung QN75Q80TAFXZC review and see if it suits your needs.
The effect a screen has on the eyes depends on the location of the screen. There won’t be much of a difference if it’s in an indoor room with little ambient light and bright light. However, if there is a glare, then matte screens are better because they don’t reflect any light into the viewer’s eyes.
Choosing a screen depends mainly on where you plan on using the screen and for what. For example, many recommend glossy screens for anything that involves bright displays, such as gaming, film, and anything with vibrant color. But if you plan to use the screen outdoors or with heavy light, matte screens are superior.
If you have a glossy screen and need to reduce the amount of glare, matte covers are available for purchase. However, this will affect the brightness of the display.
STAT:The level of brightness you should keep your screen at to keep eye strain to a minimum depends on the amount of ambient light in the room. (source)
If you are shopping for a brand new display, you may be comparing glossy vs matte screens. The best computer monitors, after all, tend to offer one of these screen types. You may also want to compare LCD vs LED monitors, especially if you’re keeping eye health in mind. But, keep reading to learn all about the differences between glossy screens and matte displays.
Glossy screens tend to offer slightly improved visuals, with better contrasts, vivid colors, and deeper blacks. They may work even better if you know the right brightness and contrast settings.
The main difference between these two types of monitors is the coating applied to the display itself. Otherwise, they are similar when it comes to what is underneath the hood. LCD displays can arrive with a glossy or matte coating and further differences will be subtle, such as when you are comparing 2K vs 4K computer monitors.
If you are trying out monitors in a store, be aware that the store will be perfectly lit to show off the benefits of a glossy display. In real life, that may not be the case.
Glossy displays tend to offer better color accuracy and more improved color saturation for enhanced image quality. This translates to deeper blacks and a slightly improved visual experience when compared to monitors with a matte finish. The graphics and visuals will be good no matter which you choose, however, such as when you are comparing computer monitors with HDMI vs DVI connection ports.
Though glossy displays do offer improved colors, this is only in ideal situations. When it comes to sunlight and glare, you will find that glossy screens are more susceptible than matte screens. As a matter of fact, the minimization of glare is one of the primary reasons people end up choosing matte displays. This natural glare-reducing functionality of a matte screen makes them a great fit for offices or rooms that get plenty of sunlight. An anti-glare feature thanks to a matte surface can also help reduce distractions and headaches from bright light, direct sunlight, or another glare-inducing light source.
Unfortunately, matte screens are more prone to blurry or hazy visuals, which can be a real bummer while playing games or when working as a creative professional. If you want to absolutely minimize the chances of blur, go for a glossy monitor and keep it in a room that does not attract too much sunlight.
In all other aspects, these two monitor types are extremely similar. You will find both at similar price points and the coating used to create a matte or glossy display will not impact performance in any way, so the refresh rates, response times, and input lag amount will be the same across both categories.
It may come in handy for graphic design, but it may not be necessary, depending on what kind of work you do. 4K monitors do, however, provide for vibrant colors no matter if you choose a glossy display or its matte counterpart.
When a display is advertised as being anti-glare, it is usually a matte display, as this type of monitor is treated with an anti-glare coating. This helps them resist glare caused by bright lights.
A: Each screen has its advantages and disadvantages, which is why manufacturers waver between the two. Glossy screens produce an image that"s generally regarded as "richer." Admittedly, that"s a nebulous term, but essentially it means there is more color depth and vibrancy. On the downside, glossy screens are more susceptible to glare, reflecting light from windows and light bulbs. And they tend to show fingerprints and smudges more readily, especially when they are off.
Matte screens tend to handle glare better, due to a polarized coating over the glass that diffuses ambient light. A side effect of the matte finish is a slight blurring, reduced contrast and a narrower viewing angle.
Which is better is a matter of environment and personal preference. If the screen is in a room that"s generally dark, consider a glossy finish. In a controlled environment it offers a best-case picture. But I wouldn"t be too afraid of a matte finish. Most of us use our screens in mixed light where the minor qualitative difference is offset by the anti-reflective benefit.
On phones, capacitive screens use a glass layer. Apple extended the glass layer to the laptops because it looked better (probably because matte screens looked worse than phones). Before them the screens were matte. Of course, everybody copied Apple and introduced glossy screens, because when looking at a glossy and a matte screen next to one another (in a shop) the glossy will win. And of course, everybody introduced glossy screens without the anti-reflection coating that Apple uses (cargo cult), so it made everything worse.
There was a time period when you had to really search for a non-glossy screen. Now it"s a bit better, you can find them, but the touchscreen ones will always be glossy, and I did not yet see an OLED without glossy screen (could be because they are more fragile, although folding OLEDs do exist, so it"s not clear).
I used to do volume specs of laptops for a big enterprise as a side duty. The glossy displays became a thing ~2005. If you had a spec that incorporated brightness, glossy would always win.
Grousing about Apple is always fun, but I’m sure they would happily charge you $500 for an enhanced matte panel if anyone cared about it... nobody does.
As a developer, I could not use a glossy screen for the life of me. Thankfully there are many laptops with matte screen. I keep an up to date collection of them on Product Chart:
Unless we discover a type of glass that lets light pass in only one direction, this divide between matte and glossy screens will probably continue up to the day we all wear VR headsets.
Coming now to other motivations, a glossy screen at the point of sale: A Macbook with a glossy screen in a shiny Apple Store is just way more impressive and will trigger more impulse buys. It"s like a jewel or expensive watch sparkling in all its glory at you. Glossy screens go also seamlessly to the edges or in other words, there is no bumpy plastic edge which just looks more like a slick and polished product. In contrast, ThinkPads are more of an enterprise product and not in need to trigger impulse buys + need to signal "hey I am workhorse for professional users" => matte screen. But be aware that Lenovo puts glossy screens on very similar specced Yoga models which target consumers and are found at the point of sales. Those models have also more showy aluminium cases while the Thinkpads have also beautiful cases but their beauty is more of a subtly beauty which needs longer to lure buyers into a buy (if they aren"t loyal ThinkPad users already). To drive this even further, Lenovo recently introduced alu-cased Thinkpads and a new subbrand "Thinkbooks" to target really any user out there. So, matte or glossy is more about demographics and their value system and beliefs than about functionality.
Last advantage which most forget: High-dpi screens have eg way crisper fonts on glossy than on matte, hence are overall sharper, eg code or a terminal on a 300dpi glossy screen is just incredible (check out 4K 13-14 inch notebooks or Dells 8K 32 inch).
In addition to laptop and 20inch matte lcd monitor, I also have 43inch TV that I use to discuss design with my partner. It"s good for short term, but I still prefer my matte screens for long usage.
- anti-reflective: colors almost as vivid as glossy, difficult to care for, costly. Not really difficult (warm water and soft cloth) but more difficult than the general public can do. Used on high-end displays/TVs.
You can tell the difference between anti-glare and anti-reflective as one has more texture/grain vs smooth. Also when looking at the reflection of a point source of light, the anti-reflective will dim the point, the anti-glare will spread it out like a ball, which is why it washes out in bright ambient light.
For a high resolution mobile screen only glossy and anti-reflective would give a good image in wide range of lighting (assuming you can shuffle to avoid reflections). Care and cost prohibit anti-reflective.
Some of the flashier models from the Apple wannabe manufacturers are starting to go glossy or have a glass overlay, especially if they have a touchscreen, but the vast majority of laptop displays are still matte.
But credit where it"s due... it is nice to be able to take a damp rag to it, vs. having a mild heart attack any time someone gets their fingers a little too close while pointing at something.
- laptops are purchased by consumers and are shiny and modern looking. Personally I think glossy sucks, but it"s like buying a shiny clean car when you see it in the store.
- monitors meanwhile, are very large and will not fall "in your shadow" so to speak. You will see everything behind you. Even with a matte screen, I have to turn off lights behind me to see dark ares on the screen, like when watching a movie.
Screens and monitors are great and all, but the problematic thing about them with a lot of people is that they’re made of glass – highly reflective, shiny glass that is.
The average person, even avid users of tech, doesn’t spend that much time looking at a screen during the day, so even though they may have other issues related to prolonged use they wouldn’t have an issue with some shine.
For the people who have hobbies or jobs involving said prolonged use however, screen glares and reflections could be a big hassle when one has to look at a monitor for longer periods of time, for example:
In short, highly reflective monitors are not as liked and as preferred as their matte counterparts by many people looking at screens for longer periods. (gamers, office workers, etc.)
The main purpose of all of those shiny screens is exactly to be as shiny and as reflective as possible so they look fancy, expensive and of pristine, premium quality.
The screens being shiny and not having any matte coating on top has its technical aspects as well, but the primary reason why you will barely find any matte screens in mainstream tech these days, especially with smartphones and touch screens all around us, is product image. After all, we all love good shiny, glossy gadgets don’t we?
Luckily for avid computer users, matte alternatives and anti-glare products exist to combat and offer competition to the sometimes painful to use shiny screens.
Older varieties of anti-glare filters were mesh filters giving the appearance of a nylon screen – although effective they caused severe degradation in image quality, so they weren’t quite the perfect solution and alternative.
Filters these days are manufactured from polycarbonate or acrylic plastic, giving the screen that matte finish without compensating with image quality or clarity.
While glossy screens may cause distortions due to reflections and glare, they have been reported to display images more clearly and colors like black deeper and more saturated, while their matte counterparts tend to water down colors and make images fuzzy sometimes.
While matte screens are better for tasks like gaming or office use, glossy screens, in a controlled environment and properly lit, can be very beneficial to tasks like graphic design or photography – duties requiring clarity of image.
Seems like glossy screens, while producing images with better quality, colors and clarity, have the issue of being rendered unusable in any light condition other than perfect and are major fingerprint magnets, while matte screens combat those same issues, but can compensate by not delivering the best image quality.
In a perfect world there would be a matte screen that doesn’t cause any irritation through shine and glare, has a killer image quality and color accuracy, and is not a fingerprint magnet, and maybe someday we will have such a monitor, but until then we can only do as much as pick the best option for our specific needs.
Glossy or matte, users should pick the monitor they think suits them best and doesn’t compensate with ease of use, their user experience or their health.
Each screen has its advantages and disadvantages, which is why manufacturers waver between the two. Glossy screens produce an image that’s generally regarded as “richer.” Admittedly, that’s a nebulous term, but essentially it means there is more color depth and vibrancy. On the downside, glossy screens are more susceptible to glare, reflecting light from windows and light bulbs. And they tend to show fingerprints and smudges more readily, especially when they are off.
Glossy and matte displays use the same LCD panels. The only real difference between these two types of displays is the coating applied to the screen. In controlled situations, glossy and matte displays will look fairly similar.
A glossy display is an electronic display with a glossy surface. In certain light environments glossy displays provide better color intensity and contrast ratios than matte displays. The primary disadvantage of these displays is their tendency to reflect any external light, often resulting in an undesirable glare.
Matte screens tend to handle glare better, due to a polarized coating over the glass that diffuses ambient light. A side effect of the matte finish is a slight blurring, reduced contrast and a narrower viewing angle.
Unfortunately no plasma TV since 2008 has had a matte screen, and while new antireflective materials might help, none handles glare as well as matte LCDs. Even less fortunately, the flagship (read: best-performing) LCDs from many makers, especially Sony and Samsung, sport glossy screens, so you might have to choose between superior bright-room (matte) and dark-room (glossy) performance. Hey, at least neither company charges extra for matte like Apple does.
If you"re in the market for a gaming monitor and looking for something with a little more pizzazz, we"ve got some good news: we"re now offering our Spectrum monitors with two display options: a matte coating and a glossy coating! But what"s the difference?
TLDR: if you can control the lighting of your environments, such as your home office or game room, always go for the glossy monitor because it helps to bring richer colors and deeper black. But a matter monitor is a safer option if you"re in open environments with lots of lights.
A monitor display comprises different layers influencing the image and user experience. The backlight layer is responsible for illuminating the screen; the LCD layer is accountable for producing the image. The display panel"s top layer protects the panel from its environment. It also dramatically influences reflections and color performance. So when people mention matte monitors or glossy monitors, they often refer to the top layer of the monitor"s display panel.
A matte monitor has anelectronic displaywith a matte anti-glare coating. Matte monitors feature a light-scattering anti-reflection layer, which reduces reflectivity at the cost of decreased contrast and color intensity under dimly lit conditions.
A glossy monitor has anelectronic displaywith a glossy coating. A glossy monitor is coated with a layer of clear plastic during the manufacturing process, which appears as a much shinier surface. This allows the panel lights to pass through the screen transparently.
Most of the screens that we interact with daily use some form of glossy finish. Take modern TVs, laptops, phones, and smartwatches – they rock a display with a glossy coating or cover glass (usually treated with an anti-reflective solution) to achieve higher contrast ratios and better image clarity. Conversely, conventional wisdom dictates that people want matte displays only in the gaming monitor industry.
If you"re using a modern monitor reading this, chances are it has a matte coating. This is the most widely-used finish for IPS gaming monitors, as it scatters external light as it hits the surface of the display. Breaking up the light in this way reduces the intensity of reflections and makes them less likely to interfere with the image on the screen. As a result, your content"s visibility improves if your monitor is affected by strong direct or ambient light.
As you don"t have to focus "through" intense reflections or glare to see the image, a matte monitor potentially reduces eyestrain and increases comfort. This is important if one is working or gaming for a long time. But remember that this only applies when your setups are in environments with ambient lights.
As a downside, the diffusing nature of this matte layer will also diffuse the image from the monitor itself a little, causing a slight reduction in sharpness and affecting color and contrast. Think of how frosted glass doesn"t reflect what"s on your side, but also doesn"t show you what"s on the other side as clearly. This layer also affects the light emitted by the monitor itself. Because of this, the visible brightness is reduced, which also leads to slightly muted colors.
To achieve a matte effect, manufacturers apply an anti-glare (AG) film to the monitor"s screen during the panel production process. This AG film diffuses light that hits the screen"s surface, resulting in reduced glare and improved visibility against directly lit light sources. In effect, it minimizes distractions by diffusing reflections and is ideal when you have little control over the lights in your environment. Or if reflections and fingerprints on the monitor would drive you up the wall, go for a matte monitor.
We were surprised that many consumers wanted glossy monitors during our crowd-development process. Some people even mentioned that for one who is able to experience the glossy monitor, it"s hard to go back. The demand is seemingly strong, but there is little reaction on the supply side. Very few brands venture into the production of glossy monitors, not to mention glossy gaming monitors. Currently, the most notable brand that offers glass-coated screens is Apple with its display line, including many iMac models that mainly target creatives and designers. Before our glossy project launch was announced at the beginning of 2022 and by the time I am writing this article, no other gaming hardware brands had entered into this venture.
Throughout the development process of the glossy monitor, we could confirm that the main reason is because of the huge amount of additional R&D and factory recalibration required. In our case, it required LG to re-calibrate its fully automated LCD assembly line and changes to the certification process, tuning color performance, and conducting durability testing; it was not easy. Neither was our effort to convince LG. We guess it"s enough, for now, to make you curious about why we spent tons of effort on working and developing the glossy monitors. Here they are:
We describe the technical aspects in the post named Project: Spectrum | Reflecting on Reflections on our community. But the best way to explain the difference and benefits would be to have a matte monitor and a glossy monitor side by side. Luckily, TFT Central did an amazing job of creating close-up analysis with a camera and a digital microscope.
As shown below, the text on a matte screen has a small amount of blur to the edges caused by the anti-glare coating. In contrast, the text is sharper and crisper on a glossy screen than on a matte screen.
The most significant benefit of a glossy monitor is that it provides a more accurate representation of the colors you"re trying to display (especially blacks!). If color accuracy and contrast are essential to you - whether for gaming, graphic design, or other professional use - then a glossy monitor may be a better choice.
"From the moment I booted upDestiny 2,it was clear: This is the best HDR picture I"ve seen on a monitor. That should show just how powerful the monitor finish is on the final product. The contrast is deep and moody, the colors pop off the screen in a way I"ve never seen before, and the brightness is only rivaled by a display like the Alienware 34 QD-OLED."
However, just like any other technology, there are trade-offs to consider based on your use case. Because glossy monitors reflect light without dispersing, so they can appear more distracting in brightly lit environments (i.e., it"s more mirror-like compared to matte). If you often find yourself working or playing games in direct sunlight or under fluorescent lights, you may want to stick with a matte finish.
Some gamers will prefer the look and feel of a matte monitor, while others will prefer the increased clarity of a glossy monitor. So, it comes down to personal preference, which is why we let you choose your coating when buying a Spectrum monitor.
We are very familiar with the glossy coating of TVs and mobile devices. However, it was not applied to gaming monitors until the Dough Spectrum. The implementation requires recalibration of the production line that gaming manufacturers are seemingly unwilling to commit to. But the beauty of our crowd development is that provided there is enough demand for it; we are here to make it happen. And we did.After extensive research on reflections, we had the fantastic opportunity to work on an exclusive glossy project with our display manufacturing partner, LG Displays.In December, we probed your interest in a glossy screen and got your strong support to make it. In February, we officially confirmed that we would offer glossy coating variants to our Spectrum line-up. Finally, we began shipping the first units out to our customers in July. If you"re still undecided whether a glossy monitor is right for you,check out the detailed third-party reviews comparing the differences.
You may have seen that for some laptop models, replacement screens are offered in a MATTE or GLOSS finish. Some brands of laptop will only take either MATTE or GLOSS as a replacement. Other models of laptop are capable of taking either. When purchasing a replacement laptop screen you may be offered a choice. In these circumstances you´ll need to be armed with a little knowledge :)
A glossy laptop screen is an electronic display with a gloss surface finish. The gloss surface finish is a highly polished shiny finish. At the time of writing glossy displays are mostly considered an upgrade option for many laptops that come only with MATTE laptop screen as standard.
In certain light environments, such as at home with low light conditions, viewing the screen in bed or on a train for example, a Glossy finish screen will display better colour intensity and contrast ratios than a standard MATTE screen. The blacks look black and colours appear strong and vibrant.
The disadvantage of using a high gloss laptop screen is that although many glossy LCDs use an optical coating to reduce reflection, they often product a glare in bright light, reflecting ambient light sources around them. In addition the highly polished finish is prone to finger marks and smudging, however unlike the rough finish found on MATTE screens, glossy finish screens are far easier to clean.
Matte laptop screen is an electronic display with a roughed surface. The surface of the display is roughed, rather than being polished to give a light scattering anti glare surface. Some laptop models will only take replacement screens in MATTE, others will have a MATTE or GLOSS option.
Matte displays are typically fitted to machines that are designed to be used in brightly lit environments, such as in brightly lit offices or outside in bright sunlight. Be warned however, in very bright lighting or direct sunlight, MATTE screens can disperse the light across the entire LCD panel and become unreadable.
The roughing effect on the surface of a MATTE screen means the surface isn´t flat. This "rocky" surface, reflects external light in different directions, diffusing a bright light source that would otherwise cause a "glare" on a GLOSSY laptop screen.
Because of the roughened surface of a MATTE screen, colours do not appear as vibrant as with a GLOSS replacement laptop screen and the contrast ratios are not as good. Blacks can often appear as a washed out grey colour, oranges and reds can appear faded and lacking in life. In addition, a very slight "blurring" can be noticed as the accuracy of the display is slightly impaired by the roughened polorised finish of the display.
On the left hand side we have a GlOSSY screen, notice the reflection of the surrounding ambient light. On the right hand side we have a MATTE screen. notice how the light is diffused rather than being reflected.
Matte and Gloss laptop screens both have their advantages and disadvantages, which is the reason why we often have a choice of both. We would recommend MATTE screens for people travelling with their work. Working on spreadsheets and documents on the move is far easier without the reflections of a Gloss Screen.
Matte screens make use of plastic surfaces, which are made up of a number of different polymers, and pass them through an etching process. This process creates a huge number of indentations or groves on the surface of the screen, which is why screens that have a matte finish (as well as anti-glare coating) diffuse instead of reflecting light, which is quite effective against reflections (you might experience some glare from time to time but it would be nowhere near the full effect you would experience if you were using a glossy screen) which means that eye strain would not be an issue.
However it does make the picture appear a bit fuzzy and due to the fact that matte finish also blocks some of the screen light output, you might also notice a drop in image illumination, details, contrast and colors may not be as lively as compared to glossy screen.
You might have also seen the words ‘semi-glossy ’ used to describe some screen, but such screens essentially have a matte finish, which is a tad bit smoother and a low haze surface (which means reflections are not an issue).
Screens that have a glossy finish are quite reflective, which means if you own such a display, you will have to adjust the lights in your surroundings in order to terminate or at least minimize reflections. These reflections are the main reason why users who own glossy displays suffer more from eye strain (in comparison to matte screen owners).However these displays do have an amazing picture quality due to the fact that there is no additional graininess.
Fortunately some glossy display manufacturers offer features such as anti-glare or anti-reflective treatments, which do help in reducing reflections without disturbing the picture quality too much, however such displays are still prone to reflections in well-lit rooms or outside.
Unfortunately, display manufactures don’t usually include information regarding the screen type or the coating on it. This can be due to the fact that it is difficult to describe the coating type as it is very subjective, what is too reflective for some, might not be to others and similarly what might be too grainy to some might not be for others.
Regarding matte displays, you would be lucky to find any information regarding the anti-glare or reflective properties, haze value or surface texture or smoothness.
It is, however, noted if and when a monitor offers a glossy display along with anti-glare or anti-reflective properties, but it is quite rare to find such monitors.
So in order to choose your ideal display it is best if you use the monitor beforehand, to see if it fits your needs and doesn’t reflect much or doesn’t cause much (if any) eye strain (according to your opinion). Displays that offer medium anti-glare matte finish suit most people as they help to reduce reflections with distorting the image quality too badly
When it comes to purchasing a laptop, the choice of display type is an important decision. The most common laptop screen types are Matte vs Glossy laptop screens.
Glossy laptop screens are known for their high-contrast screens that are more aesthetically pleasing, while matte laptop screens are loved for their accurate colors that are less blinding in the sunlight. The difference between glossy and matte laptop screens has become an issue of screen preference.
Is the matte finish on laptops for you? These are slowly becoming more popular these days, but glossy displays are still extremely popular among consumers. Which will work best for you? This article, medCPU will help you decide between the two.
A glossy display has a smoother outer layer of polarizing than a matte one. This smooth surface does not diffuse ambient light but instead reflects it very directly. The monitor’s light is not affected by strong diffusion processes.
Apart from the reflections, the image looks richer, brighter, and more natural. Modern glossy polarizing films often have an anti-reflective chemical coating, such as magnesium fluoride and special polymers.
This helps to absorb some of the ambient sunlight. Samsung’s glossy models feature screen surfaces that are laced with silver nanoparticles, a technique known as the Ultra Clear Panel. This coating is intended to absorb some ambient light slightly higher than traditional anti-reflective chemicals without affecting image performance.
Glossy screens have vivid colors that are accurate, bright, and contrasty. The pictures and colors look excellent. Photos on glossy are clear and void of texture.
Smudges and dust can look bad on your screen, so you need to clean them up regularly. Because the glossy display has a smooth surface, dust particles can be easily wiped off. It is possible to remove dirt and stains without using distilled water.
A reflection of an object on a glossy screen can cause distractions during work. These reflections can make it difficult to see what is actually on the screen.
The eyes are negatively affected by the glossy display. The glare from glossy displays can degenerate the eyes nerve. Your eyes will become tired and strain if you stare at a glossy screen display for too long.
A display screen surface is composed of an outer polarizing layer honed by mechanical and sometimes additional chemical processes. This surface can be made using either multi-layered spluttering or multiple passes of dip coating, optionally with chemical surface treatments.
We won’t go into the details of each coating process, but we will discuss the desired result. This allows for a matte display finish that diffuses ambient light rather than reflecting it to the viewer. A smooth surface works more like a mirror. Anti-glare is a name that has become synonymous with this type of screen.
These distracting reflections can be reduced or eliminated by matte displays. The matte display’s anti-glare surface provides a high-quality image when placed in direct sunlight or under intense light.
If someone is constantly working on a laptop and stares at it for long periods, they should not risk their eyesight. The matte screen acts as an eye protector and reduces harmful rays. This does not mean that a matte display laptop can be used for close proximity to the display.
Matte displays are not as accurate in color accuracy as glossy displays. Every color, especially white, looks a little blurred on a matte display. The matte screen displays a weaker image quality, and they are reduced color vibrancy than on a glossy display.
Protector covers can be used to minimize or reduce the glare from glossy displays. Anti-glare glasses can be worn to minimize eye strain and muscle degeneration.
The matte screen’s main drawback is its inability to display color. Images will look hazy. You can adjust the brightness of your laptop to compensate. A matte display laptop display will require you to increase the brightness. This will make colors appear richer and improve image quality.
Both Matte vs glossy screen shares the same LCD panels. Only the coating on the screen is what makes these displays different. In controlled environments, matte and glossy displays will look very similar.
The main difference between matte screens and glossy displays is the anti-glare feature. It eliminates the glare from light reflections by being matte. Contrary to popular belief, matte screens don’t have any additional material between the LCD panel surface.
Here’s the deal. It’s not a new invention. It sounds just like it. But matte displays remove the extra material that is used in glossy screens. The different panel at the top of glossy screens is called the shiny panel. This additional panel diffuses reflections by using anti-reflective treatments.
The texture of the screen, aside from the presence of an additional panel, is quite different. The matte screen feels smoother than the glossy-clean finish. It is easy to slide your fingers across it. These are all great, but matte displays have their flaws too.
Anti-glare comes at a cost. A matte display looks duller and doesn’t give off a bright display as often. It is a subdued and grainy version. The matte screen is not recommended for those who love high-definition displays.
The first thing you need to think about is where it will be used. A matte display is better if your laptop will be used outdoors often. It would not be easy to adjust to the reflections all day. It can also cause eye irritation.
On the other hand, a glossy screen is a good option if you plan to use it in controlled areas with little sunlight. The main reason you don’t want a glossy screen is because of the glare. If you remove the cause, that will solve the problem.
A glossy screen is not necessary if the purpose of your computer is to send emails, write notes or create books. Even a matte display is a good option, as you won’t be using it for anything other than answering emails.
The graphics must be your top priority if you are going to play games. High-definition screens allow you to see more clearly. A glossy screen is better in this situation. It is essential to play indoors and away from natural light, as you will be able to see the glare on your screen.
Shiny screens can artificially darken the color, making it appear brighter. You’ll be surprised at how bright they are when transferred to matte displays.
There is always a personal preference. Your preference will win, regardless of all the positive and negative attributes. A matte screen will not be recommended if you are an artist who prefers bright screens.
The matte screen is a better option for the eyes because it reflects less light and does not emit as much radiation. Matte displays also have a sharper picture.
You can also see details in photos and movies that you wouldn’t see with a glossy screen. This is because the reflections from the surface of the screen help you to see more, but in a bright environment, your brain can’t filter out all the extra light and you will still get eye strain and fatigue.
Matte displays are better for laptops because they are less reflective. This means that the picture you see on the screen is sharper and clearer. There is less glare and bright ambient light in a matte screen because it reduces reflections and glare.
Matte is better for farming because it doesn’t show fingerprints. When you touch your screen it leaves fingerprints on the screen. When you see your screen on a glossy surface it shows fingerprints and smudges.
One of the best ways to tell is by looking at the reflection of the environment on the screen. If you see a lot of light reflections, it’s probably glossy monitor. If you see the colors more vividly, it’s probably a matte display.
Matte is better for scrapbooking. In general, matte screens have better contrast and detail when you look at the screen from a normal viewing angle. When you turn your head to look at it from a different angle, a glossy screen will cause a rainbow effect.
You can reduce glare on your laptop screen by using a matte screen protector. Certain matte screen protectors have an anti-glare feature. If you are only using the computer to surf the web or email, then there is no need for an anti-glare screen protector.
Many people think that a glossy screen is better for gaming because the colors are more vibrant. However, it is hard to see in bright lights. Some people find it harder to play games on a glossy screen because the colors blend together.
Apple has always been considered a higher-end brand, and they know that people are more likely to purchase their products if the screens are clear. Apple strives to make sure its products are modern, sleek, and easy to use.
For those who prefer a softer and less glare-y screen, matte screens are perfect. The downside to this type of screen is that it has a much narrower viewing angle than glossy screens and does not display colors as vividly. On the other hand, glossy screens offer a much wider viewing angle and display colors in much greater detail. The only downside to these screens is that they do emit more glare.
Both matte vs glossy screens have their own benefits, but glossy screens typically show better colors and last longer. Matte screens are much less reflective than glossy ones, which is good for using the computer when it’s just you in the room. If you’re looking for a laptop for heavy use in public places, you should find one with a high-quality gloss finish.