Do you prefer glossy monitors or monitors with AR film applied?

Do you prefer glossy monitors or monitors with AR film applied?

  • Prefer Glossy

    Votes: 74 44.8%

  • Prefer Anti-Reflection Film Applied

    Votes: 91 55.2%
  • Total voters
    165
V

Vega

Supreme [H]ardness
Joined
Oct 12, 2004
Messages
7,143
Just polling to get the feeling about the two panel types these days.
 
love glossy screens, but no one seems to make them any more.
 
I generally prefer glossy, so long as I'm not forced to use one in an environment where it results in a bright reflection from a light or a window or similar being blasted right into my eyes.
 
bcham said:
love glossy screens, but no one seems to make them any more.
Click to expand...

Ya I definitely prefer glossy in a light controlled environment. Much more vivid and clear. I am thinking about doing more AR film removal for people but not sure if the risk vs reward is worth it.
 
i went with anti reflective since i hate the sun on my screen when i come home from work .. windows on my room face east

glossy does look better ..in some rooms ... but i hate background glare of the sun ..even moved my desk to the furthest west part of my house .. so i can use my blinds to kill any sun glare
 
I hate glossy in most environments, to put it bluntly. Most of the time, it looks like I'm staring at background lights and my own face instead of the screen, such that I wonder if people like buying bitten fruit notebooks so they can see their own faces while they use 'em. That crap's really distracting.

It takes a good AG film like what you used to find on old FD Trinitron CRTs to make it tolerable without adding grain, which is what people hate about matte coatings in the first place, I think.

Granted, I'm not one of those people who minds the matte coating on a Cintiq Companion Hybrid (actually done via factory-applied screen protector, if you look carefully) or FG2421, and on the former, it has a distinct purpose in adding surface friction for a more pen-on-paper feel. Still, I know one guy hated it on the Cintiq Companion 2 so much that he ordered a custom glossy screen protector to replace the stock one, surface friction be damned.
 
GLOSSY all the way

There is a reason all high end TV's use glossy glass screens(and Apple monitors for that matter). Color perception is night and day with Gloss vs Matte. Still don't understand why monitor manufacturers don't get this
 
Laminated glass with an anti-reflective coating.
The higher resolution the screen is, the worse a matte coating tends to look.

Those 'moth eye' coatings seemed like an interesting alternative to traditional matte screens, but never really seemed to pan out. I think the coating was too fragile.
 
Gloss.
Colours have more pop and pixels are clearer.
 
A few years ago I would have voted glossy. Loved the imac displays. If you're in the dark there's nothing better than glossy, but it's kind of depressing to work in that kind of environment during the day at least. You could just crank up the brightness to 100% and try to fight light with light but that only does so much.

I know the old 3m "hard" coating was trash and made whites look dirty. There's a less aggressive coating now that is much more tolerable but It's hard to tell which monitors have what. I've had good luck with the newer NEC displays.
 
I prefer gloss and have removed the AG from 5 monitors so far. It seems that only IPS panels get the "graining" issue for some weird reason? never had a problem with TN panels graining (Graining is an issue on some monitors after you remove the AG the polarizer starts "cracking" or splitting). There is a difference in picture quality between matte and gloss.

Here is a picture to those that say "There is no difference in image quality between matte and glossy" 16113411_1188451047934581_4240905076452601898_o.jpg


I think glossy with AR treated glass like what you see on the new Apple computers would be nice. You also see the same coating on video monitors and camera lenses.
 
Last edited:
I'd prefer no coating, but I'll take a light AG coating.
MagnaMagicBtu said:
I prefer gloss and have removed the AG from 5 monitors so far. It seems that only IPS panels get the "graining" issue for some weird reason? never had a problem with TN panels graining. There is a difference in picture quality between matte and gloss.

Here is a picture to those that say "There is no difference in image quality between matte and glossy" View attachment 21039


I think glossy with AR treated glass like what you see on the new Apple computers would be nice. You also see the same coating on video monitors and camera lenses.
Click to expand...
I've never had a monitor with an AG coating where white did not appear white like in your photo. But manufacturers using IPS panels have a nasty habit of using heavy AG coatings. I guess they think it's a good alternative to an A-TW polarizer?
 
Armenius said:
I'd prefer no coating, but I'll take a light AG coating.

I've never had a monitor with an AG coating where white did not appear white like in your photo. But manufacturers using IPS panels have a nasty habit of using heavy AG coatings. I guess they think it's a good alternative to an A-TW polarizer?
Click to expand...
If you remove the AG and compare before and after the matte film will look "dirty" compared to the naked panel.
 
Without light-glare being present, I definitely prefer glossy. The problem is, light will then reflect off the monitor.


bcham said:
love glossy screens, but no one seems to make them any more.
Click to expand...

I think you can make any anti-glare monitor screen glossy by opening the monitor up, and removing the anti-glare film.
 
not going to open my new acer xr342 curved wide screen, not yet anyway.
 
Keeping a desk up against the wall like a bookshelf is like a catcher's mitt for light pollution no matter what kind of coating you have.
lcd-glare_ag-vs-glossy.jpg



uUaXtsN.png


http://i119.photobucket.com/albums/o139/callsign_vega/PICT0021-1.jpg~original

(credit Vega on 2nd and 3rd one)


I keep my 3 panel desk facing out from the corner like a help desk or command center. That way, all direct light sources are behind the backs of the monitors. I keep a floor lamp on each end of the desk in line just behind them for desk area lighting, and I don't allow any overhead lighting above or behind where I sit. In this way, any reflections are greatly minimized and direct light sources laser-beaming directly off whatever monitor surface you have is eliminated. The gain from having a clear glossy panel is far too great to pass up.

Unfortunately, glossy isn't always a given option anymore on gaming monitors like on my pg278Q coming from a much more lush glossy samsung 120hz 750D. I have a glossy cinema display on the side of the same desk. My laptop is also a glossy asus, my tablet is a glossy oled samsung tab s2, and my phone a glossy oled samsung note 5.

Another thing to consider is that people go through all of the trouble to calibrate their monitors, then they allow the lighting in the room to shift. Your eyes perceive contrast and saturation differently with different ambient light bias so when the lighting shifts the display values are trashed (e.g. Very bright conditions make the monitor look pale and de-saturated, and vice versa.) The easiest ways to eliminate or at least minimize this shift is by either keeping the room dark, keeping adjustable lighting to maintain the same light level throughout the day and night, or keeping several saved sets of monitor settings and switching them to suit the ambient lighting at any given time.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Pirx
like this
Yup elvn, light control is important for any monitor. I just got in my 32" HP Specter with gloss screen. Looks so much better than my other displays with AR film. I think I'll de-AR film all my others!
 
I like to surf the web on my roof top shrine to "RA The Sun God," which is surrounded by Fresnel lenses all directing burning beams of concentrated sunlight directly at my display screen. Then I like to go online and complain about glossy screens being the bane of all existence.

Thankfully ALL of the manufactures hear my dilemma and go out of their way to AG coat the living shit out of everything.

NO....I prefer Glossy. Yall that like AG need glasses and a full mental evaluation :)
 
MATTE FINISH OR DIE!!!

That's pretty clear, right? Get it? Clear? :D
 
Vega said:
Yup elvn, light control is important for any monitor. I just got in my 32" HP Specter with gloss screen. Looks so much better than my other displays with AR film. I think I'll de-AR film all my others!
Click to expand...

Is the HP specter a glossy display or did you just delam it? The only 4K display I know of that's even a semi-gloss is my 40" 4K Philips. Do you known of any others that are full or semi gloss?
 
I preferred glossy up until the last year or 2, but voted AG because they are getting better every year and now I rather have no glare.
 
People need to stop calling matte finishes "anti-glare".
Matte finishes diffuse reflections on the surface of the display, which causes glare.
You can see through the reflections on a glossy display, while reflections on a matte finish obscure what is underneath.

Here's a matte-finished PG348Q compared against a 46" Sony TV with AR-coated glass that is laminated to the panel.
Both are calibrated to 100 nits brightness and sRGB gamut.
MMJTFSu.jpg


I'm almost tempted to try and remove the cover glass from the PG348Q, as it does not appear to be laminated to the LCD panel.
And if you look closely at the corners you can even see that it's a matte film which has been applied, not etched glass, so it might also be possible to remove the film without having to remove the cover glass.
Removing the matte film but not the cover glass would probably be really bad though - but then so is a completely untreated glossy display. I don't know that I'd recommend it.
The AR coating that the TV has makes a huge difference to how noticeable the reflections are compared untreated glass. It really helps dull the reflections.
At least the matte film used on the PG348Q doesn't seem to have a lot of speckle like many do. I've seen much worse.

There is something that I like about a good matte-finished screen when used as a monitor though - so long as you can position it to avoid the main sources of glare.
It's still going to be lower contrast in a bright room, but it's nice to not have direct reflections all over the display.
I obviously don't sit at that angle when using the screens, so the windows are not going to be hitting them directly like they do in this photo. That was just to show that a matte finish is the opposite of "anti-glare".
Sitting in front of the displays, I get a clear reflection of myself in the TV, but a diffused haze with the PG348Q which can be easier on the eyes.
Matte vs glossy often depends on the use and viewing environment rather than one always being better than the other.
It's a shame that those 'moth-eye' coatings never seemed to work out, as they seemed to be a good balance between the two extremes.
 
Seyumi said:
Is the HP specter a glossy display or did you just delam it? The only 4K display I know of that's even a semi-gloss is my 40" 4K Philips. Do you known of any others that are full or semi gloss?
Click to expand...

The 32" HP Specter is like 90% glossy. It has some sort of coating applied but for all intents and purposes is glossy.
 
zone74 said:
People need to stop calling matte finishes "anti-glare".
Matte finishes diffuse reflections on the surface of the display, which causes glare.
You can see through the reflections on a glossy display, while reflections on a matte finish obscure what is underneath.

Here's a matte-finished PG348Q compared against a 46" Sony TV with AR-coated glass that is laminated to the panel.
Both are calibrated to 100 nits brightness and sRGB gamut.
MMJTFSu.jpg


I'm almost tempted to try and remove the cover glass from the PG348Q, as it does not appear to be laminated to the LCD panel.
And if you look closely at the corners you can even see that it's a matte film which has been applied, not etched glass, so it might also be possible to remove the film without having to remove the cover glass.
Removing the matte film but not the cover glass would probably be really bad though - but then so is a completely untreated glossy display. I don't know that I'd recommend it.
The AR coating that the TV has makes a huge difference to how noticeable the reflections are compared untreated glass. It really helps dull the reflections.
At least the matte film used on the PG348Q doesn't seem to have a lot of speckle like many do. I've seen much worse.

There is something that I like about a good matte-finished screen when used as a monitor though - so long as you can position it to avoid the main sources of glare.
It's still going to be lower contrast in a bright room, but it's nice to not have direct reflections all over the display.
I obviously don't sit at that angle when using the screens, so the windows are not going to be hitting them directly like they do in this photo. That was just to show that a matte finish is the opposite of "anti-glare".
Sitting in front of the displays, I get a clear reflection of myself in the TV, but a diffused haze with the PG348Q which can be easier on the eyes.
Matte vs glossy often depends on the use and viewing environment rather than one always being better than the other.
It's a shame that those 'moth-eye' coatings never seemed to work out, as they seemed to be a good balance between the two extremes.
Click to expand...

I've always hated glossy displays with a passion because I can't get away from rooms with windows. Hate the mirror reflection. Hate it. Sure get one for your theater but I'll never understand how anyone could want one particularly on a laptop.
 
I have both a glossy and Matte monitor. I bought the gloss for personal use and the matte for work and ultimately this suites the respective usages fine. Because i usually use my gloss monitor in darker settings, the glare isn't as bad, but can be a major pain with too many light sources around. When using it with the lights on, its is very distracting. Where as using the anti-glare monitor works perfectly fine here.

Ultimately the gloss finish is a bit too much considering i have the lights on often or use it during the daytime. As such I'm upgrading to a anti-glare monitor for personal usage.
 
Depends on the monitor. Most people swore up and down that the old GDM-FW900 looked better with the AR taken off. I did it to mine and immediately regretted it. Though, in my opinion, Sony's old AR coating on their CRT's are worlds better than any LCD's I've ever seen. They have none of that matte bullshit that the newer screens have. I've yet to see an LCD monitor that has "antiglare" that rivals the old Sony Trinitron AR systems.
 
There is a reason that profressional, technicolor certified monitors include ambient light sensing tech that adjusts color/contrast settings so they are maintained to suit varying ambient light and why they usually include a monitor hood.

Glaze or frost coating is not the solution for real image clarity. Any screen is compromised by direct lighting hitting the surface.
 
Anti-glare. The %$#&(* $#@(*$ %#&($* %#@*&($ %#&@(*$ mirror effect is more obnoxious than the worst matte covers I've seen.
 
Can't stand reflections at all, and glossy tend to have worse color/luminance consistency across the panel.

But matte finishes on most IPS screens is so aggressive you get sparkly crap.

Don't understand why more manufactures don't follow Samsung with their semi matte finish that is the best of both worlds.

That said, anti glare was a major selling point to LCDs when they first came out. Never understood the glossy fad that happened for awhile. Now we're back to glossy with touchscreens again...
 
zone74 said:
People need to stop calling matte finishes "anti-glare".
Matte finishes diffuse reflections on the surface of the display, which causes glare.
You can see through the reflections on a glossy display, while reflections on a matte finish obscure what is underneath.

Here's a matte-finished PG348Q compared against a 46" Sony TV with AR-coated glass that is laminated to the panel.
Both are calibrated to 100 nits brightness and sRGB gamut.
MMJTFSu.jpg


I'm almost tempted to try and remove the cover glass from the PG348Q, as it does not appear to be laminated to the LCD panel.
And if you look closely at the corners you can even see that it's a matte film which has been applied, not etched glass, so it might also be possible to remove the film without having to remove the cover glass.
Removing the matte film but not the cover glass would probably be really bad though - but then so is a completely untreated glossy display. I don't know that I'd recommend it.
The AR coating that the TV has makes a huge difference to how noticeable the reflections are compared untreated glass. It really helps dull the reflections.
At least the matte film used on the PG348Q doesn't seem to have a lot of speckle like many do. I've seen much worse.

There is something that I like about a good matte-finished screen when used as a monitor though - so long as you can position it to avoid the main sources of glare.
It's still going to be lower contrast in a bright room, but it's nice to not have direct reflections all over the display.
I obviously don't sit at that angle when using the screens, so the windows are not going to be hitting them directly like they do in this photo. That was just to show that a matte finish is the opposite of "anti-glare".
Sitting in front of the displays, I get a clear reflection of myself in the TV, but a diffused haze with the PG348Q which can be easier on the eyes.
Matte vs glossy often depends on the use and viewing environment rather than one always being better than the other.
It's a shame that those 'moth-eye' coatings never seemed to work out, as they seemed to be a good balance between the two extremes.
Click to expand...

That is the Anti-Reflective coating I was talking about earlier in the thread (Same stuff used on eye glasses and camera lenses)

Seriously why can't we just do away with matte coatings entirely and use AR treated glass? cost? I'm sure anyone paying $500+ for a monitor wouldn't mind swallowing an extra $100 to have a glare free glossy display with deep colors and blacks and no graininess.

Also, make sure this stays alive, we need to get our word out :) http://community.acer.com/t5/Acer-Ideas-X/Glossy-panel-G-sync-monitors/idc-p/350982
 
MagnaMagicBtu said:
That is the Anti-Reflective coating I was talking about earlier in the thread (Same stuff used on eye glasses and camera lenses)

Seriously why can't we just do away with matte coatings entirely and use AR treated glass? cost? I'm sure anyone paying $500+ for a monitor wouldn't mind swallowing an extra $100 to have a glare free glossy display with deep colors and blacks and no graininess.

Also, make sure this stays alive, we need to get our word out :) http://community.acer.com/t5/Acer-Ideas-X/Glossy-panel-G-sync-monitors/idc-p/350982
Click to expand...

I disagree with you completely. The only way to remove direct reflections in a non dark environment is with matte finishes. AR on glass only does so much. Even in that picture you can see the reflections on the glass panel.

There are non aggressive matte finishes that don't diminish IQ or cause sparkle effect. If you are getting glare, move/change your light sources or move the monitor.

Its taken years to get away from glossy panels, in no way do I want to go back. matte finishes was a major selling point when LCDs were first released.

Instead of going to the inferior glossy screens ask manufacturers to use proper matte finishes. My IPS LG screens at work are borderline and Samsung lately has been doing an excellent job with smooth matte finishes.
 
You said, "if you get glare move the monitor". The monitor's lighting environment/vectors, placement, and targeted usage are critical. Some people seem to want to use their monitors with direct light sources such as overhead and/or behind lighting and windows/sunlight hitting them and bouncing off of the monitor face. For a portable that could make sense, but outdoor photographers and cameramen use hoods over their camera viewports for a reason. For an office monitor with horrible fluorescent lighting overhead that could make sense too, but some technicolor certified professional monitors come with monitor hoods for a reason. Some also come with light sensing hardware+software to adjust for ambient light changes in an attempt to maintain calibration to your eyes/brain's lighting (contrast, saturation) biases.

A point where some of us differ is that we want to use our monitors in a home theater (home gaming theater) and/or a photography/video studio where the image clarity is pristine and the monitor settings or calibration are not compromised to our eyes by differing ambient light swings let alone direct light bouncing off of the monitor's face. In a studio or a home theater, you design the viewing environment to suit the experience(e.g. display and seating placement/orientation, lighting design/placement, windows and window treatments, surround speaker placement, etc.) rather than compromising your experience to suit the (improper) environment. You aren't supposed to let (direct) light hit the monitor face if you want a pristine view of a monitor with it's settings/calibration (including contrast, black depth, and saturation) maintained to your eyes.
 
Last edited:
I find glossy annoying even in completely dark rooms. The light coming from the screen itself lights up the room and you see your reflection.
 
Bun-Bun said:
I disagree with you completely. The only way to remove direct reflections in a non dark environment is with matte finishes. AR on glass only does so much. Even in that picture you can see the reflections on the glass panel.

There are non aggressive matte finishes that don't diminish IQ or cause sparkle effect. If you are getting glare, move/change your light sources or move the monitor.

Its taken years to get away from glossy panels, in no way do I want to go back. matte finishes was a major selling point when LCDs were first released.

Instead of going to the inferior glossy screens ask manufacturers to use proper matte finishes. My IPS LG screens at work are borderline and Samsung lately has been doing an excellent job with smooth matte finishes.
Click to expand...

Don't underestimate modern AR coatings.

23_1402293174.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: N4CR
like this
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top