Comments on: Glossy vs Matte LCD Monitors

By: Anonymous

Anonymous — Wed, 16 Mar 2011 18:12:00 +0000

I literally had to call up manufacturers to find what they had for non-3D 23″/24″ glossy monitors. Below is what I learned (as of March 15, 2011).

Manufacturers who have confirmed that their current product line does not have 23″/24″ glossy monitor:
- LG
- Samsung
- Viewsonic gave me confllicting info. The person I spoke to in pre-sales said their 23″/24″ monitors were not glossy. However, in separate email exchange with a tech-support guy, he said their monitors were glossy by virtue of having a hard coating on the screens – this may be comparable to what peering was saying in his post below about the Asus LS248H. That said, all the monitors that the tech-review person identified as glossy were instead identified as matte in the reviews I found.

Manufacturers who confirmed they have at least one or more 23″/24″ glossy monitor:
- Acer GD235HZbid
- Acer G245Hbmid (though technically this isn’t in their current product line)

Manufacturers who were not able to identify that they had 23″/24″ glossy monitors:
- Asus – The pre-sales person I talked to was literally doing a google search on the web to see what he could find – which was nothing in the 23″/24″ size. He however also provided me an email address to use to query asus tech support, which I did and got no response. So unreliable info at best, and I would defer to what peering posted below.

Manufacturers that did not respond to voice-mail or to web-form query on this question:
- AOC

By: peering

peering — Sun, 06 Feb 2011 21:42:42 +0000

At the beginning 2011 are in the market only this glossy (glare) LCD monitor:
1. Apple LED cinema 24″ and 27″ (good resolution, high price, attention: only miniDisplay port male)
2. Gateway FHX2300
3. Acer P225HQLbd – ET.WP5HE.012 (only DVI)
4. Asus VG236H (3D monitor, 3D glasses kit, 120 Hz, DVI, HDMI only 1.2),
Asus VG236HE (=Asus VG236H without 3D glasses kit)
5. Asus LS248H (matte screen behind glass, 2 ms, HDMI 1.3, LED (so good contrast), black color is not true black as in glossy monitor in laptops)
Everyone other monitor has matte (antiglare) screen!

Result: If you want HDMI, so buy Asus LS248H,
if you want DVI, so buy Asus VG236HE.

By: Alex

Alex — Fri, 22 Oct 2010 07:30:43 +0000

I have both. I have to put down all blinds in my room so I will be able to use glossy one(no way to use outside!). I am going to sell glossy one and keep matte even though matte is older. Glossy screen is useless $900 mirror.

By: Frostbite

Frostbite — Sun, 10 Jan 2010 07:27:41 +0000

Considering I live in a controlled lighting environment and have an HP glossy monitor right beside my big Asus matte one, I can safely say I much prefer the HP one. Sure, matte screens have that waffled surface that diffuses incoming light, and it works both ways unfortunately and also slightly blurs things. Considering selling my Asus for another HP.

By: SoundMan

SoundMan — Mon, 24 Aug 2009 11:58:27 +0000

A friend tried to persuade me that his new Mac was brilliant – all shiny and new! All I could see were the reflections of room lights and my ugly mug! Can’t understand why anyone would ever want to go back to shiny screens for everyday use – thought they went out with CRTs! Remember the awful stick-on masks you could get to stop reflections?

Am looking for a new large monitor and manufacturers whose specs don’t say matte or glossy screen are rejected. Why is such a key point overlooked in the specs?

By: Player_16

Player_16 — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 04:11:34 +0000

What I want to know is WHY won’t Apple use a non-reflective coating on their screens. Not that optional matte crap but non-reflective like my glasses or the iSight camera lens in the top of the screen. It was used in the CRT screens in the past. Can anyone answer that?

By: VisualBasicGuy

VisualBasicGuy — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 22:04:30 +0000

The people who prefer glossy, I have to think, have never used a computer in many different places. Yes it is nice to see vivid colors. But matte colors are certainly not bad. Also, under certain circumstances, I would much rather be able to SEE what is on the screen than to have to squint and see NOTHING!

Unless you have a cozy little setup with no bright lights to reflect back from your screen into your eyes, it is a no brainer! Matte is much better!!!

By: Mr. Lopez

Mr. Lopez — Fri, 15 May 2009 18:10:57 +0000

I prefer Matte than Glossy. Because Glossy is not good to clean and still dirty. I am tried to use with clorox wipes and napkin on LCD Glossy and its seem to me not clean as very well. Matte is best one ever and help my eyes to see very well. Glossy is easy to kill y

By: Mr Nougat

Mr Nougat — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 11:17:40 +0000

I bought a 2nd hand Packard Bell Easynote same price as new notebook cos it came with XP not Vista and it also had a decent dedicated graphic chip. Unfortunately it wasn’t old
enough to have a matte screen and I didn’t really compare the two types before.This glossy screen is godawful there must be an economic reason behind all the guff about rich blacks etc. The emperor’s new clothes on this one. So what if DVD films look better (in the dark)? I still have to view within a
tiny viewing angle leaning forward giving you backache.
Another mass delusion like Chinese foot binding or model anorexia or whatever.

By: Alecmc

Alecmc — Mon, 22 Sep 2008 10:26:16 +0000

I just can’t believe what I read. How can there possibly be anyone who believes that the glossy screen is OK. It is a massive backward step from the anti-glare matt screens.
I have been looking to buy a new laptop, but cannot find a reasonably priced matt screen in the shops.
I am amazed.
I will not buy one with a blossy screen.
I intend to wait until the manufacturers come to their senses and provide a sensible product.
I really am incredulous.

By: whyuwantmyname

whyuwantmyname — Sat, 02 Aug 2008 09:44:47 +0000

glossy is terrible. i am already hating my new LCD moniter that i just got as a present because when i’m watching videos i cannot make out the dark parts at all on the screen because all i see is the reflection of myself and the room. matte sacrifices visual quality? oh i don’t think so, unless ur planning to use the glossy moniter in a pitch dark state, there is no advantage to glossy. don’t listen to ‘experts’ who claim there are both advantages and disadvantages to each type, they just cannot give away their honest opinions because then they will be flamed by the people who favor the other type. but luckily if you find articles about glossy vs. matte, most ‘experts’ at least say that their ‘personal’ preference is matte…

By: Ernie Werbel

Ernie Werbel — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 00:58:41 +0000

Glossy is terrible. I can barely use my laptop without seeing the reflection of my fingers on the keyboard or the lighting in the screen. Supposedly glossy is better for outdoors but I have yet to see this. When I took my new Gateway with its glossy screen outside all I could see is black. My old IBM 380ED has matte was viewable outdoors albeit dim. I cannot understand why people can’t seem to see beyond this trendy fad of glossy screens or am I just not getting it?

By: Ben

Ben — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 06:04:45 +0000

IMO glossy is the way to go. I enjoy the richness of the colours, and do not mind the reflections that much. When I look at most matte screens, the picture looks very washed out and inferior.

With that said, standard matte screens are MUCH better than they were only a couple of years ago, and are closing in and even exceeding glossy screens today.

By: Ron

Ron — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 11:47:21 +0000

I couldn’t agree more re preferring matte over glossy. Notebook PCs are bought so you can use them wherever you are. I work on my lanai (terrace) a lot and because of glare & reflection, can’t see much of anything on my glossy screen HP Notebook. No problem seeing on my matte screen MacBook Pro. BUT WHERE DO I FIND A GOOD WINDOWS NOTEBOOK WITH A MATTE SCREEN?

By: Andre

Andre — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 03:38:54 +0000

I personally like Glossy because I dont mind it collecting dirt, and I play alot of games, and watch videos…so I personally like glossy for its vistual rewards