[SOLVED] Matte screen please! :)

[Shiroudan]

@Abe_Linkn

For me a glossy screen is a non-starter. Maybe I’m just not narcissistic enough to want to see my reflection all day. Maybe I don’t want to wear black shirts to avoid the shrit reflection. It seems a terrible waste to make a product that aspires to an ideal of repairability, which a lot of people can get behind, but then discourage a large percentage of those users by leaving out the option for a matte screen…

As I mentioned, there are endorsed matte screen protectors that cost less then $50.
Numerous users have reported positive experiences.
Here is the thread:

Matte screen protector

Hey all, I’ve received the AGB protector from Photodon today and applied it. I’ve written down my experience here: Photodon Anti-Glare Blue Light (AGB) Screen Protector for the Framework Laptop |@fearedbliss Since there is a 5 picture limit on the forum, I’ll upload the before and after (side/front) and you can take a look at the other photos at my blog. Hopefully this will be helpful to others, and thanks to everyone on this thread for the discussion, I’m definitely happy with the purchase ;D…

[Shiroudan]

@Abe_Linkn

Is that add-on mentioned on the website anywhere? I didn’t see it. How about during the checkout process? Nope.
If applying such a protector is so easy as you suggest, why don’t they just apply that protector at the factory? Or include a free one in the box.
Again it gets back to the presumption that they know what is right and give no attention to what they apparently feel is not right.
It’s like selling a car with 3 wheels and saying, Oh, you need a fourth wheel? Just buy it yourself, because we don’t see why you’d need it.

I do agree that it would be better if they included it on the website.
That being said, you’re making it out to be a lot worse then it really is. Matte screen protectors are pretty common knowledge, and people will be redirected to them if they ask in the forums.

[Abe_Linkn]

@Shiroudan

people will be redirected to them if they ask in the forums.

Many people will see the screen is glossy and consequently never proceed to make an order, let alone go to the forums.

Also I see the protodon product is a privacy filter. I once used a 3M privacy filter and my experience was it degraded image quality.

[fearedbliss]

@Abe_Linkn Did you look at the photos I posted? They show a pretty night and day difference and the quality is pretty good. The Photodon AGB protector is an anti glare blue light screen protector, not a privacy filter.

Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good. The framework laptop is still within the first two generations of the company’s creation, and having a computer already at this level where you can have modularity and repairability is unheard of in modern times (unfortunately).

[GhostLegion]

@Abe_Linkn

Also I see the protodon product is a privacy filter.

Not all the photodon products are privacy filters. Having said that, I’m using the privacy filter this very moment. Can I tell it is on the screen? Yeah, I can. Slight screen door effect but nothing crazy and certainly doesn’t detract from my experience using the laptop.

[Abe_Linkn]

@fearedbliss

The Photodon AGB protector is an anti glare blue light screen protector, not a privacy filter.

I recall the bad old days of arduously putting screen protectors on 4-inch phone screens, never quite getting it perfect, and I dread the idea of dealing with a 13.5-incher, if it is the same experience with dust, bubbles, and adhesive. That is why I’d greatly prefer it be done at the factory.

One benefit of the 3M red-tinted privacy filter that I once used with a Macbook was that it was applied without adhesive, just static electricity.

I have some questions:

1. Just curious, when Photodon refers their product being a blue-light-cut protector, does that mean the protector blocks only UV from the screen? Has anyone verified this marketing claim using a UV camera? UV-only cameras are kind of rare, I know, but non-UV digital cameras can detect UV if you add a $20 black UV-pass filter. The fact that digital cameras can detect UV is why a “UV filter” (i.e. UV-blocking) is recommended for normal non-UV photography.

2. Is it the case that Photodon’s non-adhesive privacy filter doesn’t degrade image quality i.e. make pixels look fuzzy? What is known about that one, as opposed to the adhesive privacy filter?

3. Does the non-adhesive privacy filter require increasing screen brightness? The red-tinted 3M filter that I used with a Macbook did.

4. Does the non-adhesive privacy filter block UV?

Since my use case for a laptop is 80% use at home connected to a big display, and 20% in public using the 13.5" display, a privacy filter actually makes more sense for me. But not if it uses adhesive.

[Abe_Linkn]

@GhostLegion

I’m using the privacy filter this very moment.

Is yours the adhesive kind or the non-adhesive? Can you provide a photo of the screen?

[fearedbliss]

@Abe_Linkn Take a look at my blog post. That should provide enough info (and pictures =D) to give you a general feeling if you want to give this a shot.

https://xyinn.org/md/etc/photodon

[Vadym_Marchenko]

I am sick that every time someone mentioned mate screen the response from community to use screen protector.

1. Screen protector is not equal to factory matte screen.
2. Applying it is a risky thing, which is beyond my comfort for DIY.

[Jason_Dagless]

@Abe_Linkn

I recall the bad old days of arduously putting screen protectors on 4-inch phone screens, never quite getting it perfect, and I dread the idea of dealing with a 13.5-incher, if it is the same experience with dust, bubbles, and adhesive. That is why I’d greatly prefer it be done at the factory.

I remember once managing a 99.99% perfect install of one on my phone a few years ago.

It felt like the greatest achievement in human history. I was sooo proud of myself.

[Jason_Dagless]

@Vadym_Marchenko

I am sick that every time someone mentioned mate screen the response from community to use screen protector.

I’m always wondering why Framework went with a glossy screen in the first place. Considering the user base they were targetting really.

When I first looked at the spec, I was like “Glossy? Isn’t that for kids laptops from 2012?”

[Abe_Linkn]

@fearedbliss

That should provide enough info

Yes, I read it and I saw the bubble. I was always bad at putting screen protectors onto phone screens so I think my result would be worse. I know there is a technique, using a piece of tape to remove every piece of dust as you go. But that has to be done in a relatively dust free environment.

I’d really prefer something that adheres with static electricity.

[GhostLegion]

@Vadym_Marchenko

Screen protector is not equal to factory matte screen.

Sure it is, matte screens from the factory are just glossy screens with a matte finish laminated on top.

@Vadym_Marchenko

Applying it is a risky thing, which is beyond my comfort for DIY.

Then don’t! Photodon at least has a program where you can send your laptop in and they will professionally install it in their clean room. You pay shipping to and from and I think $50 for the service itself. Don’t quote me on that tho since I didn’t use it myself.

[GhostLegion]

@Abe_Linkn

Is yours the adhesive kind or the non-adhesive? Can you provide a photo of the screen?

Yes it has adhesive on the back and no I can’t provide a photo since my phone can’t take photos worth a damn.

EDIT: Just took a look at @fearedbliss blog post and honestly my install looks much the same. The only difference is that my bottom left corner is the on not fully adhered. I can’t really tell when the computer is on but because I repeatedly lifted the film from that corner to get every last bubble out I kinda stripped the adhesive off that corner. I honestly thought the film covered the whole screen including what was under the bezel but that isn’t so.

[fearedbliss]

@Abe_Linkn Haha, you’ll be fine ;). I have a Chinchilla as a pet (and they shed) and her cage wasn’t too far away from my table where I was applying it. As long as you wipe the table and maybe do some breathing meditation, you’ll be able to apply it successfully xD. But yea like I wrote in my blog post, ideally I would just want a matte screen to be officially provided by Framework.

[Jason_Dagless]

@GhostLegion

Then don’t! Photodon at least has a program where you can send your laptop in and they will professionally install it in their clean room. You pay shipping to and from and I think $50 for the service itself. Don’t quote me on that tho since I didn’t use it myself.

Why not just buy a professionally assembled matte screen in the first place than all that messing about?

What is this resistance of Framework offering a matte screen option as standard? Most odd.

[Abe_Linkn]

@Jason_Dagless

What is this resistance of Framework offering a matte screen option as standard? Most odd.

Maybe we should be grateful they provide an Enter key and we don’t have to buy our own.

[Jason_Dagless]

@Abe_Linkn

Maybe we should be grateful they provide an Enter key and we don’t have to buy our own.

Or send it off for artisanal re-tooling…

[GhostLegion]

@Jason_Dagless

What is this resistance of Framework offering a matte screen option as standard? Most odd.

I doubt it’s resistance per se. More like cost. It’s a non-standard panel size and resolution/aspect ratio. Just looking at photos of the Surface 5 laptop from Microsoft, it too has a glossy display. More than likely the cost to make it matte is prohibitively expensive for Framework, especially since there is a DIY option that largely resolves this. Considering this is marketed as a DIY laptop, I can understand why Framework made the decision they did.

[Jason_Dagless]

@GhostLegion

I doubt it’s resistance per se. More like cost. It’s a non-standard panel size and resolution/aspect ratio. Just looking at photos of the Surface 5 laptop from Microsoft, it too has a glossy display. More than likely the cost to make it matte is prohibitively expensive for Framework, especially since there is a DIY option that largely resolves this. Considering this is marketed as a DIY laptop, I can understand why Frramework made the decision they did.

If this was a $300 laptop that would hold water. But this is not a cheap laptop. Plus no one was holding Framework’s feet to the fire to pick such an odd resolution when they developed it.

Hindsight it was probably a bad decision on Framework’s part.