Matte LCD monitor, why does it look like a layer of grease is on it?

Grr.. I had an Asus netbook like this and just got an Asus vs248 so I'm not sure if it's just Asus.. but the it looks like there's a layer of grease on the screen.

Edit: Took a picture of my netbook's screen.. good example of what I mean
http://i.imgur.com/eDku2.jpg

matte monitors normally have a slightly speckled coating which may even appear to some as rought or bumpy but it typically isnt seen when the screen is on. some models might have gone to excess and it shows while the screen is on. i know dell and viewsonic seem to have the coating right at least.

glossy monitors look like they are always wet. i suppose it could look like a layer of grease. they are always shiny and reflect light into your eyes. this coating improves how vivid colors appear and the screen is more ledgible in very bright areas but the glare is not good for long term use under lights.

you could put a monitor shade over the screen to eliminate glare. in this way you would retain the vivid feel but eliminate some of the shine on the screen.

or use diffused lighting such as wall lamps that shine up at the ceiling instead of traditional style lighting. a very diffuse lighting setup like this is less likely to cause bright spots on your screen.

if you use a screen as much as i do... you will eventually learn that matte screens are much better for long term use. sure those glossy screens look nice but the glare is a huge turnoff. besides what i mentioned there isnt much you can do about it either.

and whatever you do dont be like another poster and try to take it off with cleaning products!

Watch what you have and stop complaining

Did I really just read that... I bought a glossy screen and not a matte one? Sorry but that's absurd.

Here's a picture

http://i.imgur.com/eDku2.jpg

are all matte screens like this?

Matte screens tends to looks slightly grainy to some people. This is due to the Anti-Glare (AG) coating on it and the purpose is not to reflect light back towards the viewer like a glossy screen. The grainy texture help diffuse the light into several directions so that the screen does not act as a mirror. Matte screens makes it easier to use a laptop/netbook in direct sunlight compared to glossy screens. Some matte screens have heavier AG coating than others. Some people say that when viewing a white background the AG coasting makes the screen look "dirty" because the AG coating makes it seems like there are tiny, tiny specs of dust on the screen.

Additionally, the LCD panel in the netbook can also be of low quality to help keep costs down and can be attributed to some of the image artifacts you are seeing.

In the end, there is no such thing as the perfect LCD screen. You must live with the limitations of glossy and matte. There are other things as well, but that's beyond the scope of this topic.

is it just me or there is no visible difference between the asus' monitors glossy and matte? I have both of them side by side turned off

im mistaken then? how do you tell if they're glossy or not cus i really can't see the difference.

defracting? yeah that sounds like a very heavy matte anti glare coating. like looking through privacy glass.

as i said before though, some models do it right. the viewsonic ips i have at home has a thin matte coating which works as desired but has no noticible distortion. the dell model i'm on now also experiences zero distortion.

i suppose we can call this post closed as nothing more can be added.

what is there not to understand?

we already covered the different types of coatings and the visual differences between them. we also covered that not all manufacturers or models use the same coating. we also covered that there isnt much you can do except trade in the screen for another model. trying to remove the coating will most likely ruin the screen.

besides different interpretations on what a matte screen looks like to them or going over the differences and pro/cons one more time i'm not sure what more can be added.

The picture is perfect, unless there's something wrong with your screen, that's precisely what I was talking about.

Err I am confused.. why are you comparing a glossy to a matte?

Glossy is better than matte as far as picture quality goes, that is not in question.. But for some reason the Asus monitors I've had have this odd grease look to it. I guess it's the anti-glare.
It's not grainy so much as it looks like colors are splattered everywhere.

No, it's hard to explain. Think of it like what happens if you splash water on your monitor and spread it out uniformly over the screen. It's not as pronounced as that but kind athe same idea.

No it's a new screen

But it seems like all mattes are like this to an extend. Very frustrating.