slowmac89 :
My Macbook Pro (2011, 13" base) has a glossy, 1200x800 display. Comparing it with a Dell E5420 which has a matte, 1600x900 (14" screen) display, the Dell looks considerably WORSE. These two laptops have the same graphics card (Intel HD 3000), and despite the Dell having a better resolution at the similar screen size, playing two of the same videos side by side reveals poorer quality visual experience.
Is this due to the anti-glare/matte layer?
The anti-glare/matte layer could very well be a major contributor. I am a firm believer that a matte layer ALWAYS degrades the apparent sharpness of the image compared to a glossy finish, and also mutes the colors somewhat. There appear to be varying degrees of degradation depending on the matte layer. They are not created equal. I had an ASUS g75 gaming laptop a few years ago with a 1920 x 1080 display, and the matte layer was so bad it looked like you were looking through a screen door. I replaced the display with a glossy one myself, and the difference was like night and day. On the other hand, I currently have an Msi GT70, and the matte layer seems much better than the one on the ASUS (would still prefer the look of a glossy screen, but the matte is at least tolerable in this instance). There could also be many other contributing factors causing the lousy appearance of your Dell display compared to your Macbook Pro. Not gonna go into detail, but lets just say that the Dell display is most likely of inferior quality to the one in the Macbook.