I agree with your preference for glossy surface. Assuming a glossy surface and a matte surface have equal total reflectance, when some light shines onto the glossy surface the color loses much vibrancy where the glare is, but you can detect this and move your head. When the same light shines onto a matte surface the color loses a little vibrancy all over, and you can't avoid it. (Also there are optical methods for making the total reflectance of a glossy surface much less than that of any matte surface.)
Thus matte vs. glossy only matters if there is light shining onto the monitor surface. There shouldn't be. Color correction and other critical viewing are supposed to be done in an almost dark room with good control of the light. When light control is less,
hoods like this are used. Boland seems not to supply one, but you can make one from black flocked cardstock.
ISO 12608 "Cinematography - Room and conditions for evaluating television from telecine reproduction" (expensive) should provide guidance for how dark a room. EBU–TECH 3320 "User requirements for Video Monitors in Television Production Source" (free) doesn't describe the room but does suggest that "Grade 1" broadcast monitors have their white set at between 70 and 100 nits and their black below below 0.05 nits. This suggests an almost dark room with no light shining directly onto the monitor surface.
Dennis Couzin
Berlin, Germany
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