I just bought a Mac Pro and now my search for a good display begins. I am using it for classic computer work and video editing. Any thoughts on doing a dual display, say two 24", instead of a one large 27 or 30"? Thanks!
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Should I go Dual Display's? Useful?
- Thread starter cydspal
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mr_matalino
macrumors 6502a
i have a 20 inch imac and i have a 19 inch LCD and i love it! I use the 19 inch for eyetv or itunes or what not, so I can use the main display for work or chat.
richard.mac
macrumors 603
some people like one huge display and some people like dual displays. depends on your workflow.
dual displays would be very good for you as you could have final cut on one screen and safar, mail, itunes etc on the other 🙂.
dual 24" Dell ultrasharps would be slick.
dual displays would be very good for you as you could have final cut on one screen and safar, mail, itunes etc on the other 🙂.
dual 24" Dell ultrasharps would be slick.
Personally I like the use of two displays. Works really nice for me. I use my MBP display and a 19" gateway that does everything I need it to do.
lordjonny
macrumors regular
i think that although thats nice to have, it is covered by Spaces which is easy and alot cheaper to use, however i do have dual displays, my imac and one screen above my bed to watch films when i tuck up in bed 😀
lordjonnny
agentphish
macrumors 65816
Dual 22" or Dual 24"
The dell Ultrasharps are surely nice. I have Dual 22" Viewsonic VG2230wm LCD's at work (company provided) they're nice...but I don't think they hold up to apple or Dell...
Another good company that I've used in the past is Planar. They aren't a big name, but they make a HELL of a product and have a 3 or 4 year overnight guarantee replacement policy. I have dual 17.4" (non widescreen) LCDs by them that I bought xmas of 2000...They are still going strong at my home... Check em out.
22"
http://www.planar.com/products/flatpanel_monitors/px_flatpanel/px2210mw.cfm
24"
http://www.planar.com/products/flatpanel_monitors/px_flatpanel/px2411w.cfm
The dell Ultrasharps are surely nice. I have Dual 22" Viewsonic VG2230wm LCD's at work (company provided) they're nice...but I don't think they hold up to apple or Dell...
Another good company that I've used in the past is Planar. They aren't a big name, but they make a HELL of a product and have a 3 or 4 year overnight guarantee replacement policy. I have dual 17.4" (non widescreen) LCDs by them that I bought xmas of 2000...They are still going strong at my home... Check em out.
22"
http://www.planar.com/products/flatpanel_monitors/px_flatpanel/px2210mw.cfm
24"
http://www.planar.com/products/flatpanel_monitors/px_flatpanel/px2411w.cfm
pjarvi
macrumors 65816
Same here, I use the 2nd display for EyeTV and iTunes. With 2 displays and EyeTV, you can have the TV viewing window set to fullscreen on one display, and the TV channel guide opened on the other.
The Stig
macrumors 6502a
I was dual screening on my macbook and I loved it. It was really nice to have a big monitor when I was home. It made movies and things like that MUCH nicer. It was way better than watching things on my crappy tv. Even just surfing and being able to see more of a webpage while having my e-mail and ichat on another monitor so I could chat and surf at the same time... it was nice.
The Stig
My roommate a stole his monitor back from me a couple of days ago 🙁 I'm back down to a 13" for now.
The Stig
My roommate a stole his monitor back from me a couple of days ago 🙁 I'm back down to a 13" for now.
I like the Dell's also, but two would run about $1400, can I get away with a lesser quality and be happy? Hmmm..
Any suggestions on refresh rate, spec issues to look out for, etc?
Any suggestions on refresh rate, spec issues to look out for, etc?
23-24" displays rated here. I was looking at some of these yesterday. It seems that the samsungs are typically rated high. In this category note that the are rated number 2 but scored higher (87pts) than the number 1 rated Dell.
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,123726;page,1/article.html
http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,123726;page,1/article.html
I have a 20 and a 24 and i love it! I wouldn't mind bumping up the 20" to a 24" but only when i get the money to do that. 🙂
Is there a huge difference in these two Dell's?
E248WFP 24-inch Widescreen Black Flat Panel LCD Monitor
Subtotal $375.00
UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand
Usually Ships 1-2 Days
Manufacturer Part# GM504
Dell Part# 320-5647
Max Resolution: 1920 x 1200 / 60 Hz
Image Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Response Time: 6 ms
Subtotal $599.00
E248WFP 24-inch Widescreen Black Flat Panel LCD Monitor
Subtotal $375.00
UltraSharp 2407WFP-HC 24-inch Widescreen Flat Panel LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand
Usually Ships 1-2 Days
Manufacturer Part# GM504
Dell Part# 320-5647
Max Resolution: 1920 x 1200 / 60 Hz
Image Contrast Ratio: 1000:1
Response Time: 6 ms
Subtotal $599.00
Will any other computers use this screen?
One other thing to think about is whether you'll be hooking up another machine, as 30" monitors often can't be used by lower end video cards/laptops. I have a KVM switch to share one 24" LCD between 4 devices (a new MP, 2 laptops, and an old G5 iMac I use as a print server). I;ll be getting a second 24" for the MP as well.
One other thing to think about is whether you'll be hooking up another machine, as 30" monitors often can't be used by lower end video cards/laptops. I have a KVM switch to share one 24" LCD between 4 devices (a new MP, 2 laptops, and an old G5 iMac I use as a print server). I;ll be getting a second 24" for the MP as well.
The cheaper one does use a lower quality LCD display. You should also note that the 2407 (which I have as well) is the old model - it is in the process of being replaced by a newer model, the 2408, which has been announced but is not yet for sale. So you might find some "fire sale" prices on the 2407 soon, or may choose to get the 2408.
Edit : Here's a link to the new 2408 documentation on Dell's site:
http://support.dell.com/support/edocs/monitors/2408WFP/en/UG/index.htm
Dual monitors are nice if you can afford them. I've liked Viewsonic LCDs for video work, although technically you should be using CRTs (or the new hyper-expensive LCDs designed for broadcast) to display the full color gamut for accuracy. It's really handy to be able to put a large timeline across two screens, or keep one for preview and tool selection and whatnot. If all you're looking for is novelty, the one of the large curved screens above would be your best bet. If you're looking to enhance productivity or make it easier to use Photoshop or video software, then dual monitors will most likely be cheaper.
I've used some of the larger monitors, such as the 30" Studio Display, and when I'm using them I don't really feel like I need a second monitor since that single one is so big and provides enough real estate by itself. However, there are times I'd like to have fullscreen preview and still keep an eye on the timeline and so forth, and for that I'd need a second display.
It is my personal preference to have two monitors, but whether it will benefit you or not mostly depends on your workflow and whether or not you want to be looking back and forth between them all day long. I can tell you that everyone I know who's tried dual monitors no longer likes working without them, so if you make the switch, be prepared to stay that way. That will mean upgrading two monitors at the same time (you need a matched set for accurate color, among other things) and giving up more desk space. Is it worth it? To me, and many of my fellow geeks (and business types, too), it is.
My advice is to find someone with the configuration you're thinking of (or even go to an Apple Store or other electronics retailer and ask if you can set up a demo rig) and play with it for a few minutes. See if you like it, and then decide if it would be useful to you.
I've used some of the larger monitors, such as the 30" Studio Display, and when I'm using them I don't really feel like I need a second monitor since that single one is so big and provides enough real estate by itself. However, there are times I'd like to have fullscreen preview and still keep an eye on the timeline and so forth, and for that I'd need a second display.
It is my personal preference to have two monitors, but whether it will benefit you or not mostly depends on your workflow and whether or not you want to be looking back and forth between them all day long. I can tell you that everyone I know who's tried dual monitors no longer likes working without them, so if you make the switch, be prepared to stay that way. That will mean upgrading two monitors at the same time (you need a matched set for accurate color, among other things) and giving up more desk space. Is it worth it? To me, and many of my fellow geeks (and business types, too), it is.
My advice is to find someone with the configuration you're thinking of (or even go to an Apple Store or other electronics retailer and ask if you can set up a demo rig) and play with it for a few minutes. See if you like it, and then decide if it would be useful to you.
I use two monitors with VMware Fusion to run Windows simultaneously. That way I have my windows xp pro and leopard both running at the same time so i can use windows apps without skipping back and forth or restarting w bootcamp. It also helps because I can drag and drop files from leopard right to my windows desktop and vice versa. Dual monitors are a godsend.
I do a similar thing with logging into remote systems. I will have a windows 2003 machine pulled up on the 20" while I look things up on the 24" Full screen remote desktop is so much nicer then windowed. 😱
I say definitely go for dual displays. I have 2 dell displays which have stands that support rotation. I keep one in landscape and one in portrait. That way I can use one for long documents and one for applications that are better used wide.
The cheaper one has a TN panel while the other one has a PVA panel. You definitely dont want a TN for a 24" monitor, viewing angles are really important on large monitors.
You can see the difference between PVA and TN here: http://www.behardware.com/articles/686-8/review-of-the-dell-2407wfp-hc.html All TN's and PVA's will be relatively the same from model to model in terms of viewing angle (so you can expect the e248wfp to look the same as those TN's), PVA is significantly better than TN, IPS is the best which is almost like looking at something printed on a sheet of paper.
Thanks! I think it might be smart for me to keep my current 19" LCD hooked up to my PC (gasp) and buy one good 24" for the new Mac pro coming. Keep them both hooked up until I learn and graduate to the Mac and then make the decision for the new second monitor to replace the 19"?
I have a G5 and loved having 2 monitors. I had a 20" and 17". I would put Mail/itunes on the 17 and kept the 20 for the current application. I found it was great for navigation but luckily with leopard and spaces you don't have to do it this way.
Monitors are getting pretty cheap so I would recommend at least trying this.
Monitors are getting pretty cheap so I would recommend at least trying this.
I can not make my mind up ?
Hi everyone
I thought I post my question here as I didnt want to start a new thread..
I have the choice of either one 30" display or two x 23" display. These would be used in the studio and to get an idea of how they would look with regards to workflow and feel of the studio, I have a few CAD images at the following link:
http://www.adhe29.dsl.pipex.com/display.htm
😀 The last two images of the studio on the page I superimposed an actual size cardboard cut out i made and placed the logic studio screen shot at the respective display size at its optimum screen resolution of logic studio.
Any Opinion, and help would be most welcome on what looks best, what would be better, what would you do... etc which would you get given the choice for its intended use.
🙂
Thanks
Regards
Hi everyone
I thought I post my question here as I didnt want to start a new thread..
I have the choice of either one 30" display or two x 23" display. These would be used in the studio and to get an idea of how they would look with regards to workflow and feel of the studio, I have a few CAD images at the following link:
http://www.adhe29.dsl.pipex.com/display.htm😀 The last two images of the studio on the page I superimposed an actual size cardboard cut out i made and placed the logic studio screen shot at the respective display size at its optimum screen resolution of logic studio.
Any Opinion, and help would be most welcome on what looks best, what would be better, what would you do... etc which would you get given the choice for its intended use.
🙂
Thanks
Regards