Apple Removes Cinema Displays From Store Front Page

[MacRumors]

Jason O'Grady observes that Apple has moved the Cinema Displays off the front page of the Apple Store last night.

O'Grady suggests this could be due to an impending Cinema Display update, though admits it could be simply to make room for Christmas items.

Article Link

[techlover828]

It's been gone since they started their christmas promotion I believe.

[kwood]

Originally Posted by techlover828

It's been gone since they started their christmas promotion I believe.

Long before that, I remember for a while they only advertised the 30", and that was in the bottom corner away from everything.

[Darkroom]

is it likely that apple would release anything new this close to christmas?

[KindredMAC]

All the displays are still in the heart of the store and all still list at a 24 hour ship time frame.

I would hope for another price discount seeing that you can pick up roughly the same display sizes from Best Buy Sales Flyer for hundreds of dollars cheaper.

And before someone starts sniveling with the "uh but Apple Displays are better"..... just stop right there.... I know that. I use a 23" at work but can't deem it a necessity at their current price point for home use so I use a 22" MAG here with 2 extra 19" Proview WS LCDs in extended.

[twoodcc]

well i hope that new ones do arrive!

[dmw007]

I think that Apple only moved the Cinema Displays in order to make room for their Christmas promotion. That said, I would expect new ACDs soon- perhaps at MacWorld 2008.

[Martin C]

I hope they offer HDMI inputs in the new offerings of the ACD's. This way I can plug my XBox 360 right in.

[kresh]

I started a thread on this over a month ago:

http://forums.macrumors.com/showthre...ighlight=kresh

[newamiga]

He posted a story two years ago at Macworld Expo time hyping the impending release of the Apple televisions.. maybe this is a precursor to that again what do you think Jason??

[hokullani]

there isn't really much they could do to the displays except lower the price which would be great. They would even make a great TV, great look and form factor. My idea... Up the size, make the smallest 24" which would match the current iMac and move the rest up in size also but remain the same price or cheaper. The resolution is pretty good, but maybe make it as good as an HDTV (they might already be I dont know much about displays) and put some hdmi ports back there and it would be a perfect add on for the apple tv. For me a 24" with an apple tv underneath would be great in my room

[SilverSpy]

I really think there should be an option for a webcam built in to the display or not. All these features have came out for video conferencing but if your in the market to buy a mac pro you can't really take advantage of this since the discontinuation of the isight. I really hope they add this feature in an upgrade of the cinema display, other then that, the displays are perfect I think.

[queshy]

I love the ACD. Two things I'd like to see:

1) OPTION for integrated webcam.

2) Lower price to make it competitive, though I'd be willing to pay the usual "apple premium" -

20" = $ 429 (Dell = $399)
24" = $ 649 (Dell = $599)
30" = $ 1699 (Dell = $1599)

iSight camera - $50 extra for all 3 models.

That's how it should be...

[~Shard~]

New displays certainly are due and would be most welcome. Perhaps Apple will wait until MWSF though?

[brop52]

I'm hoping it won't be before Monday since I'm selling my external iSight on ebay right now.

[queshy]

Originally Posted by brop52

I'm hoping it won't be before Monday since I'm selling my external iSight on ebay right now.

Well, even if they release new displays with cameras owners of current ACDs probably won't be running out to get the new ones...so the market demand for the iSight will still be pretty high.

[jnc]

Ha, this has been the case for months, not new at all.

Gah and I wish people would shut up with iSight talk in the ACDs. It's not the place for it, the same way the Mac Pros doesn't have a sensor for Apple remote.

Who's.. really going to use a built in iSight. All those Mac Mini users with ACDs? And how wasteful for Pro users with more than one ACD to have an iSight built into each display. They don't even use one.

USB webcams are cheap as bread, iSight in ACD is just pointless extravagance.

Component and HDMI? Now we're talking. Then it could talk to tv and various other devices, ultimately getting ACDs into homes as well as studios...

[mooty]

They haven't featured on the UK store homepage for weeks (if not months)

[guzhogi]

Here are some things that I'd like to see in the ACDs:
-built-in iSight
-more inputs (hdmi, component, etc.)
-Higher resolutions
-Maybe bigger screens so it can double as a TV
-Lower prices

I know someone asked why should ACDs have iSights if no one will use them? Well, I'm sure some people will. Besides, iMac & MacBook (Pro) users might not use iSights. But some do. At least give us the option.

I wish that Apple would up the resolution on them, but I don't think that the 30" can get any higher. I remember reading that it's resolution (2460 x 1600 or whatever it is) is the highest DVI supports. But the smaller displays can definitely see a boost.

[daddywags214]

I, for one, do not care to see ACDs doubling as televisions. I have two 23" ACDs and they're great for what I do (visual effects for film and photography on the side). The color, the contrast, the brightness, the resolution; they're all just right.

ACDs don't have an extraordinarily high refresh rate. Spec-for-spec, they don't offer as much bang for the buck as some other displays that offer similar sizes and resolutions with 2ms refresh rates. But those specs don't matter when I'm looking at some other brand of screen and it straight-up doesn't look as good as my ACDs (in terms of color recreation, true contrast, even backlighting, etc).

But Apple displays do have lower than average refresh rates (among high-end monitors). So if you used it as a TV, the action would be blurry. I'd worry that overall image quality would go down if they sacrificed the current screens for higher-refresh rate ones. The simple truth is, when you're using an ACD in a professional setting (as is their purpose), and working on 24fps film or still photography, refresh rate doesn't matter too much once you get to a reasonable level (where they are now). Perhaps a few milliseconds would be nice, but having a 2ms refreshing display is of no concern unless you're playing video games or watching high-framerate sports (which are often broadcast at 60i or - now - 60p even).

Also, ACDs are 16x10 aspect ratio; HDTVs are 16x9. A lot of HD sources would have trouble scaling their image to this aspect ratio. Most HD sources (cable boxes, satellite receivers, Xbox, etc) are only configured to display letterboxed 4x3 or native 16x9. So if you forced it into a 16x10 ACD (that aspect ratio is not likely to change), it might automatically stretch the image vertically or put black bars at the top and bottom and give the user no choice between the two (because the source doesn't understand 16x10 and therefore can't correct the problem). When you hook up a computer to an ACD and play a game, usually the game software has an option for 16x10 display mode because so many computer monitors use this aspect ratio.

So, updates I'd want:

iSight option would be nice. I use my Mac Pro in a professional setting, yet I'd still like to be able to use my Mac Pro for video conferencing (right now, I switch over to my MacBook Pro). If it were an option, those buying two could order it in their primary display and not bother with it in their secondary. I don't know if Apple would ever off such an option, though. It's so unobtrusive in iMacs and MBPs, though, and it has to be a pretty cheap device for them to manufacture, so I don't see the harm in having it.

Perhaps a new ultra-high-res 40" model. It'd be nice for 4k visual effects work and 12mp photographs, I know that! Apple pushed the industry forward once by offering a 2560x1600 30" before anyone else. Perhaps they can up the ante again.

Also, it's time to lower prices. Apple displays are worth more than all of the cheap alternatives because they look better, but I think that their prices should drop because the technology has become cheaper to produce, regardless of their continual superiority. Follow the market, but maintain and scale the price gap.

I don't care if they change the design; I'm happy with the current design but Ive and the boys (and girls) turn out nothing but solid gold, so if they redesign it, I'm sure it'll be beautiful.

[darthraige]

Originally Posted by Martin C

I hope they offer HDMI inputs in the new offerings of the ACD's. This way I can plug my XBox 360 right in.

Hopefully they do. If the new MacPros have HDMI out of the new graphics cards, I'm sure Apple would love to demo a new MacPro on a new ACD with HDMI. That would be insane.

[Mgkwho]

I sure hope they bring out new ones at MacWorld.

These are my predictions:

1] iTunes movie rentals, HD content
2] New ACD w/ unaggressive price points
3] MacMini cut down to 6"x6"x1.5", and priced only slightly better than today's model
4] A new, additional, and cheaper iPhone model
5] Thinner notebook model, perhaps just the next evolution of the MacBook

No professional product announcements

-=|Mgkwho

[daddywags214]

Originally Posted by darthraige

Hopefully they do. If the new MacPros have HDMI out of the new graphics cards, I'm sure Apple would love to demo a new MacPro on a new ACD with HDMI. That would be insane.

HDMI offers no significant benefit over DVI unless you're connecting it to an HDTV home theater. The purpose of HDMI (High-definition multimedia interface) is to integrate the cabling of the home theater experience, carrying digital high-def picture and digital surround sound in one cable, rather than using a three-wire component video (which is analogue, not digital) and a fiber optic cable for audio.

So for a Mac Pro (which has its own separate optical output), having HDMI on a graphics card is pointless. Those HDMI graphics card are designed to fit into media center PCs which are part of a home theater.

[Beardy man]

I want new ACD's with LED backlights AND an iSight.

Sometime soon (after Jan 15) I'll be scrapping my flaky iBook and getting a Mac Pro with 30" ACD. I need firewire quality Video conferencing. I need iSight.

What does Apple suggest Mac Pro owners use at the moment as iSight is discontinued? No, seriously, what DO they suggest?

[jnc]

Originally Posted by Beardy man

What does Apple suggest Mac Pro owners use at the moment as iSight is discontinued? No, seriously, what DO they suggest?

A MacBook?