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30" display holdout getting nervous!

G

graphicimage

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 12, 2009
18
0
I am gearing up to buy a few new desktops and have had the 30" on my list for over a year. I figured they would have updated it by now and fear the update will only change it to the dreaded glossy screen!

If it follows the same path as the 24" it will also have useless speakers and a camera... don't think any of this belongs on a professional monitor. Anyway the biggest concern is holding off only to find I missed the boat on the last matte screen display from Apple... probably paying even more to boot.

I have a graphics/photography business doing lots of color correction and layouts for print and the the web and so far for 3 years the 23" display I have has been fine, I think the 30" is the same – just more of it. I periodically adjust it with an old spectrometer and it works even thought there are no real controls.

I did see one issue with my current 23", there is an obvious burn in at the top where the shadow of the OS top bar is, it's there all the time now plus on certain grey tone backgrounds you can even see what looks like burned in black text in the middle of the screen... very faint but there. I have a screen saver come on after a while so I am surprised this has happened and wonder if it would happen on the 30" as well, any insight on this would be welcome too.

I saw lots of reviews and they all tend to be the same... Can't have a Dell near my mac and spending even more on a NEC is not practical sounding... I think it's the right choice, just is it the right time to buy or almost too late?
 
I'm in the same boat! The 30" is .25mm dot pitch, while the 20" and discontinued 23" were .28mm. In a nutshell, the 30" is literally bigger AND better. You may have read my recent post addressing two minor concerns about the 30", but overall, I'm BLOWN AWAY by the quality. As a design professional, I would highly recommend buying the present incarnation before Apple turns out a new glossy, reflective, speaker bearing 30" with a Big Brother eye staring you down while you work.:eek:
 
graphicimage said:
I am gearing up to buy a few new desktops and have had the 30" on my list for over a year. I figured they would have updated it by now and fear the update will only change it to the dreaded glossy screen!

If it follows the same path as the 24" it will also have useless speakers and a camera... don't think any of this belongs on a professional monitor. Anyway the biggest concern is holding off only to find I missed the boat on the last matte screen display from Apple... probably paying even more to boot.

I have a graphics/photography business doing lots of color correction and layouts for print and the the web and so far for 3 years the 23" display I have has been fine, I think the 30" is the same – just more of it. I periodically adjust it with an old spectrometer and it works even thought there are no real controls.

I did see one issue with my current 23", there is an obvious burn in at the top where the shadow of the OS top bar is, it's there all the time now plus on certain grey tone backgrounds you can even see what looks like burned in black text in the middle of the screen... very faint but there. I have a screen saver come on after a while so I am surprised this has happened and wonder if it would happen on the 30" as well, any insight on this would be welcome too.

I saw lots of reviews and they all tend to be the same... Can't have a Dell near my mac and spending even more on a NEC is not practical sounding... I think it's the right choice, just is it the right time to buy or almost too late?
Click to expand...

HP also makes a very nice 30" display...

And seriously? "Can't have a Dell near my mac"? Are you really that insecure about what people might think if you use a *gasp* Dell display with your Mac?

HP LP3065

Samsung 305T

Dell 3008WFP
 
Seriously

Sorry for the unnecessary dump on Dell. I'm not interested in Dell, but not for the same reasons you mention... I am a branding professional and an industrial designer and I believe in the whole package if the value is there.

I like to support companies who embrace good design even if it costs a little more. I want to see more good design so I currently support Apple... I have my doubts sometimes but currently they are the only player doing it right. Actually I would love to see a new player enter this arena and bring some real competition to the table, that would drop the prices Apple commands.

Everyone else copies and I can't support that. I have heard the Dell 30" is pretty good too and I know it's cheaper – if it was much better I would unfortunately have to reconsider. Right now it looks like they are all pretty much the same viewing quality except apple tends to win out on color accuracy and that is most important to me.

Someone mentioned dot pitch and remembering the CRT days I believe that refers to the detail/sharpness you see... are you saying the 30" is more detailed/sharper then my 23"?

Thanks
 
graphicimage said:
Sorry for the unnecessary dump on Dell. I'm not interested in Dell, but not for the same reasons you mention... I am a branding professional and an industrial designer and I believe in the whole package if the value is there.

I like to support companies who embrace good design even if it costs a little more. I want to see more good design so I currently support Apple... I have my doubts sometimes but currently they are the only player doing it right. Actually I would love to see a new player enter this arena and bring some real competition to the table, that would drop the prices Apple commands.

Everyone else copies and I can't support that. I have heard the Dell 30" is pretty good too and I know it's cheaper – if it was much better I would unfortunately have to reconsider. Right now it looks like they are all pretty much the same viewing quality except apple tends to win out on color accuracy and that is most important to me.

Someone mentioned dot pitch and remembering the CRT days I believe that refers to the detail/sharpness you see... are you saying the 30" is more detailed/sharper then my 23"?

Thanks
Click to expand...

When the 30" ACD was released it had the best color, but since the 3007-HC and the 3008, both of those displays have better color accuracy, and a broader gamut.

The HP 3065 uses the same panel as the 30" ACD, but with a brigher backlight assembly.

The Samgung uses a in-house panel that matches the Dell's for color accuracy, but tends to have a blue cast from the backlight, and has since been replaced by their LED backlit model.

And if the NEC is out of your price range, well you're pretty much going to be stuck with Dell, HP and Samsung for a while.

Even if Apple does release a new 30" ACD, it will probably be much like the 24", glass, gloss, and probably LED backlit.
 
Someone mentioned dot pitch and remembering the CRT days I believe that refers to the detail/sharpness you see... are you saying the 30" is more detailed/sharper then my 23"?

Check out the Apple website, those are the specifications they list. To the best of my knowledge, dot pitch or pixel pitch refers to the distance between pixels, so smaller number=less space between pixels=more pixels per square inch=higher resolution=sharper image=more detail. I'll stand corrected, though.
 
graphicimage said:
I'm not interested in Dell, but not for the same reasons you mention... I am a branding professional and an industrial designer and I believe in the whole package if the value is there.

I like to support companies who embrace good design even if it costs a little more.
Click to expand...

What are you talking about.. Dell 3008WFP is a very nicely designed piece of hardware. Brushed aluminum, glass stand base.. I think it gives Apple ACD a good run for its money design-wise. But yes it doesn't have that :apple: logo up front.. I guess it's worth nearly $500 price difference to some people.. :rolleyes:
 
is it the right time to buy or almost too late?
Click to expand...
Just the other day I was at a local brick and mortar store that were selling them with pretty crazy rebates. The price, converted to US currency, was $1000 excluding VAT, and for that price I don't care even if Apple introduces a new one this Tuesday. Not refurbished or used, so I guess they were just desperately cleaning out their inventory or something.
 
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