Apple Cinema Display Price Cut

[Rower_CPU]

Honestly I would stay the hell away from the 2005FPW. I went through three replacements. It breaks down as such.
<chomp>

How recently was this? The AnandTech review alluded to some early QC issues but they seemed to think the current batch was A-OK.

I'm willing to take a shot on one, even if I have to do one return to get a good one. I'm used to dealing with Dell.

 

[Bear]

Price drops are always a good thing. The 30" certainly looks very appealing.

After reading the prior post, I just had to go back to apple.com. Because I thought that I had misread the information. The higher priced card is still required.

Actually the 6850 can also drive one 30" Display (and one regular display). They just forgot to update the information on the display page.

 

[DavidCar]

Actually the 6850 can also drive one 30" Display (and one regular display). They just forgot to update the information on the display page.

an ATI 9650 can drive a 30" display, according to a press release today. I believe it adds only $50 above the standard card in a G5 at the Apple store. I'm trying to figure out if it can do Core Image, as it is not among the listed cards, or is it a version of a 9600 XT which is listed?

http://apps.ati.com/ir/PressReleaseText.asp?compid=105421&releaseID=702019

 

[cruci]

Maybe I'm not seeing it, but I don't see any note in Dell tech specs that 24" LCD is HD capable.

Wouldn't that make the price difference reasonable?

I need to know because I want to use Eye TV HD recorder.

Anybody out there that can educate me on the issue?

Thanks.

Any screen that can do high enough res can do HD right? so you need at least Xx1080 to do 1080I/p

I'm pretty sure the 24" does that

 

[puuukeey]

in the HD vein

ok so whats the difference between an HD TV and a monitor? whats the deal with all this....

 

[gugy]

Price drops are always a good thing. The 30" certainly looks very appealing.

After reading the prior post, I just had to go back to apple.com. Because I thought that I had misread the information. The higher priced card is still required.

The 30" cinema display DID NOT drop in price according to Maccentral.com.

 

[SiliconAddict]

How recently was this? The AnandTech review alluded to some early QC issues but they seemed to think the current batch was A-OK.

I'm willing to take a shot on one, even if I have to do one return to get a good one. I'm used to dealing with Dell.

Mine was late March. Rev 01.

Here is my previous post.

I just returned mine this week. The screen is (Scratch that) WAS fantastic until you start playing dark games/movies or have some black screensaver. My 2005FPW had a backlight bleed problem in the lower left about the size of my fist and the upper right about the size of a small cellphone. Again it was only with black screens and the lights turned low where the "issue" is viewable. I'm REALLY picky about my display and had it replaced by Dull twice. The first had 6 bad pixels. The second....well...never got the second before 21st day deadline for returning the thing came up. I wasn't willing to gamble that much money on a screen. I've done a lot of research on the 2005FPW and honestly. You aren't going to get a screen without some moderate backlight bleed...period. From what I've read the actual display type is different from those used in the 2405 model hence the reason the 2405 has little to no backlight bleed.
My biggest complaint about Dull is their customer support. In my life I have NEVER...EVER had support as completely and totally horrid as theirs. The magic spell I learned (too late to be useful as it turns out...21day return thing again.) was to used support via e-mail and instant chat. Under no circumstances call Dell. Both times I called them I got some Indian that was only slightly more comprehensible then white noise. The first call I did took 2 hours to get them to ship me a new monitor. The second call I did I simply hung up on them. I'm sorry but trying to get a mailing address from someone who has a accent that is thicker then pea soup was causing me to want to gnaw off my arm in frustration.
Again if you need to do returns send it to: [email]US_CTS_Desktop_Support@dell.com[/email]

or simply using Dell's web based chat utility (That prob doesn't work on Macs )

Again for the price the monitor was fantastic. I think I'm just overly sensitive to that backlight bleed thing and it doesn't help that I'm a big fan of space based games (Read: Lot of black on screen.)
All I know is I'm going to wait for the next deal from Dell and get a 2405FPW instead. I've heard almost no complaints about that screen. The thing is I'm not willing to spend more then 900 on a monitor so I'm going to have to wait for one of Dell's uber deals to creep up.

 

[wdlove]

Wasn't the original price of the 30" $3299 and now it $2999? If so that would be $300.

 

[R.Youden]

In the UK the Dell 20" monitor is more than the Apple 20" (OK with education discount the montior is £475) the dell in £490 I think. OK I am not going out of my way to find the Dell 20" at an education discount.

 

[Eevee]

Price drops are always a good thing. The 30" certainly looks very appealing.

After reading the prior post, I just had to go back to apple.com. Because I thought that I had misread the information. The higher priced card is still required.

The higher priced card is not required if you have the new PBs with Radeon 9700 w/ 128MB card.

I have the $$ for one! Unfortunately, I have the Rev C PB so I can't get a 30"

 

[cheekyspanky]

Just in case anyone wants to know - the Higher Edu prices in the UK are shown in these screen grabs.

 

[SiliconAddict]

you are a fool if you actually think that the Dell is better, Dell's panels or LCD parts are made by 2 or 3 different manufactures while

Bull. You are the fool if you haven't done a comparison between the two. I can tell you from practical experience that the Dell 24" Blows away Apple's 23" ACD. I've got a friend that ordered a 24" Dell with his tax return to replace his 23" ACD. He's got a dual system setup G5 PowerMac 2Ghz/Alienware.
He got it last week and I can tell you RIGHT NOW that there is NO comparison the Dell wins on everything other then looks and for $500 cheaper a fugly bezel is well worth it. Put aside your all Apple all the time no matter what attitude and go out and see one of these displays before you make BS assumptions like oh my it has parts made by different manufacturers. Oh no.

 

[gugy]

Wasn't the original price of the 30" $3299 and now it $2999? If so that would be $300.

It was the original price, then Apple had a drop in price I think 4 or 5 months ago and the 30' display went to $2999. Too bad, I was looking for another drop.

 

[aswitcher]

It was the original price, then Apple had a drop in price I think 4 or 5 months ago and the 30' display went to $2999. Too bad, I was looking for another drop.

I wonder if the drops are price rationalisation or/and if a new line will be out in the next 2-3 months and so Apple are trying to clear the inventory...

 

[Lacero]

For those waiting since the ACD introduction...

The history of price cuts on the Aluminum Cinema Displays. US Dollars.

 

[bankshot]

With all this talk of the Dell LCDs, I went on over to their site today. This image just struck me as funny - you think they were trying to copy something? I guess some things never change...

Anyway, that 2005FPW does sound enticing at such a low price. I've been looking for something around that price range to possibly buy (see thread here) but never really thought about a new display. Would be kinda nice, as my current LCD (a 15" EIZO bought 5 years ago when they were still almost $1000 - coincidentally purchased from Dell ) is looking as great as ever but the 1024x768 is starting to feel cramped. What a step up a 20" would be.

Too bad apparently the sale ends today, as I'd like to see one of these babies in action before committing to anything. Probably means I won't do it and I'll end up keeping the iPod instead. But either way I win!

 

[mpopkin]

Apple Displays are only purchased from Samsung(exceptions may be the iMac) but for PBook, Ibook, Apple cinema they are definetely Samsung, Sharp Displays are considered the bottom end of the top 5 manufacturers in quality and reliability and they are also among the cheapeset. Figures dell would use the cheapest

Dell's displays are OEM from Sharp

Apple displays are OEM from Samsung and Philips LG

If you want a compareable (picture wise) display with no usb or firewire hub but a rotating display (that doesn't work in OSX) - get a Samsung.

If my customers don't want an Apple Display or CRT - I recommend Samsung displays the most.

 

[mpopkin]

That is funny, when i opened my display, and since i am a known tinkerer it said Samsung on the back, if you want me to read you the panel id sometime feel free to ask, but unless Samsung is owned by Lg Phillips, i believe that is incorrect

Do some research, the Dell and Apple 20" LCDs are using the exact same screen. They have different backlights, but the panel itself is exactly the same, from the same factory - the LG.Philips LCD LM201W01.

I make no claims as to which is better, just thought there were some facts that needed clearing up...

 

[mklos]

Price drops are always a good thing. The 30" certainly looks very appealing.

After reading the prior post, I just had to go back to apple.com. Because I thought that I had misread the information. The higher priced card is still required.

The new high end PowerMac ships with an ATI Radeon 9650 Graphics Card that has (1) Dual Link DVI port on it which will power a 30" display. This card is a $50 option on the two lower models. So for $50, any new PowerMac G5 can handle a 30" display no problem. Keep in mind that it only has one dual link DVI port so you can't power 2 side by side, but heck, who has $6,000 to blow on display anyways!

 

[mklos]

Apple Displays are only purchased from Samsung(exceptions may be the iMac) but for PBook, Ibook, Apple cinema they are definetely Samsung, Sharp Displays are considered the bottom end of the top 5 manufacturers in quality and reliability and they are also among the cheapeset. Figures dell would use the cheapest

The 20" iMac G5 uses the old 20" Apple display that was in the plastic case. I have a 20" iMac G5 and it has a stunning display on it. Very crisp and extremely bright. I have to turn my brightness down sometimes. I have 1 dead pixel, but its in a spot where you never notice it so it doesn't bother me at all.

 

[oskar]

So if you buy one 23" ACD at $1499.99 you get a total of 2,304,000 pixels each costing $0.000651.
If you buy two 20" displays for a total of $1599.98 you get 3,528,000 pixels each costing $0.0004535. a difference of 30% in cost/pixel.

Buy paying 6.25% more (for two 20" displays) you get 34.7% more pixels than a 23" display. So if it's pixels you want, 2 displays are better. But...

The drawback is really that you don't have an HD image which is why the 23" and 30" are that much more expensive, not so much because of the amount of pixels you get. If you definitely need a high definition image (for final cut actual size playback for example) the 23" display is the best choice.
The same rules apply with getting two 23" or one 30". (Except for the HD part). With the same money you can either get millions of pixels in two displays or just one amazing amount of pixels in one display. The important thing is that if you need to display a 30" image on your screen you obviously need to buy the 30" instead of the two smaller monitors.

Lets do the math shall we? If we look at the number of pixels the 20" acd has a resolution of 1680x1050 = 1,764,000 pixels. The 23" has a resolution of 1920x1200 = 2,304,000

So. By shelling out an extra 87.6% you gain 30,61% screen real estate or 540,000 pixels. Not that bad actually. The marginal efficiency of that screen estate is definately worth it if you're working with graphics.

 

[Morky]

That's life in electronics.

I bought the 20 inch when it was $1299 and I feel ripped the hell off.

I just bought mine in January for $1300 and now it's $800. That's just the way things go in the electronics market. I remember not wanting to buy a
Vic20 because I heard something better was coming, and the salesman said "if you think like that, you'll never buy a computer". He is still right.

Love the monitor.

 

[gugy]

The history of price cuts on the Aluminum Cinema Displays. US Dollars.

Thanks Lacero,

It makes me sad not to see at least a $300 price drop for the 30" display.
I heard speculation of a possible 40"+ cinema display coming soon. That could possibly make the 30" cheaper.

 

[oskar]

i dont know why everyone is complaining about the 20" "not being HD". 720p, which is higher percieved quality than 1080i (and 1080p isnt fully supported yet) can be edited on even the 20", actually even the old 17" 4:3. heck, my powerbook g4 15" at 1280x854 can view 720p HD video with pixels to spare if it wanted to (but i dont have any HD content). 1080p is another story, but chances are that if you're needing to edit 1080i or 1080p content and 720p isnt enough for you, and in that situation, you can probably afford a $5000 HD camera to shoot 1080 content with, and a $3000 powermac g5, then you can probably afford a $1500 23" or two or get a dell. stop complaining. the 20" is a great monitor, and apple isnt going to change the DPI, when 1080i on a 20" monitor wouldn't look that great anyways. sorry, had to rant.

but this is great news about the price drops. the 20" is becoming more and more of a reality for me to afford. and i'd be more than happy with 1680x1050 pixels.

I wasn't one of the complainers, but as you're saying yourself: you can view 720p footage on your 15" PB, as can I. But editting is a different story...
Unless you're using two screens, you cannot edit while seeing the "actual size" of the footage on ANY PowerBook, unless you're talking about cutting and pasting with quicktime. In fact a 20" display with the actual-sized 720p footage would leave you a bare 400 H and 330 V pixels left for panels and the like, which wouldn't be all that much comfortable.
The HD monitors are great for a double monitor set-up where you are viewing your output source when editting in its true size. The 20" is an excellent monitor for that as well.
People who complain about the 20" not being HD probably just don't want the letterbox or something...

EDIT: Just read another reply. No one was actually complaining about the 20" not being HD.

 

[wildmac]

I can tell you from practical experience that the Dell 24" Blows away Apple's 23" ACD. I've got a friend that ordered a 24" Dell with his tax return to replace his 23" ACD. He's got a dual system setup G5 PowerMac 2Ghz/Alienware.
He got it last week and I can tell you RIGHT NOW that there is NO comparison the Dell wins on everything other then looks and for $500 cheaper a fugly bezel is well worth it. Put aside your all Apple all the time no matter what attitude and go out and see one of these displays before you make BS assumptions like oh my it has parts made by different manufacturers. Oh no.

Well, I've heard good things about the Dell 24", and heard this comparison go both ways, but I'd like to hear from any graphic artists out there that are using the Dell 24". Anyone?....