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Apple Cinema Display: The Future

-BigMac-

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macrumors 68030
Original poster
Apr 15, 2011
2,511
2,945
Melbourne, Australia
Hi guys,
it seems like only yesterday the 30" Cinema Display came out, only to be outdated by the 27" LED, to be outdated by the 27" Thunderbolt.
The revolution of screens is an especially exciting one, for all of us.


I'm a proud owner of a 27" LED Cinema, but am now stuck at an interesting, yet confusing time.

This is mainly due to the uncertain path of the Cinema Displays future.

I, like many others i'm sure, have a cinema display of some kind, or atleast looking to buy one in the near future.

There are certain things which are of interest to me:
1) The future screen sizes. I for one would LOVE the 30" to make a return. Here is where point 2 comes in.
2) The resolutions. Rumored 'retina' HiDPi MacBook screens are on the way.
- where does this leave the cinema display?
- if a 27" or better yet, a 30" cinema display would come out, there will be substancial pressure put
on the current GPUs available for the MP, especially for Multi-screen displays.
- Would the rumored 'upcoming high-end cards for mac pro' be sufficient for such a
setup?
3) With point 3 in mind, is it worth waiting for such 'rumored' screens, which might not make an appearance at all.


Sorry for such an 'open' topic. Couldn't really narrow this one down to a fine point.
 
There is always something better coming soon.

If you need it to make money, buy what you need and don't wait.

I just bought a 27" tb display for when I am at my other office and will buy a second one if it works out ok. It's the only way to connect two big displays to a MacBook Pro.

I have three 30" displays as well. Although I won't have them side by side, I will let you know what I think of the resolution drop. My guess it that is doesn't matter much.
 
JesterJJZ said:
Not everyone thinks the 27" was an "upgrade"...
Click to expand...

It wasn't but at half the price of the 30" Apple Cinema Display it sure were a bargain for nearly the same resolution.

Although I admit I am still using 2 x 23" Apple Cinema Displays and can't complain.
 
The 27" "cinema" display is useless for serious work because of its funky glass screen.

I'd rather buy an Apple display than one of the ugly NECs, but Apple doesn't listen to the needs of professionals and offers gaming and "fun" displays instead.

A necessary new cinema display line would include a matte screen - just like the MacBook Pro line offers it. Then we can buy Apple displays again. Until then, buying an Apple display is a waste of money. NEC displays, while too much stuck in boring design, offer the specs needed.

And, by the way, the current design with the black bezel is just not that exciting anyway.
 
JesterJJZ said:
Not everyone thinks the 27" was an "upgrade"...
Click to expand...
+1

What i like about the 30": matte, 16:10 aspect ratio, CCFL backlit (no, LED is not better, that's what they want us to think, it's just cheaper, greener and sounds fancy). And the design was superb, it goes very well with a MacPro. :X
 
NutsNGum said:
What? Myself and a few other people I know make a living using the Thunderbolt Display/Cinema Display.

Srs.
Click to expand...

If you can control the lighting in your place of work, then it's not so bad, but I prefer anti-glare displays regardless of where I work. However, if colour accuracy was something that mattered to how I make money, then I would be using a more serious monitor anyway.
 
Last edited:
If you are serious about color you should have a 10-bit screen and you wouldn't really care about how the screen looks.
 
Notebook displays have little bearing on high-end panels. Apple won't use a 30" panel again. They are expensive and just slightly too big for consumers. 27" is a very good meeting point between consumer and professional demand. It isn't just about price and technology but actually physical space to put them.

Apple have essentially used the two largest ones they really could over the past 8 years and been very early (first?) to market with both. The latest advancements bring 36" 4K resolution displays. Display Port can drive these, but the currently run in the tens of thousands of dollars. You aren't going to see those in an iMac.

Will screens get denser at current physical sizes? Yeah in time, but not for many years. The TV market has a bit of influence but they want to push 3D for all they can before they really start pushing higher-resolutions as there isn't enough content yet and they also want to make the most of blu-ray too.
 
I wish Apple would add some more variety back into their displays. Offer a smaller size again and a matte option. I am happy with my 20" aluminum cinema display from 5 years ago. I wish Apple would bring back the 20" and 23" matte aluminum cinema displays. They were and still are awesome. Not everyone needs or wants a big 27-30" screen size - like me. A 20" or 23" display is plenty.
 
theSeb said:
However, if colour accuracy was something that mattered to how I make money, then I would be using a more serious monitor anyway.
Click to expand...

That's not always the case, I know plenty of people who work in print shops and have their own firms that use the Glossy iMacs and get plenty of recurrent business.

If you know your Hex, your RGB and CMYK, and calibrate your machine correctly, it makes little difference. It comes down to personal preference.

I've seen monitors in BBC editing suites aren't especially astonishing, for instance. That's a pretty big gig.
 
I won't buy the 27-inch Thunderbolt display because it does not have sufficiently flexible I/O. Why on earth did Apple only give it a TB input? It makes it completely useless for anything other than connecting a Mac with TB.

These displays should last a long time, suppose you want to use it with a PC or Linux workstation? If it had been designed with DisplayPort or HDMI it would be easy, but as it is you can't.

So alternatives, well Samsung S27A850D is 2/3rds of the price and 2/3rd of the weight. LG make one, which almost certainly uses the same panel as Apple. HP also make quite a nice 27-inch display, again 2/3rds of the price, although around the same weight as Apple 27-inch TB display.

What I find even stranger is that Apple now have to carry two 27-Inch displays, one using TB exclusively the other using miniDisplayPort. Someone at Apple has seriously messed up on this!
 
24Frames said:
I won't buy the 27-inch Thunderbolt display because it does not have sufficiently flexible I/O. Why on earth did Apple only give it a TB input? It makes it completely useless for anything other than connecting a Mac with TB.

These displays should last a long time, suppose you want to use it with a PC or Linux workstation? If it had been designed with DisplayPort or HDMI it would be easy, but as it is you can't.

So alternatives, well Samsung S27A850D is 2/3rds of the price and 2/3rd of the weight. LG make one, which almost certainly uses the same panel as Apple. HP also make quite a nice 27-inch display, again 2/3rds of the price, although around the same weight as Apple 27-inch TB display.

What I find even stranger is that Apple now have to carry two 27-Inch displays, one using TB exclusively the other using miniDisplayPort. Someone at Apple has seriously messed up on this!
Click to expand...

"Why on earth did Apple only give it a TB input?"

You actually answered your own question.

"It makes it completely useless for anything other than connecting a Mac with TB."
 
i completely agree with you guys. the aluminium displays were awesome. 20",23" and 30" love the design..however i own a 27" led now, and the size itself isnt an issue for me in particular.
what is an issue is the glossy display.. why apple hasnt included this absolutely puzzles me. it should have been included as an option or at least BTO in every model.

Would you guys buy an 'aluminium' screen at the moment? given the warrantys are almost certainly expired..

seems like a majority of you all would be satisfied with a matte 27" led? wow.. with only such a small thing for apple to change, the matte.. it seems odd they havent done so :/
 
Give me one of these and I'm happy...
 

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Fortunately I still have the 30" with applecare till mid 2013 (purchased in june 2010). The aluminum design is the best IMO.. Hope mine lasts for a really long time..

Apple, get rid of the glossy mirrors!! Give a matte option for the thunderbolt display at least! Because the only thing stopping me from getting one is the gloss..
 
theSeb said:
If you can control the lighting in your place of work, then it's not so bad, but I prefer anti-glare displays regardless of where I work. However, if colour accuracy was something that mattered to how I make money, then I would be using a more serious monitor anyway.
Click to expand...

You said it more diplomatically than I did - color accuracy is one of the key points.

But, even worse than color accuracy, is contrast accuracy on those mirror displays.

And that reflective screen is bad for the eyes if you do long sessions. I wouldn't want to do a twelve hour Photoshop session on one of these.

Let's hope for a good revamp! So the external Apple displays are as good as the old 30" was - at its time.
 
The 23" Aluminium ACD's have yellow tint issues.

The 30" ACD is a great monitor...working on the 24" Glossy, I would get constant headaches and color issues. The glass makes the blacks darker and since I do graphic work, it would create discrepancies for my work and I had to find out workarounds for it. The 30" ACD is still my favorite Apple monitor.
 
Pompiliu said:
+1

What i like about the 30": matte, 16:10 aspect ratio, CCFL backlit (no, LED is not better, that's what they want us to think, it's just cheaper, greener and sounds fancy). And the design was superb, it goes very well with a MacPro. :X
Click to expand...

I have bought six of the 30"s over the years and have three of them on my desk.

The bad news about the ccfl is that they get dimmer. My four year old 30"s are dimmer and take longer to warm up than they used to. It's just a matter of time before I will have to upgrade them.

Otherwise, I agree with you.
 
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