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How good are the Apple Cinema Display ?

fredsarran said:
And my best friend told me that Samsung are way better display's than Apple Cinema Display. He also told me that the ACD are just rubbish (but hey ! he comes from the PC world).
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I think the high end Dells use Samsung, anyway. I must say I'm a fan of Samsung LCDs in general.

The Cinema Displays are gorgeous, though. I've worked on plenty of them, and I'd have no reservations about buying one. Screen quality aside, you have a beautifully designed case, a USB and FireWire hub and a micro-fiber cloth :)
 
The ACDs are, quite simply, stunning and highly recommended. They may not have integrated iSight, IR Receiver, Speakers and multiple inputs but for what they are designed as (i.e. a monitor on your computer), they have outstanding quality and beautiful color reproduction.
 
fredsarran said:
And my best friend told me that Samsung are way better display's than Apple Cinema Display. He also told me that the ACD are just rubbish (but hey ! he comes from the PC world).
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You gotta love that ever-so-helpful advice. Samsung has a whole range of displays, some good, some not-so-good, depending on the technology used. I can tell you there are some Samsungs that are very clearly and obviously nowhere near as good as the ACD, but others are comparable. Different companies use the same panels in their displays, but it's near-impossible to find the panel used in the 23-inch ACD in any other display.

Additional input options are nice, but the key factor in any monitor is the display quality. You can always get an adaptor if your input isn't available. But there's no correcting a shoddy TN display.
 
Dave00 said:
You gotta love that ever-so-helpful advice. Samsung has a whole range of displays, some good, some not-so-good, depending on the technology used. I can tell you there are some Samsungs that are very clearly and obviously nowhere near as good as the ACD, but others are comparable. Different companies use the same panels in their displays, but it's near-impossible to find the panel used in the 23-inch ACD in any other display.

Additional input options are nice, but the key factor in any monitor is the display quality. You can always get an adaptor if your input isn't available. But there's no correcting a shoddy TN display.
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You are right :)
 
Forgive what might be a very stupid question...what is difference between, say, a 23 inch cinema display with 1920 x 1200 pixels (optimum resolution)

and the 24 inch imac with 1920 by 1200 pixels?

Other than the horizontal inch, of course. Is it purely the fact that the cinema display is stand-alone monitor?
 
creationmyth said:
Forgive what might be a very stupid question...what is difference between, say, a 23 inch cinema display with 1920 x 1200 pixels (optimum resolution)

and the 24 inch imac with 1920 by 1200 pixels?

Other than the horizontal inch, of course. Is it purely the fact that the cinema display is stand-alone monitor?
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Nope just the horizontal inch i would guess. Its Apple's practice of using weird inches in the old days. 23" instead of 24" 15.2 instead of 15.4
 
I have heard great things about the ACD for its color quality and uses in the design field. However it depends on what you're using it for. The pixel response time is 14-16ms (milliseconds), which is relatively high.

I've heard that for gaming, you should really have response time <7-8ms. If gaming is going to be your primary use, there are plenty of much cheaper LCDs that will put you at the same resolution with a 5ms response time; even though the colors won't be as true as an Apple ACD, who cares? it's just a video game.
 
jmnikricket said:
I have heard great things about the ACD for its color quality and uses in the design field. However it depends on what you're using it for. The pixel response time is 14-16ms (milliseconds), which is relatively high.

I've heard that for gaming, you should really have response time <7-8ms. If gaming is going to be your primary use, there are plenty of much cheaper LCDs that will put you at the same resolution with a 5ms response time; even though the colors won't be as true as an Apple ACD, who cares? it's just a video game.
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I do FPS gaming all the time on my 30" ACDs. No complaints about response time.
 
They do look good the ACD. I like the design of them but not really happy with the physical adjustments of the screen. It would be nice if it was adjustable in height and sideways. Also a 360 turn for a portrait view would be nice. I also think that cannot be a complicated thing to do.
 
I have been thinking about getting a refurb 20 or 23 inch ACD from Apple, but by chance, I just noticed Amazon is selling the 20in ACD for $100 more than refurb.

It looks brand new.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ILKMW?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=cnet-pc-20&linkCode=asn

Also the 23in is only $150 more than refurb at apple.com
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Cinema-...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1213981614&sr=1-1

I am really really tempted to grab a 20inch.
Does anyone know if the 20in is still gorgeous compared to the 23inch. Or is it like the iMac 20 vs 24in where the smaller lcd is sub-quality.

thanks!!!
 
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disdat said:
I have been thinking about getting a refurb 20 or 23 inch ACD from Apple, but by chance, I just noticed Amazon is selling the 20in ACD for $100 more than refurb.

It looks brand new.

http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0002ILKMW?smid=ATVPDKIKX0DER&tag=cnet-pc-20&linkCode=asn

Also the 23in is only $150 more than refurb at apple.com
http://www.amazon.com/Apple-Cinema-...ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=pc&qid=1213981614&sr=1-1

I am really really tempted to grab a 20inch.
Does anyone know if the 20in is still gorgeous compared to the 23inch. Or is it like the iMac 20 vs 24in where the smaller lcd is sub-quality.

thanks!!!
Click to expand...

Good to know, I will check that out :)
 
As an Amazon Associate, MacRumors earns a commission from qualifying purchases made through links in this post.
Not as good as they used to be. The competition has caught up and passed. Until they update look elsewhere (Dell has some nice ones).
 
Just an update.

I was at the Applestore yesterday, and while checking out the ACDs on display, I noticed that their prices are much cheaper now. (Same as the $ from Amazon that I posted previously)

I had previously been going by the "original" price on the refurbs...but it seems that Apple's brand new retail are much lower. What did I miss?

I don't think refurb ACDs are as good of a deal as appears.
 
disdat said:
Just an update.

I was at the Applestore yesterday, and while checking out the ACDs on display, I noticed that their prices are much cheaper now. (Same as the $ from Amazon that I posted previously)

I had previously been going by the "original" price on the refurbs...but it seems that Apple's brand new retail are much lower. What did I miss?

I don't think refurb ACDs are as good of a deal as appears.
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Each time I go on Apple site for refurbish items, they never look that cheap. I prefer putting the full price in a new Mac computer than second hand.
 
keltorsori said:
Not as good as they used to be. The competition has caught up and passed. Until they update look elsewhere (Dell has some nice ones).
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Actually, the competition went backwards. For some reason, the new 20'' widescreen LCDs started using TN panels, where colors look different if you view it at slightly above the middle or slightly below.
 
theBB said:
Actually, the competition went backwards. For some reason, the new 20'' widescreen LCDs started using TN panels, where colors look different if you view it at slightly above the middle or slightly below.
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I'll take my 2ms BenQ over the 16ms ACD any day of the week, thanks.

What will it take for people here to realise that most people do not give a damn about colour accuracy on their monitor? So long as blues aren't green and reds aren't orange, I'll bet 99% of folks buying a display will not notice any low quality to them. To see the difference between TN and IPS you really need to have them side by side.
 
Go for either the 20" or 30" I've heard a lot of problems with the 23". Just read the reviews on apple's website.
 
neiltc13 said:
What will it take for people here to realise that most people do not give a damn about colour accuracy on their monitor? So long as blues aren't green and reds aren't orange, I'll bet 99% of folks buying a display will not notice any low quality to them. To see the difference between TN and IPS you really need to have them side by side.
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Oh, I already realize that for most people it does not matter, that's why they don't make 20'' widescreen monitors with accurate colors anymore. By the way, the blues do become purple and yellows do become green whether you look at it from slightly above or below. Let's say when you are in front of the screen and showing your photos to a friend is next to you standing up.

No, you don't have to put them side by side. Just look at a desktop picture from below or above. I'd say it is harder to see the difference between a 16ms or 2ms response time. However, if you don't care about colors, that's good for you, as you can buy the cheaper monitors and save a ton of money.
 
I've been using a 23" ACD on my MacPro for a year and a half now, and it's fantastic; I really love it. I've got an external iSight for it as well.
 
Display

I picked up a Sony 32" HDTV TV (XBR6) which doubles as a 1980 x 1080 monitor which is good enough for music apps. Got best buy to deal at $800. Used airline miles and credit card points to get BestBuy award card so it was really free. It is really a great monitor!

My next large screen display will be OLED in 2009.

Sony - BRAVIA XBR 32" Class 1080p Flat-Panel LCD HDTV
Model: KDL-32XBR6

Inputs: 4 HDMI (1 side, 3 rear), 6 analog audio (1 side, 5 rear), 2 component video (rear), 3 composite video (1 side, 2 rear), 1 S-video (rear), 1 PC audio (rear), 1 PC video (rear)

Advanced Contrast Enhancer automatically senses the video signal's contrast quality and adjusts the intensity of the backlight for improved contrast up to 25,000:1

BRAVIA Engine 2 full HD video processor upconverts all interlaced and progressive video signals directly to 1080p for amazing detail and sharpness
 
Personally, the only thing that's kept me from buying an ACD is the anti-glare coating on them. It seems to sparkle like the 15" matte Merom MBP. Other than that small issue, they're really nicely designed. I would like to see a flavor in glossy at some point and they are more than overdue for a refresh. You guys think :apple: will adopt OLED in the near future? Maybe that is the reason for the extended delay?
 
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