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Is the 23" Cinema Display reliable?

H

*HOA*Maxmus

macrumors newbie
Original poster
Mar 13, 2007
23
0
CA
I have read on the APPLE FORUM that the 23" Cinema Display has many problems regards to potentially faulty powerbrick ($95 to replace) or other hardware issues. Also read that these displays starts to "zombie sleep" (i.e. does not wake up from sleep) after one year of use. So many users ended up either unplugging/plugging the powercord from the powerbrick until the display starts to work.

But I have also read that a simple PRAM reset fixed the "zombie sleep" problem. So, I'm a bit confused.
 
*HOA*Maxmus said:
I have read on the APPLE FORUM that the 23" Cinema Display has many problems regards to potentially faulty powerbrick ($95 to replace) or other hardware issues. Also read that these displays starts to "zombie sleep" (i.e. does not wake up from sleep) after one year of use. So many users ended up either unplugging/plugging the powercord from the powerbrick until the display starts to work.

But I have also read that a simple PRAM reset fixed the "zombie sleep" problem. So, I'm a bit confused.
Click to expand...

I'm in the market for a 23" ACD as well - and I have experience with the Apple Discussion boards. When I bought my Macbook Pro last May, there was constant talk about problem after problem after problem. But I realized that people only really post when they're having problems. So I got my MBP and have had absolutely no problems and I love it.

So I'm going to assume that it's the same thing here. Maybe there have been some problems, but you don't hear from the vast majority of happy owners. Also, I'm going to be getting Apple Care on it at some point, so any power brick or sleep issues would be covered by warranty.

I say, just go for it and if you have a legitimate problem, it will be covered - and think about Apple Care for peace of mind.
 
*HOA*Maxmus said:
I have read on the APPLE FORUM that the 23" Cinema Display has many problems regards to potentially faulty powerbrick ($95 to replace) or other hardware issues. ...
Click to expand...
I have two--a four-year-old plastic-framed 23" ACD and a two-year-old aluminum-framed model. No problem like this.
 
Haven't had any problems with mine. Its been a great monitor. I have had it for about 5 months. The only gripe I have with it is that takes a little bit of getting use to when using with a mac book pro.

It surprisenly doesnt get dusty. There is a huge difference goign back to the 15" screen after working on the 23". Mostly because the resolution is so high on the monitor. Its expensive but its worth it. Plus you can get this..
http://www.raindesigninc.com/mstand.html Its really heavy to pick up with one hand. Daddy alwasys said you can judge the quality of something by its weight.
 
Haven't had a hint of a problem with mine.

That includes stuck / dead pixels that you see discussed a lot on these forums. I got mine storty after they dropped the price to $999 for the 23"
 
:) Thanks all for the reply. I think this will be a nice monitor to get. And jakeDude, I think I'll look into the mstand.

Again, thanks all :)
 
If you are going into a store to purchase, do yourself a big favor and download an app called LCDTEST. Look for it on versiontracker or macupdate. Burn this app to CD or use a flash drive and test the screen you want to purchase. I was able to catch some issues and the store had no problem with me running the app. Be sure to check on each color test for any stuck pixels. Some may only show up on certain colors. Also, open and close apps and move them around quickly with the mouse. Check for any left over images from the app window.


Its sounds much, you'll feel better and when you get a good one boy is it sweet.

9 Months and no problems.
 
my family has two 23" ACDs, we havent had problems with either, iThink that you have to remember that most people don't post on Apple Forums the good luck they have had with products unless they have just come out, i mean how many times have you seen someone saying "just bought my bt mighty mouse-no problems..." or after a year "ive had my iMac, no problems"....people post when they have problems or when they want to complain....so just becareful, no product, not even an apple product is perfect...:apple: :D
 
Pink tinge

Had mine for nearly 3 years and it has a pink tinge round the edge - not sure when it appeared but I am pretty sure this is well documented on the Apple discussion boards, so do a search and if you do get one, check immediately.

Hope this helps.

Mossman

PS No such probs on my 30" :cool:
 
my 23' still makes me go 'wow!'

Mossman said:
Had mine for nearly 3 years and it has a pink tinge round the edge - not sure when it appeared but I am pretty sure this is well documented on the Apple discussion boards, so do a search and if you do get one, check immediately.

Hope this helps.

Mossman

PS No such probs on my 30" :cool:
Click to expand...

Can I just say I bought my 23' in the middle of the 'Pink Tinge' issue. Icouldnt notice mine at all, but for the piece of mind I got AppleCare (this was Feb 2005)

One day I was watching a DVD in full-screen mode and some of the black bars looked yellow. I took it in to Regent Street and explained the situation. They promptly replaced it for a brand new 2007 model 23'.

I will never doubt AppleCare. The power Brick is fine too. It is the best piece of electronic equipment I've bought, I love my ACD :D
 
end of semester

JHacker said:
AHHH I'm so excited to get mine! I'm getting it as soon as my semester ends, so about May 17th at 4:23pm!
Click to expand...

Dude, I know JUST how you feel! I'm waiting for pay-rise so I can get a 12' PB refurb from NY, I really love those things, and cannot wait!

F
 
The only problem I've had with any of my 23" ACD's have been self-inflicted, or that of PC/Windows compatibility (doesn't work with some of my cards). Absolutely no problems in terms of reliability. I think they're nice monitors in general, although ergonomically challenged.
 
I'll add my not-so-great story on my 23" ACD.

Picked it up at the beginning of April, however it was one that was manufactured in 2005 (according to the serial number at least).

Well, it's with Applecare right now because of the "image persistence" problem.

It's an awesome display, but a couple days ago, I rebooted the system. During the reboot, when the Mac goes from your background to the blue background...I noticed what looked like burn-in. Well...LCD's don't get burn-in. I can clearly see the outline of windows etc, stuck on my screen with a darker blue/grey background.

Basically, I wasn't happy with how easy it was to have this happen, and how difficult is was to have it go away....even though not all the images faded, even after having the display off overnight.

Took it to the Genius Bar, they saw it and are keeping it....to do who-knows-what to it.

Hopefully I get a fixed display back...soon!

-Kevin
 
kbmb said:
Basically, I wasn't happy with how easy it was to have this happen, and how difficult is was to have it go away....even though not all the images faded, even after having the display off overnight.
Click to expand...
This actually happened to me recently on my 30", or something similar at least. I actually found that leaving the display on made it go away - I had turned it off for a while and it was still exactly the same when I turned it back on. 10 minutes just showing my desktop and it was completely back to normal.

I have Applecare, of course, so I'm not worried - if one day something should go permanently wrong then they'll fix it :D
 
I've had no problems whatsoever, the image is the great and easy on the eyes. I leave it on almost all day.

-T
 
miniConvert said:
This actually happened to me recently on my 30", or something similar at least. I actually found that leaving the display on made it go away - I had turned it off for a while and it was still exactly the same when I turned it back on. 10 minutes just showing my desktop and it was completely back to normal.

I have Applecare, of course, so I'm not worried - if one day something should go permanently wrong then they'll fix it :D
Click to expand...


Tried that as well. Both with just a background picture, and a solid color.

It affected certain areas of the screen, where my Adium contacts are, the iTunes mini player, and the left edge where there is usually always a window edge. All of these things won't change in the future...so I was worried that it would get worse.

Funny thing is, until this display, I'd never heard of this issue. Neither had any of my friends I told this to.

I wish Apple would have just swapped the display for a new one, since it was only 15 days old....but no dice!

-Kevin
 
Year and a half trouble free and then big trouble

It seems most of you in this thread are trouble free but I have recently had some very frustrating troubles and I thought I should share..

I have the 23" Cinema Display. I have really loved this display. It's Awesome actually, but recently I have had serious issues. I could write 10 pages on my experience but I will try to be concise.

The trouble started first with my computer not sleeping. Normally I just walk away and 20 min latter my machine just goes to sleep. Brilliant! Then I started noticing the monitor on when I got up to take a leak in the middle of the night. Hmmm, WTF? So I monitored the situation. I then noticed a burn in image on the screen, which is called persistent image because it's not permanent (The best way to clear it is to create a pure white screen saver, and apparently leaving it off for a long time will work too). This really bumbed me out because I had just upgraded to Leopard and added 2 LaCie drives FW800. I knew this was not going to be an easy trouble shoot.

The problem worsened in many ways quite quickly. Upon waking from sleep the monitor would just stay black (not always just sometimes) and sometimes (but not always) it would go into take off mode where the fans ramp up to full speed. So I started shutting down at the end of every day. It was fine for a while but then when restarting the screen would remain black. It seemed to boot fine though. I went to my MacBook Pro and went to screen sharing. Everything booted just fine. I plugged my old Sony monitor in...fine. I plugged the ACD into my MacBook Pro and once it was fine.

I took it to the Apple Store and they kept it for a couple of days and ran a bunch of "required" tests. I told them that from what I could gather it was a bad Video Card. They replaced it. Problem still persisted and a week later I took my machine and my display to the Genius Bar. Everything worked just fine of course. They said it could be a power issue and that I should get an APC or power conditioner. They said that the power brick will go into protection mode if it gets bad power. I was determined so I took my Best Buy rewards coupon and bought a $150 APC. I was not convinced that would solve the problem but I figured I should have one anyway. Of course it worked for a while

Back to the Apple Store again with 50 pound G5 and Display in tow. Ugggh! After trying really hard to convince them to let me work with the same guy they said they can't do that but they are all trained. They are so by the book....Anyway I found my guy coming back from a smoke break and got him to help me. After all of this he said well it's probably a bad power brick...he ordered me a new one which should come in tomorrow.

I did a google search for this problem and discovered it is very widespread. Many people with the same or similar problems. It's a bit sketchy too. It seems that the problem started around the same time for many people. In Sept. when they released updates. It makes you wonder if a software problem could have perpetuated a hardware problem.

At any rate the general consensus is that this is a relatively widespread issue which should result in a recall or at least a general notice that if the problem occurs they will send out new power bricks. However, it seems apple is keeping the issue on the DL, to such an extent that not even the "Trained" Genius' at the Apple Store are even aware of it. Furthermore, those out of warranty even if just over a year are made to pay for a new brick. $100! Totally unacceptable on so many levels.

I told my guy at the genius bar flat out. If this were a Dell, (and clarified that I bought a Mac at a huge premium to avoid trouble) I would have a new monitor in 24 hours, with a paid shipping label to send the other one back. Several of them heard me. They all put there heads down and the silence was deafening.

This is such a disappointment that a company that's entire MO is to make computers "That Just Work", would not own up to a problem of this magnitude. I know that problems occur in manufacturing from time to time. I know computers are complex pieces of equipment and that sometimes problems occur. I just expect...more than anyone else..that Apple would promptly announce the issue and assure people that it will be righted. Also not a bad Idea to share this information with your trained monkeys at the so called genius bar (actually they are all real cool, just too programed) so as not to waste all of our time with 10 steps of required trouble shooting for what should be a known issue. Shame on Apple for this. I switched over from the PC side about a year and a half ago. I am very happy I did. I love my Macs! I paid what, 3 grand more for the privilege..and the gorgeous hardware...and the peace of mind that it will "Just Work". Apple is getting bigger by the minute. I hope they aren't losing their way.

If anyone else has had this issue, I would like to hear your experience.

Some Light Reading:
http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1135625&tstart=0

http://pashasadri.wordpress.com/2007/09/25/apple-23-cinema-display-power-supply/
 
My home office looks like an air traffic control tower and it contains a reasonable number of ACD's. So does my lab/office. And I have to say that apart from image quality issues with some monitors, some of which I haven't bothered to fix because they're minor to me, I've had no actual deal-killer functional problems with the ACD's - both 23" and 30.

Having said that, I would have to say that given the slightly variable accuracy / quality across the screen of my various ACD's - despite what some dedicated graphics professionals or rabid Applemaniacs (it's so hard to tell the difference sometimes) might say - those attributes are not something that I would feel compelled to choose Apple for. I like the ACD's because they complement my main desking area (or in the case of the iMac, the computer) in terms of style. My other monitors are Dell, Samsung and Eizo and I would say these companies provide better 'working' monitors in almost every sense especially if you're a singleton with an eye on value and support.

No power brick issues yet either, although I have had plenty of power brick problems with the Macbook Pros.
 
I've had a 23" for almost 2 years and I must say that I have never had a problem ever. This screen is almost never off. If I were to guess it's off for about 1 or 2 hours a month and when the comp's not being used it's doing the screensaver thing...because my computer doesn't go to sleep and I don't have the screen set to go black...just my experience.

-Leo
 
I have two of the 23"s and have no problems. If a power supply ever dies on me, they are around $65 on ebay. My panels are perfect as far as I can tell.

I would not get an ACD right now for a variety of reasons. Connections, HDCP, etc.

I find the single cable annoying on the back end, trying to sit the power supply somewhere out of the way and still connecting everything to the computers. I have mine on ergotron arms, which solves the lack of height adjustment.

However, they sure are pretty... Mine are on pretty much all the time when I am home, and I have never had as much as a flicker from either of them.
 
I love my 23" ACD. Had a great 20" ACD before it but the added height was needed on the 23".

No problems with either. EXCELLENT display.
 
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