I couldn't agree more. I feel the same way. I'm going for a second ACD 30" ACD too. I love them.
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OK, talk me out of buying an ACD...
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I couldn't agree more. I feel the same way. I'm going for a second ACD 30" ACD too. I love them.
ACDs are really nice displays. I've got two older ones (ADC models) and they have been great. I expect to get several more years of service from them.
I recently had a choice to make in a similar vein and I went for the HP 30 inch display for the following reasons.
Pro
-Better LCD Panel (Next gen S-IPS Panel)
-Better color reproduction
-Better price
-3 DVI inputs and it is HDCP compatible for future BD playback
-4 USB Ports
Con
-No Firewire ports
-Doesn't look as hot as ACD
Considering the above, it made more sense for me to go with the HP.
You may look at the above and decide differently based on your needs.
Hope my reasoning helped!
Pro
-Better LCD Panel (Next gen S-IPS Panel)
-Better color reproduction
-Better price
-3 DVI inputs and it is HDCP compatible for future BD playback
-4 USB Ports
Con
-No Firewire ports
-Doesn't look as hot as ACD
Considering the above, it made more sense for me to go with the HP.
You may look at the above and decide differently based on your needs.
Hope my reasoning helped!
I don't care about HDMI or more ports. I'm using it on my MacPro at work. So I bought a 30" ACD. Absolutely love it. That and all my coworkers are jealous.
Better LCD panel? I disagree, better color reproduction, I also disagree. Better price, not on a budget - don't care. The ACD is a computer monitor, not a TV. Buy a separate tv if you need more inputs. With that being said some video guys could use a few extra ports for playback - I still say get a separate monitor for that. More inputs would mean the single cord design of the ACD would most likely need to be replaced with something like the other monitors.
The HP, Dell, and Gateway monitors are absolutely hideous looking. The Dell 3008FPW is the only one that looks decent. The HP and Gateway could not look any worse. Meh, ACD FTW!
you guys are all telling him to buy 30" ACDs...he's obviously not looking to buy a 30" display, is he?
he's talking about getting either a 23 or another 20.
i have to say that you really, really shouldn't expect your new monitor, whatever it may be, to match your current one. They will not ever look exactly the same.
The reason? From the first time you turn it on, your monitor's performance is slowly degrading. Yes, even S-IPS panels are degrading every second they are turned on.
If you got an identical 20" ACD, and it was new, it would be brighter than your current one because you have so many hours on your old one.
I would sell your current display or use it for a different purpose. It is distracting if you're a color fidelity snob to have two different displays that don't display identical colors the same way. Calibration will help, but it won't be able to hide the fact that they are different ages and thus have different color.
If you aren't a color fidelity snob, then an ACD is certainly a waste of money, because a good S-PVA panel is 99.9% as good, and even that difference is subjective and involves picking one flaw over another as more important.
If you just want one that has a cool apple bezel and design, and that's really what's most important to you, then buy an ACD. If not, they are overpriced for what they are.
The argument that you should get another one so they "match" is deeply flawed, because aside from the cases themselves, the displays will not match.
If you want perfect color, sell your ACD and buy an Eizo. If you just want really, really good color, but size is somewhat more important than "perfection" then get a 24 or 27" S-PVA panel that does well in technical tests.
The ACD gets included in a lot of those tests, and it does well, but it doesn't do as well as some here would have you believe.
i LOVE reading peoples comments about how they like the 1-cable clean look of the ACD and they like the extra firewire ports...doesn't that mean you like to add more cables?
And why, if you're going to add more ports to a display, would you choose disc interface ports over display interface ports? Why not get a display that will be allowed to show 1080p BluRay when Apple finally gets on board with HD drives/software? Because the current ACD, which lacks HDCP support, will not be allowed to pass HD video from BluRay. Won't you feel dumb buying something that lacks an essential feature and opted for more firewire ports instead? Firewire can be daisy-chained across devices...you only really need 1 firewire port in most cases!
If you are really, really worried about what the case of your display looks like, and you really like silver, then I guess you should get the ACD. Otherwise, you're nuts to buy one of those at this point in their life cycle.
People saying that they won't be updated soon are not thinking clearly about the situation.
Blu Ray has won. Apple will have to embrace it. They aren't allowing HD downloads to computers, only Apple TV...guess what? Apple TV is "closed" and also has HDMI (HDCP) support. Apple waited out the format war, and you can bet that they are working on a way to add blu-ray to their machines. iMacs have an integrated display, so they won't have a problem there. Same with the laptops...but the Mac Pro and mini (if it continues to exist) will need HDCP-enabled output, either HDMI or DVI or DisplayPort or whatever Apple decides to go with. I bet it will be DVI for now, at least on the mac pro. The cards now shipping with a Mac Pro have HDCP-enabled DVI ports. The problem is then the ACD, which doesn't support HDCP, and cannot be updated with a firmware change, as it is a chip-based decryption scheme.
Apple will do bluray this year. When they do, they'll also have to refresh the ACD. Two generations of S-IPS panels have been released since the current ACDs were put on sale. Why pay more for yesterday's technology?
he's talking about getting either a 23 or another 20.
i have to say that you really, really shouldn't expect your new monitor, whatever it may be, to match your current one. They will not ever look exactly the same.
The reason? From the first time you turn it on, your monitor's performance is slowly degrading. Yes, even S-IPS panels are degrading every second they are turned on.
If you got an identical 20" ACD, and it was new, it would be brighter than your current one because you have so many hours on your old one.
I would sell your current display or use it for a different purpose. It is distracting if you're a color fidelity snob to have two different displays that don't display identical colors the same way. Calibration will help, but it won't be able to hide the fact that they are different ages and thus have different color.
If you aren't a color fidelity snob, then an ACD is certainly a waste of money, because a good S-PVA panel is 99.9% as good, and even that difference is subjective and involves picking one flaw over another as more important.
If you just want one that has a cool apple bezel and design, and that's really what's most important to you, then buy an ACD. If not, they are overpriced for what they are.
The argument that you should get another one so they "match" is deeply flawed, because aside from the cases themselves, the displays will not match.
If you want perfect color, sell your ACD and buy an Eizo. If you just want really, really good color, but size is somewhat more important than "perfection" then get a 24 or 27" S-PVA panel that does well in technical tests.
The ACD gets included in a lot of those tests, and it does well, but it doesn't do as well as some here would have you believe.
i LOVE reading peoples comments about how they like the 1-cable clean look of the ACD and they like the extra firewire ports...doesn't that mean you like to add more cables?
And why, if you're going to add more ports to a display, would you choose disc interface ports over display interface ports? Why not get a display that will be allowed to show 1080p BluRay when Apple finally gets on board with HD drives/software? Because the current ACD, which lacks HDCP support, will not be allowed to pass HD video from BluRay. Won't you feel dumb buying something that lacks an essential feature and opted for more firewire ports instead? Firewire can be daisy-chained across devices...you only really need 1 firewire port in most cases!
If you are really, really worried about what the case of your display looks like, and you really like silver, then I guess you should get the ACD. Otherwise, you're nuts to buy one of those at this point in their life cycle.
People saying that they won't be updated soon are not thinking clearly about the situation.
Blu Ray has won. Apple will have to embrace it. They aren't allowing HD downloads to computers, only Apple TV...guess what? Apple TV is "closed" and also has HDMI (HDCP) support. Apple waited out the format war, and you can bet that they are working on a way to add blu-ray to their machines. iMacs have an integrated display, so they won't have a problem there. Same with the laptops...but the Mac Pro and mini (if it continues to exist) will need HDCP-enabled output, either HDMI or DVI or DisplayPort or whatever Apple decides to go with. I bet it will be DVI for now, at least on the mac pro. The cards now shipping with a Mac Pro have HDCP-enabled DVI ports. The problem is then the ACD, which doesn't support HDCP, and cannot be updated with a firmware change, as it is a chip-based decryption scheme.
Apple will do bluray this year. When they do, they'll also have to refresh the ACD. Two generations of S-IPS panels have been released since the current ACDs were put on sale. Why pay more for yesterday's technology?
You make absolutely no sense with your ports argument... I want a clean 1 cable design, but I also want usb ports on my display and firewire ports so that I can plug in my keyboard and possibly an isight camera if needed. The design of the ACD is perfect. 2 usb ports, 2 firewire ports. There is no need for anymore. I don't need 12 DVI ports, 6 component, a card reader, 12 HDMI ports, and 16 USB ports. I will just get a separate tv with receiver for more inputs. As for the ACD - it's over priced, obviously, everything Apple is technically overpriced, but I and many others are willing to pay the premium. Not only for the performance, but for the aesthetics. I love the look of the ACD I love how it matches my Mac Pro.
A new ACD will probably come soon - HDCP support will make a big difference for some, and no difference for others. The new generation S-IPS panels that were realesed are in no way superior to the ACD. Many of them have actually been claimed to be worse for graphics/video then the "yesterday" tech ACD's.
To the OP, Get a 20" ACD - you won't be disappointed. I wouldn't even think twice. You have 1 ACD already, get another, why would you mix and match?
i just picked up a new 23" cinema display to go with our new Mac Pro (just got back from the apple store.) so now my partner will have a 20" cinema display and a 23" cinema display working off of a brand new Ocho Mac Pro. we do design and color correction for proofs and the Eizo and Lacie was just too much money right now, and for half the price you get pretty close with the apple displays.
if they release a new one in a month? could not care less. we need it now, we got it now.
if they release a new one in a month? could not care less. we need it now, we got it now.
if he gets a 20" acd he will be very disappointed...it will look completely different.
nobody wants 12 dvi ports or 16 usb ports or whatever it is you're saying. I don't want ANY USB ports or FW ports or anything in a display that is unrelated to DISPLAYING THINGS. You say it makes "absolutely no sense." and that you only want 1 cable...then go on to list all the cables you'd like to attach to the damn thing. apparently that makes sense?
a modern display NEEDS: 1 DVI port. 1 HDMI port. 1 power cable. if it has the circuitry to handle analog signals (apple displays lack this capability), then it also needs a VGA port.
I can't believe you're talking about iSight. You do realize they discontinued the firewire iSight over a year ago, right? Before you "switched," even, so I'm not sure how you knew about them in the first place...
as for the new S-PVA panels that have come out since the S-IPS panels found in the ACDs...they are better in every way. They have a higher maximum brightness, a lower minimum black level, wider gamut, more even backlighting, higher calibrated contrast ratios, lower deltas in color error, and lower latencies even without "overdrive" enabled.
The best panel available right now that is less than 30" is Samsung's LTM420CS, which has replaced S-IPS in the new line of pro Eizo displays that have hardware calibration.
The Eizo CG241W uses that panel, and it is $2400 dollars.
The LaCie 324 and latest dell (2408WFP) also use this panel, but they don't have all the bells and whistles. The dell doesn't have 12-bit internals.
The Eizo's new 30" pro display (just announced this month) also uses S-PVA panel (the CG301W). It will be considerably more than $3000 dollars and has 16 bit color processing internally.
Guess what else it has...two pointless DVI inputs.
Buy!
I was struggling with the same question this past month. I had a dell 2405 monitor that i was using with my G5 and I loved it. But decided to upgrade and wanted a bigger monitor and needed a video preview monitor (i edit and finish using a MXO to get color accurate). I debated and bought some monitors from best buy to try, and in the end i bought a 30 & 20ACD and I LOVE THEM BOTH. I actually use the ports on the back and I they are beautiful once calibrated (used Sypder 3 Elite). LOVE IT, and my desk looks great, and when you have a place where you bring clients, it DOES matter, and just for me. I debated a lot and was worried about the premium, but now that its done. I LOVE them. Thinking about exchanging the 20 for a 23! Go for it. You will keep them a long time.
BUT if you think you will want to watch blueray movies, then you DO need to pause. I have a seperate blu-ray, and other goodies.
I was struggling with the same question this past month. I had a dell 2405 monitor that i was using with my G5 and I loved it. But decided to upgrade and wanted a bigger monitor and needed a video preview monitor (i edit and finish using a MXO to get color accurate). I debated and bought some monitors from best buy to try, and in the end i bought a 30 & 20ACD and I LOVE THEM BOTH. I actually use the ports on the back and I they are beautiful once calibrated (used Sypder 3 Elite). LOVE IT, and my desk looks great, and when you have a place where you bring clients, it DOES matter, and just for me. I debated a lot and was worried about the premium, but now that its done. I LOVE them. Thinking about exchanging the 20 for a 23! Go for it. You will keep them a long time.
BUT if you think you will want to watch blueray movies, then you DO need to pause. I have a seperate blu-ray, and other goodies.
Attachments
I quite disagree with your assertion that the ACD has superior color reproduction. Have you seen the ACD next to the HP?
Try it and you will agree that the newer generation S-IPS panels are better - not by a huge amount but still better.
Take a peek at the following review:
https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/350128/
or this one
http://www.extremetech.com/article2/0,1697,2077914,00.asp
or this one:
http://www.anandtech.com/displays/showdoc.aspx?i=2950
Sometimes it is worth paying extra for that little crossover from good to great.
In this case however, the cheaper HP is better on color, response rate along with a 2 year longer warranty - it just doesn't look as good as the ACD.
it boils down to this: are you willing to pay more just for the more unified look of the MacPro and the ACD?
This is not the difference between a 35/2 and a 35L (something i struggled with recently) for example - in that case, it's clear which is better and why.
I chose the 35L
If he gets any display he will be disappointed. They will all look different. He will be better off with the same bezel design though. He can turn down the brightness a bit and live with it, if not, dump the old ACD and get two brand new monitors.
I know about the iSight camera. Just because I just "switched" does not mean I have not followed Apple products for the last 5 years...
I still do not mind the 2 usb ports and 2 firewire ports. The are integrated into the single cord and they're in a nice hidden place in the back of the display. I find it convenient because I hooked up my keyboard to the USB input on my display. I really love the single cable design, I find it much much nicer then my old Dell's. I sit facing the door so I can see the back of the display. It's a big plus to me. It's not over done, you don't have anymore then you need.
I see no need for HDMI in a computer monitor, or VGA (anymore at least). Most high end PC/Mac's that can display 2560x1600 have DVI. They make TV's for that. It's like ranting that most TV don't support computer resolutions, buy a computer monitor, same goes to those whining about inputs - buy a TV. What we will see next is DVI and Display Port.
If you're after an absolute professional line display the Lacie or Eizo is definitely what you want, it doesn't sound like that is what he is looking for.
The ACD is great, we just got a Dell 3008FPW here, it's nice, but I do not find it being superior to the ACD in anyway, it just feels brighter, I turned down the brightness on the ACD anyway.
Wow,
This debate rages on - very interesting reading.
I have been thinking and I think I will try selling my existing 20" ACD. I figure if I can sell my loaded Dual G5 tower system, the 20" ACD and a Canon 20D digital SLR I should have enough for a 30" ACD. I would gain the screen real estate without the dual monitor issues (dividing lines, color/brightness differences and separate calibration etc. )
This plan was not my original intention, but hey! I would like to at least see some of the other 30" candidates in person but I think I would still lean towards the ACD. I don't plan on watching movies on discs or playing games with this display so some of the "does it have this port or that port is not that big an issue for me...
Thanks for all the great points though. I hope this thread will serve others as well...
This debate rages on - very interesting reading.
I have been thinking and I think I will try selling my existing 20" ACD. I figure if I can sell my loaded Dual G5 tower system, the 20" ACD and a Canon 20D digital SLR I should have enough for a 30" ACD. I would gain the screen real estate without the dual monitor issues (dividing lines, color/brightness differences and separate calibration etc. )
This plan was not my original intention, but hey! I would like to at least see some of the other 30" candidates in person but I think I would still lean towards the ACD. I don't plan on watching movies on discs or playing games with this display so some of the "does it have this port or that port is not that big an issue for me...
Thanks for all the great points though. I hope this thread will serve others as well...
Hear hear!
Take your time to check out the options and if you still decide on the 30 ACD, then it works for you.
Cheers!
Hear hear!
Take your time to check out the options and if you still decide on the 30 ACD, then it works for you.
Cheers!
I was lucky in that I bought my two 20" ACDs at the same time so the screens match. So I agree that since screens begin to age once they are used, two displays that are from the same range but are used from different times would, I guess, have a high possibility of looking slightly different. The best bet for two displays is to buy them at the same time.
With regards to whether to have one 30" ACD or two dual displays (20" or 23") it really depends on how you work. If you tend to work with one project at a time for viewing your photos up-close and as large as possible, then the sole 30" is the way to go. But for me, having dual screens with the dividing gap can be a positive thing. I tend to keep my Safari web-browsing and emailing on the left, while my Creative Suite work happens on the right. Plus, I can angle the two displays how I like so it can become like a cockpit HUD display.
If you decide to go for a solo 30" ACD, they why dont you continue using what you have for now and wait for the next update?
The HP is the better performing display. I pay a lot of attention to what is on the screen.
This guy has both