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Your thoughts on the Cinema Display?

I would never buy a glossy Cinema display. I do not like the glossy screen, it is useless.
Also you can't adjust the height and so on. And it has only DisplayPort as input. So I did not buy it. Before I had a matte Cinema display.

Instead I recently bought a NEC MultiSync PA271W display + SpectraViewII + colorimeter as hardware calibration. It is more expensive (+500$ I think) than the Cinema display, but the display is phantastic and you can use it for professional image editing. I do not see any spakle effect.
It also has several inputs, USB hub, KVM (use two computers with the same monitor + mouse and keyboard).

Eizo FlexScan SX2762W would be another alternative. It is brand new, there was no Eizo when I bought mine. I think the NEC and Eizo is on pair.
 
Hello Buckeye1995,

I'm a Case student in Cleveland, and I've been deciding between buying a broken 2560x1600 display (your XHD?) and trying to salvage it myself (I love projects like that) or asking for an ACD for my birthday - my parents offered knowing I've been looking at big monitors for a while.

The glossy screen is a concern (I got matte high res on my MBP), but I went to the store to check them out and got over the glossiness pretty quickly - even though the Apple store is well lit. I do have a major concern that this isn't the right time to buy. I am hopeful they come out with a Thunderbolt version and release it with Lion in July - it'll only require a power and TB connection (no more USB necessary), it'll have an HD webcam, and possibly some other cool things that Apple has a way of creatively designing. Perhaps they'll resurrect the 30" matte displays. The ACD's have a long refresh cycle, but there just seems to be a lot of potential for improvement from the current model. I'd definitely wait until the Lion release before deciding.

One more thing worth noting though is that the ACD price is actually very good. Most 2560x1440 monitors are in that range, and they don't have as many features or look nearly as good.

Let me know if interested in working something out with XHD!
 
pxn20 said:
Hello Buckeye1995,

I'm a Case student in Cleveland, and I've been deciding between buying a broken 2560x1600 display (your XHD?) and trying to salvage it myself (I love projects like that) or asking for an ACD for my birthday - my parents offered knowing I've been looking at big monitors for a while.

The glossy screen is a concern (I got matte high res on my MBP), but I went to the store to check them out and got over the glossiness pretty quickly - even though the Apple store is well lit. I do have a major concern that this isn't the right time to buy. I am hopeful they come out with a Thunderbolt version and release it with Lion in July - it'll only require a power and TB connection (no more USB necessary), it'll have an HD webcam, and possibly some other cool things that Apple has a way of creatively designing. Perhaps they'll resurrect the 30" matte displays. The ACD's have a long refresh cycle, but there just seems to be a lot of potential for improvement from the current model. I'd definitely wait until the Lion release before deciding.

One more thing worth noting though is that the ACD price is actually very good. Most 2560x1440 monitors are in that range, and they don't have as many features or look nearly as good.

Let me know if interested in working something out with XHD!
Click to expand...

Personally, I'd just save myself the hassle and get the ACD. I have mine set up in a fairly sunny room (even with blinds all the 4 windows surrounding my desk), and don't really have any issues with glare. It's amazing how bright this thing can get.

As for an updated version, I doubt Apple will do this anytime soon. The way the standard was designed, displays are supposed to go on the end of the chain. I don't think Apple would refresh the monitor anytime soon just to include non-video data over the thunderbolt port and an HD cam. Just my opinion though ;)
 
adcx64 said:
I think it is overpriced for the average consumer but if you have the money you can't go wrong!
Click to expand...

That's the thing, though. It's not necessarily made for the average consumer. The average person doesn't need an IPS panel, a USB hub or a MagSafe connector integrated into their monitor.
 
I couldn't be happier with my 27" ACD...I pair it with my i5 MBP and it is a joy to behold...I will admit that some text is a bit hard to read at full resolution but I sometimes down-res to 1920x1080 if I have to do some long-form reading...
Otherwise it is everything I had hoped it would be and it is a typically artfully designed Apple product...just beautiful to look at...:apple::D
 
Marx55 said:
Sign the mac matte display petition to Apple at:

MacMatte (matte petition)
http://macmatte.wordpress.com
Click to expand...

I totally agree. I currently have a 24" White iMac that I guess has screen "burn-in" or a large gray blotch on the screen against a white background. I would like to buy a Mac Mini as a replacement if this issue will get worse or cost too much $ to fix, but so far the only non-widescreen matte monitor I can find is a 19" Viewsonic. I wish there was a 21"-24" matte non-widescreen monitor available.
 
Does anybody here use a Cinema display with a MacBook Air? I have an 11.6" model and was thinking of ditching my old iMac and using the Air as my main machine. However I need a large monitor for some of the work I do.

I know it's all officially supported, ect, but I was curious about how beefy the graphics card/chip is in the Air, and whether there are any issues with it powering the Cinema display?
 
zen said:
Does anybody here use a Cinema display with a MacBook Air? I have an 11.6" model and was thinking of ditching my old iMac and using the Air as my main machine. However I need a large monitor for some of the work I do.

I know it's all officially supported, ect, but I was curious about how beefy the graphics card/chip is in the Air, and whether there are any issues with it powering the Cinema display?
Click to expand...

I would like to know this also, I have the 13 inch Air Ultimate and once the ACD is refreshed I will be buying it!
 
Thunderbolt Cinema Display and 2010 Displayport MacBook Pro

Any thoughts on whether the impending 27" Thunderbolt Cinema display will work with a 2010 Displayport equipped MacBook Pro?

If there are ports on the back of the display, such as USB, would those work as well?
 
I'd like see the people who say it is too pricey show me a monitor of equivalent quality, service and support at the same or better price. Go ahead. I'll wait. Crappy TN panels with 1920 X 1200 screens don't count.
I've seen it as low as $921 at places like B&H Photo with free shipping. Check Apple Insiders price list for the best current pricing.
Dells can be found for a little less on sale but forget about service and there are a lot of complaints about the screen quality. Ultrasharp quality is not what it used to be. look at HP business level monitors for better and consistent quality and support. But they don't make a 27, only 24 and 30.
NEC is equivalent quality but costs hundreds more.
Look at what used or refurbed 24" ACD's go for. These monitors hold their value.
Go read the HardOCP monitor forum and see all the hardware savvy PC owners buying these because nothing else is close in quality for the price even though they have to buy adapters.

Zen, The ACD works fine with the 11" Air.

The glossy "issue" is way oversold. I know several professional film editors/photographers who use these display. Doesn't bother them. Text is sharper and colors look better which is why Apple uses them. Just don't put it in direct sunlight but you wouldn't do that with any monitor.
 
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nowakj66 said:
Any thoughts on whether the impending 27" Thunderbolt Cinema display will work with a 2010 Displayport equipped MacBook Pro?
If there are ports on the back of the display, such as USB, would those work as well?
Click to expand...

I expect everything will work. The TB/minidisplay port is designed that way. But I would wait until it comes out to be sure.
 
SuperAcer79 said:
I totally agree. I currently have a 24" White iMac that I guess has screen "burn-in" or a large gray blotch on the screen against a white background. I would like to buy a Mac Mini as a replacement if this issue will get worse or cost too much $ to fix, but so far the only non-widescreen matte monitor I can find is a 19" Viewsonic. I wish there was a 21"-24" matte non-widescreen monitor available.
Click to expand...

HP makes the zr24w which is a great price at a little over $350.
 
I don't get how 2560x1600 displays and 2560x1440 displays have had pretty much the same prices for the past 5 years. You would figure with the 27" iMacs, the prices of 27" panels would drop and the cinema display would be cheaper, but no.

In my opinion, at this point, the prices should be around $800-$700 and in a year, $700-$600.

If we're lucky, the refresh will have at least some sort of price drop.

If Apple offered a low price, the other companies would have to follow. I want to see cheap displays.
 
Fluffy402 said:
I don't get how 2560x1600 displays and 2560x1440 displays have had pretty much the same prices for the past 5 years. You would figure with the 27" iMacs, the prices of 27" panels would drop and the cinema display would be cheaper, but no.

In my opinion, at this point, the prices should be around $800-$700 and in a year, $700-$600.

If we're lucky, the refresh will have at least some sort of price drop.

If Apple offered a low price, the other companies would have to follow. I want to see cheap displays.
Click to expand...
Exactly. There's no reason for such displays to be so costly to the consumer. You can buy a 24" 1080p HD TV for, like, $300 these days. Certainly a Cinema Display is larger and much higher quality than said TVs. But, I don't think that the difference is worth $700. Of course, I'm still considering buying an ACD because, well, I like Apple.
 
nowakj66 said:
Any thoughts on whether the impending 27" Thunderbolt Cinema display will work with a 2010 Displayport equipped MacBook Pro?

If there are ports on the back of the display, such as USB, would those work as well?
Click to expand...

DarwinOSX said:
I expect everything will work. The TB/minidisplay port is designed that way. But I would wait until it comes out to be sure.
Click to expand...

I expect it not to work. The 2011 iMacs will only accept a display signal in target-display mode when the machine providing it is also using Thunderbolt - so clearly a Thunderbolt equipped machine needs a Thunderbolt signal.

USB will work fine, obviously.
 
Isn't the whole point of Thunderbolt is that it is backwards compatible, which is why it uses the current display plug form? There is no way Apple will sell their ONLY external monitor that would ONLY work with Thunderbolt-equipped Macs.

Edit: In fact, here we go - Thunderbolt is backwards compatible with DisplayPort, which includes all of Apple's current display interfaces.
 
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My two penneth

Speaking as someone who's dithered over buying aforementioned screen and finally picked up one, i would just say go for it, you will not be disappointed,

My only gripe with it is that i am going to have to buy some sort of stand to make it the same height as the 27" imac its connected to. Just doesnt look the same on top of a phone book!
 
zen said:
Isn't the whole point of Thunderbolt is that it is backwards compatible, which is why it uses the current display plug form? There is no way Apple will sell their ONLY external monitor that would ONLY work with Thunderbolt-equipped Macs.

Edit: In fact, here we go - Thunderbolt is backwards compatible with DisplayPort, which includes all of Apple's current display interfaces.
Click to expand...

It is backwards compatible in one direction only - namely Thunderbolt to MDP, which is how it works with the current ACD. The TB equipped Mac can connect to MDP/DP/DVI displays without issue. Apple only ever promoted the fact that you could connect existing MDP products to the new standard.

However, we have already seen what happens when TB is present in the display - the display signal is sent over TB, not DisplayPort, and hence TB is needed on both ends. For the sake of repeating myself, the 2011 iMacs will only accept display input from another TB equipped Mac - connecting an MDP Mac up simply doesn't work, despite the connectors fitting.

Apple have changed display connectors several times in the past, leaving existing users out in the cold. The shift to MDP was one such, as all Macs up to that point had been made with DVI, and Apple have never offered an adapter. ADC to DVI was exactly the same.
 
peskaa said:
However, we have already seen what happens when TB is present in the display - the display signal is sent over TB, not DisplayPort, and hence TB is needed on both ends. For the sake of repeating myself, the 2011 iMacs will only accept display input from another TB equipped Mac - connecting an MDP Mac up simply doesn't work, despite the connectors fitting.
Click to expand...

Can a third party make an adapter that will allow older MDP units work on with a TB display? In the past, these adapters helped bridge the transition, but if the special sauce in TB means adapters won't work, I can't see how Apple would drop a TB only display just yet, but I could be wrong.
 
jenzjen said:
Can a third party make an adapter that will allow older MDP units work on with a TB display? In the past, these adapters helped bridge the transition, but if the special sauce in TB means adapters won't work, I can't see how Apple would drop a TB only display just yet, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure they can to be honest. TB is basically external PCIe, and to get that you'd need access to the Mac's internals. The MDP port simply wouldn't provide that access, no matter what chips you put inside a dongle.

Of course, this is all theory until the displays drop and somebody tries it - but from what we've seen of TB with the iMacs/MacBook Pros it certainly looks like we only get one-way compatibility.

This compatibility was one of the reasons I hadn't expected Apple to release an updated ACD any time soon. Why go to the effort of making TB backwards compatible if you're just going to drop the standard anyway? I can see that TB is Apple's new love child, hence pushing its implementation as fast as possible, maybe to the detriment of users.
 
jenzjen said:
Can a third party make an adapter that will allow older MDP units work on with a TB display? In the past, these adapters helped bridge the transition, but if the special sauce in TB means adapters won't work, I can't see how Apple would drop a TB only display just yet, but I could be wrong.
Click to expand...

Kanex is investigating if it is indeed possible to convert from TB to mDP. :)

"Our Kanex XD requires modification to work with the new thunderbolt iMac 27-inch. We are under development of a newer version. Please look out for an announcement soon."
http://www.kanexlive.com/xd
 
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