Apple Cinema Displays?
 

Hi,

are the Apple Cinema Displays still a good buy? I know they are at the expensive side, and they haven't been updates in a LONG time, and many are hoping/expecting for Apple to update them soon (although it didn't came with the new Mac Pro's and at Macworld... strange), but are they outdated?

If one was looking for a 30" screen for editing, to go by a new Mac Pro, what would your advice be for the Apple Cinema Displays?

Thanks in advance,

Hi neighbour!

I'm also very interested in this. Just like you I also hoped that Apple was going to release a newer version of the Cinema displays. It was my idea to buy two 23" displays with a new eight-core. To me, the current ones are too expensive for the specifications they have.

Hah, hello Ivan, always nice and special to see people from Belgium around here.

Yes, our company is going to buy the new 8 cores, but we aren't out on the screens... I would love a 30", so I would like to know how good it's a value.

I have a 23 and love it. Yes, it is sad that they have not updated the Cinema line of displays and as things go they are getting old. The image is wonderful and - I confess - I like the aesthetics of it!

Bob

I bought a Dell Monitor instead. I got the 24 inch, and it comes with more inputs, VGA, RGB, DVI, S-Video, Composite, and a card reader. It was alot cheaper than the 23 inch Cinema Display.

I am looking into the 3007 30 inch, at 1049.00 that beats Apples 1800.00 for their 30 inch.

I owned a 23" Cinema Display with my last Quadra

And after that experience, when I got my new MacPro system 18 months ago, I bought a 30" Cinema Display without a an instant's hesitation.

It's AMAZING. I can't say enough good things about it. I know it's expensive but if you can swing the money - I guarantee you'll NEVER be sorry you bought one.

It always surprises me when my clients mention it (typically with expressions of surprise and envy) cuz I don't really "see" it anymore. I just get a LOT of work done without EVER worrying about eyestrain, needing more screen real estate or ANYTHING to do with my computer display.

I don't know if there's better because I don't EVER worry about it.

The Apple Cinema Display is an absolutely first class product in EVERY way.

Period.

I must confess the 23" calibrated with a spyder 2 pro is beautiful thing. I have a samsung 226bw right next to it and its just not as good. Of course you can't get too crazy with color correction or anything with it but its very pleasing to the eye.

Quadra? The ancient mac, or did you mean "quad"?

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedi...quadra_800.jpg

It's worth noting that both Apple and Dell displays use the same LCD panel manufacturer, Sony. In fact, the Dell 3007 and Apple 30" inch displays use the very same LCD panel from Sony and have the same specs, the only difference is how the casing is designed and what connectivity it has.

Dell does make a newer version of the 3007 which sells for almost $2k, but it also has a much higher contrast ratio - not something that would be of benefit for video work.

If you want the best bang for the buck, get the Dell, the image quality will be identical to the Apple. If you're more into aesthetics and want a display to match your Apple product, get the ACD.

Oops.

Had a small Apple LCD (17"?) with my old blue G3 and a 23" with my silver G4.

Went with a 30" when I got my MacPro Quad.

Too many computers over too many years.

Sorry.

They were never a good buy. As many have already stated save yourself about $900 or more and get the 30" Dell. I have three of them and one 30" Cinema display.

I don't regret getting the Cinema display, its just that after using the Dell monitors for almost as long I realize that once again I got bent over by Apple.

In the tests I have seen Apple Cinema displays have not come on top, Eizo tends to get the top positions.

I have the 24" Dell, I would rather have 2 of those than one 30" Cinema Display. Cheaper also?

Eizo and NEC make better displays, but they are also more expensive than the ACD.

There are obviously many options for brands/size but keep in mind that what you need for video editing truly isn't that critical. Yes, you do need something that will properly display color-space and gamut but the truth is any decent LCD made by Sony (which means either Sony's own brand, Apple and Dell), Samsung, LG and Eizo (overpriced) will do the job extremely well.

What's actually MORE important than your LCD computer monitor is seeing how things look on output, which is why for critical work you always have to have either a broadcast monitor, a good quality NTSC TV or plasma HDTV. Obviously for those you'd need something to send that signal to such as a BlackMagic or KONA card or the Matrox MXO or the newly released MOTU V3HD.

So if you're really considering going all-out on your monitor needs, spend less money on the LCD and put the bulk towards external monitoring instead.

Robert,

As much as I appreciate video card engineers, you don't really need ANY of them for most typical editing.

Any firewire deck or even a camcorder will transcode your NLE's output and display it on a broadcast monitor perfectly well.

And since nearly all of us need to go to some from of digital video tape for master delivery - eventually you're probably going to need a deck anyway.

For SD and HDV work, and increasingly even HD with the new H-264 and Apple codecs, a specialized video transcoding card might be an unnecessary expense.

YMMV - FWIW