View Full Version : A very Strange Question:Is better a "TH-50PHD8UK" or two 30" Apple cinema Displays?


Danilo Del Tufo
November 6th, 2005, 09:55 PM
Hello there:)
I'm thinking to buy a Mac Quad to edit HD with Hvx200, I know it's reccomended two 30" Apple Cinema Displays. But for the money, is it better to buy only a "TH-50PHD8UK" monitor?
Excuse for my ignorance if it is not compatible, but i've noticed that resolution of this panasonic monster (1366 x 768) are less than Apple (2560x1600), so Apple is better for typical computer software (they require high resolution)?
It's more confortable to have 2 monitors, but i've also read that most of you will buy also a "traditional" Hd monitor to view the quality of HD, then could be the panasonic the right choice?
I can only buy two 30" Apple displays, I can't spend money in three Monitor/tv HD.

I hope you can help me about this strange question,

Thanks

Tom Wills
November 6th, 2005, 10:04 PM
If you could, I'd buy 2 smaller LCDs for the computer work, and then an HD LCD for video previewing. The 30"s are nice, but if it's either 2 of them OR an HD monitor, it's a no-go. LCDs will not display a proper color preview of your HD footage, and the Panasonic LCD doesn't sound like it has even close to enough res to be editing in Final Cut. I think you need a compromise between the two. Maybe 2 20" Apple LCDs and an HDTV LCD?

Danilo Del Tufo
November 6th, 2005, 10:44 PM
It's very hard compromising, i must think about it.
I really love the idea of two 30" Apples display! :(
Thanks for your precious thoughts:)

Cheers

Guest
November 7th, 2005, 06:41 AM
Daniel,

Try to go to a place where you can see the TH-50PHD8UK being used as a monitor and see what you think. Then go to any Apple store and take a look at their 30's. I was in the Willow Bend (Frisco, TX) store yesterday and they had at least 3 or 4 30's going with various programs and ad's. They load their G5's up with all the greatest apple software, so you could even play around with FCP or Motion on one to see what you think of the colors.

I also noticed they've gone down in price - $2,499. I don't know when it happend, as I have not been looking for a monitor, but the last time I saw the 30 inch cinema's, they were at $2,999.

Sounds like you're going to have a nice set up.

Danilo Del Tufo
November 7th, 2005, 09:09 AM
It's very hard to see two 30" Apple displays, or an Apple store before buy! I live in Naples, here we are very poor, Naples it's more like Pasolini's "Accattone" movie, do you know it?:)
So i must order them, because vendors in Naples think they will be killed by criminals, or shoot in the head their customers when pick up the stuff into the car! :(
Naples it's very strange city, technologies are old as 1950/1970...sigh!
In this year I knew people that are very happy of their first computer: A "new" Commodore 64!!! No..no It's NOT FOR RETROGAMING! :(

Thanks for you precious words Derek!

Cheers!:)

Mike Medavoy
November 7th, 2005, 10:04 AM
Techology as old as Maradona you have there...

Danilo Del Tufo
November 7th, 2005, 10:16 AM
I'm not a Maradona fanboy, so I'm safe...i don't watch football!:)

Scott Anderson
November 7th, 2005, 10:48 AM
Danilo, I can't what you would be doing that would require more than one 30" Apple Display. That's an amazing amount of screen real estate. Plenty enough to fit every Final Cut Pro window with room to spare. Want to work on multi-layer Photoshop documents open in multiple windows? Again, penty of room without feeling cramped. If you have one 30", plus an HD Television for monitoring, that's an ideal setup.

The only drawback with the 30" is that some people feel the font sizes get a little small in some programs. You always want to run the display at its native resolution, otherwise the display needs to interpolate and you lose resolution and sharpness. I understand that the new FCP finally allows font resizing, so that's not a problem.

A second 30'" seems like overkill, unless you plan on adding a second FCP workstation sometime in the future, and could then repurpose that monitor for a second workstation.

Danilo Del Tufo
November 7th, 2005, 12:31 PM
I'm also drawing comic so Photoshop or Open Canvas (mac version i don't remind if it's disponible) also for it would be nice on 2" 30 Inch Displays. I'll buy Quad Mac when Hvx200 is out and i've good feedback from others user.
Anybody know is 8 gigs ECC corrected of Ram is enough to edit Hvx200 or Hd in general? Is better 16gigs but other 10'000 euros i CAN'T spend for RAM.
Actually my peripherals: I've Cintiq 18sx and crt Philips 202 P4, Pentium station, A3 scanner Microtek, A3+ 2100 Epson, but I want also buy the new Cintiq 21ux to use with Mac, I really don't like Cintiq 18sx only 512 pressure and only one multi-purpose pen sucks...
I remember about two months that i've bought 18SX it's came out the Cintiq21ux...I was so angry, I've damned Wacom, but now I'll buy the new Cintiq21ux even if they don't have help me, they were in silence when I buy a piece of OLD hardware at FULL PRICE! :(
But I need 21ux monster, so I gonna spend other money!!! I'm very sad!!!

Money is the problem to make decent things!

Cheers

Mark Ross
November 7th, 2005, 04:09 PM
Danilo:

I own the Panasonic TH-50PHD7UY 50" plasma display, which is essentially the same as the 8UK -- mine has the 1366x768 resolution. I currently have my trusty Mac Mini running on it at 1366x768.

I also use a G5 at work with a 23" HD display. I just saw the 30" display at an Apple Store 2 days ago.

Trust me: you would NOT want to use the Panasonic plasma for anything other than as a monitor in a viewing environment of about 9 to 10 feet. It's awesome and perfect for HDTV, DVDs, even the Mac Mini for casual web browsing and running my hacked copy of Front Row. ;)

BUT, I would NEVER want to work using it as my monitor. Too hard to read from far away, and getting close enough is too overwhelming. It's 50 inches!

Two 30" Apple displays is plenty for ANY kind of work, trust me. My suggestion would be to buy two 23" HD displays (they are huge) for working and the 30" to use as your HDTV monitor. That's my dream setup...

Abdulla Bastaki
November 15th, 2005, 06:11 PM
hello Danilo

i know we all love to overspend on bigger screens... but let me tell you something.

i've got an apple 23'' hd display, honestly, its so big ass, i lose my mouse pointer. I need to buy a cat to find my mouse now =p

a 30'' screen, i dont think you'd need a cat to find your pointer.. you'd need a gps locator man, you'd have to follow it from your pocket pc or somethin' there are people who watch a 30'' tv 3 meters away cuz its damn big. ure tellin' me you need TWO of those!

//////No but seriously, for HD editing as ive been doing, heres my recipe; two 23'' screens, one entirely for your canvas (video) and the other for your timeline/audio/effects/transitions..etc.

50 inches of screen, i'd recommend it actually, i mean since you are going to get one then do get one and put it a little far away, so that it'd be convenient for you to distract yourself from working and watch some tv with your pals.. or as i've hooked up my machine to my big azz plasma, I enjoy seeing my HD work on the big screen see all the flaws, the colors really sharp n' hottttt ooooh yeah babyyyy. AND hooked up my decoder, dvd player, ps2, and all the works on it.

of course.. nothing fancies me ("in the digital world") more than enviting all my friends and watch it High Def on the big screen before it being premier'd on the small screen or za big screen.

If you want to look at your footage right away while working, i suggest you get a really good average sized - table-top hd lcd screen.

grazie per lettura ed abbia un giorno piacevole!!