Apple Cinema Display

[mentholmoose]

I was looking into getting a Mac Mini with an Apple Cinema Display, that I could use as a home theater. My question is, though, can the Apple Cinema Display act at all as a TV, and if so, what would I need to buy to set it up, in addition to the Mac Mini and display?

Also, can anybody recommend a good VESA mount I could use in addition to the display?

[chucker]

You'd need a tuner. However, the ACD only has DVI input, and TV tuners with DVI output are rare. So, the better option would likely be to get a FireWire/USB tuner for the Mac mini itself.

[EmC]

I know this has been said many times on the boards, but unfortunatly it is true. The ACD are way overpriced. Dell offers displays that are comparable or even better for lower prices. You can get the Dell 24" widescreen for $750. Not only is that less than what you pay for Apple's 20" display it also includes 4 x USB 2.0 / Analog / DVI-D / S-Video / Composite / Component Connectors. All you have to do is connect your cable/satellite box to the display to get playback. You won't be able to time shift (out of the box) or record, but it will allow you to let it act as a TV.

[EDIT: The dell displays are also VESA mountable]

[Luca]

I'm going to sound like a broken record to the regulars here, but I'm going to recommend a Dell flat panel display. They cost a little more than half as much as Apple's displays, they have lots of inputs for accepting not only your Mac's signal but also a TV tuner, and I think they're also VESA compatible (not sure on this).

Dell's displays are just as good as Apple's, they just have more features and cost far less. Even buying one straight out is a great deal. If you scour the Internet for rebates and coupon codes, you can cut even more from the price.

Another option is to just get an LCD TV. Most TVs (even HDTVs) appear very blurry when you try to use them as a computer monitor, but I think LCDs are an exception to this rule. The problem is that LCD TVs generally have fewer pixels than computer monitors. Most LCD TVs under 30" have between 1280 and 1366 horizontal pixels and between 720 and 768 vertical pixels (compared to 1680 horizontal by 1050 vertical on the 20" display). But larger pixels are actually a good thing if you're planning on using the display on a wall mount that is kind of far away from where you're sitting. I can't imagine trying to use a 20" computer monitor from more than 2-3 feet away.

[chucker]

Yeah, in Dell's case, you'd really just need a tuner and antenna.

[Windowsrookie]

Why don't you check the other 10 threads? ;)

[kretara]

Dell's displays are just as good as Apple's, they just have more features and cost far less. Even buying one straight out is a great deal. If you scour the Internet for rebates and coupon codes, you can cut even more from the price.

I just want to point out one thing that most of us already know. Dell's low end LCD's are not very good.
I have a Dell 17" "Top-of-the-line" LCD and its display quality is much worse than my Apple 17" LCD. I have yet to find a Dell 17" LCD with the same quality as an Apple LCD.
I also have a 19" Dell "Top-of-the-line" LCD at work and its display quality is on par with my Apple 17" LCD.
At work we have 15 or so of the low end Dell LCD's and the dispaly quality is really bad.

Still, when I start to look for a new LCD I will more than likely buy a higher end Dell mostly on price.

[Windowsrookie]

I find that hard to believe.

[kretara]

I find that hard to believe.

What exactly do you find hard to believe?

[Luca]

Well, Dell's low end LCDs (the non-UltraSharp ones) are analog-only. Analog-only = suckiness when you're using an LCD. Everything looks blurry and yucky. You really just want DVI, and that's what the UltraSharps have (along with virtually every Apple display and a majority of current LCD monitors).

To be honest, I've never really been able to see much of a difference between one digital LCD and another. Apple, Acer, Dell, IBM... they're all pretty much the same to me. That doesn't include laptop screens, which can vary wildly from one computer to the next.

Also note that Dell's 15", 17" and 19" LCDs all lack the extra inputs of the 20" and 24". They just have DVI and VGA. So there's no real point in specifically buying a Dell if you want to get something smaller than 20". It's the 20" and 24" displays that really rock with all those video inputs. Those will be very nice to have if you want a media center setup.