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Any Day Now... New Cinema Displays (no, really...)


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Any Day Now... New Cinema Displays (no, really...)
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Moogs
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Join Date: May 2004
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2004-05-21, 08:03

Apple's Cinema Displays are getting rather long in the tooth spec-wise. Although I realize that pixel-for-pixel, they're much higher quality than competing products of the same specification range. Even so, high-end LCD units with contrast ratios of 500 and 600:1, and response times under 20 are not uncommon. For color work, LCDs need to get closer to 1000:1 contrast ratio before they can match the gamut of a good CRT but that's not a good reason to not refresh the lineup IMO.

Then there's the issue of screen dimensions. I think the 20" ought to be the low-end ACD and it ought to be around $900. 20, 23 and 25 (or something close) would be very cool and reasonable as well IMO.

Hopefully we'll get some new ACDs at WWDC. Seems like a nice low-key event to announce them. Certainly wouldn't want ACDs to take center stage at MacWorld, although my understanding is that Apple won't be there this summer.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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psmith2.0
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Join Date: May 2004
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2004-05-21, 08:47

I really think that 20" is the cat's meow. Just a really nice size, and I dig the wideness of it (compared to the 17"). The 23" almost seems TOO big (although I wouldn't turn one down).

20" is definitely the sweet spot, and I'd love to see them get below $1,000 someday. I'd seriously consider getting one and attaching to the PowerBook for cool, home-based dual display...I'm getting lots and lots of freelance gigs so far in 2004 (yay!) and I'd love to have Safari, iTunes, iChat, Mail, etc. on the PowerBook screen, and InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator on the big 20".

Actually, I'd be interested in a widescreen 17" standalone display too, in the current iMac/PowerBook resolution of 1440x900. I'd be happy as a clam with that on my desk too.
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Moogs
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2004-05-21, 10:48

Yep. Now that I could use one for work purposes (at home), I'd be willing to pay roughly $1000 for a high quality LCD. But since I am doing photographic post-production, there's no point in switching from my Mitsubishi 2040u CRT, because there is no LCD Apple offers which currently has as good or better color than what's right in front of me... even though it's four years old.

...into the light of a dark black night.
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Maciej
M AH - ch ain saw
 
Join Date: May 2004
 
2004-05-21, 14:08

I would love to see any of the widescreen displays drop below the 1000$ mark. Frankly the 17" just looks too boxy, while the 20" and 23" are just too expensive for me right now. If the 23" was somewhere near the price of 20" I would maybe be able to justfiy buying it.

However, I would like to hear more about the new technologies available to newer displays?

User formally known as Sh0eWax
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Moogs
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2004-05-21, 14:43

I don't think it's so much newer technologies that are shaping the LCD landscape, as it is refinements to existing technologies that allow more impressive specs. I know for example that Samsung's high-end units have reached the 750:1 CR benchmark, while some other high-end LCDs have response times around 15 or 16ms I believe. In short, we're still fairly close to the beginning of the LCD era.

Just as we've seen professional digital cameras evolve from somewhat unreliable but very expensive toys, to devices that can not only match but in some cases surpass the image quality of their film counterparts... we will see LCDs start to do the same vs. high-end CRTs. Within a couple years, I doubt if many companies will make CRTs anymore. Only the high-end companies like Barco and LaCie I imagine.

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EDS66
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2004-05-21, 17:37

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0
I really think that 20" is the cat's meow. Just a really nice size, and I dig the wideness of it (compared to the 17"). The 23" almost seems TOO big (although I wouldn't turn one down).

20" is definitely the sweet spot, and I'd love to see them get below $1,000 someday. I'd seriously consider getting one and attaching to the PowerBook for cool, home-based dual display...I'm getting lots and lots of freelance gigs so far in 2004 (yay!) and I'd love to have Safari, iTunes, iChat, Mail, etc. on the PowerBook screen, and InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator on the big 20".

Actually, I'd be interested in a widescreen 17" standalone display too, in the current iMac/PowerBook resolution of 1440x900. I'd be happy as a clam with that on my desk too.
I have one 20 and will get the second one as soon as they drop in price. I've tried out lots of different TFT panels, and the Apple 20 beats them all in terms of color saturation, contrast (the listed specs don't really mean a hell of a lot), and brightness. And one aspect of the display I love the most -- and the other Apple displays lack in this area -- is how white the whites are. I mean the whites are true-white. They are not off-white, yellow, etc. I have a $500 NEC 16 ms. flat panel (1760NX) sitting next to the 20, and it looks like crap compared to its neighbor.

I think the only thing the 20 lacks is the pixels speed. The response time on it is not too good, although I am not sure what it is; must be something between 25 and 30 ms.

By the way, I hear the ergonomic argument about Apple displays a lot: you can't pivot them, you can't raise them, and you can't do this and that with them. I find the ergonomics of all Apple displays to be top notch.
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Moogs
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2004-05-21, 19:00

It's true that the specs don't always mean much. But if Apple can make their existing screens look as they do with the older spec range, what are they going to be able to do with newer screen units that have a wider gamut and other capabilities? Even better, one hopes.


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MCQ
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2004-05-21, 23:23

If the quality of the panel is good, I hope Apple starts using a panel similar to HP's recently released 23" LCD... 16 ms pixel response rate.

http://reviews.cnet.com/HP_f2304/450...?tag=cnetfd.sd
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Moogs
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2004-05-22, 08:24

Personally I would take only a slight improvement in response time if it meant a great improvement in contrast ratio and brightness. Not that the existing 20 and 23" screens aren't good in those regards but for creative work, response time doesn't mean a whole lot. Mostly a gamer's spec IMO. I'm suspect Apple will focus on expanding the useable color space of their existing monitors first and foremost, since catering to the creative market is their bread and butter.

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Crusader
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2004-05-22, 12:37

How about getting rid of ADC? Just have the connector cable breakout into DVI, USB, and Power. On the newer machines they can add a USB and powerport near the DVI port to keep cord lengths short.

"It's a good thing there's no law against a company having a monopoly of good ideas. Otherwise Apple would be in deep yogurt..."
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Moogs
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2004-05-22, 13:31

So like a combo-cable setup where there are two sets of plugs on either end? I think DVI supplies power on its own, doesn't it? Either way, I don't mind ADC as long as there's no performance hit. I don't buy a lot of Retail video boards anyway, as they generally don't benefit system performance or 2D graphics work once you reach a certain point.

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Moogs
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2004-05-24, 19:30

This looks like a very interesting development... NEC is known for their high quality stuff on the pro end, and this is designed to achieve the full Adobe 98 Color Space (evidently)... we'll see what their web site says in a few days.

http://maccentral.macworld.com/news/...=1085419721000

...into the light of a dark black night.
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