Apple Displays

[aduffbrew]

I have couple of questions...

 

First and foremost, are they worth the premium price? For those who own them, what are the niceties you can't live without that make them worth the investment?

 

Also, why no built in i-sight? Any word on when the display lineup might receive a face lift?

[iSkylla]

They have good color reproduction with the right calibration profile, my dad's company uses them for retouching. Personally, I love my Dell 2704WFP 24" LCD with the USB ports and everything. And for the $485, I love it even more.

[Azurael]

Apple's displays are expensive when you consider that other manufacturers use exactly the same panels and cost a lot less. The quality of the Analogue-Digital circuitry used to be an issue in the early days of TFTs, but now everything uses DVI, even that's not an issue.

 

It's often the case that equivalent Dell panels, especially, can be got for little over half the price of the Apple equivalents, what with Dell's penchant for special offers and e-coupons. Therefore I say screw 'em unless you've got to have something shiny and aluminium with an Apple logo on it

[iRed]

The Samsungs panel's are inside of the Apple Displays!

[blackturtleneck]

The Samsungs panel's are inside of the Apple Displays!

And you can get a genuine Samsung with a lot better specs for half the price of the Apple. It's a shame they are charging so much for the logo. Their computers at least have some special features to set them apart. Even for color work I'd go with a Lacie over an Apple.

[FUKKU]

i'd say about 95% of people would be just fine with a dell or other manufacturer display over a cinema display and wouldn't notice/care about any difference but price. for those 5% or so who need accurate color reproduction because they work in print publishing or whatever, the cinema display is far from the most expensive monitor out there.

[Azurael]

Err... You're deluded - pros don't use ACDs, either, if they need really accurate colour reproduction. A lot of print shops and DTP houses won't let go of their CRTs!

 

ACDs are no better than Dells, Samsungs, NECs, etc. with EXACTLY THE SAME TFT PANEL INSIDE! The only thing that's different is the case... And the inability to vary the intensity of the backlight in any other OS other than MacOS

[FUKKU]

Err... You're deluded - pros don't use ACDs, either, if they need really accurate colour reproduction. A lot of print shops and DTP houses won't let go of their CRTs!

And those super-awesome CRTs are usually more expensive than apple's LCDs. I don't see a contradiction in my post. And just because I said "accurate color reproduction" doesn't mean I was only talking about print designers, other professions need it too.

[Azurael]

Yes, but you quite falsely imply that somehow a monitor from another manufacturer with the same panel with somehow be worse than an Apple to your supposed 'pro' which is a complete fallacy in these days when we use DVI and there is no ADC circuitry between a graphics output and the LCD.

[InorganicMatter]

They use the same panels as Dell's, and cost a lot more. Personally, I'd get a 2007WPF if you are in the low budget range, or a 3007WFP-HC if you are in the higher budget range.

[FUKKU]

Yes, but you quite falsely imply that somehow a monitor from another manufacturer with the same panel with somehow be worse than an Apple to your supposed 'pro' which is a complete fallacy in these days when we use DVI and there is no ADC circuitry between a graphics output and the LCD.

No I meant that most people would be fine with something like a TN panel and not the PVA/IPS panels used in Apple's (and others') displays that are better for color accuracy, especially when properly calibrated. I see where I could have been clearer about that, but don't put words in my mouth.

[Imperil]

I have a lot of knowledge on these panels as I've had to order a lot in the last while for my development studio, and I looked over every last specification and detail.

 

First off regarding the Apple vs. Dell 24" and 30" panels, right now the Apples are inferior to the Dells. The Apples are using the REV1 panel with a 76% color gamut, whereas the Dells are on REV2/3 using 92% color gamut with the two HC models (the older non-HC models use the very same panel as the apple). Due to this the Dells have much more vivid greens brought out and overall are a higher quality panel. We ordered one of each in and hooked them up side-by-side out from an 8800 GTS 640 and calibrated them properly with a hardware calibrator. Out of the box the Apple's color was a little more correct than the Dell, but after calibration the Dell was more correct, and also had more consistent backlighting.

 

One other small nicety is that with Dell you have a "return within 30 days for any reason" policy which is nice, because if you have a dead pixel you can just send it back and request a new one. One of the guys here ordered one for at home after we got these in, and his had 2 dead pixels.. he called and got a fresh one shipped the next day and returned the other one. (note that out of the 10 we ordered not a single one had a dead pixel, and afterwards 5 employees have ordered them and only the one had 2 dead pixels, which he exchanged, all the others had none)

 

All said and done currently the Dell has a higher quality color reproduction, more consistent backlighting, and basically an unwritten no dead pixel policy. Although I will say that the styling of the Apple is much nicer than the Dell.. although the Dell isn't too shabby when sitting beside the Apple it is no match.

 

Just thought I'd throw in my 2 cents as I had tested these extensively and eventually ordered 10 3007WFP-HCs. Price was not an issue in any way, the few extra dollars didn't matter, what we needed was the highest quality.