30" Cinema Owners....

What do you LOVE about your 30"....and what do you think should be improved?

 

Lol, I was in your shoes just 6 months ago! IMHO for $1600+ for a 30" display, you should wait. Because:

1) They might release an adapter for the minidisplay port to work with the older macs.

2) When the Mac Pro is released, Apple could release a 30" LED ACD for the same price. (Then you would seriously kick yourself because you would try to sell your 30" ACD with losing almost $500-$600 to get the higher gamut LED version, especially knowing that the current 30" ACD costed you more than what your mbp is currently worth.

 

Sorry for the negative comments but I'm actually trying to help you and save your time!!

Well since you did make a thread regarding the positiveness of the 30" I'll give you one thing I did like about it and its that you can have many windows opened at the same time side by side.

 

All replies are great! I try to ask questions that many users would find useful.

I basically figured it out...and if I sold my macbook pro for 1000-1300 I could buy the NEW macbook pro and the 24 LED for the same price as someone suggested...but I'd rather just sell it back to apple or apple store...they don't seem to do that though.

 

Maybe I'll just go with the 20" cinema for now and see how things play out...can always sell it.

 

Anyone here use a DELL 27 inch LCD?? The 899 version?

http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/...etail.aspx?c=us&l=en&s=dhs&cs=19&sku=222-7315

Anyone think this is a good fit for the Macbook PRO non-mini display port? Seems like a great option. Will it be seemless?

 

If you really want a 30" display, go with the Dell as it also uses an S-IPS panel. Also you can always send it back until you get a perfect 30" without any dead/stuck pixels and its much cheaper from dell.

 

Well 27" for 899-100 coupon good today is 799...not bad.

 

$799 is what I paid for my 24" LED ACD. And thats with an H-IPS panel + LED backlighting, cant get any better than that!! Well except OLED lighting but thats another 5-7 years away.

 

The more I read the more it seems like the 30" for 1599 with student discount or 1499 refurbished is the way to go...

 

C'mon $1600 or more for a display which you could pay 3/4 for a brand new unibody mbp. hehe.

I remember when I had the 30" ACD that always came to my mind.. man almost a cost of a brand new mbp for a display... or a pretty good 42" 1080p hdtv...

 

That Dell looks awesome except for the fact that it has a 12ms response time...

 

Well with the Cinema being from 2005 it makes me nervous to spend so much on it. The Dell is HDCP and has a bunch of ports. Tough call. Seems like the 30" is a real luxury.

 

Can anyone who owns the 30" post a picture of it in use? What it looks like on a real desk vs the apple store?

 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/76571798@N00/528322247/

Here is an idea of how humungous the 30" (left) is compared to the 23" (right). I found this from flickr.com but you can search there too.

 

Thanks-actually doesn't look silly big at all...I kind of like the 30.

 

In the picture the 30" doesnt look so bad but have you ever really sat infront of a 23" ACD?

The 23" seems pretty big too at home already but just compare what I already think is big to the humongous 30" in that picture will give you an idea just how big the 30" is.

The thing I dont like about the 1x30" is that its big enough to "almost" do 2 things separated from the left to the right. Like its not big enough to really open a full webpage to view on the left while doing other tasks on the right. If anything 23"x2 is MUCH more like heaven or the 24" + 15" mbp's screen in dual monitor is much better imho.

And I know what your going to say that I'll use my 30" + the current 15" mbp in dual monitor mode but the thing is that the 30" ACD is so huge that it makes it uncomfortable to use it in dual side by side, in which makes you want to just tuck the mbp away and use the 30" alone.

 

I dont have a 30" ACD but I do have a HP LP3065. The HP AFAIK uses a newer panel and has HDCP. Another bonus is it has a built in 3 input DVI switch. A standalone Dual Link DVI switch is fairly pricey. The stand is better too. However it does not look as good as the ACD.

As for 23 vs 30, there is a HUGE difference.

 

Would i need adapters for the 30 Cinema? is that what you're saying?

 

No. You wont have HDCP and there is no way of getting that if the hardware does not support it. Also the ACD only has 1 DVI input. So if you want to hook another computer up to it (in my case my desktop), you are out of luck unless you buy a Dual Link DVI switch.

p.s. Between 2x 24s and a 30 Id go 30 easily. I had 2x 24s at one point and have no regrets that I switched to a 30.

 

How much is the switch? I'd love to connect my XPS desktop to it as well.

 

The switch is FREE if you buy the HP LP3065...as it is built in. If not it is about $100. Even then the switch may be unreliable. If you want to hook up more than 1 computer to the 30 I STRONGLY suggest you buy the HP.

 

You could always unplug from the mbp and plug the 30" acd's dvi into the desktop if you want to use it.

I think the middle of the road, look into buying the Dell 30".

 

Yeah but for that kinda money I want SEAMLESS functionality between the macbook pro and the cinema display...the idea is that it works perfect with the macbook first

 

Lol all I can say is that you obviously have never tried doing that

 

Oh I have many times with my previous 23" ACD from my mbp to the desktop.

You dont have to screw in both sides of the dvi you know just plug in and it works fine.

 

I'd take my button over having to unplug a cable any day. In fact by your logic there wouldn't ever be a market for KVM switches. Not to mention with 30" the video card sometimes defaults to a lower resolution so when you plug it back in you have to adjust your display settings and maybe realign all your icons. AKA not worth the trouble when you can have a built in DVI switch.

 

Or if you simply just buy the 30" ACD no need for all that realign bs.

 

Lol you would have the same issue with the 30" ACD.

 

Oh yea windoze.. oh do I hate thee.

Couldnt you just buy a KVM switch and use it with the 30" ACD?

 

Yeah, like I said before it is at least an extra $100 for a Dual Link DVI one. It won't beat a built in switch too as the cheaper switches often have issues and slow switch time.

Point being that aside from not looking as nice (as in the bezel). The HP LP3065 is superior to the ACD in every way. Now if you don't ever use the switch the difference is less as they use very similar panels (the HP being a bit newer). However if you do utilize the switch the HP is a MUCH better option (being cheaper too).

 

I was one of the early purchasers of Apple's 30" display. I got mine December 2004 ($3500).

Still going strong, albeit it is starting to ghost ever so slightly when games are left on screen for a long time.

I can't imagine going back to a CRT or smaller real estate. When this one gives up the ghost, or I pass it down the food chain, Gateway's XHD3000 looks rather nice.

 

Hmm... seems like the HP is the way to go then. That or wait for the 30" LED ACD.

 

It's the never ending chase to have the "newest" thing...A 30" LED will probably be well north of the current 1799 price point...the only reason I'm considering 30 ACD is the big price cut plus the 200 student discount...1599....no way would I go any further price wise so this may be my chance to get into a 30" ACD. Going tomorrow to apple store to sit down with them all and see.

 

I would think Apple would keep the 30" LED ACD the same price as the current 30" ACD. The 24" LED ACD have been the same pricing as the 23" ACD.

 

I also wouldn't mind a Mac Pro desktop...but I guess a MBPRO connected to a 30 ACD with external keyboard and mouse would be the same kinda thing and then I could "move" my desktop by just moving the MBPRO.

 

I'm waiting for the Gainstown mac pro to be released and probably dump my mbp on ebay and keep my current 24" LED ACD.

 

What is the Gainstown mbpro?

 

The next Mac Pro (desktop).

 

That will have a display port? Maybe I should go with a Mac Pro and an ACD instead of all the notebook stuff.

 

I would KILL to be able to have two 24" LED displays side by side. That would dump all over a single 30". Much more useful.

 

Yes, according to Apple, ALL their hardware is going displayport. I did mention that in the last thread.

You seem VERY undecided. Laptop or desktop, 24" LED or old-tech 30" Cinema Display. Personally, facing THESE decisions, I'd wait. At least wait a few months and see what Apple releases.

 

Yeah, they're going to standardize on DisplayPort. I think that is the new industry standard (as long as people adopt it)!

 

the 30" is useless you can't watch blue ray on it. Infact all the large displays are useless you can't watch blue ray on them.

 

^yeah,right,getting big screen just to watch blu-ray....

 

So far I've watched 50 bluray movies just fine on my 24" LED ACD already. And over a 100 bluray movies on my 23" ACD.

Oh except that I get my bluray movies for free and they come in the .mkv form.

 

Ive got a Sony XBR LCD TV for Bluray....

 

Torrents......

 

chargerbaseball are you going to get the LED 24 with your setup?

 

I think I ll get one if I don't buy an iMac..please,give us a decent iMac