Apple displays insanely overpriced?

I love apples mind, and am a sucker for the shiny aluminum look of them - but staring at the 600 pound 23 inch display I find it hard to justify the cost when I know a Samsung SM-245B PLUS 24" Widescreen LCD Monitor is under half the price.

Am I missing something or is it really a case of paying for a glossy exterior? All the other products I get - the Imac is compact and lovely, the macbook pro much the same - displays seem insanely costly though.

 

Those displays are what pretty much any industry dealing with graphics or design use. They are really, really, really good and colour-correct.

 

Yes, overpriced. Apple is apple. No one else does apple.

Just go with the samsung SM series.

 

It is strange why the prices of the Apple Cinema's seem to never go down. They are outdated compared to other models as well, like the Samsung that you mention which is worlds ahead. A refresh is incredibly overdue for them.

 

The Samsung SM-245B is a TN panel display, while Apple uses S-IPS in its Cinema Displays and the 24-inch iMac. S-IPS is much nicer in colour and such, and all S-IPS displays are similarly priced to the Apple displays.

I do hope Apple revamps the Cinema Displays though.

Here's a Dell S-IPS panel, most Dell displays aren't, but this one is. At 20-inches, standard-resolution, it is $470 US.

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/pro...l.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=dhs&cs=cadhs1&sku=320-4687

 

As Sam rightly pointed out both the Cinema displays and the iMac 24" use S-IPS panels which puts them in a different ballgame from TN panels in terms of price at least. With anything in tech you have to be careful of numbers and technology types (the camera megapixels= quality waffle etc). There are great TN's and bad TN's, the same with every panel type. However these ACD panels really are great but heres the dilemma. I'm assuming your from the UK as you quoted the price in pounds. If a 23" ACD costs £600 and an iMac costs £1149 which gets you an extra inch and a full computer that means either the ACD is poor value or the iMac is good value, comparatively speaking. If Apple bring the student deal into the equation in the UK you could be looking at a free Touch and a printer into the bargain for less than the original £1149 asking price. I'm hoping this comes to Ireland very soon. I'm gonna match a 24" iMac to 2 HP w2408h 24" TN glossy panels. If I have them before you plan on making a purchase I can take photos and video to give you TN to S-IPS comparisons.

Its clear that Apple keep the ACD prices heavily inflated knowing that they are predominantly purchased by businesses on a need to have basis who can claim the VAT back thereby reducing the bottom line cost, sometimes being writen off as expenses as far as I know. The iMac is mainly purchased by consumers without VAT clearance so those prices have to stay at least semi-reasonable.

 

Besides S-IPS, Cinema Displays are also certified to be accurate to a known color profile so you are seeing exactly the color you are supposed to be seeing.

But, really the major reason they are so expensive is that they haven't been updated in 4 years. Apple usually only does price adjustments when it introduces new models, although it they prefer to just update at existing price points. But, with no refreshes to add value or to drop prices, the Cinema Displays seem very expensive.

 

Can I say these apples are for wealthy users only?

 

I think the apple cinema displays USED to be overpriced. Just 4 years ago with the lower specs the 23" ACD used to be $1499. Now its a real good deal with student discount its just $799.

IMHO I've been through them all and the cinema display has the most accurate, deep colors just straight out of the box.

 

wrong, theres much better at much less cost

 

not that i don't believe that there are. but could you give some examples rather than just telling someone that they're wrong?

 

Any suggestions then on other S-IPS or equivalent monitors? I'm considering getting something so I don't have to look down at my MBP's screen all the time when I'm at my desk at home. Something around 23" would be nice although smaller is okay.

 

Just show me a link to an S-IPS panel that has the same specs as the cinema display. I'm sure you wont find none in the same price range.

And dont provide any dells those have cheap components and not to mention glass too and use an s-pva inferior panels as well.

 

What are ya gonna use it for and where are you based? Any preferred budget you wanna keep in mind?

 

Also I'd say one of the best part about using a powerful nice desktop system is the display. Also the display can outlast 2 generation of desktop machines so I dont mind spending the extra $$ for a very nice display.

 

Couldn't agree more. Many people spend so much money and effort speccing out CPU's etc they forget the main interface between user and computer is the monitor. And you only get 1 set of eyes so take care of them.

ltcommander_data hit the link for the most complete list of current S-IPS equiped LCD's I could find at short notice. I'll look around for some good deals on S-IPS panels for ya. If I see anything I'll post it up. ltcommander_data what part of the world do you hail from, cause its better to search and price them locally instead of giving you a price for something in borkmenistan.

http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/search.php?query=-IPS&select=panel

 

Well I'm no media professional, so certified color accuracy like in a Cinema Display really isn't necessary. I would do spreadsheet work and programming and some more casual photo/video editing on the side. And of course some games, although my MBP's GPU probably couldn't handle playing most games at native resolution. In terms of price lower is obviously better, but hopefully under $500CND for something around 22-23".

 

I'm going for the HP w2408h but thats because I'm getting it at a fairly stupid price, only the 1st one though. Its a glossy panel so I wouldn't recommend it for programming and spreadsheets unless you live in a dungeon without a light source as it wouldn't take you long to develop eye-strain from the reflections. I'd recommend the Dell 2408WFP which you can find under $600 on ebay (bit over your budget I know) new and the spec is amazing. More importantly it is a matt finish with tons of inputs and portrait capability and the reviews have been great for it. Its S-PVA but an S-IPS panel won't really be of benefit unless colour correction is a must which you said it wasn't.

 

My Samsung 2253BW is no S-IPS, but its a great monitor! Needs some calibration, but other than that , yeah.

If only I could afford Cinema Displays...

 

This topic comes up every now and again. There's a reason the Apple displays cost so much. Because they are amazing. Once you go IPS, nothing else compares. My wife has a Samsung 245BW 24" 1920x1200 display, and she drools all over mine, even though my 23" Apple display cost double what I paid for her Samsung...

IPS panel vs TN = no contest. It really is as simple as that.

 

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll look into them more. I suppose the Dell 2408WFP is better but the Samsung 2253BW is so much cheaper.

 

The only updates I want Apple to do to their monitors is upgrade them all to H-IPS, and offer them with glass (Can't sell all glass, because some pros need the matte finish for even more accurate colour), upgrade the 23" to 24", and drop the prices by $100.

I will get one ASAP if they do all of the above.

But seriously, anybody who says that the Apple monitors are more expensive "Because it's Apple" has no clue. They make some high quality stuff and make it the standard, but until it is a standard, they have to charge a bit more.

 

Speaking of matte vs. glossy, I would like to see the iMac, if just the 24-inch but even better if 20-inch included as well, had the option of matte and glossy.

 

WilliamG, would it be possible for you to take a couple of non-flash pictures of both the displays that you have (samsung & apple) with a similar wall or something and upload it? That would be really kind of you! ... Does the samsung have a glossy screen?

 

show me....?

 

He can't!

 

Samsung isn't glossy, and no it wouldn't be possible to take pictures of them side-by-side since they're both in very different rooms, with my wife's in a computer cabinet thingy.

 

you guys wont be happy once you saw the price of the EIZO screen.

thats the one (the professional model) they use for professional.

there is a lot of things that make up the price of the monitor.

panel - does it use TN (cheapest), MVA, PVA/IPS (most expensive)
backlighting - CCFL or LED, the brightness of the backlighting.
processor - 6bit 8bit 16bit
casing - the material and quality of casing. the height/angle adjustability of the stand.
other - quality control, calibration, customer support, miscleaneous spec, etc.

so as you can see, judging this thing is not just spec glancing matter.

the cinema display is for prosumer or entry level professional. they are not really overprice though.

btw, the easiest way to spot a TN panel with PVA/IPS panel is by looking at the viewing angle. 160 degrees for TN and 178 for PVA/IPS

isnt manufacturer like DELL (the highend one) or Apple (Cinema Display) sometimes bought either S-IPS or S-PVA from either LG or samsung (repectively) for their highend monitor depending on the supply at the current time?