Apple Cinema 30" HD Flat-Panel Display

Product Description

Includes: DVI cable, FireWire 400 cable, USB 2.0 cable, and DC power. Apple 30" LCD Cinema Display - This huge 30" computer monitor is perfect for the prosumer and professional alike. Imagine multi-tasking with multiple full-size windows open simultaneously, or editing video with a super-wide timeline! It has a native resolution of 2560x1600, and a contrast ratio 400:1, for stunning quality on a Mac G5 powered computer. Brightness - 400 cd/m2 Viewing Angle - 170 degrees horizontal / 170 degrees vertical Antiglare Hardcoat Screen Treatment Kensington Security Port User Controls - Display Power, System Sleep, System Wake, Brightness and Display Tilt Connects to a Macintosh via a digital DVI connection Macintosh system requirements - Power Mac G5 and NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL graphics card (offered as CTO option for new Power Mac G5 customers and as a kit for current Power Mac G5 customers (M9593G/A) PC capable only if Windows PC is equipped with a dual-link DVI graphics card (some resolution adjustments may be required)

Customer Reviews:

Don't attempt to rationalize; Trust your instincts.......2007-11-29

In all likelihood, you are reading this review with two separate goals in mind. First, you want to make sure that nothing is horribly wrong with the lyrically-beautiful, breathtakingly-enormous 30-inch Cinema Display. After all, it is only natural to worry that its intoxicating attractiveness is counterpoised by some hidden, yet devastating, flaw. Well, you can breathe a sigh of relief: it is flawless. Indeed, it represents the very essence of perfection in both function and form.

Second, you are reading this review in a desperate attempt to find some way to justify the purchase of a 30-inch Cinema Display. Perhaps you need to justify the purchase to your spouse, and are trying to find a reasonable answer to that inevitable question, "but why do you NEED a 30-inch monitor?" Or perhaps, you will be forced to justify the purchase to a tight-fisted, emotionless employer, who is unable to appreciate the aesthetic beauty of this gargantuan monitor. Fortunately, previous reviewers have outlined a number of possible justifications that you might find helpful: a larger monitor improves work efficiency, reduces strain on your eyes, can double as a TV set, etc. Simply select the justification that will be most convincing to your target audience, and don't take no for an answer. I wish you luck.

However, never lose sight of this fact: you do not need to justify the purchase of a 30-inch Cinema Display to yourself. Even trying to do so is dangerous, since in all probability you will be unable to justify spending $1800 on an enormous monitor when you have a perfectly serviceable monitor already. Yes, I'm sure that some people have a genuine need for a 30-inch monitor, but (be honest with yourself) you are almost certainly not one of them.

And more to the point, any attempt at justification is irrelevant. This monitor is not about need, or utility, or functionality, or productivity, or other such tedious concepts. It is about sheer, unabashed, covetousness. You want it. You must possess it. You feel an inexplicable, unjustifiable compulsion to buy it. The vast expanse of the 29.7-inch viewable area haunts your waking thoughts, and appears in your dreams as a luminous vision of perfection that is always just out of reach.

Don't question it. Just buy it.

A year ago today, I did exactly that. Twice. Now, looking at both of my 30-inch monitors in front of me, I feel that I have come closer to true contentment than most people do in a lifetime. Is that shallow? Maybe. But I don't think so. And I'm willing to bet that you don't either. If you did, you would have stopped reading this review a long time ago.

Productivity and Fun.......2007-10-16

I've owned a 30" Cinema HD for a couple months now and while I regularly work on smaller monitors, I love the productivity and the immersion of a display this size. I regularly play World of Warcraft on it (which of course is a great experience) but a couple weekends ago I opened up Microsoft Word 2007 and was blown away by how productive it is to fit 3 pages side by side on screen at once. It's something you don't even think about until you try it; 3 full pages + 3 more partial pages = quick and easy access to whatever document you are working on.

I also own a couple of 19" NEC flatscreens (and I use one in addition to the 30" Cinema HD). The NECs are definitely brighter and crisper, although I think the Cinema is more "true" and gives a clear but soft and refined look to images.

PROS

- So big...so much room
- Elegant case
- USB/Firewire hub built in
- Works well with both Vista and OSX (haven't tried anything else) on my Mac Pro

CONS

- Ample video card power. While normal applications will run fine with a decent card, fullscreen games REALLY struggle. I'm running a tricked out Mac Pro but in lieu of dropping $1500 on a better (and Mac compatible) video card, I've been stuck running lower resolution and less detail.

- Getting used to it. The first couple hours I owned this display I seriously contemplated returning it.

- Price. Two 19"s are productive and will cost you $400-600. Even a good 24" display provides alot of bang for the buck. Apple is on the high end for 30" displays; you can probably get cheaper 30" displays elsewhere.

The unit I purchased has no bad pixels and is used heavily. I highly recommend.

It's really big.......2007-09-25

Pros: If you want some rationalization for buying this, you can convincingly argue that it will improve your productivity to have room for multiple large windows. But let's be honest: you just want it because it's really big and beautiful and will make you happy. So go buy one and you'll wonder why you waited so long.

Cons: When I first bought it, my wife was afraid that it would come to life and eat us up and was afraid to enter my office for a week. Also it might give you some eyestrain until you get used to it; I recommend turning down the brightness.

Best monitor in the world!.......2007-09-15

This monitor is STUNNING. There is no better monitor for computers anywhere, no exceptions. If you don't have it for Mac or Windows, run (don't walk) out and buy it immediately!

Old and expensive.......2007-09-11

If you need such high resolutions in a big display, this is one of the few 30 inch LCDs that will do it. However, the Apples (built by LG/Phillips) are mostly outdated compared to the newer higher contrast displays out now. Though most of these are lower resolution, the perceived detail, crispness, and sparkle will be vastly superior on a large 768p and 1080p digital flat panel with contrast ratios of 1600:1 all the way up to 15,000:1. If you're simply dealing with CAD lines, then it's probably not such a big deal. If you're working on graphics, photo, or video, this makes a much bigger difference. Dynamic range has as much to do with perceived resolution as actual resolution in those circumstances, which is why many still favor CRTs. The new Samsungs, in particular, give the highest contrasts yet for an LCD, while not matching, seemingly approaching that of CRTs that will not be truly achievable until the Toshiba FEDs come out with their 100,000:1 dynamic range some time in the next few years. Heck, you could get two 37 inch 1600:1 768p Olevia displays and still save a couple hundred compared to one 30 inch Apple. Or you could get one 22 inch 2000:1 1200p Samsung and another 15,000:1 42 inch 1080p Samsung for about the price of the Apple. Geez, is the Apple name worth that much to you?

Apple Cinema HD Display - Flat panel display - TFT - 30" - 2560 x 1600 - 400 cd/m2 - 700:1 - 14 ms - 0.25 mm - DVI-D

Average customer rating:

Apple Cinema HD Display - Flat panel display - TFT - 30" - 2560 x 1600 - 400 cd/m2 - 700:1 - 14 ms - 0.25 mm - DVI-D

Manufacturer: Apple Computer
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

Apple Cinema 30" HD Flat-Panel LCD Display

Average customer rating:

Apple Cinema 30" HD Flat-Panel LCD Display

Manufacturer: Apple Computer
ProductGroup: CE
Binding: Electronics

2,560 x 1,600 optimal resolution, 16.7 million colors
Industry-standard DVI connector
Design complements the latest Power Macs and PowerBooks
2-port USB 2.0 hub, 2 FireWire 400 ports
Requires NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL Card

ASIN: B000K28NOI

Product Description

Includes: DVI cable, FireWire 400 cable, USB 2.0 cable, and DC power. Apple 30" LCD Cinema Display - This huge 30" computer monitor is perfect for the prosumer and professional alike. Imagine multi-tasking with multiple full-size windows open simultaneously, or editing video with a super-wide timeline! It has a native resolution of 2560x1600, and a contrast ratio 400:1, for stunning quality on a Mac G5 powered computer. Brightness - 400 cd/m2 Viewing Angle - 170 degrees horizontal / 170 degrees vertical Antiglare Hardcoat Screen Treatment Kensington Security Port User Controls - Display Power, System Sleep, System Wake, Brightness and Display Tilt Connects to a Macintosh via a digital DVI connection Macintosh system requirements - Power Mac G5 and NVIDIA GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL graphics card (offered as CTO option for new Power Mac G5 customers and as a kit for current Power Mac G5 customers (M9593G/A) PC capable only if Windows PC is equipped with a dual-link DVI graphics card (some resolution adjustments may be required)

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