Apple's 24-inch and 30-inch Cinema Displays on the outs
By Ross Miller 
posted July 27th 2010 8:54PM
posted July 27th 2010 8:54PM
posted July 27th 2010 8:54PM
A look back on popular stories from today in a specific year.
Now that we've thrown 'em off the trail, use the form below to get in touch with the people at Engadget. Please fill in all of the required fields because they're required.
@audrywienerdog
They are more for consumers than pro users. Professionals need more than the pitiful inputs offered in Mac displays and the idiotic all-in-one cable design is something only those Pros with very limited requirements like.
@arkweld
i am a professional, and i am using it with my macbook pro. the cable design you mentioned is brilliant. just not for PC, but we all realize it, don't we?
From now on whenever a post is about an apple product everyone must say: "THIS CHANGES EVERYTHING"
These monitors are cheap.
If you think they are overpriced, I'm sure some company like BenQ has something you can afford.
@Mike V - It a bunch of people who think an avg Tag Hauer and an avg Timex are the same thing, so the pricier one must be a ripoff.
16:10 has always been better than 16:9. I'm proud to own a 30" ACD and I think it's sad that Apple gave up on 16:10 just because everyone else was doing 16:9.
As your mother might say, just because everyone else is doing it doesn't make it the right thing to do. ;)
Also: (@ all those guys above saying that you can view more than half a page on a 16:9 monitor) ... It's not about *reading* a web page you dolts. If all you want to do is cruise the web get an iPad.
The 30" display is for content *creators*, get it? If I'm working on a 18x24" poster at 300 dpi I can't do anything full screen, even on a 30" monitor can I?
Besides, the guy was talking about display ratios anyway and it went right over your heads.
Same LG/Philips S-IPS panels as in many other highend monitors that are priced lower. http://www.tftcentral.co.uk will show you what panels are used inside of most monitors. If you search for "Apple" displays you will see they use LG/Philips S-IPS panels with a particular part #. Search that part # for about a dozen other monitors that will perform exactly the same, but not cost an arm-and-a-leg.
@liquidkernel
The panel is just one part of what makes a monitor operate.
Many other components e.g. the backlight, make a huge difference to what the monitor will look like.
Also the panels are graded. The good ones go into good monitors, the ones that have defects but still kind of work OK go into cheap monitors.
@Mike V All panels have their differences, yes. Two of the same panels may have slight differences. However, I am highly doubtful that Apple grades each and every panel to make sure they are perfect. The process to make S-IPS panels is more involved and expensive, but that does not mean they produce a batch of duds that go into high-end Dell and Lacie monitors. The main reason TFT manufacturers grade panels is to weed out ones that will have more likely failure rate (likely dead pixel count). TN panels that are produced in extremely large batches are typically more likely to have lower quality batches (for instance, a cheapo bargain basement TN LCD might get a D graded panel, while a more expensive Samsung TN LCD would get an A or B).
There are a few more things, of course. The backlight is actually integrated into the panel and not a separate item. Apple does not buy LG/Philips panels and then throw in their own backlight, it is all done during the manufacturing process. Apple can of course request an LED backlight, but the whole discussion of color accuracy on LED vs. CCFL backlights is a moot point (mostly because there is little evidence showing a difference.. if anything, it's a power consumption, heat and environmental friendliness debate). What's left? The controller. To begin with, it starts with the DVI input which is not going to be different. It will go through a TFT controller and finally to the TFT panel itself. Although I have no first hand knowledge, I am positive that Apple uses reference designs provided by LG/Philips (mostly because they are the ones that know best). If you look through any major electronics distributor for LCD controllers, you will see that there are countless similar controllers that do the same thing (without any significant differences besides the OCD).
All-in-all, it boils down to the panel it self which would not vary much.
Perceived value and an inelastic demand curve (due to the perceived value) is why many Apple products command a premium.
Brand association also plays a HUGE role in cost. When you go by Advil, do you go to the drug store and pay $10 for Advil brand or $5 for the generic brand Ibuprofen? The thing is, Ibuprofen has been in production since 1969 and the forumla has not changed since then. As a matter of fact, most large drug companies will make a more expensive brand-name AND a cheaper generic variant to capture both markets. They are 100% aware of the fact that they are identical, but they also know there are suckers that will pay more.
Here a good example: A group of subjects were given two glasses of wine, they were told that one was from a $5 bottle of wine, the other from a $50 bottle of wine. Most surveys identified the glass with the "$50 bottle of wine" as tasting better. The kicker? Same $5 in both glasses.
@liquidkernel Errr, the part where I said "However, I am highly doubtful that Apple grades each and every panel to make sure they are perfect." should read "However, I am not highly doubtful that LG/Philips grades each and every panel to make sure they are perfect." -- two different trains of through ran into each other, d'oh!
@liquidkernel Jesus it's late.. typo central. "Same $5 wine in both glasses".
@liquidkernel So which exactly are the cheaper models?
I'm not sure I fully understand this announcement. Is it that they won't make a 30" any more or they are going to a new ratio for their 30"?
Wonder what the refurb'd price will be on the 27's maybe the 24s will go lower. I'd prefer a 16:10 more for what I do and the 24 would be plenty. Hopefully the refub'd 24s will pop up for a while after normal stock is gone.
Gorgeous screen but thats one ugly looking stand
Why would anyone on earth buy this over Dell UltraSharp U2711? If it is the same panel that the iMac 27 has, then I am happy to tell you that mine has yellow spots all over it and the colors are not accurate at all.
@elibi Because Apple will replace it, while Dell probably not.
I just dont like the price and the size, 27 is too large on my desk, i need 24 because its smaller. And now its $100 more wow. Im just going to wait until used ones hit the ebay market
@Sil
I would never buy a used panel on ebay. b/c if it had any dead pixels you'd be SOL to get your money back. A monitor is something I tend to splurge a bit more money on since I have to look at it day-in and day-out, I expect it too look good.
I know it's been said before, but I just wish that Apple would make a non glossy version. I doubt that they will though as it would break their design philosophy. Anti-glare films aren't really compatible with "edge to edge" glass, and sticking a anti-glare film on top of the glass would result in a "fuzzy" display. This means the display would need a complete redesign...
Physics is a bitch sometimes...
Always a sad day when another 16:10 display bites the dust.
You could say this is overpriced but this is a product for high end users, people who make money by working with these displays and presumably a 12core Macpro.
@SHFT Who don't appreciate a highly glossy screen. Plus there are less pixels on the 27" than the outgoing 30"
Anyone got the Wallpaper of this?
For those who desperately need to match their overpriced technological products with more overpriced technological products that look the same.