Apple Cinema 30" HD Flat-Panel Display

Average customer rating: 4.5

Step up to the best!
The best monitor for AutoCAD
A Stunning Display
The BEST gaming monitor I have ever seen
Brilliant product. Productivity enhancer.

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Apple Cinema 30" HD Flat-Panel Display

Manufacturer: Apple Computer
Product Group: CE
Binding: Electronics
ASIN: B0002ILKWM

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21" and Above

Flat panel

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Product Description

<b>Includes: DVI cable, FireWire 400 cable, USB 2.0 cable, and DC power.</b> 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:

Step up to the best!.......2007-04-20

I recently bought a new intel Mac and loaded it up all the way. With such a monsterous system, I wanted an equally powerful monitor. I was going to purchase Mac's 23" HD Cinema display, but I bought my Mac just after their displays dropped in price, so I decided to go all the way with the 30" HD Cinema display... and I'm glad I did!
First off, this display is like having 2 side-by-side displays, it's that huge. The brightness and clarity of the HD picture is stunning. On my previous Mac, I used a 17" display and used Photoshop and Illustrator on a daily basis. Now, with this 30" display using Adobe Creative Suite CS3 Design Premium Upgrade [Mac] I'll be able to have multiple programs on the screen at once and have hi-res photos open at full size. If you do a lot of design work, or if you just want to have the room to have iTunes, Safari and various other programs open all at once, this is the display for you.
There is only one problem that some users may have. This display ONLY works with G5 Macs and G4 Powerbook Macs (PC users need to check the system requirements for compatibility). So, all other Mac users will be left out, so make sure you have the right system before purchasing.
Overall, this is a tremendous display of the highest quality. The price may be too much for some, but if your serious about web and graphic design like myself, this is a must-have!

The best monitor for AutoCAD.......2007-03-04

This is the best monitor I've used in a long time. I use AutoCAD on a daily basis and the screen is clearer and criper than any other monitor I've ever used. The screen is so large, I'm able to work without having to zoom in and out all of the time. The biggest problem I have with it is getting used to not zooming all of the time because I got so used to doing that. I use a Winows PC with a NVIDIA GeForce 7600 GT video card and the monitor is able to keep up with me when I draw. I had no trouble setting up the monitor out of the box and it's worked flawlessly for over a year now. I'm going to buy more of these monitors for my draftsmen.

A Stunning Display.......2007-03-02

After seeing this display in person, I had to run out and buy one. In Windows at 2650x1600 it seems to display things about the same size as my 20" monitor does at 1600x1200, but you get more than twice as much on the screen as the 20" (2.1333 times to be more exact).

Besides hearing about how stunningly beautiful it is, here are some things you might like to know about it:

It will hook directly to a MacBook Pro's DVI port without any adapters or mods, and display at full resolution. If you're using it on a PC, you need dual-link DVI capability (not the same as dual DVI). I thought this would mean paying a lot of money for a new video card, but it doesn't. I called ATI and ordered a Radeon x1650 Pro PCIe card direct, which cost $150. It displays at the full 2650x1600 resolution with no problems, has 512MB DDR2 memory, video out, and though it includes several cables and adapters, none are required to hook the display up. In fact it seems faster than my two year old $700 card did. I do mostly digital photography (Photoshop), and it is plenty fast. I don't think that unless you're doing 3D modeling or serious gaming, that you'll need anything more. It is also Vista ready, so it can handle all the features of Vista (translucent windows or whatever. I don't have Vista). There are 3 plugs on the cable. One is the DVI plug, the second is a Firewire (400 not 800), and the third is USB. The latter two are to provide you with 2 USB and 2 Firewire ports at the back of the display.

Now for the drawbacks, or should I say drawback. The only positioning adjustment is the ability to tilt the display. Although it is easy to rotate the image 90 degrees, it would require rigging something up to rotate the monitor. There is no height adjustment so I can't squeeze the center speaker of my audio underneath the display (I'd call it a monitor, but since it's Apple, they refer to them as displays).

Included software assist you in setting the levels and color to the right settings. When I bought it, I considered it an extravagance, but after using it for a few weeks, I've changed my mind. It increases productivity immeasurably being able to keep multiple windows open, not having to zoom in and out while editing photographs, and being able to display 39 columns (64 pixel) and 66 rows (20 pixel) of an Excel spreadsheet.Or 3 legal size pages at 100% side by side in Word without scrolling. Pretty cool, huh?

It's also extremely stylish, and along with my DiNovo Edge keyboard, it could go in a museum.

When I bought it from Amazon, it was $1,924 plus a 5% discount at the time, no tax, and $10 shipping. It came out to be about $125 less than what I would have paid from Apple with their education program discount (since they charge 6% tax and I'm also getting 3% in rewards bonuses using my Amazon credit card). But even at full retail it would have been worth it. I am in love with this display!

Any of you gamers interested in an ATI Radeon x850XT Platinum graphics card? Oh yeah, the new card takes up only one slot instead of two, so there's another bonus...

Originally I was going to use this display with my MacBook Pro for my digital photo work, but now that it's connected to the PC, I literally can't take my eyes off of it. Does anybody know of a cable or switch that would allow me to use it for both and switch between them conveniently?

If you buy one piece of expensive computer hardware this year, this display should be it. You won't regret it.

I am delighted with this purchase!!!

The BEST gaming monitor I have ever seen.......2007-03-01

Recently I upgraded to my "dream" gaming computer, and wanted a top-end monitor to play games at maximum resolutions. After reading many reviews and considering the options, I finally shelled out the money for this Apple 30-inch Cinema Display.

Well, I have been using it for over a week now, and it has been money well spent. Usually I will play fast-paced shooters about twice a week in 6 to 8 hour sessions with my friends. Other times I play MMORPG or RTS games by myself.

The main thing I can say about upgrading to this awesome monitor is that my eyes don't burn or get tired while playing. With my smaller 21" widescreen (1680x1050 resolution), my eyes would literally "hurt" by the end of the playing time. Now, I can keep playing for hours, without any eye strain at all.

Besides that, the colors are amazing and crisp. And the game experience is beyond description.

You will need a hefty processor and graphics setup to run games "full out" on this thing at native resolution (2560x1600). But it is WELL worth it. (I have an Intel X6800, 4 GB RAM and (2) 8800GTX in SLI, for example.)

I thought this would look like a monster on my desk (because of the size), but it really fits nicely. It is very thin and well designed to fit well in any environment. The footprint (base) is even smaller than my Gateway 21" widescreen, and it only has one cable coming out of the back, giving it an extremely clean look. The Gateway had tons of wires that cluttered the aesthetics.

If you have even a single thought about buying this, do it... you won't be disappointed. I knew it would be good for CAD, drawing, graphics, etc. but the gaming is amazing too.

UPDATE - I have now been using this for almost two months and all I can say is WOW! This monitor has even improved my gaming skills. The ability to see opponents clearer and at farther distances is amazing. I stand by my initial review and give it even higher recommendation now that the price has dropped almost two hundred dollars here on amazon.

Brilliant product. Productivity enhancer........2007-02-25

I have been recently converting from PC -> Mac at home. Have an iMac 24" and a 17" MacBook Pro. Been using the MacBook to transition between work and home, and now can do a lot of my development for work on the MacBook (I am a programmer).

I use a 24" Dell at work, and have been pretty happy with it -- though I have been lusting after a 30" Cinema Display just due to the fact that it looks really nice (like a work of art in comparison to the childish looking 30" Dells). But I didn't really want to pay the price premium ($400 difference between the two). So I've been patiently looking around hoping the price will drop. Well, the local Apple Store had a demo model that was never even used for cheaper than the Dell! The box looked beaten up (they have been shuffling it between the floor and the back room every week) but the monitor was in pristine shape. Plugged it into the MacBook at the store, and I was sold!

While 1920x1200 on the 24" Dell was a nice bump up from the 1600x1200 I was used to with my home 21" Dell, 30" at 2560x1600 was a revelation. I finally feel unconstrained by my desktop, especially when I have my 17" Laptop screen next to it for miscellaneous windows, or reference materials (I am a programmer as mentioned above). I can have code views side by side on my main monitor, which I had never been able to do before and I am no longer flipping between applications. XCode's debugger basically yearns for screen space like this thanks to the multiple floating windows (an irksome 'feature' in XCode).

I can have my Windows XP installation running fullscreen on my 17" laptop monitor at full resolution and can do cross platform development very easily now on one machine.

I honestly feel unchained and unleashed. This monitor is well worth every penny, even at full cost (and Amazon is a bit cheaper than what you will find at the Apple store, unless you look at refurbs). I got the 3 year Apple Care on the monitor (is $99 and can be purchased anytime in the 1 year base warranty) since this thing is a significant investment and $99 is almost insignificant compared to the price of the beast.

My monitor was manufactured in late 2005, so some of what I mention may or may not apply to later model monitors. The monitor is VERY bright, and out of the box seemed to be slightly biased to red (at least compared to my laptop screen). Well, after calibrating it it turns out that the laptop was just slightly calibrated towards blue. Go figure. I seem to be more tolerant towards blue shifts than red evidently. If you have a window that is all white, there are slight color shifts towards the corners. But this is apparently based on view angle, because if you move your eyes towards the corners, the shift disappears. Again, it is very slight and you would have to have your entire window be white to notice it.

Mac users: By default, the software that is installed ties the power button to shutting off your machine (though it prompts you before it does shut it down). This was slightly odd to me. But you can change the preferences so that the power button in fact powers down the monitor and not the machine.

The controls on the side are touch sensitive, and have little tactile feedback other than the depression that they sit in. For the first hour when I would be adjusting the monitor I would be constantly turning it off because I would just brush against the button. After a while, you memorize the exact location of that button on the side ;)

The monitor itself can pitch up and down, and that's pretty much it. It sits on a low friction base similar to the iMac, and can be rotated left and right via the base very easily. I am actually impressed by how easy it is to move these things. My 24" Dell at work takes more effort. Speaking of the Dell monitor, I have suddenly noticed how cheap, even their 30" one feels now. There is something about having an item that is aesthetically pleasing, and the Apple Cinema displays certainly excel in that regard. The Dells are starting to look (with their hybrid silver/black designs) rather childish in comparison when placed side by side with the Apple unit. To be fair, the Dell is a lot cheaper than the retail price of this monitor, and that alone will be enough to make it the better purchase for many users. Also, the Dell has a 3 year warranty by default, while you have to pay $99 for the Apple 3-year warranty.

I also on occasion do studio photography work of children (mostly *my* children these days, as I have gotten too busy to take on clients anymore but I digress :) ). Taking some of my 13 MegaPixel RAW photos from my Canon 5D and displaying them on the 4MP monitor took my breath away. Looking at some from my kids' Christmas shoot was great. I can see details that I had almost forgotten. You'd have to get large prints to see this sort of detail at a glance. Photographers: You MUST have this monitor!

So I say: Indulge yourself with this purchase. You will not regret it! At the end of the day you not only have a monitor, but a very nice looking piece of furniture too.

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