Customer Reviews

Apple Cinema 20-inch Flat-Panel Display

5 star:		(25)
4 star:		(7)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

There was a time that I never considered buying an Apple display. I figured a Mac costs enough money, without spending $1000, or more, on a display. In late January 2005, I purchased the newest Powerbook G4 12 inch 1.5 GHZ G4, with superdrive. The notebook had nearly all the performance I was looking for, and the small form factor allows me to easily haul it around the house, or the world should I ever get to travel properly. However, I wanted more from my Powerbook, when at my desk.

Yes, I was already using my Powerbook with an external display. It was an analog Sony LCD. However, it was only 15 inches, with a resolution of 1024x768, so I actually had as little screen real estate on my external display, as I had on the 12 inch built-in display. I wanted more.

After deciding a 17 inch LCD would not be enough, I ordered the Apple's 20" Cinema Display, and I'm glad I did. Unfortunately, the box arrived beat-up, and there was even dirt inside. However, everything inside seemed to work ok, thankfully. Un-wrapping the cinema display was a joy, and I was eager to put it on my desk. The design of this display is stunning. The aluminium enclosure will please the eyes of anyone, and the back of the display is as beautiful, if not more beautiful than the front. There is a single cable that comes from the back of the display, which neatly goes through an opening on the aluminium stand. This single cable splits in the end into Firewire, USB, DVI, and a power connector that you plug into the power brick. I connected the firewire, USB, and DVI to my Powerbook, and then I connected the power to the display. Wow. It was perfect out of the box. I could never get the color profile right on my old external display, but the cinema display was out of the box the most beautiful display I had ever used. The brightness was exceptional, and it took a few days for me to get used to the brightness. Yes, you can lower the brightness with grace of your finger over the sophisticated tough-sensitive buttons on the right side of the display, but I loved the look at full-brightness.

My computing experience has been at another level, since the cinema display arrived. Whether I'm browsing the web, working in Photoshop and iPhoto, or making a movie in iMovie, the 20" cinema display and its 1680x1050 resolution is a joy to use. The display also gives me two USB and two Firewire ports directly behind the panel, which is incredibly convenient. If you're a gamer, which I'm not, you will appreciate the 16ms response this display offers.

Yes, your computer does all the hard work, but it is your display you interact with. A great display like the Apple Cinema Display allows you to get more done, with less work and effort. For example, you do not have to figure out how to fit all your Photoshop palettes on the screen, for there is plenty of room.

DVDs are quite the experience on this display as well. I popped in Shrek 2, and I was amazed by the images, but DVDs are far from the only reason you should want a widescreen. The widescreen aspect of this display allows you to work in the way our minds are designed and used to working. We read from left to right, so a display that is wider than it is long makes a lot of sense.

Overall, if you would like to save some money, there are other displays out there. Dell actually offers a 20 inch widescreen display, which compares nicely with this one, even supporting additional inputs. However, it does lack something. It lacks the beauty in design that the Apple Cinema Display offers, and it probably lacks some of the quality control that Apple strives hard to achieve. For example, Apple might reject some of the panels they use inside of this display, if they suspect quality concerns, where other manufactures may use any panel they are supplied with, without spending the time and money to ensure a quality panel. If you believe you would like to spend some money on a fantastic display to use with your Powerbook, PowerMac, or DVI-output PC, then you should not pass-up this beauty. It is truly a piece of art from an aesthetics point of view, and the images it displays are spectacular. This display will not look like "yesterday's" display anytime soon. In fact, it is a pleasure to enjoy a display that does not look like it should be part of a busy, cluttered office. This display oozes beauty and grace, and the stock Apple pictures do not do it justice. The Apple Cinema Display gives you the full computing experience.

Even though there are some other displays on the market that use the same LCD screen and are sold cheaper, I still really like my Apple display. I've had it for almost a year and it looks very pleasing. The rounded aluminum edges on the top and bottom of the display have a feeling of disappearance, so it sort of blends into the environment. And when you're watching a movie or just typing something (like an amazon review) you just see the screen and not the display itself. Black displays are much more intrusive in my opinion.

Sony and some other companies made these flat displays recently with highly reflective coating on the screen, even more reflective than CRT glass monitors! I honestly have no idea what their problem was but those are very horrible to use. Not only do you see your own reflection in it, but it also reflects all the light from the windows and lamps. This Apple display has very low reflection factor. I have windows on the side and sunlight used to be very annoying (when I had CRT monitor) even with the blinds down I still had to put some drapes over the windows. But now the sun doesn't bother me any more and neither does the lamp behind me.

I won't say much about the colors, brightness and the quality of the LCD display itself, except that it's the best I've seen so far!

So why did I give 4 stars instead of 5? For the following 2 reasons! (if you have Apple computer this won't apply to you)

1) This monitor is labeled for Apple and Windows systems but there are no drivers supplied for windows (I have XP). When I hooked it up to my computer I couldn't set the maximum resolution (the option for 1680 x 1050 was just not there). But then I updated my Video Card (Radeon 9600) drivers to the latest ones, the 1680 x 1050 became an option, and I set it. BUT! To fund out about this took some searching, could've been easily avoidable if monitor drivers were provided!

2) Even after you update your Video Card drivers, the monitor still shows up as "generic" under windows. Some say that this doesn't really cause a problem that's not true however. First of all, the monitor has USB and Firewire ports on the back and although USB ports do seem to work (I didn't test firewire) they show up as "?" in Device Manager and this can't be too good so you might get a problem with certain USB/Firewire devices later on. Now that's a "possible" problem, but a real problem I had was with monitor shutdown. When you shut down your computer the monitor has to also shut down, what would happen quite frequently was that after PC shut down monitor would still be on. And even the power button on the side of the monitor would not turn it off! To shut it down, you had to crawl under my desk and unplug it from the power outlet and plug it back in. This sequence would reset something and now the power button on the monitor could work again to shut it down. Now I began to think that this must be a hardware problem and called Apple customer support which also thought so and recommended me to take the monitor to the repair center. I didn't really want to do that, so I gave searching another shot.. I thought that maybe it's the problem with the drivers. I didn't really find anyone mentioning this particular problem but this time I did find that some one recently released the drivers for this monitor! I say some one because it's not released by Apple. Some nice person wrote it for FREE. Yeah, really puts Apple to shame! After charging so much for this monitor they couldn't spend a little money for some drivers... Ok now that I got that off my chest, the little utility is called WinACD. After installing it, the monitor is recognized by Windows as Cinema Display and when you click properties you can even see some options. Also the ports and Monitor are recognized in Device Manager. The problem with my monitor not shutting down has also gone away.

You can download the latest version of this free driver here: http://sourceforge.net/projects/winacd

Overall I'm very pleased with this monitor, though a little angry at Apple for somewhat ripping me off on the service and price.

I'm a relatively new convert to the Mac scene having just purchased my G5 a couple of months ago. Along with it I purchased this monitor to experience the full Mac-Attack. I have not been dissapointed. I could rave on endlessly about the G5, but we're talking about the monitor here.
The monitor makes a very nice match to the G5 with its faux brushed aluminum surround and 'real' brushed aluminum stand. Quality is absolutely outstanding in both build, finish and, most importantly, display. It takes up about as little desk space as a 20" monitor possibly could without using a VESA mounting arm.
One caveat is that if you're not using a DVI card, you'll have to buy one (a worthy investment anyway). One of the nicest things about this monitor is the Apple calling card clean lines. No analog controls or buttons mucking up the faceplate (only a power and two brightness buttons hidden on the side).
My only real problem with this monitor (and the only reason it didn't receive 5 stars) is the price. It's just very hard to justify laying out this kind of cash when you can pick up similar monitors that are extremely close in display quality for almost half the price. If you're willing to 'settle' for a 19" monitor (non-widescreen), then check out the Samsung 910t. It's available here on Amazon for $579 right now and is most excellent (I've purchased two).
In closing, I am very glad to have purchased this monitor when I bought the G5 as I really do love it, but I can't really see myself spending this kind of money after the fact. It hurts a bit less when it's a smaller percentage of the total bill... :-)

LCD monitors inherently can be manufactured such that they end up with a few dead/bad pixels. This shows up as a colored dot on the monitor when certain colors are displayed. Apple needs to do the right thing and take a stand on quality control. Samsung has recently adopted a 'no bad pixel' policy on their monitors and Apple should do the same.

Apple's policy is that it's not considered a defective monitor unless there are 5 ore more bad pixels or a cluster of 3 or more clumped together. Apple states that out of the millions of pixels that high resolution monitors have, a few dead bad ones isn't considered a problem. This policy is not fair when such a large number of these Apple monitors do actually make it to the retail stores with bad pixels. The first one I received had a bad pixel that was visible all the time and the replacement also has 2 bad pixels that are visible sometimes, when certain dark colors are being displayed. I was told point blank by the Apple Store that I would not be able to return it again, without paying an exhorbitant 10% restocking fee.

While the monitor is beautiful in case, design and quality of the overall picture, the pixel issue is a serious issue for me. I feel it's unfair that I have to pay so much for a monitor that contains visible defects. And while I'm living with the bad pixels right now and don't notice them all the time, it still bothers me that Apple doesn't step up and do the right thing, especially on such an expensive item.

I recently said good-bye to my 55 pound Viewsonic CRT monitor to make room - and an excuse, for the Apple 20 Cinema Display. The pros are as you would expect: beautiful design, excellent color quality and convenient usb/firewire connections. As with Apple, the cons are also fairly predictable: once you get beyond the emotional experience of buying and installing the monitor you realize that this is an expensive product with limited functionality and a mediocre warranty.

One disappointing note, and the reason for my 4-star rating, is that the brightness controls do not work on a Windows PC. As of today, (11/26/04) there are no drivers available to make this feature work. There wasn't any mention of this issue on Apple's web site or from the Apple store staff. PC users - make sure you realize this limitation. It doesn't impact the image quality, but it does limit the ability to adjust your monitor.

Sidenote: My computer meets all of the required specs as listed by Apple - Windows XP Pro, with a Radeon X300 video card that has DVI and DDC. So technically, the monitor controls should work.

when I bought my Intel iMac w/20" LCD suddenly everything else looked dull in comparison. This Apple 20" is very close in spec to my iMac 20" screen. Stores like Best Buy do not have good quality 20+" LCDs in yet. You want the 16x9 profile also, the regular square LCDs look dorky in comparison and typically have lower brightness and contrast ratios. The newer stuff is very bright and clear. It is obvious when you go to a store and look at the LCD screens. The cheap $200 LCDs just don't look good in comparison to the new stuff.

Intel iMac screen:
1680x1050
280 cd/m2 (brightness in candle power)
800:1 Contrast ratio

Apple 20" LCD
1680x1050
250 cd/m2
400:1 Contrast
14ms response time (www.apple.com/displays/specs.html)

Other comparables:
Gateway 21" 1680x1050 $599
300 cd/m2 1000:1 contrast

Dell 24" 2405FPW $800
1920 x 1200
500 cd/m2
1000:1 contrast

You should be aiming for at least 300 cd/m2 on brightness and close to 1000:1 contrast. These Apple LCDs have been out for awhile and are starting to show their age in comparison to the brand new products that have just started to come out. If you are using your LCD for a TV you may need the brightness, but for computer work the Mac 20" LCD is just about right.

I paid a few $$$ more ($750 total price) for the Apple LCD, but I feel I made the correct purchase. I just didn't like the way the others looked and it had to look good against my iMac. I actually like this screen better than the one on my iMac and it seems just as bright even if the specs say that it is not. Amazon also boxes the shipment (besides the Apple box) so your screen should arrive undamaged.

This is a great display, if you own one you will love it. BUT, Amazon doesn't seem to have a box that it will fit in securely for shipping. I received my original order, the box was completely destroyed and the screen was damaged due to being thrown around in shipping. The second display I received had been treated even more brutally, and I had to return it as well. I ended up getting a refund, because I don't want to keep dealing with this. Don't let this review stop you from buying an excellent display, but be careful how you ship it. I recommend you choose overnight shipping so it doesn't get tossed around for 4 days in the shipping process. Sure it might be 30 dollars more, but you are already spending 700+ on a monitor so the 30 dollars to ensure it gets to you safely won't hurt too bad.

After several months of debating whether or not it was worth the money, I finally bought one of these babies. I hesitated for so long because of the price. I came close to ordering the 21" Samsung several times but really wanted a WS. After seeing the in the Apple stores several times, I really wanted one but $1300 was a big chunk of change. Then when the price dropped to below $1000 I gave in.

Overall, it is an impressive display. I am running it with a custom built PC using an ATI 9700 Pro w/DVI out. At first I could not get the thing to work at native resolution at all and any other res would produce strange results. Eventually, I discovered that something was wrong with my display drivers and I simply wiped out windows and started over from scratch (had been meaning to do it anyway and I upgraded the HD at the same time). After that, it worked like a champ. No problems whatsoever.

My only grips are the incompatibility with XP and the USB hub in the display. This is a well know problem with the PCs and Apple does not seem to care. Also, the only hard button controls you get are brightness and contrast. No other screen adjustments with the PC. I haven't really need any since the display have proven to be very intelligent when resizing different screen res's and I can use the ATI drivers to adjust things like color temp and gamma.

Other then that it is a fantastic display for the price.

I just purchased the 20" Cinema display and right out of the box this thing was amazing. Zero setup (with the G5) was needed. Just plugged in the only cable coming out of the back. This cable split int the power, DVI, USB, and FireWire. Great design. Then I booted the computer and WOW. The picture quailty was so crisp and pure. It was an obviously upgrade from the 17" CRT I've had for 4+ years. The only slight downside was the price. If you're a student or educator, you can get this monitor for $1169 + tax, so it's about the same depending on your tax rate. Perfect companion to the G5 aluminum look!

First things first: the 20" Apple Cinema uses the same panel as the Dell Ultrasharp 2005FPW. I paid less than retail for the Cinema due to a coupon and another discount but regardless, the price was almost twice what the Dell cost (if caught during one of Dell's frequent sales or from a third party reseller). I repeat: the Dell and Apple use the SAME Philips panel. So why buy the Apple? I like the brushed aluminum case, stand and clean look. Frivolous but for something I have to look at every day, I find it important to have something that's pleasing to the eye. And please it does. It is truly a work of art that wouldn't be out of place in the Guggenheim. The resolution and response times are outstanding. Video is smooth with no noticeable artifacts. The display is very bright and has good off angle viewing. Using it in daylight with the windows open isn't a problem. The widescreen makes viewing and editing documents side by side easy. Did I mention bright? Bottom line, this is an outstanding display. The 20" widescreen is a good compromise between smaller 17"-19" displays and the almost too large 23"-24" screens. Larger is usually better for movies and television but for the desktop, I find the 23" and up a little too big. A best buy this isn't but a frivolous purchase once in a while won't kill you.