2x23" Cinema Displays, or 1x30", and why?

F

filmguy123

Veteran
For about the same price, I could get 2 23" Apple Cinema Displays, or I could get one 30" Cinema Display. Which would you recommend, and why?

My thought was 2x23" because it gives me 16" more total space, the flexibility of 2 screens to use as I want (more desktop space, dedicated preview monitor, different computer altogether, etc.), I don't *think* I need more resolution than 1920x1200 (do I?)...

But, thoughts?
 
if you get 2 23's you can have fcp on one monitor and have preview on the 2nd. and 2 monitors is actually more efficient since you can easily have two app's open and visible at once.
 
More real estate...pure and simple.

And forget Apple....look at DELL. 2408 is a MUCH BETTER monitor than the Apple 23". Cheaper too.
 
It's just personal preference, but I like two monitors more than one big monitor. I currently have one 23" ACD and I'm planning on buying a Dell down the line. The reason for mixing is two fold. First, I wanted a 23" ACD because I plan on getting a Matrox MXO and using the ACD for color correction. Secondly, I want the Dell to use as a "bin window" because you can rotate the display 90 degrees into "portrait mode" and a tall & skinny monitor will rock for quickly accessing a ton of bins.

-A
 
Shane Ross said:
2408 is a MUCH BETTER monitor than the Apple 23". Cheaper too.
Click to expand...

Hey Shane, any idea how the 2408 plays with the MXO? I know earlier dells were not as good as the ACD (because they didn't support a 59.97 refresh rate). Does the 2408 support it?
 
I'd get a Dell 2408 as a second monitor and an LCD HDTV with DVI and HDMI inputs as your main monitor.

That way, you could use it as both a computer monitor and as a video monitor if you ever get an AJA card or something (much better color reproduction).
 
bigbossbmb said:
Hey Shane, any idea how the 2408 plays with the MXO? I know earlier dells were not as good as the ACD (because they didn't support a 59.97 refresh rate). Does the 2408 support it?
Click to expand...

It could have something to do with the 5 ms response time as apposed to apples 14ms
 
Shane Ross said:
More real estate...pure and simple.

And forget Apple....look at DELL. 2408 is a MUCH BETTER monitor than the Apple 23". Cheaper too.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I'm waiting for the refresh on the Cinema Displays that will happen this year, which should bring it "past" the Dell - for a short time, anyway...

Does the Dell "work" as well with Apple's displays? Seems like the Cinema Display might just plug in and work w/out any sort of calibration or hassles or setup, natively with MacPro - or is this also true of the Dell?

Assuming a Cinema Display refresh, would there be any advantage to staying apple for the display?
 
BigBoss...the Dell still is 60Hz refresh...but with the new MXO drivers and the ability to calibrate the monitor to bars, it does very well. So I hear. The 2405 does decent, but the Apple is better than the 2405 for the MXO. I don't have a 2408 to test. Maybe soon...
 
adkimery said:
It's just personal preference, but I like two monitors more than one big monitor. I currently have one 23" ACD and I'm planning on buying a Dell down the line. The reason for mixing is two fold. First, I wanted a 23" ACD because I plan on getting a Matrox MXO and using the ACD for color correction. Secondly, I want the Dell to use as a "bin window" because you can rotate the display 90 degrees into "portrait mode" and a tall & skinny monitor will rock for quickly accessing a ton of bins.

-A
Click to expand...

is there a way to actually do this on the mac? i have a 2405 which does vertical mode but i have never found support for the mac for this feature.

i have used the ACD at length and the dell and for the money difference, i would buy the dell. or two dells in your case...

one cool thing the dell has is component inputs so you can use it as a field monitor when shooting. i made a mount for mine that puts it on a c-stand. the pedestal comes off and it has vesa mount screws.
 
cheezweezl said:
is there a way to actually do this on the mac? i have a 2405 which does vertical mode but i have never found support for the mac for this feature.
Click to expand...

I assume there is because in the Display preferences you can rotate the display image in 90 degree increments. This is useless w/a ACD since you can't rotate it (w/o using a 3rd party mount) and I assumed the rotation options would be present no matter what display you had hooked up. I've never tested it though as all the Macs I have access to have ACDs.


-A
 
good call. i'm going to try it. it would be cool if the mac would sense the rotataion and switch on it's own but no biggie i guess.

EDIT: just tried it and it works. i am looking at it right now. kinda weird. makes me wish i had a monitor this tall and 3 times this wide!!!
 
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