Apple Cinema Display Alternatives

J

jrod81

Veteran
Hey Gang,
If apple would get a refurbished 24" ACD in stock I would go with it for the $550 price they have, but I just can't get on board with the 27" for close to $1000 so I need some suggestions. Ideally, I'd get a $300-$400 monitor. I realize it won't be the same grade as Apple's for that price range, but could someone chime in with a suggestion in that range? Do I need to stick with an IPS panel? Also, what about inputs... what do I need to be looking for to make it compatible with my unibody Macbook Pro 15inch i7?
thanks so much for the help
jared
 
liking this one alot based on some other people's suggestions, but i am not real sure what type of adapter i will need for it:
Dell U2311H
or, basically the same monitor for a bit less money due to a bit less size:
Dell u2211h
 
Plugging a TV into your computer monitor port will keep you entertained for a while but will not solve problems for any serious color work or for when you need to
judge gamma. And at this point in time you need pci-e slot or you are screwed for options.
If you are on a iMac or macbook or any mac without pci-e the only option I know out there is the older technology from Matrox (the MXO not the MXO2) as it
will convert your external monitor out to HDMI. I had one for a few weeks and ran a bunch of tests but sadly it wasn't good enough for what I want to do.
 
I've recently worked on some Dell u2211H monitors, and they are very impressive for such a cheap price. They're e-IPS based monitors.
 
I have this
http://www.cinemaview.com/
cinemaview.jpg

And I like it. 24", 1080p, exterior matches my mac stuff, glossy, glass, bright, mini HDMI integrated, powered usb hub. Sleeps when MBpro sleeps, etc. Only thing it won't do that I know of is auto adjust to room light like a mac monitor, but I use a pantone huey pro for that anyway, so for me, it does wind up auto adjusting to room light.
$400.
 
man, how have i never heard of these... i already placed my order with dell... crap!

Jack Daniel Stanley said:
I have this
http://www.cinemaview.com/
cinemaview.jpg

And I like it. 24", 1080p, exterior matches my mac stuff, glossy, glass, bright, mini HDMI integrated, powered usb hub. Sleeps when MBpro sleeps, etc. Only thing it won't do that I know of is auto adjust to room light like a mac monitor, but I use a pantone huey pro for that anyway, so for me, it does wind up auto adjusting to room light.
$400.
Click to expand...
 
They're new. Just shipping around the last half of 2010.
If your order with Dell hasn't shipped yet you can probably cancel. I wouldn't try to sway you away from a Dell. Big company, proven track record, etc., vs. small start up. But if you wanted to / Dell hasn't shipped, I'm sure they would cancel.
 
Can you please tell us more about these cinemaview monitors, I am really curious, they look exactly like the apple ones, how do they compare?



Jack Daniel Stanley said:
They're new. Just shipping around the last half of 2010.
If your order with Dell hasn't shipped yet you can probably cancel. I wouldn't try to sway you away from a Dell. Big company, proven track record, etc., vs. small start up. But if you wanted to / Dell hasn't shipped, I'm sure they would cancel.
Click to expand...
 
I've not done a side by side but they are very bright and glossy. The big thing to me was 1080, so I have pixel for pixel representation for motion graphics, then gloss and glass. Has those. As I said in the previous post, seems to do everything the apple monitors do in terms of hardware integration except auto brightening and dimming in response to room light. But I use a pantone huey pro ($80 I think) to at least take a stab at calibrating my LCDs and it monitors room light.

When I first got my cinemaview the metal edge around the black glass frame was chipped or dinged. I called the company and they shipped another one immediately, which was fine, and didn't even hastle me about shipping the other monitor back for a couple of weeks. When you call, you get one of the guys that runs / is the company I think, and he was very nice / helpful.

I wouldn't buy a $200 or $300 Acer or anything like that, I'd definitely choose this monitor waaaay before those for only $400. I'm not a monitor expert and I wouldn't swear these are better than the Dell options or as good as the Apple ones. But I can't tell any difference and it's a definite step up / more cinemalike monitor for video editing than standard plastic, low gloss LCD's.
 
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