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24" iMac displays: white versus alu
- Thread starter ScottFitz
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I believe, technically, the white 24" still reigns as the highest quality iMac panel available although the (now) older 24" ALU is right behind it. The White 24" panel may even exceed the ACD displays quaity. I'd love to know the answer to that.
The White 24" and (now) older ALU 24" panels have different part numbers so there is a difference. I suppose someone will need a new ALU 24" inhand to answer your question.
There is a member with a picture of Elmer Fudd (w/ Hilary Clinton's Face imposed) that I'm hoping will reply. He's very by-the-facts as opposed to by-the-guesswork so hopefully he'll pop up.
The White 24" and (now) older ALU 24" panels have different part numbers so there is a difference. I suppose someone will need a new ALU 24" inhand to answer your question.
There is a member with a picture of Elmer Fudd (w/ Hilary Clinton's Face imposed) that I'm hoping will reply. He's very by-the-facts as opposed to by-the-guesswork so hopefully he'll pop up.
The displays are very close in quality, using almost the same panel. Both are high-end, excellent displays. There seem to have been production batches with flaws that many people reported both with the intel white and Alu screens. The problem involved uneven backlighting resulting in non-uniform screen gradients, sometimes accompanied by yellowish tinting. The early intel white 24"s also had problems with humming noises when the brightness was dimmed. But this problem seemed to subsequently be fixed at the next revision. The first complaints about gradient issues were with the white 24" displays, which appeared on apple discussion boards as well as on here. The white 24"s were also said to be more difficult to calibrate because of their high brightness (or the brightness level adjustments made calibration more difficult, or something along those lines). The complaints around the new Alu 24"s gradient problems were even more boisterous than the older intel whites. Some people got scared off the new Alus and went for the white refurbs, but many reported buying white 24" refurbs with the same gradient problems.
On the other hand, keep in mind that many, many people are extremely happy with the displays of both iMac models.
I don't think the display of either model is noticeably better than the other from the standpoint of quality (matte vs. glossy, however, is another issue
)
On the other hand, keep in mind that many, many people are extremely happy with the displays of both iMac models.
I don't think the display of either model is noticeably better than the other from the standpoint of quality (matte vs. glossy, however, is another issue
)I'd say that's highly unlikely as the ACDs are a professional product. I'd guess that the quality control on the ACDs is higher and I wouldn't be surprised if their backlighting is better too. The ACDs I've looked at in store have always been immaculate. iMac screens seem to vary a little in backlighting consistency. Still great displays though, except for the latest 20" of course!
This could easily turn into a glossy vs. matte screen argument... (the fact that the Aluminum iMacs are glossy is the only thing holding me back from buying one at this point).
However, ignoring that issue and focusing on the quality of the LCD panel itself:
From what I understand... it may depend on how old the white iMac is. Some used an earlier S-IPS screen and later models were reported to use the same H-IPS screen that's in the Aluminum iMacs.
However, ignoring that issue and focusing on the quality of the LCD panel itself:
From what I understand... it may depend on how old the white iMac is. Some used an earlier S-IPS screen and later models were reported to use the same H-IPS screen that's in the Aluminum iMacs.
Thanks for the kind words. I don't know what displays the newest iMacs
use, but you can find the manufacturer's part number for your display by
cut-n-pasting the following command line into Terminal.app:
ioreg -lw0 | grep IODisplayEDID | sed "/[^<]*</s///" | xxd -p -r | strings -6
Given the part number, you can lookup summary specs at tftcentral.co.uk,
or google it for additional info/rumors/lies.
The 24" white and "old ALU" iMac displays have the same basic LG.Philips
part number, but with different suffixes (-SLA1 versus -SLB1). I've never
been able to find any info on what the difference is -- it might be nothing
more than matte vs. glossy finish the face of the LCD, or it could indicate
major differences in the backlight/diffuser/inverter assembly, for example.
Your guess is as good as mine. (My guess is a thinner panel assembly to
fit in the 'slim' ALU case.)
Until I see evidence to the contrary (not just wikipedia's LCD overview),
I'll speculate that there's no difference between "S-IPS" and "H-IPS" --
other than marketing hype. The tftcentral.co.uk database classifies the
24" iMac panel both ways -- depending on which part of their database
you stumble upon.
...in the beginning was the command line,
LK
Thanks for the replies. How does the old 20" white intel panel compare to the new 20's (of which I don't read anything nice). I'm thinking of adding an old white refurb to the mix. I really don't need the 24 but it would be nice. For price though, the white 20 refurb is very attractive.
I concur. As long as the current iMac's are made with glossy screens, I will pass.
Well then, I'd say there is a very high possibility you'll never own an iMac again.
I'd post my own opinion of the glossy aspect but it would be unsolicited not to mention off topic. There are enough glossy-matte flamefests in these forums already, thanks.
The 20" white iMac panels (going back at least to the G5) are vastly
superior to the 20" ALUs. The factory used some LG.Philips S-IPS panels
and some Samsung S-PVA panels -- both types are professional quality.
The 20" Cinema Display uses the very same LG.Philips panel as many 20"
white iMacs. Here are some photos for comparison:
http://picasaweb.google.com/TheLooby
LK
Well, on June 6, 2006 at the Society for International Display 2006 International Symposium, Dr. Doyoung Lee of LG-Philips, presumably one of the engineers behind the H-IPS technology made a presentation titled,
New Design of Advanced H-IPS (AH-IPS) Panel for High Aperture Ratio
While I've been unable to find a transcript of his presentation thus far I was able to find a summary at the SID site:
Apparently the research was/is being done at Dong-A University in Korea. I can find reference to it on their website but I can't, unfortunately, read Korean.
This would fit into the timetable of late 2006 release for the H-IPS technology as noted by Wikipedia.
Oh, and I just stumbled upon this as well.
The whole thread is worth reading.
"Kowalski" that was the name I was searching for. Thanks for another great post, command line and a newly bookmarked site (tftcentral). Most helpful
My command results:
M201EW02 VB
Color LCD
Unfortunately, S.Fitz, I devolved from a White 24" to an ALU 20" as I was smitten with the new ALU design at the time and wanted to down size as i sometimes transport my imac to work.
The good news is I sold my white 24" loaded with Paralles/XP Pro before release of the ALU and did well on the sale; the bad news is I now have a 20" Alu I've not been satisfied with (read: despise). Seeing as Monday's updates didn't include matte I've decided to buy a refurbed white 20" and just stick with it. Although I truly love the design of the ALU
My command results:
M201EW02 VB
Color LCD
Unfortunately, S.Fitz, I devolved from a White 24" to an ALU 20" as I was smitten with the new ALU design at the time and wanted to down size as i sometimes transport my imac to work.
The good news is I sold my white 24" loaded with Paralles/XP Pro before release of the ALU and did well on the sale; the bad news is I now have a 20" Alu I've not been satisfied with (read: despise). Seeing as Monday's updates didn't include matte I've decided to buy a refurbed white 20" and just stick with it. Although I truly love the design of the ALU
I have 24" white iMac. Display is really good. I hate glossy screens on new iMacs. They remind me about my short lived gateway laptop- it was a nightmare- everything was reflecting on a screen. I especially hated watching movies on this laptop- when scene is dark you get reflection of yourself!