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Replacement 30" monitor?

B

Beardy man

macrumors 6502
Original poster
Dec 4, 2007
256
79
I've got an ageing Apple 30" cinema display that I love. Recently it's developed a bit of a glitch (nothing serious and so far still working).

I'm looking to the future to try and find a replacement but as Apple doesn't do a 30" matte monitor I'm struggling to find an alternative. After a few years of a 30"er, if anything, I'd be looking to increase screen real estate (though 30" is fine) so I'm not keen on the idea of losing those pixels by dropping to a 27". As I work with a window behind me, a glossy screen is definitely out of the question. it's a shame Apple doesn't make a pro level monitor these days but as they gradually (?) drift into the consumer market I suppose it's inevitable.

I was thinking about an Eizo (despite the price) but it seems they too have dropped down to the 27" panel.

Any designers out there using a 30" monitor that's still available on the market (please don't say Dell).

Cheers

Beardyman
 
NEC spectraview 301 is an ips panel that should suit your needs although maybe not your wallet!
They do a Pa 301 version as well but you don't get the hood or color calibration software. Also the top 5% of panels get used as SV.
 
Beardy man said:
I was thinking about an Eizo (despite the price) but it seems they too have dropped down to the 27" panel.

Any designers out there using a 30" monitor that's still available on the market (please don't say Dell).

Cheers

Beardyman
Click to expand...

I actually heard a few complaints about the Eizo 30" in the past. I saw one of the old ones with the PVA panel version. That specific unit was really nice and extremely uniform.

Apple fanboy said:
NEC spectraview 301 is an ips panel that should suit your needs although maybe not your wallet!
They do a Pa 301 version as well but you don't get the hood or color calibration software. Also the top 5% of panels get used as SV.
Click to expand...

The NEC is actually cheaper here than in the UK. Eizo and NEC are spread waaaayy further apart at least in the US. I don't know the OP's country of residence. In the UK, the NECs seem to ship with some oem version of basiccolor and supposedly cherry picked panels (I think Eizo does something similar as they have a lot of models that share panel SKUs with the CG line).

The US versions don't seem to be picked in such a manner. They use proprietary spectraview software with a totally different interface, and the non spectraview models are not firmware locked out of it. I've had some really good results and some bad results with NEC. They don't look perfect out of the box, but assuming a good unit, there shouldn't be anything noticeably weird. They take a minimum of 30 minutes to warm up if you're calibrating the display. I give it 45. I just like to ensure measurement consistency. Also keep the colorimeter plugged in at least 10 minutes beforehand so that it is also warmed up.
 
rpaloalto said:
Whats wrong with Dell?
They have very good IPS screens, plus zero dead, bright pixel warranties.

http://accessories.dell.com/sna/products/displays/productdetail.aspx?c=ca&l=en&s=pub&sku=223-4890
Click to expand...

My main problem with the 30" Dell is the internal power supply. This makes the units run very hot. The location I have my monitor (under a shelf and backed up against the MacPro) means it would soon generate a lot of heat in a confined space. I've looked at re-arranging things in the office but it's all a bit too tight.

I've also read a few reports of the Dell DVI ports failing. All monitors get some negative reports, especially when you go on the internet looking for them, but the Dell 30" monitors do seem to have a few too many port problems for me when spending this sort of money. Actual screen spec sounds very good though!

Thanks for your feedback - much appreciated.
 
I'm using a DELL U2711: 27" (non glossy) display at work (graphic design) and have had no problems with it at all. All the same real estate as the Apple Thunderbolt Display, but I can actually see what I'm doing.
 
beowulf70 said:
I'm using a DELL U2711: 27" (non glossy) display at work (graphic design) and have had no problems with it at all. All the same real estate as the Apple Thunderbolt Display, but I can actually see what I'm doing.
Click to expand...

Nice to hear some 'real world' user feedback. I think I'd still prefer to get a 30" but if your 27" is working well it gives me a bit more confidence. Thanks

----------
Apple Key said:
Have you considered purchasing a used Apple display online?
Click to expand...

Good point (which hadn't occurred to me!). I'll have to check out what's available out there. I must admit, that as I use this sort of kit to earn my living I usually go for new., but if new isn't available then I'm up for a plan B!

Thanks

Beardyman
 
Beardy man said:
Good point (which hadn't occurred to me!). I'll have to check out what's available out there. I must admit, that as I use this sort of kit to earn my living I usually go for new., but if new isn't available then I'm up for a plan B!
Beardyman
Click to expand...

I'm totally the same way. I always buy new if I'm able to. But, I love my 30" Apple monitor, and I don't know what i'd do if something happened to it. I just can't work on the glossy displays.
 
The OP needs sRGB, *not* wide gamut

If the OP was using a 30" Apple display, then he obviously needs another sRGB display. Some of the models that people have been suggesting on this thread are wide gamut displays. If the OP uses a wide gamut display, the colors will appear highly inaccurate.

sRGB = 72% NTSC. Also, on wide gamut displays, sRGB emulation modes are awful, and never look correct. They are not even close.

So, if you guys are making a suggestion for a 30" display, please suggest an sRGB display, not a wide gamut display.
 
chaosbunny said:
I have a 30" ACD at work and a DELL U2711 at home. While the 30" is noticeably a little bit bigger, in my opinion it's not worth the price difference between a 27" and a 30" screen at the moment.
Click to expand...

Is to me :)
but despite all the advice above I'm still undecided which way to go. Still, while the ACD30 keeps going it's all academic.
 
I'm personally considering possibly a 2x24" setup for programming and some photography.

Or maybe 27" or 30" + my aged 24"
 
If you keep a close watch on the Apple Refurb site, every once in a while refurbished 30" models come in stock, I think they're priced at $1299. You could buy Applecare for it and have a 3-year warranty on the exact monitor you want.
 
Bill.the.Cat said:
If you keep a close watch on the Apple Refurb site, every once in a while refurbished 30" models come in stock, I think they're priced at $1299. You could buy Applecare for it and have a 3-year warranty on the exact monitor you want.
Click to expand...

Good call - I wouldn't have thought about that one.
I wonder how many 30" ACD's are out there.
Kind of a shame if they still refurb them - they've got all the bits but don't sell the new monitors! I've stopped hoping the Apple would release a 'pro' level monitor as it's all gone 'consumer' now. Even the Mac Pro seems under stay of execution. :(
 
Well I went ahead and ordered an HP ZR2740w after comparing various monitors. It is ~$300 cheaper than apple's 27" and doesn't have the glass/glossy screen. (doesn't have an isight or speakers either but I don't care about those)

I ordered a 2x monitor stand too and will mount my current 24" on it and see how that goes. Despite the size difference, they should be close in weight given the old bulkier CCFL 24" design vs the new LED backlit HP 27".
 
beowulf70 said:
I'm using a DELL U2711: 27" (non glossy) display at work (graphic design) and have had no problems with it at all. All the same real estate as the Apple Thunderbolt Display, but I can actually see what I'm doing.
Click to expand...

I've got a Dell 30". (And a Dell 24" as well - both plugged into a Mac Pro). Think I bought it over a year ago after agonising over the Apple one. (At the time the Apple wasn't getting anything like the reviews of the Dell.) I 'think' the Dell 27 was practically the same price so I went bigger. Also If I remember correctly(?) I think the squeeze on pixels in the 27 meant when running two monitors they were issues with pixel sizing when moving across the monitors.

I'm very happy with it and if I had to replace it I'd happily get another one.
 
The issue is that since the premium 30" monitors rolled out, there have only been three panel manufacturers... Samsung and CMO making PVA/MVA panels and LG making IPS panels. I've never even seen a monitor that uses the CMO panel that supposedly came out in 2006, and the last Samsung panels came out back in 2008. That's left LG, with their IPS panels as essentially the only option on the market -- not necessarily a bad thing from a quality standpoint but 30" panel prices are extremely high because there's no competition. The current monitors out there almost all use LG H-IPS panels released in 2010. There are 3 different model numbers but all have essentially the same specs... true 10-bit panel, 6-7ms G2G response time, 1000:1 CR, 350-370 nits brightness, 98.2% Adobe RGB coverage, and CCFL backlighting.

If your current monitor is still working, though, I would definitely recommend waiting until later this year when LG's new panel is released. It's specced to be an AH-IPS panel with 5ms G2G response time, 1000:1 CR, 350 nits brightness, full Adobe RGB coverage, and W-LED backlighting. Once manufacturers have that panel, you should see them all announcing brand new models (likely at a somewhat lower price point) and there should be good clearance deals on the existing models too.

As for the best currently, the NEC PA301W is easily the best currently in production, but it costs about twice what the Dell and HP models do -- and its using the same panel as the others, albeit with far better processing, an excellent warranty, and professional color controls and calibration. If you can still find them anywhere (for less than a small fortune), the Samsung XL30 and LaCie 730 are interesting monitors that use one of Samsung last 30" PVA panels with a full RGB-LED backlight system. The response time isn't as good as the newer LG panels, and the panels are 8-bit instead of 10, but some people swear by RGB-LED backlighting. Unfortunately, they (along with TVs using the same tech like the Sony XBR8 series) came out in 2008 just before the market collapsed. Instead of getting newer and slightly cheaper models in 2009, everyone started looking at substantially cheaper tech like edge-LED to release products more likely to sell in worldwide recession.
 
Wow Jaded - fantastic response!
The more we know the better choices we make. Knowledge is power etc.

I hadn't heard about the new LG panels that are due out. It would be nice if there is a 30" product in the line-up.

Time to hit Google I think and start subscribing to monitor rumor sites as well as Mac ones ;-)

Cheers

Beardy man
 
Beardy man said:
Nice to hear some 'real world' user feedback. I think I'd still prefer to get a 30" but if your 27" is working well it gives me a bit more confidence. Thanks
Click to expand...

When my Gateway XDH3000 30" died (such amazing monitors - except they all died...), I also ended up with the Dell u2711. I just couldn't justify a ton more money for the extra vertical space. It's a great monitor and has many advantages over the Apple besides the fact it's not a mirror! It has HDMI, 2 DVI, Displayport, Composite, Component, and VGA video inputs! Worked great hooked to my TiVo :) Also the SD card reader and a nice adjustable height/tilt stand. Oh - and a power switch - which the Apple doesn't have!

The newest Apple has the advantages of built-in Mag-Safe power cable (great if used with a laptop), and providing video and Firewire 800/USB/Ethernet/camera/microphone/speakers/pass-through Thunderbolt for a 2nd monitor (only works on higher-end MBPs).

If I was getting a monitor for use with a Macbook Pro, I'd probably go for the Apple now.

In the meantime, I'll wait another year or so until there are affordable 32" quad-1080 (3840x2160) monitors!

David
 
Beardy man said:
Wow Jaded - fantastic response!
The more we know the better choices we make. Knowledge is power etc.

I hadn't heard about the new LG panels that are due out. It would be nice if there is a 30" product in the line-up.

Time to hit Google I think and start subscribing to monitor rumor sites as well as Mac ones ;-)

Cheers

Beardy man
Click to expand...

No problem. I've been wanting to upgrade to a dual 30" set up for awhile now, but I've been waiting for the update myself. If you're going to look for info, the upcoming panel part number for the 30" size is LM300WQ6. The current LG IPS 30" panels are part number LM300WQ5-AAA1 (where AAA1 represents different part codes for slightly differing products). Unless there are production problems, I would assume most manufacturers will be trying to get new products out in Q3/early Q4 (as soon as they can get parts), as they weren't able to do any kind of major update last year (since there weren't any new panels in the 30" screen size).
 
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