Switched from 24" to 20"-very happy

[Alloye]

I am at a loss to understand the importance of viewing angles as they relate to a computer display. I sit in front of my iMac, not off at any angle. What am I missing here? Also the colors look great on my 20". I couldn't be more pleased.

It wasn't my intent to knock the 20" display. I actually thought mine was quite good once calibrated. I was just pointing out that the 24" does do some things better.

Viewing Angles: If you're the only person sitting in front of your computer, this probably isn't an issue. But better viewing angles do come in handy when you're working with others.

Color: The 20" iMac uses a TN LCD panel. This type of panel can only display 262,144 colors, which corresponds to an 18-bit palette (6-bit RGB). In order to approximate the remaining colors from a 24-bit palette, a technique called Frame Rate Control (FRC) is employed. In a nutshell, FRC switches rapidly between two or more neighboring colors in order to simulate an RGB value that the panel is unable display natively. Modern panels actually do a very good job of this and are able to achieve excellent color fidelity with only a minimum of flickering, banding, and other artifacts.

The 24" iMac, on the other hand, uses an H-IPS LCD panel. This type of panel can display 16,777,216 colors (8-bit RGB) without the FRC trickery. The result is more accurate color, especially in the dark end of the spectrum.

 

[suneohair]

Viewing angles are important whether or not you sit directly in front of the display. Even a slight shift can change the color on a TN, I am talking a slight shift of the head upward or downward.

For people who do graphic work they look at other things, for example I like to jot down font and color ideas as I work on things, i lean down at times to write and being able to look up and see the same color i was seeing dead on is important.

Or, say I am rolling over to my bookshelf, it is nice to look back and see the same thing I was seeing. That is not possible on a TN.

Plus, in my situation I sleep on a japanese style bed (a futon there), so when I am watching movies with my fiancee we lay on the bed, which is on the floor, on a TN I wouldn't be able to see diddly. Well, I would see stuff but it would not be accurate.

Of course this isn't important for everyone, but everyone can benefit in some way from having good viewing angles.

 

[heswa]

With your calibration on your 20", how does the color shift
look using the solid color images from this post?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/340129/

When I used those on a 20" at the Apple Store, the shift was quite significant.

 

[fireworkz]

With your calibration on your 20", how does the color shift
look using the solid color images from this post?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/340129/

When I used those on a 20" at the Apple Store, the shift was quite significant.

Yes I'd like to know that too.. Im gonna be heading to a bestbuy to try it out..too..

 

[pimmie]

Anyone else use a 23" Cinema Display as well as a 24" iMac and can give me a little bit about the size difference? I mean, shouldn't it just be...well....One inch bigger?

Probably because of the black bezel it looks quite a bit bigger, but why would that be a problem? Personally, I like the dot pitch of the 24" iMac better than that of the 23" ACD. This is why I made the iMac my main screen, whereas I was planning to make the ACD my main screen.
Here's a pic to see both next to eachother:

http://pimz.com/pub/biggerisbetter.jpg

As you can see, the ACD looks as if it's tiny in comparison. BTW, the iMac is going on a VESA arm as well, but I'm still working out the details per:

http://discussions.apple.com/thread.jspa?threadID=1104359&tstart=0

 

[Foxglove9]

How do you know the screen is a TN vs an H-IPS? I can't seem to find those stats. Same goes for LCD's but other manufacturers too. Seems like something the consumer should know?

 

[heswa]

How do you know the screen is a TN vs an H-IPS? I can't seem to find those stats. Same goes for LCD's but other manufacturers too. Seems like something the consumer should know?

We know from the teardown at:

http://210.157.201.118/~kodawarisan/imac_2007_mid/imac_2007_mid_01.html

that the 20” screen is a LG Phillips LM201WE3

We know it’s a TN because the large color shift is characteristic of TN screens as well as the smaller viewing angle compared to the 24”.

At this site, you can see that right next to LM201WE3 they have "(TN)"
http://www.lgphilips-lcd.com/homeContain/jsp/eng/prd/prd200_j_e.jsp​

Click on "Digital Catalog" at that link to get the stats

 

[docprego]

With your calibration on your 20", how does the color shift
look using the solid color images from this post?

https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/340129/

When I used those on a 20" at the Apple Store, the shift was quite significant.

I have to say it was major. I am starting to really see the shortcomings of the 20" display compared to the 24".

I think there are 2 things which make the 20" inferior to the 24"

1.The display has a dramatic color shift from the top to the bottom of the display. If I drag a window from the top to the bottom, the border at the top of the window starts as gray at the top of the screen but looks almost white at the bottom. It was so pronounced that the texture which appears like a brushed metal in this border virtually disappeared when the window was dragged to the bottom. I noticed similar shifts in web pages from top to bottom, for example a light blue web page looking almost white towards the bottom. The color shift is really atrocious when viewing those solid colors mentioned above.

2.The infamous viewing angles. It is absolutely true. When looked at head on the 20" looks great, but take your head slightly off center and the image deteriorates rapidly.

So now I am faced with a dilemma; I can't fit the 24" with a great display, the 20" fits great but the display is turning out to be inadequate. The only option I see remaining is to get a 20" ACD paired with either a Mini or Mac Pro. The size will be right and I don't think anyone has any issue with its image quality.

My Mac saga doesn't seem to want to end....

 

[Dustman]

I have to say it was major. I am starting to really see the shortcomings of the 20" display compared to the 24".

I think there are 2 things which make the 20" inferior to the 24"

1.The display has a dramatic color shift from the top to the bottom of the display. If I drag a window from the top to the bottom, the border at the top of the window starts as gray at the top of the screen but looks almost white at the bottom. It was so pronounced that the texture which appears like a brushed metal in this border virtually disappeared when the window was dragged to the bottom. I noticed similar shifts in web pages from top to bottom, for example a light blue web page looking almost white towards the bottom. The color shift is really atrocious when viewing those solid colors mentioned above.

2.The infamous viewing angles. It is absolutely true. When looked at head on the 20" looks great, but take your head slightly off center and the image deteriorates rapidly.

So now I am faced with a dilemma; I can't fit the 24" with a great display, the 20" fits great but the display is turning out to be inadequate. The only option I see remaining is to get a 20" ACD paired with either a Mini or Mac Pro. The size will be right and I don't think anyone has any issue with its image quality.

My Mac saga doesn't seem to want to end....

Apple.. MAKE A FRIGGEN MID TOWER ALL READY! Jeeeze. Not everyone wants 16 terabytes and 8 core processors.

 

[docprego]

Apple.. MAKE A FRIGGEN MID TOWER ALL READY! Jeeeze. Not everyone wants 16 terabytes and 8 core processors.

A mid tower would be my dream come true. I would be willing to pay up to $1800 for a quad core (possibly even dual) core Mac that I could expand to my hearts content. The Mac Pro is just huge and I do not need 8 cores, I am sure the whole Mac Pro line will be octo after the next refresh. What would be great is if Apple redesigned the Mac Pro in a slightly smaller case and offered quad and octo core options. Then they could drop the entry price to somewhere around my limit; $1800.

But I do not think a mid tower is ever coming. Apple is content with the iMac being their mid level machine. The fact that it has an integrated display only helps their sales once you need to upgrade.

So unless a lower end Mac Pro is unveiled it will be a Mini for me.