Buying advice - Cinema Displays

messiahmessiah
Posted:
in General Discussion edited January 2014
I'm in the market to buy either a 20" Cinema Display or the 23" Cinema HD Display. I'm not interested in any other makes or models?



I'm tempted by the 23" because it is such exceptional value for money - it used to be over £3000! But I'm also tempted by the 20" for the same reason.



I had a look at the 20" last night in John Lewis, and it is impressive, but surprisingly doesn't look that much bigger than the 17" ASD I'm using at the moment, just a little wider. On the over hand, it's £600 cheaper than the 23". The problem is that nobody has a 23" on display, and they aren't willing to order them in for display purposes!



Part of me says go the full hog and get the 23" as it's the best display out there. Part of me says save £600 and get the 20" for now, and then get a 23" or equivalent once the prices drop.



Does anybody have experience of either display, or even better, of both?

Comments

  • Reply 1 of 15
    rodukroduk Posts: 706member
    [quote]Originally posted by Messiah:

    <strong>I had a look at the 20" last night in John Lewis, and it is impressive, but surprisingly doesn't look that much bigger than the 17" ASD I'm using at the moment, just a little wider.</strong><hr></blockquote>

    Just a couple of thoughts...



    When you say bigger, are you referring to the physical screen size? I don't know, but I guess the pixel density could be higher on the 20", resulting in a higher resolution for a given area.



    Also, did John Lewis have the 17" for a side by side comparison. When I first saw a 22" at an expo, it didn't look that big. I find things tend to look much bigger in an enclosed home environment.
  • Reply 2 of 15
    othelloothello Posts: 1,054member
    if you've got the money get the 23"



    its the daddy!
  • Reply 3 of 15
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    Pixel density is nearly equal on both... 98 per inch on the 23, 99 per inch on the 20.



    I've used the 22 and the 23 side by side in an Apple store... yowza. Both are physically large enough that you can't even quite see both ends of the screen at the same time. You have to physically turn your head, you can't just move your eyes. And that is a good thing



    For what it's worth, the 23 was very noticeably better than the 22, even though they're almost the same physical size. The 23 has the higher resolution. I'm guessing the 20 will be just as good as the 23, only smaller.
  • Reply 4 of 15
    ransomedransomed Posts: 169member
    [quote]Originally posted by Luca Rescigno:

    <strong>

    I've used the 22 and the 23 side by side in an Apple store... yowza. Both are physically large enough that you can't even quite see both ends of the screen at the same time. You have to physically turn your head, you can't just move your eyes. And that is a good thing

    </strong><hr></blockquote>



    How close were you to the screen?
  • Reply 5 of 15
    lucaluca Posts: 3,833member
    I don't know, it was a pretty sandard distance though. Like 1.5-2 feet. But a large screen like that you'd probably want to move back a bit on your desk, so you can see everything clearly. I know someone with a 22" cinema and he has his set up a bit farther back on the desk, probably 2.5-3 feet from you. It's a joy to use.
  • Reply 6 of 15
    nshirkeynshirkey Posts: 70member
    I have the original 22' Cinema Display at home and at work. They are incredible. If you can get the 22" cheaper, I don't think you could see much of a difference.



    Also, the 22" displays stayed so expensive for so long due to Apple's zero defect tolerance on the LCD screens (no dead pixels--zero.) Make sure the new displays defect rejection rates are equally high.
  • Reply 7 of 15
    robotkillerrobotkiller Posts: 24member
    Get the 23...no reason to try to save money when buying such an extravagance. You'll regret not getting it.
  • Reply 8 of 15
    reynardreynard Posts: 160member
    I cant really help you decide except to say this: You probably wont be disappointed even if you end up with "only" the 20". Like you I have the 17" ASD. I went to see the new 20" when it came out and it was beside the 17" with video mirroring on. The 20" was better in every respect--brighter, sharper, better colors.



    So with either it will be more than just a step up in size. Enjoy.
  • Reply 9 of 15
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    Thanks for all the replies, guys!



    I'll keep you posted as to my final choice!
  • Reply 10 of 15
    frostymmbfrostymmb Posts: 131member
    There's a tech store with a big Apple showroom nearby so I'm able to check out all the stuff Apple's got out there and play around with the Powerbooks and Cinema Displays and all the systems. The 23" knocks me over every time I see and use it, and now the price is equally outstanding. I personally wouldn't be able to put the luxury of that screen real estate to use, and I think the 20" would be my more my style. I use the 17" now and it's still great. Compared the the 20", yes the 20" is brighter, sharper, and more colorful. I wouldn't imagine that anyone could be disappointed with a 20" even after seeing the 23". They are both amazing displays.



    [ 02-28-2003: Message edited by: FrostyMMB ]</p>
  • Reply 11 of 15
    rbfoyerbfoye Posts: 77member
    Pretty simple.



    If you can afford it, get teh 23 inch. It is amazing.



    If 600 pounds is alot for you, then get the 20 inch. It is also great.



    In sum, the 23 inch is worth the extra 600 pounds, but the 20 inch you will never be disappointed with!!!!!



    I have one of each.
  • Reply 12 of 15
    leonisleonis Posts: 3,427member
    [quote]Originally posted by rbfoye:

    <strong>



    I have one of each. </strong><hr></blockquote>



    Time to break in your house <img src="graemlins/lol.gif" border="0" alt="[Laughing]" />
  • Reply 13 of 15
    alcimedesalcimedes Posts: 5,486member
    !?!What, purchasing advice?



    Off to General Discussion with ye'!



  • Reply 14 of 15
    messiahmessiah Posts: 1,689member
    Well, I think I've finally decided to go for the 20".



    Once again I've lost an absolute fortune thanks to Apple dropping their prices overnight, or announcing a new product shortly after I've taken the plunge. Turns out, my recent iBook purchase has cost me roughly £100 per month in depreciatation. That's a total loss of £700. I guess this is the flip-side of suddenly "affordable" large panels.



    There must be a few people out there who bought the 23" at full price only to get burned shortly afterward. This is the price WE have to pay, for Apple being so secretive.



    From now on, I'll only be buying the entry level kit. It always seems so much better value for money, and there's nothing worse than your "fastest" machine becoming the next "fast" machine at a fraction of the price. I don't want to risk the same thing happening with the 23", so I'm going to reduce my exposure and go for the 20".



    Sorry Apple, but I won't be buying the high end, high mark-up products ever again!
  • Reply 15 of 15
    drewpropsdrewprops Posts: 2,321member
    Amen.



    (sorry, I couldn't help myself)
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