Mac 20" LCD cinema display

[Andrew Bright]

I know the Mac 20" LCD display is old news, it may even have been discontinued and removed from Apple's product line, but one of these would suit my office and trackside setup nicely so I'm considering buying one. Has anyone got one/had one and care to comment on what it was like to use?

Many thanks,

Andrew

[John Waugh]

The Apple 20" cinema display is pretty stable calibration wise. I should be re-calibrated every 6 months. It has a mat screen should be a good for your office use. I don't know what your track side use is. If you are outdoors you will want a sun shield that is pretty deep to reduce the glare.

[Steve Stein]

Back in the day (2 years ago) when I worked in a division of Kodak with monitor proofing, the 20" Apple was the most stable of the Apple LCDs. The 24" had a problem with yellows and the 30" had side to side variation when we calibrated it with the EyeOne with the EK monitor profiles. We went back to Apple to have them analyze why it had a big delta E variation. The 20" was fine as far as I know since it came out of a different factory in Taiwan.

If you have the serial number and date code, I think I still have some info on it around the office. But any monitor with a tube for backlighting will drift after less than 30 days. We used to do a forced calibration weekly and recommended to do one daily for critical prepress proofing. We were trying to match Matchprint hard copy proofs on the screen.

[Andrew Bright]

Hi John,
I should clarify...when I say trackside I mean media room vs. my office. I've been trucking my iMac around the country over the last season and found it invaluable having a big bright screen to work with over a regular laptop screen. I think that laid flat in a stainless steel case (with stand removed) alongside a MacBook Pro or maybe even a Mac Mini with RAM upgrade, I'd have an enjoyable, productive and safely transportable setup, and for a good price. All I can see I'd be sacrificing would be the ability to work without power or desk. I'm not sure if i ever really need that capability for motorsport.

Your thoughts?

Andrew

[Andrew Bright]

Hi Steve,
So is that the difference between an LCD and LED screen...backlighting? Tubes dying is the reason I'm looking at buying...my iMac is getting very blinky so I'm looking at replacement options.

Andrew

[John Waugh]

I don't have the time nor the baggage handling cart to haul that much kit.
Media parking tends to be as far away from the actual media center as the track management can figure.
A lap top bag and a big roller camera bag is all I would consider.
Most of the media centers I frequent don't have enough counter space for a lap top and an a second hard drive much less a two screen set up.
Your concept sounds good for the office but a PITB for all concerned in a media center.
J

[Steve Stein]

Hi Steve,
So is that the difference between an LCD and LED screen...backlighting? Tubes dying is the reason I'm looking at buying...my iMac is getting very blinky so I'm looking at replacement options.

Andrew

The tubes will eventually wear out, but it'll be a fairly long time. Some of the printers and prepress shops I used to work with ran 3 shifts/day x 7 days week and never turned off their screens. What would happen is the monitor would require calibration more often since we had some stuff built into the software to monitor gamma and it would drift. We could also force calibration daily/weekly depending on the preferences. Most places left them on since running them at operating temperature was more critical to accurate color calibration than it was saving a few pennies on electric.

I have a 24" iMac 2009 model and I'm still not totally sold on it's calibration. I hate the glossy screen and I can't lock down the brightness level. Whenever I reboot, I have to go into the control panel for the monitor and bring the backlight down to minimum since it refuses to stay at that level.