Product:

23” Apple Cinema HD Display (company site)

What’s Good:

Loads of screen-real-estate (both size and resolution), wide-screen format, bright and sharp image quality

What’s Bad:

Not adjustable, expensive (~$2,000 US), requires ADC-to-DVI adapter for PCs (~$100 US), kinda dorky-looking

My usual display is the humble 14.1” 1400x1050 pixel screen on my ThinkPad T30 laptop. It serves me well and the relatively high resolution makes for lots of room on screen, even on a relatively small laptop display. I was happy. However, when a co-worker went on vacation, he decided to loan me his massive 23” Apple Cinema HD Display in a gesture that was both kind and cruel. His secret motive was that after using the large screen for two weeks, I’d have no choice but to buy one for myself.

Well, I’ve been using the display for a week-and-a-half, and I give it up in a few days. I’m not going to buy one of my own. That isn’t to say I didn’t love it. I did - but not $3,000 worth - which is about what it would cost me in Canadian dollars after I shelled out for the ADC-to-DVI adapter I’d need to use it with my laptop.

It’s Resolution, Baby!

I’ve looked into many LCD panels, mostly in the 18” - 20” size range and have generally been disappointed with the resolutions offered. With a 1400-by-1050 resolution on my little 14” laptop screen, there’s no way I’m going to shell out for a larger screen with a lower resolution. Yet many 18”, 19”, and even 20” displays come with only 1280 by 1024 resolution.

This wasn’t a problem with the Cinema Display. The 1900 x 1200 resolution is fantastic, and works well for the 23” screen size. The image is sharp, but doesn’t leave you squinting to read tiny text.

I never did get Windows XP to run at the native resolution of the Cinema Display, but I suspect this is simply a matter of software drivers, not a hardware limitation. Running Linux, which is what I was using most of the time, I was able to run at the native resolution, but had to manually change some of the configuration text files as it wasn’t an option in the display settings.

Compared to the image quality on my ThinkPad display (which I think is relatively good for a laptop), the Cinema Display image is significantly brighter and has much richer colors.

The $100 Catch

View Larger Image The ADC-to-DVI adapter is large and expensive.

For connectivity, I had to get a IBM ThinkPad Port Replicator to get a DVI port, since the ThinkPad T30 doesn’t have one. I then had to go through the Apple ADC-to-DVI adapter, which is an added expense (about $100 US) if you don’t have an Apple with the proprietary ADC connector. The ADC-to-DVI adapter was surprisingly bulky, but I was able to put it on the back corner of my desk, and it never got in the way.

Size, Design, and the Casing

When I first saw the 23” display, it looked absurdly huge. However, after using it for a while, I can say that it is not too big. If it were more affordable, everyone should have a screen like this. I actually found it to be about the perfect size for a desktop. 20” or 21” would be fine too, but anything larger than the 23” would just be too big to sit in front of.

The small stand is sturdier than it looks, but doesn’t allow for any adjustment of height or angle.

While I often hear people raving about how beautiful the Apple Cinema Displays are, I actually found the display is a bit too trendy in design and style. The round clear plastic and white-striped bezel are eye-catching, but after sitting in front of it for a week, I’d prefer a simple thin black or gray case. It’s the contents of the screen I’m interested in, not the case holding it.

Unlike many LCD displays, the height and angle of the Apple Cinema Display are not adjustable. Fortunately, the default height and angle were quite comfortable for me, so this didn’t present a problem. The display weights 25lbs, so it’s not something you’ll want to be moving around a lot. While the small clear plastic stand against which the display leans looks precarious, the display does sit firmly and solidly on the desk.

Life After the Cinema Display

So, while it will be hard to go back to my 14” laptop display (all according to the evil plan of the “friend” who lent me this giant screen), I will not be dropping $3,000 for one of my own. However, I may have to start looking into more affordable large LCD panels. The most promising so far is Dell’s UltraSharp 2001FP Flat Panel Monitor. It is a 20” display with a 1600-by-1200 resolution, and costs just about half of the Apple Cinema HD Display.

That’s a lot of money for three more inches.