Does anyone have photos of a good ACD 23"?

M.S., I will post some pics for you in the next couple of days. I'm just waiting for a Spyder which should arrive tomorrow. Then I can do an accurate calibration. I recently had the LCD panel replaced in my 23 and other than desperately needing to be calibrated, the new LCD panel looks very nice. I have run the "expert mode" system calibrator but I still don't have it just right. With an accurate measuring device. I should be able to get it "spot on".

DD

PS The smoke got let out of my vid card at the same time as the display "went" and Apple is sending a new one which I should also have tomorrow.

Well I don't know what to tell you except that the screen looks like the images I posted. I have taken pictures of the display but the pictures look like crap*...far worse than the screen actually looks (*so do the images I have seen posted by others). I can't imagine that you are going to get a good representation of something like an LCD screen with the average digital camera...not outside of a studio anyway. So let me just say this. As of yesterday, my display looks as good as anything I have ever seen or owned and better than any ACD I have seen or owned to date. If I were to make the decision today to buy this display for the current asking price and based on the current statements available on Apple's web site, I would feel that it was a fair deal.

You have said that you are running out of warranty. I would suggest that you send your display in for repair before the warranty period runs out. Also, check your state laws regarding warranties. In California, there are laws that can extend the normal warranty period. For example, your warranty is automatically extended by the number of days during which the product is "out of your hands" due to the necessity of having to return it for repair. In addition, and this would be especially useful for you, the warranty can be extended indefenatly if you send it in for repair, and it is returned without the issues being corrected, as long as you notify the mfgr. within 60 days of the date the product was returned to you.

I wish I could be of more help to you but I will say again that my screen looks very good now. I would be hard pressed to find anything worth complaining about aside from the PITA of getting to this point.

DD

Most of the pics I've seen look like <a href"http://www.nervouschimp.com/images/color2.jpg>this which is supposed to be a picture of a white desktop on a 30" ACD. But if this guy's desktop really looks like this with a white background...well all I can say is "What can you say?".

This whole issue has gotten to the point of bordering on ludicrous. Apple obviously does not want to acknowledge any problems nor do they want to make any statements regarding whether or not the LCD panels have been changed. Understandable because as soon as they do, everyone who has one of these displays is going to start screaming for a replacement.

I have watched guys in stores checking out the "pink panther" 23s and they are saying stuff like "this is awesome dude!" So you have to figure that there are a lot of people who are satisfied with the units and who wants to rock that boat?

The whole issue is further confused by the fact that right now, I can go over to the Apple store in Sacramento and see excellent looking 23s sitting right next to nasty looking screens that show all of the flaws which have been beaten to death on this forum. But, no one can (or will) say why one is flawed and the other is not. Is it because they are connected to computers with different graphics cards? Or because one is newer than the other (which would imply that some "tweaking" had been done somewhere along the way)? It's a big mystery.

What I will say is this: Send in your display for repair. If you don't get a decent unit back, send it in again until you do. I have a pretty good idea that you will be much happier if you do this based on what I just got back from repair. Like I said, the display I have right now would be pretty hard to complain about. And, as you pointed out, I am not unfamiliar with the issues and I have been one of the loudest voices of complaint since day one.

DD

July 1, 2005

After reading many reports about uneven color and overly magenta white points of Cinema 23" displays (in the aluminum housing), I decided to take a chance, since this format was what I wanted most, and I am completely happy with the result. I ordered the display on June 15, 2005.

I am a designer of monitor calibration and profiling software, as well as a photographer with a serious bent toward perfectionism in the rendering of my photographs, and this display pleases me greatly.

First, the evenness of color across the entire screen is so close to perfect that I can only see the slightest hints of any color shift while looking at a field of solid gray or solid white, so long as I don't let the viewing angle exceed roughly 30 degrees.

Second, the evenness of brightness across the screen is sufficient to just barely appear to be almost perfectly even. If one drags a solid window of gray across the screen, following it will reveal a small variation in luminous intensity equal to about one percent, i.e. right at the threshold of what a human can see.

And there are no dead pixels. Also, the gray linearity of the display in its uncalibrated state is extremely good, almost perfect, and even better than my old high-end Sony CRT.

Prior to making the purchase, I visited the Apple store in Emeryville, CA and inspected the three 23" panels they had there, plus some of their 20 and 30" panels. I created a non-calibrated, Null calibration on each so that I could inspect their gray linearity. I built a web page in advance, at http://www.josephholmes.com/999.html (find it by going to josephholmes.com, then to Viewing Tips, then to the bottom of that page to the link to the Cinema HD Evaluation Target). I opened this page on the displays at the Apple store and viewed them for evenness and crossover in their calibrated and raw states. One or two of the 23" panels in the store were not very good and showed the yellow edges on the left and right that so many people have complained about on line. One may also have shown the 3 to 4 inch wide blue band running vertically, left of center a few inches. I forget, but I think it did. The 20 inch and 30 inch panels that I was able to inspect were flawless in their evenness and gray linearity. The 30-inch had the white point that was closest to D50 (best white point, roughly 5500 to 6000K), and was, by a small margin, the best quality panel in the store.

I strongly suspect that the quality of the manufacturing of these panels (apparently made by LG-Philips, not Samsung) has improved over the last year. My serial number began with 2A514xxxxxx. The display was shipped from Southern California and delivered only 24 hours after I ordered it from the Apple web site.

I am still completely thrilled to look at this stunning display. I have it calibrated to match the white point of my SoLux D50 halogen light on my favorite printing paper, and I use the display at much reduced brightness most of the time. It's so bright at maximum that you can comfortably use it with direct sun shining just a few feet away.

I have a photograph of it taken in subdued light that I will email to anyone interested to see that 23" Cinemas with even color actually exist. It was made from about 4.5 feet away, with careful technique.

Visit my web site and go to the contact page to get my address.

Joseph Holmes

Well, MS, I have made several attempts to take some decent pics of my display for you but they just keep looking crappy. It's frustrating because I really am quite pleased with the way my 23 looks now after having the LCD panel replaced. There is just the slightest hint of "dirt" on the extreme left edge that seems to be caused more by the protective coating because it disappears if I shift to the left so that I am looking at the edge "head on". What is nice is ther there is no "burn out" on the left side of the screen so that even the very lightest grays are discenrable which was not the case before. The screen seems very even with solid gray, white and black desktops.
I know you have heard this all before so I would like to send you some pics but I think I am going to need a better camera!

DD

"Hopefully I'll be as pleased with the results as you have been!"

I hope so too. As one of the "early aquirers", it would be the "pits" if you ended up with a bogus display.

DD

I had the same issue with my 23" display, as you did.
Your not the only one. Even Apple Store has the same issues, yet its odd to see the Genius Bar act like its never been seen in the store before. ( Only 1 out of the 4 local apple stores knew about this issue after talking to several people)
I sent mine in for repair (after having it for 8 months) and all they did was replace the back light and the screen. It looks great right now, but at its brightest and with a 70% gray background, you can see that it is still slightly off in color around the edges. (yellow tint) It fixed all of the other color issues but this specific one.

Ghosting still occurs, but I guess they have not made this a priority to fix. Different manufacture, different issues.

I already have feeling that it will happen again, but what else can you do. Sony had a killer model out there, but its priced higher than Apples. All I can say is send it in, it cost nothing (if you have apple care),it takes about 8 days, and you'll see a difference, yet I would count on it happening again.

Mike S, Go ahead and take that baby back in. Again and again if you have to.
There may be lemon laws for computers in your state if that becomes your only means of satisfaction. In any case keep going if only to start a relationship (good or bad) with an apple service person. Eventually you'd think they'd give you a new monitor just to go away. Squeeky wheel baby! Times a wastin'! It's july already.
Dave D, Thanks for sticking with this topic. You've been down a rough road buddy. It's nice to have your support. I'm glad for you that your happy now.
I said Yippe! at your "Display Comes Home" post. (comicbook guy) "Best reality show ever"
I've been looking at this post for a while and finally decided to take mine in.
Have the pink and uneven lighting but have not seen any ghosts. Got mine in December. S/N 2A4xxx Dual 1.8 G5 Geforce 5200
I'll update y'all on the outcome. Wish me luck.
Thanks to all you folks for keeping this thread going and to the Mods for not deleting it. Everybody here just rocks!
Hey I got a level! Woo Hoo!

"I'm glad for you that your happy now."

Well after shelling out two grand for this display and then a year trying to get a "decent" one, it is nice to have something that is at least acceptable. My "support" has been more on principal than anything else. The fact that it is our "beloved" Apple that is responsible is bothersome but this is the kind of issue that any mfgr. should be taken to task for. Most of us have to work hard for our dough and it's not expecting too much that expensive equipment meet the promises made by the mfgr. Apple has toned down the hype and lowered the price but it's still too expensive to feel OK about accepting an inferior product.

DD

After a series of dramas, including Apple Corporate Team intervention, and about 1000 in courier costs, and getting my order at last... I got a PINK SCREEN.

Icing on the cake.

These were bought at the same time, arrived at the same time, and fresh out of the box. I should say, pink out of the box.

http://www.freedomfilm.com/1pink1goodnewacd.JPG

No, its not a calibration issue. The "pinkosity" is most dramatic here when both are set at Apple default settings.
Advice about how to deal with the issue.

HOLY CANNOLI!!!! That is a "sure nuff" pink screen. In fact that might just well be the pinkest one I've ever seen. If it were me I'd just buy another one and save that "pink panther" in the hopes that one day it would become a collectors item worth millions. I can see it now on the Antiques Roadshow of the future. But, it ain't me so exchange that thing yesterday! And don't look right at it. Your eyes may never recover!

DD

Have you tried swapping connections for the two displays? This does not look like it could be caused by a bad LCD panel, since the pink tint is so uniform across the whole screen... rather seems like an electronics, cabling or even software issue.

If after swapping the cables the tint is still on the left display, I'm afraid you'll have to send it back.