LIfespan of the Apple Cinema Display?

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Level 2

186 points

LIfespan of the Apple Cinema Display?

So... I've heard stories that the lifespan of the Apple Cinema Display is as short as 2-3 years?

Anyone have any firsthand reports of a happier, longer life for their ACD?

I just bought a 23" Cinema Display that happily has none of the problems I read about in other posts from a few years back about banding, pinkish tones, etc.

Can I hope for a longer life than 3 years from my ACD?

Thanks for any good news....

Dual MMD G4 1.25, Mac OS X (10.3.4), Wacom Intuos, Umax Powerlook III, Epson 2200 etc, etc, etc...

Posted on Jan 24, 2006 7:07 PM

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Answer 1

BSteely

Level 5

7,643 points

Jan 26, 2006 9:44 PM in response to John Nez

The most life limited component in an LCD is the flourescent lamp in the backlight that illuminates the whole screen. These are typically rated to have 25,000 hours of life. What that means is that, after 25,000 hours of operation, the lamp(s) will shine at half their original brightness.

Since 25,000 hours equals roughly 3-years of continuous, 24/7 operation, that may be the basis for you hearing that LCDs have a lifespan of 3 years. If you only run the display for 8 hours every day, then you would have 9 years of backlight life.

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Answer 2

John Nez Author

Level 2

186 points

Jan 27, 2006 10:09 AM in response to BSteely

Thanks for the encouraging word!

I guess at that rate my 23" Cinema Display ought to last until 2013... that'd be good.

I'd heard some nasty stories about monitors going out after just 2 years... so this sounds better, more scientific than heresay.

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