Alternative LCD displays for Powermacs?

[Kenneth]

Hi,

Can anybody recommend alternative LCD displays that are locally available for Powermacs? I'm looking for at least 17" My budget is about 25k

I've looked at the usual PC places, there's LG, Viewsonic, Mag, AOC, Samsung... Anybody own one of these? Are they any good?

[Edited on 12-19-2004 by Kenneth]

[marvinp]

Hi Ken,

I just bought yesterday the AOC LM729 for a friend. It's a 17" LCD with built-in speakers and both VGA and DVI input connector. Pretty good quality for P18,500. Plus, it can pivot up to 90 degrees for switching between landscape to portrait mode. Unfortunately, I didn't test if the Pivot Pro software works with a Mac.

[CooLes]

I remember seeing ads of those Radius pivot monitors in the pages of Macworld before, and I thought of them as really cool. Hopefully the pivoting of AOC would still work. I really like the quality of Samsung LCDs but I have to see it side by side with an AOC. Also saw a 20" AOC LCD with built-in TV tuner for around 40k over the weekend. Only if I had a lot of extra cash :lol:

Ken, would you still opt for a CRT? 21" is dirt-cheap nowadays. In fact am planning to move my 21 incher to replace my current 20 inch Sony TV. Played a side-by-side DVD of LOTR last night and the monitor blew my TV away. Now am on the lookout for a TV tuner for my monitor

[Eric]

Hi Ken, I'm using an LG Flatron L1730S, it looks good with the Mac, and dirt cheap as compared to Apple's discontinued 17" Studio Display. You can get it for 18k at PCExpress. It has a higher contrast ratio than the Samsung 173V (also available locally) at 550:1 vs the latter's 450:1. Max resolution is 1280x1024 75 Hz, similar to Apple's original 17" Studio Display.

[Kenneth]

Thanks for the suggestions guys!

@CooLes: yes, I know. you can get a 19" CRT or bigger for just under 10k! unfortunately, the small foot print is what I'm after plus a lot less eyestrain.

[hypersomniac]

hi kenneth,

would like to know whats the result of your evaluation. im budgetting for a PM G5 and would like to get an LCD monitor as well. Maybe even a 19" LCD. Also, whats the advantage of DVI compared to just analog ? Im also not to familiar with the ideal contrast ratio, resolution, frequecy etc. I plan to use it for video. Some sales guy from an apple reseller said that if i want to do video editing i should get the new Apple Cinema Display cause its highly compatible with Final Cut HD. Huh ?

TIA.:roll:

[Kenneth]

Hi Bong,

Here's a good explanation of the advantages of DVI vs. analog. But in short, DVI gives better quality. For me, its a toss up between the AOC or LG. I'm kinda leaning towards LG. Perhaps price will decide which one I'll choose though.

@marvinp: Where did you buy your AOC? I'm suprised you got it at a very good price, on PCX's site its already going for P24,500

[Maccess]

If you can afford the premium for DVI, I would choose DVI over analog. With DVI there is a straight digital pth from your video card to your display. With analog, the digital signal gets converted to analog on its way to the VGA port. CRT monitors use Analog VGA signal, but in an LCD it is converted back to digital again.

To use a DVI Input LCD with a PowerMac with an ADC port you'll need an ADC (Apple Display connector) to DVI (Digital Video Input) adaptor.

Titanium powerbooks (DVI models) have a DVI port. No powerbook has an ADC port (powerbooks simply can't supply monitor power to the display), but most desktops have the port.

I still have several Apple ADC to DVI adaptors for those who need it, please send me a U2U.

[Edited on 12-21-2004 by Maccess]

[CooLes]

Yup. DVI is the way to go. I guess thats why Apple had to pull out its proprietary ADC connection (though I'd miss the single connector that also supplies power). It'll be the next VGA in terms of compatibility with PCs and Macs and on Home Theater formats.

Am also on the lookout for a dual-input VGA/DVI VESA wall mount compatible 17 or 19 inch LCD for the bedroom. So I can connect my PowerBook on the VGA port and a Samsung DVD player on the DVI input :P

[Eric]

From CNET:

LCDs are digital devices and thus have to convert analog (VGA) signals before they can be displayed. A graphics card with a digital video interface (DVI) can send the signal straight to the display in digital format--no conversion required. Most LCDs come with an analog input (featuring a D-shaped connector that has 15 pins arranged in three rows, sometimes labelled D-Sub), some come with both, and only a very few come with just a digital input. Nevertheless, at this point, most monitors do such a good job of signal conversion that digital connections are not as important as they used to be.