The Apple Cinema Display is a line of flat-panel
computer monitors developed and sold by
Apple Inc.
Apple Inc. is an American multinational technology company headquartered in Cupertino, California, United States. Apple is the largest technology company by revenue (totaling in 2021) and, as of June 2022, is the world's biggest company ...
between 1999 and 2011. It was initially sold alongside the older line of
Studio Displays, but eventually replaced them. Apple offered 20, 22, 23, 24, 27 and 30-inch sizes, with the last model being a 27-inch size with
LED backlighting.
There have been three designs for the Cinema Display, one featuring
polycarbonate plastic and two featuring anodized aluminum. The first displays were designed to match the colorful plastic of the
Power Mac G3 and later the
Power Mac G4
The Power Mac G4 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from 1999 to 2004 as part of the Power Macintosh line. Built around the PowerPC G4 series of microprocessors, the Power Mac G4 was marketed by ...
, while the second revisions were designed to match the aluminum aesthetics of the
Power Mac G5
The Power Mac G5 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 2003 to 2006 as part of the Power Mac series. When introduced, it was the most powerful computer in Apple's Macintosh lineup, and ...
and
PowerBook G4
The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by the ...
. The last available design matched the unibody laptops released in October 2008.
The Apple Cinema Display name was retired in July 2011 with the introduction of the
Apple Thunderbolt Display
The Apple Thunderbolt Display is a 27-inch flat panel computer monitor developed and sold by Apple Inc. from July 2011 to June 2016. Originally priced at $999, it replaced the 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display. New to the Thunderbolt Display w ...
, and the Cinema Display models were no longer offered on the Apple Store website as of August 2014.
Models
Cinema Display
The first model—the 22-inch Apple Cinema Display—was introduced in September 1999 alongside the
Power Mac G4
The Power Mac G4 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer from 1999 to 2004 as part of the Power Macintosh line. Built around the PowerPC G4 series of microprocessors, the Power Mac G4 was marketed by ...
and used
DVI for video input. It was enclosed in a high-density plastic frame with an
easel
An easel is an upright support used for displaying and/or fixing something resting upon it, at an angle of about 20° to the vertical. In particular, easels are traditionally used by painters to support a painting while they work on it, normally ...
-style stand and had a display resolution of 1600×1024.
This model was upgraded in July 2000 with the
Apple Display Connector
The Apple Display Connector (ADC) is a proprietary modification of the DVI connector that combines analog and digital video signals, USB, and power all in one cable. It was used in later versions of the Apple Studio Display, including the final ...
(ADC), which ran DVI,
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
, and 28V power through a single connector.
It was eventually replaced by a 20-inch model on January 28, 2003, that sported a widescreen display with up to 1680×1050 resolution and a brightness of 230 cd/m2.
The 20" Cinema Display was updated again June 28, 2004 to match the aluminum design of the new Cinema HD Display. It retained the 1680x1050 resolution of the previous model but saw its brightness increased to 250 cd/m2, and was introduced at a $1,299 USD price point. Apple continued to sell this display with no further changes until October 2008.
Cinema HD Display
The 23-inch model, dubbed the "Cinema HD Display," was introduced on March 20, 2002, and supported full 1:1
1080p
1080p (1920×1080 progressively displayed pixels; also known as Full HD or FHD, and BT.709) is a set of HDTV high-definition video modes characterized by 1,920 pixels displayed across the screen horizontally and 1,080 pixels down the screen ve ...
playback on a 1920x1200 pixel display.
On June 28, 2004, Apple introduced a redesigned line of Cinema Displays, along with a new 30-inch model that, like the 23-inch model, carried the "Cinema HD Display" name. The new models had an anodized aluminum enclosure that matched Apple's high-end lines of professional products. An alternative stand or a wall mount could be used with a
VESA mount adapter kit that was sold separately. Though the display enclosures had not been redesigned for a long period of time, several "silent" improvements were made to the brightness levels and contrast ratios.
30-inch model compatibility
Due to the high resolution (2560×1600), the 30-inch model requires a graphics card that supports dual-link DVI. When the monitor was released, no Macintosh models were sold with a dual-link DVI port. A Power Mac G5 with the new Nvidia GeForce 6800 Ultra DDL graphics card was initially required to run the display at full resolution.
All
Power Mac G5
The Power Mac G5 is a series of personal computers designed, manufactured, and sold by Apple Computer, Inc. from 2003 to 2006 as part of the Power Mac series. When introduced, it was the most powerful computer in Apple's Macintosh lineup, and ...
,
PowerBook G4
The PowerBook G4 is a series of notebook computers manufactured, marketed, and sold by Apple Computer between 2001 and 2006 as part of its PowerBook line of notebooks. The PowerBook G4 runs on the RISC-based PowerPC G4 processor, designed by the ...
15 or 17 inch and
Mac Pro Mid 2006 to Mid 2010 models are capable of supporting it without the use of any adapters. Discrete
MacBook Pros are also capable of driving the 30-inch display, while all Macs released after October 2008 require an additional adapter. The 30-inch Cinema Display was introduced together with the GeForce 6800, which supports two DVI-DL ports. ATI's aftermarket AGP X800 Mac Edition also supports dual-link DVI, but has only one port. The Radeon 9600 Mac/PC was another aftermarket graphics card that supported dual-link DVI and was also compatible with older AGP-based Power Macs.
If a computer with a single-link DVI port (such as a Mac laptop with a mini-DVI connector) is connected to the 30-inch display, it will only run at 1280×800, even if the computer is capable of supporting 1920×1200 over a single-link connection.
LED Cinema Display
On October 14, 2008, the 20-inch Cinema Display and the 23-inch Cinema HD Display were replaced with a 24-inch model made with aluminum and glass, reflecting the appearances of the latest iMac, MacBook Pro and unibody MacBook designs. The display features a built-in
iSight
iSight is a brand name used by Apple Inc. to refer to cameras on various devices. The name was originally used for the external iSight webcam, which retailed for US$149, connected to a computer via a FireWire cable, and came with a set of mou ...
camera, microphone and dual speaker system. A
MagSafe cable runs from the back of the display for charging notebooks. It is the first Cinema Display to use LED backlighting and
Mini DisplayPort
The Mini DisplayPort (MiniDP or mDP) is a miniaturized and less common version of the DisplayPort audio-visual digital interface.
It was announced by Apple in October 2008, and by early 2013 all new Apple Macintosh computers had Mini DisplayP ...
for video input; however, the LED backlighting is edge-lit as opposed to the fully back-lit CCFL of the previous models, resulting in a lower brightness cd/m
2 output. This display is only officially compatible with Macs that have the Mini DisplayPort connector. A third-party converter must be used in order to use this display with older Macs. Furthermore, many newer Apple users with newer MacBooks that solely have
USB-C
USB-C (properly known as USB Type-C) is a 24-pin USB connector system with a rotationally symmetrical connector. The designation C refers only to the connector's physical configuration or form factor and should not be confused with the conn ...
ports have been continuously perplexed by the fact that their Apple-branded Thunderbolt 3 (USB-C) to Thunderbolt 2 adapters do not transmit a signal to their LED Cinema displays. Many users have mistakenly presumed their new MacBooks were incompatible with their older displays, when in fact an ordinary generic USB-C to Mini DisplayPort adapter will successfully transmit the same signal; This is due to a small internal difference in the newer Thunderbolt 2 and the older Mini DisplayPort standards.
With the introduction of LED panels, the matte, anti-glare screen panels were retired, except for the 30" Cinema Display. Apple had already moved away from matte screens in its line of
iMac
iMac is a family of all-in-one Mac desktop computers designed and built by Apple Inc. It has been the primary part of Apple's consumer desktop offerings since its debut in August 1998, and has evolved through seven distinct forms.
In it ...
desktop computers on August 7, 2007. Apple had not offered any equipment with a matte, anti-glare screen after the 15" non-Retina MacBook Pro was discontinued in October 2013 until the introduction of the
Pro Display XDR
The Pro Display XDR is a 32-inch flat panel computer monitor created by Apple, based on an LG supplied display, and released on December 10, 2019. It was announced at the Apple Worldwide Developers Conference on June 3, 2019 along with the thir ...
in 2019. This had been a cause for concern among users who wanted matte screens for their area of work, particularly graphic designers, photographers and users who extensively view their screens. Matte screens, like matte-surface photographs, diffuse reflected light and cannot provide the same black levels as glossy screens, which are required for working with HDR images and videos and thus are disadvantaged in this area. However, the matte screens have a far lower level of reflectivity, which improves
ease-of-use.
''
The Wall Street Journal
''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...
'' referred to Apple's removal of the matte screen as one of Apple's worst design decisions.
On July 26, 2010, the 24-inch LED Cinema Display and the 30-inch Cinema HD Display were replaced by a 27-inch model that supports up to 2560×1440 resolution. This model was sold for $999 USD.
On July 20, 2011, the LED Cinema Display was discontinued, and replaced by the
Apple Thunderbolt Display
The Apple Thunderbolt Display is a 27-inch flat panel computer monitor developed and sold by Apple Inc. from July 2011 to June 2016. Originally priced at $999, it replaced the 27-inch Apple LED Cinema Display. New to the Thunderbolt Display w ...
.
Technical specifications
* On August 7, 2006 the Aluminium Cinema displays had a silent upgrade that boosted the brightness and contrast ratios to 300/400 cd/m
2 and 700:1. The last Cinema displays are still desirable to professionals being the last anti-glare displays made by Apple (until the Pro Display XDR) and having a true
IPS
IPS, ips, or iPS may refer to:
Science and technology Biology and medicine
* ''Ips'' (genus), a genus of bark beetle
* Induced pluripotent stem cell or iPS cells
* Intermittent photic stimulation, a neuroimaging technique
* Intraparietal sulcus, ...
8-bit (no dithering) fully back-lit panel and slightly higher brightness than that of the newer Apple Thunderbolt displays, which have a reflective glossy screen and an edge-lit panel. These displays (including the LED Cinema 24”) are the last Apple desktop monitors made in 16:10 aspect ratio that is also used on MacBook Pros and provides more vertical work space.
References
External links
Apple Cinema Display 20/23/30-inch User's Guideat Apple
at Apple Matters
*
*
*
at EveryMac
Articles
* Kubicki, Kristopher
"The 20 inch LCD shootout: Dell versus Apple" "AnandTech", April 27, 2005.
* Luepke, Lara
"CNET prizefight", March 22, 2006.
{{Apple Inc. hardware
Apple Inc. monitors
Apple Inc. peripherals
Computer-related introductions in 1999