Got a used Apple 30” Cinema HD Display (1 Viewer)

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys,

I recently picked up a very used 30” Apple Cinema HD Display. It was in the e-waste bins at work! I saved it from the crusher.

I have always wanted one of these, in my work as an industrial designer, I saw another designer who works in the film industry designing vehicles for films several years ago, he uses two of these monitors connected to a Windows PCs. (He may no longer have this set-up, but it looked cool at the time! ) Because the display has the Dual Link DVI, it makes it possible to use with a PC.

My home set-up is a mid-2012 Mac Pro 12 core, the final model before the cylinder version. I got a deal on this Mac as it was slightly used. It’s still cranking today, but it’s limited to High Sierra. At some point I will upgrade to a new Mac Pro. I’m still waiting to see if Apple does another Mac Pro update. But for now, there is a side of me that finds it more satisfying to be able to maintain and continue to use this older Mac. I like that you can still add hard drives inside and I added a blu ray drive to it. So it’s been a long time dream to have a 30” Cinema HD Display too. I was using my 23” Cinema Display that I purchased new in 2005 with my G5 Mac at the time. This 30” display dates back to 2005, I found the model number and date info on the bottom edge of the screen. I also have a loaner PC from work to use for my CAD work at home.

I spent the morning yesterday cleaning all the gunk off the 30” display. I knew it works because it was connected to a PC at the office for a short time. After I got the dust and finger prints off the screen, it looks great! No scratches. I got the dirt and stickers off the back and cleaned the cables too. But the aluminum bezel and base do have some scratches and scraps and nicks. It’s not bad, but not perfect.

I plugged the display into its rightful place on a Mac again. It fired up fine and it’s big compared to my 23”. Image quality is great. However, I knew this display had a lot of hours on it. And at about 17 years old, this display is likely tired. What I see is the right edge is very yellow-ish. Overall the image has a yellow-ish tinge. I jumped onto the Apple website and it’s all white webpage is yellow-ish. I have a PC next to the Mac using a Wacom Cintiq and using the same Apple website, the Apple website is white on the PC and also on my MacBook Pro. So the display is not very accurately displaying colors.

But I was wondering, in reading on a photography website, there was a discussion that this display always seemed to have a warm-ish yellow hue. My 23” Cinema Display is as old and I think it was a tad whiter, but not having both on side by side, I don’t recall how it looks. I suspect it’s as yellow and the larger screen is just amplifying it. I don’t think calibrating it will help much, I did fiddle around with it but it will never be as white as a newer display.

I was pondering purchasing the same display over the weekend as there was a 30” Apple Cinema HD Display on sale on eBay that the seller said was never used. That would have been cool because it would give a sense of what the screen looked like new. But the seller told me he tested it after I asked him if it still worked and he said it worked last year, but he tested it after I asked and it wouldn’t work. So I suspect he either didn’t know how to connect the cables, and didn’t do it right, or something went bad. He said it was his dad who bought it, but never used it. So it sat in storage.

At any rate, for now I have the old 30” working on my Mac Pro and I can use it for now. In my work color accuracy is an important thing, so this display will be used for fun for now. Maybe a newer Apple display could be adapted to use on my old Mac Pro. Just thought I’d post about this and see what you guys think.

 

[DaveF]

I had to look it up since this predates my interest in modern Apple.

Apple Cinema Display 30-Inch (Aluminum) Specs (Aluminum, M9179LL/A, A1083): EveryMac.com

Technical specifications for the Cinema Display 30-Inch (Aluminum). Dates sold, display type, resolution, viewing angle, brightness, price and more.

everymac.com

 

[Nelson Au]

That’s the one Dave! It sure was pricey when new!

 

[DaveF]

Apple just got back to selling a 32’ pro display a couple years ago.How did they do it 18 years ago?!?! This must seemed bonkers huge in 2004!

 

[Nelson Au]

Dave, it is bonkers! When I placed it on my desk where I had the 23” Cinema Display, it’s massive, I have to look up at the top menu bar! It was $3,299 and now we can get the new 27” Apple Studio Display that includes the stand for $1600.00. Of course the Pro Display is $5,000!

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

Even 27" would seem huge if you're used to 23" -- that's how it was (initially) when I moved up -- and then, 27" now feels normal while 23" feels too small, LOL.

I might be almost ready to move upto 30-32" (and 4K) now, but don't really wanna spend the $$$ until my nice NEC QHD dies or degrades enough...

_Man_

 

[Nelson Au]

Man, I don’t think I can go back to the 23“! I’ve only been playing around with this 30” screen for a day and I’m already loving all the real estate on the screen!

 

[Nelson Au]

Guys, after I got that 30” Cinema Display working on my Mac Pro, I had been wanting to find a second one. Partly because the color was off on the one I saved from the e-waste at work. I had been searching eBay and Craigslist and I found one fairly close to me. Yesterday I went to see it and I bought it. I felt good because the seller said he was picky when he found that one to make sure the screen was bright and had good color.

It was a fair price. It’s was used, so it’s not perfect. The bezel has some nicks and the base is nicked up too. And the power supply was pretty scratched up. But that’s on the floor. The best part though is the screen, it is bright and white!

The second reason I wanted a second one is Steve Jobs himself during the keynote in 2004 said this monitor is able to be used on a PC. And the one I save from work had been used on a PC for a while. I have a work PC at home for work from home. So now I am finally able to fulfill my fantasy dream. To have a pair of these running side by side.





The display on the left is connected to my Mac Pro. The display on the right is connected to an HP PC workstation. This is deliciously subversive. I’ll use Windows because it does have software I need for my work. But I don’t have to settle for non Apple hardware.

I’m on the hunt now for a third 30” Cinema Display that will be in better cosmetic condition if possible then the one i bought yesterday. And with a similarly great screen with good color. Then hopefully the colors between the Mac and the PC will be closer.

Eventually the Windows PC on the right is being replaced. It’s old and my company is providing a new one. So I know the video output from the GPU card will have Display Port connectors. Right now the old card has a dual DVI output that perfectly mates with the stock Cinema Display connector. So I need an adaptor for a Dual DVI connector to a Display Port connector, it has to be powered too I believe.

I’m seeing people also adapting these 18 year old monitors to work with new M1 MacBook pros. So when I upgrade my Mac Pro, I may opt to try to reuse these 30” monitors. This is super cool. The resolution on these old displays may not be 5K like the new Apple displays, but they are 2560 x 1600. This is high def considering I went to this from a 23” Apple Cinema Display.

Who knows, my plans may change, the power supplies might die on these Cinema Displays and I may need to use a new display. But for now, I’m enjoying this little upgrade. And it was far less money then a new Apple monitor and the base is included, as a YouTuber joked.

 

[John Dirk]

I generally hate todays Apple [I do have an iPhone, specifically for Carplay ] but I'm always happy to hear someone has achieved a dream they previously considered unlikely.

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks John! There’s been an unexpected benefit of having two side by side displays I didn’t expect. Amd I could feel this almost immediately.

Of course, having worked as a designer for a long time, I knew aesthetically, having matching displays would visually be pleasing. What I did not expect was how it gives me a super sense of calm and harmony. Prior, I had a Wacom Cintiq that I had on hand to use as a monitor for the PC. I did not expect to keep that as a monitor for so long. So it was a miss match to have a 23” Apple Cinema Display on the Mac Pro and a Wacom Cintiq on the PC. Now that they both match, it’s changed my mood! Of course I know one computer is a Mac and the other is a Windows PC, but having the same display made it a surprising pleasure to look at.

 

[Nelson Au]

I saw this very cool Monterey desktop wall paper called Chroma and while I’m still on High Sierra, I wanted to use it. I thought it would work nicely on the two displays. I’m taking steps to move to Mojave as this old Mac Pro can only go this far.



This is so much fun, running a Mac on the left and running the Windows PC on the right with an Apple Cinema Display and using an Apple wallpaper.

I’m still on the hunt for another pair of 30” Apple HD Cinema Display in good shape to replace the yellowed one on the right. If anyone has any leads, I’d appreciate it.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, carrying on with my insanity, I found another 30” Cinema Display and set it up today. This new/old 30” is cosmetically pretty good, though there are scratches on the Apple logo. But the great news is that this one doesn't have a yellowed screen. In the image below, the Mac is on the left and the Windows PC is on the right. So this one nearly matches the other one I bought color wise. The difference on the Windows is the color is very slightly warmer, maybe minor the color difference is due to the color settings from Windows. The funny thing is the brightness controls on the right of the display still work in Windows, but I can’t find the brightness controls in the Windows OS.

Comparing the image from above, what a difference!

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey guys, my insanity has reached a peak as I found an unused still sealed box of a 30” Apple Cinema Display. So my fantasy goal was reached. I didn’t think it was possible but one came up and I knew I’d regret not making an attempt to get it. It was on eBay from Montana. It arrived still sealed as advertised, and as the seller’s images showed. It seemed almost a shame to open this set.

I was amused to see the protective films and protective foam still intact wrapping the display. And it was a hoot to see the cleaning cloth included.

My main concern for buying this display is would it still work? I had no idea how it was stored and so I didn’t know if the components would have been degraded by time and environmental conditions. So it was a big risk. The box showed some wear and tear, but everything inside was good. I hooked it up and fired up my 2013 Mac Pro and to my delight, it’s working. It’s been working since last night. So I hope I can get many years of good service. The image is bright and white areas a bright white! And the colors are looking good. I may use an X-Rite spectrophotometer to calibrate for color. To save the backlight, I’ve turned it down to half.

Of course my 2013 Mac Pro may not survive much longer, so if I get a new Mac Pro, I know with adaptors to convert the dual DVI connector to a modern video port, I can use this monitor on a new machine. Of course it’s not 4 or 5K. But I’m very pleased to now have two working ones on a Mac and a PC for my home work set-up. And it’s super cool to have a brand new Cinema Display working on my Mac!

The new one is on the left connected to the Mac Pro and the one on the right is a used one connected to a Windows PC. Unfortunately the used one is not looking cosmetically perfect.

 

[ManW_TheUncool]

That's awesome, Nelson! Congrats!

_Man_

 

[Nelson Au]

Thanks Man!

 

[DaveF]

This is your fourth Cinema Display? What did you do with the yellow-screen one and its improved replacement, now both replaced by this new-in-box mode, I take it?

 

[Nelson Au]

Hey Dave! Well, I guess this is the fourth Cinema Display! I did not count the yellow screened one since that came from the e-waste at work. I did buy the two used ones and this brand new one.

As far as what am I going to do with them. The yellowed one will probably not be used. I’ll save it in case I need the power supply. They seem to go bad for some owners. The brand new one will stay with the Mac. The better of the two used ones will be used on the PC for work. The third I’m going to use for a workstation PC I’ve been considering building. It would be for CAD work doing the same kind of stuff I do on the PC that’s next to the Mac. That PC is a company provided one for work at home, while the one I’m considering building is for me, for CAD work. It’s nuts, but I wanted to see if I could build a PC that is very powerful for CAD and doing photorealistic rendering. This idea was before the pandemic hit and I had wanted to build a machine as powerful as a work one. But it’s been delayed since I got a machine from work. That rendering of the starship Enterprise on both Cinema Displays was done by me using CAD software to build the ship and then render.

 

[Robert Harris]

I have one of these sitting in LA. Last used it connected to a 10” MacBook Air c. 2015. Still have the Air, although the OS can no longer be upgraded.

Great monitor.

 

[Nelson Au]

Hi RAH! That’s cool you have one of these monitors. If you ever decide to part with it, let me know.

 

[Robert Harris]

Hi RAH! That’s cool you have one of these monitors. If you ever decide to part with it, let me know.

I shall. No idea what value might be. Presumably not a great deal. It lives in its original box. They’re big and heavy. Beautifully made.