The Pro Display XDR from 18 years ago! 

Imagine buying this at release and still using it today (dongles aside). What an amazing investment.

I have a 30", 23", and a couple 20" displays all from 2004-2009. These are quite possibly the best monitors ever... great video Luke!

The owner at my old job got a bunch of these at auction for pennies because they came with no power supplies, cords, nothing. We cracked them open, found the LG panel number and bought driver boards and power supplies from the usual suppliers in China. A month later when everything arrived, we plugged in the boards, ran new power cables and bingo. Really nice picture.

I love these videos of old Apple gear. It shows just how well designed it is that it is still viable after all these years.

A few random points about using the 30" Apple Cinema HD Display with a modern Mac: 1. You can power the Apple mini-DisplayPort to Dual-Link DVI adapter with an external power source. An iPhone USB charger would suffice. 2. However, if you don't connect the USB cable from the above adapter to your Mac, then you lose brightness control from the keyboard. (Yes, keyboard control of brightness works even in Monterey, as long as you plug the USB directly into the Mac. Brightness control is sometimes problematic through USB hubs.) 3. If you are using a Mac laptop and want to control the brightness of the 30" ACD as a secondary display, hold down the 'CONTROL' button while pressing the brightness buttons (F1 & F2). 4. If you haven't bought one yet but are thinking of getting one, look for a later 30" model with HDCP support, as the initial 30" models do not include HDCP. With HDCP support, you can stream DRM'd video in 1080p (eg. Netflix) in Safari. Also, it's easier to find USB-C to dual-Link DVI adapters with HDCP support. The ones which have HDCP support turned off (for compatibility with the initial models) are less common and are often more expensive. (I believe Club 3D sells both versions, but I bought a CableCreation one with HDCP support for cheaper, as my 2007 30" ACD supports HDCP.)

Using a 30" daily. Really, really love it. The simple design, white sides, and matte screen really make it for me.

This display is so beautiful holy

This is impressive! I wasn't aware of this one 😳 Great video!

I have 5 Cinema HD displays, 3 23” and 2 30”! To this day they are amazing and I use them in my daily work as a web designer and they look beautiful compared to the monitors available on the market today.

I have a 30 inch, mounted to a monitor arm that I use as my main display. It's nice, but I can start to feel its age. Namely if I have a high-contrast image on the screen for a while, then switch to a flat image, there is a noticeable latent image from the previous screen.

I had these after years drooling over them, they were (and still are) the most beautiful displays ever. Timeless design, flawless screen.

Old tech is so interesting. I have a 19in Crt monitor from around the same era that will do 1920x1440 at 85hz and it looks gorgeous. Was a pro art monitor so it's also incredibly color accurate. Really cool stuff.

2004: Still Includes the stand. 2019: Should pay $999 for the stand.

I love these old apple displays! I have a 10 year old thunderbolt, and wow it’s quality from sound, built, MATERIALS is just *chefs kiss* the picture quality does show its age a bit not being 4k, but color accuracy is perfection. Anyone who cares about monitor design, i highly reccomend going for a pre owned apple display

Seeing the clip of Steve in this put tears in my eyes. Amazing how bold he could push Apple to be, often just putting out products that the rest of the industry wasn't even considering. Making a custom GPU so that Apple users could have 2 30" displays - IN 2004! Used to love the rush I would get from Apple Keynotes. Feeling a little bit of that again these days since the release of Apple Silicon.

Just got one of these displays for free, and bought the adapter you recommended. Works like a charm! Great Vid!

The 30inch was incredible at the time. 22 and 23inch were considered huge back then. Would love to see an M1 in a design like this

Been using my 20" for around 3 years, got it from a school that was chucking out its old tech and never looked back! it's beautiful!

Love the deep dives you've been doing into older mac tech ❤ The value for this monitor is definitely there!

Great stuff Luke! I love your videos that are focussed on how to utilize older Apple tech.

I'm watching this on a 23" Cinema Display right now. These things are ICONIC!

These monitors still hold up really well, I use a 23” model with my main Mac Mini and it works extremely well! It’s a solid older monitor!

my 23" apple display from 2005 is still going strong, use it as my main monitor for music production. Find it easier on the eyes for long periods than the retina display on my 2019 MacBook Pro

I really like this old display. I have bought the 20" model a couple month ago without any expectation. You didn't mention that if you plug the USB in you can adjust the brightness from the monitor settings, you can disable the buttons on the display and configure what will happen if you press the power button on the display. - At least on my Mac Pro 5,1.

Bought a 30" at the same price. Went through multiple dongles and found the same Club3d that you reco'd. Works perfectly on all my Macs & PCs (Thinkpad T-series). The only issue I have is a minor nuisance of unplugging/plugging back in the monitor power cord because the screen isn't a fan of suspend/sleep modes. For those that get one - the only VESA mount usable is from Apple. Any other mount, regardless of the advertisements, confirm on their website support documentation that they cannot hold this monitor - it's a hefty 27 lbs. These VESA mounts are expensive >$100 and rare too. Lastly, after finding the mount, the only monitor arm that can carry the A1083 is the Ergotron HX (which can handle up to 42lbs). So to recap: 1. $200 for well-cared for monitor 2. $50-85 for a new-old-stock power brick 3. $45 for USB-C adapter 4. $150 for VESA mount 5. $329 for a Ergotron HX arm YMMV, but just over $775-815 for a fabulous screen setup. I'd do it again.

I love these displays! Thanks Luke for all this coverage!

Thank Luke. You just made my day, I have 2 of these displays in my loft and now can use them again. Thank you

In 2001, I bought the 22” Cinema Display that you show about 90 seconds into your video. The display went blank (but the power light still came on) in February of this year (21 years later!), so I bought this 30” display that you’re showing us here. I absolutely love it! I found your video because I know that I’m going to have to add an additional computer to my old Mac Pro, so your recommendation of that adapter is really great. Thank you so much!

I found a perfect example of the 30" display on a local online classified for only $210 CAD - there was a new power supply with it too! The adapter here in Canada was $70. Very thankful you posted the right model of adapter - saved me a lot of hassle. Pretty great screen setup for my desk for $280 total.

Amazing looking monitors they are! I also have one but the 23 inch version. Impressive color and brightness. Still a really good monitor. I’ve hooked it up wit a mid-2012 MacBook Pro 15” with the optional higher resolution matt screen with the grey bezels that these monitor also have. And that is a great looking setup. Maybe I am looking for the 30” version later.

Hahahah I lost my adaptor during moving and was wondering where to buy one, imagine my surprise when this video about an 18 year old display comes up showing me a wire for modern systems!!! Awesome video!!!

Thank you for making this vid. Greatly appreciated.

i loved this display. it was my main monitor for about 15 years. when i finally tried to sell it i had to ask people who were interested what they planned to do with it and if they knew what they were getting into. I ended up giving it to a professor down in NYC who wanted to run 2 of these from his old mac pro. It's definitely 'good enough' to use now if you can find one, but it does get sort of hot and is really inefficient compared to a modern 4k or 5k display.

They are amazing. The only issues you have to be aware of (besides adaptor fun) are: if you have a unit that was heavily used, it can be faded or to the backlights can start going / die; and some units can get very hot (though the newer 27" LED and Thunderbolt Displays run way hotter). Also note that the USB ports are a 2.0 hub, not passthrough (may not be obvious to some people), and you do need to plus that USB cable in to use the ports. I also think the Firewire does't work on Apple Silicon, but I may be wrong there.

That is insane that you got that working and that all these workarounds in the comments below work, too. Amazing.

Picked on of these up on Facebook Marketplace yesterday for $150 (everything included). I was only looking because of your video. Good work sir. It's a beautiful display for sure. I have it next to a 4K monitor I have and it's hard to tell which looks superior. Thanks!

As is also stated in the box of the Thunderbolt 1/2 to USB-C adapter, you can only use that adapter to connect to Thunderbolt devices. As the cable from the ACD adapter only carries Mini DP, it won't work. You cannot use the adapter on the 24 or 27" Cinema displays either, it will only work on the 27" Thunderbolt Display.

Do you think the 30 inch Cinema Display is worth buying in 2022?

Thank you for posting this video. I have one of these monitors that I have been trying to get to work with my M1 Mac. I love this display. It’s perfect for my eyes.

Thanks Luke for this vid. I've been waiting for it 😎🥃

I had 2 of these beauties, sold one to a friend in Germany. I still use the one I kept. With the aid of a complex cable, I was able to bump to resolution up by a factor of four! I have this monitor connected to a MacMini (2014 - dog of a machine) because it has the 3 ports this cable requires. Hopefully, the upcoming MacMini Pro will have the right ports, or by use of adapters, to support the cable. I also have an Apple 24" display that is also in service and looks great.

I've loved my 30" and 23" Displays over the past 17 years, and every consideration of upgrading my old Mac Pro to the 2022 MBP 16" Pro M1 was haunted by the concern I'd have to abandon my beloved monitors. None of the young guys at the Apple store were sure. After watching two YT vids I learned about the necessary dual-link adapter found on eBay and OWC Thunderbolt 3 Dock with DisplayPort... but, after watching Luke's vid, I believe that may have been overkill and unnecessarily expensive. Nevertheless, they DID fire up back in December... and I almost cried! Not only are these fantastic monitors, and works of art - even when turned off - but I'm a very sentimental guy: they were the portals of a G5, and Mac Pro through thousands of design jobs over those years, plus all my personal life history of changes through losses and victories. Shedding them was unbearable. But, they work beautifully, and I'll keep using them until I absolutely cannot. Thanks, Luke. I only wish this vid had come out in November of 2021!

Had the 20 inch version of this for years and loved it.

I have a 30" on my desk right now along with a 23" and a couple of the small ones kicking about. Ended up finding the same dongle (with a different branding) as Luke and it works a treat. I even have my monitors hooked up to a Dual View Dual Link 4 way KVMP switch so that I can switch these two Cinema Displays between four computers! Works an absolute treat. The silver is basically the same as the current silver used by apple, they match wonderfully with my Mac Mini on my desk and I think the 30 inch especially is a quite wonderful monitor. It still looks absolutely incredible for photos and video. Sure text isn't quite as crisp as it could be, especially small text, but it is perfectly legible and the 16x10 aspect ratio is excellent, it is a delight to code on this screen.

While these displays were really nice when they were released. Unfortunately in my experience the majority were plagued with well documented ghosting and yellowing issues. I’ve had several of these all fall victim to it over time, and there is no fix. But if you do have one that works fine, they’re definitely still great monitors, way ahead of their time.

This was great! Would love to see similar videos on the Thunderbolt Display and the Mini DisplayPort Cinema Displays!

Thanks man! Very helpful.

Yo, what a fab video, ty for posting this, Luke. WOW.

I own 2 of the 30" Apple hd cinema display, and I still rocking them as main monitor along with the dear old cMP 4.1, I think they are a fantastic combination, absolutely among the best of all those I've tried, it's a shame that they are few and expensive, very rare. Btw very good video, love you man

Luke, thanks for this wonderful clip. This was one of the best displays at that time. I have never used the displays from Apple self. They are beautiful, no question. They are functional in the Apple environment. But, I would never buy an Apple display myself. Why? I've been using EIZO monitors since the mid-90s, back when they were still the big heavy thick CRTs. They were and are more expensive than, say, Dell and others, but even as they aged, rarely, in fact never, did one of these let me down. But from the look and quality are the Apples are still great. Almost like my big EIZO's? Stay safe. A loyal subscriber to your channel from Bavaria.

Excellent video, Luke! Thanks a lot. 💜

My work setup is a hodgepodge of beefed up old macs & modern ones linked to thunderbolt/cinema displays thanks to this channel.

Thanks for the video! I have the 23” Cinema Display. The seller included a DVI to HDMI Adapter from Apple with the purchase. I have used the adapter to hook it up to my M1 Mac mini. Works great!

Hi, Luke. Big fan of your channel! Would love to know if you have issues with this adapter with an M1 Mac more long-term--mainly problems with it staying connecting when the Mac wakes/sleeps. Maybe you could try it out in your setup for a week and see if everything holds up?

Got 2 of these on my desk finally to match the rest of my silver/white apple products in my setup, even at their age they fit apples design language as much as ever before. I still remember how stunned I was seeing one for the first time when I was little.

Great review Luke. I bought two of those 30 inch cinema displays in June 2004 on order for my former CEO Halsey Minor at Grand Central Communications in San Francisco. I also had to get Geffen to make a prototype dual link DVI switch box so he could connect his 30 inch displays to his Mac Pro G5 that I also ordered for him, and a Alien ware Desktop for him to game with.

I still have my 20-inch Apple Cinema Display that I use with my 2013 MacBook Pro 15; I originally used it with my 2007 MacBook Pro 17. The mess of cables was challenging with a laptop, but made it work. I've now got an MacBook Pro 16 (M1 Pro ) and wondering how to connect the Cinema Display - thanks for the connector tip. I'm hoping (or is it wishful thinking 🤔) that Apple releases some new Cinema Display's this year 🙏 🤞

Cool video. I use one of these at work as my main display! I don't do creative work but we had one laying around that our creative teams used to use a long time ago and I was able to procure it before it got recycled. I think I've had it for 4-5 years now. I love the screen real estate it offers and because it's 2560*1600 I don't have to do any crazy scaling like I would with a 4k display. I liked it so much I tried to buy it from my company a couple years ago to use for my personal photo/video stuff I do at home. They wouldn't sell it because of the accounting headache. So I went on a journey of getting one. I actually bought two units that each had their own issues and combined them into one working unit. I learned a lot about the monitor while do that. Eventually I found another one near me in good shape for a good price and bought that and put my fraken-monitor in storage. Someone then broke into my unit a stole that one, oh well. For those that are interested here are some things to watch out for: The ccfl backlights can dade over time and will develop bright dim areas. They also tend to yellow the diffuser screens between the lcd panel and the backlight. As long as you have a way to color calibrate your monitor via software that's not a big issue.

I got this beautiful display about two years ago because it was dumped by the previous user. Took it home because it’s such a looker, but I wasn’t sure it would turn on (let alone if I could find a way to hook it op to my 2019 16 inch MacBook Pro). At the time, there weren’t many guides on how to do it and this dongle didn’t exist, but with a few separate adapters, I managed to make it work.

Thats right, this monitor can vote! Luke's humor is out of this world kudos to you!

I saw one of these at goodwill for $15 and I am really kicking myself for not getting it.

I have the Thunderbolt Display I got used for about $150, and bought the Thunderbolt adapter and I use it with my 2019 15 inch MacBook Pro. It’s a great display for the price, fits with the aesthetic of the MacBook, has the USB hub on it which is great, wonderful built in speakers. The only thing on it I don’t like is the non-laminated display. This older display looks sleeker than my more modern one though, kind of interested in it now!

Thanks Luke for this useful video ! I use a 23 inches daily since 2015 with also an Apple adapter hdmi - dvi. I love it with its matte screen.

I bought 4 of these for $50 each on FB marketplace a couple years ago. I still have 2 of them. They work great.

These have retained their value so well over the years

Would be interesting to cover this compared to the 27" LED Cinema Display from 2010; the 30" model has a taller aspect ratio, but might be less hassle to setup than the slightly more modern LED version. But, how would that image quality compare?

I had two of the smaller Apple screens side by side, looked great and worked superb!

That’s amazing Luke

Hard to imagine an 18 year old display that is still good enough in quality to compete with the displays today. I guess the main issue would be that the backlighting would fade over time though. But this seems fairly bright still. I bought an old 50” plasma monitor for $30 at an auction. I’m guessing that it’s from the late 00’s and it was quite expensive back then ($1800). Still an awesome monitor though. It is matte and the colours are really good.

What's crazy is that it still looks great today, and most monitors are just as thick today.

Thank you Luke :D

Great display! Got my 30” in 2008, it was about $1795 back then. Been using it ever since, got the same usb-c to dual link dvi as you show in the video and it works with both my 2019 Macbook Pro and my Mac Studio. Good video that will probably save people some wasted cash on other adapters and hopefully put a few more Cinema Displays into use 👍🏼

I love how this thing came out about as expensive as 3 M1, 24 inch iMACs… and it’s just the monitor. But even with that being said, the look aged very well.

The problem with buying an 18yr old technology is how long does it have left before the display goes bad or when there are a ton of dead pixels? It's a ticking time bomb if you ask me.

Hey Luke, thanks a lot for this video, I am a happy user of this 30" Apple Cinema HD Display with the latest M1 MBA. This thing rocks in image quality!

I loved that thing back in the day

18 y.o apple display has smaller bezel/display ratio than 2021 imac :)

things gonna last another 18 years lol

Still running 2 of the 30” models into my 14” MBP M1 Pro. Still my favorite monitor.

Just got given one of these. Power supply was dead, but once I replaced that it fired right up and looks beautiful. One of the best displays I've ever used

Jobs was more than 18 years ahead of his time. I’m glad Apple finally are stating to go back to his ideas.

Thanks Luke

These videos are why I love this channel & subscribe! True Apple sustainability here!

I have one and it’s hooked up to my PC - works a dream!

Man, timeless design. I loved using that back in the day. This video also reminded me just how much I miss 's live keynotes. Not just Steve, although he was the master, but the candid, fun atmosphere that stoked excitement for the products. We'll probably never get back to that and continue with the bright, shiny, 'perfect'  infomercials. Oh well.

I am currently running 2 of these 30 inch monitors on my Mac Pro, Love this set up.

I was still using the 23" version as my main display until about a year ago, I just knew it was only a matter of time before it died and wanted to replace it before that happened, LOVE the picture.

Was fortunate to get a 20 inch Cinema Display the other day and have done the same - linked to my M1 Pro laptop via a DVI / usb c adapter. Works really well. Really pleased.

Ooh these are the videos I LIVE for

Omg thats the display my dad uses up to now 😂 It still looks so good, modern and has something that no other new panels can offer. I use it sometimes for Netflix which is just gorgeous.

From your first video about the display, I went and found one in Vancouver that someone was selling for $250 with the power and apple adapter! BUT this is hilarious cause I had to research and I found that exact Amazon DVI-USB C adapter! I'm SOOOO happy with my base model M1 Mac Mini with the 30inch display, it's soooo worth it. Especially if you are a musician working with Logic. The larger aspect of the monitor give more headroom and is perfect for mixing. This monitor looks fabulous and what a deal price wise for what was top end in its day. Thanks as always for the video and the inspiration!

Always wanted one of these🔥

For those who are picking up these thunderbolt 27" displays, most that I have seen have some splitting of the thunderbolt cable at the base of the end. I've used "Sugru" (All Purpose Super Glue, Moldable Craft Glue for Indoor & Outdoor - Adhesive Glue for Creative Fixing, Repairing, Bonding & Personalizing.), on dozens of Apple white power adapter cables, which also break down at the ends from being bent. The Sugru will form around the casing (it only works if there are no shorts in the actual electrical cables), and hardens over night into a semi-flexable protection of the cable. I've also seen it used on cables that cats love to scratch on! It's really a great way to rescue cables that are still working properly, but show signs of degradation of the outer casing. It's $15 for 3 packets.

I have two of the 23” versions of these on a VESA mount in my home office. Love it. Best monitors.

Your videos just leave me craving for old Apple devices!

I had it and I loved it. Nice!

STILL using 2 of these beauties from new hooked up to a Trashcan Mac Pro , they clearly are built to last .

I bought my first 30" Apple display two years ago. Completely BRILLIANT! I just bought my second to increase my screen real estate. In my opinion, you can't beat the quality of the picture, the appearance, or the price.

Running one of those screens on my daily-driver Hackintosh on a RX580 on Catalina and it runs still like a breeze. One of the best pieces of HW Apple has ever built. Thanks for the awesome video celebrating this evergreen.

thanks for the vid and for the adapter link ! I have such a 30 inch display connected to a 2017 MacBook Pro, and it's working fine using the dual DVI to Mini Display adapter, then a MD to usb-C adapter. The USB-A from the monitor is directly plugged into an old iPhone charger to receive power. A bit cumbersome but it works