Apple LED Cinema display issues and options

The new LED-backlit Apple Cinema displays have been out for a number of months, and so far have shown only a few known issues. On the plus side, the displays have sharper pixels due to the glass paneling; however, this benefit is weighed by the individual user's preferences for a glossy versus matte surface finish. Additionally, the increased brightness and contrast make multimedia viewing quite pleasing to some. Despite these benefits, and arguments about whether or not glossy is better than matte, there have been a couple of problems you should look out for if you are purchasing one of these displays.

1. Display "ticking"
   In some of the new displays, people have found an incessant and persistent ticking sound to be quite bothersome in low ambient noise situations. Some have described it as similar to hard-drives ticking when they're accessing data or about to crash. This problem has been suspected to be in the power supply, but so far it has not shown any significant problems beyond the annoyance. Overall, Apple does a fairly good job of providing robust power supplies for their desktop computers, with only very few reports of iMacs having random shut-off problems due to faulty power supplies. Some of the new displays may have a problem with their power supplies, which may be the reason for these ticking noises.
   
2. Color "shifting"
   A more common problem is the colors shifting on the display, causing the whole image to be tinted one color, with red/pink being the more common occurrence than other colors. When this happens, the display will appear to be normal and will blink to the "shifted" mode, sometimes doing it frequently and other times only doing it periodically. This is different than a monitor that just needs calibration. If you get your monitor and right out of the box it appears to have a color hue, first try calibrating the monitor using the "Calibrate..." option in the "Color" tab of the "Displays" system preferences. Many times the default color profile assigned to the monitor will have a "warmer" or "cooler" color temperature, which is a purposeful color shift between red and blue and can be corrected by spending time with the calibration utility.

These problems indicate a hardware malfunction, and we recommend that you have Apple replace the monitor. One or two people who have done this have been unfortunate enough to get a second monitor with the same problem, but this has been rare and you should take all monitors back as long as they are not working properly.

Beyond hardware malfunctions:

One last concern about the new monitors has been the limitation of the relatively short mini-displayport connector. The designers at Apple have kept the cord as short as possible to eliminate desktop clutter, keeping true to the company's style of simplicity. Unfortunately, they have made its length to be the bare minimum of what is practical. This means that unless you have the display right next to the computer, you will not be able to connect it, which prevents some people from having their computers on the floor under their desks.

Until now, this limitation has had some people returning the monitor; however, there are a couple of third-party solutions available to ensure your workspace can stay how you want it. Until Apple comes out with an extension of its own, or makes the default cable longer, the following may help:

1. Extension cables
   The mini-displayport was developed by Apple and appended to the "displayport" specification at a later date than the original connectors. As such, development of peripherals with the connector has taken more time. Recently, various extension cables for the mini-displayport have been released, so you should be able to get an extender that will allow for more flexible workspace setups. The following are places to check for extension cables and other adapters for the mini-displayport:
   DataPro
   Monoprice -- currently available for purchase, though backordered.
2. Computer mounts
   One of the problems with putting your computer under the desk is you're stuck with a gap that can sometimes be large enough that the monitor cord will not reach the computer. While creating stands and other solutions for propping the computer up may be unsteady, one solution is to mount the computer to the underside of the desk so it's hanging immediately below the surface instead of standing. Sonnet has a mount for the Mac Pro that will clamp it securely to the underside of a desk.

Resources