4 ms·

The competition was also before the XDR similarly priced. Asus had 2 or 3 at that price point, and Apple had the XDR. And then there's the Dell UP2718Q, almost

The competition was also before the XDR similarly priced. Asus had 2 or 3 at that price point, and Apple had the XDR. And then there's the Dell UP2718Q, almost entirely the exact same specs, but only 4K, at 1600€. Released 2017, years before the XDR.

1123581321 6y ago
I like that Dell display (I mostly use Dell and LG displays) and most people should certainly save the money. The areas where the specs aren't the same are really significant though (e.g., resolution, as you noted, is a major difference despite only being one of the specs. Brightness, dynamic brightness, and size are also quite significant and drivers of major cost differences in just about any monitor comparison.) Here's a spec overview for those unfamiliar. https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/comparison/4f37c07a4 https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/comparison/4f37c07a...
- kuschku 6y ago
  If you're only using it for light HDR work, both are almost equally usable, and if you're mastering HDR content all the time, you'll need a dual-LCD panel anyway (as the sony hxr-310). But you're right, the additional 3000$ are definitely noticeable - but if they're noticeable enough to justify that price tag is another question.
  - 1123581321 6y ago
    Agreed; ultimately the XDR is for people who, for whatever reason, just want a really nice, large monitor in sync with macOS' color management enough to pay the premium.
deergomoo 6y ago
Bit of a random rant, but despite being so common, 27” at 4K is a really poor combination for a computer monitor. At 1x scaling, everything is too small, but at 2x scaling it’s far too big. So you have to go for a non-integer scale, which on macOS at least results in reduced image quality and graphics performance (it renders to a different sized frame buffer and then scales it). The ideal is 5K, which is double 2560x1440 in each dimension, but essentially the only 5K displays available are the LG one made in partnership with Apple, which is over a grand and has numerous quality issues, or the one built into the iMac. It’s really annoying.
- CharlesW 6y ago
  > …essentially the only 5K displays available are the LG one made in partnership with Apple, which is over a grand and has numerous quality issues… Are these documented anywhere? I have one (it's glorious) and I've not had a problem with it, but it'd be interesting to see the list.
  - sgerenser 6y ago
    I’ve seen lots of reports of interference with WiFi and/or Bluetooth on the older models (I believe since fixed). Recent models have lots of reports of bad backlight uniformity: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/lg-5k-ultrafine-27md5kl-b-uniformity-uneven-brightness.2229377/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/lg-5k-ultrafine-27md5kl...
    - CharlesW 6y ago
      Interesting, thank you!
valuearb 6y ago
I use a UP2718Q every day (used to use two of them). Did you just compare that mediocre POS to an XDR?
- kuschku 6y ago
  They're both IPS panels with locla area dimming, the same amount of halo effect, the same color accuracy, and relatively similar brightness and dpi, especially considering there's a price difference of 4× inbetween. What's so "mediocre POS" about them in your opinion?
  - valuearb 6y ago
    Build quality for one. That halo effect grows quickly over time. And there is a huge difference between 4K and 8k, and a much higher DPI.
    - kuschku 6y ago
      You've got a typo there, it's 4K at 27" with 163dpi vs 6K at 32" with 215dpi, so 1.5× vs 2× resolution. Which actually has an interesting effect when working with content, as the Pro Display XDR either has to show a letterbox around UHD content, or has to stretch it in a very blurry way with GPU upscaling which definitely isn't useful for content production workflows. And the halo effect actually is an artifact from the backlighting which can be resolved with the backlight recalibration cycle, which the Pro Display XDR does automatically and invisibly during times with purely SDR content, while it has to be manually run and is very obtrusive on the Dell one, that much is true.

1123581321 6y ago

I like that Dell display (I mostly use Dell and LG displays) and most people should certainly save the money. The areas where the specs aren't the same are really significant though (e.g., resolution, as you noted, is a major difference despite only being one of the specs. Brightness, dynamic brightness, and size are also quite significant and drivers of major cost differences in just about any monitor comparison.) Here's a spec overview for those unfamiliar. https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/comparison/4f37c07a4 https://www.displayspecifications.com/en/comparison/4f37c07a...

kuschku 6y ago
If you're only using it for light HDR work, both are almost equally usable, and if you're mastering HDR content all the time, you'll need a dual-LCD panel anyway (as the sony hxr-310). But you're right, the additional 3000$ are definitely noticeable - but if they're noticeable enough to justify that price tag is another question.
- 1123581321 6y ago
  Agreed; ultimately the XDR is for people who, for whatever reason, just want a really nice, large monitor in sync with macOS' color management enough to pay the premium.

deergomoo 6y ago

Bit of a random rant, but despite being so common, 27” at 4K is a really poor combination for a computer monitor. At 1x scaling, everything is too small, but at 2x scaling it’s far too big. So you have to go for a non-integer scale, which on macOS at least results in reduced image quality and graphics performance (it renders to a different sized frame buffer and then scales it). The ideal is 5K, which is double 2560x1440 in each dimension, but essentially the only 5K displays available are the LG one made in partnership with Apple, which is over a grand and has numerous quality issues, or the one built into the iMac. It’s really annoying.

CharlesW 6y ago
> …essentially the only 5K displays available are the LG one made in partnership with Apple, which is over a grand and has numerous quality issues… Are these documented anywhere? I have one (it's glorious) and I've not had a problem with it, but it'd be interesting to see the list.
- sgerenser 6y ago
  I’ve seen lots of reports of interference with WiFi and/or Bluetooth on the older models (I believe since fixed). Recent models have lots of reports of bad backlight uniformity: https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/lg-5k-ultrafine-27md5kl-b-uniformity-uneven-brightness.2229377/ https://forums.macrumors.com/threads/lg-5k-ultrafine-27md5kl...
  - CharlesW 6y ago
    Interesting, thank you!

valuearb 6y ago

I use a UP2718Q every day (used to use two of them). Did you just compare that mediocre POS to an XDR?

kuschku 6y ago
They're both IPS panels with locla area dimming, the same amount of halo effect, the same color accuracy, and relatively similar brightness and dpi, especially considering there's a price difference of 4× inbetween. What's so "mediocre POS" about them in your opinion?
- valuearb 6y ago
  Build quality for one. That halo effect grows quickly over time. And there is a huge difference between 4K and 8k, and a much higher DPI.
  - kuschku 6y ago
    You've got a typo there, it's 4K at 27" with 163dpi vs 6K at 32" with 215dpi, so 1.5× vs 2× resolution. Which actually has an interesting effect when working with content, as the Pro Display XDR either has to show a letterbox around UHD content, or has to stretch it in a very blurry way with GPU upscaling which definitely isn't useful for content production workflows. And the halo effect actually is an artifact from the backlighting which can be resolved with the backlight recalibration cycle, which the Pro Display XDR does automatically and invisibly during times with purely SDR content, while it has to be manually run and is very obtrusive on the Dell one, that much is true.