So, you’re only getting a small fraction of usable screen. I’m being extremely nit-picky here though, because that Flanders monitor can only display the 3,000 nit image at a 20% scale. That 1,000-nit $35k Flanders monitor I mentioned earlier has a $45k bigger brother, which peaks at 3,000 nits.
They also say that the Pro Display “produces an industry-leading 1,000 nits,” which is and isn’t true. You don’t get built-in scopes, LUT control, or any features that might help on set. Now I don’t think that Apple’s Pro Display really matches exactly to a Flanders or Sony reference monitor. But I hope you still see what the asking price for a good HDR monitor is.Ītomos' new NEON line up is a competitor with Apple's Pro Display XDR, although they are so much more than just a display. Granted, Atomos packs this monitor with way more I/O, a 4K 10-bit recorder, waveforms, LUTS, and even an accompanying app. If we were to pick the new Atomos NEON monitor that matched Apple’s Pro Display the best, it would be the 31” model. That’s why they’ve released all new 10-bit HDR monitors that directly compete with their Sumo, the Atomos NEON.
While some might not notice the difference, Atomos certainly have.
The display-only version costs about $1,300 right now. It had a 10-bit FRC, 1,200 nit display and all the bells and whistles you could need on set: focus peaking, waveforms, the lot. Two years ago, I reviewed Atomos’ Sumo monitor/recorder, a wonderful piece of kit that gave me hope for the future of HDR. Still, 6K is impressive and will be amazing for photographers. Unfortunately, reference monitors aren’t all the same, and newer standards like HDR10 and Dolby Vision can only be achieved with a certain class of display. That wouldn’t be a problem if these things were cheap, but an industry standard Flanders Scientific monitor will seriously set you back, and you'll want it to last years. A Flanders that’s comparable to Apple’s Pro Display XDR would cost $35,000 and would be 4K instead of 6K.Ī side note here that I prefer a true 16x9 4K reference monitor so there’s no upscaling from a 4K signal. Netflix is behind it, HBO dropped the ball on it with Game of Thrones, and content producers need to get on board. When Apple debuted the iPhone X, nearly all of the lauded features pertained to watching HDR content. I’ve said for a few years now that HDR is the future. These are comparable Flanders Scientific reference monitors. He removed all of the system's computing components and other internals, like the speakers, fan, and power supply.If Apple's monitor is as good as they say it is, then it competes with the best. So instead, Miani stripped the iMac of its components and turned it into a 5K monitor.įirst, Miani opened the iMac by its display adhesive, using sponsor iFixit's iMac repair guides for disassembling the system.
Apple's "target display mode," which lets you use an iMac as a monitor, doesn't work with newer iMacs and requires a connection to a Mac from 2019 or earlier with macOS Catalina or earlier. Miani decided not to use Sidecar-a feature that allows you to use an iPad as a second monitor for a Mac-because it requires a functioning iMac and presents potential latency concerns.
In a video describing the process, Miani noted that the panel performance of the Studio Display is similar to what Apple has been offering for years, so he opted to use a 2014 iMac rather than the most recent 2020 27-inch iMac for his project. That didn't stop YouTuber Luke Miani from finding an old iMac and turning it into a makeshift Studio Display for about $870, webcam and 5K included. For those who need 14,745,600 pixels, though, like video editors and graphic designers, there are few options besides Apple's costly monitor, especially since Apple discontinued its 27-inch 5K iMac desktop upon announcing the Studio Display in March. But with a starting price of $1,600, it's not cheap. Apple's Studio Display is much less expensive than its $5,000 Pro Display XDR.