[cSurfr]

Hi all, I am in the market for a new LCD, and have been considering the Formac over the Apple. For me, it's a no brainer, as the Formac has a 3 year warranty, and the Apple only has 1. Also, the Formac 1740 with ADC is only 599.00 (same as the apple 17 with the edu discount). Here is my problem...I Have NO way of seeing this thing in person before I buy, since no one around me carries it. Can any of the owners of one please take a High res pic of it for me? I'm also curious as to know if the picture quality is as good as the Apple 20". I know the brightness on the Apple is 230, and the Formac is 220. The 20 has VERY rich color and looks amazing, but it just out of my price range. Thanks to all who can help!

cs

[NYCFarmboy]

For what its worth:

I've had a Formac 2010 20.1" LCD for over a year now.

Continues to perform flawlessly.

And much better specs than Apple's moniters.

A word that I've heard on Formac is that their customer service is difficult. They don't take phone calls or emails..everything has to be faxed.. but that if you go thru all their rigourous procedures you will get service..... Its a German company, and the Germans are just not known for friendly customer service..and tend to look down on their customers.

Having said that..that is again just what I've read about them in other forums. My own formac moniter has performed flawlessly and looks as good today as when I got it over a year ago.

Good luck! Oh..to answer your question..I think the picture quality is superior to Apple LCD's..>I work on a 20" Apple LCD and its not near as nice as the Formac in my opinion.

[Man Packs Eagle]

cSurfr, NYCFarmboy is right, the 20.1 Formac is better than the 20" Cinema. For more details read the thread I started last month 'Monitor Hell...' I had them both on my desk for a month. I've used all of Formac's displays and all of Apple's and Apple's 'reputation' as the producer of the best panels is not really deserved. There are however people on this board who would buy a turd if it had an Apple logo on it.

Like you I originally was going for the 1740 but chickened out over dead pixels, which I've had on other displays. For what it's worth Formac have a two dead pixels or less guarantee on this display, which is better than Apple's we don't care, go away policy.

The 1740 is a nice display but it is quite old in terms of LCD quality. Niether the 17.4 or the 20.1 is as sharp as the 20" Cinema, although the 20.1 is superior in all other technical respects. The rich colour you refer to is partly due to the contrast ratio which is lower on the Apple. You can mimic the Apple display by changing the colour gamut on the Formac. The 1740 however is not inferior in sharpness and (crucially) pixel refresh rate to the Apple 17" which is very long in the tooth technically. It is also as you point out cheaper and almost an inch bigger, so maybe it is a no-brainer...

I can't concur with Farmboy's comments about Formac's customer service, but I live in the UK, so maybe it's better here. If it is inadequate I don't think it's because they're German! German's don't look down on people any more than Americans do or Swedes or Africans. At the end of the day all companies are the same, they just want your money.