30" LCD

[expance]

Are any of the 30" LCD's that are out right now "future proof" enough that are worth their price? would a display port be manditory for ths size of monitor?

[enaberif]

Originally Posted by expance

Are any of the 30" LCD's that are out right now "future proof" enough that are worth their price? would a display port be manditory for ths size of monitor?

30" is not future proof at all as nobody is using 30" screens unless your absolutely mad.

Most people stick with a 22 or 24 screen.

[Tomvill]

Too me 30" is just to big especially for gaming ' If you want to game at the monitors native resolution your gonna need a absolutely top notch card. I,m moving up to maybe 24 " screen and that,ll do me for a long time...

And to be honest theirs no such thing as long term future proofing in computers and electronics Theirs always something better comming out..

Some guys love the huge screens and thats their choice but ask yourself what do you want to do with it and can you justify the cost..

[SKYMTL]

I don't think Displayport is a MUST but it would be great to have even though it would drive up the price of the screen. That being said, the only thing I think is a MUST is for the monitor to be HDCP compliant. I have the Samsung 305T and while it has literally THE best picture I have seen (and I have seen MANY monitors in my day) the fact that it doesn't have HDCP is a serious blemish on an otherwise outstanding product.

[t0m]

if you are going to get it for use on a pc, make sure to do some research and get one that supports a decent resolution (preferably 1080p or higher). if you look at this one, youll find that its a dirty big expensive screen with a pretty lame resolution of 1366 x 768...that is definitely not future proof, in fact its almost obsolete considering that 1080p is sorta the 'holy grail' of hd content right now.

[Jmac]

Originally Posted by t0m

if you are going to get it for use on a pc, make sure to do some research and get one that supports a decent resolution (preferably 1080p or higher). if you look at this one, youll find that its a dirty big expensive screen with a pretty lame resolution of 1366 x 768...that is definitely not future proof, in fact its almost obsolete considering that 1080p is sorta the 'holy grail' of hd content right now.

I think we're talking about 30" 2560x1600 PC monitors here, not HDTVs.

Anyways, I really like the HP LP3065; fantastic monitor, uses a top-notch S-IPS panel, good ergonomic stand, USB hub built-in, and a great price.
HP LP3065 30-inch Widescreen LCD Monitor overview - HP Small & Medium Business products

The Dell 3008WFP offers every major and upcoming port available (Analog, DVI-D (Digital)6 with HDCP, HDMI, S-Video, Component, Composite, DisplayPort) and is supposed to be a great monitor, although I question just how much better it could be considering the price. You might be able to find a good deal on one during Dell's days of deals which they have on occasion.
Dell : Dell UltraSharp 3008WFP 30'' Widescreen LCD Monitor with Height Adjustable Stand : Monitors : Home & Home Office

As SKYMTL mentioned, the Samsung 305T is excellent, but lacks HDCP as well as inputs like HDMI and Displayport. Fortunately, Samsung released the XL30 to replace it earlier this year which does support HDCP (though it still only supports DVI-D input) plus it feature the new LED backlight system for enhanced colour gamut and screen uniformity.
XL30 LCD - monitors SAMSUNG

The Apple Cinema Display 30" is another good choice as well (and easily the most stylish outside of the professional market), though it lacks many of the features that competing monitors offer including ergonomics.
Apple Store (Canada) - Apple Cinema HD Display (30" flat panel)

EIZO and NEC also make very good 30" monitors.
NEC Display Solutions » MultiSync LCD3090WQXi-BK
EIZO FlexScan SX3031W

In this segment of the monitor market, there really aren't any bad monitors as they all use pretty much the best of everything. Just pick the one that has the features you want/need.

[belgolas]

Personally I would go with a 24" screen just because for the price you can get a 24" screen with 3000:1 contrast ratio and fast response time. Also with a 30" screen you are going to want a very high end card to be able to use that 2560 x 1200 res.

Another option would be to get an HDTV for less but be bigger and have better picture quality.

Like a TH-42PZ80U - VIERA® Plasma HDTVs - Shop and Compare at Panasonic

We have that T.V. and love it.

Personally a 30" LCD monitor is only good if you want the 2560 x 1200 res.

[Jmac]

Originally Posted by belgolas

Personally I would go with a 24" screen just because for the price you can get a 24" screen with 3000:1 contrast ratio and fast response time. Also with a 30" screen you are going to want a very high end card to be able to use that 2560 x 1200 res.

Another option would be to get an HDTV for less but be bigger and have better picture quality.

Like a TH-42PZ80U - VIERA® Plasma HDTVs - Shop and Compare at Panasonic

We have that T.V. and love it.

Personally a 30" LCD monitor is only good if you want the 2560 x 1200 res.

Generally when you're looking at a 30" monitor, you're looking to it for professional quality graphic or photo work. The 30" panels have extremely high-resolution which makes editing large photos or multi-tasking a breeze plus they have S-IPS panels which have the best colour accuracy and panel uniformity on the market.

Plasmas and 24" TN panels are NOT good choices if that's what he's after.

Of course, the OP hasn't actually said what he's using the monitor for, so the Plasma or TN panel may be decent if he's just in it for games or movies..

[lowfat]

I've been wanting a 30" display for a long time. But unfortunately none have what I am looking for so far

The Gateway XHD3000 looks like a good display on paper, but I've heard their QC is pretty awful. Tons of the displays have very bad bleeding and the scaler causes pretty bad input lag.

The Dell 3008WFP also looks like a great display, but also having QC issues which is why it isn't being sold currently. Scaler also causes input lag, which from what I've heard is much worse than the XHD3000.

The Samsung 305T and the Dell 3007WFP are good displays, however have very few inputs.

Samsung's new display is just to damned expensive for the average consumer.

NEC's looks good, but not enough inputs either.

What I would like to see is a monitor like the 3008WFP, but have one DVI port that bypasses the scaler. Because who really doesn't use the maximum res on their display when hooked up to a computer.

So I am patiently waiting for some new displays to arrive. And for multitaskers, a 24" screen is way to small.

[expance]

Well at the moment I am using a Dell 2405fpw and have been thinking of upgrading to a 30" . I use it for pretty much everything, editing, games, staring mindlessly at icons . A bigger monitor to me is like having a bigger desk, more room for your junk and elbow space.
From what it sounds like is $1600 is not going to get me $1600 worth of monitor right now. I don't mind paying the price if it's good quality.
I guess I'll have to wait another year or so...