DIY Apple Studio Display uses 2014 iMac to save $730
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Keeping in mind my eyes aren't what they used to be, from the images I saw on MY monitor, the DIY panel was largely sharper and clearer to me. Only the first image comparison did I think it was too dark compared to the Studio Display example.
Interesting things motivated people can do with hardware these days.
Interesting things motivated people can do with hardware these days.
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Maybe it's just me, but the color differences in the comparison images seem quite noticeable (in particular, the DIY monitor's images seem too blue).
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Looks like some enterprising person should start selling kits for this, iFixit, eBay, etc. However it looks like he should have grabbed the factory-calibration profile before rewiring.
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Frosty Grin
Ars Legatus Legionis
It's amazing how human ingenuity can solve the mistake of putting the screen and the computer into the same case. 
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Because they can. It's an interesting DIY project that turns E-waste into something useful. If you want perfect you pay full price.
Edit Footnote: Colour accuracy is important but is not the be all and end all in every circumstance. For Video, once the project is final on your screen it gets displayed on a multitude of uncalibrated TVs, Monitors, Phones & Tablets, although for a project with multiple staff and machines accuracy is quite important. For Design there's Pantone, RAL etc.
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This is a replacement for the Studio Display, not the Pro Display XDR. In terms of the “other brands”, there’s currently one additional 27” 5K display on the market — and the monitor (overall) receives mixed reviews for build quality and reliability.
Regardless, the answer to your question Why? is simple. Because they can and they want to.
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It's a cool project, but is this actually better than a new $871 display? That would get you a really nice monitor.
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It does to me too, but in normal use, you probably wouldn't have both next to each other anyway.
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There are? I thought LG had just a single 5k monitor. Are there others? Speakers/webcam is another perk.
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It's not the Pro Display XDR - this is just an LED panel that can take most off-the-shelf colorimeters. And if you want your display to remain accurate over a life cycle, you want your own calibration workflow.
With all the hardware he's getting I'm surprised he didn't at least try to just calibrate the 2nd display to P3. IIRC it is the same panel, maybe a few batches older with worse QC and consistency, so it should calibrate just as well. White point will probably have to be matched visually, but no reason you couldn't also line that up.
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The DIY model definitely seems brighter than the official image. Whether that's bringing it closer or further from what it should be is hard to tell without some kind of reference image.
This isn't the sort of DIY project anyone would likely be able to do, but it is cool.
This isn't the sort of DIY project anyone would likely be able to do, but it is cool.
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Well, it isn’t E-waste. He bought a fully functioning iMac as per the article.
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LG is the other brand. If you are going to go the DIY route, you can just buy the panel (LM270QQ2) and put it into a case for even cheaper than this.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/2251832663070476.html
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Yeah, I wouldn't consider a working 2014 iMac as e-waste either. It is officially limited to macOS 11.0, but I think Apple is still supporting that with security fixes. It can run 12.0 with an unofficial patch. Or it would work fine with Windows or Linux.
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I never did understand why they didn't just offer a couple external ports you could use as well to turn the iMac into a dumb display. Monitors (if good) can last well past when the computer is slow.
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I'm posting this from a 2014 5k iMac, with a Mac Studio on order and no 5k monitor to use with it. The described project is very tempting...
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Apple needs to bring back Target Display Mode on the iMac so you can use it as a monitor for another computer again easily. Seemed like a great way to save desk space with multiple computers (if you don't need them at the same time) and a way to keep using an iMac as it ages and maybe isn't up to being your primary computer anymore instead of wasting the computer and display as ewaste
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Yeah, the two monitors are definitely not at the same brightness, since one of them is clipping the sensor at a bunch of points (see the teacup photos), and the other isn't.
Although, in fairness, fine tuning brightness on the TB3 only displays is a pain. You have stock profiles that lock at a certain nit, and they are pretty precise, but if I want to profile for 300 nits and 300 nits isn't exactly on one of the brightness stops, there's no easy way to make it stick to 300.
It's not that hard of a DIY project, though, all the parts are available on Aliexpress and you can even get a new housing for the panel.
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macosandlinux
Ars Praefectus
Good for 'views' on YT or for a hobby project if you can find a cheap used 5K iMac. The fact that anybody would spend $800 on an 8-year old, worn-out, bad-gamut display makes not much sense after all. Just buy a used iMac 5K 2020 for a few hundred more or get a new 4.5K iMac.
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You answer your own question. It would make it easier to keep using as it ages.
Apple wants you to replace it.
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I didn't watch the full video yet-- did he buy a fully functional iMac because he needed it to be fully functional for the conversion? Or because a "broken" one with a claimed functional panel was just going to be a hassle to deal with and confirm that the bits he needs do in fact work?
If the latter, then I might still classify this as an e-waste DIY where this was just the "prototype run" and future builds would be done on non-functional units.
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You could sell the working internals to offset the price further – these logic boards sell for like $250 used, and there might be other components as well.
Well, that just tanked the used iMac 5K market. Geez ;-)
What I'd like to know is how well the adapter they bought really works on Mac OS. I have had intermittent sleep/wake problems with other 4K DP monitors before. And whether removing the light sensor would mess up the calibration and how well could it be actually calibrated after – is it only a software calibration (ICC profile), or a hardware one? Does it use the original calibration profile or not? I wouldn't mind a 5K monitor with some DIY work, but the devil is in the details...
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What is it with Youtubers making video preview pictures where they make the dumbest-looking face possible? Is there a metric somewhere that says people are more likely to click on videos if the person doing it looks like a fucking idiot? Cause it definitely has the complete opposite effect on me.
(Sorry about the off-topic, just wanted to vent on that particular subject)
(Sorry about the off-topic, just wanted to vent on that particular subject)
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That's at $577 for the panel and driver board shipped, without a case/stand/webcam/speakers/power supply. I personally don't know that I'd be able to finish it to OEM-like quality under $300, though if you have access to a CNC or laser cutter and a 3d printer it might be different.
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IMO the use case is people who have the iMac, and want to continue using the $500 panel with modern hardware.
I would bet money that with a simple profiling you could bring that display to 99% P3. LCDs color drift over time as they lose max brightness, but they don't really degrade to the point where the same color coverage can't be achieved. I've been to printing studios with 15-year-old Eizo's, and those are responsible for far more color critical work than a 2014 iMac will ever see.
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Apparently YouTube itself recommends that YouTubers include their faces in the thumbnail so the video is more compelling. Not sure if they also recommend that they do this with a stupid facial expression, but it seems that most people interpret it this way.
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oh, this is tempting me, wonder if it'd work on the 2013 iMac i have that's currently collecting dust...
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Here's another take on the same project by the lead maintainer of OpenCore Legacy Patcher, who recently got a 2014 iMac to debug OCLP issues, and then decided to convert it:
https://khronokernel.github.io/macos/20 ... NITOR.html
As the current owner of a 2014 iMac who's bitter that I can't use its screen with a modern Mac I've been seriously thinking about this. Just wish there was an easy way to keep said iMac's still functioning guts working into a new screenless case.
https://khronokernel.github.io/macos/20 ... NITOR.html
As the current owner of a 2014 iMac who's bitter that I can't use its screen with a modern Mac I've been seriously thinking about this. Just wish there was an easy way to keep said iMac's still functioning guts working into a new screenless case.
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It's the tiktok equivalent of "Five fun hacks cleaning companies don't want you to know!"
Personally as a boomer, I take it as a "stay clear!" indicator. But then, I find most youtube tech videos really obnoxious – if a picture is worth a thousand words, video is worth none. If they can't be bothered to write a coherent article a few pages long with sources and citations, diagrams and pictures, I can't be bothered to watch their hour-long video about some technical issue...
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I remember years ago Linus Sebastian responded to this on one of his live chats. Apparently, yes, if you look at the data the dumb face and bright colors drive engagement. The reason that everybody does it is that it works. So...don't hate the player, hate the game, I guess?
It's worth keeping in mind that the Youtube audience, even for this stuff, skews young. So for every older person turned away they're probably attracting three 13-year-olds.
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Nope. Unfortunately Apple seems to have stopped supporting 11.x. There's been at least one round of security updates for 12.x that still haven't made it to 11.x. I pay a bit more attention to this because my work issued laptop is a 2014 model so the idea of an EFI hack to let it run 12.x is out, and really not my responsibility. The employer should be keeping track of these things and making sure to retire all older units, and without getting into specifics, let's just say there's no particular excuse for my current employer.
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How does getting to use it as a monitor prevent you from buying a new computer?
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It doesn't, but it obviates your need to buy an Apple Studio Display.
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I'm not sure how you missed it, but Apple sells monitors also. If you can just repurpose your old iMac into a monitor, you don't need to buy their new monitor.
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That's too bad, I thought Apple usually supported previous versions of macOS for about two years.
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They still do, but they're doing a really sloppy job at it. Catalina and Big Sur are still getting updates, but at least one major security issue has fallen through. Ars did an article about it a few weeks back.
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