Are ANY pro editors using Apple Display?

[Jeff Markgraf]

Well, yes and no…(warning – long post)

The two monitor setup has a long history, but I would suggest that has more to do with the limited size and resolution of older video cards and monitors. Back when a 21″ computer monitor was a >$1000 proposition, and 800×600 was considered high resolution, you made do with 2 15″ or 17″ monitors on that Avid. And you still felt like you were always running out of room. Not to mention the heat from 2 of the really big CRT monitors was a huge problem in a bay already overstuffed with tape deck, BOB, “Pizza box” effects unit, TBC, 19″ or 21″ broadcast pix monitor — plus a nervous client or two.

I’ve been editing a few years (OK- more than a few years) and I just started using a single 30″ Apple display. The 24″ HD pix monitor is directly above and a few feet “behind” the edit monitor. No more cluttered desk. No more swiveling the head between 3 different monitors. Little or no head movement needed to switch from one to the other – just lift the eyes. This layout has done a lot to mitigate neck & back tension during long edit sessions. And the pen & tablet nipped an incipient carpal tunnel issue in the bud.

(For the Old Folks: I first worked with this kind of layout back in a linear bay with the Axial 20/20 with the source video integrated into the EDL display. It was such a great setup, I couldn’t imagine why no one had done it before.)

Granted, I do mostly promo editing/producing, so my bin & viewer requirements are certainly simpler than a documentary or long-form editor. But I find I have no problem getting to my footage quickly. Using the pen in “mouse” mode lets me get around the huge screen easily.

So while I’d never tell anyone it’s wrong to use a traditional 2 monitors + pix monitor setup, I also wouldn’t dismiss a single monitor setup out of hand.