Using a TV as a computer monitor?

[RSTurboPaul]

The waffle:

I am finally in gainful employment (good) but 100% WFH for the foreseeable future (bad).

I'm still awaiting any IT kit from work but am struggling on with an old laptop.

Work are, as always, offering crap, small display choices to choose from in the ordering process.



The facts:

I like a big screen with high resolution and am thinking of just buying my own.

Once you start getting to 30"+ monitors, the prices end up the same as 40" (or even larger) LED 4K TVs (i.e. £300+)

It seems the work laptop (Dell Latitude 3510) will have an 'Intel UHD Graphics' card(?) built-in and therefore should run one screen at 4K/UHD, possibly with another at QHD(? 2560x1440?), if I plug one into the USB-C/Mini DisplayPort and one into the HDMI.


Work is Excel and Word and Outlook, so nothing requiring a perfectly calibrated / HDR screen...

... but at some point I might like to add a PS4/PS5 - so low response times and 50"+ would be ideal for that.


The Questions:

- are there any negatives to running a 4K TV as a work screen?

- do TVs have low response times for (future) gaming?

- how large is 'too large' if I'm sitting at a desk staring at it from 2' away?



Any help or recommendations would be most gratefully received!

Thank you in advance, kind burghers of PH.

[sjg]

I have for a couple of years. Samsung 40” 4k, so it’s about as wide as a 34” ultrawide (and similar pixel density) but with more height and it was under half the price at the time.

Been very happy with it, windows works well when you pull something to the corner and it snaps to that quadrant - it’s like having 4 1080p screens. The size means 4k is pretty usable although I still have it on 125% scaling. It’s a bit big for fast moving games but I tend to go for slower strategy stuff, fine for that.

Downsides: HDMI only, 60hz refresh, won’t go to sleep when the computer does, so you need the remote handy for power on/off and input switching, else it’s the tiny awkward buttons on the back.

[Noel1983]

I’ve just bought a Samsung 43” 4K tv and having a nightmare getting it to display right from my MacBook Air M1

So far I’ve got 4K resolution but only 30hz and the colour display on menu bars is speckled like something out of windows 3.1!!!

43” IMO is a bit too big for 2 feet away, I’m having to move my head a lot which isn’t ideal, 32” was great, suspect 38” or 40” maybe a sweet spot for me if only I can find something that just works

Oh and there’s a special place in hell reserved for the people that design tv software that’s slow to change sources

Back in 1998 changing source was super quick, now it’s a few second affair! Bonkers!

Any recommendations for a sensibly priced tv/screen with sound for a MacBook Air m1 appreciated, least these days it’s easy to send stuff back!

[GregK2]

I've been using this for the last year for work and love it. Looked enormous coming from 22" monitors, still have a 22 next to it and it just looks tiny now.
https://www.ebuyer.com/838778-aoc-q3279vwfd8-31-5-...

[Camelot1971]

I use a Samsung Q95T 75" TV as my work monitor and home cinema screen. It's completely brilliant! 4k 120Hz with 200% scaling in Windows. I sit about 6 feet away from it and from a field of vision perspective it's about the same as having a 30" monitor on your desk right in front of you.

The issue with cheap TV's is they might not be able to do 1:1 on pixel to screen resolution (they tend to overscan), so text can appear blurry. The mainstream brands should be ok though. Be wary if you are going to sit very close to the screen - large screens can be overwhelming up close and the brightness can be very fatiguing. Also, if you can find a TV that will run at 120Hz at its native resolution, that will really help if you are sensitive to flicker.

[gus607]

I used a 55" LED but was far too big & not energy efficient. That was replaced with a Sony 32" which is far better.

[sjg]

Noel1983 said:

43” IMO is a bit too big for 2 feet away, I’m having to move my head a lot which isn’t ideal

I hear this from some people. I generally don't have any windows be physically bigger than they'd be on a 24" - you hardly ever need to maximise anything. Head movement should be limited to switching tasks/views much like you would on a multi monitor setup.

I use a dark / non-distracting background so if you only have a couple of apps open your eyes aren't being blasted by a bright picture behind.

[RSTurboPaul]

Thanks for the great replies, all, lots to think about


Brain says c.40" would be ideal for work.

Emotion says a 65" rig for later PS4 gaming would be better, and I can just sit on the other side of the room

[MrOrange]

I have recently bought a 48” LG OLED as a monitor for my Macbook Pro. I run it at something like 3200 x 1800 res and its epic from about 4ft away. Aside from the rubber necking when clicking on menus. I note that I use the central 2k for primary work and scatter other apps around the periphery. I also have a 27” iMac and the increase in usable workspace is dramatic and very useful on the larger screen.

The screen supports 120hz but I’m sure the MacBook doesn’t. Full screen video is mind-blowing. I’ll not go back to puny sub-30 inch monitors.

[RSTurboPaul]

MrOrange said:

I have recently bought a 48” LG OLED as a monitor for my Macbook Pro. I run it at something like 3200 x 1800 res and its epic from about 4ft away. Aside from the rubber necking when clicking on menus. I note that I use the central 2k for primary work and scatter other apps around the periphery. I also have a 27” iMac and the increase in usable workspace is dramatic and very useful on the larger screen.

The screen supports 120hz but I’m sure the MacBook doesn’t. Full screen video is mind-blowing. I’ll not go back to puny sub-30 inch monitors.

Nice!!

Not sure my budget would run to that...

Do you fear 'burn-in' with things staying stationary in the same locations for long periods when working?

[sgrimshaw]

If you decide to go for a TV, then I'd highly recommend Richer Sounds to get it from, 6 year warranty as standard.

[Funk]

I use my 55' 4K Sony TV as my main PC screen for personal use - everything runs from that. As others have mentioned, you may need to play about with scaling and overscanning settings to get it right for the distance you're sat from it. But I wouldn't use it for WFH, not least because I don't want to be sat on the sofa for work!

I have another PC with a pair of dual 1080p monitors on my desk which is perfect - having one thing on one screen and one thing on another is just so much easier, not to mention that I'm sat properly in a supportive chair and proper ergo keyboard etc. Your post made me think whether I'd want a larger, single panel and I suppose it would work fine, but I don't want to have to keep looking up and down (at the moment my screens are at perfect head-height) so it would depend on the overall size of the panel.

Technically there's no reason why it shouldn't be an option though.

Edited by Funk on Thursday 18th March 12:35

[MrOrange]

sgrimshaw said:

If you decide to go for a TV, then I'd highly recommend Richer Sounds to get it from, 6 year warranty as standard.

Yup. That's where I bought mine. The screen has a "brightness" thing that keeps subtly changing the backlights across the screen and IIRC some pixel shift thing that should guard against that - neither are distracting. Plus I have the 6-year warranty so pretty covered.

LG marketing blurb on burn-in https://www.lg.com/us/experience-tvs/oled-tv/relia...