Is there such a thing as larger screens for laptops 17"?
Is there such a thing as larger screens for laptops 17"?
Author
Discussion

r3g

Original Poster:

3,750 posts

54 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
I have a laptop with a 17" screen for when I'm travelling. 17" is not big enough at 1080p res to fit my database across without having annoying horizontal scroll bars. Have tried higher res but this just means all the text gets reduced to the size of a pinprick. Obviously it's impractical to be taking my 24" home monitor around with me. Changing the format of the database is not an option.

Any tech out there to solve this annoying issue? First thought was some sort of fold-up or roll-up screen.

mr momo

152 posts

261 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
Don't shoot, but can you take an HDMI cable and use an HD or 4K TV as a monitor when travelling (many caveats with this question, but...)?

annodomini2

6,971 posts

281 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
r3g said:
I have a laptop with a 17" screen for when I'm travelling. 17" is not big enough at 1080p res to fit my database across without having annoying horizontal scroll bars. Have tried higher res but this just means all the text gets reduced to the size of a pinprick. Obviously it's impractical to be taking my 24" home monitor around with me. Changing the format of the database is not an option.

Any tech out there to solve this annoying issue? First thought was some sort of fold-up or roll-up screen.
Higher res, 1440p or 4k.

ETA: Also make sure scale is set to 100%.

r3g

Original Poster:

3,750 posts

54 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
annodomini2 said:
Higher res, 1440p or 4k.

ETA: Also make sure scale is set to 100%.
"Have tried higher res but this just means all the text gets reduced to the size of a pinprick"

It doesn't matter what settings you use, it's physically impossible to fit the same amount of formatted text in a smaller screen space without

a) the size of the text being reduced.
b) horizontal scroll bars

300bhp/ton

41,030 posts

220 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
r3g said:
annodomini2 said:
Higher res, 1440p or 4k.

ETA: Also make sure scale is set to 100%.
"Have tried higher res but this just means all the text gets reduced to the size of a pinprick"

It doesn't matter what settings you use, it's physically impossible to fit the same amount of formatted text in a smaller screen space without

a) the size of the text being reduced.
b) horizontal scroll bars
Then surely this puzzle is not difficult to solve.

1. A smaller database that does fit on your screen
2. A bigger laptop.

coffee

ZedLeg

12,278 posts

138 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
Have you considered glasses?

Sixpackpert

5,329 posts

244 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
ZedLeg said:
Have you considered glasses?
Also available on JML, quality!

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/super-sight-glasses-led-m...

ZedLeg

12,278 posts

138 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
Sixpackpert said:
ZedLeg said:
Have you considered glasses?
Also available on JML, quality!

https://www.onbuy.com/gb/super-sight-glasses-led-m...
Job jobbed

mmm-five

12,385 posts

314 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
How about a portable 4k projector that you can plug in wherever you want...image can then be as large or small as you need!

Alternatively, do what I did, and get a 21.5" all-in-one. My solution was a 4k iMac (last of the Intel ones for dual-booting) to fit into the rest of my Mac/PC workflow at work/home, but Windows-only (HP/Lenovo) options are available (as are the backpacks for carrying them).





Edited by mmm-five on Tuesday 16th August 20:04

The teacher

126 posts

133 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
VR headset? No idea if that would work, or whether it would be practical, but you could definitely see everything you wanted to.
It's probably a daft idea; just some out of the box thinking.

Brother D

4,445 posts

206 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
I carry a couple of these when travelling

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenScreen-MB16AC-Porta...

pquinn

7,167 posts

76 months

Tuesday 16th August 2022
quotequote all
The teacher said:
VR headset? No idea if that would work, or whether it would be practical, but you could definitely see everything you wanted to.
It's probably a daft idea; just some out of the box thinking.
If you can afford a Varjo you can use it like this as there's Varjo Workspace which can support virtualised monitors and has enough resolution to make them actually readable.



Realistically though you want a USB portable monitor, there's some reasonable sized bus powered ones out there.

Jonny_

4,708 posts

237 months

Wednesday 17th August 2022
quotequote all
If you need physical size as well as resolution, perhaps a portable projector? (Assuming you'll generally have a suitable wall to use.)

I carry a USB-C portable monitor with me for work, it's 15.6" and 4k native resolution, USB-C providing both power and signal. Not as good as a full size monitor but much better than using the laptop screen alone.

ZesPak

26,128 posts

226 months

Friday 19th August 2022
quotequote all
Brother D said:
I carry a couple of these when travelling

https://www.amazon.com/ASUS-ZenScreen-MB16AC-Porta...
Godsend. I've got two of them as well.