4K TV as a monitor with a Laptop that supports 4k?

**FenceFurniture** · 11th April 2016, 08:42 PM

I've just purchased a 4k (UHD screen) Laptop which supports 4k TV out put (has HDMI port but doesn't specify if it's HDMI 1.4 or 2.0).

No sooner had I completed the purchase this arvo than Aldi sent me an email with a 4k TV for $444 this coming Saturday. The HDMI for the TV is 1.4, and the screen size would be a whopping 40" or ~1 metre.

"I wonder...." thinks I......

Imagine 4 browsers open and all visible when required (say comparing data/specs etc)......ooooh yeah! And I certainly have some spreadsheets that are regularly used that could fill the whole screen and then some

As it turns out it seems it's possible to use the TV as a monitor, but with a drawback or two, such as the screen not powering down when the puta is hibernated or powered off (no big deal), obvious greater electricity draw, and some other technical stuff that is waaaay beyond my 64k pre-silicon brain.

There can be a lag for gaming using a TV but that's not going to worry me in the least....as long as Solitaire can deal the cards in good time......

One issue I can see is the size of the screen only 700mm or so away. I could pull the desk back from the wall and make a structure to support the Tele so it would be a metre or so away.

Here is a Google search on the question of "Can it be used as a monitor".

So this warrants a little bit of discussion and research.

What does the brains trust think?

**Yanis** · 13th April 2016, 12:19 PM

Yes but I would not. The requirements for a monitor are not those for a TV.

I would get a 24-27" monitor from MSY myself.MSY-The name you can trust-More than 19 yrs In IT industry-Nationalwide branches serve you & offer the best IT price everyday

John

**eldertofu** · 13th April 2016, 01:19 PM

I agree, get a larhe monitor and use it as a second screen on the laptop. I run 2 24" monitors on my desktop computer and find it very useful.

**eldertofu** · 13th April 2016, 01:21 PM

I should really spell check. that is supposed to be large and not larhe.

**Yanis** · 13th April 2016, 02:51 PM

Originally Posted by eldertofu

I run 2 24" monitors on my desktop computer and find it very useful.

I run 2x27" myself.

John

**ian** · 13th April 2016, 04:15 PM

Hi Brett

when I was working I ran 2 x 24" monitors -- both 1600 lines deep and whatever they were wide. Screen depth was more important for my applications than screen width.

I only very rarely ran the pair as an extended screen -- I found the eye /head scanning to view both screens just too much. Mostly I would have different applications on both screens, or especially when using GIS, the application's work pane on one and the data / dialog boxes / tools on another. Because both screens supported dual input I also had one of the screens connected through a second PC to another organisation's corporate system -- and before anyone asks, the separate PC and hard wire into the second system was approved by both IT departments and the appropriate data owners.

now that I'm no longer employed, I only occasionally miss having a big screen and I don't think I've missed the second screen at all.

One thing I did notice was that the 24" screen was too wide for my email program -- scanning from left to right along a line of text was an actual pain in the neck -- so I ran email in a box smaller than full screen width.

**Pearo** · 13th April 2016, 07:12 PM

I have a 32" UHd monitor, and I think it is too big. Next to it sits a 27' monitor in portrait mode. The 27" is a better size for working with IMO.

**FenceFurniture** · 13th April 2016, 07:24 PM

Originally Posted by Pearo

I have a 32" UHd monitor, and I think it is too big. Next to it sits a 27' monitor in portrait mode. The 27" is a better size for working with IMO.

How do you find the UHD?

I imagine you have a fair bit of mouse swipes to do to go from one corner to the diagonal opposite of the other screen.

**Chris Parks** · 13th April 2016, 08:16 PM

My son uses a 40" Samsung as a second monitor, I think he mainly uses it to watch YT stuff. I find two 27" monirors work for me especially when I do a lot of file maintenance, I can run two instances of xplorer2 and effectively have four screens or drives open. I never realized how easy it makes life having two monitors until I tried it.

**FenceFurniture** · 13th April 2016, 08:47 PM

Originally Posted by Yanis

Yes but I would not. The requirements for a monitor are not those for a TV.

I would get a 24-27" monitor from MSY myself.MSY-The name you can trust-More than 19 yrs In IT industry-Nationalwide branches serve you & offer the best IT price everyday

John

Thanks John.

This looks pretty cool:
LG IPS 34" 34UM95C-P 5ms 3440x1440 (21:9) HDMI DP SPK LED Backlight LCD Monitor - MSY VIC Online

It has a couple of 7w speakers so I can save a $100 on Saturday by not getting the speakers from Aldi.

**jhovel** · 16th April 2016, 01:22 AM

I think a 4k screen is another animalaltogether. I suggest you at least try it Kryn. You may be pleasantly surprised. At work we had a 40" touch screen on the wall for medical records etc. It wasn't 4k but it was used at arm's length all the time and worked well. But at arm's length the pixellation was annoying a bit. That won't be an issue with 4k.
Looking forward to hearing how you find it.

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