Live data from Hacker News

Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

daniel.lawrence.lu

461–470 of 543 posts

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#461
post #9

That's simply too big a screen to be sitting right in front of. I do agree on the basic idea of not running two monitors tho. I used to, and I got neck pains eventually. My current setup is a single 32" curved QHD monitor and I wouldn't change it for the world. It's just the right size so you can see the whole screen at once, yet large enough to run 3 browsers side by side. Also, I want to suggest people to learn abo…

I use a Macbook - but the slow and cumbersome animations for virtual desktops mean that I hardly use them.

In accessibility setting you can turn the animations off so the screen just flips instantly.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#462
post #194
post #174

Author here, ask me anything! Apart from programming, one of the motivations for getting the 8K display is to look at lidar point clouds. For example the desktop background in my post is a lidar map of Bernal Hill in San Francisco, which I've here downsampled to only 13006 x 7991 px for your convenience [1]. Admittedly, when I bought it at first, I didn't realize there would be so many random issues, as manufacturers…

Do you have 20/20 eyesight, and how tall are you? I use glasses (myopia) and can kind of tolerate the edges of my 32" 4k monitor, but I can't fathom craning my neck all the way up to the edges of a 55"+ display. Not to mention font sizes.

> craning my neck

IIRC, some monitors have curved surfaces. Maybe that feature would help you?

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#463

> The bezels and gaps in between the monitors introduce distractions and one is limited in how one may arrange terminals and windows across multiple displays. To me, the segmentation is a feature. It lets me offload information density and focus. For example, I commonly have an editor on one screen, a browser on the second, and something like a chat app, terminal, etc on the laptop screen.

Same, not to mention I can wrap them around me better with mounting arms so that I'm looking at each head on just by turning my head a bit.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#464
post #441
post #174

Author here, ask me anything! Apart from programming, one of the motivations for getting the 8K display is to look at lidar point clouds. For example the desktop background in my post is a lidar map of Bernal Hill in San Francisco, which I've here downsampled to only 13006 x 7991 px for your convenience [1]. Admittedly, when I bought it at first, I didn't realize there would be so many random issues, as manufacturers…

Here's my central question: In the early 4k era, whenever I saw a TV used as a monitor, the eye strain was high. It was too bright, too contrasty, and generally, the picture was not great for using for things like programming. In addition, many TVs would do not-so-great things to the picture, the worst being digitally sharpening the image (which resulted in e.g. a halo effect around small text). This might not bother…

Many (most?) current TVs has either a game or PC mode which can be set on your HDMI to disable these "improvements".

I think this is primarily driven by console gamers to the benefits of PC users. Our needs align here.

If you check rtings.com they usually evaluate how good the TVs are as a monitor.

You might still have issues with local dimming etc. But that is the price of cheap. Better models works really good today.

I am using a really cheapo LG 43" 4K as a monitor. Properly adjusted it is usable. Would I like better? Yes. But it is worth the trade off. And there are only a few options for a "proper" 4K monitor at 43". I find that a little strange as it hits the sweet spot around 110ppi. I used to used dual monitors but I much prefer a (I know: comically) large screen. Only real annoyance I have is that it does not turn off automatically like a real monitor using DPMS. This means that I have to turn it on using a button. It will turn off after 15 min if there is no signal. Like in the olden days.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#465
It's strange how Retina-level PPI has mostly been ignored by the market. There are some options, but not a lot, and certainly not much competition. Would like to upgrade from my 1440p 144hz Nixeus IPS display for awhile, but haven't found much.

I'd be willing to give up >60hz refresh rates, which pulls in the Apple Studio Display, but it also only has one port, which means I'd be giving up my gaming PC. That was mostly on the way out anyway, but it's currently a psychological blocker.

Has monitor tech stagnated, or is this another case of the tyranny of the majority (less-than-Retina PPI) crowding out everything else?

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#466

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How about the (in)famous Amazon Door Desk? They used to build desks for their offices from a door.

Just don't let Bezos attach the legs .. by all accounts he was a shitty carpenter at best and the wobble factor was high. Nothing wrong with doors as desk, just get the framing solid. https://www.aboutamazon.com.au/news/workplace/how-a-door-bec... Half inch thick solid kiln dried door sized jarrah hardwood is even better .. but that's likely not to hand for most and expensive to order if not.

I had to lookup "jarrah". Ref: https://www.wood-database.com/jarrah/

Is this available outside of Australia? Your suggestion seems oddly specific.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#467
post #415
post #382

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The power is not so bad, especially compared to the graphics cards you would want to use (and I use my GPU as a tow warmer). Samsung 8k specifically comes with low power presets which are probably usable in this scenario. Of course with so many more pixels in 8k than in 4k there is need for more power but the EU regulation allows selling them if they also support an eco mode. I am old enough to recall 100W as the typ…

The eco mode is not usable, it's the manufacturer's way around a ban of 8k monitors. These monitors use at least twice what other monitors of the same size use, sometimes it's four times as much. And these measurements are probably in eco mode, so it could be worse. > I am old enough to recall 100W as the typical single light bulb and I still use an electric tea kettle that touches the multi kW range daily. Not sure…

I always turn my monitors to the lowest possible brightness for long work sessions, so I assumed (perhaps mistakenly) that this eco mode would already be close to my settings out of the box, and if anything, too bright. Assuming 20c per kWh (California rates, mostly solar during the day) and one kWh per day (8h at 130kW average use), much higher than the allowed EU limit and the eco mode, the monetary cost comes down to about 4 USD per month. So definitely not negligible but also not a reason to avoid being able to tile 64 terminals if one wanted to do that.

[edit: the above estimate is almost certainly an upper bound on the energy I would ever use myself with such an item; I would be curious to measure it properly if/when I upgrade to one, and curious if the OP has a measure of their own usage. My best guess is that in practice I would average between 2 and 3 kWh every week (2 USD/month) rather than 5 kWh, because I tend to work in low light.]

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#468
I just bought a 32 inch monitor and can't stand it.

27 inch is the sweet spot for me. The further through my career the more i've effective with smaller screen space and I am.

I actually prefer working on my 16 mbp nowadays.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#469

> The bezels and gaps in between the monitors introduce distractions and one is limited in how one may arrange terminals and windows across multiple displays. To me, the segmentation is a feature. It lets me offload information density and focus. For example, I commonly have an editor on one screen, a browser on the second, and something like a chat app, terminal, etc on the laptop screen.

Yeah that issue seems weird to me, because I've never found bezels themselves to be that much of a problem. Like sure, less bezel is better. But I have some pretty wide gaps in my work monitors, and I've never found it to be a problem. This article, and a lot of "productivity" articles, feel like spending a lot of time and effort for marginal-at-best improvements. I don't know their specific workflow, but I'm pretty…

Its not a problem until you want to watch a movie or play a game, then you have a black bar down the middle. Compared with the opposite or just having one screen to split as youd like virtually.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#470
post #407

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I feel like there are not good quality hardware company nowadays. Dell: the land of motherboard dying and dog shit trackpads. Asus: dead soldered RAM. Most BIOS: too long to boot, it's fucking 2024 what is your BIOS doing it needs more than 2s to boot? It was taking the same time to boot 30 years ago. Every mouse: double click problem due to wrong use of the actuators. And every hardware company has to try to cram so…

> too long to boot, it's fucking 2024 what is your BIOS doing it needs more than 2s to boot? Me crying in first-gen Ryzen/x370 with my upward of 20 seconds POST time.

You'll love ddr5 times.
Post reply on HN