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The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

m.thewirecutter.com

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Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#31

Post by dman »

dublinben wrote: post #17
eterm wrote: post #8

What bothers me about 4k is the switching of terms. 4k makes it sound like it has 4 times the vertical resolution of 1080p, but for pure marketing reasons, suddenly instead of the 4k referring to vertical resolution as 1080 did, it refers to horizontal resolution, so is really only twice the horizontal resolution of the 1920 that 1080p had. Overall that's 4 times the pixels because of squaring, but still!

We really ought to insist on using more correct terms like UHD (Ultra High Definition = 3840×2160 pixels) and only referring to "true" 4K cinema (4096 × 2160 pixels) content/equipment as 4K.

We can do better, how about having marketing be based on

a) Number of pixels in scientific notation

b) Alternatively log base 10 of number of pixels

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#32

Post by ScotterC »

state wrote: post #18
ScotterC wrote: post #12

I absolutely love wirecutter. If they're not already making ends meet then I'd happily donate for this kind of honesty and quality reviews.

Related: http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/17/business/media/buffeted-by...

Thanks for that!

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#33

Post by micampe »

dman wrote: post #31
dublinben wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We really ought to insist on using more correct terms like UHD (Ultra High Definition = 3840×2160 pixels) and only referring to "true" 4K cinema (4096 × 2160 pixels) content/equipment as 4K.

We can do better, how about having marketing be based on a) Number of pixels in scientific notation b) Alternatively log base 10 of number of pixels

They do that for digital camera displays and it’s super confusing.

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#34

Post by potatolicious »

devindotcom wrote: post #22
javipas wrote: post #10

The ASUS PB287Q, AOC U2868PQU and Samsung U28D590D all support UHD resolutions at 60Hz and DisplayPort 1.2 SST. That means that they support working with just "one tile", they don't give the problems the previous dual-tile solutions. I don't really see the problem with these new monitors that are good enough for most people. Good price, the TN panels are quite decent (confirmed by reviews both at The Tech Report ( ht…

I don't mind playing games in a lower resolution and letting it scale up to the monitor's res - I consider the stretching to 4K a form of "natural" (if sloppy) anti-aliasing.

Scaling is a problem on a lot of 4K monitors right now. IIRC the Dells will display everything at their native resolution - so a 1080p signal will sit as a box in the center of your screen surrounded by black.

There's a reason why the current batch of 4K monitors are considered immature. The lack of "real" (single-tile) input, the inability to handle 60Hz inputs, the inability to scale, etc etc. Looks like the latest round of model updates solve some of these, but IMO it's not quite time yet.

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#35

Post by dman »

micampe wrote: post #33
dman wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

We can do better, how about having marketing be based on a) Number of pixels in scientific notation b) Alternatively log base 10 of number of pixels

They do that for digital camera displays and it’s super confusing.

That was meant to be in jest - though i would probably chuckle if I saw a marketing banner that said "All new Monitors now with 5.02 x 10^7 pixels"

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#36

Post by wbond »

mortenjorck wrote: post #20

...though you’d be foolish to buy a 24-inch 4K display, we can only hope that Intel and Samsung’s ambitions can push down prices on larger displays. Unless you're a Mac user, in which case you'd be foolish to buy anything else. Reposting from my comment last year: At 28", a 3840 x 2160 panel has a PPI of 157, which sits right between Retina and non-Retina densities. This means that on a Mac, you’ll have to use it one…

I run a Dell 31.5" 4k and find it a perfect fit with the rMBP running at the (effective) 1920x1200 resolution. The Dell runs around 140ppi and the effective ppi of the rMBP is around 140 also. I find it to be an excellent combination. The quality of the Dell is outstanding.

A co-worker got two of the Dell 28" 4Ks and they were too small for 1:1 and just a waste for 1920x1080. Anything in between was jagged. The 30Hz was pretty terrible also.

Maybe two 24" displays would be ok, but I'd rather have the extra pixel real-estate in a single display instead of smoother font and graphic rendering.

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#37

Post by zyb09 »

On the one hand I can't wait for 4k and high PPI mode adaption. Retina Macbooks already show just how pretty it is.

But the whole thing doesn't seem ready yet outside the Mac ecosystem. I see lots of issues with 4k:

- Going from 120 hz back to 60 hz, or even less. Seeing how they are struggling to get a 60hz monitor to the market, it's probably going to be a long time until we see 120 hz monitors.

- Software adaption for high PPI modes is going to take time.

- Games at 4k at 120 fps are going to be a problem for the GPU.

- Movies are going to be the biggest bandwidth hog ever, or ridden with compression artifacts.

So I'm not terribly exited yet. I probably still going to end up being an early adapter and eat through all these issues, but I think I'll wait at least one more year.

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#38

Post by ariwilson »

potatolicious wrote: post #34
devindotcom wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I don't mind playing games in a lower resolution and letting it scale up to the monitor's res - I consider the stretching to 4K a form of "natural" (if sloppy) anti-aliasing.

Scaling is a problem on a lot of 4K monitors right now. IIRC the Dells will display everything at their native resolution - so a 1080p signal will sit as a box in the center of your screen surrounded by black. There's a reason why the current batch of 4K monitors are considered immature. The lack of "real" (single-tile) input, the inability to handle 60Hz inputs, the inability to scale, etc etc. Looks like the latest…

I have the Asus PB287Q and it scales perfectly to 1080p (and does the 60Hz input, single-tile input), etc, etc. The only downside is the TN panel but it's much better than any TN panel I've ever used.

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#39

Post by rdl »

I gave in and bought one of the Seiki 4K 39" displays for $330 over the weekend -- it's far from ideal, but it's $330. I'm sure I can resell it for >$200 when I get something better in a few months or a year, but it's an entirely serviceable monitor.

(The $330 deal was a $399 TigerDirect with a $70 MIR, free shipping, no CA tax. Ended Monday, but I'm sure it will return.)

Re: The best 4K monitor doesn’t exist yet

#40

Post by ben336 »

listic wrote: post #24
ScotterC wrote: post #12

I absolutely love wirecutter. If they're not already making ends meet then I'd happily donate for this kind of honesty and quality reviews.

For those not familiar with The Wirecutter, is their concept "the best value-conscious buy"? I was looking for a review for a MicroSD card to use with a Surface Pro convertible tablet I'm going to buy, and they didn't review 128GB or 64GB models, just 32GB and 16GB ones "because they're very expensive and most people don't need that much space on a microSD card". http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-microsd-card/

The idea is "best X for most people". They will occasionally recommend some higher-market stuff (IE $1600 for their recommended standing desk) but only when they feel the low-end stuff is junk. I've found them to be fairly reliable. When I've bought or already owned stuff they've recommended it generally has ranged from "decent value" to "great choice" Since they review a range of products for each thing and give tradeoffs its generally a great one-stop place to make decisions on things you don't want to spend a long time researching
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