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Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

daniel.lawrence.lu

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Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#451

Post by JohnBooty »

Tepix wrote: post #415
pama wrote: 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’m guilty of this as well. Folks of a certain age will always tend to measure energy consumption in “light bulbs.”

Sort of like how Americans always measure size in “football (gridiron) fields.”

The energy consumption of a traditional incandescent bulb, while obviously inexact, in nonetheless somewhat of a useful rough relative measurement. It is a power draw that is insignificant enough that we don’t mind running a few of them simultaneously when needed, yet significant enough that we recognize they ought to be turned off when not needed.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#452

Post by speleding »

dllu wrote: 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…

In case you're wondering whether this works on a Mac, like I did, I found this source[0]. In short, you need an M2 Pro or better, and may need to edit a plist file to get it to work.

[0] https://scottstuff.net/posts/2023/10/10/samsung-8k/

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#453

Post by JohnBooty »

alpaca128 wrote: post #433
callc wrote: post #365

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes. It makes the experience much better when anything is moving. Hard to convince by words, it’s a try it and then go back to 60 to see what you’re missing. Similar to hard drive vs SSD. Before I used a machine with a SSD for the first time hard drives were fine, then my normal was conditioned to that of SSD speeds. Going back to hard drive speeds is painful, just like 60hz even for things like moving windows around…

Seems to be a rather subjective thing. Going from 4k to 1080p literally causes me headaches, going from 240Hz to 60Hz feels normal after a minute or two. Yes, it feels nicer, but that's it for the most part. Not something that makes me want to update the screen right now.

    Not something that makes me want to update the screen right now
That about sums it up.

I alternate between 120hz and 60hz monitors depending on where I’m working.

For software engineers: 120hz is “nicer”, and if you are buying a monitor today I’d say it’s well worth it to pay another $100 or whatever to go for 120hz+ versus 60hz. Certainly not worth upgrading for this alone however.

For designers: Same as above but it perhaps leans a little closer to being worth the upgrade. The mouse cursor is noticeably much moother and if you’re doing digital painting or something all day, 120hz+ might really be worth the upgrade all by itself if budget allows. Working with the 120hz (or is it 240hz now?) stylus on iPad Pros is revelatory for that kind of work.

For gaming: For any fast action gaming (for games and platforms that support high frame rates) it really is worth the immediate upgrade. Your world now looks and feels fluid. It feels real. Input lag is usually halved as well.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#454

Post by criddell »

deergomoo wrote: post #246
criddell wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm the same. I use a single 27" 4k monitor and use virtual desktops. The best upgrade for me though was getting a computer prescription for some glasses that I keep on my desk. Sometimes I think about upgrading to a 5k monitor. The Apple Studio Display looks great, but I'm a Windows user and I'm guessing a lot of the nice features of that display are Mac-only. There aren't a whole lot of options for 5k monitors. Oth…

> The Apple Studio Display looks great, but I'm a Windows user and I'm guessing a lot of the nice features of that display are Mac-only I can possibly be of some help here. I have a Studio Display, however my work-provided machine is a Dell laptop and so that is what is connected to it most of the time. Providing your machine can output video via Thunderbolt or USB-C, it will work. That is fairly common these days, t…

Apple has a pretty generous return policy. I might have to order one to try it.

The ASUS one is pretty interesting and it's only $800.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#455

Post by pxmpxm »

satvikpendem wrote: post #207
dllu wrote: 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…

Nice to see other people doing the same thing I do, albeit with a 4k OLED instead. I am waiting for an 8k OLED at an affordable price but it seems I will have to continue waiting. What brand and model of desk do you have? I have a 48" TV but I sit rather close so it probably takes up the same field of view as your 65". As to your last paragraph, if you email hn@ycombinator.com and explain the situation, they'll sort…

Same set up here - specifically went for OLED to minimize eye strain.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#456

Post by jajko »

kayg04 wrote: post #67
steelbrain wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Looks great, thank you for sharing. I've been looking for something similar (OLED, for work/gaming) so looked into the one you're using. > Doesn't support variable refresh rates or HDMI 2.1. Unfortunately that makes it a deal breaker. The search continues

The C1/C2/C3/C4 do support HDMI 2.1 and VRR.

LG CX series are literally #1 recommendation on almost any article about getting TV for PC gaming and maybe some work, for many years. I don't think OP is honestly looking around.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#457

Post by yard2010 »

k4rli wrote: post #204
jamalaramala wrote: post #35

The biggest problem I see is ergonomics. The proper monitor height is when the top third of the screen is at or slightly below your eye level when seated or standing upright. This positioning helps prevent neck strain and allows for a comfortable viewing angle. The top third of a large TV will be much higher than that, which will cause long term discomfort. That's why large monitors have much wider aspect than TVs.

Would recommend a black background Vscode theme for an OLED. The black background with red accents looks beautiful, at least on my smaller XPS 15 4k OLED. I use Dobri Next Black with some customizations but it looks good by default as well.

Correct me if I'm wrong - in OLED monitors, a black pixel actually means a powered off pixel. So it's a good idea to use as much as black in static areas to prolong the monitor life.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#458

Post by walthamstow »

mjrbrennan wrote: post #396
exitb wrote: post #18

After 15 years of having a desk job I find that I’m more sensitive to the position I sit in. My back feels a lot better if I have a single, regular sized screen right in front of me, instead of having additional screen estate on the sides or below (as with a laptop). At the same time I use virtual desktops that I can switch with both keyboard and mouse.

Same, I switched back to a single 27" screen last year. For me it's better to focus on one thing at a time especially since my eyes aren't the best, and I switch between virtual desktops with F1-F4 (or when I use my mac with the 3-finger swipe gesture).

MacOS also has ctrl+left/right for switching virtual desktops. The gesture can get a bit tedious if you're jumping across multiple desktops in one go. I don't think it's particularly ergonomic either.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#459

Post by cfn »

For anyone 50+ of age wider monitors are harder to use than multiple monitors specially if you don't use varifocal glasses. I bought a 47 inch monitor some time ago but had to go back to a multi monitor setup with smaller monitors because I can't see the sides and corners of the larger one without moving or standing up. Works better if you have a standing up desk though.

Re: Using an 8K TV as a Monitor

#460

Post by sokka_h2otribe »

blagie wrote: post #441
dllu wrote: 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…

Look at the pixel density And avoid 'upscaling' type things.

Pixel density impacts the distance you need to be from the monitor to avoid eyestrain

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