Using a TV as a PC monitor

[Bert Coules]

A follow-up to my earlier thread on using a TV as a monitor. The focus seems sufficiently different enough to justify a new thread.

Following everyone's thoughts and advice, I did a bit of practical ergonomic experimenting.

At the moment, my 4:3 monitor in portrait orientation can display an entire A4 image at or just above actual size, and as, I've said, I want to keep that capability while at the same time gaining more screen width for other programs.

For a new monitor to display an upright A4 page while in its landscape position, it would have to have a screen diagonal of at least 36" (if

16:9) or 30" (if 4:3). I mocked up (ie I cut out of cardboard - this is a DIY group after all) two shapes of just over those sizes and tried them in position on my desk... and they were huge. Impractically gigantic. In my enthusiasm for the underlying idea, I hadn't previously thought to visualise anything beyond the actual displays. Twit.

Which leaves, it seems to me, these remaining options:

Forget it. Stay with the upright 4:3 Dell, enjoy the excellent full-screen A4 display, and live with the awkwardly small, conventional (4:3 or 16:9) window for everything else.

Use two monitors side by side. A compromise in viewing angles and seating position which doesn't appeal.

Use two monitors each mounted on a multiple-hinged arm. With a bit of geometrical luck I might be able to move either one to the centre and the other right out of the way. (I've seen dedicated dual-monitor hinged mounts but haven't looked closely at them yet.)

Construct (since this is a DIY group after all) a moving platform on which both monitors could sit side by side, and slide whichever one was the prime focus into the centre as needed. Possibly the most fun solution. The platform could even be motorised...

I'm sorry to have diverted everyone with a wild goose chase enquiry which I should have looked into more carefully before I posted (though I learned a lot, so I'm grateful for that). But now, if anyone has any thoughts on these new possibilities, I'd love to hear them.

Thanks. Bert

[The Natural Philosopher]

Why dont you use virtual screens and flip between your A4 page, and at least a reasonable window for everything else?

My 24" monitor can display two A4 pages side by side if needs be.

And I have the computer set for 8 virtual screens

How many windows do you need on screen simultaneously? I am using just one, thunderbird, at the moment

[Tim Streater]

Depends what you're doing. Copying stuff from a website into a spreadsheet earlier in the week, and having to use Win-11 to do it, it was definitely a minus not to have two screens, one for the website, the other for the Excel window. So I made each occupy half the screen. That's where it really becomes clear what a rubbish UI component the ribbon is in Office apps - as the window narrows, things have to fall off the ribbon and you no longer know where they are.

I have two screens, set up to have two spaces on the smaller screen (one for Terminal with 4 tabs, the other with a browser window with tabs pointing at the Xojo users' forum and doc pages) and the larger with a number of spaces for general use.

[Jeff Gaines]

Ubit menu is brilliant and free:

[Andrew]

There is also MVA which seems to be a variation of VA.

It's horse for courses. gamers prefer (m)VA or TN for a faster response. Photographers prefer IPS because the colours are more 'accurate', but then you are in the realm of how much of the Adobe srgb it can show. The most expensive monitors show the full 100% like this one

[Andrew]

I was in Currys today and they had a whole load of Google TVs, ranging from 32" upwards and many of the boxes said HD-ready.

[Vir Campestris]

Some of the HD ready TVs have 768 line resolution.

There has never been, and there is never likely to be, a 768 line HD standard. The lowest is 720 lines, and displaying that will result in a loss of quality.

Look for 4k.

Andy

[Tim Streater]

HD ready, of course, means no HD tuner.

[Theo]

Not any more - it's now code for a 720p TV. For example:

a tuner (and Android TV) but the resolution is 1366x768.

Contrast with this, which is a 1080p TV:

The only difference in the title (beyond the size) is 'HD ready' v 'Full HD'.

(TVs without tuners are unheard of these days. The only Freeview tuners Currys will sell you cost more than the TV - because they're PVRs)

Theo

[Tim Streater]

My impression was that HD Ready meant that the Tele could handle an HD signal (e.g. from a separate FreeSat tuner), but was likely supplied with only an SD FreeView Tuner. Certainly relllies of mine fell into that trap, as they assumed it meant it had an HD tuner. Then they couldn't find the HD channels.