Upgrading to new TV for use as PC monitor

Skyandsun

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Hello everyone,

I use an HDTV as my PC monitor; I don't have space for a traditional office setup. I am currently using a Sony Bravia from 2014 which has been excellent, but it's time to upgrade to 4k.

I want a really good quality 4k TV that's not at risk of burn in and has endurance to be used over many years as a PC monitor. I am looking at 65" in size. I'm prepared to pay for the quality that will last for years.

I was thinking about the Samsung Q95A - multiple HDMI ports will be good as I am a gamer and may get a console to connect as well as my PC via HDMI. However I've read on here some people are having problems with sound cutting out which has made me a little cautious. But I know that sometimes problems that only affect a small minority can be overblown on forums. I know LG have good reviews but they are at risk of burn in I believe.

Any advice? Samsung Q95A still tempts me but I'd like to check with people more knowledgeable before buying. Many thanks.
 
There are only really two choices, Sony's X95J or Samsung's QN9xA models (excluding QN90A).
Beware that for usage up close viewing angles may be of concern, although these two TVs do have wide viewing angle filters to help boost normally very narrow viewing angles. Up close to a TV using a VA panel you may notice the sides are washed out and darker.

Unfortunately, though in the TV world IPS is really not the answer, since TVs using IPS panels cannot harness light well enough to be considered good HDR TVs. That leaves only OLED, and for monitor use potential burn in risk depending on your use case if you want good viewing angles.
 
That's what I figured, it's between the Sony and the Samsung. Any recommendations? As I say I had decided on the Samsung but then read about issues with the sound cutting out. Though perhaps people are having issues with the Sony too - there always seems to be some issue with any TV you get these days.
 
Yes, there's reported issues with all TVs. Don't think Sony are any better than Samsung in this respect.

Samsung TVs strength is with suppressing blooming with stronger local dimming, as a result picture accuracy isn't as good, especially in HDR mode. The QN95A has 4x HDMI 2.1 ports too, which no other TV shares. Their TVs are very bold and striking with excellent colour volume and wow factor in HDR mode. Anti glare is the best on the market and viewing angles are decent for a TV that uses a VA type panel.

Weakness is usually poorer Dirty Screen Effect, although it can differ unit to unit and poorer picture quality in game mode. The Samsung models seem to be the worst with this, although it has to be said all TVs reduce picture quality somewhat in game mode to reduce input lag. Motion is also hit or miss on Samsung models, some people don't have a problem, some do.

With Sony strengths are with picture accuracy and motion. They tend to have less Dirty Screen Effect but more vignetting and blooming. The X95J has 1x HDMI 2.1 port and 3x HDMI 2.0. HDR is also very striking, but the X95J focusses more on an accurate picture. Viewing angles are just okay, not quite as good as Samsung. Anti-glare is very good, but not excellent.

Really the Samsung is the better TV overall, but that doesn't mean it's better for you.
 
Many thanks. I'm not sure I'd need to use game mode at all - I am a PC gamer but whether that means I need to use Game Mode or not is different. As I haven't had a new TV in seven years, I'm not really sure how many of those technical features translate into the actual experience.

For PC usage, including a fair bit of gaming, where I'll be sitting straight-on with the TV (meaning viewing angles aren't so much of an issue), do you have a recommendation between the two? The sound cut out some report in the owners thread here does concern me about Samsung but maybe that's an issue that affects a minority of faulty units - it's hard to tell.

Thanks!
 
You will have to use game mode to game, otherwise you will be dealing with input lag that's too high.

Samsung have a bunch of gaming features that improve motion in games, so despite game mode being worse picture quality I'd say that it's still the better gaming TV.

Apart from that, can't see anything about your usage that makes one TV better than the other, it will boil down to the things you value in a TV rather than your use case.

Can't really say I know much about the sound cutting out issue, seems all TVs have problems with eARC in one way or another. Might be an idea to check other owners with your exact soundbar to see if they have a problem, or buy a soundbar that someone else is using with the TV without an issue.

Here's a thread on the Samsung forum about drop outs, some users are reporting they haven't had them since the latest update:
 
How far will you be sat from it?

I am sat 60cm from a 49" superwide which is curved and that is roughly a 55" cut in half vertically. I also have a monitor above the 49" and I have to move my head around a lot to see it all :)
 
You will have to use game mode to game, otherwise you will be dealing with input lag that's too high.

Samsung have a bunch of gaming features that improve motion in games, so despite game mode being worse picture quality I'd say that it's still the better gaming TV.

Apart from that, can't see anything about your usage that makes one TV better than the other, it will boil down to the things you value in a TV rather than your use case.

Can't really say I know much about the sound cutting out issue, seems all TVs have problems with eARC in one way or another. Might be an idea to check other owners with your exact soundbar to see if they have a problem, or buy a soundbar that someone else is using with the TV without an issue.

Here's a thread on the Samsung forum about drop outs, some users are reporting they haven't had them since the latest update:

Many thanks, you've been very helpful. Samsung is still my top choice, I think.

How far will you be sat from it?

I am sat 60cm from a 49" superwide which is curved and that is roughly a 55" cut in half vertically. I also have a monitor above the 49" and I have to move my head around a lot to see it all :)

Probably just under 2m.... Currently I'm on a 48" TV so it'll be quite a size upgrade but for 4k it's necessary.
 
Probably just under 2m.... Currently I'm on a 48" TV so it'll be quite a size upgrade but for 4k it's necessary.

Why necessary?

Most people using 4k will probably have some sort of scaling, particularly on the text, otherwise it becomes tiresome/difficult to read
 
Why necessary?

Most people using 4k will probably have some sort of scaling, particularly on the text, otherwise it becomes tiresome/difficult to read
Basically because 4k on a smaller display isn't making the most of things. And I've kind of assumed that bigger is better, if you have the space for it. Maybe I'm wrong, as I say this is my first upgrade for many years.
 
Basically because 4k on a smaller display isn't making the most of things. And I've kind of assumed that bigger is better, if you have the space for it. Maybe I'm wrong, as I say this is my first upgrade for many years.

I think what I am getting at is that you might be ok with your distance, any closer and think you would be getting neck ache :D I guess make sure where you buy it from has a good returns policy in case it is too big. Also if you can get a piece of card\paper to represent the screen in your normal position you can check how much you need to turn your head.
 
Thanks, been looking into this and it's kind of hard now to figure out if I need 55 or 65 inch. I can see how too big would be frustrating as you have to keep turning your head to see things at the top or bottom of the screen.

TV Size to Distance Calculator and Science suggests either 55 or 65, particularly depending on whether i use the 30 or 40 degree viewing angle! Although the 55 inch viewed from 2m away would be hit the recommended distance for a 35 degree viewing angle - between the two recommendations of 30 and 40 degrees - suggesting that it might be the sweet spot.

Any further advice appreciated.
 
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Those calculators are based on field of view, you need to view a lot closer to a bigger TV to get some benefit from the extra detail from UHD sources.

2m is about optimal on a 65" for HD content.
 
That one suggests further down that 4k would be appropriate at 2m.

The thing is the op is also looking at two different uses, a TV is one thing and you while you might move your head a bit the peripheral vision will do the work otherwise. When using it as a monitor the head will move to read text at different points.
 
image.php

The line shows when you can expect to notice the extra pixels. So, 65" at 2m away and you may only notice a slight difference. The closer you view, the bigger gains you'll see from purely a resolution standpoint.

You don't have to view close enough to notice any resolution, but it's worth considering when you're buying an UHD model to not buy one too small, otherwise you get next to no benefit in detail watching content in UHD compared to HD.

That can be a good and bad thing, the closer you view to a bigger TV the more detail you see from a high-quality source, but the worse low-quality sources will look.

The OPs viewing distance is so far, he won't have to worry about looking around the TV even with a projector size screen.
 
Well there's 'minimum viewing distance' where you won't notice pixels; that's one thing. I don't think I need to worry about that with 4k.

But there's also the thing where your viewing angle should be between 30 and 40 degrees - that's stated as the kind of 'immersion angle' where it fills your vision but isn't too big, right? Because there's a point when even your peripheral vision doesn't capture the whole scene.

On that basis isn't 55 inches the right size, at 2m distance? Because essentially it works out as a viewing angle of about 35 degrees. For gaming for instance where you want to be taking in the whole scene? The RTings links says:

Screen SizeRecommended Mixed Usage Distance
(30°)
Recommended Cinema Distance
(40°)
55"7.5' (2.28 m)5.5' (1.68 m)
65"8.9' (2.69 m)6.5' (1.98 m)
 
I can't really help because I don't personally understand the field of view metrics, I sit half a metre from my 65" sometimes and don't have a problem with it.
 
Sorry to jump in, But if you don't game , can any 4k tv be used as a monitor ?
As my eyesight isn't as good as it used to be, so was thinking bigger screen, bigger fonts ?
 
'But if you don't game , can any 4k tv be used as a monitor ?' - pretty much any TV will 'display' an image from your PC assuming the PC is set to output a video signal the Input on the TV supports.

Will the image the TV generates be any good if you are sitting at a typical 'eyeball to monitor' distance at a desk based workstation is a very different conundrum!

It would be good to outline what you envisage in terms of viewing distance, screen size, resolution and type of usage.

Joe
 
I have a 34" ultrawide 144hz AOC monitor ... I just bought an LG C1 48" to play PC/consol games on. Having 120hz on the LG helps games along.. Martkt10 , you can change the size of the fonts in windows etc ..
 
'But if you don't game , can any 4k tv be used as a monitor ?' - pretty much any TV will 'display' an image from your PC assuming the PC is set to output a video signal the Input on the TV supports.

Will the image the TV generates be any good if you are sitting at a typical 'eyeball to monitor' distance at a desk based workstation is a very different conundrum!

It would be good to outline what you envisage in terms of viewing distance, screen size, resolution and type of usage.

Joe
I sit over a meter away, currently use a 2012 mac mini, but looking to get the new M1 mac mini, never game unless you count card games,
The tv doesnt need to be smart because its never going to be used as a tv, hardly ever watch tv, addicted to youtube!

And thank you for the reply
 
'The tv doesnt need to be smart' - not many TV manufacturers produce a 'non-Smart' TV these days, tricky proposition to 'sell' unless you are going after a very specific low volume sector of the market.

I very rarely (if ever) use any Apps on my Smart TV and instead the TV is simply used as a Display device.

You could consider a large 'monitor' as an option to using a Smart TV.

Joe
 
I would use a larger monitor, but the cost of a larger screen is prohibitively expensive compared to a tv of the same size £1200 for a 42.5'' screen

But again, thank you for your advice

Sharp do a 40'' tv android one 4k, though i guess not very good
 

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