From: lars@beagle-ears.com   
      
   On Sun, 12/7/2025 12:20 AM, micky wrote:   
   >> ...   The other win10 computer has 32gigs of RAM and runs well, but the   
   >> monitor, which I bought cheaply at a hamfest 10 years ago is not working   
   >> well, sometimes, and I have to buy another one, but there are so many   
   >> choices I don't know what to buy.   
   >>   
   >> I've found if you watch youtube, especially police chase videos, etc.,   
   >> on the laptops, and they already have subtitles but then y ou add the   
   >> youtube real-time subtitles, they are often one on top of another. Yet   
   >> you need them both because often the ones proivided don't capture the   
   >> parts that are hardest to hear, that youtube subtitles do preey well on.   
   >> But when I watch those videos on the bigger monitor they are not on top   
   >> of each other, but one is below the other.  I have a 20" monitor now and   
   >> thinkI'll get 22".  Bigger than that and I think I'd have to sit farther   
   >> from the screen and the keyboard, and my arms won't grow anymore.   
      
   On 2025-12-07, Paul  wrote:   
   > The monitors I've seen at the store, trend towards the larger   
   > sizes. I wanted to replace my 1440x900 monitor with another, but   
   > there is nothing like that for sale. It is generally 1920x1080 minimum.   
   > The next size would be 2560x1600, and after that comes 3840x2160.   
   > And for that last 4K choice, you might want a 32" monitor to be using   
   > that many pixels.   
   >   
   > 17", 19" probably not (check around Jan10 for stock of those in Staples)   
   > 22", 27", 32", bigger (1920x1080, 2560x1600, 3840x2160).   
   >   
   > I don't really consider this "choice" any more. There are fewer choices   
   > at least at retail stores. And online, a smaller monitor might be a   
   > "special order".   
      
   For workbenches in the shop, where you want a screen for each station,   
   I'm generally happy with the cheapest monitor on the shelf at BestBuy,   
   which is usually a 22" 1080p. That also works well with the older   
   smaller computers in those slots.   
      
   For my desk, I have in recent years gone with a 42" 4K Roku TV.   
   To make that work, you need a newish computer that can do the 4K   
   resolution, or you have to add a 4K video card, which costs more   
   than a cheap TV. In practice, I may set the desktop resolution on the   
   computer lower, especially if I am using a remote desktop app like   
   TigerVNC, because the screen updates get way slower when using too high   
   resolution. For a smaller screen (32"?) you could go to FHD resolution   
   (1080p, 1920x1080 pixels).   
      
   The larger screen with high resolution allows me to keep 3 or 4 windows   
   open on the screen. In my workflows, this works very well. For example,   
   for my "work" work:   
   - one window for email (Thunderbird)   
   - one or two for webpages (Edge or Chrome)   
   - one for a spreadsheet (OpenOffice or LibreOffice)   
   - one for a text document (OpenOffice or LibreOffice)   
   Or for working on my home photo library:   
   - one file manager window for the folder I just imported to (generally a   
     on the local PC)   
   - one file manager window to browse around in the main archive   
   - one file manager to the album I am working on   
   - one command window for running scripts (Perl scripts that I write)   
   - one picture manager window (digiKam, showFoto) for tagging, face   
     recognition etc.   
      
   TVs are much cheaper than dedicated monitors in the same size.   
   I can find TCL Roku or Google TVs 40"-43" from USD 150 to USD 250   
   at this moment; prices fluctuate, with a string of sales from ëarly   
   black friday" via "Thanksgiving", "Christmas", "after Christmas" and   
   "Superbowl" all being good excuses for reducing prices on TVs.   
   I do not do gaming, so the frame rate is irrelevant to me.   
      
   As for "too close" - that is mostly an outdated idea. For movies, you   
   want to have the screen small enough in your field of vision that   
   you can see the whole screen without turning your head. For information   
   work, you move your gaze from window to window, and the windows you look   
   at less often, can be moved to the upper corners, just like you might   
   put a reference book on a side table.   
      
   > Keep an eye out for the color. My new monitor, the color is off.   
   > My 20 year old monitor still has good color, and that's how I   
   > detected the new monitor was off. A gray might be rendered as a   
   > light shade of purple.   
   >   
   > And as for whether they make really really bad panels, they   
   > save those for cheap laptops. 1366x768 panels, yes, they still   
   > make those. And, they make those with 40% of the normal color range.   
   > That would be a cheap twisted nematic (TN).   
   >   
   > The standalone monitors are IPS (edge lit) and VA. The VA might be a   
   > bit slower on GTG (gray to gray) time. The IPS has 178 degree viewing angle,   
   > which means the intensity variation is 10:1 at 178 degrees or so.   
   > Translated into English, that means you can move your head a little   
   > bit from side to side, without a lot of color or intensity shift.   
   > Whereas with a TN panel, the panel has to be tilted at just   
   > the right angle, your head can only be in one spot, and then...   
   > you can read it.   
      
   I had to Google VA and IPS - never heard about them.   
       https://www.rtings.com/monitor/learn/ips-vs-va   
      
   --   
   Lars Poulsen - an old geek in Santa Barbara, California   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)