Weekend Open Forum: Your preferred display size for...

Jos

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When I want to get stuff done nothing beats sitting comfortably at my desktop in front of two 27-inch monitors with a proper keyboard and mouse. But in our increasingly connected lives we’re used to having and carrying around multiple devices that fit the bill in a number of different situations.

For this weekend open open forum we want to know what’s the display size on your current monitor, laptop, tablet, and/or smartphone -- and what you consider ideal in case you’re not happy with yours at the moment.

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27" is just about as good as it gets. When I switched from my previous 23" to the new 30" on my desktop it took me long time to get used to it, and I still think it is a bit too large, but only vertically, not horizontally.

Later I realized that I would have been better off with a 29" 21:9 monitor, as I use it a lot to watch movies and videos.

I've been looking around to purchase another monitor for my late 2013 Macbook Pro, and decided to get LG's 34UC97, just as it gets released, if the reviews come positive. I believe it will be much better than any of the 4K monitors currently on the market.

LG 34UC97 (34" 21:9 curved screen, 3440 x 1440, with Thunderbolt-2)
LG%2034U97.png

It also comes with a 144Ghz gamer's version. Can you beat that? :)
 
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I don't have a computer monitor as I use my 55" LEDTV as a monitor, but I plan in the future to get a 27" to put in my office, that would be perfect size for me.
 
I have 2x 23" monitors and x1 29" ultra wide. My current setup is ideal for me in terms of productivity and entertainment. For my phone, I have a Galaxy Note II which is around 5.5" and my MBP is 13.3". My devices all provide a decent amount of screen real estate for my needs. Although, I do prefer laptops that have 15.6" screens.
 
Have 2232bw, I would like to get a 26-27" screen, have an Ipad 2 which hits the sweet spot wih screen size as far as tablets go, and last but not least the Galaxy Nexus which sometimes could use a tad bigger screen but mostly I'm satisfied
 
My primary screen is the 1280x800 panel that came standard on the mid 2010 13" MBP. When I need to write or trade, I hook up a 1080p Asus monitor (don't know the model off the top of my head and don't care to look, but it's the one with the rep for dying after a year....which, true to form, it is in the process of).

At some point, probably next year, I will replace the 1080p monitor with one that supports 4K. 1080 is simply too little space for what I do on a daily basis. It's workable, but at the cost of efficiency, which, in my case, has an immediate impact on the bottom line.
 
I have a Dell U2312HM thats a 23" 1080p display. I've been toying with the idea of going bigger (27") but I think that would hurt gaming performance with my current setup due to the higher resolution of 2560x1440, so I'm holding off until a buy a "monster" GPU before comitting to that kind of upgrade.

About smartphones, I have a Samsung Galaxy S5 and I think 5" is just perfect (1080p on 5" looks insanely good), if you're going to go much bigger then you should be looking at tablets imho.
 
The bigger the better. It's why I don't do much on my mobile, but save it for my beast of a laptop with a 1080p screen...
 
To be honest I I cant really say I have a prefered size I guess what I prefer is what I have atm which is

montior 23" phone 4.5" and no tablets or laptops :( im more of a desktop kind of guy
 
Phone: 3 to 4" (currently owned)
desktop computer monitor: 23" (target buy; currently owns 20" 1600x900)
 
1080p 23" & HD 15.6" (on notebook side, the ideal display size is 14"-15"+ range due to portability IMHO).
 
For PC / at-home, nothing beats my projector / indoor racquetball court 40-foot x 60-foot 70mm set-up and in terms of mobile/tablet, I installed a SHD camera in my racquetball court that streams to my 4-foot x 6-foot tablet screen that although presumably seems too big, actually carries nicely under my arm as I'm walking around the streets. For phone, I have added a mobile projector 20mm lens that projects a 6-foot x 3-foot image in 3D inside any public phone booth so that I am able to closely match what I have at-home in the racquetball court as well as on any wall in any parking structure that I demand of my clients to hold our meetings prior to me RSVPing my appearance...
 
I kind of like my 24" HP IPS. It's 1920 by 1200.

It's not the size so much for me, as the aspect ratio. The Hewlett is 16:10, much superior for still photo work, and pretty close the the Greek's, "Golden Rectangle" as well.

16:9 is too short horizontally, and too skinny vertically, (IMHO), for pleasing results with 35mm aspect ratio sensors, 1:1:5. Or should I say, "10:15"
 
@captaincranky, was you meaning too long horizontally?
Sort of, but not really. I'll be more precise, (or try to be).

With a 16:9 monitor in the horizontal, (landscape) orientation, the monitor is too short vertically, with respect to having enough height to display portraits effectively.

With a 16:9 monitor situated vertically, ("portrait" orientation), then it is too narrow, side to side, or horizontally if you prefer, to effectively display portraits either.

Run the aspect ratios of your standard size photo printing papers, 4 x 6, 5 x7, 8 x 10, 11 x 14, or even 16 x 20, which have been used for decades, and you'll see nobody has really been exposed to still images with an exaggerated narrow to long aspect ratio such as 16:9.

A small clue here, 16" x 20" is an almost square 4:5

I'll take an old fashioned 19" monitor, 1280 x 1050 (4:5) over a 19" "widescreen" 16:9 any day. You can't display an 8" x 10" portrait print full size, until you hit 23" in 16:9

Although granted, some photogs do goof around with ultra wide angle, even 360 degree landscape stitch me ups, gathered from multiple captures.

In the same way that a "one size fits all" Windows OS benefits nobody but M$, a 16:9 completely standardized aspect ratio, benefits no one but the panel manufacturers.

Even the most advanced digital capture sensors which are 16:9, are only used in conjunction with purely video cameras. Still camera sensors are still mostly in 35mm film aspect, @ 1.5:1 (A standard 35mm frame is 36 x 24mm).
 
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I use 3x 24" HP 16:10 screens for my desktop, the third screen is the least utilised. Notebook is 14" 16:9, then Ipad 4 for a tablet, thats 9.7" and phone is a Lumia 820 with a 4.3" display. For my phone I still prefer the screen size of my old iPhone 3, if you need a bigger screen use a tablet. Phone sizes are getting out of hand.
 
At work I use 15" laptop with a pair of 22" monitors which is adequate but would prefer larger screens. This is because I use a large number of sizeable spreadsheets.

At home I have just purchased a 24" IPS monitor with a professional adjustable stand. I use it for my own PC and also for remote working with my laptop.
 
Size does matter. I am packin a 39 incher with 4k. I love 4k and will never go back to that awful 1080p. I feel sorry for u people with your tiny 1080p 24 inch monitors. Your livin in the past man.
 
Size does matter. I am packin a 39 incher with 4k. I love 4k and will never go back to that awful 1080p. I feel sorry for u people with your tiny 1080p 24 inch monitors. Your livin in the past man.

I agree that size does matter. But it's not just about size, it's also about distance. The distance from my "tiny" 23" monitor to my eyes is 2 feet. If I plonked down a 39" behemoth where my main monitor is currently sitting, it would not be a good experience. It would be way too tall. Say hello to eye strain and stiff neck, not to mention that the pixels would appear about as big as on my low resolution 1080p monitor, so the whole awesomeness about 4k would be kinda wasted. I'd have to move it back to 3-4 feet away from my eyes and at that point it would appear to be roughly the same size as my 23" monitor. It would, of course, be much shaper as a result, which is great, but I would much rather have a 22-24" 4k monitor than a 39" 4k monitor. Why? Because I cannot live with just one screen. I need at least two, preferable three monitors to do what I do. Fitting 3x39" monitors on my desk? Not gonna happen. Therefore I would choose my 3x23" 1080p monitors over your single 39" 4k monitor any day of the week. So don't waste your time and effort feeling sorry for me and I'm glad your setup is working great for you. Looking forward to the day that I can get three 4k monitors in the 22"-24" range without breaking the bank though. 4k is sweet, no doubt about that, it's just not quite where I want it in terms of size, price and features.
 
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