# Good screen size



## hag01 (Apr 13, 2022)

If I'm going to sit about 60-80 cm from the screen, what do you think is a good computer screen size?
Of course larger screen is always better, but then the distance from the screen and field of vision get into the equation.

For that reason, you don't want to sit on the first line in cinema, for example.
What is your experience with this folks?
I don't have the desk yet, and will have to order a screen without trying it anyway(and even if I could try it, then not on my desk of course, at a store at best).


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## colony nofi (Apr 13, 2022)

I'm around 70-80cm from my screen in my home workstation and have a 40" 5k*2k screen. (21:9) Best screen I've used from a productivity perspective. I have a 43" 4k 16:9 at work and this is tonnes better. I have tried a 21:9 34" and it just didn't fit enough of the project on for me (3440x1440). Super wide (5k*1440) is interesting, but not for me either. Our presentation room got that one.

I'm going back to working in the studios soon, and will take the 40" with me. I'll likely get a 34" 5k2k monitor to try for home. Similar distance from screen. It will be in a room that's shared with other things (so for just quick use / night use) and the 40" will take over the space a bit too much. I'm cool to make that compromise.


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## cedricm (Apr 13, 2022)

I 've been using a 4K 40" monitor for many years.

The only downside is that if you can't put your near field monitors far enough, you may have to sit far away to be positioned optimally for audio. 

In this case a 27" monitor may be the best option.


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## d.healey (Apr 13, 2022)

I like my 34inch ultrawide with 3440x1440 resolution


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## Kent (Apr 13, 2022)

I don't know if I'd ever go under 50" (@ 3840 × 2160) at ~ 1.5 arm's length again.


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## d.healey (Apr 13, 2022)

colony nofi said:


> 40" 5k*2k screen





cedricm said:


> I 've been using a 4K 40"


Are you using those with scaling at 100%?


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## cedricm (Apr 13, 2022)

I do. 
For some plugins that are resizeable, I like to use the opportunity. 
Ex: I scale the Waves SSL E to 150%, otherwise I can't see a damn thing.


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## colony nofi (Apr 13, 2022)

d.healey said:


> Are you using those with scaling at 100%?


Yes! All my monitors I run 1:1 all the time. Just installing a bunch of stuff on a new mbp - but you can see in this image the size of the menu bar at the top of the screen.


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## shropshirelad (Apr 13, 2022)

I've been using a 27" iMac for years but recently acquired a Mac Studio. I decided to ignore the Apple offering (another 27") and purchased an LG 32UN880 Ultrafine 4K 32" monitor. I'm very pleased - I appreciate the extra screen real estate and adjustability of the monitor. I feel that anything larger would be too big - my desk is a normal size and I sit about 20" from the screen.


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## greggybud (Apr 13, 2022)

cedricm said:


> I 've been using a 4K 40" monitor for many years.
> 
> The only downside is that if you can't put your near field monitors far enough, you may have to sit far away to be positioned optimally for audio.
> 
> In this case a 27" monitor may be the best option.


I feel this aspect is ignored too much. I often read user gear opinions addressing audio in the _subtle zone_, and sometimes going from subtle to the _subjective zone_...then ask, or look at their monitoring environment. Things That Make You Go Humm....

To maintain the traditional triangle, the display monitor size is very important. It will still be a compromise, but hopefully a smaller compromise.


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## KEM (Apr 13, 2022)

32” has always been perfect for me


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## Wunderhorn (Apr 13, 2022)

Bigger is better. 43"+.

Avoid those "widescreen" monitors as they do not provide the full height resolution that real 4k screens do. You will need the vertical space to view your tracks.


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## jneebz (Apr 13, 2022)

shropshirelad said:


> I've been using a 27" iMac for years but recently acquired a Mac Studio. I decided to ignore the Apple offering (another 27") and purchased an LG 32UN880 Ultrafine 4K 32" monitor. I'm very pleased - I appreciate the extra screen real estate and adjustability of the monitor. I feel that anything larger would be too big - my desk is a normal size and I sit about 20" from the screen.


I’m in the same situation but looking for a monitor under $500. I wonder what resolution I should look for coming from a 27” Retina display….?


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## Delboy (Apr 13, 2022)

Thought 27 was good and was even contemplating upgrade to 32-34 but you guys/gals are out of the ballpark - wow


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## MartinH. (Apr 13, 2022)

hag01 said:


> If I'm going to sit about 60-80 cm from the screen, what do you think is a good computer screen size?
> Of course larger screen is always better, but then the distance from the screen and field of vision get into the equation.
> 
> For that reason, you don't want to sit on the first line in cinema, for example.
> ...



When I tilt my head back slightly I can see the tip of my nose with the left and the right eye at roughly the right and left edge of my main screen. That's a comfortable screen-size-to-field-of-vision ratio for me, and if I know the distance I'll be sitting away from a new screen, I could easily measure out how big it needs to be to fill the familiar size in my field of view.


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## colony nofi (Apr 13, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> Bigger is better. 43"+.
> 
> Avoid those "widescreen" monitors as they do not provide the full height resolution that real 4k screens do. You will need the vertical space to view your tracks.


Except they do. Those that I use are all full 2k height, and just give me an extra 1k of res in the width direction! 5k2k is amazing for composition.

In my work studios, one of the most important parts of positioning for the screens is to make sure that they are in the plane of the speakers. Its one of the reasons to go with larger screens that end up further away. 

Do a test yourself - put the back of a computer screen say 30cm in front of the plane of your monitors. Your stereo image collapses way faster than you might think due to tonnes of reflections off the back of the monitor. Now move the monitor back (get someone to do it so you can compare quickly!). The first time I did it I was blown away by the difference. And I've been victim of falling for "diminishing returns" many - a - time! Whats the purpose in $15k monitors in a room not properly setup acoustically! (Ok, thats a rhetorical question...and for a different thread and rant)

Its also a reason why we treat the area behind the monitor - which goes against some of the things we'd LIKE in the room, but for small mix rooms (with 5.1 systems) more reflection (and bass) treatment is better! Yes, they're dead, but thats the sacrifice for small room acoustics. Whole other story.
(In our larger presentation room, we set the display monitor BELOW the plane of the speakers and in front, as the speakers are further away (about 1.8m)... its a compromise, but it works. That particular monitor is 5k * 1440. The lower vertical space again is better for acoustics in that place)

Now I wish I had a studio designed by Northward... even his low level "production suites" are off the planet.








Thomas Jouanjean of Northward Acoustics


Tape Op is a free magazine exclusively about recording music. Subscribe (yep, for free) at tapeop.com.




tapeop.com


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 13, 2022)

The question is very subjective.

32" or so (or exactly) is the right size screen for me, given the dot pitch I'm comfortable with (around .23mm). That means I set my 4K screen at 3200x1800 or 3008x1692, HiDPI.

As I've posted many times, I tried my 40" TV at the standard 4K resolution (3840x2160), which puts the dot pitch in the right range. But I hated it and went back to the smaller screen. Too much head turning to see the sides of the monitor.

Other people such as colony nofi prefer more screen. I too liked being able to see so much more on the 40" screen, but it's not like 32" is tiny.


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## Wunderhorn (Apr 13, 2022)

colony nofi said:


> Except they do. Those that I use are all full 2k height, and just give me an extra 1k of res in the width direction! 5k2k is amazing for composition.


I need all the vertical res (at 4k being 2160px) and it's what in my experience helps until there are bigger (and higher res) options at a similar price point.
You may find something else suits your needs better and that is fine. My recommendations are simply based on my experience and I am well aware that it may not be the optimum solution for everyone.

Though eyes don't get younger and at some point a lot of people might enjoy things just being a bit bigger.

Having to turn the head to see it all is also subjective or - in my case something that one can get used to easily. It helped for me to adjust the seat to sit just a little bit higher than normal. Neck strain went away.

When I go back to my old 30" which I use on a different machine for other things I instantly feel grateful that I have the bigger 43 inchers on my main workstations.

Room acoustics can play a role but that too is influenced by a lot of different things and would have to be addressed individually.


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## colony nofi (Apr 13, 2022)

Wunderhorn said:


> I need all the vertical res (at 4k being 2160px) and it's what in my experience helps until there are bigger (and higher res) options at a similar price point.
> You may find something else suits your needs better and that is fine. My recommendations are simply based on my experience and I am well aware that it may not be the optimum solution for everyone.
> 
> Though eyes don't get younger and at some point a lot of people might enjoy things just being a bit bigger.
> ...


Oh I agree with what you are saying. I was just letting you know that there are options with the same vertical res as 16:9 screens in the 21:9 format. They're not all 3440x1440. 5k2k is rare but there is at least 2 at 34" models (LG and MSI) and 3 or 4 at 40" (Dell, LG, Lenovo etc).

And yes - I'm wearing glasses these days when on a workstation. Indeed, an unexpected delight on moving to a 4k 43" screen (first big monitor I ever had) was the decrease in eye strain. It changed for the better my ability to concentrate for long periods overnight.

We have 2 of the 43" 4k monitors (LG). One is now living at a friends studio in a music recording environment, and the other is spare for now. I LOVED it until I hit upon the 5k2k monitor - which was originally as much for acoustics and ergonomics as anything else. (another acoustic / ergononic thing was having room for center speakers between the monitor and a 55" TV for video sync.) But I've now come to appreciate the layout for other reasons. I often use the extra room on the right side just for loudness / visualisation / metering (nuendo has some cool meters) and extra space on the left for slack chat for the business / or chat (text or video) with clients when doing sessions remotely with them / monitoring the streaming of the session when in that mode. 

I agree turning your head / neck strain issues etc are all incredibly important and vary from person to person.


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## AceAudioHQ (Apr 13, 2022)

I have a single 24" 1080p display and it's enough for me. I've had two displays side by side at work previously and I just kept a browser in the other, never needed it for my actual work.


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## sostenuto (Apr 13, 2022)

No way 'any' single screen works here _ even having 55" HDTV. 
Dual screens for sure _ then gets tough beyond ~ 27" each _ in terms of footprint and peripheral vision.
Not keen on working like tennis fan _ at mid-court _ back-and -forth / back-and forth / back and forth ..... chiropractic visit.


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## Daren Audio (Apr 13, 2022)

The bigger screen real estate works great when you can open up multiple plugin windows and various apps. 

I have a similar 4K HDTV setup like this one except mine is mounted on a spring-loaded arm since my desk and keyboard Z-stand are setup for variable configurations for long sessions sitting or standing.


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## ptram (Apr 14, 2022)

I have an excellent 27" 4k HP Z27, and I sit about 85-90cm from the screen, that I keep at a 2304 x 1296 resolution. It's fine, but a 32" 5k would have been better at this distance.

Paolo


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## cedricm (Apr 14, 2022)

AceAudioHQ said:


> I have a single 24" 1080p display and it's enough for me. I've had two displays side by side at work previously and I just kept a browser in the other, never needed it for my actual work.


I was like you, although I always liked 2 monitors, until I purchased a 3200x1800 15.6" Dell Laptop years ago . I had an epiphany. 
Although if primarily used in a studio, from a financial pow, it makes sense to purchase a low resolution laptop plus a high resolution external monitor.


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## Delboy (Apr 14, 2022)

The sooner Apple sort out the multi screen thing the better .... they have been so so slow in sorting that out.
Each developing year I hope to hear that in their launch speeches.

Would be also good if their tekky's could develop an expansion unit that the macbook could sit on or sit alongside and link to and allow extra resource like memory/storage etc .. ie making a 1TB slow machine into say a 4TB (by adding an extra 3TB) with 32+ MB ram etc and allow easy copy/move of most off the OS system drive to make it more efficient.


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## creativeforge (Apr 24, 2022)

I hope this is not diverting from this thread...

I'm shopping for a new monitor, 32". Just making it through today's monitors specs abbreviations is like learning a new language. I'm moving from a 25". I'm on PC. It's for music creating and editing, and for graphic design (Photoshop).

I concluded that I need to watch for an IPS panel, 2K or 4K, minimum 75Hz screen refresh and 2560 x 1440. Price point is good for these. I don't find ultrawide appealing, and not sure about curved.



https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lg-32qn600-b-31-5-qhd-ips-monitor-with-amd-freesync-open-box/15861856





https://www.bestbuy.ca/en-ca/product/lg-32-inch-qhd-2560-x-1440-2k-ips-display-hdr10-monitor-with-75-hz-refresh-rate-2-x-hdmi-headphone-out-freesync-amd-adaptive-sync-height-adjustable-stand-black/16013172



QUESTION: am I going to regret not going for higher resolution? What's the big difference between 2K and 4K?


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## HCMarkus (Apr 24, 2022)

40" 4k TV here. Certainly don't need any finer resolution at my (moderately advanced) age. These days, 40" TVs are hard to find; 43" is the standard. If you use a TV, make sure t run it in "Game Mode" to minimize screen lag. I like the vertical space, but I do find myself scaling Digital Performer to 110% or 120%. I also have a second monitor, a 16:10 lower resolution model, on which I park my mixer or plugins or the video I'm scoring or... whatever!


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## Alex Fraser (Apr 25, 2022)

27 inches (4k) on a gas mount arm so I can move it around depending on what I'm doing. Mounted low so I don't have to look up to read the menu bar. Secondary 1080p 24 inches to the side to throw video on etc.


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## creativeforge (Apr 25, 2022)

HCMarkus said:


> 40" 4k TV here. Certainly don't need any finer resolution at my (moderately advanced) age. These days, 40" TVs are hard to find; 43" is the standard. If you use a TV, make sure t run it in "Game Mode" to minimize screen lag. I like the vertical space, but I do find myself scaling Digital Performer to 110% or 120%. I also have a second monitor, a 16:10 lower resolution model, on which I park my mixer or plugins or the video I'm scoring or... whatever!


So you're saying you are using a 4K TV for computer work. Plus a second monitor where you place the rest of what you need. 

Any disadvantage you noticed using a TV (even in gaming mode) for computer work? Also, did you change your video card for this setup?

Thanks!


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## vitocorleone123 (Apr 25, 2022)

Generally, unless you're sitting really close, 1440p or equivalent is the sweet spot for 27". I'd get a 32" 4k but don't have space since I'd rather have some hardware on my desk.


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## creativeforge (Apr 25, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> I'd get a 32" 4k


TV, you mean?


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## vitocorleone123 (Apr 25, 2022)

creativeforge said:


> TV, you mean?


Computer monitor.


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## creativeforge (Apr 25, 2022)

I see a lot of 32" 4K monitors that have a refresh rate of 60Hz. Isn't this contradictory? Shouldn't it be higher for 4K?


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## Nick Batzdorf (Apr 25, 2022)

creativeforge said:


> I see a lot of 32" 4K monitors that have a refresh rate of 60Hz. Isn't this contradictory? Shouldn't it be higher for 4K?



The refresh rate is independent of the resolution. Two different things - although I've only see 30 and 60 on computer monitors.


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## vitocorleone123 (Apr 25, 2022)

Nick Batzdorf said:


> The refresh rate is independent of the resolution. Two different things - although I've only see 30 and 60 on computer monitors.


Gaming monitors go up to... 360Hz now? Crazy stuff for FPS games. 60 is generally enough for office work, though 120 would be fine but probably drastic overkill for anything not a game.


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## creativeforge (Apr 25, 2022)

vitocorleone123 said:


> Gaming monitors go up to... 360Hz now? Crazy stuff for FPS games. 60 is generally enough for office work, though 120 would be fine but probably drastic overkill for anything not a game.


Good point. I don't game, so 60Hz or even 75Hz should be fine, then.


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## hag01 (Apr 28, 2022)

I checked the market, the prices for 32inch computer screen or anything above 27inch is insane, you simply don't have anything entry level at the sizes, only gaming screens and such.
I think I'll go with 27inch.
The other option is to get a nice 32inch Samsung TV and connect to my PC, but I'm not sure how is that going to workout.
Also, smaller screen will give me more range for how to place my pair of monitors - wider\narrower.


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## creativeforge (Apr 28, 2022)

I bought this yesterday at Costco (Canada). Price: $339 CAD + tx. 



https://www.costco.ca/lg-32qn600-b-32-in.-qhd-ips-freesync-monitor-(2560-%c3%97-1440).product.100760488.html



I had the one previous to this, 1920 x 1080 and very happy, but this one is now 2K. Much better view (I adjust the resolution to 1920 x 1200 to enlarge the view for my old eyes. 

Good luck!


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