I'm a PC guy. I'm not interested in a thread full of people telling me to go Mac.

I use a mac at work however, and one thing i envy is the large screen.

Can anyone advice me where to look for equivalent quality/size monitors? But obviously, like most people, i don't want to break the bank.

My current monitor is 22”. Are there any bargain options out there above that size. I’m hoping for less than £200 ($250).

Also, is there a likelihood that my graphics card might limit my ability to make use of a larger screen in terms of resolution?

Clive,
are you looking for screen resolutions above 1920x1200, or just that sort of definition on a panel larger than 22-24 inches?
A good range of monitors at reasonable prices is available from Overclockers UK - Computer components, hardware & gaming PC (http://www.overclockers.co.uk) and the associated monitor forum has a lot of useful information.

I guess I am maybe wanting a larger resolution - I'd like to see more of my timeline tracks for instance in my editing suite.

But is that potentially limited by my graphics rather than the monitor?

I'm looking at 27" options.

Argos have what seems to be a good deal here...

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1394715.htm?cmpid=COJUN&catalogId=10001&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&storeId=10151&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F1394715.htm&referrer=COJUN

Good review here AOC Q2963PM Monitor Review: 2560x1080 Is A New Way To Play - AOC Q2963PM Offers A New Way To Work (http://www.tomshardware.com/reviews/aoc-q2963pm-ultra-wide-review,3591.html)

I have the older version of this one and I quite like it.

PA279Q - Monitors & Projectors - ASUS (http://www.asus.com/us/Monitors_Projectors/PA279Q/)

the Dell Ultrasharp monitors are still the best bang for the buck, if you want an adjustable monitor, higher resolution.

The cheaper monitors generally give you what you pay for. I've tried others, you get what you pay for. the Dell Ultrasharp use a higher quality panel and can be purchased on Amazon for reduced prices.

My 30" is 2560 x 1800 and the screen is fully adjustible. I've tried the HPs and Samsungs and was not at all impressed.

I've had an LG Flatron W3000H for a few years now, it's a 30" S-IPS panel DVI-D (Dual Link) with a resolution 2560x1600 WQXGA. Its Its great to work with I also have a Dell 22" as a secondary TN monitor, so lots of space. It has tilt, swivel and height adjustment too.
:-)

this site Monitor Specifications (http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/specs.htm) gives a good idea about all the different types of panels.

I have a couple of Hazro 27" 2550x1440 that look identical to my iMac 27" monitor (colour, sharpness etc). They even have the same glass front, although I think those are now out of production and only the ones without glass are available.

I've run them on both Mac and Windows PCs, no problem.

You seem set on a larger monitor so I'm a bit hesitant to suggest it, but have you thought about getting another one or two 22" monitors instead?

Since you specifically mention wanting to see more of your timeline how about an extra wide monitor like this 29" Dell UltraSharp U2913WM Ultra-wide Monitor Black:

29" NEW Dell UltraSharp U2913WM Ultra-wide Monitor Black 3 Yrs WTY (http://www.mcscom.co.uk/live/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=34085)

The vendor is fine, I've bought several monitors from them over the years.

The Dell Ultrasharps are fine now for colour critical work. I used to buy much more expensive monitors but there's no point doing that any more.

My personal preference is to work with two monitors particularly as I nearly always am editing multicam.

Pete

I like the LG's as well .. nice bang for buck and they work pretty well.
I still stay quite small compared to some of you guys but I use an LG 23" for my NLE and then use my old monitor LG 19" for the video preview which takes the preview off the 23" so I have more edit space.

Something I did find a long time ago is most monitor have different profiles so I use the 23" in "normal" mode and then the 19" in "Movie" mode so my previews have a nice bright optimised picture.

I'm using Sony Vegas which allows you to drag any window on the software to a new monitor and it will remember the configuration when you start up the next time.

I have seen others who also use a triple screen system so you can have a middle screen with just the timeline on it, a left hand screen with all your source media and then a right hand screen for preview which gives you a huge amount of acreage but without huge monitors.

Just remember that sitting at a desk in front of a massive monitor is a killer on the eyes as technically you are too close for the size so that's another reason why I would rather have more screen in the dual screen format.

Chris

I think theres been a little confusion. What I want is to see more tracks, not a longer length of the tracks.

Thanks for all the options though! But can someone answer me - is screen resolution potentially limited my my graphics card? Is it therefore a potential waste of my money going for high resolution options?


Also, can anyone comment on this?
By far the cheapest price on the net with £110 off. Any good? £200 really is my limit.

http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Produc...referrer=COJUN

I think theres been a little confusion. What I want is to see more tracks, not a longer length of the tracks.

I'm with you on this one. I have a couple of 27" 2550x1440 and an Apple 30" at 2550x1600. It's amazing how much I miss that extra vertical space on the 27"monitors when looking at lots of tracks!

Most recent graphics cards will support higher resolution monitors but of course it's worth checking what you have before you buy ;) 2550x1400 requires dual DVI (or display port) for instance.

Looks like your link to argos is dead.

Hi Clive

Dunno about your NLE but with Vegas if I shift the window with all my source media to another monitor (say on my left) then the timeline (usually in the bottom third of the screen now has space to show double the number of tracks and the viewing length remains the same so it's way easier to see the project that may have say 6 or 7 video tracks and 3 audio tracks ..they remain the same size but because space has now been provided above the time line you can easily view all the tracks.

It that what you are looking for?? With a bigger monitor you would still only view the same tracks as on a smaller one unless you shrunk them .... then you obviously can still have them the same physical size due to the bigger screen.

I still like making space with my NLE and increasing my monitor numbers ... while you are busy on the timeline you seldom need to be looking at your source media collection as it's already there!!!

I guess each to the method they prefer??

Chris

Thanks for the feedback guys.

Two monitors would certainly work just as well. Do you need a dual graphics card though, with like two outputs or something?

i’ll have to look into my graphics card later and check what it supports.

Here is the argos link btw…

Shop Online with Argos.co.uk - your Online Catalogue for Home Shopping (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1394715.htm?cmpid=COJUN&catalogId=10001&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&storeId=10151&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F1394715.htm&referrer=COJUN)

Here is the argos link btw…

Shop Online with Argos.co.uk - your Online Catalogue for Home Shopping (http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/1394715.htm?cmpid=COJUN&catalogId=10001&_%24ja=tsid%3A11674%7Cprd%3A1546795&storeId=10151&referredURL=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.argos.co.uk%2Fstatic%2FProduct%2FpartNumber%2F1394715.htm&referrer=COJUN)


You do realise that this is still only 1920x1080 right ? It's not a high resolution monitor.

Yes you need two outputs for two monitors - one for each monitor :)

You can also get some USB-->DVI adapters if you're not looking for super fast updates on one of them. This would allow you more monitors without upgrading your graphics card. However, reasonable graphics cards are relatively cheap on ebay. I'm about to list a couple myself - NVidia GTX570 (windows) and GTX285 (mac) - both of which can run multiple monitors, so there are lots out there.

Thanks for that, I just assumed 27" would be higher res.

Looking at prices of 2560 x 1440 monitors and get the feeling I'll have to settle for buying another 22" 1920 and setting up for dual monitors.

That may not be so bad Clive. Remember that the more or larger monitors you have the greater the physical mouse movements and eye movements that have to be made and that can be a PITA. My two are 24" Dell Ultrasharps. I would look out for refurb Dells or if you go to dedicated monitor forums you can find some Far East monitors that come highly recommended and cost a fraction of UK prices even after import.

I can't recall what NLE you use. There may be some keyboard shortcuts you can use or program for yourself to give you easier access to the tracks. For example in Vegas Pro pressing F11 toggles a bunch of "junk" off the screen leaving your multiple tracks more visible; works particularly well if you have your preview window(s) on a 2nd monitor.

Pete

Yea Peter, i'm a Vegas man. Just tried F11 - nice tip!


So yea, my graphics card has a Dual-link DVI port.

Thats what i need for two 1920 monitors yes? So what, do I get a cable that splits into two connectors??

Sorry, i'm such a novice with this stuff!

Clive, in addition try Shift+F11 and Ctrl+F11 :- )

As you probably know you can of course also move everything around and then save it as a new workspace using View > Windows Layout > Save layout As ... Then recall any workspace that you have previously optimised for a particular task, even if only for a few moments such as to see a much larger preview windows, by using the keystrokes you allocated to recall it e.g. Alt+D 3

Pete

Yea had an experiment with two screens last night. Its awesome!

Now I just need to put the little kitchen tv back before the missus gets annoyed. My current monitor is 22" but is limited to 1680x1050.

So i think I'll buy two 1080p monitors. But I feel that 22" for each of them might be adequate. And save me money!

I have three screens a central 30" 2560x1600 monitor with a 24" 1920x1200 on either side. All are HP manufacture (1xLP3065 & 2xLP2465). I have had them 6-7 years and they & legacies of when I was a corporate wage slave & able to buy these screens a a very agreeable employee discount price so my wife also has the same setup. I can't even imagine trying to edit on just one screen.

You need two desks now Clive. :)

I went from a shiny Acer 22" to a nice Samsung 24". It was a much better quality monitor, but the extra 2" diagonal didn't really make a huge impact on my video editing!

Mike, is the 22" Acer for sale by any chance?

I'm checking local gumtree for some bargains I reckon two 22" screens will be fine.

If it still works Clive, you're welcome to it. Been in the attic for two years now! I'll PM you when I get it tested.

Clive,

Sorry to disappoint. It's a 20", not 1920x1080, and the power switch is broken. Oops!