Wednesday 21 May 2014

First UHD Curved Desktop Monitor announced

Finally, a device has appeared that is IMHO workable as a desktop UHD monitor: The Samsung 55" HU8500.

55" might be a bit large for most desks, but the screen is curved so the angular issue of the extended width is mitigated.  UHD is effectively four HD panels, so in terms of apparent resolution this is like four 27" HD panels arranged in a 2x2. So it's probably larger than ideal (most people don't use HD at 27" - more common is 22" or 24") but it's close.

And it's the only screen I've seen so far that is UHD, curved, and small enough to put on a desk. But it's MUCH bigger than people currently think is 'normal'.

Here's a contrast with a genuine internet 'office' image (actually advertising Green Card immigration services):
And if we take out the 'traditional' screen and put in the Samsung curved UHD 55":
I know the picture editing is terrible. Apologies. I wanted the screen further back but couldn't adjust the perspective correctly.

Friday 16 May 2014

May 2014: 49" Ultra HD, $640 - no mention of use as a desktop monitor???

A new Ultra HD monitor (i.e. TV...) announced today, the Xiaomi MiTV 2
49 inches of 4K goodness for $640 (in China though, so this might never appear in the West). Built-in Android as a freebie extra.
What's strange to me is there's NO mention anywhere of using this thing as a desktop monitor. OK it might not be for everyone but really? No Linux hacker wants all this borderless screen real estate?

49" is about the optimal size - each HD quarter screen is ~ 24", and we've been happy with that pixel density for years. From experience, the height of the screen would feel a bit wierd (you'd definitely scrap the little legs), but you might not want to make the screen wider on your desk without curving it.