Tag Archives: Display

NFT display concept lets you show off your other riches alongside pricey digital art

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NFTs are meant to be shown off like the overpriced art pieces that they are, so this concept tries to do so in a way that is also useful, even if you don’t have any NFTs to your name.

NFTs, short for the almost indecipherable “non-fungible tokens,” are currently controversial within the art and designer communities. Setting those debates aside, these digital artifacts have always been envisioned to create an experience similar to owning an exclusive piece of art. That, of course, means that it comes with some sort of bragging right that goes beyond just saying you own an NFT. You have to flaunt it as well, and what better way to do that than by putting it on a pedestal along with your other tokens of wealth or affluence, like jewelry, watches, and even rare toys.

Designers: Jiwon Seo, Juwon Kim, Hannah Kim, Anna Kim

At its most basic, an NFT is proof of ownership of an exclusive, one-of-a-kind, or limited edition digital artifact, which often means a piece of digital art or a virtual equivalent of a physical object. This makes NFTs more appropriate to be displayed in ways that other people can see them as proof and boast of ownership. There have been a few concepts created in the past years on how NFTs should be displayed, ranging from futuristic holographic cubes to wall panels mimicking physical framed art.

The Meta’O concept stands somewhere in between, envisioning something that is both obviously technological but can also be at home in the living room, sort of like a smart speaker today. It actually comes in two independent parts, both of which are made from unpainted recycled materials. This gives the object a unique visual identity while also affording a sense of relief that there won’t be any paint that will peel off over time.

The part that actually displays an NFT is a circular screen that sits on top of a magnetic ball. On its own, it can safely sit on a flat surface without rolling off. Nested inside the tray, however, the ball allows the owner to position the screen at any angle while also being charged wirelessly.

That tray is imagined to be a place for other proofs of your social status. Your NFT can be displayed alongside your gold-plated watch and bracelets, or the entire tray can be filled with other trinkets on top. This dual-purpose design would allow the owner to save up on space or display trays and have more money to spend on buying more NFTs.

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TCL foldable phone prototype can bend both ways and increase your worries

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Foldable phones are becoming mainstream, but we’re still a ways off from perfecting that technology. We’re still at a point where display makers and phone manufacturers are playing around with different materials and designs in the hopes of stumbling on the perfect solution. Given the devices from Samsung, Huawei, Xiaomi, and, most recently, OPPO, there seems to be consensus on how phones should fold, but that’s not stopping TCL from envisioning a foldable device that goes both ways to satisfy both camps, whether it’s actually feasible or not.

Designer: TCL

TCL might be a brand better known for TVs, monitors, and, in some markets, smartphones, but one of its biggest businesses is making displays for those kinds of devices. In the past years, it has even played around with the kind of screens that seemed to be the stuff of science fiction and props. It hasn’t launched such a device yet, but it has already dabbled in foldable and rollable phones that actually work, at least in prototype form.

That definitely seems to be the case this year at MWC 2022, when it showed off a TCL Ultra Flex prototype. At first glance, it looks like a typical foldable phone with a hinge in the middle, except for the absence of a second display on its back. You might presume, then, that this phone folds outward, like the very first Huawei Mate X. You’d only be half right because it actually folds inward and outward, depending on your mood.

A flexible screen that can fold in both directions is one of the dreams of display panel makers, and seeing it in action on an actual device feels almost surreal. This design would solve one of the biggest debates in the smartphone world over foldable phones where no clear winner exists yet. At the same time, however, it still keeps the door wide open over durability concerns and longevity.

A foldable device like the Samsung Galaxy Z Fold 3 or the newer OPPO Find N folds inward like a book, sometimes nicknamed an “innie” fold, which helps protect the relatively more fragile screen. This form, however, requires a secondary “Cover Screen” on the outside, or else the phone is completely unusable until you open it up. The opposite “outie” design, on the other hand, removes the need for that second display but risks exposing the foldable screen to the elements and potentially harmful objects.

Some might think that the solution would be to have it both ways, with a screen that can fold inward to protect the screen when necessary but also folds outside to keep the display always available when needed. This is pretty much the design of the Ultra Flex prototype phone that TCL is showing off at MWC 2022 in Barcelona this week. Unlike the more refined hinges of today’s foldable phones, the Ultra Flex uses what can be described as an “accordion” hinge that can fold 360 degrees. This almost sounds and looks like Lenovo’s old “watchband hinge” for its Yoga line of laptops, just less pretty.

The reason that even Samsung hasn’t tried this kind of 360-degree foldable display yet, at least not publicly, is due to the fragility of flexible screens. Bending them in one direction already puts some stress on the point of the fold. Allowing them to fold both ways increases the risk further. TCL may have figured out a way to reduce the stress, but it probably isn’t ready for prime time yet either. It definitely asks for a lot of trust for an unproven design that could break more easily than existing foldable phones. And considering how expensive those are right now, it’s probably not the right time to put out such a phone.

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COMM is a smart screen concept that makes working from home more efficient

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COMM Color Options

Working from home has now become more than just a buzzword. It is a reality for millions of people around the world. And that’s still after two years of the pandemic. The reality is not only being lived by employees and businesses but also by students and teachers.

If you are still part of that group that works from home, you have probably built your own home office. In the past two years, you have already found a setup that works for you. But since things can get boring around, it can be a good idea to rotate the furniture around or switch things so you can be more inspired to work.

Designer: Eunjung | Fountain Studio

COMM for Work From Home Design Details

You can update your computer or maybe by a more comfortable and ergonomic workspace. The goal should always be speed and efficiency when it comes to working so in the area of communication, you must find a better way how to send messages across to a different party. The COMM is a concept device that can help people communicate from home. It’s a simpler way to send and receive messages, give feedback, and deliver what needs to be done. The result is increased work efficiency, especially with the angled screen for more comfortable viewing when sitting down.

COMM for Work From Home Design Details

Communication Device for Work from home​​​​​​​

COMM offers a touchscreen display that shows the different functions. The main functions are as follows: sharing information, reporting, expression of emotions, mutual understanding, and idea suggestions. Your home work environment can “feel” more like a real office with this simple device designed by South Korean designed Eunjeong with Fountain Studio.

COMM Colors

You can change the mode of the COMM by rotating the top part. It helps improve creativity and productivity by showing the information you need sans any distraction. Sure, you can use a tablet or a smartphone to help you with work but there is always the temptation to check other apps and websites. Before you know it, you’ve been down the rabbit hole and have forgotten about that deadline, no thanks to your endless scrolling.

COMM for Work From Home Design Details

With the concept communication device, you can set and check your work schedule. You can do a video conference right on the COMM as it can connect straight to another workmate. If there is a scheduled meeting, you can simply turn the icon to be connected to the other person. If you will be away from the computer, you can set your status and your workmates will see ‘Away Mode’ on their respective COMM units.

Communication is more direct now, giving the illusion your co-worker is just at another table, room, or floor. It is still limited but there is no way for you to not reach another person. There’s text, chat, video call, or voice call…and this COMM.

Communication Device for Work from home​​​​​​​

Communication Device for Work from home​​​​​​​

COMM for Work From Home Designer

COMM Device

COMM WFH Device

COMM Communication Device for Business

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A movable home display on an easel would look good around your house

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Easels are a huge favorite for those that either like to have game nights with their friends or who like brainstorming by themselves or with others using analog tools. But it can also be used to place things and move them around in your home and now it looks like digital screens can be their new best friend.

Gone are the days when a family or household would gather around a television set at evening to watch their favorite show while eating dinner. Well, there may still be some that do that but more likely, people would be watching videos on their various screens and on their own. But for those that still prefer to watch on a bigger screen together, there are smart TVs and various innovations out there, including an award-winning easel-type product that we previously covered.

Designers: Hyeona Kim and WooSeok Lee

A new concept design simply called Easel is a type of movable home display that seems interesting, especially if you live in a place where you can’t really place a screen somewhere permanently. The screen comes with an easel stand so it can be moved around easily from your living room to your bedroom and maybe even to the balcony or garden if you want to watch something while outdoors. It’s also something you can just lean against the wall or fold away if you’re not using it so it’s useful for those with small spaces.

The idea came about as changes to how we view screens and television and even our home setup has changed over the years. Stationary TV screens may still be around but if you could have something that is more flexible and movable, then some homeowners will most likely choose that kind of device. The screen itself can be turned into audio mode with speaker design if all you need it for is to play music or podcasts. There may even be a Transparent OLED option which would be pretty cool if you had a good wallpaper.

The easel and screen can even be turned into furniture if you’re not using it at all since it’s designed to look like one. There’s a lower rack where you can hang some accessories including books (not for me thank you, I like my book on shelves and not hung on racks) and magazines. The renders show it in four different color schemes: Winter Green, Beige, Ivory, and Graphite. You can probably choose one that will match your home decor, if this ever does get made as a product.

I still prefer to have my smart TV in a permanent space in my living room and if I wanted to move elsewhere, there’s always my laptop or tablet to use as a screen. But that’s because I’m thinking of just me watching my videos. But if you have guests over and as mentioned, you want to move your screen around in different parts of your house, the Easel may be more convenient for you.

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Touchscreens drive our world, but they still suck in 2022

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Companies would have us dreaming of a future filled with displays we can see through and screens we touch to use, but the current state of the technology makes that future vision a little less convincing.

Our world today revolves around computers in all shapes, sizes, and power. A good number of them have screens, and a growing number of these even have touch screens. What was once limited to phones and kiosks is now becoming mainstream, even on laptops that can’t bend backward completely to become a tablet. In the near future, almost every foreseeable physical interface to a computer could be through these touchscreens. But if the current condition of the technology is to be considered, they have a long way to go before becoming the ideal way we interact with the computers around us.

State of the Art

That’s not to say that touch screens haven’t evolved significantly over the past years. The world graduated from the resistive touch screens of old, like those used by Palm, to the capacitive technology heralded by the very first iPhone. Screens have become more pixel-dense, resulting in higher quality images and also more responsive, especially for gaming purposes.

Designer: BOE

Let’s not forget the latest trends in mobile either, like foldable and rollable displays for phones and even TVs. But while these seemingly futuristic developments indeed impress in their visual appearance and design, they all still feel unnatural and artificial to us humans. And yet most of the products and experiences that visionaries and futurists talk about depend on these touch screens becoming second nature.

Designer: LG

Designer: Samsung

Future Vision

Before the metaverse, many companies fed people a vision of the future where you’d not only see a screen everywhere; you’d also be able to interact with them. In addition to almost paper-thin screens that fold like a newspaper, we’re also shown bus stations with interactive walls, windows that display information and can be tinted with a swipe of a finger, and store displays that let you try out clothes without even putting them on.

Designer: Microsoft

Even with the buzz around VR, AR, MR, XR, and the metaverse, some people will prefer to use screens rather than put on glasses and gloves to navigate the digital realm. Until the day we can project holograms anywhere and interact with them without any special device, touch screens will still be the most immediate way we can interact with devices and the digital realm. Videos and images depicting these feature visions make them look so fluid and so natural. But as anyone who has used phones and tablets, touch screens are anything but.

Designer: Corning

Human Factor

There is no perfect input method for computers, at least nothing that has been developed yet. Keyboard and mice carry with them the risk of repetitive strain injury, while styluses are an imperfect approximation of pencils and pens, especially when you consider that they’re sliding on glass. And while touch screens can practically turn any surface into an input device, they seem to almost go against aspects of human nature itself.

Feedback

Humans have five basic senses, but most of us tend to take the other three or four for granted until we lose them. Despite their name, touch screens actually feel unnatural precisely because they don’t complete the whole tactile picture that our minds need to process when interacting with physical objects. Pushing a button looks like pushing a button but also requires our brains to make something like a leap of faith that it really does what it’s supposed to do.

Tactile response and haptic feedback for touch screens have long been on the plate of engineers and designers, but we’re no closer to cracking the code. There have been numerous patents filed to solve that puzzle, from deformable screens to extremely localized vibrations, but those have mostly remained in the realm of ideas. We still have ways to go, and our brains haven’t yet evolved to the point that we can just ignore the human need for touch.

Designer: Tactus Technology

Touchscreens aren’t great at accessibility either, and their use often requires fine motor control. There are settings to increase the sensitivity of the touch sensor, but these are mostly band-aid solutions to an inherent problem. Of course, some devices do allow for alternate input methods like voice control, but these often come up short and don’t provide all the features and conveniences of a touch-centric user experience.

Familiarity

Humans are also creatures of habit, which is how many of us have been able to survive through the millennia. We are able to memorize some activities and have them run on autopilot while our minds are more actively engaged in other aspects. Imagine how the world would have been like if we had to put intense focus on writing a simple letter because we have to remember how to do each stroke.

Designers: Stephen Cheng & Chris Andreae

Part of that is thanks to muscle memory, which, in turn, depends on things being where they are almost 100% of the time. You don’t have to look at the keyboard each time to check if the letter “q” hasn’t moved around, and neither do you need to double-check that the left mouse button hasn’t switched sides. Some people in the past have grown the ability to type quickly and accurately on the T9 keypad of old phones because their fingers knew exactly where each button was and how many times to press it for specific letters. In contrast, it’s nearly impossible to use a touch screen without looking at it, especially when software updates change how big buttons are or where they’re located.

Designer: Apple

That’s not to say that humans will remain this way forever. In the past decades alone, we have formed habits and developed gestures that already look alien to older generations. Conversely, younger people have a hard time believing that anyone could type out messages using a keypad with rapid speed and deadly accuracy. Evolution, however, doesn’t happen in just a span of decades or even centuries, and humans will continue to remain beholden to their senses and the physicality of their bodies.

Flexibility

Touch screens, being based on digital user interfaces, have the advantage of not being locked to a single implementation. It’s definitely much easier to change the layout of a screen than to change the knobs on a physical panel. The arrival of foldable and rollable panels also means that screens have become literally more flexible, but these are not the kinds of flexibility that today’s touch screens lack.

Touch screens actually put limits on how you can use them or the devices they’re attached to. The number of gloves advertised to work with touch screens is a testament to how these screens aren’t usable under conditions where their analog counterparts have no problem. You can’t confidently take out your phone under a heavy downpour, but you’ll have no problems using a payphone with your soaking hands.

Designer: Adrien Beyk of Quanta Vici

Devices that rely on touch screens also become nearly useless when those screens break. Sometimes, it’s not even possible to back up or reset a phone so that you can safely send it for repairs without worrying about your private data. They need to be repaired or replaced first before the device can even be wiped, which defeats the purpose of securing the phone first. Until then, the device is as good as dead, no matter how advanced or how powerful it might be.

Endgame: Sustainability

Touch screens are the most common ways we interact with devices today, be it phones, computers, interactive displays, or smart home hubs. They might become the main points of interaction for everything in the world in the near future, short of being able to manipulate holograms and virtual objects floating in thin air. It is somewhat ironic, then, that they are the least sustainable among the different input methods we have today.

Displays themselves already consume power, and the materials used to make them aren’t the most environment-friendly options. Companies like Samsung are developing more power-efficient panels to reduce electricity consumption, and some are looking into alternative materials for components. Unfortunately, that’s just part of the problem.

Designer: Fairphone

The entire industry and its ecosystem seemed to be designed to be unsustainable by default. Only one phone manufacturer, for example, has made repairability and sustainability its main selling point, and it’s just a small drop in the ocean. Screens, in general, feel like throwaway components that add to the growing e-waste of the planet. Device manufacturers generally frown upon self-repairs and third-party replacements, making the process costly as well. In a future where there will be screens left and right as the primary way we interact with things in our world, that vision becomes a bit of a nightmare, especially for our planet.

A New Hope

Things don’t have to end on a depressing note, of course. Humans are pretty creative and ingenious in finding solutions to their problems, even if it takes a long time to develop the correct one. The current state of technology, particularly with touch screens, just represents a milestone in history, not its final state. Fortunately, there are clear signs of things turning for the better.

As mentioned, there are efforts to make screens themselves be more power-efficiency and consume less electricity. These might sound like small wins, but they do all add up. When all our screens use only a fraction of the power they do today, the overall carbon footprint these devices incur can significantly be reduced.

Designer: Samsung

Additionally, big companies today are now more aware of the environmental impacts of their products and processes, as well as their responsibilities in making sure that future generations still have a world to live in. Some are trying to switch to more sustainable packaging solutions, while many are trying to reduce their carbon emissions during production. We still have a lot of work to do, however, in making products more sustainable and repairable, prolonging their life even beyond legally required warranties.

The other technical problems, unfortunately, might be harder to solve with the current state of our technologies. Screens that can deform to give a better tactile response when pressing a button are very much the dream of many display makers, engineers, and designers. It’s not something we might be able to achieve this year, but it is definitely something to look forward to in our future visions.

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Motorola wrap-around display phone concept is pretty but also pretty impractical

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A phone that’s almost 100% screen has some benefits, but the ergonomic and practical concerns could outweigh those.

Most of the time we spend on our smartphones is, of course, spent on the screen. It is, after all, the primary point of interaction and feedback on modern mobile devices. Despite its importance, the screen actually covers less than half of a phone’s surface, which some might consider being a waste of space. Unsurprisingly, phone makers have been trying to come up with ways to take advantage of all the places where you can put a display on the phone, and Motorola’s patent reveals how that beautiful but unusual design can actually become useful.

Designer: Parvez Khan (Technizo Concept) for LetsGoDigital

Phones with displays that wrap around the body and leave almost nothing uncovered are right up there with foldable phones, transparent displays, and holograms that spark people’s imaginations. Given how small phones are compared to laptops or even tablets, it’s understandable that manufacturers and consumers will want to take advantage of every piece of real estate available on the pocketable device. Motorola is hardly the first to try, but it is one of the few to go the extra mile and explain why you might want to have an all-display phone.

Flexibility will be the name of the game for a phone where there is practically no front or back. No matter how you pull it out from your pocket or your back, that side facing you will always be the front, and the software will adjust the elements on the screen to match. You might not even have to fully pull out the phone, as long as you can see a small part of the screen. Again, the software could adjust the user interface elements, so you can immediately see who’s calling and swipe to reject or accept the call, even if only the “bottom” part of the phone is visible from your pocket.

Such a phone with a wrap-around display will have to do more work than most phones to pull this off. For one, it will need to use a variety of sensors to determine which direction the phone is facing in a pocket. The software running on the phone needs to be especially dynamic, as it needs to shift UI elements around to match the position and orientation of the phone. There are no physical volume controls, for example, and the phone will have to know on which side to place those depending on how a person is holding it.

Those might be easier to pull off than resolving some usability and ergonomic concerns that an all-screen phone might introduce. Phones whose screens curve off to the sides are sometimes criticized for accidental taps from palms for fingers. An all-screen phone might not have room for cameras either, and the current state of under-display cameras still leaves a lot to be desired. And then there’s the problem that dropping the phone on any side can actually damage the screen, knocking scores off its repairability and sustainability.

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Samsung’s future vision is filled with screens that fold and bend

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We’ll be seeing displays everywhere in the future, but some of them might be more than meets the eye.

We are already living in a screen-centric world. We do our work on computers, get our entertainment from TVs, and connect with other people through our smartphones. Even activities like reading books, listening to music, and staying healthy have become connected with devices like eBook readers, portable media players, and smartwatches. It probably won’t be a surprise if we one day wake up to a world filled with screens left and right, but Samsung is working to make those displays more interesting and, more importantly, more eco-friendly.

Designer: Samsung Display

Samsung is perhaps best known around the world for its smartphones and its TVs, and the company has been pushing the boundaries of its display technology for those consumer tech products over the past years. The most famous and most recent examples are perhaps the Galaxy Z Fold 3 and Galaxy Z Flip 3, currently considered the standard for foldable phones. Unsurprisingly, the company won’t be stopping there and will be bending and folding every display it can for almost any device.

On the mobile device side, Samsung showed off what it calls “Flex G” and “Flex S” displays that would allow an even bigger, tablet-sized screen to fold down to the size of a smartphone. Samsung will also be targeting laptops with its “Flex Note” screen, where a 17.3-inch display can fold in the middle to form a laptop with two 13-inch screens. The goal of these foldable displays, aside from boasting of the company’s prowess, is to increase people’s mobility without hampering their productivity, letting them bring along their work and entertainment anywhere.

You might have actually seen these before if you’ve been keeping tabs on unique and interesting display devices in the past years, but Samsung also brought something completely new to CES 2022. It showed off a smart speaker that seemed to have a cylindrical screen wrapped around it. But at the tap of a button on a paired smartphone, that screen unfurls and turns into a regular flat-screen panel, turning the smart speaker into a smart TV.

With LG’s vision of transparent screens and Samsung’s future shape-changing displays, we can probably expect our world to soon be littered with these bright surfaces in whatever form they may come in. That, however, might also mean an overall increase in power usage and carbon footprint, something that Samsung is thankfully aware of. Part of the company’s big spiel this year is on sustainability through its entire pipeline, from production to packaging.

For example, it is pushing its Eco2 OLED technology that reduces power consumption by removing unnecessary components. It recently also revealed a remote control that charges via Wi-Fi waves instead of electricity. With these, Samsung is trying to promise a future that is not only all about displays but, hopefully, also green.

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The best monitors for every budget in 2024

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There are tons of solid computer monitors available right now, which is great for anyone who needs a second screen for their home office setup or a special gaming monitor for their rig. Not to mention, display technology has evolved a lot in the past few years: OLED Flex, QD-OLED and built-in smart platforms have become more prevalent, and things like color accuracy, image quality, size and resolution have seen big improvements, too. Engadget can help you make sense of the computer monitor space and help you decide which monitors (or, at the very least, type of monitor) is right for you. Whether you’re a business user, a content creator, a multitasker or into competitive gaming, you have plenty of options to choose from and we’ve outline our top picks for the best monitors below.

Factors to consider

Panel type

The cheapest monitors are still TN (twisted nematic), which are strictly for gamers or office use. VA (vertical alignment) monitors are also relatively cheap, while offering good brightness and a high contrast ratio. However, content creators will find that IPS (in-plane switching) LCD displays deliver better color accuracy, picture quality and viewing angles.

If maximum brightness is important, a quantum dot LCD display is the way to go — those are typically found in larger displays. OLED monitors are now available and offer the best blacks and color reproduction, but they lack the brightness of LED or quantum dot displays. Plus, they cost a lot. The latest type of OLED monitor, called QD-OLED from Samsung, just came out in 2022. The most notable advantage is that it can get a lot brighter, with monitors shown at CES 2022 hitting up to 1,000 nits of peak brightness.

MiniLEDs are now widely used in high-end displays. They’re similar to quantum dot tech, but as the name suggests, it uses smaller LED diodes that are just 0.2mm in diameter. As such, manufacturers can pack in up to three times more LEDs with more local dimming zones, delivering deeper blacks and better contrast.

Screen size, resolution and display format

In this day and age, screen size rules. Where 24-inch displays used to be more or less standard (and can still be useful for basic computing), 27-, 32-, 34- and even 42-inch displays have become popular for entertainment, content creation and even gaming these days.

Nearly every monitor used to be 16:9, but it’s now possible to find 16:10 and other more exotic display shapes. On the gaming and entertainment side, we’re also seeing curved and ultrawide monitors with aspect ratios like 21:9. If you do decide to buy an ultrawide display, however, keep in mind that a 30-inch 21:9 model is the same height as a 24-inch monitor, so you might end up with a smaller display than you expected. As a rule of thumb, add 25 percent to the size of a 21:9 monitor to get the vertical height you’d expect from a model with a 16:9 aspect ratio.

A 4K monitor is nearly a must for content creators, and some folks are even going for 5K or all the way up to 8K. Keep in mind, though, that you’ll need a pretty powerful computer to drive all those sharp pixels. And 4K resolution should be paired with a screen size of 27 inches and up, or you won’t notice much difference between 1440p. At the same time, I wouldn’t get a model larger than 27 inches unless it’s 4K, as you’ll start to see pixelation if you’re working up close to the display.

One new category to consider is portable monitors designed to be carried and used with laptops. Those typically come in 1080p resolutions and sizes from 13-15 inches. They usually have a lightweight kickstand-type support that folds up to keep things compact.

Samsung Smart Monitor M5
Samsung

HDR

HDR is the buzzy monitor feature to have these days, as it adds vibrancy to entertainment and gaming – but be careful before jumping in. Some monitors that claim HDR on the marketing materials don’t even conform to a base standard. To be sure that a display at least meets minimum HDR specs, you’ll want to choose one with a DisplayHDR rating with each tier representing maximum brightness in nits.

However, the lowest DisplayHDR 400 and 500 tiers may disappoint you with a lack of brightness, washed out blacks and mediocre color reproduction. If you can afford it, the best monitor to choose is a model with DisplayHDR 600, 1000 or True Black 400, True Black 500 and True Black 600. The True Black settings are designed primarily for OLED models, with maximum black levels at .0005 nits.

Where televisions typically offer HDR10 and Dolby Vision or HDR10+, most PC monitors only support the HDR10 standard, other than a few (very expensive) models. That doesn’t matter much for content creation or gaming, but HDR streaming on Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and other services won’t look quite as punchy. In addition, the best gaming monitors are usually the ones supporting HDR600 (and up), rather than content creation monitors – with a few exceptions. 

Refresh rate

Refresh rate is a key feature, particularly on gaming monitors. A bare minimum nowadays is 60Hz, and 80Hz and higher refresh rates are much easier on the eyes. However, most 4K displays top out at 60Hz with some rare exceptions and the HDMI 2.0 spec only supports 4K at 60Hz, so you’d need at least DisplayPort 1.4 (4K at 120Hz) or HDMI 2.1. The latter is now available on a number of monitors, particularly gaming displays. However, it’s only supported on the latest NVIDIA RTX 3000- and 4000-series, AMD RX 6000-series GPUs.

Inputs

There are essentially three types of modern display inputs: Thunderbolt, DisplayPort and HDMI. Most monitors built for PCs come with the latter two, while a select few (typically built for Macs) will use Thunderbolt. To add to the confusion, USB-C ports may be Thunderbolt 3 and by extension, DisplayPort compatible, so you may need a USB-C to Thunderbolt or DisplayPort cable adapter depending on your display.

Color bit depth

Serious content creators should consider a more costly 10-bit monitor that can display billions of colors. If budget is an issue, you can go for an 8-bit panel that can fake billions of colors via dithering (often spec’d as “8-bit + FRC”). For entertainment or business purposes, a regular 8-bit monitor that can display millions of colors will be fine.

Color gamut

The other aspect of color is the gamut. That expresses the range of colors that can be reproduced and not just the number of colors. Most good monitors these days can cover the sRGB and Rec.709 gamuts (designed for photos and video respectively). For more demanding work, though, you’ll want one that can reproduce more demanding modern gamuts like AdobeRGB, DCI-P3 and Rec.2020 gamuts, which encompass a wider range of colors. The latter two are often used for film projection and HDR, respectively.

Console gaming

Both the Xbox Series X and Sony’s PS5 can handle 4K 120Hz HDR gaming, so if you’re into resolution over pure speed, you’ll want a monitor that can keep up and provide the best gaming experience possible. 4K resolution, HDR and at least 120Hz is the minimum starting point, but fortunately there are 27-inch displays with those specs starting at well under $1,000.

Pricing and parts shortages

Though the pandemic has eased, monitor supply is still a bit tighter than pre-pandemic levels due to supply and demand issues. To that end, you may have trouble finding monitors at Amazon, B&H or elsewhere for the suggested retail price point. For our guide below, we’re basing our picks on the MSRP, as long as the street price doesn’t exceed that by more than $25.

Best monitors under $200

Best monitors under $400

Best monitors under $500

Best monitors under $1,000

This article originally appeared on Engadget at https://www.engadget.com/how-to-buy-a-monitor-143000069.html?src=rss

This multi-monitor laptop’s detachable screens can be used as a standalone tablet

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For someone who is used to multi-monitor setup and using a laptop is for mere portability, the Compal Airttach is reason enough to rethink the traditional setups.

A laptop brings the promise of portability that prompts many users to go for the proven useful gadget. Although it compromises on the multi-monitor setup aspect if you are carrying your laptop around, the configuration has its own set of advantages. But who says, you cannot have the best of both worlds – ie the portability of a laptop and the versatility of a multi-monitor setup on the go? What’s interesting is the fact that not only it brings the compactness aspect to a multi-monitor setup with a laptop, it is actually much more.

The Taiwanese manufacturer reimagines the general perspective of a multi-monitor setup and gives you the freedom for enhanced productivity. This laptop has a 13-inch main screen having canted edges with the option to join the other two 13-inch displays for a 48: 9 aspect ratio wide-screen real estate.

When not needed the screens can be removed for a seamless workflow. The feature I like the most is the ability to use these extra screens as a standalone big-screen tablet(s). Both the screen have kickstands, so you can use them in either vertical or horizontal orientation. All this comes with the luxury of wire-free clutter – another advantage that can’t be ignored.

Compal Airttach’s main laptop screen has no bezels, and the secondary displays also have visually no bezels. This means when in connected multi-screen configuration, the whole setup looks like one big wide-screen. When you’re done with the day’s work, the three-piece gadget can be easily carried in a folio-like bag which clearly shows the compact nature of the design.

The Airttach is still in the concept phase, and it’ll be interesting to see the details when Compal releases a prototype and hopefully a commercially viable product. Do expect Airttach to burn a hole in your pocket since the hardware and technology required to accomplish such a design will cost a lot!

Designer: Compal

LG DVLED Super-Sizes TV Cinema Walls up to 325 Inches

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The biggest screen I’ve ever had in my house measured 96″ diagonal and used a front projector and a traditional movie screen. The room had to be totally dark to really enjoy it, but it was cool having a screen that big. Now, thanks to LG’s new DVLED technology, they can make screens up to 325″ diagonal, which can be viewed even in rooms with lots of ambient light.

LG DVLED Extreme Home Cinema screens comprise a grid of 2 million to 33 million individual diodes, each of which is self-illuminating for vibrant, high-contrast images at up to a 150,000:1 contrast ratio. LG says the display panels also offer a high color gamut for vivid and colorful images. The screens will come in 2K, 4K, and 8K resolutions in sizes from 108″ to 325″ diagonal, with both 16:9 and ultrawide 32:9 configurations available.

LG’s webOS tech allows the screens to display artwork stored locally and content streamed via Wi-Fi and supports multiple windows for viewing different source content simultaneously.

The displays are only available via LG’s custom dealer/installer program, and you can register your interest on the LG website. Pricing hasn’t been announced, but I can only imagine that something described as “the supercar of home display technologies” and “highly exclusive” by LG is likely to be extremely expensive.