# What monitor/display are you using? (need recommendation)



## neurosis (Feb 10, 2016)

I am doing video and more photoshop lately and so i am looking to get a monitor to hook up to my MacBookPro. There machine is super powerful and runs smooth after two years of non stop work. I have a cheap Samsung connected now but for color accuracy and overall precision it sucks. 

I don´t really need/want to spend more than 400 bucks tops but I´ll be happy to hear what you suggest I should get. 

I had the Dell Ultrasharp U2415 and Asus PA248Q on the list but some of the reviews have scared me off. I also read on a German forum that Dell is sort of shifting specs between generations and that so the 2413 for example is better suited and more accurate than the new line, which is more of a overall use monitor. 

maybe I should get a cheaper 4K with a smaller screen or something...

I have been looking at this for a while and can´t make up my mind. 


What would you recommend getting? What are you using? 

Main use again: Photography editing, photoshop, design and video work. Maybe some 3D. To plug into my mac. 

Thanks


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## TedEH (Feb 10, 2016)

neurosis said:


> maybe I should get a cheaper 4K with a smaller screen or something...



I'm not an expert, but I think I would avoid a cheap but bigger/fancier screen- because as much as you'd get the size and the features, you may be sacrificing things like colour accuracy, contrast levels, etc.- which are going to be important if you're doing any kind of serious art or video editing. For games or general computer, sure get the biggest cheap thing you can find, but maybe not for your purposes.


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## neurosis (Feb 10, 2016)

TedEH said:


> I'm not an expert, but I think I would avoid a cheap but bigger/fancier screen- because as much as you'd get the size and the features, you may be sacrificing things like colour accuracy, contrast levels, etc.- which are going to be important if you're doing any kind of serious art or video editing. For games or general computer, sure get the biggest cheap thing you can find, but maybe not for your purposes.



Right, exactly. I guess what I am trying to see is who has something they bought a year ago more or less that is affordable but still competitive. With electronics getting upgrades and overhauls from quarter to quarter it´s ok for me to buy something that´s not the newest on the market, yet decent enough to do the work. I see the 4K are expensive and not necessarily the best specs in the price range that I am looking for, except for when you sacrifice screen real estate. 

But the thing is each brand has their own philosophy and marketing schemes and so I have been making an excel with what I found was good enough, especially regarding color accuracy. With or without a Colormunki or any other calibration tool I see I could get good results with either one of the montiros I have listed. But there are also plenty of reviews that say those models have poor quality control and are plagued with issues in the long run. 

Although most reviews are favorable that QC issue scares me. I have used older Dells before and for what they are they work really well. I don´t need high refresh rates, just a good ISP panel and resolution capabilities with at least 99% accuracy for sRGB. Any other conversion I can do in a last stage on the Retina screen of the MacBook if need be. 

It´s just that the Samsung I have can´t get close and I am currently doing an extra color grading step to a project back on the Mac because the colors are off and there is a clear shift in contrast. 

I could go up to 500 tops if need be. Has anybody got something to recommend? I have friends that use the aforementioned monitors with Maya and Phosothshop and so far so good, but I can´t believe those two are the only things available under 500. What about a smaller EZIO?


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## A-Branger (Feb 12, 2016)

I have the Dell U2413. Thas what Ive been using for the last couple of years in both video and photo editing. I use it on sRGB setting

Screen matches perfect my macbook pro, and also the color of the album prints we have done in the past.

Im prob already used to work on this monitor. But so far imm happy wiht it

also it is 100%sRGB  

a quick search in ebay shows its on your budget 

http://www.dell.com/ed/business/p/dell-u2413/pd

I would not worry the monitor not being 4K. Nothing is in 4k at the moment, still a few years before it becomes standard. Maybe a few vimeo videos. But everything is still on HD 1920x1080. Very very few people have 4k tvs, they still even sell HD720 tvs, not many people have full HD 1080s

Not sure about cable Tv, but bluray is 1920x1080. Unless you have the video file on a usb stick, the general public wont have 4k media to play.

Also, not sure about the specs on your computer, but it might wont be enough to even edit 4k footage. In my macbookpro (top of the range close to 2 years old), I can handle 5 layers of full HD video files before the computer starts to play and slow down, When I trow a 4k footage of a go-pro to add into the clip, then it goes down as crazy. I have to render the video before I can play it in real time (this while having the second monitor plug in, and the media on a usb3 external HD)


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## neurosis (Feb 12, 2016)

A-Branger said:


> I have the Dell U2413. Thas what Ive been using for the last couple of years in both video and photo editing. I use it on sRGB setting
> 
> Screen matches perfect my macbook pro, and also the color of the album prints we have done in the past.
> 
> ...



You're dead on! I thought about all of this which was why I thought 4k except fir getting closer into puctures at higher resolutions was not the best idea. My macbook is strong but i also worried how it'd perform when editing bulkier projects even though I also do a lot of precomps. I looked into the 13 for a ling time fir the fearures and accuracy. How is the pixel density? Do you notice the reticula pixelgrid at all? Does it look smooth? I used a Dell to reproduce a video on an art installation and it looked ok but wonder how reliable it would have been for edits and photo work.

How was rhe quality control? Does it hold up over time?

Thanks!!!


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## Kittenflower (Feb 13, 2016)

I have an ultrawide screen, the LG UM65 and it's fantastic to do video work / graphic work on it. I used to have 2 HD screens of identical size but I don't miss having 2 screens at all. Loads of space and very comfortable to work on.
Also as for color accuracy, the LG UM65 is really really good. A bit on the expensive side but well worth the investment


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## A-Branger (Feb 14, 2016)

neurosis said:


> You're dead on! I thought about all of this which was why I thought 4k except fir getting closer into puctures at higher resolutions was not the best idea. My macbook is strong but i also worried how it'd perform when editing bulkier projects even though I also do a lot of precomps. I looked into the 13 for a ling time fir the fearures and accuracy. How is the pixel density? Do you notice the reticula pixelgrid at all? Does it look smooth? I used a Dell to reproduce a video on an art installation and it looked ok but wonder how reliable it would have been for edits and photo work.
> 
> How was rhe quality control? Does it hold up over time?
> 
> Thanks!!!



not sure what you mean about the pixel density and the reticula pixelgrid?

I work editing videos, but not much color grading. But my main job is photography and I do zoom in into photoshop a lot. I havent notice pixels? in the screen? if that is what you are asking 

we used to have another 2 Dells monitors at the office. As everyone edited with 3 screens, one being this one for color accuracy. If you drag a photo or video to the other monitor you could tell a big difference in colors.

This is my first color grading monitor. We bought this model as a recomendation of one of the guys who used to work with, hes a bit of a gear nerd.

I also have use this monitor for the last 2-3 years. I havent see any problem with it, and Im still using it at home now as I work here now. No idea if it has drop in quality over time? if that is possible?, and if it did, I woundlt notice as I use it everyday. It still holds color quality as my macbook pro retina


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## neurosis (Feb 19, 2016)

A-Branger said:


> not sure what you mean about the pixel density and the reticula pixelgrid?
> 
> I work editing videos, but not much color grading. But my main job is photography and I do zoom in into photoshop a lot. I havent notice pixels? in the screen? if that is what you are asking
> 
> ...



Hey man! Thanks a lot for the much needed advice. 

What I referred to was stuff I have been reading around the internet in reviews. For what I have been able to see the Dell and ASUS stuff I am interested in, maybe because of the price category, is a bit of a lottery. Some sites that are/were pretty common go to places for info on monitors like TFT central have been speaking of ¨Dell roulette¨no less. 

I was curious what the specific use you had for the monitor, if you used it professionally and if indeed it had suffered a decline in performance since you bought it. Many monitors lose power, get backlight bleed or dead pixels over time depending of use, accidents etc. I have used Dells in my installation work but never needed the color accuracy.

I will build a workstation sometime later in the year and while I save for that I was looking at a monitor to have a better real estate for working on my photography and design work which occasionally includes video. Regardless I need something that can be calibrated nicely and has a good resolution with a good panel. This Dell looks great on paper but I can´t test it anywhere in shop at the moment. So reading the stories of unsatisfied users made me weary. 

I saw a post with pictures were somebody published a view of the screen in which you can clearly see the pixel grid in the monitor and the text was blurry. I know this thing is not a retina by any means. But I wonder if at the price it still holds it is a wise option over cheaper monitors that came out after with similar specs. 

I may just buy it and see how it goes. 


Thanks!


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