A monitor is something that many employers and employees don’t think is very important. That attitude needs to change. You look at it eight hours a day or more, so it’s just as important to choose the right monitor. How do you do that? What do you best take into account?
Fortunately, we are increasingly seeing that people do value the monitor. Whether you are a receptionist, photographer or graphic designer, there is a suitable screen for every job. And it’s important to recognize that importance and buy the ideal monitor for your use case.
Good monitors not only impact results and productivity, they also reduce eye strain. It’s just hard to see the forest for the trees because monitors come in all shapes and sizes. There are an enormous number of factors to consider.
Therefore, let us guide you through the different factors that a monitor has, so that after reading this article you will know perfectly what to buy and why.
Which setup do I find easy?
Which screen setup is best? There is no such thing as a perfect screen setup. What’s most important is that it feels ergonomically correct for you. A common setup in the office is one with two screens side by side. You can also choose an ultrawide monitor, such as one of 49 inches. Then you get one screen with the workspace of two 24-inch monitors. This is useful if you need to open several windows side by side, or when using different workplaces.
Why two screens? They greatly increase your productivity because you have twice as much space to work more efficiently. You use one screen for things like photo editing software, the other to organize your files in File Explorer. If the screens are the same size, it looks even more beautiful on your desk and works easier than with different sizes.
You can also choose to put them on top of each other, use one horizontally and one vertically side by side, or put your laptop next to your screen on a laptop stand. Plenty of options. You can go as far as you want with that because you can add as many screens as you need.
What format and resolution?
There are quite a few screen resolutions and sizes. Again, it is not so easy to know which type you need for which use, because screen resolution and screen size go hand in hand. An ideal standard screen is 24 inches (61 cm). In recent years, larger 27-inch (69 cm) or 34-inch (86 cm) screens are also gaining in popularity. Larger screens are more interesting at higher resolutions, such as 2K or 4K.
The larger your screen, the sharper the picture elements should be. That sharpness is determined by resolution, or the number of pixels in width times the number of pixels in height. Possible image resolutions include QHD, 4K, 1080p, WQHD, UWQHD, and so on,
The standard resolution today is Full HD with 1080p (1920 x 1080 pixels). There are, of course, much sharper standards such as QHD (2,560 x 1,440 pixels) and 4K UHD (3,840 x 2,160 pixels). So 4K contains four times as many pixels as 1080p. For office work, QHD is often more than enough. For graphic design, programming or video editing, you better lean toward a 2K or 4K screen of at least 32 inches.
Not all combinations can be used without a problem. A 1080p resolution on a monitor 34 inches or larger is simply not going to look nice and blurry. Headache incoming. That’s because ppi (pixel per inch), or pixel density, is very low on this combination. The opposite is true for, say, a 4K resolution on a 24-inch monitor. It’s a waste to set such a large resolution on a 24-inch screen, because you won’t even notice most of the details.
An average business user will have enough with a 60Hz screen. The hertz determines how fluid your monitor is during scrolling, for example. Higher refresh rates are more suitable for gamers. Graphic designers do benefit from a good DeltaE value. This measures the difference between two colors and must be less than or equal to three. A value higher than three gives incorrect color representations.
Type of display and screen panel
There are different types of displays for different types of use. The three displays most commonly used are LCD, LED and OLED. Each, of course, has its strengths and weaknesses. Let’s explore the differences in more detail.
LCD monitor
Lcd is the most popular choice and the most common type of professional monitors. This is because they have different panel types: IPS, TN and VA. The principle remains the same with every LCD, though: liquid crystals (liquid crystal display) are illuminated by fluorescent backlighting, and determine how much light enters the pixels. Those pixels are divided into red, blue and green. This allows each image to be displayed correctly.
- IPS (uses: work environment, graphic design, gaming)
The in-plane-switching (IPS) panel has the best color reproduction and viewing angle up to 178°. Energy consumption and price are usually higher than for a TN or VA display. Fortunately, most monitors today have an “ECO mode” that reduces power consumption.
- TN (usage: gaming)
The TN (twisted nematic) panel has the fastest response time, but it is an obsolete panel. That response time determines how quickly the monitor responds to motion. This is not of much interest to an office environment, but can offer advantages for gamers. Of the three types of panels, TN has the lowest image quality, least wide viewing angle and unbalanced color reproduction.
- VA (use: multimedia, work environment,)
The VA panel is the middle ground and sits between IPS and VA on all features. A common problem with VA panels is ghosting: motion blur when moving objects on the screen.
Led monitor
Every LED monitor is actually an LCD monitor, but with different technology. Instead of fluorescent backlighting, LED lights are used here. Thanks to LED technology, you get better contrast ratios, nicer colors and less power consumption. Again, you can choose between the same panels as lcd.
OLED monitor
OLED monitors use state-of-the-art technology: organic light emitting diode. That means that each pixel individually lights itself, without backlighting. This means that black pixels are completely “turned off.” As a result, you get perfect black tones and extremely high and dynamic contrast. In addition, with OLED, you have a response times of 0.1 milliseconds, exceptionally wide viewing angles and low power consumption. However, you pay a high price for this, and this type is especially suitable for graphic designers who have high demands.
What connections do you need?
To connect your monitor, you have several connectors. It is convenient that many monitors increasingly have the most common connectors. But when do you use which connection? The choice often depends on the user’s specific applications and specific devices.
HDMI
Chances are you know HDMI, as the connection is used in all kinds of multimedia devices like TVs, beamers, digiboxes, game consoles, … In the office, an HDMI cable is usually the favorite. HDMI allows the transfer of uncompressed video and digital audio with just one cable. The fast data transfer allows for high resolutions up to 8K, increasing video quality. Almost all laptops and computers have an HDMI connector, so this is always a good choice.
DisplayPort
A DisplayPort connector is mainly used to connect displays to computers. Like HDMI, DisplayPort also allows fast data transfer resulting in very high resolution, but without audio. DisplayPort also supports daisy chaining, where you connect one monitor directly to another monitor.
USB-C
USB-C is a universal connection for computers, monitors and smartphones alike. The most modern option of the three also has the most features. With a USB-C cable, the port can transmit both image and audio signals, transfer data and charge an external device. One cable instead of three makes your desk a lot more organized. USB-C also allows you to take advantage of daisy chaining.
Note that there are many different types of USB-C ports, each with different capabilities. It varies by device what your USB-C port is capable of. So is the port not as universal as claimed after all?
KVM switch
Suppose you work somewhere where you work with two or three different computers. It is impossible to plant three monitors, three mice and three keyboards on your desk. Isn’t there a device that allows you to control several computers with just one monitor, mouse and keyboard? Of course there is!
Such a device is called a KVM switch, and basically does just what the name suggests: Keyboard, Video (monitor), Mouse. With a switch, you can easily switch between different computers with one monitor without hassle.
To make your desk even more organized, you can attach a USB hub to your monitor. There you can plug in components like a keyboard, mouse, webcam or a hard drive without all sorts of cables dangling under your desk. Sometimes there are even hubs that have a built-in KVM switch.
Ergonomics
Ergonomics has already been covered in this article on monitor setup. Tired eyes, headaches or a sore neck are the last thing you want after a long working day or week. You can therefore take several things into account when choosing a monitor. For example, a flickering image signal can put a lot of strain on your eyes. Flickering is most commonly experienced with LED screens, and that, in turn, can cause headaches or other physical complaints.
Another windfall: many monitors today are designed with ergonomics in mind. So make sure you choose an adjustable monitor. That is, you can adjust it in height, tilt it up or down and swivel it around. A vertical screen is useful if you work with long documents. If your monitor is adjustable, you can adjust it perfectly to your sitting and working posture.
If your monitor is not adjustable, you can purchase a monitor arm. That’s a kind of bracket that you screw to the monitor with VESA mounting points. You attach that bracket to the desk, and you can rotate, turn and move your screen at any angle or position.
LG has cleverly anticipated this with their “Ergo” monitors. Those come standard with a bracket, so you have no extra cost. In that same product line, LG offers a screen for developers: the dual up monitor, a square screen. It’s actually two 21.5-inch monitors with a 16:9 aspect ratio on top of each other, 16:18 in other words. And that’s molded into one screen! So you have more screen and less space on your desk. Want to connect a laptop to the top half, and a desktop to the bottom? No problem at all.
Also consider the viewing angle and the distance relative to you and the screen. You should be at least an arm’s length (60 cm) away from your screen. The viewing angle and distance naturally increase as you use more and/or larger monitors. Many ultrawide monitors (that is, larger than 34 inches and with an aspect ratio of 21:9) are often curved. That is, the sides are curved, so your viewing angle is slightly reduced. Without a curved screen, the sides of the screen are so far into the corner of your eye that you constantly have to turn your head from left to right. That quickly becomes annoying. With regular screens with a resolution of 16:9, it does not offer that much added value, unless you like more immersion while gaming in your spare time.
Built-in options
Are built-in options important to you? Consider speakers, a webcam, touch screen, headphone hook or color sensor. These extras depend on your budget and desired preferences. They are usually not much needed, but are nice to have. Most people buy headphones or external speakers for during office hours, although it’s worth considering built-in speakers. The sound can surprise you just like that!
Those built-in speakers are not easy to buy without any knowledge though, they often vary very harshly in sound quality. The specifications are often meaningless and you can’t just test them in a store either. This is why we recommend reading yourself into reviews.
Price
A monitor can be as cheap or as expensive as you want it to be. The larger the size and resolution, the more the monitor costs. You can find a 24-inch or 27-inch basic monitor under 200 euros. If you want a higher resolution or extra options, you will easily spend 300 to 400 euros. The real premium models sometimes run to over a thousand euros, but these are really meant for graphics professionals and seasoned gamers.