From a technical standpoint this Sony 4K TV is as good as it gets as a computer monitor
replacement.
It uses a glossy IPS panel for vibrate colors.
It supports 4K 4:4:4 chroma subsampling for clear legible text.
Input lag is pretty much unnoticeable with my mouse movements.
And the Screen Size, Resolution and PPI are pretty much perfect for my comfort.
But is 43 inches really practical to use day to day?
My short answer is yes.
For productivity purposes I’m really enjoying all the extra screen real estate with a big
screen.
But designed as a TV, the lack of displayport connections, the need to keep the remote close
by to turn on and off the display, and the non-adjustable stand are the main weaknesses
versus a dedicated PC monitor.
Hi I’m David and these are my thoughts on using a Sony 43” 4K TV as my computer monitor.
I’ve always been a big fan of 34 inch ultrawide monitors and was always a little hesitant
to upgrade to anything bigger.
But from a resolution, size and pixel per inch standpoint a 4K TV is pretty much the
same as an ultrawide plus some extra screen real estate on the top and bottom.
This means I can still use it like an ultrawide monitor for editing long video timelines.
And use the extra space for leaving other reference material on the screen for quick
access as needed.
And for coders who really like their tall portrait setups to display a lot of lines
of code.
The vertical size and resolution of this 4K TV is almost like having a built in portrait
display.
If you want to kick back and just watch some videos, you really can’t beat having a large
16:9 aspect ratio for the 99% of videos out there.
Which always felt a little less than stellar on my ultrawide monitors.
Though there are some downsides I found using this large TV as a monitor.
I sit about 30 inches away from this TV for my comfort and readability at 100% scaling
but at that distance you’re viewing the edges of the screen at a bit off angle, that
can be hard to see without physically moving your head around.
This is definitely a case where a slight curve would have been helpful.
Also using a fully maximized window or web browser is going to be pretty inefficient
with such a large screen leaving lots empty areas on most websites and just feels a little
too big trying to constantly scan your eyes across the entire screen.
The benefit for me having a large display is still keeping my applications relatively
small but having the flexibility to lay them all out at the same time like a multi monitor
setup just without any of the bezels.
Gaming on the 4K TV works okay with the low input lag and feels nicely cinematic for casual
games especially when you can sit back with a controller in hand.
But for shooters or face paced games I find it a little too big and overwhelming, and
definitely prefer a higher refresh rate ultrawide monitor instead.
Other considerations to think about if you plan on using this 4K TV as a monitor is the
lack of DisplayPort connections.
Only 2 of the 3 HDMI ports on the TV will support the 4K 4:4:4 chroma subsampling for
clear on screen text.
And also consider some of your devices like my Dell XPS 15 laptop for example that won’t
support anything beyond 4K 30Hz over HDMI Also with TVs, they won’t have a power saving
standby mode like most PC monitors.
It will automatically turn the TV off it doesn’t detect a signal from a sleeping computer but
it takes about 15 minutes before this kicks in.
And when you wake your computer you’ll need to manually power it back on.
The power button on the back of the TV is hard to reach so I just keep the remote close
by and turn it on and off manually with the rest of my computer.
And finally the stand, like most TVs it doesn’t have any adjustable features like tilt or
height but mounting it on a TV arm mount is always an option.
So that’s a quick look at me using a Sony 43 inch 4K TV as my PC monitor.
And to my surprise, I think I’ll continue to use as my main productivity monitor over
my usual ultrawide.
But those are just my thoughts on why I’ll continue to be using this 4K TV as my monitor
until something bigger and better comes along.
But hope you guys enjoyed this one.
You know what to do.
And I’ll see you in the next video.