Ask HN: ANyone use their living room TV as a computer display?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=22023245

by swiftcoder • 7 years ago

1 4 7 years ago

news.ycombinator.com

I've had a 40" 4k display as my main monitor in my home office for a few years now, but it's starting to show signs of age. It occurs to me that if I sat a foot or so further away a 60" 4k TV would work just as well, and there's already one of those in the living room, so why invest in a second one?

I see plenty of articles extolling the benefits of PC gaming on the living room TV, but none about using it as a workstation display. Anyone out there with tips about setup and/or furniture? How do you setup an ergonomic desk arrangement, that can be cleared away to allow watching TV when friends come by? How do you handle cables, peripherals, noise levels, etc?

aurizon2• 7 years ago

I have dual 27 inch 4K. I sit at my desk, and it is quite OK for general work and movies etc. If I increased this to 40 inches I might find too much head travel for my liking. Dual 27" is about my max. I might add a 40" 4K for movies and position it as the left hand display and move it back 6 inches or so. I first went to dual trinitron displays in 1985-6. These were huge, depth-wise and I upgraded to 24" in the late 80's and then went to flatscreen of the same size and to 27 " 1200 x 1024 (I think). I deal in maps and geological work, so I always pushed the envelope. I do not think I will go over 4K for a while. These 8K units that are looming - I do not think I can actually make effective use of them.

swiftcoder• 7 years ago

The trick I’ve found for using the 40” as a monitor is just to sit further back from it - I have a very deep desk, such that the monitor fills approximately the same field of view as a 32” monitor would at normal distance.

aurizon2• 7 years ago

I wonder, mimic a window by putting a 4K inserted into the wall cavity so it is flush, add curtains, and then use a 4K can to shoot the live view you would see through that space, show a visitor, then switch the feed - looks like magic...

gboone• 7 years ago

I actually don't watch TV,and haven't for over 20 years. But I do use a 4k 50 inch TV for a monitor. You are correct about distance away. I measured and it's 89cm my case.

The back lights on ones (~$250) that are lower priced can crap out after a few years. They are strips of LEDs chained together. The entire top half of bottom half will go dim. I have disassembled and fixed but it's not worth it.

I also use a laptop on a stand and stand at my desk. Both are easy to move as the desk is a square, drafting style setup with the top laid flat. The TV hangs from the ceiling, and can swivel left right.

Maybe you could set your desk in the other direction.

Ask HN: ANyone use their living room TV as a computer display?

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