Display Dilemma

Author
Discussion

cobra kid

Original Poster:

5,243 posts

247 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
15 yr old son has two screens on his desk (one really old Samsung flat screen and one basic flat PC monitor) with one HDMI input into each. One has a Firestick and one has his Playstation into it. Space is at a premium now with a laptop making an appearance for his schoolwork.

I've been looking at these mini projectors that are about the size of a 3/4 size Pringles tube.

Has anyone used one to replace telly and games console screens? It would free up a lot of space if I can get it positioned correctly.

Cheers......

walamai

457 posts

214 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
Why not just a single monitor? Even a 27" monitor would be plenty big enough for a bedroom desk, and fine for playstation/video streaming etc and could also be used a second monitor for a laptop. Most monitors will have two or three HDMI inputs, so no need to be swapping stuff around.

I can't see a cheap projector being a good option. They will be much dimmer, so not a great image quality unless the room is pitch black. And resolution is likely to be worse also. (Assuming a like for like spend on a monitor vs projector.) And that's without the practical hassle of where to mount it, where to put a screen, the noise it makes etc.

What's the problem you are trying to solve?

Edited by walamai on Monday 4th November 12:58

mmm-five

11,437 posts

291 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
If space is at a premium, then getting the monitors off the desk and onto an arm may help.

As suggested, a newer higher resolution, larger monitor (using the arm as well) will be a better upgrade than a cheap projector (especially if it's one of those promising 3,000,000 lumens for £100/was £200 and give us a 5-star review for a cheap tripod/screen).

GuigiaroBertone

148 posts

12 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
Any projector will always give a far worse image than a monitor of the same value. it will also be more of a faff. Just don't do it.

Mounting a big monitor directly to a wall will barely take up any more space.

About 8 years ago I mounted a 60" TV to my office wall as a monitor and it still works perfectly for me. I do most of my work on a laptop and then use the tv as a second desktop.

wyson

2,696 posts

111 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
Not sure what you are trying to achieve to be honest. Sounds like you could do with replacing the existing set up with a Smart Monitor? Will work as a PC monitor, but has speakers and camera so you can play console games, watch TV on it, do video calls independently from the main PC etc? Should save a lot of space on the desk, especially if mounted on an arm as suggested above.

If you get a projector (from what I have read in What Hifi, good ones aren't cheap, at least as much as a high quality monitor) where will you mount the screen? Could you mount a smart monitor there instead?

wyson

2,696 posts

111 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
Not sure what the size / resolution of the TV is, but is it an option to buy a HDMI splitter and use that as a monitor / games console viewer? Might be feasible if it's 32inch 4k, definitely would be sub par to work on if 32 inch 1080p.

cobra kid

Original Poster:

5,243 posts

247 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
I think then, that I shall ditch the projector idea. It's probably me being a bit gadget obsessed. We have an attic bedroom recently vacated by my daughter who is off to uni and there's a nice wall in there to use as a cinema room.

I'd have to think carefully about the mounting situation of a big screen due to the desk back wall being partially obscured being a sticking out part of the wall when being viewed from his bed (hard to explain the layout).

All food for thought, thank you.


cobra kid

Original Poster:

5,243 posts

247 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
wyson said:
Not sure what the size / resolution of the TV is, but is it an option to buy a HDMI splitter and use that as a monitor / games console viewer? Might be feasible if it's 32inch 4k, definitely would be sub par to work on if 32 inch 1080p.
It's a circa 20 year old "HD Ready" one! I tried a splitter last week and the PlayStation isn't too hot on it. Plus the remote is knackered.

alock

4,288 posts

218 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
cobra kid said:
wyson said:
Not sure what the size / resolution of the TV is, but is it an option to buy a HDMI splitter and use that as a monitor / games console viewer? Might be feasible if it's 32inch 4k, definitely would be sub par to work on if 32 inch 1080p.
It's a circa 20 year old "HD Ready" one! I tried a splitter last week and the PlayStation isn't too hot on it. Plus the remote is knackered.
If you're trying to get a TV "working" as a monitor, it's worth 5 minutes reading up on chroma subsampling. A cheap older TV will not do 4:4:4 and hence will lead to blurry text when used as a monitor.

www.google.com/search?client=opera&q=chroma+4....

mmm-five

11,437 posts

291 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
cobra kid said:
It's a circa 20 year old "HD Ready" one! I tried a splitter last week and the PlayStation isn't too hot on it. Plus the remote is knackered.
Probably not even 1080p then, as that was 'Full HD'. HD Ready was just 720p.

extraT

1,827 posts

157 months

Monday 4th November
quotequote all
It sounds like there isn’t enough space on his desk…one screen and he can just physically change the cables when using whatever device he wants?