Looking for some general Monitor pointers

[ChamomileShark]

To be clear I'm not looking for specific recommendations.

My situation is that I have a 27 inch monitor now on a Windows 11 machine. Most of the plugins I have now are newish, so they can be scaled in some way.

I have poor eyesight plus macular degeneration. I have computer glasses but still struggle a bit sometimes - and this likely to get worse.

I'm thinking of getting a bigger screen in the hope it will help a bit.

I need the monitor for general stuff (like coming on KvR), as well as for spending time working in DAWs (Bitwig & Cubase) and audio editing etc.

I'm not really technical, hopefully I can get a few pointers and avoid any potential traps, so..

For that kind of use would 4k be better than HD? (I'm not watching movies much)

Currently I have a flat screen, would curved be better?

Anything else to be aware of?

I'm seeing my optometrist shortly and I will ask her but I doubt if she will have much advice.

[chk071]

Note that when you buy a bigger monitor with 4K resolution, screen elements will be displayed smaller on the screen, unless you use the operating system's scaling options.

But, for anything over 27", I would indeed go for a resolution over full HD (maybe 1440p on 32", and, above that, 4K). It will become a bit blurred/blocky otherwise, when you see the pixel "stairs" on fonts, for example.

Also an important consideration if how far away from the monitor you are sitting.

I'm personally not a friend of curved. IMO, it only really makes sense if you're a gamer and want to go for a big ultrawide screen.

[T-CM11]

Windows 10/11? Set your scaling higher - to 125 or 150% e.g.
-> Right mouse button on desktop > display settings

Old plugins (or DAW) that are too small and can't be scaled? -> Get a monitor with a lower DPI.
-> In this case the DPI value is important - a bigger monitor doesn't necessarily mean that the plugins will be bigger (can be even the opposite).
Calculate dpi: https://www.calculators.tech/dpi-calculator

[chk071]

Hm, good point. Why go for something new, when you already can get the existing stuff to work better for you.

[ChamomileShark]

Note that when you buy a bigger monitor with 4K resolution, screen elements will be displayed smaller on the screen, unless you use the operating system's scaling options.

But, for anything over 27", I would indeed go for a resolution over full HD (maybe 1440p on 32", and, above that, 4K). It will become a bit blurred/blocky otherwise, when you see the pixel "stairs" on fonts, for example.

Also an important consideration if how far away from the monitor you are sitting.

I'm personally not a friend of curved. IMO, it only really makes sense if you're a gamer and want to go for a big ultrawide screen.

ok thanks for that. Definately not a gamer.

[ChamomileShark]

Windows 10/11? Set your scaling higher - to 125 or 150% e.g.
-> Right mouse button on desktop > display settings

Old plugins (or DAW) that are too small and can't be scaled? -> Get a monitor with a lower DPI.
-> In this case the DPI value is important - a bigger monitor doesn't necessarily mean that the plugins will be bigger (can be even the opposite).
Calculate dpi: https://www.calculators.tech/dpi-calculator

Hi, I've tried that. It tends to be a bit blurry at 125% and alot of stuff is now going off the screen.

You prompted me to update the question to include that yes it's Windows 11 and I'm using mostly new plugins with some kind of scaling options (which I then use).

[chk071]

if you're, like, 70 to 80 cm's away from your monitor, I'd get a 32" display with 1440p. That should do it nicely. I'd also get a IPS screen with decent pixel reaction times, so you don't get blurry scrolling. A good mid range device should do in that regard.

[whyterabbyt]

My situation is that I have a 27 inch monitor now on a Windows 11 machine.

what actual resolution? nobody seems to have bothered to ask.

[T-CM11]

Hi, I've tried that. It tends to be a bit blurry at 125% and alot of stuff is now going off the screen.

What's blurry? Windows? Cubase? (which version?) Bitwig? (which version?)

Going off the screen? You mean that everything's bigger? Wasn't that the point?

[BertKoor]

Windows 10/11? Set your scaling higher - to 125 or 150% e.g.

Hi, I've tried that. It tends to be a bit blurry at 125% and alot of stuff is now going off the screen.

If you can see blurriness on a 27" screen, then your eyesight is not that bad... yet!

And I second the q: what's the resolution of your current monitor? I'd get a larger one with similar resolution, so all things get larger but the screen fits an equal amount of pixels. Or let it be close to retina resolution (dot pitch smaller than 0.150 mm or better than 180 DPI) so the rescaling resulting in blurriness is far less obvious.

[ChamomileShark]

if you're, like, 70 to 80 cm's away from your monitor, I'd get a 32" display with 1440p. That should do it nicely. I'd also get a IPS screen with decent pixel reaction times, so you don't get blurry scrolling. A good mid range device should do in that regard.

thanks!

[ChamomileShark]

what actual resolution? nobody seems to have bothered to ask.

I'm not sure what this is what you are looking for but it says 1920 x 1080?

[ChamomileShark]

Hi, I've tried that. It tends to be a bit blurry at 125% and alot of stuff is now going off the screen.

What's blurry? Windows? Cubase? (which version?) Bitwig? (which version?)

Going off the screen? You mean that everything's bigger? Wasn't that the point?

Everything is more blurry I think.

I was hoping with a larger monitor I'd see the same screes but bigger? As a plugin GUI would be that bit bigger?

[ChamomileShark]

Windows 10/11? Set your scaling higher - to 125 or 150% e.g.

Hi, I've tried that. It tends to be a bit blurry at 125% and alot of stuff is now going off the screen.

If you can see blurriness on a 27" screen, then your eyesight is not that bad... yet!

And I second the q: what's the resolution of your current monitor? I'd get a larger one with similar resolution, so all things get larger but the screen fits an equal amount of pixels. Or let it be close to retina resolution (dot pitch smaller than 0.150 mm or better than 180 DPI) so the rescaling resulting in blurriness is far less obvious.

well it is pretty bad, something like -12 in one eye, plus all the floaters and shadows..but how do I find/ work out the DPI for my monitor?

[BertKoor]

The dpi calculator linked above by T-CM11 for example. Fill in the values: 1920 horizontal x 1080 vertical pixels with 27 inch diagonal = 81 DPI or dot pitch of 0.31 mm.

"4K" is 3840 × 2160 pixels. On 27 inch that's around the "retina" threshold I gave above. That means the blurriness due to rescaling is less noticeable