is there a solution for 4k screens? Host or plugin with zoom?

[lajosuti]

Hi,

There are some plugins which don't support zoom. Is there a solution to make them bigger thus readable? I am using windows and reaper. In windows I can use the magnifier, but that makes the whole desktop and everything bigger, that's not what I want. Or maybe there is a host plugin which can do this?

I hope there is something out there! Cheers

[GreyLion]

I spent wayyyy too many hours trying to solve this issue when I moved up to 4K. Basically, if there's no resizing option, you're stuck. I read on some thread that Ableton has a facility for resizing VSTs inside it, but I don't use Ableton, so I can't even imagine what that might be. If the GUI is bit-mapped, making it bigger would just make it unusably fuzzy anyhow.

The closest thing to a solution that I found is that you can insert VSTs in slots in Axiom, Destructor, and Late Replies, all of which are freely resizeable, and set them to reveal the controls in a strip beneath them when their slot is selected. Of course, you then have to turn off every other component in the plugin chain you've just created, if you want to process with only that VST. This makes some VSTs usable once again, but I don't see a way to access internal presets or other elements like waveform displays using this method.

The good news, I suppose, is that devs are finally this year starting to realize that 4K is the new standard and they better start updating their plugs to be able to resize. I still can't use a lot of plugs that I've spent a lot of money on, though, and it's deeply annoying that so many of even the larger devs are still behind the curve.

[GreyLion]

Incidentally, for Reaper, there is kind of a solution for the host size itself. You have to try out a lot of different themes, and then go in and tweak the font sizes, and maybe a few colors, to make the letters and numbers readable. You have to experiment to see which settings and themes work best for you. I increase most of the WALTER fonts by about three points. I pretty much stick with Solaris_LCS_Blue_v2-Brighter. I think I tweaked some fonts from a light gray to white to make the contrast better, as well as enlarging fonts.

EDIT: And both Tracktion and FlStudio are resizeable, too. Tracktion is still very much a work in progress, IMHO, and I'm waiting for the v20.1 release of FLStudio, which is supposed to add features to make it be usable as a more linear DAW. MixBus does this thing where it detects your monitor resolution and resizes itself, and I think this can be manually adjusted, but it still doesn't have VST3 support, so that's right out for me.

[lfm]

Using a 32" monitor at about 85 cm distance your viewing angle is 45 degrees and vision needs to be about 0.7 arc minutes for eyes to resolve 4k. Roughly 1 arc minute for grown ups is normal vision.

Using 27" monitor the same is 39 degrees and 0.6 arc minutes vision for eyes to resolve 4k.

You can always think about is 4k is really needed.

In windows the resources just filled with a color or gradient is sized based on system font size. But since plugins often use images as texture they force this to certain resolutions or they will look dithered and awful. Since plugins often mimic some hardware they are fixed in certain sizes.

So size of system font or the "make things look larger" in windows might help in some cases.

One thing you could consider is running the graphics card in 1080p instead. Letting every 4 pixels on screen represent one on source will hardly look bad in this case. You are down on what eye can resolve pretty much.

I mean - does 4k really create benefits?

There is a tendency that more is always better - in this pixel war. Manufacturers certainly want us to think so - selling new stuff to us.

You can have a read here:
http://www.red.com/learn/red-101/eyesig ... on-viewing

So 4k is used on some cinemas with huge screens - makes you think, doesn't it.

Viewing angle of 45 degrees is a good starting point where 4k pays off.

Magnifier Glass in windows can help if just a few occations you need bigger looks of things.

[Unaspected]

I do agree that 4K seems excessive unless you want a huge monitor.

Windows 10 magnifier has three modes. I would recommend using "docked" mode for this task.

[lajosuti]

Thanks a lot. Seems like this issue is still unsolved I won't base my monitor purchase upon some plugins which cannot be resized, it's cheaper to buy a resize-able plugin than to replace my screen.

[Unaspected]

Thanks a lot. Seems like this issue is still unsolved I won't base my monitor purchase upon some plugins which cannot be resized, it's cheaper to buy a resize-able plugin than to replace my screen.

Absolutely. I couldn't buy VSM-3 when it was on sale recently, purely because I can hardly see it - and that's on a 27" monitor with half your resolution. Great sound but pretty much unusable.

Someone needs to write a plugin plugin host that can rescale plugin GUIs loaded into it. "Yo dawg, I heard you like plugins..."

[Psuper]

Like anything you'll want to do your research before moving to 4k for a DAW.

In this case I'll do it for you as I have stated countless times in Reasontalk who keeps bringing this up for Propellerhead to do (and waste their time doing for anyone who is even remotely serious about music making)-- you need at least a 40" 4k monitor with 4-4-4 chroma.

There's no reason to go bigger than 1440p if monitor space/size is out of the question. A 1440p monitor at 24"+ is perfect for anything "DAW". If you don't want that large of a monitor or don't have the space, don't do 4k for a DAW, there's absolutely no benefit.

[Michael L]

I have a cheap app to toggle between different screen resolutions.
Some people have two screens at different resolutions (my future preference)

[acYm]

4K isn't the standard for PC monitors, it's the current standard for living room TV's. those are two completely separate worlds.

there's no such thing as an actual standard size for PC's but both 1080p and 1440p are much more popular than 4K.

[yellowmix]

Windows 10 has a magnifier app built-in. You can set it up many different ways.

[Scotty]

I have a 3rd monitor on an arm where I drag any plugins that are too hard to use comfortably (that would be you Universal Audio, Waves, NI and other big players) . I keep it to 1280 X 1024 and since stopped swearing. I use the ecotron arm... you can put it on a wall or bolt it to the desk. It is out of the way when i don't need and useful for this purpose or another place to put some analyser plugins.

[GreyLion]

4K isn't the standard for PC monitors, it's the current standard for living room TV's. those are two completely separate worlds.

there's no such thing as an actual standard size for PC's but both 1080p and 1440p are much more popular than 4K.

Sure, they have a larger installed base because they've been at consumer prices longer. But 4K isn't the future -- it's here now. I'm running a 43" Samsung 6290 screen with 4:4:4 Chroma as my monitor. Paid about $350 for it, so it's no longer a luxury item.

The old sizes and resolutions are dying quickly. We always go for biggerbetterfaster tech and it moves at ever-increasing velocity. Splitting out the market into tv vs. computer screens is a false dichotomy that matters less every year. It's all just pixels. Within the next couple of years, we'll see 1080 and 1440 screens vanish from the store shelves as manufacturers transition to 4K and nobody buys the old tech.

Devs don't need to be genius futurists on this one. They just need to read the writing on the wall.

[Trancit]

I'm running a 43" Samsung 6290 screen with 4:4:4 Chroma as my monitor.

I´ve seen, that it is a TV...
I´ve read many articles saying, that TV´s aren´t that good for working with working apps like office programms and I think in this category fall our stuff as well...

Do you notice any disadvantages by using that TV as your monitor...

Curious because 4k TV´s are much much cheaper than monitors

[DJ Warmonger]

Live 10 can upscale plugins... or not, you can choose to turn it on and off individually for each.