I have just about every type of display device in my house other than a projector (for now!), but I’ve rarely used any of my TVs for computer monitor duty.
It’s not that a modern 4K TV can’t work as a monitor, it’s just that it’s not always convenient, but once I made it convenient, it turns out to be an excellent idea. At least for my needs.
My Crazy Work Setups Are All Over My House
I rent a two-story home somewhere between the mountains and the sea, and the entire upper-floor is dedicated to my work. I have a dedicated office space, as well as dedicated areas for VR software testing, retro computing and gaming hardware, video content creation gear, and a small two-printer 3D printing workshop space.
You’d think that would be enough but, workaholic that I am, I also maintain a small desk in the downstairs living area so I can hang out with my wife while getting some writing done. To that end, I generally use my M4 MacBook Pro and my M2 12.9-inch iPad Pro as a dual-monitor workstation.
Ignore the CRT monitor—that’s just for fun.
This is a little cramped in terms of screen real-estate, compared to using my 34-inch ultrawide monitor with my MacBook in my office, but it’s quick and easy to set up and better than working on just one cramped 14-inch monitor.
I Put Together a Rolling AV Cart
On an (initially) unrelated note, my wife wanted us to have a TV in the bedroom. The problem is that there’s nowhere to put one. My best idea at first was to buy a small 32-inch TV and then put it on one of those extendible arms attached to the wall. Like in a hotel.
However, then it occurred to me that I barely every used my TV setup upstairs in my office. The idea was that I would have my own PlayStation 5, Blu-Ray player, and TV there. In practice, when I wasn’t working I didn’t want to be up in my office. So instead of buying an extra TV, I spend about $50 on a rolling AV cart.
Then mounted my Samsung QLED on it, and rolled that into the bedroom.
This solved multiple problems. If we wanted to watch TV in bed over the weekend, I simply had to roll the stand into our bedroom. If I want to play video games out in the living room, I can just roll it to whichever spot works for me. Honestly, this is one of the best moves I’ve ever made and I actually think the next time I have to wall-mount a TV, I’d rather just buy another one of these instead.
My New Mini-LED TV Blew Me Away
Now I was using my Samsung QLED all the time, which made me realize that this TV from 2021 really sucked next to our primary LG CS OLED. This was especially true when watching TV in our bedroom in the dark, where the poor backlight just couldn’t produce an acceptable picture.
I certainly didn’t have another $1500 lying around to buy a second OLED, but my prayers were answered in the form of the TCL C6K, which is virtually identical to the QM6K.
7/10
- Brand
-
TCL
- Display Size
-
85-inches
- Dimensions
-
74 x 42 x 2.3 (without stand)
- Operating System
-
Google TV
I’ve been nothing but impressed with this TV since I got it, and it’s been everything I wanted in a TV while costing me less than $500. Even less taking into account what I got for my Samsung.
When not in use in our bedroom (e.g. during the day) I have the stand next to my little downstairs work desk. Which made me realize that I might a well hook up my Mac to this enormous screen and see how well it would work, for, well, work.
It helps that this new TV has four HDMI ports instead of just three, which means I can have one port dedicated to computer use. So I hooked it up, grabbed my Apple Keyboard and Logitech MX Ergo S trackball, and started this grand experiment.
8/10
- Weight
-
259g
- Sensor
-
Logitech Advanced Optical Tracking
- Wireless?
-
Yes
- Brand
-
Logitech
I decided to spend an entire week downstairs to see if this large display was viable for work, and the short answer is “yes”, but there’s more to it than that.
I have never seen the point of a 27-inch or even a 32-inch 4K desktop monitor. For 4K video editing work maybe, but in video games or even in normal desktop use I just don’t see the benefit at normal viewing distances. Sure, it’s crisper, but honestly, so what?
4K on a 55-inch display? Now we’re talking. I suddenly had all the room I needed, and could use the entire display area without DPI scaling, as you’d need on a 4K monitor. This is basically the equivalent of four 1080p monitors in a 2×2 arrangement. Split down the middle, and suddenly I could look at websites and my word processor without any scrolling. Entire articles fit on the screen and every toolbar has room to breathe.
I can honestly say this is the least-cramped, most comfortable work experience for my particular brand of work yet. It’s also no issue sitting relatively close to the screen, because I don’t need to see the whole screen in one go as if I were watching a TV show or playing a video game. Treating it like a seamless multi-monitor setup makes the most sense.
I Might Switch Out My Monitor for a Mini-LED TV
In my office I currently use a 34-inch ultrawide monitor. Not because of it’s gaming utility (though I don’t hate it!), but because it’s a better alternative to dual screens.
It occurs to me that a mini-LED TV would effectively be like two ultrawides stacked on each other, so I am considering replacing my monitor with one. However, 55-inches is far too large, and in the case of my C6K, the smallest model is 50-inches, which is still a little too big. A 48-inch or something like it using mini-LED technology at these prices would be killer.
Sadly small TVs are pretty rare, so maybe I’ll just get another stand, put it behind my desk and sit a little further back. After all, why shouldn’t I?