OT: Just went dual LCD monitor (WooHoo)

JohnnyRoy wrote on 3/3/2005, 4:38 AM
A while ago I had asked your advice on dual LCD monitors and if I should go 17” or 19” coming from a 21” CRT. Just to let you guys know, I did finally chuck my CRT for dual Samsung 710N-2 17” monitors and I couldn’t be happier. There is no ghosting or anything. These things are bright and crisp and the CRT is history.

For all of you who suggested nothing smaller than 19”, I did some measurements and realized that two of them would overwhelm my workspace area so I went with the 17”. The clarity on LCD monitors is so much better that I really don’t mind that they are smaller. Having the double the horizontal view more than makes up for it because now I can place my video preview on the other monitor or even work on a Word document on one monitor while viewing what you’re writing about in the other.

Last night while I was editing a project in Vegas, I had Sound Forge open on the other monitor. Every time I would right-click on audio and select Open in Sound Forge, I would just move my mouse to the other monitor, edit it and save. I can’t imagine how I did without dual monitors for this long. It makes editing so much more productive.

If you’re sitting on the fence about it. JUMP! Newegg.com has the Samsung 710N-2’s for $244. Two of them are only $488!!! Sure they’re not top-of-the-line. But I got two for the price of one top-of-the-line monitor. I am one happy editor. ;-D

Thanks guys for all your advice. Hope this helps someone else who’s considering it.

~jr

Comments

Grazie wrote on 3/3/2005, 4:48 AM
Got my twin Samsung 172V LCDs open at them moment and most days too! Love 'em!

Now, JR, start get funky with the Workspace settings for your DUALs and you gonna Fllllyyyyyy . . away . .. Having 2 up and working with 2 instances of Vegas you gotta a whole new world opening up to you. 17" is just right for my workspace and fit great with my workflow.

Welcome aboard the good ship Duallies . . NOW start playing wioth those workspaces . . .

Grazie
ibliss wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:26 AM
You might find this free utility useful:

Oscar's Multimon

Featuring:

*It adds second taskbar to the extended desktop on Monitor 2 (either right or left)

What more could a dual screen user ask for?

I know this looks spammy, but it's a free and useful thing for the privileged among us :)

JJKizak wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:36 AM
Make sure your refresh rate is at least 75 or you will get a lot of "blinkies" on the timeline playback.

JJK
Bob Greaves wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:54 AM
I have not gone flat panel yet (plan to eventually). However, I have been dual monitor for three years and could never go back. I have three workstations that I use during the day. All three are dual monitor. I really like:

* research references and bibliographies on one screen while writing an article on the other.
* web page up on one screen while editing HTML on the other.
* mixdown controls on one screen and multitrack wav forms on the other.

Everyone develops their own favorite way to break up the real estate but it is so very handy.
MyST wrote on 3/3/2005, 7:09 AM
For the person on a limited budget...

Would 2-15" LCDs be worth it over a 17" CRT?

Mario
Spot|DSE wrote on 3/3/2005, 7:13 AM
In my opinion, absolutely. I like smaller monitors anyway, due to height profile. Anything bigger than a 17", I feel like I'm looking up, vs looking a more natural left to right or right to left. But two 15" vs one 17" still gives you far more horizontal viewing area.
ken c wrote on 3/3/2005, 7:54 AM
of course, some of us (daytraders), have SIX monitors ...

2 LCDs, Viewsonic 19", and 6 Sony 19-21" CRTS..

it's great to stretch your vegas timeline over 3+ monitors, it's the best.

DUAL monitors are for newbies... try 4-6 for the POWER MONITOR experience..

the power... muhahahahah

ken
ibliss wrote on 3/3/2005, 7:57 AM
But then where do your speakers go?
seanfl wrote on 3/3/2005, 8:02 AM
for what it's worth, dell just finished up a deal the delivered a 19" (1905fp) for $386! it's now around $460, but still an amazing deal. I added the speaker option for $50 last year and have been very happy to have a tiny nearfield mix in front of me when I don't want the big mackie 824's on.

two 19" flat panels are amazing. I can only imagine 2 21 or 24's!

Sean
Grazie wrote on 3/3/2005, 8:12 AM
Ken? - this is starting to get a tad Freudian - me thinks, "DUAL monitors are for newbies... try 4-6 for the POWER MONITOR experience.. "

. . . G
JJKizak wrote on 3/3/2005, 8:52 AM
I am waiting for farss's report on the HP 23" job. This monitor sounds like what I want. I have run out of room though, might have to hang it from the ceiling.

JJK
Bob Greaves wrote on 3/3/2005, 8:52 AM
Is this what you want?

My next monitor
JJKizak wrote on 3/3/2005, 10:06 AM
That is kool, but it still has the lines in the center like the old Cinerama.

JJK
Nat wrote on 3/3/2005, 10:12 AM
I wouldn't consider a 15" LCD since the resolution is 1024*768 which in my opinion is too low for editing, even if you got 2 of them.

17" and 19" LCDs have a resolution of 1280*1024 so you get the same screen space. So if you have a 17 that you put closer to your eyes it'll be much the same as a 19" since the resolution is the same.
jlafferty wrote on 3/3/2005, 10:26 AM
Started making the change-over myself. Got a "Nu" 17" LCD for Xmas and I have only very minor complaints. However, considering the size, weight and cost ($254), I couldn't be happier. I kidded that I look forward to the next move just for the fun of having to carry it up the steps :D

Stats on the Nu monitor read just like the Samsung (almost): 16ms refresh; 500:1 contrast; 75hz at 1280x1024; .264 dot pitch.

I'll probably pair it off with a Samsung 17" in the coming month or so, provided I can find a paying home for both my 19" CRT's and other assorted HW I should be getting rid of.

- jim
Liam_Vegas wrote on 3/3/2005, 10:41 AM
Someone over on the SCVUG posted a link to this new DELL 24" monitor that seems at least equivalent or maybe even superior to the 23" HP L2335. And at $1199 - quite a bit cheaper as well.

I'm seriously considering getting one... next step... Z1U
Rednroll wrote on 3/3/2005, 1:13 PM
JR,
The new system on working on building will have dual 17" monitors. My wife got me a Dell 17" analog LCD for Christmas, so I'm going to purchase another one of those. $269
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/productlisting.aspx?c=us&l=en&cs=19&category_id=210&first=true

My question is what video card are you using? I'm looking to get a dual monitor card and would also like to be able to send the Vegas video preview window to an external TV monitor, so when I get more into the video side of Vegas, I can see a CRT TV preview.
busterkeaton wrote on 3/3/2005, 3:11 PM
I like Dell's UltraSharp line of monitors. You can get cheaper monitors and you probably can get better monitors, but it's hard to get as a good a monitor for the price.

Here's what Digital Video Editing said about the 20" model.
http://www.dtvprofessional.com/articles/viewarticle.jsp?id=28363

edit: Here's a preview and a confirmation of the New Dell 24"
It does 1920 by 1200
http://www.engadget.com/entry/1234000347031610/
http://www.techtree.com/techtree/jsp/showstory.jsp?storyid=57829
JohnnyRoy wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:05 PM
> My question is what video card are you using?

Red,

I have an ATI Radeon 9800 Pro but that’s because when I bought it, I was looking to speed up rendering in Ulead Cool 3D Studio (whose rendering times are pathetic even with a good graphics card). I now use Cinema 4D for my 3D work but haven’t been doing much 3D lately. I also use to do on-line gaming (Unreal Tournament, Wolfenstein, Quake III) but haven’t had the time for that lately either.

I think one of the Matrox cards would be best unless you do 3D. I thought Spot mentioned that Matrox has a card that allows for 2 displays and a video monitor. Maybe he can comment here on the make/model.

~jr
JohnnyRoy wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:07 PM
> What more could a dual screen user ask for?

Ibliss,

Oscar never ceases to amaze me. I’ve been using his Real-DRAW Pro, Photo-Brush and DCE AutoEnhance for a while. (I use Real-DRAW Pro to create the 2D/3D interface for Ultimate S and Celluloid) He writes some incredible software. I will definitely check out this little utility.

~jr
Spot|DSE wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:12 PM
All the Matrox G series have an upgrade to allow for 2 computer monitors and one NTSC/PAL monitor, I like the P650 Millenium because it's silent and works great in the studio. There are other great vid cards out there. I did a review of the Matrox about a year ago.
http://www.matrox.com/mga/workstation/audio/news/reviews/feb2004/p650_dmn.cfm
ushere wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:17 PM
what video cards are people using with dual monitor set up?

leslie
Rednroll wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:27 PM
Thanks for the advice. I've always been a big fan of the ATI cards, I've experienced minimal problems with them when doing audio work. The thing I hate about ATI is their website. I know what I'm looking for in a card feature wise, but I can never seem to find the details of that card on their website to know for sure if it will meet my feature requirements. Even a picture of the connectors on the card would at least tell me if it has dual monitor connectability and a NTSC/PAL connection, but no I guess they feel it's more important to show a picture of the box that it comes in and ellaborate on how well it runs the latest DOOM game. I'm not looking for any super 3D processing power because I won't be doing any of that, just looking for the minimal that will get me by. The Matrox G cards sound promising I will look into those. One question though, when the card has "expandibility" what is required on your PC to expand it? Do I have to plug the expansion into an available PCI slot, or is it just a wire connection between the expansion and the video card? I have to consider that I run dual PCI sound cards, a PCI SCSI card, plus a network card, and a PCI paralel port card for my midi interface on my machine, so available PCI slots that won't have any IRQ conflicts is a concern.

Thanks again for the info,
Red
Spot|DSE wrote on 3/3/2005, 5:37 PM
http://www.matrox.com/mga/workstation/audio/apps/home.cfm will show the various configurations of the card. In the upper right of the original page the first link goes to, you'll see a "more information" box. Click in there, it will show you pretty well everything you'd want to see.
ATI cards are quite good, and they have duallies too, Matrox seems to be one of the best, unless you need MPEG decoding on the card.