4k monitor vs 4k tv as a 2nd display

[ElDogman]

After careful consideration of my last post on which combination of apple devices to own, I decided to simply get a smaller notebook MBP or MBA (if they refresh it) and to connect it to a larger screen. the larger screen will serve as a 2nd display (mostly for media such as gaming, tv, etc).. but perhaps occasionally reading PDF documents.

I haven't owned a tv in a while either.
I'm looking at something 28-40 ish. budget 400-700 USD.

I've heard there were issues with tvs before due to upscaling issues, but if the tv has a high resolution, it shouldn't matter so much right?
what are the pros and cons because it seems that I could get a larger 4k TV for less than same size monitor.

 

[JJayguy23]

I guess you may have some scaling issues with text and what not. Other than that, a second monitor for media consumption should be a ok.

Pros: big screen, lower price

Cons: PPI will be lower. Typically max res of 4K no matter how big the tv...for now.

 

[anthonylambert]

I would like to hear from people that do this. You can pick up a great 4k TV screen cheap at about 40 inches.

The problem with large screens including my 32 Apple Cinema screen is that you have to move the mouse and your head too far. The monitor is to big for your field of vision. So can only really look at a square foot of screen at a time and on a 40 inch screen you are forced to move the mouse feet to the top of the screen to click the menu.

If Apple changed the menu so each menu lived with the application a large screen would work much better. Menus used to be place able on NeXT so each app had one which you could move about. Windows too has a menu which lives with the application. This works better on large screens.

 

[notjustjay]

One thing to keep in mind is whether the 4K TV you want supports something called 4:4:4 chroma sampling.

http://www.overclock.net/t/1577520/4-4-4-chroma-really-that-important-for-tv-as-a-monitor

 

[campyguy]

My rep demoed one of these several weeks ago - https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E18XRY2/ref=s9_dcacsd_bhz_bw_c_x_3 (not a personal affiliate link) - and now we have two in one of my offices. A bad decision on my part - now pretty much all of my employees want one. They're pretty spectacular for productivity work in the office and visualization work. This bad boy replaced the 40" Philips (AOC) 4k 40" display just a couple of months ago. At about 21 pounds, ours are mounted on a Herman Miller Flo Plus (the arm designed for heavier devices), so they can be moved about on a desk (they're mated to a iMac 5k in two workspaces).

I like that they're a bit future-proofed with 2 HDMI 2.0 inputs. If I was a reseller, I'd have pushed several out the door already as several of my clients want one now, and my rep has sold a few to them already. This is likely going on my next desk...

FWIW, I have two BenQ BL2711U displays (excellent built-in Mac support) on my work desk and two Dell P2715Q displays on my personal desk. I won't replace the BenQ displays as they're designed for CAD/CAM work (which I do and manage), but I will be replace the Dells with 2 BenQ displays or one of the Philips BDM4350UC displays soon. Very soon...