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Looking for a good creative monitor for MBP

falcon511

falcon511

macrumors member
Original poster
Apr 23, 2016
39
14
So I recently got the base MacBook Pro M1. I do some video editing on the side for a Youtube channel. Da Vinci Resolve runs great but right now I am editing on a 1080p gaming monitor from LG. Its not the best for video editing.

What are some monitors you guys recommend? I heard MacOS does some weird stuff with 4K monitors like text is too small or too large depending on the pixel density or settings. I was looking at this nice Asus Pro Art Monitor at Best Buy.

ASUS ProArt 27" 4K IPS Professional Monitor with HDR (DisplayPort, HDMI, USB C) Black PA279CV - Best Buy

Shop ASUS ProArt 27" 4K IPS Professional Monitor with HDR (DisplayPort, HDMI, USB C) Black products at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.
www.bestbuy.com

I am open to other suggestions. Currently the 5K display from Apple is out of my price range. Unless something changes.
 

LG 27” IPS LED 4K UHD AMD FreeSync Monitor with HDR (HDMI, DisplayPort, USB) White 27UP80B-W - Best Buy

Shop LG 27” IPS LED 4K UHD AMD FreeSync Monitor with HDR (HDMI, DisplayPort, USB) White products at Best Buy. Find low everyday prices and buy online for delivery or in-store pick-up. Price Match Guarantee.
www.bestbuy.com

This LG has basically same specs as that ASUS monitor at $380.

I have the same panel (27UP850-W) with height adjustable stand alongside my iMac 5K and aside from slight blurriness due to lower PPI, it's very comparable.
 
jonobin said:
Take a look at the LG 27UN850-W (there is also the 27UN600 and 27UN400 that doesn't have the USB-C port but the same panel)
Click to expand...
The LG is a solid display. Not sure about the other versions, but the UltraFine (27UN850) version has a built in Rec. 709 mode and I found it to very close to the Rec. 709 reference mode of the XDR display on my 14” MBP when using Resolve.
 
sevoneone said:
The LG is a solid display. Not sure about the other versions, but the UltraFine (27UN850) version has a built in Rec. 709 mode and I found it to very close to the Rec. 709 reference mode of the XDR display on my 14” MBP when using Resolve.
Click to expand...
The LG displays mentioned have the same spec, except some IO and some other minor features like the stand but are in fact the same monitor 😁
 
The 27UN850 looks like a solid choice. I have a 1080p LG display but its their Ultragear line and it has worked really well when gaming. So Looks like I will stick with the same brand for editing my videos. Will the Mac make everything look really small on the 4K resolution?
 
falcon511 said:
The 27UN850 looks like a solid choice. I have a 1080p LG display but its their Ultragear line and it has worked really well when gaming. So Looks like I will stick with the same brand for editing my videos. Will the Mac make everything look really small on the 4K resolution?
Click to expand...
I'm using it @1440p(virtual) and the text size is good. You can scale it to 1080p if 1440p text is too small 😁
 
falcon511 said:
So I recently got the base MacBook Pro M1. I do some video editing on the side for a Youtube channel. Da Vinci Resolve runs great but right now I am editing on a 1080p gaming monitor from LG. Its not the best for video editing.

What are some monitors you guys recommend?
Click to expand...
Do you want to produce HDR video?
falcon511 said:
I heard MacOS does some weird stuff with 4K monitors like text is too small or too large depending on the pixel density or settings.
Click to expand...
MacOS handles 4k monitors well. Some users have an obsession with specific pixel densities. Current versions of MacOS do require lots of pixels to look decent. I assume you have noticed that with your current monitor.
 
QuietOC said:
Do you want to produce HDR video?

MacOS handles 4k monitors well. Some users have an obsession with specific pixel densities. Current versions of MacOS do require lots of pixels to look decent. I assume you have noticed that with your current monitor.
Click to expand...

These are videos for games so not really. My games mostly run through this LG monitor and neither the xbox or playstation will allow HDR. The xbox won't allow 120fps which is more important for me anyway. So no HDR really.


Yeah I have noticed this monitor makes text a little fuzzy. Its a nice gaming monitor for high paced games but not great for video editing. I was worried about 4K as some people online says that their Mac makes the text look smaller running at native 4K and that MacOS runs better with 5K monitors which are out of my price range now.
 
Older versions of macOS were not great at recognizing HIDPI 3rd party displays and enabling UI scaling. Your Mac should have no problem using any 4k display. It will display native 4k resolution, and you can select the scaling of the UI. Most with a 27" display will go with the more space option of "Looks Like 2560x1440" so that text and the UI is a decent size and looks sharp. Video and photos will still be displayed pixel for pixel when you are editing.
 
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sevoneone said:
Older versions of macOS were not great at recognizing HIDPI 3rd party displays and enabling UI scaling. Your Mac should have no problem using any 4k display. It will display native 4k resolution, and you can select the scaling of the UI. Most with a 27" display will go with the more space option of "Looks Like 2560x1440" so that text and the UI is a decent size and looks sharp. Video and photos will still be displayed pixel for pixel when you are editing.
Click to expand...
That's good news. Will that affect performance much on the m1 pro?
 
falcon511 said:
These are videos for games so not really. My games mostly run through this LG monitor and neither the xbox or playstation will allow HDR. The xbox won't allow 120fps which is more important for me anyway. So no HDR really.


Yeah I have noticed this monitor makes text a little fuzzy. Its a nice gaming monitor for high paced games but not great for video editing. I was worried about 4K as some people online says that their Mac makes the text look smaller running at native 4K and that MacOS runs better with 5K monitors which are out of my price range now.
Click to expand...
I am currently using a 32" 4K display and wouldn't want to go back to a smaller 27" 5k. I am all for more pixels though.
 
Apple uses retina for their screens. With retina on, for example, a 2560 x 1600 pixel screen, Apple starts out with a 1440 x 900 image resolution, up converts that to 2880 x 1800, then down converts it to 2560 x 1600. The process results in a sharper image (in theory).

Think about your full HD TV. A lot of cable and OTA signals are only 720p, but they get up converted to full HD at 1080 px. If you have a 4K TV, much of what you stream is either 720p or 1080i, so those formats get up converted to 4K. Very little programming is actually entering your TV in native 4K.

I'm using a Samsung 27 inch 4K TV (S27A800U) with my MacBook Air M1. I set the resolution to 2560 x 1440 to get the menus to a readable level. So the 2560 x 1440 gets up converted by Apple to 5120 x 2880 then down sized to 3840 x 2160 to use all the pixels. Stunning display and this works well for Lightroom, Photoshop, Final Cut Pro, etc.

I wouldn't worry about a good 4K monitor running at 2560 x 1440 resolution, or whatever resolution you decide on. To watch native 4K video, just temporarily change the resolution to 3840 x 2160. The images/videos being edited are going to look basically the same at all resolutions.
 
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I just bought the LG display at Amazon and it works really really well. My Mac defaulted to the larger text option and everything looks so crisp. Much better than the 1080p. I think this will be good for Da Vinci Resolve. Thanks for all the suggestions and help.
 
Okay I have some questions. I plugged my MacBook Pro into the usbc port of the monitor and that’s how I am getting video. Awesome. However the monitor is keeping the MacBook Pro charged as well. I also have my MagSafe charger plugged in because I am not sure if the monitor will be enough for the machine if it’s running at max load. My question is, should I just let the laptop stay charged through the usbc port? Will having both the usbc and MagSafe connected at the same time be bad for the battery or computer?
 
There should be no need to have both the monitor and your charger plugged in at the same time. If I recall correctly, the LG is spec’d to provide enough power to run your MacBook Pro. If it’s not providing enough power, you will see the battery power remaining slowly decline when you are pushing the limits of the system. If you see no loss in charge, then you have enough power from the monitor.

Having both plugged in at the same time should also not cause any problems. The computer will only pull the power it needs.
 
falcon511 said:
I just bought the LG display at Amazon and it works really really well. My Mac defaulted to the larger text option and everything looks so crisp. Much better than the 1080p. I think this will be good for Da Vinci Resolve. Thanks for all the suggestions and help.
Click to expand...
Which LG did you buy? The 27 or 43?
 
Another alternative would be the Dell U2720Q 27 inch 4K monitor. I had been using one for the past two years and just bought another as a second display for my Apple Studio. It runs in the $500-600 range. I have seen several reviewers rate the LG and the Dell almost evenly. As an amateur photographer, I have been very happy with its color accuracy and overall performance.
 
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