Opinion: Using a 65" 4k UHD Display with the 27" Retina iMac

[NJRonbo]

Looking to use the Samsung 65UJ7500 4k UHD display as my new Mac monitor.

I am going to power it with my 27" Retina iMac.

Now, of course, I am moving from 5k to 4k. Most say the difference will be negligible. I also am not certain how to hide the iMac as its purpose will now only be to power this display.

However, I am interested in the gained real estate.

I am already using a 27" Apple Cinema Display with my 27" Retina iMac. I can ditch the dual 27" Apple Displays and go with one huge display on my desktop.

Just asking for a general opinion. I know it's expensive (though I can get the display at cost), but I think it would be an AWESOME single desktop display.

Appreciate, in advance, any opinions you may have to offer.

 

[breapple]

I'm currently researching options myself. This one is interesting. I also have the imac 5k and have found external display shopping very frustrating.

So did you just not like having two 27 inch displays on your desk or what?

I'm trying to find additional real estate for stock trading so I need multiple windows. Will be interested to see how others respond to this thread.

 

[NJRonbo]

Yeah, wasn't crazy about having two monitors. Windows always reset themselves whenever I rebooted. Nothing ever opened in the right monitor. Just thought it would be AWESOME having a huge 60" display for everything. Only problem is, I would be putting the 5K Retina iMac in the corner, turning it completely dark, running a huge 4K monitor instead. Seems like a waste, in a way.

 

[NJRonbo]

Here is the problem I am trying to overcome.

When connecting a retina Macbook Pro or iMac to a regular 4k television (not monitor)...

I don't think you can output HDMI 4k at 60hz.

This is a major problem.

Now, there are supposed to be Display Port to HDMI adapters coming out that will allow that kind of playback, but I don't know if they have surfaced yet.

There may be something I could be missing here as well.

Going to start another thread to see if I can get some answers.

In the meantime, I am still looking at the Samsung display pictured above, but now in 55" rather than 65". I believe 65" would just be too massive as a desktop monitor.

 

[breapple]

Here is the problem I am trying to overcome.

When connecting a retina Macbook Pro or iMac to a regular 4k television (not monitor)...

I don't think you can output HDMI 4k at 60hz.

This is a major problem.

Now, there are supposed to be Display Port to HDMI adapters coming out that will allow that kind of playback, but I don't know if they have surfaced yet.

There may be something I could be missing here as well.

Going to start another thread to see if I can get some answers.

In the meantime, I am still looking at the Samsung display pictured above, but now in 55" rather than 65". I believe 65" would just be too massive as a desktop monitor.

I think I'd just like to see Apple revamp the thunderbolt display and then I'd go for that.

 

[NJRonbo]

Thought I would provide an update on how this is going and perhaps get some advice.

My 27-inch Retina iMac is now on the floor and this Samsung 55" 4k display is hooked up to it as an external monitor.

While I am absolutely happy with the results, I can't say this is an entirely rewarding experience. There is a lot of things I need to do every time I boot up my iMac to get this setup to work properly.

To begin with, the best results size-wise that I was able to figure out was running the display in 3840x2160 30Hz.

Not certain this is optimal. All the 60Hz options were way too big (960x540). All the HD options were too small.

At this resolution, the picture looks a little fuzzy (as it is blown up obviously), but not bad at all.

The problem is getting set up. Every time I boot my computer I have to go through a ritual of turning things on and off before I can start my browsing experience.

1. Boot computer from the back of the iMac
2. Even though I have display setup as "Mirror", the login screen often only comes up on my iMac. So I actually have to go the iMac and log into my computer.
2. I then have to use a program called disable monitor to turn the iMac screen off.
3. I then have to set the resolution manually to 3840x2160 using a program called SwitchResX

If I am lucky, SwitchResX usually defaults to the last resolution I used, so I don't always have to go to that third step.


So, it's a process every time I turn on my iMac to use the 55" display. It's not a simple "boot up and ready to go" process.

I am hoping to get in touch with others using a monitor with their iMac to find out if there is a better resolution I could use and less steps I have to go through to get things to work.

I do hear there is an adapter due at the end of this year that will enable the iMac to push 60Hz in more resolutions. That should significantly sharpen the resolution on the 55" display.

Overall, I am quite happy with the results I have for now. Just not fond of the multiple steps to get there.​