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Samsung's New 32-Inch 'M8' Display vs. Apple's Studio Display
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Love how vibrant the greens appear.
Is it strong in other colors, like blues, red, oranges, yellow?Some people may like to make sure they can't make out pixels, but I would guess the bigger issue here is the person needs to edit 4K video, and wants to be able to see the images 1:1, yet have some space for the editing tools. I know for me, the size of the pixels is less important than the amount of them - I actually don't mind if I can see them.
I need to measure my distance. But my overall point is that 4k 32" isn't 'trash' and more importantly that retina isn't just PPI so some people saying 'I need 89k!!!' are just being spec whores.
Thing is, 4k 32" is right at the edge. 5K would be much better there. But 4k 27" is likely fine:
That and the odd inclusion of an A13 are what annoy me about the SD. I don't see them as key additions for its main function (being a monitor) and given the audience... what's the point? Honestly, it feels like it tries to address two market segments - the person who needs a very good monitor for the work that they do and the person who wants a lifestyle product (Center Stage, webcam, speakers). But those don't really overlap. The former segment cares about the the monitor features - color accuracy, etc - while the latter would be fine with 4K but likes the other stuff. It's an odd combination.
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No, I don't call "cheap" better value. This monitor has a gorgeous screen, also vibrant colors, TV tuner, Smart capabilities, detachable camera, decent speakers, 4K resolution at 32 inches (my current one is 4K at 27 inches)... for much less money. That is what I call value.
Is it really gorgeous? I haven't seen it myself but some people are saying the screen quality is not very good, partially because it has poor viewing angles, being VA.
The resolution on that display is "retina" at 25 inches. Which is exactly how far my face is from my display right now on my desk. Who are you people that have a full 27 inch desktop monitor 13 inches from your face?
VA has deeper blacks, though, and how often do you view your computer monitor off angle?
https://www.rtings.com/monitor/learn/ips-vs-va-vs-tn is an interesting look at panel tech. In short, I think you need to evaluate how you use a screen and weight the tradoffs according to that. For example, VA angle issues wouldnt matter to me on a computer screen since I look at mine head on. A TV? I still tend to do that, but I can see people who have folks over to watch things and know that some people will view at an angle.
Brightness is the same way. There's probably a lower limit where the nits arent enough, but no one really needs 1000+ nits at full power unless you're trying to sear your eyes.
So what I'm getting from this thread is that the Samsung M8 monitor is appropriate for some users but not for others. I have a 2019 27" iMac, and that has spoiled me when it comes to monitors. I also have a Windows laptop that I use for work. A few years ago, I bought a 28" 4K Samsung monitor on sale at Costco for $300. Is the off-axis viewing as good as my iMac's? No, it's terrible. Do I ever need to view it from any other angle than straight on? No, so that isn't an issue for me. Is the color accuracy as good as my iMac's? Probably not. Do I need that kind of color accuracy? No. I work with PowerPoint, Word, and InDesign documents. I need sharp text, good (not perfect) color accuracy, and lots of real estate. 28" is plenty big enough for the distance at which I sit. 4K at 32" would be of no benefit to me -- but it would be for some people. For my photography hobby, I use my iMac. If I were in the market for a new Mac, I'd probably get a 24" M1 iMac, which is more than enough for what I do. So the Samsung M8 isn't for me, but I'm not everyone.
Well, I guess it depends on what you mean by off angle, but I personally don't have a fixed position in my chair all day long. I tend to move a bit from side to side, and even if I just slouch a bit in the chair, the change in angle can potentially degrade the image quality.
I'd have to see it myself in person, but I'm not optimistic.
I haven’t seen it myself, but I have a 4K 27” Samsung display just about that price when purchased, and it is absolutely beautiful, no doubt this one will be the same given it is newer.
Read the link i posted. Off angle tends to mean 30+ degrees, not 5. I never sit 30 degrees off angle on my computer screen. I doubt very many people ever do. Obviously, if you do, it's an issue for you.
My point though, is that people saying "VA panels have bad off-angle viewing so they're bad" are complaining about something that will rarely matter in the context of a computer monitor. It's like saying "This sports car is CRAP at towing heavy loads!!"; it's true, but irrelevant in almost all cases.
Let me put it this way... I'm sitting on my sofa with my TV (a VA panel screen) and I'm probably at a 15 degree angle vs straight ahead... and I don't see any difference. Even at extreme angles (45+), the picture doesn't fade or distort badly, but the color saturation suffers a bit. But no one sits at a 45 degree angle to a computer screen
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They don't sell it directly in the US, but you can order from Amazon Canada or even Amazon.co.uk
I've seen older VA monitors and was not happy with them. However, my understanding is newer VA panels are better, so I'll have to check it out in person.
220/254 ~= 0.86 = 14% smaller
The tendency is to keep that as a native size because you also typically sit closer to a laptop display, but in the past when the DPI was farther off they would default to a non-native display mode. When you have a high DPI it reduces the blurring visible for such non-native modes.
Sure. Apple operating systems do not use pixels as their coordinate system, but points. So there is the classic "1x" mode, while macOS has a "2x" mode and iOS has both "2x" and "3x".
An application might ship with a 100px by 100px image, to draw into a 100x100 point area. If you are in a "2x" mode, this gets enlarged (blurred) to fill the area. So that application likely also ships an "@2x" 200 by 200 px image, which gets would get rendered exactly into the target display area.
Windows tries to deal with this diversity by having fractional magnification levels like "1.5x". It also has a native DPI target of 96 dpi. Fractional magnification levels have output artifact consequences, however - Apple tried a similar scheme for years as a preview on macOS before finally going to the 1x/2x/3x scheme.[/QUOTE]
Kinda like how they created the Note w/ bigger screen and now the whole industry copied them? Of course they can.
Dang, he missed me. I'm still running a 24" Cinema Display I bought in 2009 or 2010. I surprised I can even see this forum since it is so useless
I actually got one (Mateview) to try out alongside my 5k iMac while I debate whether to get a Mac Studio or not.
Just to be clear, it is not in the same picture quality league as an Apple 5k panel - but it's also a fraction of the price (going for £400 in the UK vs. £1500 for the Studio Display). But if you get that unfair comparison out of your head it's a really nice display: same width as a 27", same pixel density as a 4k 27", but with about 6cm extra height. Personally, I find that extra space makes the bigger system fonts/icons in 2:1 mode acceptable & doesn't need fractional scaling - still seems like a lot of screen estate - YMMV depending on what software you use. Fractionally scaled modes that give the same system font size seem perfectly acceptable too.
Main downside is that it has a matte surface rather than a gloss one - which I think accounts for part of the difference in contrast/"pop" vs. the iMac. Doesn't play well if there's bright light hitting the screen (where a glossy screen will reflect the light away from you, a matte screen scatters some of it it into your eyes). Of course, matte vs. glossy is always a divisive issue...
People can correct me if I'm wrong, but from what I've read so far, this display does *not* support VESA, but the camera is recognized by MacOS and Windows. The display includes Mac and Windows setup options.
I bought a 23" Cinema Display from like 2007 or something, for my kid to use with a Mac mini, but even after seeing the much bigger screen, he still wants a laptop even though he's just going to use it at home. Arggh. I guess the good news it only cost me CAD$100 (US$78). The other good news is it supports HDCP too, despite being so old.Dang, he missed me. I'm still running a 24" Cinema Display I bought in 2009 or 2010. I surprised I can even see this forum since it is so useless
P.S. That screen has a screen resolution of 1920x1200, which works out to a pixel density of 100 ppi, which is perfect for a non-Retina screen IMO.
Max's review says the M8's camera is indeed properly recognized by macOS, and both the mic and the speakers are fully supported in macOS as well. However, if you watch the video you'll see that the colours are all off, the mic is terrible, and the speakers are not very good.
The Studio Display has camera issues due to resolution, smoothing, and framing with Center Stage, but the colours seemed OK, the mic was acceptable, and the speakers appear to be excellent.
Exactly. That's the boat I'm in right now, as I need a quality new display for use at home, in a room where the physical design matters. The Studio Display is exactly the look I want, but it's expensive. I care about sharp text, but I also would actually use the TV functionality this display provides. And I think Apple is going to be limited in its ability to fix the issues resulting from its decision to use a wide-angle camera in the Studio Display (instead of a camera like the one in the 5k iMac, for example). So, for me, each of these has its advantages, and I think my considerations are fairly typical in this regard.
Samsung would have me sold if they had released a "premium" version of this display with a brighter screen, better charging capability, a better microphone, and VESA compatibility. As is, it's a tough decision and I'm waiting for more comparisons.
Sorry, no - the real choice facing anybody buying a Mac Mini or Mac Studio at the moment is whether to pay out for the Studio Display or compromise with a cheaper 4k display (or get 2-3 for the price of a SD).
There is only one 5k display that makes any sense to compare with - the LG Ultrafine - and there are plenty of such comparisons floating around. AFAIK the HP and Dell 5k displays were discontinued years ago, and there is/was a cheap IIyama based on reject 5k panels but it probably isn't available where you are and the reviews were terrible. Even the LG is hard to get at the moment, although LG say it is still in production.
Was yours also VA? Samsung uses a number of different panels in their products.