Accessory Portable gaming/cinema display

[hyperborea]

Hi guys, I'm not sure if this is the right forum to post this, but I was hoping to get some recommendations for a new display to go with my SFF gaming PC. I don't want a huge display, and I'm willing to pay a premium for something high quality with minimalist design that is easy to move and store away. The bendable screens at CES caught my interest but I know those won't be on the market for a while. Something in black anodized aluminum would be cool too (the Mac cinema displays are nice...). It would be for gaming, so 120 or 144Hz Refresh Rate is ideal.

Is there anything out there that fits my needs?

 

[iFreilicht]

This is definitely the right forum, but I think you're out of luck.

There are only very few portable displays available, and most of them suck. In terms of portability, your best option are displays powered by DisplayLink (not to be confused with DisplayPort), which get their signal and power via a single USB3.0 cable. While it limits the number of thick cables you have to carry around and makes them very light and sleek (no AC/DC converter inside), there are only very few models with high resolutions available and you'll have to live with a 60Hz refresh rate. The display-size is quite low as well.
Currently, the only options you have are the Asus MB168B and the AOC E1659FWUX, both of which are 16" small 1920x1080@60Hz screens, allegedly with 11ms response time.

If you want a regular screen that is made for gaming and portability, the only options I am aware of are the GAEMS M-155 and M-240, which are only 60Hz, too. The M-155 is quite similar to the DisplayLink models mentioned above, it can even be powered via USB, which is nice, and has HDMI as a dedicated input method, but it's resolution is only 720p. The M-240 is a whole lot larger at 24" and I wouldn't really call it portable anymore, as it is way thicker and probably just as heavy as any other 24" screen. The only portability features are a protective cover and the stand which can be rotated to serve as a handle.

Personally, I'd like something like the M-155 at ~20" size with a more rigid and maybe heigh-adjustable stand design, but that's probably not going to happen.
Your best bet is to search through all screens of an appropriate size with features you're planning to get and search for those with a VESA mounting option, then get the thinnest one. That way you could build a stand yourself that is more slim than what the screen comes with. Alternatively, you could try to get a broken 18" laptop or something like that and build your screen from that.

 

[jØrd]

Asus have some DisplayLink monitors on the market and iirc AOC have some portable monitors w/ more traditional input options.
This might be worth a read too http://www.presscave.com/top-best-portable-monitor-for-laptop/
chances are your going to have to compromise alot. do you have a baseline featureset, something your willing to live w/ as opposed to the "ideal" featureset?

 

[PlayfulPhoenix]

Some clarification regarding what size of a display you're looking for, and how "portable" you want this to be, would be helpful. "Portable displays" that use a unified USB cable (or what have you) are going to be tiny in comparison to even very thin 22-24" panels, but they'll compromise on just about everything else.

In any case, I think the suggestion by @iFreilicht at the tail end of his comment is wise. There exist many regular-ol' monitors with VESA mounts that have very thin panels, but bulky stands - purchasing one and then crafting or buying a compact stand will likely be the best performing and most economical (for the money) approach.

I don't think modifying a laptop screen for this purpose is worth it, however - they are expensive to buy as parts, would require a lot of modding/work to turn into something useful, and at that point one of the aforementioned portable displays will likely be a much better bet.

 

[iFreilicht]

Yeah that's true, modding a laptop screen is a LOT of effort. As I said, just getting a broken laptop on ebay would be the cheapest way to acquire one. As a replacement, the good ones cost 120€+.

 

[jtd871]

I'll chime in with an outside the box idea - portable projector, or a permanent mount (possibly that you can fit a dedicated input to in a wall plate?).

 

[EdZ]

A word of warning on DisplayLink devices: DisplayLink drivers are some of the absolute worst crapware available in terms of system stability and resource conflicts. The troubleshooting steps for many devices and software will often include "Uninstall any DisplayLink drivers" as one of the first steps. The company I work at halted a global rollout of 'universal' docking stations powered by DisplayLink and opted to continue with a mix of manufacturer-specific docking stations (at 3x-4x the price) to avoid the support headaches the drivers were causing.

One option that hasn't been mentioned yet is to use the display panel from an iPad. The panel itself is eDP (Embedded DisplayPort), and there are multiple adapter boards available to take a regular DisplayPort input and drive the display panel. They're high resolution, excellent quality, and very compact, though the downside is they're small at only 9.7". You could use three in a multi-monitor setup (most modern cards have at least 3x DP or mini-DP outputs) for something like a foldable 19" 21:9 setup.
I've seen someone on the HardOCP forums make a case for one to use as an external display by buying a cheap clone of an iPad housing (meant as a replacement part) and cutting a slot out for the DP and USB power cables to enter through (with the adapter board inside the case behind the display, where the battery would normally go), making for a very clean finish and, easy to use with existing iPad accessories for mounting it (stands etc).[/H]

 

[hat1324]

^ Don't go Displaylink. ESPECIALLY if you are gaming. What you're looking for is this or this.

Edit: Seems they were already mentioned. But the consensus is right, for gaming they're your only options unless you're looking to spend $400 on a GAEMS M240 that's STILL 60Hz

 

[hyperborea]

Thanks for the responses guys. I have a 1080p projector already, and I use that for movies and some arcade games, but it's not really the best when I want to do some serious gaming with a keyboard and mouse (RTS games especially) or just basic web browsing. I need something that will compliment the projector (and in the future, a VR headset), without taking up too much space. If it's portable enough to carry around or store away when I'm not using it, even better. Originally I was hoping to use my iPad with Duet Display for this purpose but it's really more of a novelty than a practical solution.

So I'd like to find something that is...
At least 1080p, but the actual screen dimensions are not important; anything between 13" and 24" could potentially work
Ideally 120Hz or 144Hz refresh rate, but I could settle for 60Hz if that's the only drawback
Minimalist design - I much prefer the clean lines of Mac products to all the bells and whistles on gaming PCs - and I really like the look of the Apple cinema displays

 

[iFreilicht]

Gechic was mentioned, take a look at their products here. Most of them seem to tick all your boxes. Only 60Hz, but 1080p with dedicated display input.

 

[Phuncz]

I'll chime in with an outside the box idea - portable projector, or a permanent mount (possibly that you can fit a dedicated input to in a wall plate?).

I see your outside-the-box idea and I raise another-outside-the-box idea: https://www.avegant.com/

It doesn't get much SFF'er than this

Dutch preview (with pics): http://tweakers.net/reviews/4311/avegant-glyph-mobiele-bioscoop-verpakt-in-een-koptelefoon.html

 

[iFreilicht]

If you're considering this, you could also consider any of the upcoming VR Headsets, though I have to say that the dual mode thing is quite kewl.

 

[EdZ]

The Avegant Glyph is a media viewer HMD with a small field-of-view (under 40°), almost identical to the the Sony HMZ series HMDs (also 40°, but using OLED microdisplays rather than DLP, so do not have the sequential-colour issues of DLP microdisplay HMDs). Unlike with a VR HMD, trying to display your desktop on one would be like having your monitor fixed to your face.
The Rift CV1 and HTC Vive might just be on the edge of usability with something like Ggodin's Virtual Desktop. Virtual Desktop with the DK2 is not something usable unless you have an extremely low resolution, but CV1's/Vive's slight resolution increase, plus the increase is perceived resolution from the increased framerate and fill-factor (a psychovisual effect, a little like temporal antialiasing) might make a 1280x720 or 1920x1080 + scaling virtual desktop usable. Bear in mind that if you want to use one of these VR HMDs as your only display, you will need something like the 'Headless Ghost' or other 'fake monitor', as neither the Rift CV1 or Vive will function as a dedicated monitor (due to how they are addressed in GPU direct mode).

 

[Phuncz]

The Avegant Glyph is a media viewer HMD with a small field-of-view (under 40°), almost identical to the the Sony HMZ series HMDs (also 40°, but using OLED microdisplays rather than DLP, so do not have the sequential-colour issues of DLP microdisplay HMDs). Unlike with a VR HMD, trying to display your desktop on one would be like having your monitor fixed to your face.

I don't know if that last part is necessarily a bad thing
The Avegant is said to not have the screen door effect, which seems nice to have considering the relatively low resolution. It was also much easier on the eyes than the current VR headsets, according to that Dutch review. I do however feel (without experience with both) it's drastically better for consuming media than a VR headset. That you could use this as a plain ol' headphone set is a nice feature and switching it to Robocop mode might turn heads, you could be also still a little aware of your environment, which seems like a plus to me considering the usage. The price is too high in my opinion, but considering this is a new concept with a new approach to displaying, it shouldn't come as a surprise.

 

[EdZ]

It's a different form factor (the flip-down-from-a-headphone-band bit), but 'media viewer' HMDs using the same microdisplay optics have been around as consumer products for decades. The Sony HMZ series (and earlier Glasstron), Vuzix iWear, Silicon Micro ST1080, Carl Zeiss Cinemiser, EMagin Z800, etc.
The Glyph specifically has an excellent fill-factor due to the use of DMD microdisplays, but the downside is they are colour-sequential. Almost worthless for VR use due to every object leaving a rainbow colour trail behind it (see Abrash's blog post), but some people can see the DLP 'rainbowing' even with stationary projectors as their eyes track objects 'moving' across the screen.
For just viewing videos, the last generation of 'media viewer' HMDs still just about have the advantage in terms of pixels/degree, but are at a disadvantage in terms of comfort (due to the 'fixed to your face' effect) over a VR HMD.

 

[hat1324]

These Head-mounted displays are fascinating. Knock out having to carry both a monitor AND headphones... now if only they could make them so I can see my keyboard while Im playing

 

[Phuncz]

I think you can with the Avegant at least, look at the pictures: http://tweakers.net/reviews/4311/avegant-glyph-mobiele-bioscoop-verpakt-in-een-koptelefoon.html

 

[hat1324]

I think you can with the Avegant at least, look at the pictures: http://tweakers.net/reviews/4311/avegant-glyph-mobiele-bioscoop-verpakt-in-een-koptelefoon.html

Ah indeed. This thing could solve all my airplane gaming woes! Three points though:
My eyes are so bad I wouldn't be able to see my keyboard properly anyways without my glasses on
Will the Glyph adjust for astigmatism properly?
Dat price tag

 

[iFreilicht]

Will the Glyph adjust for astigmatism properly?

From their site:

You can rotate the eyepieces in the Glyph to adjust from +1 to -7 to accommodate a wide variety of prescriptions as well as pupillary distances. At this point we cannot account for astigmatic eyesight.

 

[EdZ]

If you're happy with the lack of headtracking and small field-of-view, and just want a static image of a desktop, you might want to look at the Silicon Micro ST1080. It retailed at $100 more than the Glyph ($799 vs. $699), but many were purchased before the Rift came out specifically for VR, so there may well be many people wanting to get rid of them for less. Check out the MTBS3D forums where most DIY VR development occurred prior to Oculus (including Palmer's early prototypes).