Accessory Portable LCD monitors for work and gaming, recommendations?

wyrd

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Has anyone seen new laptops/tablets with video input? Is it possible to replace the monitor for portable setup in this way?
 

Curiosity

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If they accept video in, I don't see why it wouldn't be. You'd just have 2 computers with you.
Can you link what you're talking about? My quick Google attempt failed to bring up anything.
 

Valantar

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If they accept video in, I don't see why it wouldn't be. You'd just have 2 computers with you.
Can you link what you're talking about? My quick Google attempt failed to bring up anything.
I don't think there are any, at least not regular consumer-facing products. Video inputs on consumer portables are extremely rare.
 

chx

Master of Cramming
May 18, 2016
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Dasung Not-eReader will have a HDMI input. It's a bit limited Android tablet and eReader with an eInk screen. It's ... weird. But can be useful.
 

Valantar

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Asus PQ22UC supposedly coming in July.
Well, if $5000 60Hz monitors that will burn in your taskbar and UI within a couple of years is your thing, I guess it's pretty attractive. Probably good for A/V professionals needing to do on-site color grading or similar work where color accuracy and gamut is critical, though.
 

Kmpkt

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At this point I hope someone comes out with a much cheaper non-Oled in this format to capture the rest of the market.
 
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Biowarejak

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I mean it's basically:
  • Panel
  • Driver IC
  • USB IC
  • USB Port
  • Battery (to reduce drain on laptop)
  • Case
Of course there's some supporting circuitry too, but it's not infeasible for someone among us to develop a commercial product out of this. The hardest part would probably be licensing/certification. I'd defer to your knowledge of that though @Kmpkt.

After that it becomes logistics. The case could be made by any of our preferred manufactures (ie. Lian Li, Slinger), and for the business side its not infeasible to partner with Massdrop to meet MOQ and keep prices low for the consumer, prevents having to sit on stock.

I dunno though. I'm sure someone among us is capable.
 
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chx

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Here's what makes PQ22UC the ideal travel monitor -- or would if it wouldn't cost five grand:
  1. Thin everywhere. Most monitor claim thinness but they are actually not at around their ports. Especially if they have AC inputs.
  2. Speaking of power, USB C powered.
  3. Lightweight.
  4. Has a nifty small folding stand which lifts it off the table.
All this means it's very easy to pack, carry and great to use. Again, this would be ideal, even with just a 1080p panel.
 
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Valantar

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Here's what makes PQ22UC the ideal travel monitor -- or would if it wouldn't cost five grand:
  1. Thin everywhere. Most monitor claim thinness but they are actually not at around their ports. Especially if they have AC inputs.
  2. Speaking of power, USB C powered.
  3. Lightweight.
  4. Has a nifty small folding stand which lifts it off the table.
All this means it's very easy to pack, carry and great to use. Again, this would be ideal, even with just a 1080p panel.
I think you're mostly right, except that the size makes it rather impractical. Good luck finding an off-the-shelf bag that fits a 22" display and is carry-on compliant while providing sufficient protection.

Also: Micro HDMI. UGH. That connector needs to die. I guess it's theoretically better than USB-C only, but the fragility and poor mounting security of those cables make them nigh unusable. The only micro HDMI connector I've seen that hasn't immediately been unusable is on my partner's $3500 camera, and even there it's notorious for being the first thing to fail. Having it side mounted like on this monitor will be immediate trouble - the weight of the HDMI cable hanging off the connector is likely to cause connection issues. I'd much prefer if they had only the type-C ports and used a hub/adapter/breakout box, even if that would be easily lost and difficult to replace (with Type-C-to-anything adapters all being directional and this being the opposite of an adapter for a PC). It would still be a far better solution.
 
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chx

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Not so hard. It's barely more than 20" high and crucially less than 12.4" wide. It's the width of normal monitors that murder you. The Minaal backpack for example would easily fit this one and I expect any similar boxy MLC backpack to just work. I have experimented with coutnless similar sized monitor and backpacks. It's a very sad landscape. Noone wants to make a MLC monitor. Except Asus. Then they charge five grand. Grrrrr.

Thanks for the micro HDMI warning (although doesn't Asus use mini HDMI here), I need to get an L shaped plug then for my upcoming monitor (which is not the Asus).
 
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Valantar

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Not so hard. It's barely more than 20" high and crucially less than 12.4" wide. It's the width of normal monitors that murder you. The Minaal backpack for example would easily fit this one and I expect any similar boxy MLC backpack to just work.

Thanks for the micro HDMI warning (although doesn't Asus use mini HDMI here), I need to get an L shaped plug then for my upcoming monitor (which is not the Asus).
That Minaal bag doesn't look bad, even if I'd be very wary of carrying a monitor in an unpadded general storage compartment. I suppose it'd be possible to have a padded sleeve made for it.

The Asus has Micro HDMI - mini looks like a smaller/thinner standard HDMI (and still has a terrible reputation, btw, but mostly for breaking), micro looks kind of like Micro USB, just worse in every conceivable manner. My first experience with it was on a Lenovo Yoga Pro 13", where it refused to maintain a stable connection even when sat perfectly still on a table - the stiffness of a standard HDMI cable was enough to pull it slightly askew in a short while, dropping the signal. Touching the PC with the cable connected was a complete no-go. After that I've come across it on a few devices, most notably the aforementioned camera, which is ... fine. At best. Doesn't drop out willy-nilly, but the cable feels barely attached, and will come out with even the slightest tug on the cable. The sheer amount of play in the mounting also makes it feel like it's going to break any minute - and it feels more likely that the device-side connector will break than the cable-side one ... Not good.
 
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Valantar

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Yeah, not exactly glowing praise. I get that USB-C power delivery from devices is limited to 15W (even over TB3), but how hard could it be to implement a higher-power mode if connected to AC power or two plugs? 140 nits sustained (and 80 calibrated) is abysmal. If this is supposed to be for professionals on the go, are they supposed to bring a roll of blackout cloth with them everywhere they go? This makes me suspect they're so scared of burn-in they've intentionally limited it to low brightness to avoid this.
 

Wahaha360

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I was so ready to buy this monitor, the problems are really dealbreakers, back to LCDs then.
 

LegendsofMace

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SIBOLAN S17 17.3 inch Gaming Portable Monitor HDR 2560×1440 120Hz 5ms with Dual HDMI Mini Input Build in Speaker Luxury Aluminum Alloy Shell

Opinions on this one? Looks like it can be powered through USB C. Just curious how you'd get 120HZ refresh if there isn't any displayport. I'm still not all the way familiar with that area yet...
EDIT: There may be some issues with the link, monitor is on ebay though as well to check out.
 

Valantar

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Jan 20, 2018
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SIBOLAN S17 17.3 inch Gaming Portable Monitor HDR 2560×1440 120Hz 5ms with Dual HDMI Mini Input Build in Speaker Luxury Aluminum Alloy Shell

Opinions on this one? Looks like it can be powered through USB C. Just curious how you'd get 120HZ refresh if there isn't any displayport. I'm still not all the way familiar with that area yet...
EDIT: There may be some issues with the link, monitor is on ebay though as well to check out.
Why is your attempt at a link embedded in a broken media tag? Add it as a plain link, it's much easier.

From looking it up on ebay, the monitor looks pretty decent, though of course it's impossible to know if the limited on-paper specs provided have any bearing on reality. No way of knowing panel quality or if the controller is halfway decent. As for 120Hz, it has a USB-C input, so it has DisplayPort (alt mode). If the HDMI ports are 2.0 that can also handle 1440p120. A shame it doesn't have FreeSync, though, if it did I'd be very interested.