'4K' monitor - but what 4K?

[Geoffrey Cox]

I am new to 4K and am about to start shooting in it using a Panasonic S5. This can shoot at 4096x2160 25p, 8-bit, full frame which will probably be my main setting.

I don't have a 4K monitor but looking online at various makes (Dell etc) very few are up at that resolution with 3840 x 2160 or smaller being the norm (e.g. Dell UltraSharp PremierColor U3219Q). To get 4096 wide the cost seems to shoot through the roof.

So my question is, does it matter? Would 3840 wide still be perfectly fine for editing on a 30 or so inch monitor with the extra missing pixels barely noticeable anyway?

Any recommendations of actual screens would be welcomed too.

Thanks

[Doug Jensen]

You're better off shooting/editing/viewing in mainstream 3840x2160 UHD 4K. 4096x2160 DCI 4K is mostly intended for screening in movie theaters and it is unlikely you actually need that resolution. The aspect ratio is 17:9 and it will be letter boxed on home televisions unless you trim off the extra 128 pixels on either side of the picture -- and if you do that, then you'd have been better off shooting UHD 4K anyway. If you don't work in Hollywood 4096x2160 is mostly marketing hype. So unless you KNOW that you need it for some exotic reason, don't use that resolution.

[Pete Cofrancesco]

I recently bought a 4k monitor. I did a lot of research and what mattered most to me was color accuracy, build quality, and size. I paid $700 some might find that expensive but it actually middle of the road. You can pay as little as $400 and as much as $2,000.

I'm very happy with this monitor.
https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1308751-REG/benq_pd3200u_32_led_monitor_3840x2160.html/BI/2855/KBID/3801

I agree DCI resolution isn't important. I don't even run it at 4k because text is too small. One thing for sure don't get anything smaller than a 32"

[Ronald Jackson]

I have an ASUS "4K" (actually UHD) monitor, 27 inches. Okayish but the menu is a right bugger to access, hidden buttons at the bottom of the screen. So if I was to buy another monitor, menu/controls and access would be high on my list of priorities.

Since buying the ASUS I have upped my iMac desktop to a 4K version which does me for editing and viewing with one massive proviso, Apple Quicktime player will not play 10 bit video!

Ron

[Doug Jensen]

I have no problem playing 10-bit video with QuickTime on any of my Macs.

[Geoffrey Cox]

Thanks for the replies folks.

Yes I realise now I am much better shooting in UHD 4K (16:9) anyway so will do that.

Whilst I get the point that you will struggle to see the real benefit of 4K on a smaller screen, 32 inches will be too big for the room I am in, not least because I cannot sit that far away from it. So I was thinking of a 27 / 28" screen. I have edited HD on a 24 inch screen for years quite successfully so I am unclear why anything less than 32 inches would be no good for UHD 4K (Pete?)

[Pete Cofrancesco]

A 32" monitor has speed up my edits. Most of my time is spent in the timeline scrolling back and forth. The more real estate the better. I was also worried about 32 being too big but its not. Most people will reduce the resolution because text and software UI becomes to small at 4k. Once you reduce your resolution you can't fit as much on the screen. I used to edit with two monitors buy now I just use one large one and it works better.

[Ron Evans]

I have a 32" monitor but 2560x1440 and I love it, I too used to use two 24" monitors. I also have a UHD 27 monitor connected to the IP4K for preview but only tend to use that to confirm output as I have got to like just looking straight ahead now.

[Ronald Jackson]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

I have no problem playing 10-bit video with QuickTime on any of my Macs.

Interesting Doug - what Macs do you have? I have an iMac 27inch 5K model. However I am still on "High Sierra" and my cams are Lumix GH5s.

Ron

[Doug Jensen]

I have several MacBook Pros from 2006, 2014, 2015, 2018 that all play back 10-bit files just fine. Try playing a ProRes file on your computer. That's 10-bit -- and I'll bet you it works. If you are having trouble playing back certain files I'll bet it is because the codec itself is incompatible with QT and not whether it is 10-bit or 8-bit.

[Bryan Worsley]

Originally Posted by Doug Jensen

If you are having trouble playing back certain files I'll bet it is because the codec itself is incompatible with QT and not whether it is 10-bit or 8-bit.

If so maybe try VLC Player for Mac OS:

https://www.videolan.org/vlc/download-macosx.html

[Boyd Ostroff]

Originally Posted by Ron Evans

I have a 32" monitor but 2560x1440 and I love it

I also use a 32" BenQ QHD monitor (2560x1440) on my Mac and love it. I think text will be very tiny at full 4k resolution on a 32" screen, I like a screen to be around 100 pixels per inch (my 32" screen is about 95 PPI). Considered getting a 4k screen but it would need to be around 45" to get the same size text and that seemed a bit large. Running a 4k screen at scaled resolution makes your GPU work harder, get hotter and use more energy. Probably no big deal with a dedicated GPU, but Im using a 2018 Mini with the integrated Intel UHD630 chip which is known to struggle with scaled resolutions. An external GPU (eGPU) is one solution, but they aren't cheap.

Have not been working much with video rececently and really prefer to just have one monitor. When I do work with video, it's only HD and I connect a 22" Sony 1080p screen for external video in Final Cut Pro.