Hi,
hope it's the right subforum for this, didn't know where else to put this. I currently own a 24 inch screen that runs at 720p resolution. That's really low but I have gotten used to it, and due to my eyesight slowly getting worse over time, this is the size that I need now to look at a screen comfortably. I found though that this screen at this resolution is too small for a lot of things, especially when opening plugin windows in DAWs, or using video editing software with a lot of tracks, and so on. So I'm considering getting a new screen.

The cheapest would be a 27 inch screen that I'd run at 1600x900, which would be about the same DPI as above (a little bit less, but not much), so that the text and windows etc. would stay about the same size, but I'd get more space. Tried checking out some plugins in Studio One, and the ones I tried all show up with their full size (contrary to 720p where parts of them were off screen).

I would love to get a 33 inch screen and run 1080p on it, but I'm having trouble finding a good and cheap screen that doesn't have drawbacks. The 27 inch screens are available with a TN panel so I would get low input lag for occasional gaming, but the 33 inch ones all have either IPS or VA panels. IPS seems to have problems with IPS glow and backlight bleeding, and VA has a lot of input delay so it wouldn't be suitable for fast games. The "real deal" gaming monitors with 4K resolution (which I could nicely interpolate to 1080p) and low latency cost way more than I'm willing to spend right now.

So I was wondering whether running 1600x900 would be enough for serious EDM production? Plugin windows, tracks, mixers, and so on. Or would you say that 1080p is really the minimum size that I should aim for? Thanks.

 

Hi,
you should mention the DAW you're using, some of them offer DPI scaling which might be better than the one found in the OS.
This is very subjective matter, and one that's dependant on variety of factors. I'd get two 24" screens, both at 1200p resolution - one for track view, and one for midi item view/mixer view.

And that'd be the reason NOT to pick the cheapest offering, as those are running low PWM dimming, and are thus not eye-friendly.
I'd try U2415

 

1920*1080 just makes everything sound way better. Secret of a good mix.

 

Hi,
the U2415 is a 24 inch screen though, I would like to get a bigger one so I can get more space while maintaining a similar DPI. The U2415 is also IPS which doesn't have as low of a latency as a TN panel, which would be my main reason for sticking with a 27 inch screen. For a 27 inch I was considering the BenQ GL2760H. (In the past I had good experiences with BenQ).

I'm currently juggling between Reaper and Studio One. Reaper doesn't have good scaling support (read somewhere it uses png images for its UI which do not scale). Don't know about Studio one. I was also considering Ableton or FL Studio, but I'm not decided on those.

Had no clue about PWM dimming - what kind of spec am I looking for in order to see whether a screen does that or not? Will it just straight tell you in the spec sheets?

Edit: Also, 24 inch screens at 1200p would be way too small. 720p at 24 inch is the smallest I can currently tolerate and have gotten used to.

 

Last edited: Jan 14, 2019

Floatingly Pointless

 

1600x900 might have been enough for Mozart back then, for EDM you need 3000x2000. 4sho.

 

@waverider - This: http://www.tftcentral.co.uk/articles/flicker_free_database.htm
Latency isn't a big deal, 8ms GTG is good. Ghosting is another problem, but Dells are usually good in that aspect. TN screens would be plagued with drawbacks, as TN panels are mostly used in the low-end.
Have you tried shortening the head-to-screen distance?

Everyone, let's keep this on topic.

 

"...for EDM productions" just cracked me up, hard.
Thanks!
Edit: Sorry for being off-topic. I'm just glad and happy from the laugh I got out of this lovely title. Nothing more. I'm using two 27" screens at 1920x1080, but I also need to update my glasses. Age is catching up.

 

Last edited: Jan 14, 2019

once i did an"edm" song on 1024x768. people were asking : "are you serious" . . .

 

While an intriguing title, I see this as perfectly valid question.
I'm unsure on what really encompasses EDM production, I'd suspect that VST and VSTi used in such production would be scaled to a particular resolution, such as for example Ozone requires at least 720 vertical lines to display properly.
Reason #2 why 720p seems not quite enough. Bringing the monitor closer should work nicely.

 

800x600 and a tube monitor if you want a vintage vibe, to sound like Daft Punk/Kraftwerk

 

I used to produce on devices with 16x2 character LCD displays back in the better days.

 

Yeah I don't understand why people think this is funny. Did they just read the title and skip everything I wrote?
The reason I ask is because I tried out Studio One in 720p, and some of the instrument windows were cut off outside of the screen. Same happens with a couple of other VST instruments I used. I tried it out in 1600x900, and the windows that I tried were all visible. But I am just starting out and don't know the software landscape. So how would I know if there's a super important plugin or synth out there that either requires, or benefits, from 1080p upwards? That's one thing. The other is that I don't know yet how many instruments or windows I need to have open at the same time. Since I am beginner I don't know if there's a particular workflow that would force me to use several plugins at the same time, and if that means that in 1600x900 I'd have to constantly scroll and minimize but in 1080p+ I wouldn't, then that is a pretty big deal. In 720p it's been super painful in general to open up many windows and then try to move them out of the way and to constantly scroll around. I notice that in video editing where the timeline for two tracks will take up so much space that the video preview is barely big enough to audit changes I do to filters and so on, and when I open a filter window it's so big that I have to move half of it outside the screen to see something from the tiny preview so I can see what my changes actually do.

This, combined with my eyesight that's getting worse, has been an issue for me, because I couldn't use a higher res than 720p on my current screen. I want to save as much money as possible, and getting a screen that allows me to use 1600x900 at 27 inches would be the cheapest option. But if I would find out that 1080p and higher is required or at least very beneficial, I'd have to spend the money.

So all you Funny McClownfaces can gtfo here.

I tried reducing the distance to the screen, but the current distance is already very close for me (about 30 inches), and it felt like it would be a lot more strain even though things were bigger.

Again, thank you for pointing out PWM, I might almost have bought a screen that has it. I'm currently checking some more reviews for that Dell screen. Although I found that there is a "HS" version of the Benq screen I posted above that doesn't use PWM. I also found a cheap 32 inch AOC screen that doesn't use it, it has 2560x1440, but I would interpolate down to 1080p and it would have a similar DPI to my current setup.

Still, my question stands, so if someone who has EDM experience can tell me if I can work efficiently enough with 1600x900 (with today's software) or if the benefits of 1080p+ would be significant enough to warrant a higher investment, then please let me know. Thanks.

 

Bigger screen while at first could make everything visible would however initiate more eye-movement, potentially leading to same level of strain. Perhaps there's yet another solution: https://www.google.com/search?q=reaper+hidpi+mode
Default v5 theme for reaper comes in hidpi variant, zoomed by 200%. Applied to 1080p 27"ish screen could be what you need.
VST gui would be rendered at 1:1, making everything else visible

 

I've accomplished much EDM on a screen this size (LCD below) ...I think your gonna be ok Don't lose "sight" of the "bigger picture" ...Sound. Remember, It's not what you "can or can't see", sound is always within your minds eye, and your souls vibration. And also remember, if there is something you "can't see", assign it to "touch" (controller). Muscle memory wins over a scattered visual recognition through practice and repetition. This technique is an art-form unto itself.

 

Last edited by a moderator: Jan 15, 2019

I have two 'setups' at home. Regular desk with a regular monitor and my 'big screen' TV setup. I have pretty good monitors hooked up to my TV/PC. And a super comfortable chair. I put the mouse on an adjustable table right next to the armrest. It's perfect. So I often do music and other productivity stuff with the TV setup. I've done this for years and years.

I used to have a big old plasma tv. 768x1366. It was great with FL Studio. Absolutely no problems, at least with my workflow. There's no dragging around panels to see shit unlike with many other DAWs or like you said video editing programs, which were the worst, often basically unusable.

After I switched to a FullHD TV I thought everything in FL was too small. Lots of wasted space. I preferred the lower resolution experience. With newer versions of course you can adjust the scaling.

 

Last edited: Jan 15, 2019

4k retina display on iPhone and audio iOS apps. And you are almost demo-sounding Skrillex

 

1080p is minimum you should aim for. You are using 720p screen. You know many plugins do not fit in the 720p screen.

 

It depends on what you want to see on the screen

Anyone got this screen:
https://www.anandtech.com/show/12568/iiyamas-prolite-xb2779qqs-s1-now-available
?

 

My Atari 520 ST had 640x480 black & white back when I started using Cubase.

Right now in the studio I'm using a 50" 4k TV (for about $600). Works very well under macOS but very poorly on Windows, because of the shitty unreadable fronts and bad DPI scaling.

At home I use 2x 4k monitors. Again, work very well under macOS but look poorly on Windows.