DJW Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 My sister is moving down here from Omaha and will now work out of her home. She asked me to do some research on a (Good, Better, Best, Very Best) BETTER/BEST grade of 27-30 inch Monitor that she can hook up via HDMI cable (which she has) to her 15 inch Mac Air laptop. She is a total APPLE person, IMAC computer, Mac Air laptop, iPhone8, iPad Air. So I am looking for suggestions for a monitor that is not "Gamer" quality she does not need that but one that you can sit in front of all day. Bottom line is it must work with a 15 inch Mac Air Laptop. Thanks in advance Dennis USA Master Sergeant Ret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Twotoes Posted June 28, 2018 Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 If the laptop has an HDMI plug she can use any monitor that has HDMI imput. As far as brand I know that Samsung, and Sony are good and Visio is also good for a little less money. There is also LG and Panasonic brands that are popular. 2015 Itasca Ellipse 42QD 2017 Jeep Wrangler Unlimited Rubicon Hard Rock Edition 2021 Harley Street Glide Special Fulltimer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJW Posted June 28, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2018 Twotoes I don't think she cares which brand it is just recommendations for Better/Best quality. Dennis USA Master Sergeant Ret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJW Posted June 29, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 29, 2018 This monitor was on my daily New Egg email. Seems to have good spec's the price with promo code is $289. Mac Compatible. 4 inch bigger than she had me looking for but split screen 4.0 so she can pull up 4 doc at a time. For some reason it will not let me post the link? Anyway it is a LG Monitor 34UM64-P normal price is $499. Just checked that monitor is $386 on Amazon. So the $289 with free shipping and no sales tax is a good buy. Dennis USA Master Sergeant Ret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted June 30, 2018 Report Share Posted June 30, 2018 Dennis, I use a 22"retro style Seiki LED TV as a computer monitor in the guest bedroom. It was over $300.00 on debut then dropped down at Newegg to the same $228.00 price as the rest. No one bought them because at best, as a TV, they are guest bedroom quality, just a good picture. We wanted to do the guest bedstroom in mid 20th century retro. But not that much! When Newegg cleared them out at $79.99, free shipping and new, I bought one. Here is a link, scroll down a couple of pages for about ten pics: https://televisions.reviewed.com/content/seiki-se22fr01-retro-tv-review We have a retro portable suitcase phonograph and a wall hung real wood light up bluetooth speaker. https://victrola.com/products/victrola-rechargeable-nostalgic-wall-mounted-wood-bluetooth-speaker However, I digress. All your sister needs is a good 1080p, and Samsung, LG (Actually Goldstar before they tried to upgrade their image - Actually their full name is Lucky Goldstar in English,) Panasonic all are off my list now as Vizio, actually an American brand with American customer service, is my new best buy. They all have full array LED backlighting except their 24", while most other sets still only have edge lighting. Vizio made a serious mistake in 2016/2017 by eliminating the TV tuners (over the air broadcast tuners) making them monitors not TVs. All TVs now come with tuners again. Make sure of the tuner. Only their D series had tuners for those two years. I have shopped for a spare TV for my computer and found the best buy at Best Buy. https://www.bestbuy.com/site/vizio-32-class-led-d-series-1080p-smart-hdtv/6202310.p?skuId=6202310 It's a 32" but still full array backlighting, smartcast etc. for just $199.99 Their 24" is edge lit, but still 1080p full HD for just $118.99 here last week. We are upgrading our 65" Vizio M series 65" this year for their P series 65" or their Quantum that comes out later this summer. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJW Posted June 30, 2018 Author Report Share Posted June 30, 2018 RV Does it make any difference that she does not need nor want the TV function? She just wants a Better/Best monitor. Would you still recommend using a Vizio TV as a monitor? She is a headhunter in the banking industry. So I will put you down as a no on the LG monitor listed above. Sorry to hear about the bad water issue in CO. Have a great 4th. Dennis USA Master Sergeant Ret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted July 1, 2018 Report Share Posted July 1, 2018 Dennis, Short version: At that sale price, after reading up on the specs on their website, I'd say that LG is a great buy too. For a banker financial person that LG has some features not seen in other monitors. Long version: I have had great disappointment with their quality and lack of customer service on an overpriced refrigerator, and found their policy on selling parts and crappy customer service to be reflected in all they do. I went to the website and the ability to do full spreadsheets on it with nothing hidden off the edge would be a big plus for a banker/financial person. it seems to be an edge lit older tech KCD inly not LED lit, which is weird. The resolution is great too. I look at LG like Apple, perceived as top shelf, top quality but usually delivers the standard industry hardware components. People who want the most prestigious sometimes miss that a $25.00 Casio electronic keeps better time than most costly "mechanical" chronometers that cost from several thousand dollars on up. I do have CNN or Bloomberg on 1/4 of my 27" quad HD all in one computer. But I'm using a Hauppage TV Tuner for over the air HD and Sling TV Blue streamed for news in my office. But to use the Fire TV have to switch to the computer's HDMI in and that takes over the whole screen turning off the computer side. So for me I'm going to a small 1080p full HD TV. Vizio makes a nice 28" full HD TV too. So sure that LG for most would be a no brainer at that price. I'll admit my bias against LG. <sigh> They did all the design engineering for the Chevy Bolt, GM only assembles it at their Orion plant. So they delivered it using their bag batteries, and 10% of the first 2000 had at least 100 owners left stranded when they failed. " Kevin Kelly, senior manager for advanced technology communications at General Motors, said that the problem might affect less than one percent of early Bolt production models. The company is proactively reaching out to “fewer than a couple hundred customers” that could be impacted, according to Kelly. The remedy is to replace the entire battery pack, even if only one cell is faulty. " http://plugincars.com/general-motors-notifies-early-bolt-owners-potential-battery-failure-133131.html Korean exploding Samsung phones, defective EV batteries, among other unexpected fails have soured me on some of their manufacturers. Panasonic batteries are far superior and the Japanese watch movements are the best. But the Chinese are getting better every year. Samsung still makes a top phone. Hyundai and their wholly owned KIA are now some of the best auto brands with 5 year 100k drive train warranties. They are going to debut some great EVs in the coming year too. So I'm not against all Korean brands. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Joyce Posted July 1, 2018 Report Share Posted July 1, 2018 TCL is also a brand to check out. Their TVs are very well rated, especially for the price and all have tuners, and I have friends happy with them. Their monitors are also well rated and are priced well. 2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now. Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted July 2, 2018 Report Share Posted July 2, 2018 Bill, Here is the reason local dimming and full array are all I will buy on even my spare bedroom TVs today. This article is for beginners who have no idea what the tech babble we seem to be using when trying to explain it to the newbies. He even tested them all and the results are there as well as links to the test program to test your own. https://www.rtings.com/tv/tests/picture-quality/local-dimming We got the 2018 43" 4k HDR/UHD D series for the bedroom. Our 2015 65" M series has been great but the P series costs less than we paid for the M series then. We are waiting, along with the rest of the videophiles, for the Vizio P series Quantum to come out later this summer. It will only be in 65" size and will cost much less than the OLEDs which they will beat according to the demonstration videos below. BUt here is a visual demo of the differences between the Vizio E series, D series, M Series (my current) the P series, and the new P series Quantum here: https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Vizio+quantum+demonstration+videos&&view=detail&mid=4C43BC95BC7B9055E93F4C43BC95BC7B9055E93F&rvsmid=C6FF5DD6C402630F6114C6FF5DD6C402630F6114&FORM=VDRVRV Here is the LG OLED side by side with ther Vizio P Quantum 65": https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Vizio+quantum+demonstration+videos&view=detail&mid=C6FF5DD6C402630F6114C6FF5DD6C402630F6114&FORM=VIRE Vizio made a big mistake for 2016/2017 when they removed the TV Over the Air (OTA) tuners for broadcast free HD programming which I use as do most RVrs with their rooftop antennas when available. All Vizios again have OTA tuners for 2018. Vizio is an American company and keeps getting year's best ratings by the industry. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Joyce Posted July 3, 2018 Report Share Posted July 3, 2018 RV: You are making it sound like TCL does not do local dimming, which is does with a rating of 6.0 on the article you sited. There are many models that are worse, including many Vizio models, and only a few that are better. No Vizio makes a 10, so you are compromising on local dimming if you want the best. I can buy a 55" 600 series TCL for under $500 on sale, which will fit my needs. Edit: Of course this is all TV talk and not monitor talk. Since all the brands have multiple quality lines, we would have to know which line their monitors most closely matched and I don't see that information. 2004 40' Newmar Dutch Star DP towing an AWD 2020 Ford Escape Hybrid, Fulltimer July 2003 to October 2018, Parttimer now. Travels through much of 2013 - http://www.sacnoth.com - Bill, Diane and Evita (the cat) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 Amen Bill, Dennis' sister has only Apple so 1080p, will fit in with whatever she has, thus my recommend for the $199.99 Vizio above. I also added on edit a Retro red TV and my retro wood Bluetooth speaker to the post I made earlier above. I wrote the below last week and am going to post it on its own as the TV info is good. CNET rates the Roku TCL as a best in the 55" size TV: " While far short of TCL, Vizio's zone count is higher than that of last year's M, with the exception of the 55-inch, which stays the same. The M-Series has more zones then the cheaper E series, but fewer than the step-up P series and P-Series Quantum (details here). With the exception of the TCL 6 series, most other TVs at this price lack dimming entirely, use the edge-lit variety, or cost a lot more, like the Sony X900F and Samsung Q8 (neither Sony or Samsung lists their dimming zone numbers)." https://www.cnet.com/products/vizio-m65-f0/review/ The Vizio does not get to being the top TV until the P series 65". It, IMHO, is the best bang for the buck TV by far in the 65" top full array dimming zone wars today. Fully $1000-$2000 less than the usual suspects, those usual suspects will garner a few because they are unsure of Vizio and TCL. We owned the first TCL 40" here ten years ago for our bedroom TV and they have come far since then. It was 1080 but the controls to change channels and inputs were excruciatingly slow and hard to use. I am glad to hear they have come up to standard. For bedroom TVs we buy for price first. I owned for our LR/Home theater TV, and at each time I bought/researched, the Sony CRT monitor TVs (with tuners) and the Pioneer worldwide 50" rear projection TV so we could tune in Germany's PAL system broadcasts and when we returned to the US our NTSC standard broadcasts. PAL was superior by far than the US system. I called our system NTSC (Never The Same Color) PAL has no color hue tuner to control the RGB. It was perfect as broadcast on every set. No orange or purple faces there like here at the time, and even now. Actually no on Roku in the 65" class I am buying in, but yes definitely in the 55". In the top line TVs, when you click to see all 65 reviews scan down the back light column, (full array or edge lit,) and the and the type column , (OLED or LED,) and only the OLEDs score 10s. The best and most expensive LEDs and OLEDs all have a severe price penalty except the Vizio. I reprinted that list below to show only the TVs that got an 8.0 and above score, and they included five OLED and only five LED models. I just got through researching those ten models and a few more for my upgrade which is only waiting for the Vizio P series Quantum model to come out later this summer before I buy. Bear in mind when looking at the prices that some models have nothing new for 2018 yet. Also the announced Vizio Quantum P series is not included because it is not out for reviews until they are in full production. If you watched the video above in my previous post comparing the LG OLED side by side with their Vizio P Quantum 65": https://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=Vizio+quantum+demonstration+videos&view=detail&mid=C6FF5DD6C402630F6114C6FF5DD6C402630F6114&FORM=VIRE you find that compared on the much lesser screen of our computers or TV we are watching the comparison on, that the differences are still visible. Bill I owned one of the first TCLs sold here for my bedroom, a ~ 40" 1080p TV. For our main TV we have been through a 60" class Samsung in 2006 until its capacitors blew out and was repaired free out of warranty with poor picture after, then a 60" Panasonic Plasma in 2010, and in 2015 the Vizio M series which was rated best TV of 2015 in the LR home theater. In the bedroom we we had the TCL we hated in 2010, then the 40" Emerson 1080p in 2015, and now a Vizio 4k full array D series which I earlier said was a 2018 but it is actually a 2017 when I looked it up:https://www.cdw.com/product/VIZIO-D43-E2-D-Series-43in-Class-42.51in-viewable-LED-TV/4673930?cm_cat=bing&cm_ite=4673930&cm_pla=NA-NA-VIZIO_LT&cm_ven=acquirgy&ef_id=WzvWzQAABLo6xS1B:20180703200429:s&s_kwcid=AL!4223!10!73598661263892!73598608990573#BVRRWidgetID The BR Vizio 43" was marked down to $298 from $369 on sale at Sam's club. But the picture is fantastic. I still have a tuner on my QHD Dell AIO 27" touch screen computer, our Vizio M-65 is about to be replaced by a Vizio P-65 or possibly their Quantum 65" coming out this summer. So I meant no slur on TCL. In fact although pricier than mine in the same year, the 2017 TCL was listed excellent by CNET and the Vizio I have as only good. Comparing the 55" only CNET says: " Like LG, TCL and (eventually) Sony, Vizio supports both major types of HDR, HDR10 and Dolby Vision, in the M-Series. Bringing full-array local dimming (FALD) to lower price points is Vizio's wheelhouse. This feature is my favorite improvement for LCD picture quality because it improves all-important contrast and black levels, especially with HDR, and has better uniformity than edge-lit dimming. The number of dimmable zones is an important specification because it controls how precise the dimming can be. More zones doesn't necessarily mean better picture quality, but it usually helps. While far short of TCL, Vizio's zone count is higher than that of last year's M, with the exception of the 55-inch, which stays the same. The M-Series has more zones then the cheaper E series, but fewer than the step-up P series and P-Series Quantum (details here). With the exception of the TCL 6 series, most other TVs at this price lack dimming entirely, use the edge-lit variety, or cost a lot more, like the Sony X900F and Samsung Q8 (neither Sony or Samsung lists their dimming zone numbers)." https://www.cnet.com/products/vizio-m65-f0/review/ So when we compare today's non OLED TVs that got a score of 8.0 or higher, numbers 6-10, the top five LED TVs, we see one hell of a disparity in price! The Vizio P series is as excellent in picture quality but $1000 - $2000 less than all LED competitors. If we add the prices to that list, as I did below, we get: Product Year Type Resolution Local Dimming Video Local Dimming Backlight Local Dimming Our Reviews LG C7 2017 55" 65" OLED 4k Video $1996.99 No N/A 10 See Review Sony A1E 2017 55" 65" 77" OLED 4k Video $2498.00 No N/A 10 See Review LG E7P 2017 55" 65" OLED 4k Video $2496.00 No N/A 10 See Review LG B7A 2017 55" 65" OLED 4k Video $1495.99 No N/A 10 See Review LG C8 2018 55" 65" 77" OLED 4k Video $2296.99 No N/A 10 See Review Sony A8F 2018 55" 65" OLED 4k Video $2798.00 No N/A 10 See Review Sony Z9D 2017 100" 65" 75" LED 4k Video $2998.00 Yes Full-Array 8.5 See Review Sony X940E 2017 75" LED 4k Video $3998.00 Yes Full-Array 8.5 See Review Vizio P Series 2017 2017 55" 65" 75" LED 4k Video $1099.99 Yes Full-Array 8.0 See Review Samsung Q9FN 2018 65" 75" LED 4k Video $3497.99 Yes Full-Array 8.0 See Review Vizio P Series 2018 2018 55" 65" 75" LED 4k Video $1099.99 Yes Full-Array 8.0 See Review So you can see that the competition is in the same dimming zone amounts, the top ten, include only five LED sets, in addition to the five top rated OLED sets. I did not go into the built in Vizio streaming. It is abysmal.streaming That top of the line Vizio P series is much more bang for the buck for substantially less than any comparable set in the top ten rated here. That is why originally I had mentioned my plans to upgrade this year to the P series which is the most bang for the buck in the top shelf TV, at a middle shelf price. As a note, I have a lot of BluRay movies because they are being clearanced out slowly. I was shopping 4k movies but no way will I spend that kind of money when I can "buy" them for under $15 bucks to stream as often as I like, as I get them in 4k streaming. My TV, my Amazon Fire TV, my HDMI cables are 2.0 for 4k, and my high speed Internet supports 4k. So I can watch 4k on Amazon Prime Video, Netflix, Hulu, Sling TV Blue, HBO and HBO Now, PBS app, CBS app, and most of the other channels both broadcast OTA and cable channels are on demand in Sling TV, as well as scheduled programming. My TV upconverts 1080p to somewhat 4k. Vizio has an excellent upconverting engine. Now to play movies on my old Blu-Ray player I do not need to connected to the Internet. I do not use the slow Internet apps on TVs and Players. I use the Fire TV 4k (2nd generation) streaming device. I found that like Roku, I do not want my streaming device to be built into any of my devices but to stand alone. So I found that the basic 4k disk players have excellent 4k upscaling, play Blu Ray 1080 upscaled, DVDs upscaled, and all my audio CDs. I found the $199.99 LG with no WiFi only ethernet was marked down at Best Buy to $79.99! Glad I read the reviews. I love LG Blu-ray players, we have one now top of the line non 4k with WiFi. Then I found the darnedest thing, a Magnavox brand 4k Disk player for 54.00 a couple of months ago and since then it has been steadily going up in price. I see the market stabilizing at about $65-$80 for these no WiFi, no smart channels, Ethernet only for updates to the player. We already as a buying public know that the Rokus and Amazon Firer TV streaming devices are superior to what comes in the disk players and TVs. https://www.ebay.com/itm/Magnavox-MBP6700P-4K-Ultra-HD-Blu-Ray-Player-Black/273139135085?hash=item3f985c726d:g:Z0YAAOSwYEhalUyb:sc:USPSPriority!71111!US!-1 The LG UP875 4K Ultra HD 3D Blu-ray Disc player is on sale from a supposed retail of $199 for $59.95 similarly lacking WiFi or Smart functions with just an Ethernet port http://www.ebay.com/itm/like/142837519315 has terrible reviews where the Magnavox reviews, like mine are all fantastic save a few folks who thought it had WiFi and goofed and made up stuff to return or gripe instead of admitting they could not read plain English saying it had no WiFi. Today we only need playback as our streaming comes through the Fire TV or Roku much faster as well as 4k hardware can be changed in a $60 dollar streaming device as needed for updates than changing TVs every few years as tech goes forward. I have no need of disks any more, and rarely ever pop one in the players on my Dell AIO, My 65' LR system, or the Bedroom 4k system with the old 1080p BluRay player under it that used to be in the living room. The living room player has been replaced by my new "Dumb" 4k BluRay player, that upconverts my regular 1080 blue ray Disks to near 4K. I doubt I will invest in $40-50 4k BluRay disks at all. But maybe when they are for sale in discount bins, pawn shops, and Goodwill stores yard sales for 41 to 3 bucks I will collect them like I do regular BluRay disks now. I still buy music CDs, but only the ciollector's edition remasters with special packaging I keep them in, as opposed to just ripping them and discarding the jewel case and putting the CD and CD liner notes in a Disk storage book minus the cases. I agree that the TCL company has come a long way and that some of their TVs meet or exceed the specs of the Vizios in the 55" and under class of sets in certain models. And that Vizio meets or exceeds the specs and pictures in the other top brands in most sizes by specs and price. My opinion is that for the demanding but frugal buyer that Sony, Panasonic, and Samsung sets are passe, and unless they get going on less money into advertising and more into their own tech, they will soon be like KLH and Crown, old has been best in breed that stopped innovating. Bill, So we agree on the TCL having some specs as good as Vizio in some models, and vice versa. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RV_ Posted July 10, 2018 Report Share Posted July 10, 2018 Dennis, The above is for reference only. Thanks for getting me to add to the research. RV/Derekhttp://www.rvroadie.com Email on the bottom of my website page.Retired AF 1971-1998 When you see a worthy man, endeavor to emulate him. When you see an unworthy man, look inside yourself. - Confucius “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities.” ... Voltaire Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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