How to Pick the “Best” External Computer or Video Monitor

I need a new monitor, partly for video editing, but also for image editing in Photoshop and lots (and lots) of writing. The more I look, the more overwhelmed I get with all the options. Which criteria are important and which can we ignore?

There are countless web posts rating “The Best Computer Monitors.” Most are written from a Windows perspective, and, more problematic, for gamers. Gamers are wonderful people, but they don’t have the same monitor needs as video editors.

After time spent reviewing, buying and using a variety of computer and video monitors, here are my personal criteria along with explanations of what these terms mean. At the end, I share my monitor search recommendations. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comments.

NOTE: B&H Photo lists 1,111 computer monitors. That is an overwhelming number! While the photos below are to add visual interest, they are not specific recommendations; though most meet my general criteria.

KEY CRITERIA FOR AN EXTERNAL VIDEO MONITOR

A computer monitor attaches to your computer via USB-C or HDMI and shows the desktop, files, applications and media. A video monitor generally displays only the video of the project you are editing as accurately as possible.

Video monitors are not cheap. High image quality and, generally, support for HDR display are the main reasons for spending the money. Here are my ranked criteria for a video monitor:

1. Color accuracy
2. Brightness
3. HDR format support
4. LED type
5. How it connects to your system
6. Price

NOTE: I’ll define these terms in a minute.

Quality manufacturers include: Flanders Scientific, Sony, Panasonic, JVC, Apple, and others.

KEY CRITERIA FOR AN EXTERNAL COMPUTER MONITOR

Here are my ranked criteria for an external computer monitor:

1. Monitor size in inches
2. Color accuracy, including support for DCI-P3 color space
3. Pixel resolution, defined by horizontal and vertical pixel counts
4. (Mac users) Support for Retina displays
5. LCD display
6. Price. (Price is important, but not most important.)
7. The quality, and flexibility of the monitor stand
8. (Optional) Monitor brightness
9. (Optional) HDR support
10. How it connects to your computer

Quality manufacturers include: Apple, LG, Samsung, Dell, ViewSonic, HP, Lenovo, BenQ, and others.

Features that I don’t pay attention to that may be important to you:

• Refresh rate. Fast refresh rates are important for gamers, but video needs, at most, a refresh rate double the frequency of your project frame rate. Since gaming is a huge market, manufacturers stress their refresh rates. You don’t need to worry about them.
• Whether it has additional ports (USB-C, USB-A, HDMI, etc.).
• Inclusion of audio speakers. My editing system has an entirely separate audio system with far higher quality than any monitor speaker.
• Curved displays.
• The size of the bezels. Sigh… Give me a break.

Let me explain what these terms mean so you can use them effectively in your own search.

MONITOR SIZE

Video editing interfaces – and images – require lots of room. I prefer a 27″ display. Remember, video images are not scalable. Once you scale the image larger than 100%, it looks blurry.

COLOR ACCURACY

This determines how accurately the monitor displays the colors of your media. There are, not surprisingly, several standards:

• Rec. 709. The color standard for HD video.
• sRGB. The color standard for digital still images.
• DCI-P3. The current color standard for HDR images and Mac monitors.
• Rec. 2020. The currently unattainable standard for HDR. DCI-P3 is as close as we can get without spending tens of thousands of dollars.

Most monitor manufacturers list a percentage of how close they can get to each of these standards. At a minimum, a video editing monitor should achieve 98% or better for Rec. 709 and sRGB, and 95% for DCI-P3.

PIXEL RESOLUTION

This defines the number of pixels displayed by a monitor. Generally, the more pixels in the display, the more detail you will see in the image. Typical sizes are:

• 1920 x 1080 (1080p)
• 2560 x 1440 (QHD)
• 3840 x 2160 (UHD)
• 4096 x 2160 (4K)
• 5120 x 2880 (5K)
• 6144 x 3160 (6K)
• 7680 x 4320 (8K)

However, there are many, many times where we want to decrease the resolution in an image. Skin softening and diffusion for actor’s faces and skin are typical examples. Depth of field is another. Edge contrast and detail are a third. Softer is often better, so don’t obsess about finding the absolutely highest resolution… except for Mac users.

NOTE: Pixel resolution seems to be a big determiner of cost. 5K monitors are essentially double the price of 4K.

RETINA DISPLAY (Windows users may know this as “Hi-DPI”)

When all we want to see is the image, for example in a video monitor, the pixel resolution should match, as closely as possible, the image size of the media you want to view. However, with computer monitors – especially those attached to Macs – the clarity of text and menus is also important. In order to provide the best image AND the smoothest text, Apple created Retina display technology. This converts a block of 4 pixels into acting as a single pixel. This makes menus, icons and interface elements much easier to read by cutting the display resolution in half.

So, a 4K monitor when attached to a Mac, displays images and the interface as 1920 x 1080. A 5K monitor would display at 2560 x 1440.

I didn’t think this would be a big deal until I reviewed the ViewSonic VP2776 monitor. Gorgeous color, but its lack of Retina display support made it difficult to read text or clearly see interface icons.

If reading text on the screen is important to you, a monitor that offers a Retina display is essential. In general, that means a 4K monitor or larger.

NOTE: Here’s a tutorial on what makes a monitor a “Retina display.”

LCD DISPLAY

Virtually all monitors today display pixels using liquid crystals (LCD). Better LCD monitors use LEDs (Light-Emitting Diodes). The difference is the backlight. LCD monitors use fluorescent backlights. LEDs emit light directly, which is then supplemented by a backlight, either behind the LEDs or along the edge.

• LEDs lit from behind, called “full-array LEDs” are the highest quality, but most expensive.
• IPS monitors provide better color and wider viewing angles than TN or VA displays, but a slower refresh rate. (Slower refresh rates affect gamers more than video editors.)
• Mini-LED. Mini-LED a more efficient and effective way to backlight an LCD screen by shrinking the LED modules that provide backlighting to LCD screens. This eliminates the glow around high-contrast edges (i.e. white text on a black background).
• QLED (quantum light-emitting diode) LEDs have a small glowing dot in the center of each pixel to improve red/green response.
• OLED (organic light-emitting diodes) provides more control over each pixel with richer blacks, better contrast ratios and richer image quality. Unlike LEDs, OLEDs illuminate themselves without requiring backlight. They are also thinner and more energy efficient, but can suffer from image burn-in. OLED is the current standard for “best” image quality, but also much more costly.

“LEDs aren’t very good at emitting bright light. The brightest color is white. But an LED doesn’t emit white light – it emits blue light. Each LED is given a yellow phosphor coating to make it appear less blue and more white, but it’s still not true white. The “blueness” of LEDs negatively impacts the red, blue, and green colors on LED displays. LED monitors have automatic features that adjust the RGB colors to compensate for the blue light, but it can’t compensate for the weaker light intensity.

“That’s where the quantum (QLED) dots come in. The pixels are overlayed by a sheet of red and green quantum dots (there is no blue because blue light is already being emitted by the LED). When the light shines through the liquid crystals, the quantum dots glow, and you’re given a bright, vivid, and lovely spectrum of RGB colors.

“QLED monitors are capable of creating pictures that are both dynamic and bright, and which have stellar contrast ratios.” (HP support page)

BRIGHTNESS

All computer monitors are bright enough for HD (SDR) media, because SDR media only requires 100 nits of brightness. On the other hand, HDR PQ media supports up to 10,000 nits!!! Most HDR-capable monitors support between 350 – 1,000 nits. (Larger nit levels are brighter.) No monitor available today supports the full range of Rec. 2020 brightness levels.

NOTE: Nits are often labeled as “cd/m²” (candela per square meter).

HDR SUPPORT

There are several different HDR video formats: PQ, HLG, HDR10, DolbyVision. PQ and HLG are editing formats. HDR10 and DolbyVision are distribution formats. Since no computer monitor can achieve full HDR display, I don’t worry about it. I edit my video using DCI-P3 spec monitors and, for critical projects, use a separate HDR-capable monitor for the final color grade. I don’t try to view HDR images on a computer monitor in HDR mode. I view them in DCI-P3.

MONITOR STAND

Apple seems to feel that monitor stands are optional. Perhaps they are for Apple, but not for me. Low-end monitors, like the lower-cost LG monitors, have cheap stands that don’t pivot, swivel or lift. I have one sitting on a box, which just looks stupid.

VESA mounts allow you to attach the monitor to a wall, or a more flexible desk mount. I’m saving my pennies to switch to using these.

HOW IT CONNECTS

All current Macs support USB-C. Some also support Thunderbolt 3/4. Others provide HDMI. Several docks support DisplayPort. Pick a monitor that supports the interface offered by your computer. The display quality is identical, regardless of how the monitor is connected.

NOTE: While USB-C, Thunderbolt, HDMI and DisplayPort all provide the same image quality, how you connected the monitor will affect the speed of any attached USB-A ports on the monitor. Read the manufacture’s website for details if this speed is important to you.

LARRY’S SEARCH RECOMMENDATIONS

Here are the criteria I’m using to select my next computer monitor.

• Price: $500 – 1,200
• Size: 27″
• Color Accuracy: 98% sRGB, 98% Rec. 709, 95% DCI-P3 or better
• Pixel Resolution: 3840 x 2160 or better
• Retina Display support: Yes
• Display: IPS LED
• LCDs: Mini-LED, QLED
• Monitor Brightness: 300 nits or greater
• HDR Support: Not important
• Monitor stand: Well constructed, able to tilt, swivel and adjust height
• Connection: USB-C, Thunderbolt, HDMI or DisplayPort (my gear supports all of these)

ONE LAST THOUGHT

Sigh… I was hoping, after writing this article and determining my preferences, that I could find the right monitor for my work more easily. But, no.

I went on the B&H Photo website – or Amazon – or pick-your-vendor. I searched for 27″ 4K IPS monitors. A number of different monitors with identical specs appeared. The specs were identical but the prices – even from the same manufacturer – were not.  Indistinguishable monitors differed by hundreds of dollars.

This makes no sense. If the specs are the same, WHAT makes for the price difference? Why are monitor manufacturers avoiding discussing the value of spending more money? It is impossible to know, even after reading the complete product description.

My criteria for picking a monitor may not match yours, but at least you now have a place to start to look for a monitor that will fit your style of work and still look good on the job.

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