Will movies look better on a professional monitor? [closed]

I often watch movies on an ordinary, consumer grade computer monitor. Alternatively, there are "TV" type monitors that I assume are more or less larger versions of computer monitors.

However, there are also professional monitors. These monitors, such as the NEC Spectraview, are used by professional photographers who need to work with photographs and have a high degree of color fidelity and expression.

Will a movie look better on a professional monitor, or is the extra capability not really useful for the types of images that movies in, say Blu-ray, display?

display-technology

Best Answer

The question comes down to what you want to get out of it. Most current Blu-ray, streaming, and other video technologies have recorded movies in the Rec. 709 (aka BT.709) color space. Having a monitor in a wider color gamut (as the one you mentioned appears to) won't make those things look any better and could even end up displaying them incorrectly if the hardware and software manufacturers aren't careful. (And trust me, most of them are not.) So for watching existing stuff, there's not much point.

However, we're just at the dawn of a UHD HDR world. UHD is Ultra High Def. and comprises 4K and 8K formats. HDR is high dynamic range. It allows a much larger range of brights and darks. Most TVs today can output about 100-300 nits, whereas HDR TVs can output 1,000 nits, so 3-10x brighter. Blu-ray, broadcast, set top boxes and game consoles are starting to support this new format, and it's inevitable that eventually all TVs, monitors, and other hardware will support the new format.

However, because it's still early in the game, there are competing HDR formats. There's Hybrid Log-Gamma, HDR 10 and HDR 10+, and probably more that I'm forgetting.

So the answer is - do want the latest and greatest and if so, are you willing to make a bet that might end up being wrong? (Think HD-DVD vs. Blu-ray or BetaMax vs. VHS if you were around then.) If not, just get a high quality HD TV or monitor and it will show everything you currently have and are likely to buy or download in the near future beautifully. But if you are willing to take a small risk (and I think there are sets that support multiple formats at the moment), and willing to buy UHD HDR content for it, then go for the new stuff! I hear that it's gorgeous, though I haven't seen much of it myself. (My TV is acting funny after a power outage, so I'm starting to think about this stuff too!)

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Do movies look better on a monitor or a TV?

Monitors usually have lower input lag, higher refresh rates and faster response time than TVs, which make them a better choice for gaming (there are exceptions, such as OLED TVs). On the other side, TVs are larger and more affordable, so they are fantastic for watching movies and TV shows, as well as console gaming.

Is a 27-inch monitor too big for office work?

A 27-inch monitor is usually going to be more than enough for most types of office work. Visual artists also often work on 27-inch monitors.

Why does my monitor look better than my TV?

They're designed for close-up use, and have a sharper, more detailed picture than a television. To see what we mean, try sitting as close to your TV as you do to your computer. You'll find the TV image is less distinct and more fuzzy. This is because monitors generally have more pixels per inch than televisions.

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