this is my experience regarding view distance
It seems like if you subtract about 1/6th of the monitor's diagonal size you get a rough estimate of a reasonable "nearest" viewing distance to work from. (rough "nearest" estimate, not necessarily "best" distance).
Monitor size divided by 6 , times 5 = viewing distance
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15" = 12.5" (around 1')
27" = 22.5" (a bit under 2')
32" = 26.6" (a few inch past 2')
43" = 35.8" (about 3')
48" = 40" viewing distance (or greater)
55" = 45.8" (3.8' - 4')
65" = 54.16" (4.5')
70" = 58.33" (4.86' - 5')
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Right now I'm too close considering I use three monitors. At just over 3 feet viewing distance Iooking at my middle 32" 16:9 monitor, I can sort of see about 30% to 40% of the nearest side of each 43" side monitor without tilting my eyes or rotating my neck much. When I want to look at either of my side 43 inch monitors more, I spin my chair to face them fully more or less. My "sub desk" which is independent of the long narrow desk my monitors is on is a crescent shaped desk which is on wheels as well so can spin a bit either way easily if I want it to.
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Regarding burn-in. SDR is way lower brightness than HDR so not as surprising about the desktop. Personally I'd still hide the taskbar and any icons and use an all black background on any oled in my array.. I'd also use other monitor(s) in an array for non media stuff whenever I could.
From https://www.rtings.com/tv/reviews/lg/c9-oled
View attachment 227797
... games use hybrid log gamma where you can move the white point and gamma brighter which can make things out of bounds one extreme or the other. IDK of much content that would blast max nits fullscreen sustained unless it was a poorly done game with a bad white point/gamma scale.
A 800nit or higher peak is impossible on OLEDs outside of peak 10% window of highlights and before ABL kicks in.
A C9 OLED's HDR can only do
Fullscreen peak/burst: 301 nit ... Fullscreen sustained: 286 nit
50% peak/burst: 530nit ... 50% sustained: 506nit
25% peak/burst: 845nit ... 25% sustained: 802nit
10% peak/burst: 855nit .. 10% sustained: 814nit
A Samsung Q90's HDR for comparison since it's LED LCD and very bright
Fullscreen peak/burst: 536 nit ... Fullscreen sustained: 532 nit
50% peak/burst: 816nit ... 50% sustained: 814nit
25% peak/burst: 1275nit ... 25% sustained: 1235nit
10% peak/burst: 1487nit .. 10% sustained: 1410nit
Terrific post and I love your optimum viewing distance formula, it matches what I prefer exactly! Thank you!
I used to worry about my pc habits and burn-in but after 3 years I just don't care anymore. I don't have any burn-in and the TV still looks incredible. The only thing I just can't abide is the low refresh rate on my C7. I need 120hz so badly.
Your point above about full screen brightness peaks on OLED vs LCD is largely irrelevant for PC use. At 40 inches seating distance from the 48 inch model I guarantee you won't want even 300 nits blasting you in the face. On my 55 inch LG C7 I was running only 40 OLED light and it was still insanely bright.
https://www.digitaltrends.com/computing/computer-monitor-buying-guide/
Brightness: High-end monitors these days have brightness around 300 to 350 cd/m2. Extra brightness may be handy if you work in a well-lit room or next to large windows. However, too much brightness is a recipe for eye strain. As long as brightness options reach 250 cd/m2, your monitor is good to go. That said, if you want one with HDR support, the more peak brightness the better to best take advantage of that technology.
This bit is so amazing because 250 is a decent brightness setting for PC use and I'm not wild about ABL.
Regarding ergonomics, I use the Ikea Bekant Standing Desk so the 32 inch depth (width) may be a bit short. I'm probably going to arm mount this time.
Anyone know a good monitor arm for a 15kg (33 pound) display? Without the stand it probably only weighs 30 pounds or less.
Ikea Bekant:
Length: 63 " (160 cm)
Width: 31 1/2 " (80 cm)
LG 2020 OLED 48 inch
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