[GTALUG] Seiki 4k monitor

[Gordon Chillcott]

They seem to have been trying hard to open a market for this brand.
They dropped at least one name brand in favour of it.

Gordon


On Fri, 2014-10-10 at 15:04 -0400, D. Hugh Redelmeier wrote:
> A month or so ago I could not resist a 4k monitor for $300. So I bought a 
> Seiki SE39UY04 39-Inch TV from Tiger Direct.
> 
> Bad:
> 
> This is not a great monitor: not IPS, refresh rate of only 30Hz at
> 3840x2160 resolution, no exciting "smart" features, not a name brand.
> 
> And the $300 is not 100% accurate: there was a considerable ewaste
> fee, and the price was really $350 + taxes - $50 rebate.
> 
> Soon HDMI 2.0 will be here, allowing 60Hz refresh in future 4k
> monitors (not this one).
> 
> This thing thinks it is a TV.  Too bad.  No Display Port; that would
> have allowed 60Hz at full resolution.
> 
> A lot of computer video outputs do not support 4k even at 30Hz.  I
> tried Zotac Zbox ID-81 Intel HD, AMD E350, AMD C50, ThinkPad W520.
> Luckily my MSI GFX650 seems to work (with nVidia proprietary driver).
> 
> Nobody but Tiger Direct has them: I think that this model has been
> replaced or will soon be.
> 
> Good:
> 
> It seems quite neat to have all these pixels on my desk.  For now, it
> has replaced my long-serving 30" 2560x1600 monitor.
> 
> This is less expensive than almost any 2460x1440 monitor and it has
> more pixels.  It seemed like a no-brainer.
> 
> 39 inches seems reasonable for a desktop.  The larger Seiki 4k models
> seem less so.
> 
> 30 Hz is fine for static displays.  Mouse tracking seems more, uh, 
> etherial, for lack of a better term.  Scrolling is a little less smooth.  
> Quite liveable for a programmer like me.
> 
> TD has it on various sales at various times.  Now it is $380 before
> $30 rebate.  Oh, it is the last day of that rebate.
> <http://www.tigerdirect.ca/applications/SearchTools/item-details.asp?EdpNo=8430969&CatId=7395>
> 
> There seems to be an enthusiastic user base.  Even custom firmware!
> 
> Hint:
> 
> For monitor use, turn noise reduction off and sharpening to 0.
> Otherwise there are unpleasant effects on text displayed in a browser
> or terminal
> 
> 
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