Product test
What happens when you hook up a 65-inch TV to a PC?
by Dominik Bärlocher
I'm becoming sensible: my life with a 40-inch screen
12.9.2017
Translation: machine translated
The escapade with the 65-inch television was brief. It was great, but doesn't really have long-term potential. But I still love big screens. Here's a test of a device that's gigantic and still made for PCs.
"I could have told you it wouldn't work," says Martin Kunz, Team Leader in the Peripherals office. Martin is part of the team responsible for ensuring that we can offer screens. And he was amazed when he saw my test with the 65-inch TV as a screen.
Because he knows: big is fine, but it's better. So one morning, when he presents me with a large box that actually has a screen on it and gives me the task of testing the device, of course I'm in. My test device is called the Philips BDM4037UW.
The first thing that strikes me is the name. Why can't screens, be they TVs or PC monitors, have catchy names? Some kind of system is recognisable, but apart from a few enthusiasts, nobody can remember BDM40anything. So far, the following models have been on my desk.
At least you can recognise from the names that the first two numbers always indicate the screen diagonal in inches. The rest differs from manufacturer to manufacturer. This is because a screen does not have a model name like the manufacturer "Samsung" has the "Galaxy" series, which includes the "S" model, which is currently in the "8" generation. The larger version of the device has a "+" at the end and the Samsung Galaxy S8+ is ready. The tech specs are still a long way off.
The situation is different with screens. According to our supplier, the name of my Philips BDM4037UW can be decoded as follows:
- BDM: Name of the product family. I assume that the abbreviation stands for Brilliance Display Monitor, as the word "Brilliance" is printed larger than the entire name on the packaging.
- 40: Screen diagonal in inches
- 37: Generation of the panel
- U: 4k resolution
- W: White colour. The edges are more silver-coloured, but white rather than black
The suspicion once arose that UW could stand for Ultra Wide, but that somehow doesn't add up. Because the screen is already ultra wide, but ultra wide describes an aspect ratio and not simply a number in millimetres.
Look, just because it's bigger doesn't mean it's more complicated
What often amazes me is that people have such a strange idea of structure and size. The idea goes something like this: It's a big, extravagant device that somehow only eccentrics seem to have. It must therefore be extremely complicated to set up.
Maybe I know the wrong people, or maybe this has got stuck somewhere. It's not too difficult to counter this, but in the end people are still without eccentric tech. That's a shame in general. Specifically, it's a shame when people just leave the BDM4037UW lying around. But more on that later.
The setup is exactly the same as with any other screen: cable into PC, cable into screen, connect power, done. Sure, eccentric tech is sometimes a little eccentric in its design, but inventing new technologies and new plugs or plug methods is a proud endeavour anyway. Not even hardware giants like Apple get away with it, so how is a niche product manufacturer supposed to succeed? That's why the gigantic 40-inch screen and the 65-inch TV only work with HDMI. Just like the 24-inch screens that you see everywhere and that somehow everyone has.
What you may need, however, is a better graphics card. This is because the BDM0437UW is designed for 4k resolution, i.e. a resolution of 3840 x 2160 pixels. This requires quite a lot of power even in normal office use. That's why I still have an office computer with a gamer graphics card.
"But it'll burn your eyes out of your head!"
After testing my 65-inch TV office setup, digitec readers and users on 9Gag - who put this on 9Gag? Let me know in the comments! - asked me if that wouldn't burn my eyes out of my skull. When it comes to TVs, that's a perfectly legitimate question. A television is designed to fill a room with images and atmosphere. So it's not exactly the ideal device for office use.
The BDM4037UW is designed for offices, according to the packaging. Because basically "screen ≠ screen" applies. But before I explain the differences between office and gaming hardware here, I'd like to say that for the average user, there's hardly any difference. Gamer hardware is relevant if you play video games either as a passion or professionally. Office hardware if you work a lot or have sensitive eyes.
When gaming, it depends on how quickly the hardware responds to your input. If your gaming graphics card sends signals to the screen faster than it can process them, the image will blur. Devastating if you have to aim with pixel precision. Although manufacturers of graphics cards and monitors have found software solutions to this problem, if you don't have to use them, then all the better. In addition, gamer screens have a higher Hertz number, which is well over 100. This also helps with speed and accuracy when playing games.
The BDM4037UW has none of this. The response time is four milliseconds, which is considered slow in the gaming world. Monitors there have a response time of one millisecond. In everyday life, i.e. in normal use, this is not noticeable to the naked eye. That's why the four milliseconds are perfectly adequate for the 40-inch screen.
Back to the burning sensation in the eyes. My eyes are quite sensitive. And I didn't have to change any settings on the BDM4037UW. The thing simply doesn't bother me. Compared to my HP screen, which acts as a second monitor for my e-mail, it's much more comfortable. With the HP, I occasionally get a burning sensation in my eyes, depending on the light coming through the window into the office. With the gigantic Philips... nothing. It glows softly and even after 12-hour days in the office, nothing hurts my face. Good work, Philips.
This review is therefore not really a review, because there's not much to say. With the BDM4037UW, Philips has delivered a screen that you can put on your desk without much fuss and it works. I don't want to give it away and I'm sure everyone will feel the same way.
So, if you're into big screens or just want to do yourself a favour for the next few years, this should be your screen.
Journalist. Author. Hacker. A storyteller searching for boundaries, secrets and taboos – putting the world to paper. Not because I can but because I can’t not.
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