Yes Blitto, that's exactly what I would be doing. Brightness will be
adjustable. If you're budget constrained, then the lesser resolution
will still be fine. My Lenovo's were $180 a piece - dirt cheap, fine
to use for my engineering/PM type work. 

Kind Regards

Peter Crisp

----- Original Message -----
From: [email protected]
To:"WA Mac User Group Mac User Group" 
Cc:
Sent:Wed, 18 May 2022 09:04:35 +0800
Subject:Re: [WAMUG] External Monitor for MacBook Pro

 Thanks to everyone for your useful advice.So I’m thinking it
doesn’t seem essential to spend big bucks.Nor does it seem the
monitor needs to be labelled “mac compatible”.
Probably don’t need 4K resolution, but 1920x1080 or 2560 x 1440 
might be nice.
I am wondering whether Brightness specs are important? Some are 250
nits? Others are 300 or higher.
Anyway going to look around at Officeworks and JB.
But First - I HAVE TO TIDY THE STUDY!🤣
Thanks again everyoneBlitto

ROD BLITVICH  - Amy & Sam’s Dad
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
  [email protected] 

On 17 May 2022, at 4:57 pm, Marcus Harris  wrote:
I bought a 27 inch frameless monitor, 2560x1440 resolution with HDMI
connection from Kogan. It was about $300 a year ago.It’s perfect for
general use.I believe the main thing that others have noted is that
QHD 2560x1440 resolution is far superior to HD 1920x1080, so pay
that bit extra.Cheers
 Marcus
Marcus Harris
P.O. Box 7135
Shenton Park
Western Australia 6008
Australia
Cryptodome Pty Ltd
[email protected] [2]
Mob: +61 (0) 417965618

On 16 May 2022, at 7:36 pm, Neil Houghton  wrote:
Hi Rod,

         I’d second what Peter said – I’ve bought a couple of external
monitors over the last 14 months and both have just connected and
worked with both my late 2009 27” iMac and my new 13” M1 Macbook
air. I think the best approach is really to just think about:

        * what sort of display real estate you want/need

        * what is the resolution of your computer

        * what is the driving capacity of your computer

         For myself:

        * My iMac has a native resolution of 2560x 1440 and simultaneously
supports full native resolution on the built-in display and up to a
30-inch display (2560 by 1600 pixels) on an external display

        * My MacBook Air has a native resolution of 2560 × 1600 and
simultaneously supports full native resolution on the built-in display
and one external display with up to 6016x3384 resolution at 60Hz

        * My Phillips 273v7qdsb has Native Resolution of 1920 x 1080 and
HDMI, DVI-D and D-sub inputs.

        * My Lenovo D32qc-20 has Native Resolution of 2560 x 1440 and HDMI
and Display Port inputs.

         For my main iMac, I am frequently running multiple Excel
spreadsheets and/or multiple browser windows with many tabs in each
– so my need was for an extended desktop to maximise viewing area.
Initially I had the Phillips attached with a direct mini display port
to hdmi cable - which all worked fine but I found the discontinuity of
tracking from the 2560x1440 iMac screen to the 1920x1080 monitor
screen sufficiently annoying that I ended up reducing the iMac
resolution to 1920x1080 to match the monitor – which I found much
more useable. However it seemed a shame to have to resort to
downgrading the iMac resolution – so, given that the iMac can
support video output up to 2560x1600 - I decided to upgrade the
monitor and bought the 32” Lenovo.

         As per my previous post, when I initially connected the Lenovo,
using the same direct mini display port to hdmi cable, I found that
the maximum resolution that the iMac could see was 1920 x 1080 but I
then bought a mini display port to display port cable – which
unlocked the full 2560 x 1440 resolution of the monitor – which now
gives a seamless extended desktop of 2x 2560x1440 – which works
great for me.

         I now use the Phillips with the MacBook Air at home  - I have a
USB-C hub with an HDMI port and an HDMI cable to handle the connection
and I have the monitor set as the main display and the MacBook display
just set to mirror the monitor – I find the 13” screen hard to
view without glasses but the 27” is great.

         So, as you see, different setups for different purposes – but, if
you are looking to use an extended desktop with 2 displays/monitors, I
do find having the same vertical resolution makes for a seamless
pointer transition between the two screens and avoids the annoyance of
the pointer ‘banging into the brick wall”.

         I did see if the Macbook air would drive both the external monitor
AND the Luna Display connected 27” iMac – but the Luna display app
just told me that I had reached the display limit of my computer. The
Luna Display app obviously makes the iMac just look like an external
display and, since the MacBook air will only drive one external
monitor, it is either/or but not both!

         I’m not sure what size your 2021 MacBook Pro is – the 13”
seems to have the same capability as my MacBook Air whilst the 14”
and 16” obviously have greater resolutions AND the ability to drive
multiple displays.

         So, I hope some of that may help your considerations – and there
is no need to spend $600, or more, on the monitor – I paid $227 for
the 27” Full HD Phillips and $355 for the 32” curved Lenovo (flat
is even cheaper) with 2560 x 1440 resolution – all at OfficeWorks.

         Cheers

         

         Neil

         FROM:  on behalf of Peter Crisp 
REPLY-TO: WAMUG 
DATE: Monday, 16 May 2022 at 16:34
TO: WAMUG 
SUBJECT: Re: [WAMUG] External Monitor for MacBook Pro

         Hi Blitto, I bought a pair of Lenovo 24” regular monitors around
18 months ago when I had to work from home due to you know what. I use
my Windows work laptop but they work equally well on my Macbook by
plugging into an HDMI port. Mac OS figures out what you’ve got and
does a pretty good job of setting up. Sometimes a few tweaks needed to
get scaling correct, but no fundamental flaws. A lot of sellers
don’t actually know if they work with Mac OSX, can check on the
manufacturers site for specifics and compatibility. I’d be surprised
if there was a monitor for sale now that isn’t compatible. At worst
you may have to download some drivers off the manufacturer site or
wait for Mac OSX to auto get the drivers for you.

         If using multiple external monitors, you might need a third party
adaptor to have two HDMI ports connect via a single input to the Mac.

         Regards

         Pete. 

        On 16 May 2022, at 2:34 pm, Rod Blitvich  wrote:

         Hi Folks

        Please can anyone give recommendations on an external monitor for a
2021 MacBook Pro?

        Can one buy any external monitor (~$600) or does it have to be mac
compatible (~$1000)?

        Thanks

        Blitto 

ROD BLITVICH  - Amy & Sam’s Dad
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 
  [email protected] 

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