I generally agree with this IF the bezel also creates a "lip" that further raises from the actual screen. And Thanks Dhrakken, Parallax was the word I was thinking, .. was suffering from CRS (Can't Remember Sh**) :p
BUT side fire sacrifices some resolution and true black ability.
BUT, BUT, they are also generally lighter and thinner.

I can relate to the cringe feeling.. that's why we have the biannual "Cleaning of the Glass" when I have ample players present. allow for removal, glass and screen clean and replacement when there are enough hands to keep from dropping the TVs or the glass into the screen surface.:eek:

Very true when it comes to time saving and with a better VTT platform than RW
Torn on this one, coming from old school "theater of the mind" I think the visuals help (ie picture says a thousand words) but bad DM'ing and eh descriptors wont save any map.

Agree. While some digital things have helped the time savings almost becomes a wash. With 3.5 rule set combined with herolab on multiple tablets it allows my players (varies from 6-8) to make changes to the PORs as we go, Rage and Fight Defensive, etc become automatic changes than to have to constantly make corrections on paper Character sheets. Not to mention spell studying wizards and general consumables like potions and rations just get moved to "drop to ground" for repurchase later.
BUT.....Not having good efficient means of exporting of files and no means to record legitimate notes or journals creates alot of multiple programs running simultaneously and toggle back and forth or still having "ye ole spiral" to do those things with... AHHH we long for the day of ACTUAL CALENDARS and PC Journals .. (there I did it .. hehe). Right now the digital approach takes up that time savings of map drawing and redistributes itto other things and table space too for tablet and books and journals etc.

Exactly

Here is a pretty good slide show of comparing differences...
https://techspirited.com/edge-lit-led-vs-backlit-led

DLG

Thanks for the link DLG. It was helpful. I'll let you all know what I go with.

As for immersion, that is not really what a digital map is for. Actually, I generally prefer highly stylized (like those by Jared Blando), even plain black and white (like those by Dyson Logos) than those that attempt to be "realistic."

The digital maps are mostly a time, space, and money saving tool. We do use a lot of theater of the mind, but we also enjoy highly tactical battles and will mix both styles of play in our sessions. The battlemap allows me to have a lot of maps at the ready. I can run a sandbox style campaign and not have to have a huge number of large scale maps printed out (as I did with Curse of Strahd) or worry about breaks in the action as I draw out the battlemap on my Chessex mat or setting up terrain.

Even when not running battles with miniatures, I still use RealmWorks to reveal areas explored--as long as one member of the party has cartographer tools and proficiency with those tools. My players don't enjoy old-school mapping and my graph paper goes unused. But it does make cartographer tools one of the more useful skills to have in my campaigns. :-)

Also, I occasionally play with sound in my games. I've evolved into simplicity here. I used to use Syrinscape but that became just another thankless DM task. Also, I find that putting in sound effects for magic, and background talking for street scenes and taverns, to take AWAY from immersion. But, playing thematic music in the background can set the mood. Being able to use the TV speakers will mean one less device in the game room (I currently use a bluetooth speaker connected to my iPhone).

For handouts, I still print out any letters or other written materials as that is the most convenient way for players to examine them. But for, say, a symbol they find on a wall, I'll just pull up an image on the display.

For other visual aids like location and NPC pics, I generally find that they take away from immersion. But often an image is helpful. Say you are planning to break into a building, it can be helpful to see an image of the building.

Sometimes it is easier to get across the look of an NPC or monster by showing a picture, though it is rare for me to do so. I try my best to relay on verbal descriptions.