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Realmworks on two screens. Player Mode on one and DM mode on the other.

DLG, thanks again. I've thought of most of the items you mention, but not the refresh rate. That is a very good point. I guess I thought it would matter less as I will not be dealing with moving images. But that's a pretty ignorant assumption it seems.

The mugs are a great idea, but one that I unfortunately can't enforce outside my home. I do worry about the height. I don't mind people having to stand during combat but I also use RealmWorks to display maps, revealing as they explore, instead of someone having to be a mapper. I don't want to have to have a another display for that, I would rather have one for everything.

That said, another user on these forums (shout-out to Nikmal if you're still hanging out around here) brings a TV to FLGSs with plexiglass over it. It isn't in a case but I expect that his set up will be about the same height as what I'm going to be doing. His set up seems to work pretty well so I'm optimistic that my players will not have an issue with the height.
 
I've been using my 43" table TV for a few years now... It's a 43" LG LED 1080p and I have found that it can at times be on the small side but, to be honest, I think any bigger and it would be too awkward. I went with this TV because it's a side firing LED which minimizes the parallax effect by quite a bit.

Regardless though, it's been amazingly convenient. I even went through a stage where I would pull the TV out of my table and put it in a portable wooden frame with 4 short legs on it that I built for it for when I held games away from home. But I've stopped doing that because it was a bit of a pain in the butt and every time I transferred the TV, I worried I would damage it.

Nothing beats the convenience of pulling up an online map and displaying it on the TV surface and being ready to go in a fraction of the time it would take to draw it. Plus, you can't beat the immersion.

I would definitely recommend staying at 1080p because players are relatively close to the screen and 720p doesn't look very good up close... pixels are too visible in my opinion.

Here is the image of my setup that I had posted before but seems to be gone now.

https://imgur.com/6C2CJkd
https://imgur.com/Y4sOP6O
 
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Im here to back up Dhrakken on making sure you get a tv with side-firing LEDs to reduce parallax.

I did that and we have zero parallax issues making it possible to accurately use the screen while seated.

We use a 46" LCD laid flat on a table.
 
Dhrakken said:
Plus, you can't beat the immersion.
Click to expand...
Disagree on that, there are different school of thought on what is the best way to get immersed into the play. For some people having those digital stuffs is counterproductive, for others it is the only way. You have nice setup though!
 
Valyar said:
Disagree on that, there are different school of thought on what is the best way to get immersed into the play. For some people having those digital stuffs is counterproductive, for others it is the only way. You have nice setup though!
Click to expand...

I can see where you're coming from but to me... questions like, where's the nearest tree, or is the table in my way, or is it difficult terrain, are minimized significantly. Plus, the players get a much more vivid representation of their surroundings rather than each player having their own different interpretation of the picture the GM is trying to convey in relation to their surroundings.

And thanks for the compliment!
 
Dhrakkan and Adzling, thanks for the tip about side-firing LEDs. I'll definitely look for that. But, dumb question, where would I find this out? None of the product descriptions I've seen mention whether a display is using side-firing LEDs.
 
Also, what do you think about 4K displays? Is that just overkill?

And for those following along most "side lit" LED screens are advertised as "edge lit"
 
I've been debating this but am normally confused by the specs listed. is an IPS LED LCD Panel the proper technical term for the display that I should be looking for or does an edge (or side) lit panel go by another name in the specs?

I have a friend who could easily build a nice box for it like shown in that video. He built my bathroom, closet, and tons of display units for my store so this would be easy. I'm just leary of the overheating and parallax issues mentioned here.
 
Dhrakken said:
........... I went with this TV because it's a side firing LED which minimizes the parallax effect by quite a bit.
Click to expand...
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.

Dhrakken said:
......... But I've stopped doing that because it was a bit of a pain in the butt and every time I transferred the TV, I worried I would damage it.
Click to expand...
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:

Dhrakken said:
Nothing beats the convenience of pulling up an online map and displaying it on the TV surface and being ready to go in a fraction of the time it would take to draw it.
Click to expand...
Very true when it comes to time saving and with a better VTT platform than RW
Dhrakken said:
Plus, you can't beat the immersion.
Click to expand...
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.

adzling said:
Im here to back up Dhrakken on making sure you get a tv with side-firing LEDs to reduce parallax.
I did that and we have zero parallax issues making it possible to accurately use the screen while seated..........
Click to expand...

Valyar said:
....... For some people having those digital stuffs is counterproductive, for others it is the only way. .
Click to expand...
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.

Dhrakken said:
.........where's the nearest tree, or is the table in my way, or is it difficult terrain, are minimized significantly. Plus, the players get a much more vivid representation of their surroundings rather than each player having their own different interpretation of the picture the GM is trying to convey in relation to their surroundings.
Click to expand...
Exactly

MNBlockHead said:
Dhrakkan and Adzling, thanks for the tip about side-firing LEDs. I'll definitely look for that. But, dumb question, where would I find this out? None of the product descriptions I've seen mention whether a display is using side-firing LEDs.
Click to expand...
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.
 
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