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

[MNBlockHead]

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.

[Dhrakken]

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

[adzling]

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.

[Valyar]

Originally Posted by Dhrakken

Plus, you can't beat the immersion.

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!

[Dhrakken]

Originally Posted by Valyar

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!

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!

[adzling]

Dhrakken we're on the same page you and I ;-)

[MNBlockHead]

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.

[MNBlockHead]

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"

[Gord]

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.

[adzling]

I bought a Samsung commercial LCD display designed to be used for digital signage.

They are the only TVs that still use edge firing LEDs afaik.

It was a bit more pricey at the time than a regular old LCD but worth every penny.

Do a search for "edge-lit LED LCD TV"

here's one i found just now:

https://computers.woot.com/offers/sa...hoC77AQAvD_BwE