What monitors are compatible with a 2017 iMac?

youradviceplease wrote:

Dell 34 Curved USB-C Monitor- S3423DWC (£439)

Dell – Dell 34 Curved USB-C Monitor – S3423DWC

That's a 34" ultra-wide monitor with 3440x1440 resolution. It has a USB-C input, two HDMI inputs, and built-in speakers, but no built-in Webcam. The pixel density is about the same as a standard 27" 2560x1440 monitor – the extra pixels go to making it wider, not to providing any sort of Retina-like PPI.

Panel technology is VA (not IPS), but the viewing angle (178 degrees) is good (as with IPS), and sRGB coverage (99%) is also good. So color accuracy should be decent.

BenQ PD342OQ Designer Monitor ( AQCOLOR Technology, 34”, 21.9 Ultrawide, WQHD 1440P, P3 Wide Color, USB-C

£648 ( getting to be v expensive)

BenQ – PD3420Q｜34" WQHD BenQ Designer Monitor

This one is another 34", 3440x1440 pixel monitor. So it would display the same amount of stuff, at the same size, also without any sort of Retina-like PPI.

This one has an IPS panel, 100% coverage of sRGB, and 98% coverage of the wide gamut DCI-P3. Coverage of a wide gamut (Adobe RGB and/or DCI-P3) is something that professional photographers often look for. (It can help with making sure that colors on printouts closely match those on the screen, if you are willing to put in some extra effort to use a color-managed workflow.). It also has 10-bit-per-channel color (1.07 billion colors), compared with the 8-bit-per-channel color (16.7 million colors) of the Dell monitor. This means that within a given color gamut, it can offer finer steps between different shades of colors.

This may be in software, but it apparently has some feature to make it easier between working with different types of color profiles (different color gamuts?). Something that would go along with it being designed for the needs of professional photographers who want extra color accuracy features and are willing to live with their complexity.

The good DCI-P3 coverage might also make this monitor a little better than the Dell one for playing Digital Copies of Hollywood movies. DCI-P3 is a standard that comes from the movie industry and Ultra HD TV worlds.

So I see why people would pay more for this monitor … but at the same time, it sounds like the features that make it more expensive are not necessarily ones that you need. BenQ surely would not mind if you bought it, but you're not the target market.

Dell SE2722HX 27 inch Full HD (1920x1080) Monitor, 75Hz, VA, 4ms, AMD FreeSync, HDMI, VGA,

£114.99

a little smaller than I ideally want as I want to see my clients easily as we all do the exercises.

That monitor is very large relative to its resolution. If you put it on your desk, and use it for Web browsing, word processing, etc., there is a good chance that you will find the text to be uncomfortably large. (Assuming you've got normal eyesight.). 1920x1080 resolution isn't high enough to allow any fix other than pushing the screen far away from you.

youradviceplease wrote:

I can place the monitor a maximum 200 cm or 78-79 inches away from my pilates mat (and from where I stand to prepare food in my kitchen) is where I could comfortably wall mount or stand on the monitor as long as I can get it enough away from the wall so I can angle it to look straight out at kitchen or twist towards conservatory corner of room where my mat will be which I’ll figure out.

…

Due to your help I see now that

I need it big enough that I can be more immersed in my live classes, ie doing the action at the same time as being able to watch them on zoom…

One further thought … if you are always going to be standing several feet away from the screen, and just using it to watch Zoom video as you stream your classes, you could consider a 4K Ultra HD TV that is much bigger than 40".

Don't expect a huge TV to have great text quality once you get up close to it … you won't want to scoot up to it to do word processing and spreadsheet work, because the text will be too big, and the low PPI will be too apparent. On the other hand, if you are several feet away, leading a class, maybe a 55" or 65" 4K TV would be just the ticket. Even those sizes of TVs are now getting pretty cheap.

Note that it would be good if the monitor or TV that you get was close to your computer. A long cable run from a computer to a TV or monitor could be an invitation to signal degradation and interference. If you needed to have a long cable run, you would want a veryhigh-quality, well-shielded video cable … and possibly an active video signal booster.

Hi, it depends a bit on whether you have the i5 or i7 model & 1080p or 4K or 5K model...

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/imac-aluminum-tapered-edge-faq/differences-between-imac-aluminum-mid-2017-models.html

But basically...

2nd Display Support:Dual/Mirroring*2nd Max. Resolution:3840x2160 x2

Details:*This model can simultaneously support the internal display at full native resolution and up to one 5120x2880 (5K) external display at 60 Hz with support for one billion colors; two 3840x2160 (4K UHD) external displays at 60 Hz with support for one billion colors; or two 4096x2304 (4K) external displays at 60 Hz with support for millions of colors. It supports both extended desktop (second workspace) and video mirroring (internal display duplicated on the external display) modes.

Details:This model has two Thunderbolt 3 ports. These two ports support DisplayPort, Thunderbolt (up to 40 Gbps), and USB 3.1 Generation 2 (up to 10 Gbps). Adapters also are available to use Thunderbolt 2, HDMI, DVI, and VGA.

https://everymac.com/systems/apple/imac/specs/imac-core-i7-3.6-21-inch-aluminum-retina-4k-mid-2017-specs.html#macspecs1

https://www.benq.com/en-au/knowledge-center/knowledge/mac-monitor.html#:~:text=Coming%20from%20Mac%2C%20you%27re,without%20visible%20pixels%2C%20or%20graininess.

youradviceplease wrote:

Hi BDAqua and Servant of Cats, :) thank you so, so very much for taking the time to help me. Its a bit of a foreign language, but you have helped me a lot. I've written down the monitor must be compatible with USB-C

The monitor doesn't have to be compatible with USB-C or Thunderbolt – that is, it doesn't need to have either of those kinds of inputs. It can be compatible with any of

• DisplayPort
• Mini DisplayPort
• HDMI
• Single-link DVI (obsolete) or dual-link DVI (obsolete)
• VGA (obsolete)
• USB-C
• Thunderbolt 3. Few monitors use Thunderbolt. The ones that do tend to be ones like the 27" Apple 5K Studio Display, whose resolution is so high as to require a higher-bandwidth connection.

That's because you can get adapters and adapter cables that go from USB-C to just about anything. Apple does not carry many of them, but Amazon and other places do.

A lot of monitors have inputs of different types – increasing the chances that they will be compatible both with the computer you are using now, and with other computers you may use in the future. Typically a monitor will provide both DisplayPort and HDMI – and some will provide USB-C as well.

USB-C and Thunderbolt connections can carry video, data, and charging power over the same cable. This can let a USB-C or Thunderbolt monitor act as a miniature docking station for a notebook. Regular DisplayPort and HDMI are more broadly compatible than USB-C (e.g., you could plug a DVD/Blu-Ray player or a video game console into a spare HDMI port), but just carry video.

See the Video Support & Camera section of:

iMac (Retina 4K, 21.5-inch, 2017) - Technical Specifications - Apple Support

Also:

Connect an external display to your iMac - Apple Support

Some notes on other possible combinations of physical size and resolution …

24" 1920x1080 monitor

• Cheap
• Many cut corners by using TN panels or not providing near-100% coverage of sRGB.
• Can only show about 42% as much stuff as the 34" ultra-wide monitors you were looking at.
• I suppose that if you wanted to do so, you could get two of them, putting one on either side of your iMac – maybe even putting them in portrait orientation (for documents) and doing video conferencing on the iMac screen.

27" 2560x1440 pixel monitor, or 27"–32" 3840x2160 (4K) monitor run in Retina "like 2560x1440" mode

• Wide range of prices depending on features
• Would let you show about 74% as much stuff as the 34" ultra-wide monitors you were looking at
• A 4K monitor run in "like 2560x1440" mode wouldn't show more text, but would draw text in more detail

40" 3840x2160 (4K) Ultra HD TV

• When run at native resolution, would let you show about 67% more stuff than on one of the 34" ultra-wide monitors you were looking at.
• The increased physical size would compensate for the increased resolution so that text stayed at about the same physical size as on a 27" 2560x1440 monitor or a 34" 3440x1440 one. A bit bigger for a 43" set (43" seems to be a common size for whatever reason.)
• 43" Ultra HD TVs are quite cheap (they practically line the aisles with them at "big box" electronics stores). They might be cheaper than a 27" 2560x1440 monitor or a budget (but good quality) 27" 4K one. (43" 4K monitors exist, but are quite a bit more expensive than 43" 4K Ultra HD TVs.)
• Picture quality might suffer a bit, as TVs are not tuned with monitor use in mind.
• It could be hard to sit close to such a large screen – and pushing the screen back would make apparent text size smaller.

youradviceplease wrote:

Due to your help I see now that

I need it big enough that I can be more immersed in my live classes, ie doing the action at the same time as being able to watch them on zoom…so the monitor must not blur my movement… no blurring is is CRUCIAL for stuff like burpees and moving fast from lying to standing;

If you are looking for "no blurring", there are several things to consider:

• The resolution (or resolution setting) of your Webcam. Higher resolution is better as far as resolving details - but if you have slow Internet service, you may want to stream at lower resolution (480p, 720p, or 1080p, instead of 4K) so as to reduce the odds of bandwidth-related "hiccups and lags.
• The speed of your Internet service
• The level of lighting in your studio. Indoor light is MUCH dimmer than outdoor light – something you might not realize because the human eye and brain are good at adapting to low light. You may find that it is useful to add lights, or open window blinds, so the video in your Webcam feed is bright, crisp, clear, and not muddy.

I did not know monitors can have a built-in web-cam, thats amazing. Does a web-cam film my classes? And then those films get stored on my Apple desk-top? Being able to visually check myself on the screen is helpful which a normal computer screen is a bit too small for.

Your iMac – like my old iMac – has a built-in Webcam close to the top center of the screen. It's not a huge deal if you get a monitor or TV without a built-in Webcam since

• You can buy separate USB Webcams
• You may be able to press an iPhone into service as a Webcam. The feature is called Continuity Camera and you can see the system requirements for it here .

The main disadvantage of a separate USB Webcam is that some monitors have very thin bezels, and clipping on a USB Webcam might obscure part of the top center of the picture. Also, you would want to pick a Webcam that is advertised as being compatible with Macs.

Here's a review of a few. (You can find other reviews on the Web.)

New York Times – Wirecutter – The Best Webcams (Updated July 31, 2024)

Video conferencing applications normally will take advantage of built-in or add-on Webcams. If you want to use a Webcam for other purposes (filming your classes), you might need an extra application on your Mac to record the video. I assume such software is readily available given the number of videos on sites like YouTube …

I also wish to create a book to go with the videos so I will need some photos but you are right in that its not like I have the needs of a wild-life photographer, but equally, my photos and film must allow the viewer to relax and focus on the clear content, - grainy bad photos would be a total waste.

Make sure there is plenty of good light, in your room. A camera is a box to record light. The less light, the less the camera has to work with.

I just measured my room, I would be able to hang the monitor on a wall stationed moving arm (does such an arm exist for monitors, like they do for TV sets?

Yes. If you want a monitor that you can mount on an arm, look for one that has a standard VESA mount. Most of the good third-party monitors out there have standard VESA mounts, and come with a height-adjustable stand – one that quickly attaches and detaches via the VESA mount. Check the specifications of the monitors that you're considering, but I don't expect this feature to be hard to find.

Apple's 5K and 6K monitors are the exception to the rule. Get an Apple stand with the monitor, and you are stuck with it; the monitor won't have a VESA mount. Get a VESA mount, and you won't get any stand in the box!

What distance are the viewers going to be from the screen?

If that monitor has a 3000R monitor curvature, then you would wannt to ensure that you're positioned no more than 3 meters away from the monitor screen. If you happen to exceed that number, your viewing experience may be less than perfect.

https://www.viewsonic.com/library/entertainment/monitor-curvature-explained/#:~:text=If%20that%20monitor%20has%20a,may%20be%20less%20than%20perfect.

Warms our hearts to hear this, thanks!:)

Also, you can use a TV of about any size for display...

https://www.amazon.com/amazon-fire-tv-43-inch-4-series-4k-smart-tv/dp/B0B3H6JPYZ/ref=sr_1_1_ffob_sspa?

https://www.amazon.com/INSIGNIA-All-New-50-inch-Classhttps://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRPRQJ1D?ref

Might want to consider a actual separate Webcam rather than a built in one that, because you can position it however/wherever you wish, I have one of these...

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BRPRQJ1D?ref=ppx_yo2ov_dt_b_fed_asin_title

Here's an early morning shot out the back window before the Sun as actually risen, reduced to 1/4th size...

A USB Webcam does not need to go on top of the Mac or the external monitor or TV. You can put it anywhere that will give the camera a good view. But it will need a wired USB connection to the Mac - so if it is not going to be close to the Mac, you would need a USB extension cord.

I don’t know how the Mac deals with multiple Webcams (a built-in one and an add-on, because I have never had a computer with two.