Richard's Tech Reviews

1920x1080 Full HD monitors and 3840x2160 Ultra HD monitors

The journey from a 2003 monitor to dual 2017 monitors.

Dual Ultra HD Monitors Summary

I am able to drive dual Dell P2415Q monitors from five different computers, with some cable switching and with manual selection of inputs.
The interaction is not perfect; it can be hard to get both monitors to display at 60Hz.
I am using the second monitor in vertical (portrait / 90° rotation) mode; all of the systems support this.
Use dual ports to drive dual monitors rather than trying to do Multi-Stream Transport.

• MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) - lid-closed operation - mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort, mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort - 1920x1080 at 60Hz (synthetic resolution; HiDPI/Retina; actually 3840x2160)
• Mac mini (2018) - See blog post Mac mini 2018 and multiple displays
• Mac mini (Mid 2011) - AMD Radeon HD 6630M - mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort, HDMI - 1920x1080 at 60Hz (actual resolution) - had to do a lot of restarts to get both monitors at 60Hz - unfortunately HDMI output is a bit fuzzy
• Mac mini (Late 2009; OS X 10.11.6) - mini DisplayPort to HDMI (using Belkin converter), mini DVI to DVI plus DVI to HDMI cable - 1920x1080 at 60Hz (actual resolution)
• HP 9180 (Windows 10) - NVIDIA GeForce GTS 250 - DVI to HDMI, DVI to HDMI - by default it will drive 3840x2160 at 30Hz with 200% scale (a HiDPI mode) - will drive 1920x1080 at 60Hz (actual resolution) but a bit fuzzy
• Lenovo ThinkPad T540p Type 20BF (Windows 7) - lid-closed operation - if you're using just the laptop, you need a converter to split the single available mini DisplayPort - use the Lenovo 4X90L13971 Mini-DisplayPort to [Female] DisplayPort Adapter plus the Lenovo 0B47092 DisplayPort to Dual DisplayPort Adapter - 1920x1080 at 60Hz (actual resolution) - trying to drive a higher resolution (3840x2160) led to odd results

The basic advice is: have a recent computer (or at least a computer with a recent graphics card) and connect to a 24" professional-grade Ultra HD display over DisplayPort.

UPDATE 2018-10-26: The HDMI output from the Mac mini (Mid 2011) is really noticeably fuzzy.  I am using DisplayPort (with mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable) for the primary monitor, with setting Default for display, which gives 30Hz refresh, but is much sharper than using HDMI.  On the secondary monitor I am using HDMI (for obscure reasons HDMI to DVI to HDMI), with setting Default for display and Refresh Rate 60 Hertz (NTSC).  END UPDATE

UPDATE 2018-11-02: macOS Mojave (OS X 10.14) now supports Night Shift for the Dell P2415Q.  END UPDATE

UPDATE 2018-11-15: For 3840x2160 at 60Hz over HDMI 2.0 on the Dell P2415Q, you must disable the default HDMI 1.4 so that the monitor switches to HDMI 2.0  END UPDATE

As I ended up using HDMI from several computers anyway, I'm using a Yunzuo 4x1 HDMI switch to reduce the amount of cable switching I have to do.

Dell UltraSharp 2000FP

I have a Dell UltraSharp 2000FP LCD monitor from 2003.  It's not a Full HD or Ultra HD monitor.

It's 20.1" with a native resolution of 1600x1200 at 60 Hz, and four inputs:

• VGA - 15 pin HD D-Sub (HD-15)
• DVI-D - 24+1 pin digital DVI
• S-video input - 4 pin mini-DIN
• composite video input - RCA

I only use it through VGA and DVI-D.

It still works great, very sharp, except it seems like the backlight is failing.

Monitors in 2017

I was wondering what the current generation of monitors looks like.

It seems that, 14 years on, resolutions haven't shifted a huge amount.

Display connectors have changed, and there are ridiculous levels of complexity about what computers will drive what monitor at what resolution with what connector.

The mainstream resolution is Full HD, 1920x1080.  A lot of these panels are basically just TV panels.

The next level up is Ultra HD, which is double the resolution, 3840x2160.

There are various levels of 4K and 5K above that.

Samsung S27SF350

I looked at a 27" Full HD panel, the Samsung SF350 (model sometimes listed as S27F350).

It has HDMI and VGA inputs.  It comes with a VGA cable, but no HDMI cable.  It has a really weird tiny push button joystick controller thing on the back.  No front panel controls.  Very cheap plastic construction.  Panel height, which is fixed, is too low for good ergonomics; you'd have to put it up on a box or stack of books or something to get it at the right height.

1920x1080 at 27" is too wide.

Plus which it is so wide and so thin and so thinly supported in the centre that typing will cause the monitor to shake/wobble, which is unacceptable.

It also has the very unfortunate "shiny black plastic" trend, with that shiny plastic inevitably covered by yet another layer of "protective" plastic for shipping.  Shiny black plastic is impractical, and when layered with more plastic, it's impractical and overpackaged.

I could only see using this as a TV/video panel, not as a computer monitor.

Dell P2415Q

The 24" Dell P2415Q Ultra HD panel is built much more as a computer monitor.

It has one (full) DisplayPort input and one Mini DisplayPort input, as well as one (full) DisplayPort output (for chaining monitors).  It also has an HDMI input.

It also has four USB (USB 3.0 SS) ports, with a special USB connector in order to make it a USB hub.

It has a sturdy stand, with base rotation, height adjustment, and panel rotation (so that you can choose to have the panel in landscape or portrait mode).

The native resolution is Ultra HD 3840x2160 at 60 Hz.

It comes with a Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort cable, and with a USB connector cable (plugs into your computer's USB port, ideally USB 3.0 SS).
It does not come with an HDMI cable or a Mini DisplayPort to Mini DisplayPort cable.

You might think that you could just get a DisplayPort connector and away you go, but it turns out to be way more complicated than that.

Driving an Ultra HD Monitor

It turns out that to drive an Ultra HD monitor in the simplest way, you need DisplayPort 1.2 output, with Single-Stream Transport (SST).

A Mac ThunderBolt 2 port is, it turns out, also a Mini DisplayPort output.  (A Mini DisplayPort is not a Thunderbolt 2 port though.)
Note that, just because it wasn't already complicated enough, a ThunderBolt 3 port (USB-C port) has a completely different form factor, and is thus not a plug-compatible DisplayPort.

To get 3840x2160 at 60Hz (which is the minimum you would want for computer use), you need a relatively recent spec of Mac.  You can't do it with a Mac mini 2014 or earlier (and at the time of this writing, there is no more recent Mac mini).

SIDEBAR: You cannot drive a Mac Thunderbolt display from a non-Mac DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort.  Mac Thunderbolt 2 displays will only take Thunderbolt 2 connections.  END SIDEBAR

This is what Apple says you'll need to do 3840x2160 at 60Hz with Thunderbolt / Mini DisplayPort using SST:

With OS X Yosemite v10.10.3 and later, most SST 4K (3840 x 2160) displays are supported at 60Hz on these Mac computers:

• MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) and later
• MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2014) and later
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)
• iMac (27-inch, Late 2013) and later
• MacBook Air (Early 2015)

Chaining Multiple Monitors with DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport

DisplayPort Multi-Stream Transport (MST), as best I can understand, is a way to drive multiple monitors from a chained DisplayPort connection (the Dell P2415Q has a DisplayPort out port for this purpose).

This is what Apple says you'll need...

These Mac computers support MST displays at 60Hz:

• MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Late 2013) and later
• MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) and later
• Mac Pro (Late 2013)
• iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014) and later

If you use a 60Hz MST display with the MacBook Pro (Retina, 15-inch, Mid 2015) with AMD Radeon R9 M370X graphics card or iMac (Retina 5K, 27-inch, Late 2014), only one additional Thunderbolt display is supported.

You'll probably also need to enable Multi-Stream Transport mode in your monitor's settings.  I did a few MST experiments with the Dell P2415Q monitors but I couldn't get it to work.  The only result I got was that the second monitor would mirror what was on the first monitor.

MST with MacBook Pro and two Dell P2414Q Monitors

I didn't test; it's easier just to drive the two monitors directly with the two available mini DisplayPort ports.

Mac HiDPI - No Ultra HD for You

So you might think, ok no problem, I have the right spec of Mac, I'll plug it in and enjoy 3840x2160 at 60Hz.

Well no.  Mac OS X 10 will automatically do something called HiDPI, which means... well it's kind of confusing. 

Basically it will use four display pixels for each available pixel, for "smoothness".  So your available default resolution will be 1920x1080 at 60Hz (but ooh, such smooth pixels).  You have to go into System Preferences -> Display and select "Scaled", but in OS X 10.13 it won't even let you select from a list of resolutions, it just has a range of resolution types.  And (on my MacBook Pro 13" Early 2015 at least), that range of resolutions doesn't give you 3840x2160 at 60Hz as an option, which is kind of bizarre.  You can't even use the display at its native resolution if you want to, at least through the System Preferences.

I have to say, it is pretty weird to pay for 3840x2160 at 60Hz and then have the Mac serve it up to you as HiDPI 1920x1080 at 60Hz.

See below for how to get all resolutions displayed.

OS X 10.12 Sierra / 10.13 High Sierra Display OPTIONS

If you want to see a full resolution list in OS X 10.12, or a traditional resolution-based list at all in OS X 10.13 you must hold down the option key when clicking the Scaled radio button.  Only then will the interface show you all the available display resolutions. When you do that, you can select 3840x2160 at 60Hz.  Yes, that makes for very small text at the default settings, but it does give you the full display resolution the device is capable of.

HDMI is Confusing

HDMI was basically made to drive Full HD 1920x1080 television panels.  HD TV is super complicated so I won't get into details of refresh rates.

The short of it (as best I understand from Wikipedia) is:

HDMI 1.3 & 1.4 can drive 1920 × 1080 (1080p) at 60Hz and 120Hz.

HDMI 2.0 can drive 3840 × 2160 (Ultra HD, "4k") at 60Hz.

All I'm going to say about cables is that if you want to use HDMI for an Ultra HD monitor, buy a regular High-Speed cable (without Ethernet) and see if it works.  Don't pay some premium price for some gold-plated super fancy cable.  There's a whole bunch of cable mysticism out there, but digital is digital.  Either the cable works or it doesn't.

UPDATE 2018-11-21: Note that for the Dell P2415Q to support HDMI 3840 × 2160 at 60 Hz you must enable HDMI 2.0 by disabling HDMI 1.4.  END UPDATE

Compatibility Tests

Basically every computer I tested would drive the SF350 at 1920x1080, 60Hz over VGA or HDMI, including through various adapters.

From computers that were capable, I was able to drive the P2415Q at 3840x2160 at 60Hz over DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort.  So use DisplayPort if you can.

There was no difference in resolutions available when accessing the P2415Q through its DisplayPort or Mini DisplayPort connectors.  (You have to manually switch the input, using the front panel controls.)

The maximum display resolution at which the Mac Mini (Mid 2011) would display over DisplayPort with a refresh rate of ~60Hz (59.88Hz) was 2560x1440.

MacBook Pro (Retina, 13-inch, Early 2015) - henceforth MBP

• MBP will drive the SF350 over HDMI at 1920x1080 at 60Hz
• MBP will drive the P2415Q using Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort at HiDPI 1920x1080 (i.e. synthetic resolution, actually 3840x2160) at 60Hz. When using DisplayPort, it may try to send the audio to the P2415Q, even though the P2415Q has no internal speakers (it only has line audio out, for a sound bar).
• If set to Scaled - More Space (maximum) it says "looks like" 3008x1692 at 60Hz. It is not possible to choose 3840x2160 in the Display Preferences unless you hold down the Option key when clicking Scaled.
• With the full resolution list displayed (using the Option key), you can select and use 3840x2160 at 60Hz.
• MBP using the built-in HDMI would only drive the P2415Q at 3840x2160 at 30Hz

Mac mini (Late 2009) - henceforth mini2009

• mini2009 will drive the SF350 using an Apple Mini DVI to VGA adapter at 1920x1080 at 60Hz
• mini2009 will drive the SF350 using an Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter at 1920x1080 at 60Hz
• mini2009 will drive the SF350 using a Belkin Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter at 1920x1080 at 60Hz
  (for some reason this also made the OS think it was a television)

Mac mini (Mid 2011) - henceforth mini2011

• mini2011 will drive the SF350 over (built-in) HDMI at 1920x1080 at 60Hz
• mini2011 will drive the SF350 using an Apple Mini DisplayPort to VGA adapter at 1920x1080 at 60Hz
• mini2011 will drive the P2415Q using Mini DisplayPort to DisplayPort at HiDPI resolution of 1920x1080 (i.e. synthetic resolution, actual resolution is 3840x2160) but only at 30Hz
• Using the Option key with the Scaled Display setting, there was no full-resolution 60Hz option. For 3840x2160 the maximum refresh was 30Hz. I had to select 2560x1440 (low resolution) in order to get a 59.88Hz refresh rate. The default offered for 1080p was 24Hz, but 60Hz was an option. If 1920x1080 was selected, as a HiDPI resolution that is actually 3840x2160, the max refresh was back to 30Hz.
• mini2011 will drive the P2415Q using built-in HDMI at 1600x900 at 60Hz or 1080p (1920x1080) at 60Hz. It doesn't look like it offers HiDPI resolutions over HDMI.

ThinkPad T540p Type 20BF - henceforth ThinkPad

• ThinkPad will drive the SF350 over VGA at 1920x1080 at 60Hz
• ThinkPad will drive the SF350 using a Belkin Mini DisplayPort to HDMI adapter at 1920x1080 but it insists the frequency is 59Hz
• ThinkPad will drive the P2415Q using the Lenovo 4X90L13971 Mini-DisplayPort to [Female] DisplayPort Adapter plus the Lenovo 0B47092 DisplayPort to Dual DisplayPort Adapter - both screens 1920x1080 at 60Hz

I don't have compatibility tests for every possible Dell P2415Q scenario but you get the general idea.

dimming your iPhone or iPad screen

One influence on sleep is light.  Basically dim reddish light signals to your brain that it is night, and very bright blue light signals to your brain that it is day.  One way to interfere with your sleep is therefore to have bright light, particularly bright blue light, shining directly into your eyes late at night.

Which is exactly what using a laptop, or watching TV, or using an iPhone or iPad does.

This is why Apple has introduced Night Shift, which makes your screen redder as the evening progresses.  Unfortunately, it doesn't do anything about screen brightness.  And even set to minimum, the built-in brightness setting is still very bright in the night.

There is however a solution that involves combining the built-in brightness with a display accommodation setting.

Ideally you might not have your device in the bedroom at all, but there are lots of scenarios (e.g. listening to audio) where you might want it nearby.

To dim your iPad or iPhone before bed, start with the pull-up brightness control, or with Settings -> Display and Brightness, and set the brightness to the minimum and Auto-Brightness to off.

Next, you need to add a display accommodation to make the screen even dimmer.

Go to Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Display Accommodations and set Reduce White Point to on, with the reduction set to 100%

You might also want to experiment with changing the colour of the screen, in Settings -> General -> Accessibility -> Display Accommodations -> Color Filters

To dramatically reduce the amount of blue, choose Greyscale.

You can also experiment with other colour change options.  (I actually leave my phone in partially-reduced white point and greyscale mode almost all the time, I find it much less distracting than the usual bright candy colours of all the icons.)

Depending on your eyes, you may have to play around a bit with the exact settings.  At 0% Brightness and 100% Reduce White Point the screen is only barely visible in a totally dark room, once your eyes are totally night adjusted.

It's unfortunate this all has to be manually done (and undone) each day.  It would be nice if Apple added an option to set extra levels of screen dimming in Night Shift.

SIDEBAR: If you take a screenshot in Color Filter mode, it will take an image of the original screen, e.g. even if you are in Greyscale filter mode, the screenshot will still be in full color.  I had to use a post-processing image filter to change the screenshot to actual greyscale.  END SIDEBAR

if using Make Minecraft do not update Kano

UPDATE 2018-11-02: The information below is from December 2016.  It is no longer relevant to try to keep Kano at version 3.7.0  END UPDATE

I installed Kano OS 3.7.0 on a Raspberry Pi 3B

https://downloads.kano.me/public/Kanux-Beta-v3.7.0-jessie-release_noobs.zip

On first run it has several updates (to beta 3.8.0), which take a long time to run.  If you want to keep Make Minecraft DO NOT UPDATE Kano OS to 3.8.0 at this time.

The most significant update I noticed is a total replacement of Make Minecraft with Hack Minecraft.

The underlying concept of learning by using a block-based programming language remains, but the tasks are different, and there doesn't appear to be any way to easily see the Python code.  To me that was the most useful part of the exercise, to be able to show that the blocks created specific computer code.  Plus which, if you were part-way through Make Minecraft, all your tasks and progress are gone.

Also the tasks are a bit flaky.  The write your name one didn't work for me the first time I tried, and the second time it showed a black screen - I had to tab into Minecraft and look in a different direction to see the name blocks. Plus which the blocks for the letter S appear to be wrong.

It looks to me like Hack Minecraft is a replace of /usr/share/make-minecraft ; the original executable and scripting code is completely replaced with Hack Minecraft.

This is not cool to do without any warning.  You might want to backup your make-minecraft directory just in case (e.g. make a copy of it using cp -r, if you're familiar with using the command line).

I have posted on Kano World Forum asking for more information but this is probably useless as Forum is no longer maintained.  You're supposed to email help@kano.me instead.

Ideally Hack Minecraft should be a separate install in /usr/share/hack-minecraft with a default to duplicate world(s) from ~/.minecraft/ (the user's home directory contains the user's Minecraft worlds)

Make Minecraft

• comes with Kano OS 3.7.0
• runs from /usr/share/make-minecraft/bin/make-minecraft
• can easily display the Python code that is being generated from the block programming interface

Hack Minecraft

• installed with an update to Kano OS 3.8.0
• runs from /usr/share/make-minecraft/www/index.html ??? (JavaScript)
• no way to see code generated from block programming interface

3.7.0 to 3.8.0

There are other differences as well.  The most significant is that instead showing just a few coding and entertainment related apps in Home (Make & Explore) and grouping everything else inside of "Kano Apps", in 3.8.0 all the apps are listed out page after page.  For young children this may not be ideal.

Kano OS beta 3.7.0 on Raspberry Pi 1B 256MB

Kano - Developers - Downloads for Kano OS beta 3.7.0 says "Runs on Raspberry Pi 1B, 2, 3 and Zero".  Which is true except there is a subtlety about the 1B.  There were actually two models of the 1B: an early model with 256MB RAM, and a later model with 512MB RAM.  This turns out to be important.

The boot config for 3.7.0 assumes the 1B has 512MB, and if you run it on the 256MB it will more or less hang once it gets to the graphics environment.  You may see a mouse pointer and nothing else, forever, or see it partly start up the graphics environment and then nothing.

I thought it might be RAM related so I looked at the config.txt

You can do this by e.g. reading the SD card on a Mac and examining config.txt on the boot partition.  (Note that you should only edit this file with a text editor such as BBEdit, not with a word processor.)

The default config.txt says

# set memory split: amount allocated to the GPU in MB.
gpu_mem=128

This is clearly way too high for a 256MB Pi 1B. I changed it to

gpu_mem=32

and then Kano OS booted up fine. top shows about 16MB free, so the capacity to run apps may be fairly limited, but you can at least see the graphic environment (GUI) and open a terminal windows etc.

You will want to wait a while for initial startup tasks to complete.  When startup is running the CPU will be close to 100%.  It should drop to around 40% once startup is completed.

Note: once you're able to actually load a terminal (e.g. K->Code->Terminal or Apps icon - CODE - Terminal) you can find config.txt in /boot/config.txt

I will do further experimentation, and see whether 32MB GPU RAM makes a usable environment or whether a 16MB allocation works better.

The OS will complain at boot time if you set GPU RAM to 16MB, but it will boot.  top will rather unsurprisingly show 32MB free rather than 16MB.

I was unsuccessful in getting Make Minecraft to run in either 32MB or 16MB configuration.  In 32MB configuration it froze, in 16MB configuration it tried to launch Minecraft but then crashed and closed.

I will make a list of what software works and what doesn't.  Development of list in progress.

Works with GPU 16MB RAM:

• Scratch

Does not work:

• Make Minecraft (crashes at Minecraft launch)

stable HP e9180f running Windows 10

I am writing this from an HP e9180f computer.  It is not crashing.  This is not something I thought I was ever likely to write.

Short Recommendations

• disable Onboard 1394 (Firewire) in the BIOS
• do a clean install of Windows 10

Discussion and Background

It may be that disabling 1394 is all you actually need to do.  I don't know.  If you read online, you will find (in usual fashion) posting after posting about new BIOS versions, taking the case apart and putting in a new fan, etc. etc.

Here's the short story of my e9180f:

• bought it in 2009 (I think) with Windows Vista.  could never get it to be stable.
• upgraded to Windows 7.  could never get it to be stable.
• upgraded to Windows 10 in 2016.  was initially unstable until I made some changes.
• now appears to be running without crashing

The e9180f is part of a family of HP Pavilion Elite machines that were so unstable there was a class-action suit.

The documentation on the HP site is gone, but you can read e.g.

• ZDNet - HP ordered to repair defective Pavilion Elite desktop PCs - January 4, 2012
• Class Action Lawsuits in the News - Hewlett-Packard HP Pavilion Elite Desktop Class Action Lawsuit Settlement - June 1, 2011
• ComputerWorld - Lawsuit claims HP PCs suffer constant lockups, crashes -  Nov 16, 2009

It even had its own website, www.HPEliteDesktopSettlement.com - now long gone, but preserved at Archive.org - https://web.archive.org/web/20111220121242/http://www.hpelitedesktopsettlement.com/

It would be ironic if all of this ended up to be down to a flaky 1394 controller that was never diagnosed.

I don't know where exactly I found the advice about the port, probably this HP Support Forums post - Pavilion Elite e9180f freezes, crashes, BSOD.

Longer Recommendations

I haven't upgraded my BIOS, I'm running 5.13

I did however as mentioned disable Onboard 1394

I am running on a Windows 10 upgrade, with multiple layers of legacy cruft from the original Windows Vista full of HP pre-installed programs, and the Windows 7 upgrade on top of that, with many many crashes.  

You'd be much better off just doing a completely clean Windows 10 install.

I don't know if you actually need to do anything other than that, but anyway here's the extra clean up I did...

Clean Up

• deleted almost all pre-installed programs and services from HP
• uninstalled the Norton Security that I had been running (now just using Windows 10 security)
• replaced all 32-bit programs that I could with 64-bit versions, including 64-bit Firefox and Chrome (it may take some extra effort to find the 64-bit versions; they often default to downloading the 32-bit versions)
• disabled a bunch of start-up check stuff (Adobe Updater, Java Updater)

In general I ran Task Manager (CTRL-ALT-DELETE, select Task Manager, select More Details) and looked at Processes and eliminated all the 32 bit ones I could.

I mostly run Chrome rather than Firefox as Chrome seems to have a smaller footprint.

I think what was happening is the 1394 controller would error out in critical ways.  This would reflect the behaviour, which was mostly that it would crash when doing interactive I/O things (using mouse and keyboard) while being stable for doing incredibly intensive but non-interactive things (like the Windows 7 and Windows 10 upgrades).

Buried in Windows 10 you can get more info about what the system sees, I do this by going to the Start Menu, selecting Settings, then searching for reliability and clicking View reliability history (there's probably an easier way to get to this function).  Since making the changes the computer is completely stable, including when running a very large map in Minecraft, which is fairly resource taxing (and actually crashes on some other lower-powered computers).

With its i7 920 CPU providing 4 physical cores (8 logical cores) at 2.67 GHz and the fancy three banks of 3GB of RAM, even 7 years after I bought it this computer performs well.  I'm glad I kept it around as it can now replace my old Vista machine as it was always intended to.  

In the unlikely event you happen to find an HP e9180f second-hand for sale (presumably extremely cheap), hopefully the above advice will help you to get it to work again.