Cubase and 4K monitors?

Well done Patanjali. Thanks for the explanation.

This isn’t 100% correct … video is typically shot or converted to 24fps which can be translated by whatever video engine the display has to a comparable refresh rate. Computers generate refresh rate based feeds which can be very irritating at lower or non-matching frequencies.

Well, what refresh rate stuff gets into the TV, what it is actually displayed at, and what it looks like are different things.

That is why a particular TV has to be seen to know whether it actually works as a monitor. At this stage, all anecdotal observations/reviews are that the Seikis appear to be a reasonable 4K monitors, as long as the vertical lock is off. The Seiki site even proffers their use as 4K monitors. They are not gloss screens either. However, the same reviewers cite that as Full HD TVs, there are much better TVs at lower prices.

Until DisplayPort connections are included, they (and any other HDMI 1.4 only TVs) are just not going to cut it for gamers, or video professionals. Mind you, Red (professional video camera makers) bought heaps of them.

If one wants to run 4K video at high refresh rates, multiple top-end video cards are required, which is why I suggested feeding video in at lower resolution into another monitor or an actual TV(with overscan off), or timecode sync to a separate video machine.

I get what you are saying, but the techy part is usually too confusing to most people who just want to use TVs as monitors but then find out it sucks for the average guy who went out and bought a low end TV and hooked it up to a low end laptop. They think HD is HD, or hell that HD is actually a high resolution for that matter. It is a good resolution for TV/Video.

However, when you start getting into pixel density and refresh rates required to support a computer experience … that’s an entirely different kettle of fish, and TVs are NOT typically set up to support that. Nor are computers/video cards necessarily set up to support going to a TV either, other than what a TV expects for video, which again, is not ideal for computer screens.

24 fps not Hz, no TV on the market uses 24 Hz as its display rate, or ever did, LCD panels are a single light source, it would be unwatchable at 24Hz due to flicker, your TV is displaying them at 2, 3, 4, 5 or 10 times that rate depending on age and technology.

There are projectors that can run on 24Hz without flicker but that is because they are multiple light sources but even the digital movie projectors used in theaters use 48 or 96 fps even though they are dual light sources.

That HDMI is sending the signal as 24Hz does not mean that they will be displayed as such

Nope, Nvidia does not support it in software but AMD/ATI and some Matrox cards with dual outputs allow output combining, so we can use fairly cheap cards to drive 4K screens, we have been using them with IBM T221 and DVI adapters for that purpose for years.

Generically, the limitation with current 4K TVs is exactly about the input rate, not about the display rate after that.

The quality of up-conversion is the next issue with the likes of the Seikis, compared to the major brands that are charging 4-5 times as much. As I have said, if the Seikis will at least work as reasonable monitors for Cubase and general computing (but not necessarily TVs or video editing)

Sorry, what do you mean by ‘output combining’ as it relates to current and future 4K TVs?

When I said about multiple video cards, I was referring to CrossfireX (AMD) and SLI (NVidia) links to combine the GPU power to go out one high bandwidth video port, like DisplayPort or DL-DVI. Most of the power is about getting high framerates for gaming/video, because only one card will handle Cubase non-video stuff at 4K.

I have been eyeing that very monitor and also considering getting 2- 2560x1080 Ultra-wide monitors Stacked

The one thing that I noticed in the reviews for the 4k Monitor is the 30hz rate gives noticeable lag on the mouse.
The reviewer said while it’s noticeable, you can get used to it…sigh… I think I’ll wait til at least 60hz to jump onto my 4k or just go w/an Ultra-wide stacked setup :slight_smile:

I thought that was mitigated when the vertical sync lock was disabled? One user mentioned it in relation to using an Xbox controller.

I didn’t see the review you are referring to.

I was speaking of a review on YT where they reviewed the SEIKI as a monitor @4K (runs @30hz) & @ 1920x1080.
and the reviewer noted the mouse lag @30hz

Hi. Do you know what cable is better for me ? I have a Dell U2713H (2560x1440). When working with tracks/mixer in Cubase its no problem with ghosting, but when watching video it is a problem. I’m using DVI-D cable. Is Display Port or HDMI will better for ghosting ? What is best cable for it ?

I would love to see what the Mix Console looks like on a 4k display :open_mouth:

The 50" Seiki is working great as a main display for Cubase. I use it for the project and midi windows, the mixer is off to the side on another monitor. I have not noticed any lag due to the monitor, but still experience Cubase-related slowdowns (the same as on a Dell 30") when working on longer (~2 hours), larger projects. No issues driving the Seiki, the Dell and 2x 24" off a single GTX 670, but have not tried PC gaming on the screen (it works well enough for PS3 gaming though - 1080P@60hz).

Just curious, if you put the mix console full screen on the 50" 4k display can you see everything (ALL rack elements including every strip device fully extended) all at once?

I remember the Atari mono monitor :nerd:

Awkward with those? :unamused: :laughing: If you don’t want them, you could donate them to me :open_mouth:

Excellent info!

Are you running the 50" at full res (3840x2160) @30hz over HDMI?
From my understanding HDMI 2.o will support 60hz w/4k but the current HDMI standard doesn’t and hence the 30hz.

Also, how does the text look!?? No sense in going 4k if I can’t read what’s on my trax…lol

ftr, This Seiki does support 120hz at 1080p… very tempting and wondering if a firmware upgrade would be feasible when HDMI 2.o the standard comes through…

Just curious, if you put the mix console full screen on the 50" 4k display can you see everything (ALL rack elements including every strip device fully extended) all at once?

I haven’t tried, but will give it a next time I’ve got Cubase open.

Are you running the 50" at full res (3840x2160) @30hz over HDMI?
From my understanding HDMI 2.o will support 60hz w/4k but the current HDMI standard doesn’t and hence the 30hz.

Yes, running at 3840x2160 at 30hz.

Also, how does the text look!?? No sense in going 4k if I can’t read what’s on my trax…lol

Crystal clear. I’ll try a screen grab later.

ftr, This Seiki does support 120hz at 1080p… very tempting and wondering if a firmware upgrade would be feasible when HDMI 2.o the standard comes through…

From what I’ve read, it doesn’t sound like it will be upgradeable. But, for the trade-off in size/resolution/price vs. other monitors, I can live with 30hz.

A 50" is like 4 Full HD 25" screens, so the pixels will be 4% larger than on a 24" screen.

A 50" at monitor distances is NOT retina. A 32" like the ASUS or Sharp 4Ks is getting a bit closer to retina.

Thanks for all the input gents…
A screen grab would be awesome! :nerd:

Ok, here’s a couple images.

One is the mixer channel (and at the default width, 36 channels fit across the screen).

Another is from the project window, just illustrating font clarity, etc.

The final image, is just the full screen (on an empty project).