I have been following this series of reviews for almost four years now, buying three of the last four recommendations, and wanted to share my experience.

I started when the top recommendation was the Samsung KU6300 at 40". That TV was serviceable as a monitor and delivered great color and contrast due to its VA panel, but there was a noticeable dimming near the edges because of the narrow viewing angle attributed to all VA panels.

I replaced that TV with last years recommendation of the LG UM7300. While the colors were a bit less vibrant, the IPS display made up for it by delivering consistent color and brightness across the entire 43" surface of the display. I now completely understand why a wide viewing angle is important when using a TV as a monitor. Unfortunately, the LG suffered from mild image retention. I would routinely see ghostly images of windows and icons I had on my desktop. It wouldn’t last long, maybe 45 seconds at the worst - depending on how long the image was static. It wasn’t horrible, but still annoying.

Looking for a solution to the image retention, I just purchased your latest recommendation of the 43" Sony X800H. I am pleased to report that this TV does not have any image retention - that I can detect. It also gets much brighter, has better color, and the image feels more “solid” for lack of a better term. This might be because of it’s flicker-free backlight. All things considered - this is the best “TV as a Monitor” I have used thus far.

I like using a 4K TV as a computer display - delivering large format images when gaming at a much lower price compared to a large format monitor. I am NOT a hyper competitive gamer, and don’t mind playing shooters at a disadvantage with only a 60Hz refresh rate. Although, I think the large screen compensates - making it easier to line up crosshairs on your target. TVs have multiple HDMI inputs, which are great for adding Nintendo into your gaming time. And built-in Apps, speakers, wifi, ethernet, and a remote control .. all nice additions that PC monitors will never provide.

Looking forward, I wish that TV manufactures would add features like G-Sync Compatible, Variable Refresh Rate, and local dimming to their 43 inch models. I have thought about moving up to a 49" TV to pick up these features, like the Samsung Q80T for instance. But when I start to measure how that display would fit on my desk, it just doesn’t feel right anymore, with too much of the screen uncomfortably higher than eye level. 43" is certainly the sweet spot.