Let’s say you just decided on a particular monitor and are satisfied enough with its basic specifications that you’re ready to order it at scale for your entire organization (or a particular department within it). But no matter how you slice it, this will be a significant budgetary commitment—so you can’t pull the trigger on the purchase right away before taking another look at each of the following factors. The meticulousness will be worth it in the long run; trust us on this.If purchasing standard-sized monitors (between 15" and 27") for a business in which all or most computer users perform daily duties using typical CMS and CRM applications or cloud-based platforms and don’t require high-echelon graphics, products with standard resolution capabilities are all you need: 1024 x 768 is the bare minimum; 1280 x 1024 and 1920 x 1080 are more ideal.Those numbers presume users will not be working directly with video, graphic design content for publishing layouts or infographics, digital animation for video game design, 3D visualizations, or medical imagery. For those situations, not only will larger monitors be necessary (30" and up) but a greater resolution is also required—2560 x 1440, 3280 x 2048, and in some cases even 3840 x 2160. Dot pitch must also be considered: Monitors should measure no more than 0.28 millimeters by this metric, and lower (something around 0.2 mm or less) is better.Finally, be sure the connected devices can support your desired resolutions.4K Ultra HD has been all the rage for a reason during the past several years: Using 8 million pixels (as opposed to the 2 million required in standard or “Full” HD) creates a remarkably clear image with colors much more true to life than those seen in all lesser video formats. When employed in a monitor alongside HDR for better contrast, the final result is remarkable. It's also reasonable to choose 4K or HDR alone, though monitors that feature one often feature the other.If your business needs to regularly showcase visuals in 4K, HDR, QHD, or another similarly high-level format, keep in mind that you will need a monitor large enough to showcase them in a way that truly makes a difference: at least 40" wide, or much bigger (55" and up) for digital signage displays. Smaller displays and standard computer monitors can certainly run 4K videos, but the full impact won't be visible.How monitor manufacturers choose to identify monitor performance, apart from resolution, brightness, aspect ratio, size, and so on, varies case by case, so it’s essential to know all of the major pertinent metrics.Some will only list the dot pitch in the product specs, and while this is certainly worth knowing (low dot pitch = higher image quality), it may not give you enough of an idea of day-to-day performance. If possible, locate the response time and refresh rates instead. Since the low-end figure for this spec is 10 milliseconds, a monitor with a response time of 5ms is considered fairly strong, while 2ms or 1ms is quite remarkable. Refresh rate, a measurement of similar capabilities, goes in the opposite direction—higher is better. For standard monitors and PCs, 60 hertz is perfectly fine, but dealing with high-performance graphics in gaming, video, animation, and 3D machining can require at least twice that rate: 144Hz or even 240Hz.This guide is not intended to be a comprehensive resource, and there are a number of factors not covered that may impact your situation. If you need help finding the right displays to meet your company’s needs, we are here to help.Ready to choose the right monitor for your workspace? Or are you conducting research for your company’s site-wide monitor refresh project? Connection is here to help. Contact an Account Manager at 1.800.800.0014 to get all your monitor-related questions answered.
The world is full of rivalries, each side convinced that theirs is the best. In this semi-regular series, we pit two competitors against each other to see how they stack up.
It can be exciting when a brand like Amazon drops new versions of its devices, but it can also be overwhelming to figure out which one is best for you (and if it's worth paying more than its original version). After testing the second generations of both the Echo Show 5 and the Echo Show 8, I'll walk you through what’s the same, what’s different, what they bring to the table compared to the first gen versions — and which one you should buy.
While these stationary devices don’t have the portability or functionality of an iPad or a Surface tablet, they work flawlessly with Alexa and serve as a smart home HQ to make your day-to-day life just a little bit more streamlined.
While the 2nd gen Echo Show 5 is no longer available, the newest Echo Show 5 retails for $89.99. The Echo Show 8 has been phased out, but you can still get some versions of it for $129.99.
The most noticeable difference between the Echo Show 5 and the Echo Show 8 is, of course, their size. The Echo Show 5 has a 5.5-inch screen and 6 inch by 3 inch footprint, while the Echo Show 8 is significantly larger — boasting an 8-inch screen and an 8 inch by 4 inch footprint.
Echo Show 5 (2nd gen) is smaller and would work better in a bedroom or office.
Credit: Amazon
Echo Show 8 (2nd gen) is significantly larger — best for a central house hub.
Credit: amazon
In my opinion, that makes the Echo Show 8 way better suited to be your family “hub” — located in a central location like the kitchen or dining room for crazy easy video calls with the grandparents using Alexa. All you have to do is add contacts you’d like to call in the Alexa app on your phone. However, it may not be a necessary purchase if you already have a tablet with great video functionality.
Regardless, the Echo Show 8 offers some other advantages for video calls in addition to its size, too.
On the other hand, the Echo Show 5 would be better in places where you want the device's functionality, without it being front and center — like your desk or nightstand.
And if you're a sucker for colorways, the Echo Show 8 only comes in the Glacier White and Charcoal color options. You can get more variety with the new Echo Show 5, which comes in Glacier White, Charcoal, and Deep Sea Blue. The Echo Show 5 Kids comes in Chameleon green.
The Echo Show 5 got a decent camera upgrade from its 1st gen version — increasing the megapixels from 1 to 2. However, it was a whole different ball game for the Echo Show 8. While the 1st gen Echo Show 8 offered a 1-MP camera, this revamped model comes equipped with a 13-MP camera.
The image is incredibly crisp, and alongside the larger screen make the Echo Show 8 the video call winner. But that’s not even the best part: The new Echo Show 8 features auto-framing functions that automatically pan and zoom the camera to keep it focused on the people in view of it.
Both devices also feature some handy connectivity features, like Intercom to page every Alexa device in the house (“We’re leaving in fifteen minutes, so be ready!”) and Drop In, which allows you to video chat with any connected Alexa device.
The Echo Show 8 can also join Zoom calls, while the Echo Show 5 can’t. To be totally honest, I could not get the Zoom call feature to work after several tries because none of the calls I joined had a dial-in number.
I’ll still say the Echo Show 8 wins on this one just because it’s theoretically possible, and I’m really hoping to be able to join Zoom calls from it soon to free up my laptop and extra monitor for in-meeting multi-tasking.
During the initial set-up, you can choose to make any Echo Show device a dedicated device for a kid. This gives you access to some expanded parental controls, which is great for older children, tweens, and teens that you still want to shield from some of the worst things the internet has to offer.
However, the Echo Show 5 Kids is the first and only Echo Show that’s bottom-to-top and side-to-side designed for kids. It features the fun Chameleon look (dinosaur scales, according to my 5-year-old), and comes with a free year of Amazon Kids (a $69 value for Prime members) — which offers curated books, games, and videos just for kids far beyond what’s available through a basic Prime membership. In addition, it comes with souped-up parental controls so you can tweak things even more.
Both the 2nd gen Echo Show 5 and the 2nd gen Echo Show 8 have some new Alexa abilities that their 1st gen counterparts don’t.
First up is the home monitoring function, where you can remotely access the camera on your device from the Alexa app just to check in on things. You’ll need a WiFi connection to do it, but I had no problems getting it to work. I can imagine it would be great to check in on pets, the babysitter, or just to take a peek at your home while on vacation to make sure everything is on the up-and-up.
Next is the addition of motion-enabled routines. This allows Alexa to detect when you enter or leave a room and use that activity to start a routine. Fair warning, this can open a can of worms re: privacy, but it also opens up some exciting possibilities for the smart home buff. You could have Alexa read your calendar when you walk into your office, or turn off all smart-enabled devices when there’s no motion detected in the living room — and those are just two simple ideas. With the addition of Alexa-enabled devices or smart plugs, your options open up even more. Amazon does offer ways to manage these settings if you'd like to delete recordings or manage your data.
All of these devices feature all the same Alexa functionality you came to expect from the previous iteration of Echo Show devices.
For only $45 more, the Echo Show 8 was the clear winner for me. Not only does it have a larger screen and a 13-MP camera with auto-framing (making it the absolute best for video calling), it also allows you to hop on Zoom meetings, if/when you can get that function to work properly.
If video calls and Zoom meetings aren’t your concern, then the Echo Show 5 is still a great choice — like the 2nd gen Echo Show 8, the new Echo Show 5 boasts many of the same expanded Alexa functions, like home monitoring and motion detection routines. And of course, if you want one that’s made for kids, then you’re gonna want to go with the groovy green Echo Show 5 Kids.
Overall, I’m a fan of both, but the Echo Show 8 came out on top for our home.