As short as I can make the story...
We got a tech grant at the theater for new computers. My tower was running Windows Vista. They were that old.
So, I got a really good laptop. We didn't have enough in the budget to do a workstation, so I got what basically amounts to a gaming laptop since I'm graphics and memory heavy (lots of CAD stuff and A/V editing) A gaming laptop is basically a workstation without the dock and half the price. Then I got a good powered USB hub so I can basically unplug one cable and have a mobile laptop. A homemade dock, so to speak.
For my secondary monitor, instead of getting a 19" monitor for $250 and cloggin up my minimal desk space, I got a 43" 4K TV to hang on the wall. For that, I have two ideas:
Plan A: Just run an HDMI in the wall to the TV and have to plug in an addtional cable to "dock,"
Or Plan B: Is there a decent way to convert USB to HDMI that doesn't lose resolution? That would suit my lazy nature of only having to plug in one cord to dock.
DisplayLink (among others, probably) make a dongle you plug into a USB port that has a frame buffer in it, and will drive an HDMI/etc display. It's a "USB video card" -- to the laptop it looks like an additional graphics adapter. I'm not sure if they have 4K or not, but 1080P versions were available a decade ago.
They aren't particularly fast, though. You're not going to be playing games on it, and even stuff that does a lot of image updates will consume a lot of CPU doing it (watching youtube videos, for example). For relatively static content (email, word processing, code editing, etc) it works great.
I have a 1080p USB to HDMI adapter on my work laptop right now. Not good for video or anything but routine office work however.
Make sure your dock uses the fastest interface the laptop has (likely USB-3 or USB-C)
I've used a TruLink Wireless USB to HDMI Kit to connect my CAD workstation to the TV in my office for years. Not only will it meet the one cable to laptop requirement but it also eliminates the cable from the hub to the wall where the TV is mounted.
I never played games on it but I streamed video and did a lot of show and tell of CAD stuff using it.
If the TV is above / near / on your desk, just connect the HDMI cable to the laptop.
USB is not designed to support video, so whatever you do, it will be a workaround. It might work, but not as well as HDMI.
To the right of the desk I have a keystone plate with my LAN, so I was just going to get an HDMI keystone and run the cable up the wall and above the drop ceiling tiles, then drop it down behind the TV.
90% of what I would be doing on the TV part is static. Viewing blueprints/CAD for scenic designs, showing designers ideas in the form of photos or a youtube video, etc. I just want to be sure I'm not tanking resolution so I can actually see fine lines and text details in the CAD itself. I don't mind if a video turns out 1080p, but I don't want to fight with text and other finer details if it saps resolution.
I do have a wireless HDMI that I sometimes use for productions when I don't feel like doing the Cat5/HDMI converter and running 100' of network to the back of the theater, but I only use that when it's video without audio. The HDMI has a processing lag to it that makes lip synch about a half second off.
They are also not exactly compact units. If I had one that could do wireless that was the same size as the dongle for my wireless keyboard, I could leave it plugged in
The laptop is a brand new Republic of Gamers, so I'm sure the USB-A ports are 3.0. Haven't found a USB-C, but also haven't looked.
I have a USB3 docking station the has support for 2 HDMI monitors and 2 Display port cables. Not sure how far you can run the USB3 cable though.
Grtechguy said:
I have a USB3 docking station the has support for 2 HDMI monitors and 2 Display port cables. Not sure how far you can run the USB3 cable though.
I have some coworkers that are in the unfortunate situation of having these. USB3 just doesn't have the bandwidth for a monitor, let alone 2.
I have a Dual USB-C docking station, and it still has monitor limitations. 2 screens at 4k IIRC before it starts cutting the framerate. That said, I think its intelligent enough to refresh based on what is happening on each screen.
I miss port replicators
Most new TVs these days support having content wirelessly streamed to them, and most new laptops support wireless streaming.
Google "miracast" or "Connect wireless display windows 10" and try walking through it to see if your hardware already is able to do what you want without needing to buy adapters and run wires.
I just checked this morning. I do have a USB-C port on the laptop, but using it doesn't help the multi-cord docking issue. Is C faster/better than USB-A 3.0?
I just need one external screen at 4K.
Here is the laptop I got: ASUS ROG Strix G17 (2021) Gaming Laptop, 17.3” 144Hz IPS Type FHD, NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3060, AMD Ryzen 9 5900HX, 16GB DDR4, 512GB PCIe NVMe SSD, RGB Keyboard, Windows 10, G713QM-ES94
Plenty of memory, latest NVIDIA, great processor.
In reply to the_machina :
Knowing that I didn't need the extra features, I didn't get a smart TV. I got a barebones 4K UHD with no features. No wireless capability that I can see. In the owner's manual it only lists inputs as the physical ports on the back of the TV.
I figured if I went wireless, it would be a standalone like APEowner posted, but I was hoping that not having the extra hardware/software in the TV might make it a bit less likely to brick in a year.
If I ever need "smart" features, it's connected to a laptop with all the possible smart things I would need.
I've also only ever seen that feature being used as a mirror, not a second monitor. I don't need two of the same thing, I need to throw a CAD onto the TV for big viewing of little details while using the laptop monitor for email or ordering materials.
Curtis73 (Forum Supporter) said:
Is C faster/better than USB-A 3.0?
Its double the bandwidth (plus it can carry more power, but thats not really an issue here).
If you want a single cord dock, your best bet is a USB-C dock with a built in monitor output. I don't know if it will be able to supply power to the laptop also, but on lower power-draw machines, thats a possibility.
In reply to ProDarwin :
My kensington dock powers my surfacebook and runs 2 1080i monitors just fine.
Ok. Many thanks, y'all. I'll find a good USB-C hub with HDMI and see what I can cobble together.
Hi Curtis,
USB-C vs USB-A are just the different physical connectors. You can get adapters to change the physical mismatch. What you need to worry about is the protocol version. Common usb protocols are
USB-2.0 - 480 Mbps - this is the old USB standard (skipping 1.1)
USB-3.0 - Provides SuperSpeed (SS) mode of 5 Gbps and is backwards compatible with USB 2.0.
USB-3.1 - supports SS+ mode of 10 Gbps, might still be on USB-A connectors
USB-3.2 supports up to 20 Gbps and is only on USB-C.
USB-C connectors can also carry Thunderbolt-3, but the laptop has to support that. Thunderbolt is not usually on AMD laptops.
If your USB-C port is also used for charging, then you should make sure the dock you get provides enough power to charge your laptop. One less cable to disconnect.
The usb speed on the dock will place upper limits on what resolution or the number of displays that you could run.
I think that covers everything. Good luck
I googled "republic of gamers laptop"; it is made by Asus. Whatever the first result was, has a:
"USB Type-C USB 3.1 / USB 3.2 Gen 1 (Supports DisplayPort and Power Delivery)"
Check on that for your particular model. You will be able to find some kind of USB-C to to HDMI adaptor that will work full-speed on that kind of port.
I just took a look at the system specs. It looks like you would need a usb-c dock that can deliver 100w on the USB-c pd port if you want to have a single connection to the laptop.
You would also need a usb power pack with more than that to input to the dock.
I'm sure there is some software I can put on it to accurately show my average wattage use.
I would say an average typical 8-hour day, I probably use the computer for 3 hours doing emails, research, CAD, media editing, etc. It's not like I would need insane charging because I'm not like a telemarketer who spends 8 straight hours on the computer doing data entry.
I also close the lid everytime, both for security (requires password) and so I can slide the tray back under the desk, so that has the added benefit of hibernating
