5 Ways to Use a Portable Monitor - #2 Will Shock You (Not Really)

A portable monitor can be a handy device to have, however it isn't ONLY about adding a second display to your laptop, there are plenty of ways you can use it. Here is my list of five ways you can use a portable HDMI/USB-C monitor.

Lepow Z1-Gamut 15.6'' FHD Portable Monitor:

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#garyexplains

[xA]

I use a portable monitor as a second screen with my desktop computer due to space constraints. My primary use is watching tutorial videos or reading tutorials or documentation on the portable monitor, while carrying out actual work on the all-in-one desktop monitor.

[exxonrcg]

I use these small external monitors to troubleshoot headless servers when even Remote Desktop fails. Very useful and clutch. THat’s the reason I bought them for, but most days I bring it at work when I need a second portable monitor. I wish the USB -C with Display support was more common though. Only a few laptops and phones have it.

[philosophyze]

I've used one for years as a laptop second monitor when I travel for work.

It's worth mentioning that usually they don't require external power besides the USB cable. If you're using HDMI you'll need USB for power too.

[YounesLayachi]

I've wanted one of these for a while.
The tech seems to be maturing quickly which is promising

[nasserdhaghriri]

I never thought of #4!!! using it with a camera! you shocked me with that. you earned yourself loyal subscriber.

[petermainwaringsx]

Damn you Gary. That's another thing I never realised I just had to have, until I saw your video. 😁

[JonHuhnMedical]

#6 A replacement monitor for a laptop. I'm using a Cocopar 17" monitor in combination with a foldable monitor stand, to replace my laptop screen which is too dim and lacking in color gamut to do proper graphics work (but it has 8 Ryzen cores so it's great for rendering 3d quickly). I have the laptop closed with the stand, monitor, and an external keyboard sitting on top of it, emulating an all-in-one computer setup. This way I'm not limited to the awkward ergonomics of a monitor and keyboard that are attached to each other, nor do I have to take into account the specs of the laptop screen when buying a new laptop, since the modular design allows me to buy the best components for the job. When I'm done working, everything collapses down into a (rather heavy!) 17" laptop bag.

[mattiod]

It’s going to be handy in the UK with the expected power outages this winter. Just pair it up with a portable battery bank.

[shanehumberstone]

Recently bought a very similar monitor( forhelp 15.6”) it works great with my iPhone, iPad, Steamdeck and my Nintendo switch WITHOUT A DOCK(usb-c to usb-c) it’s an amazing little monitor for less than £100

[adrgri]

I'd REALLY LOVE to see more smartphone manufacturers supporting audio/video output via USB-C and google adding the same keyboard/touchpad feature natively to Android itself or maybe something like we see on PCs: to duplicate, extend or just use one of the screens instead. For me at least it'd completely eliminate the need to carry a laptop. Hope it will become a reality soon, do you feel the same?

[lifewisemedia_]

I just purchased an Element Electronics Portable Monitor and wondering if I could use with a streaming device such as Roku or FireTvStick, I happened upon your YouTube channel and got the answer! Thanks for posting this helpful video!

[Alexander-iqyq]

Im considering getting one to put on my digital piano where you would normally put the sheet music. I can then access software like VST instruments, recording software, PDF sheet music etc.

[BalkanBiker]

I got a portable monitor specifically for #4 and #5! #4 mostly to see bigger photos while scrolling through the camera.
There are couple reasons why I bought a portable screen instead of a larger tablet like Galaxy Tab S7+ or a laptop.
1) The price. For $250 I was able to buy a 350cd/m2 1500:1 contrast 14" 4k touchscreen monitor, which is on par with top end laptops (and more often than not surprassing them). A laptop with comparable screen costs $1500 and upwards.
2) I upgrade my phone every 2 or so years. I'm currently using Note 10+ which supports Dex. So basically I get upgraded performance every couple of years at no cost. Note 10+ performance is better than S7+ and also has 12gb of ram. Tablets have pretty much always last gen/2 gen or mid performance hardware, unless your company is called Apple (but while new M1 iPad is awesome, I hate the ecosystem).
And since it's a high quality screen, I will probably keep it until it dies.

[MrAnwar]

I brought one and I don't regret it it's a live saver my son spends most of his time in hospital and some department don't have tv so I take this monitor along with fire stick and power bank a good one last us all day also he can conect Nintendo switch and we play two player 😀

[vasarmilan]

Wow I DEFINITELY didn't expect #2!

[LucasHartmann]

Waiting for the release of a touch version, with battery, and a raspberry pi cm4 socket.

[goodeggproductions]

A word about being able to use these with a camera.

I bought one of these, a mid ranged model, hoping to use it as a video monitor for my cameras for director or an assistant camera person to pull focus from as an alternative to the 7" monitors I currently provide them, and without spending $700 on a proper director's monitor. And while the monitor WILL work, it will ONLY work when the source is outputting 60Hz. So any time I choose a frame rate of 23.97, 24, 29.97 or 30, the monitor reports that it's "not supported" and displays nothing. I have tried this on a BlackMagic PCC4K, a Panasonic GH5, and Nikon D810. All three cameras display fine at 60p, but at less than 59.94, I get nothing. When I hooked up my Sony Handycam though, even if I told the handycam to record in 24p, I still got signal. I assume it has a lot to do with how it "fakes" 24p and the signal coming out of the device is still 60Hz (60p)

Curiously, when I set my frame rate at higher than 60p, even 90 or 120p, I still get signal. But at normal video rates (24 for "film" and 30 for "video") these portable screens likely won't work. Ultimately, it's up to the decoders inside of them, and I've run into this problem with some computer monitors as well. But I don't get this problem with television monitors. I'm assuming that they have different video encoders and hardware inside that can handle the slower framerates of cameras.

So beware if you really like the #4 reason and you might be buying it specifically for that. I did research on them and didn't see a single one where people reported being able to display 24p or 30p. I'm not saying that NONE of them do. I'm saying mine doesn't and I didn't see any that did. My unit is the UPERFECT 15.6" 1080p 500nit unit, definitely not the cheapest one available.

[SteveMorton]

Thanks Garry for this, going on my Christmas wish list. Too early? Never!!!

[despertarestelar]

Thank you ! Help me a lot. I was wondering how I could use it.

[nagi]

I'm still using a Motorola lapdock as this. Added bonus: has battery. Minus: male(!) micro hdmi input. Battery still works fine (couple hours, low self-discharge) but the usb that has the keyboard/touchpad part does not. Shame anything like that costs an arm and a leg nowadays.