On Mon, 25 Jan 2021 at 11:25, Giles Orr via talk <talk@gtalug.org> wrote:
 
If you're not tied to 'vlc', try 'mpv' as a movie player.  I have both installed and used vlc as my main video program for many years, but now mostly lean to mpv.  Can't promise it won't have issues with the layout, but I think it's worth a try.

Interesting results.

mpv works fine, but I miss having a playlist and advanced controls (ie, speedup).
I discovered "smplayer", which gives a fuller feature set to mpv/mplayer, but it then has the same problems as I encountered with VLC.

The "aging eyes" issue is one I'm familiar with: my desktop now has a 43"(!) primary monitor that's flanked by a couple vertical monitors (those are different computers, and not always on).  Re-arranging the login screens to be vertical can be a real PITA depending on which login manager it is, otherwise it works quite well.

It was super simple under KDE "display configuration" settings.

If money (and desk real estate) aren't an issue, I would recommend seeing if you can find a big-ass monitor in the 40" range - I love that thing.  Your eyes will thank you.  I was lucky though: it's actually a "monitor" rather than a repurposed TV, it's 4K, and I managed to get it for under $600 a couple years ago.  (Looking at current prices of 40"+ monitors, I'm thinking I should be using the phrase "spectacularly lucky.")
 
The two screens in my photos are each 28" and 4K, so I'm very happy with display quality. At $300 each in Xmas sales my cost was about the same as yours and total screen size is comparable. Don't think I have much budget to upgrade them in the near future. Current 4K monitors of 40" or more appear upwards of $1,200.

If you're okay with a TV (I'm not clear on the disadvantages - distorted colour palettes, high contrast, limited ports?), those are available at lower prices.

As an alternative I had considered a high-end 42" 4K TV. They're about $600, and the lag time on high-end units should be acceptable for most uses except high-intensity gaming (which I don't do). The big difference in price is because TV manufacturers get subsidized for access to TV-watching data, which is a non-issue if the screen is not enabled for the Internet or "smart" features.

- Evan