The EliteDisplay S14 is a bus powered portable monitor that you might initially think it’s a tablet, but it’s not. It’s a high-quality IPS, matte 1920×1080 and bus-powered via USB-C or some kinds of Thunderbolt. Ahead I’ll tell you all of the reasons I love it and the only inaccurate statement on the official spec sheet.

I shot the above photo of award-winning actor and voiceover talent Memo Sauceda using my Google Pixel XL smartphone. We connected the HP EliteDisplay S14 to his MacBook Pro’s Thunderbolt 3 port, and it worked perfectly. Then we selected the EliteDisplay S14 as the main monitor in macOS’s Display control panel and activated Final Cut Pro’s A/V Output option, as covered in Apple’s article here.

PRECAUTION: I only recommend a direct-connected monitoring option with Mac if your video project is exactly 24.000, exactly 25 or exactly 50 fps. (See my When exact 24 fps beats 23.976… and when it doesn’t.)

If your project is any non-integer framerate like ≈23.976, ≈29.97 or ≈59.94 fps, then I recommend purchasing —at a minimum— an interface like the UltraStudio Mini Monitor (illustrated above), since current Macs don’t offer proper non-integer framerates directly, and these professional interfaces from AJA and Blackmagic do. Some Windows configurations allow displaying non-integer framerates after going through hoops, as I covered in HP ZBook Studio G3: How to output standard framerates over HDMI (illustrated below).

Everything I love about the HP EliteDisplay S14, and why

• It’s matte (“anti-glare”) so I don’t see reflections.
• It’s IPS, so it looks good both straight ahead and from off-axis angles.
• It’s bus-powered, so no extra cable or battery is required.
• It’s so light and thin, it seems to be a tablet, but it’s not.

Official specs

Native resolution: 1920×1080 60Hz

Supported resolutions:

• 1024×768
• 1280×1024
• 1280×720
• 1280×800
• 1440×900
• 1680×1050
• 1920×1080
• 640×480
• 720×400
• 800×600

Viewing angle:

• 178° horizontal
• 178° vertical

Contrast ratio:
5000000:1 dynamic; 700:1 static

Brightness: 200 cd/m²

Pixel pitch: 0.161 mm

Response time: 5 ms gray to gray

Display features:

• Display features
• Matte (“anti-glare”)
• IPS (In plane switching)
• Language selection
• LED backlights
• On-screen controls
• Plug and Play
• User programmable

Dimensions (W X D X H)

32.78 x 0.86 x 20.95 centimeters (12.91 x 0.34 x 8.24 inches)

Weight: 1 kilogram (2.20 pounds)

How to use the HP EliteDisplayS14

1. Plug the supplied USB-C cable into a compatible host device with USB-C DisplayPort Alt or Thunderbolt 3 (see details about Thunderbolt compatibility in the next section).
2. Adjust the display panel of your host device to either mirrored or extended desktop as desired. If you choose extended desktop, set the alignment in the same control panel. If you use a particular app made for en external display (i.e. Adobe Premiere, Apple Final Cut Pro X as described earlier, Apple Keynote, Microsoft Powerpoint), select the HP EliteDisplayS14 there if you want it to be the “program” or “public” display. On the other hand, if you want to use the HP EliteDisplayS14 as the primary display for your user interface (as Memo and I did), select it as such in the host’s display control panel and select the other display as “program” or “public”.

The only inaccurate statement on the official spec sheet

HP’s official spec sheet says that the EliteDisplay S14 works with: “…USB-C DipslayPort Alt or any version of Thunderbolt.”

At first, I ordered a cable from Amazon to go from the Thunderbolt1 (Mini DisplayPort) on my MacBook Air 11”. That didn’t work, and HP’s very nice public relations person offered to send me a cable that would. However, after further investigation, he discovered that there is no way to make it worth with Thunderbolt 1. Apparently, it has to be Thunderbolt 3 or USB-C with DipslayPort Alt mode.

Conclusions

I believe the HP EliteDisplay S14 is an ideal second display for any compatible laptop, be it a Chromebook, MacBook or Windows. I also believe it’s ideal if you want to use the new Mac Mini 2018 in the field. (See Apple’s October 30, 2018 triple play: A home run?).

I plan to test the HP EliteDisplay S14 together with an upcoming review of HP’s 14” matte IPS Chromebook (illustrated above), since it has USB-C. To be sure you are informed,subscribe or re-subscribe to my email bulletins if you haven’t after the GDPR change.

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