2 lcd monitors in the front meaning in stock

Having extra monitors saves you time and gives you deeper insight into pricing fluctuations, market data, and other critical information. With extra monitors, you can view key indicators such as MACD, RSI, and OBV simultaneously.

Keep reading for a breakdown of the best monitors for trading, what features to look for in a trading monitor, and our top picks for monitors to help you successfully day-trade. Or visit our workplace solutions page for further insights into optimizing the way you work.

Imagine using one monitor for your trading. As a trader, you need to be constantly studying financial reports, tracking markets, watching the news, reading up on pricing history, and so on.

When it comes to trading, it’s important to have access to key metrics for passive tracking. Fortunes are made and lost in a matter of seconds, and the ability to respond to events in a timely manner can mean the difference between success and failure.

While you couldget the job done on one monitor, the fact that you constantly need to switch between four or five different tabs means that you’re wasting both time and money.

With additional monitors, you can easily multitask, simultaneously access your critical indicators, and avoid the eye strain that comes with staring at a single screen for multiple hours a day.

Having more monitors is great because it gives you a deeper understanding of pricing history, more room to track price fluctuations, watch breaking news, and so on.

When it comes to the number of extra monitors that you need, there’s no one right answer. While some traders use a dual-monitor setup, other traders have been known to go as high as 20 monitors.

One helpful rule of thumb is to calculate how many monitors you would need based on how many charts you’d like to keep track of at once. With the exception of ultrawide monitors (which we’ll get to later), most monitors can comfortably fit a maximum of four charts.

If you want to track 12 charts simultaneously, you should have at least three monitors. If you want to simultaneously track 16 charts, you should use at least four.

Another question we often get asked is if you should use one large ultrawide monitor for trading or multiple smaller monitors. Just like the number of monitors you need, the choice comes down to personal preference.

Ultrawide monitors are monitors that utilize an aspect ratio of 21:9. While some ultrawide monitors are flat screens, other ultrawide monitors come curved.

Ultrawide monitors are useful because they provide more screen space for you to work, though it should be noted that they are typically more expensive than traditional monitors. According to a Harvard Medical School study, ultrawide monitors, in particular, can provide a stronger sense of immersion and reduce eye fatigue by engaging your peripheral vision.

However, if your home office setup involves mounting your monitors, it’s best to avoid curved ultrawide monitors as their size and curvature can create complications when mounting.

While some monitors are marketed specifically for traders, not all of them will improve your trading experience. Here are some key features to look out for.

The higher the resolution of your monitor, the better you’ll be able to read the sidebars, titles, and legends on graphs that can become fuzzy on lower-quality monitors. Having a high resolution also helps you see the chyrons on news shows more easily.

Ergonomic monitors are monitors that can be calibrated to the way you’re sitting to make you more comfortable and productive. Try looking for ergonomic monitors that contain swivel, tilt, and height adjustment features.

It’s important to be able to view your monitor at a comfortable distance without hunching over or straining your neck. For more tips on how to best position your monitor, click here.

VESA is the standard mounting interface for monitors and TVs. VESA mounts work by attaching multiple monitors to a single mount, so that you can have monitors on top of one another or side by side.

Another good feature to have in a trading monitor is a blue light filter. Blue light is a type of high-energy light emitted by computer screens that can cause eye strain and have an adverse effect on sleep.

For traders that use multiple monitors, blue light can seep into their vision, not just from the front, but from the sides as well. Therefore, for traders or other professionals who use multiple monitors, having monitors with blue light filters is especially crucial.

Some traders have a separate monitor connected to a Bloomberg terminal on one side, and a separate desktop or laptop connected to a bank of other monitors on the other side.

In order to make sure they don’t miss anything, these traders also set up custom alarms that trigger whenever certain stocks cross a designated pricing threshold.

With an edge-to-edge SuperClear® IPS panel, the 24” ViewSonic® VP2468 monitor displays stocks, charts, and news in stunning FHD 1080p resolution. The VP2468 comes equipped with a frameless design, excellent screen uniformity, and unmatched color accuracy to provide an incredible viewing experience.

The VP2468 comes with multiple connectivity options including a DisplayPort, Mini DisplayPort, and HDMI® inputs for simplified installation. For easier multi-monitor setup, the VP2468 connects to other monitors via a single-cable daisy chain.

The bundle comes with two VESA-compatible VP2468 monitor heads that can be quickly set up on VESA mounts. To save you money, the VP2468_H2 comes without monitor stands.

The VA2456-mhd comes with 1920 x 1080p FHD resolution and adjustable viewing presets for crystal clarity whether you’re checking stocks, reading charts, or monitoring market news.

This ultra-clear monitor uses IPS technology for consistent clarity no matter what angle you’re looking at your monitor. And with a sleek frameless design, the VA2456-mhd gives you a seamless multi-monitor viewing experience. This monitor also comes in a dual-pack bundle without monitor stands.

This 24” monitor comes with a 1920 x 1080p FHD resolution and features a single cable solution. Transfer power, video, and audio via a single USB 3.1 Type-C cable and cut down on cable clutter.

The VG2455 comes with a blue light filter and built-in ergonomic features including swivel, pivot, and height adjust for increased productivity and comfort.

With a stunning 34-inch curved screen, the ViewSonic VP3481 executive class monitor can hold all the charts, news, and data you need to make day trading successful. Engineered with precise color accuracy and enhanced with HDR10 support to provide a more dynamic range of colors and richer contrasts, the VP3481 is a powerful trading workstation.

This 34-inch curved display creates a powerful sense of immersion while also reducing eye fatigue1. The VP3481 is also equipped with ViewSonic ViewSplitTMtechnology, which enables you to easily divide your screen into multiple viewing windows for the ultimate multitasking experience.

A good monitor setup can give you insight into different asset classes, a deeper understanding of pricing history, and the ability to make more informed decisions when you buy, trade, or sell.

If you enjoyed reading this article, please feel free to visit our workplace solutions page where you’ll find more articles and insights into workplace optimization.

1:Burkhart Kimberly & Phelps James R. (2009) AMBER LENSES TO BLOCK BLUE LIGHT AND IMPROVE SLEEP: A RANDOMIZED TRIAL, Chronobiology International, 26:8, 1602-1612, DOI: 10.3109/07420520903523719

Legal: Program, pricing, specifications, and availability are subject to change without notice. Selections, offers, and programs may vary by country. Corporate names and trademarks stated herein are the property of their respective companies. Copyright © 2020, ViewSonic Corporation. All rights reserved.

Modern markets have evolved into vastly complicated organisms with thousands of data points competing for attention. It"s our job to transform this information flood into an efficient set of charts, tickers, indexes, and indicators that support our profit objectives. Part of this task requires observation of broad market forces, while the balance demands a narrow focus on specific securities used to execute our strategies.

Most traders have real-life jobs and responsibilities away from home, forcing them to access the markets through pint-sized smartphones, gathering the information needed to assume new risks and manage open positions to a profitable or unprofitable conclusion. These folks will benefit from the screen-saving tips I"ve outlined in Top Strategies Remote Traders Should Follow.

If you"re an active trader, your trading platform is your workstation - and setting up your screen layout will help you take advantage of the information at your disposal.

Whether it"s one, two, three, or even more screens, make sure that you can find the tools and data you need with just a glance so that you can take action when a signal appears.

A fortunate minority sits at home or in a proprietary shop and trades full-time. These folks need more detailed on-screen information because they"re assuming greater risk. The additional data cover the same territory as the remote participant but in far greater detail. In addition, these traders need to set aside space for the incubation of future opportunities, with a focus on market groups not currently being traded.

How many monitors do at-home traders need to watch the markets efficiently? The answer has changed over the years because monitor prices have dropped substantially while graphics cards now routinely support multiple monitor setups. Given the low cost, it makes sense to add as many monitors as you can fit comfortably in the space set aside for the function, while not exceeding your budget or your ability to promptly analyze the information you put on them.

Generally speaking, traders do a poor job capturing the three types of information needed to support a comprehensive visual analysis: market observation, position management, and incubator. Each square inch of screen space wasted with unnecessary charts or data contributes to an incomplete view that can be costly in an active trading style. Nearly all traders have made the most common mistake at some point in their careers (i.e. loading up screens with too many charts and not enough tickers).

Reserve charting for must-watch tickers, with a second group set to different time frames that link to a single symbol from the watch list. If space is limited, add a time frame toolbar to fewer charts and flip through different settings on that chart. Specific time frames utilized for this analysis should match your market approach. While not set in stone, the following settings offer a good starting point:

If possible, keep two sets of S&P 500 futures charts, one for the U.S.-only session, starting at 9:30 a.m. ET and ending at 4:15 p.m. ET, and a second 24-hour 60-minute futures chart that tracks overnight action in Asia and Europe. This second chart is enormously useful in getting up to speed when you open your workstation in the morning.

What about a real-time news ticker? This is a personal choice because some strategies rely on breaking news to execute positions while the majority work perfectly well with a stand-alone third-party service or a carefully curated Twitter stream. As a general rule, it is best to keep the news off your charting and data programs, saving the precious space for charts and security tickers.

These images capture highlight methods to use screen space efficiently, regardless of the number of monitors used to watch the financial markets. The panels in these examples scale well when adding new screens, or when loading up a small laptop for travel. When pressed for space, reduce the number of charts and securities while keeping the entire set of indexes and indicators.

The top panel (1) highlights major benchmarks, showing detailed information on the Dow Jones Industrial Average, S&P 500, Russell 2000, and Nasdaq indexes. S&P 500 and Nasdaq 100 futures contracts sit at eye level so traders can watch in real-time during the market day. Open, high, low, and last data columns reveal how the current price is interacting with key levels, which also mark intraday support and resistance.

The center-left panel (2) deconstructs the Level 2 market depth screen, eliminating extraneous columns in favor of a streamlined view that displays just price and size. Market center data are no longer useful because the vast majority of intraday transactions never make it to this screen, due to high-frequency trading algorithms (HFT). The time and sales ticker on the right side has been reduced to core elements as well, showing just time, price and size.

The center-right panel (3) displays a simplified portfolio view for long-term positions. It isn"t required but is extremely useful when a position blows up and requires the trader"s attention. The lower panel (4) contains detailed information on open positions as well as securities being watched for entry. Price and percentage change measure intraday performance, while volume and average volume reveal activity level compared with prior sessions. Open, high, low, and last columns replace charts in many cases, allowing easy visualization of the daily pattern.

Top left (1) and top right (2) panels display scaled-down data on secondary ticker lists. These are compiled over time through news, scans, homework, media play and all the other ways we find interesting trade setups. Volume and average volume columns are especially important on these lists because they identify active securities in just a glance. The chart (3) links to tickers on all the panels through the green symbol on the upper left. Traders can also flip through time frames, from two-minute to monthly, by clicking on the top toolbar.

Top left (1) and center-left (2) panels display market internals and key indexes not shown on the first screen. Learning to interpret this background information correctly takes time, but the effort is worthwhile because it builds significant tape reading skills.

The top right (3) panel contains the same columns as other secondary lists but focuses on a specific market group … energy and commodities in this case. Finally, the bottom left (4) chart keeps a real-time VIX on display, while the bottom right chart (5) shows core security you’ll watch for years or decades.

Well-organized trading screens sum up intraday market action, breaking it into digestible bites that can speed up complex trading decisions as well as exposing conditions that can blossom into full-blown rallies, sell-offs, and reversals. When carefully constructed, these screens mark a definable trading edge that can last a lifetime.

No matter what kind of trader you are, the ideal setup for your trading screens will depend on the specific indicators and oscillators you choose to analyze. To learn more about these tools, check out the Technical Analysis course on the Investopedia Academy, which includes on-demand videos and interactive content to help you improve your trading skills.

Throughout the trading day, these quotes will continually scroll across the screen of financial channels or wires, showing current, or slightly delayed, data. In most cases, the ticker will quote only stocks of one exchange, but it is common to see the numbers of two exchanges scrolling across the screen.

You can tell where a stock trades by looking at the number of letters in the stock symbol. If the symbol has three letters, the stock likely trades on the NYSE or American Stock Exchange (AMEX). A four-letter symbol indicates the stock likely trades on the Nasdaq. Some Nasdaq stocks have five letters, which usually means the stock is foreign. This is designated by an "F" or "Y" at the end of the stock symbol.

Before 2001, stocks were quoted as a fraction, but with the emergence of decimalization, all stocks on the NYSE and Nasdaq trade as decimals. The advantage to investors and traders is that decimalization allows investors to enter orders to the penny (as opposed to fractions like 1/16).

There are literally millions of trades executed on more than 10,000 different stocks each and every day. As you can imagine, it"s impossible to report every single trade on the ticker tape. Quotes are selected according to several factors, including the stocks" volume, price change, how widely they are held and if there is significant news surrounding the companies.

For example, a stock that trades 10 million shares a day will appear more times on the ticker tape than a stock that trades 50,000 shares a day. Or if a smaller company not usually featured on the ticker has some ground-breaking news, it will likely be added to the ticker. The only times the quotes are shown in predetermined order are before the trading day starts and after it has finished. At those times, the ticker simply displays the last quote for all stocks in alphabetical order.

Constantly watching a ticker tape is not the best way to stay informed about the markets, but many believe it can provide some insight. Tick indicators are used to easily identify those stocks whose last trade was either an uptick or a downtick. This is used as an indicator of market sentiment for determining the market"s trend.

So next time you"re watching TV or surfing a website with a ticker, you"ll understand what all those numbers and symbols scrolling across your screen really mean. Just remember that it can be near impossible to see the exact price and volume at the precise moment it is being traded. Think of a ticker tape as providing you with a general picture of a stock"s "current" activity.

Let me first start off by saying that at my peak I had 4 monitors when I was day trading. I did not have one of those custom setups where a company builds you some supercharged desktop machine with a chassis of monitors stacked on top of each other.

I had three monitors directly in front of me on a desk with a fourth monitor ever so slightly elevated off the floor on top of the desktop. The three monitors were each 20 inches with the fourth monitor right around 14. I think the number of monitors gave me a greater feeling of control or maybe I was doing something significant because my setup resembled the cockpit of an F-14 fighter plane. I am going to help you save some money by showing you that all you need is one monitor to successfully day trade for a living.

I’m not exactly sure what this does for the trader. You would almost need a staff of people to track all of the happenings on each screen. It’s one step down from Christian Bale in Batman where he was tracking every mobile phone in Gotham city with Morgan Freeman at the helm.

With the advent of technology, trading platforms have moved towards a widget based model. The concept of widgets allows you to show and control multiple components of a trading application on one screen. This development has completely eliminated the need for more than one monitor. Over time I began to realize that by focusing on one screen it allowed me t0 reduce market noise.

To make the move to one screen you have to do more with less. For me, it was a matter of breaking the monitor up into three sections. The left side of the monitor provides your roadmap. The center is for your primary trading time frame and the right is for the next time frame up. To see an example of this please look at the image below.

The left side of the monitor I have my roadmap for trading. A roadmap consists of the tools which allow me to look at the broad market at a glance and then drill down into specific buy and sell signals in a matter of seconds.

This is where I track the largest percentage gainers and losers for the day. These are the stocks that have increased volatility likely due to some sort of news event. I keep the market movers in the upper left-hand corner of the screen so I always have my eyes on the prize. In terms of tracking, you will want to keep the top twenty decliners and top twenty gainers in your list. Depending on your system (mine has very strict rules for opening a position) tracking forty stocks will often present you with three to six trading opportunities of the day. Forty symbols sound like a large number, but this assumes you start reviewing your charts before the market opens. If you sit down at your desk at 9:30 am and expect to be successful, you are kidding yourself. Trading requires proper planning like any other business. So, you should start cycling through the plays no later than 8:30 am.

When using the market movers you will want to sort the stocks by percentage gain in descending order. In terms of biggest decliners, you will want to do the reverse and show these in ascending order for percentage gainers. Your trading software should be able to alter the ranking of these symbols based on their latest quote. Your trading software should also allow you to click the symbol from the market movers section which in turn updates the chart in the middle of your screen. The linking of market movers to your main chart area by simply clicking the symbol will save you loads of time when analyzing the market.

Volume is a big part of analyzing the trades available in the stock market. Think about it, what’s the point of showing the top gainers and losers in the market if they only trade 2,000 shares per day? For me I like to see on average 40,000 to 50,000 shares trade hands every 5 minutes, so you will want to make sure your market movers have either already pre-screened high volume stocks or it provides you the ability to filter your results.

As you scan the pre-market you will want to identify potential trade setups for the morning. This includes stocks from your market movers as well as stocks you may follow on a daily basis. In the watch list you will want to keep a maximum of 10 stocks. The end game here is that the market movers is your starting point for quickly assessing the market, but the watch list is where you are reducing the amount of noise and placing your focus on your top picks.

Much like market movers above, your watchlist will need to be linked to the main chart area. This way you can quickly click the symbol and have it populate the chart on your screen.

Once you have identified the top stocks that fit your system, you will now want to start peeling back the details of the setup. A great chart or setup may not reveal the other underlining supply and demand of a security. This is where your level 2 analysis will need to come into play. The level 2 will show you the open bid and ask orders. This is not a science like looking at an overbought or oversold indicator; it’s more about the art of seeing how the security is trading.

I am a traditional day trader, so I do not go far without my time and sales window. My time and sales allow me to see the size and speed of orders as they cross the tape. This is critical as you are watching stocks cross key levels of support or resistance. Like level 2 this is more art than science. As the speed of the time and sales and the size of the orders picks up, you will know that your stock is likely to continue in your desired direction.

The center of the monitor should contain your primary time frame you trade. For me, it is the 5-minute chart. Here you will want the window to update with stocks as you cycle through the market movers and your watch list. This main section should take up two-thirds of the monitor. Again we are giving more real estate to the middle section because this is where you should be focusing your attention.

Another key component of the center section of your monitor is your account value. Some traders believe in not associating money with trading; however, I believe it’s all about the money. So, make sure you keep some widget or information around your account value and profit per trade front and center. You have to learn to disassociate your emotional attachment with your money and realize you need to actively manage your account. Now, I’m not suggesting you should have a huge banner which shows your account value; just make sure you don’t fall in the habit of pulling the covers over your eyes to your trading activity.

The right side of the monitor should have the next time frame up you are trading. If you have not read the article on trading multiple time frames, please click this link. Since I’m using a 5-minute chart the next time frame up that is most popular for traders is the 15-minute chart. Just to be clear, the entire right side of the monitor is dedicated to the 15-minute chart. I will have the same set of indicators, just a larger time frame and longer look back period. If both my 15-minute chart and the 5-minute chart are in alignment, I have a greater chance of success. In terms of real estate you should allot one-third of the monitor space to display the chart.

If you are used to trading with multiple screens you probably keep 15 – 30 charts up and you are monitoring them all. You watch each tick as the stock bounces up or down. If you have tried to monitor this many charts, it’s somewhat doable as long as the market is flat. However, if you are looking at the first hour of trading and there is a sudden sharp move in the market you will now need to actively look at all of the charts simultaneously which is virtually impossible. You can reduce the need to have so many charts on your screen by adding alarms to trigger an alert when price crosses a particular threshold.

We mentioned earlier in the article the concept of having your watch list and market movers linked to the chart. This will allow you to quickly click through dozens of charts in minutes versus typing in each individual symbol into your chart.

Find a trading platform that has completely widgetized their application. This will allow you to display a number of tools on one chart cleanly and effectively. We offer collapsible widgets as a part of Tradingsim.

If you are trading the market you may feel the need to have a news feed on your symbols you are monitoring. If you are using it as a trading indicator or aid during the day, you are simply falling behind the curve. Think about it, you are going to stop what you are doing, read the news and then have enough time to digest what you’ve read, maybe do more research and lastly put on a winning trade based on your findings. How realistic does that sound?

While I like to watch CNBC at the end of the day, I do not keep it on while trading. For starters, it is a distraction. While working a corporate job, does your boss allow you to leave on the television in your office? If you are an interior designer I bet you would love for your boss to leave on HGTV all day.

Let me try hitting this from a different angle, what exactly do you get out of watching CNBC during the day? Have you ever watched something on CNBC while day trading and it made you money? Since you are operating in a world of ticks, by the time the news makes it to CNBC’s desk you and I both know the trade opportunity has already come and gone.

Trading is probably one of the loneliest business ventures you can undertake. Unless you trade in a prop firm or lease office space with other traders, you could literally go hours without speaking to another human being. This level of isolation may lead you down the path of sitting in chat rooms or on StockTwits during the trading day. While I have nothing personally against social trading sites, the flood of information that may come from a community of traders could prove detrimental to your trading activity. I actually know a trader that has one screen solely dedicated to StockTwits. As he scans through his list of stocks, he will also update StockTwits to see what the community is thinking. Do yourself a favor and learn to run your own race; trading is a business best suited for those who aren’t afraid to walk alone.

If you think about it, the trader with a large number of monitors is also likely to have a large number of indicators. The funny thing about stock charts is as you add more indicators; the key items of price and volume are less visible on your screen. This means that you have to keep resizing the chart so it’s still viewable. In reality, 2 off-chart indicators is more than enough to size up a trade, but for the unsure trader he may have 6 indicators going. Well, if that’s the case, do you think this trader will be able to see anything on one chart if they open 4 or more charting windows? Of course not. So, this trader will load up on monitors so they can still have a clear view of their chart. If you don’t believe what I’m saying have a look at the picture of the guy at the beginning of this article. Notice how big each chart appears on the monitor. Next time you look at your chart, ask yourself do I really need these many indicators?

You have a number of options to choose from when selecting your monitor. Not only do you have the choice of brand you also have to settle on a type of monitor. Monitors come in the form of CRTs, LCDs, Plasmas, and OELDs. The key thing is making sure you are able to get great resolution on the monitor (covered later in this article). So, to that point under no circumstances should you be day trading with a CRT monitor. Not only is it bad for you eyes in terms of the refresh rates, it also speaks to the lack of money you have on hand since you have such an old piece of equipment.

In terms of brand, there are a few that jump out at me: Dell and Samsung. I personally have used both over the years and have not experienced any issues.

In order to have the 3 column setup I’ve mentioned in this article, there is a minimum size required for your screen. If you think you are going to day trade on an iPad mini, this may sound cool, but it’s highly unlikely. I’m not saying there won’t come a time where you can trade on these mobile devices, but I think it’s highly unlikely to see people successfully day trading from their iPhone while sitting in their neighborhood Starbucks.

So, how big is big enough. For me 24 – 28 inch monitor is just right. Once you go smaller than 24 and the charts start to look like spaghetti after you factor in level 2. If you go over 28 you start to creep up on the larger led models and are one level from picking up a plasma. Not to say these larger screens can’t be effective, you just run the risk of adding.

Resolution plays a big part in the quality of your trading experience. Unlike your TV where 1080p is a must for you to even think about looking at one of the DreamWorks movies, the resolution plays a much larger part for your day trading experience. That’s because when day trading we are talking about your actual healthy – your eyes. I have written in other articles about the massive headaches I would get from looking at the chart. At times I wouldn’t be able to shake the throbbing until the next morning. A large part of that was probably the stress of having to deliver winning trades to survive, but another part of that was the quality of the screen. I would say at a minimum you need a monitor that can deliver 1920 x 1080.

In summary, the number of trading monitors you use needs to be functional. What I mean by this is you don’t need dozens of charts all printing at the same time, news feeds and CNBC blasting in the background. What you need is a clean setup that is all integrated. Remember you first start with your pre-market scans that then feeds into your market movers and watch list. At this point, you know what you plan on trading for the day. You now need this data to drive what stocks you monitor and remember to use automated alerts to minimize the amount of manual work on your part. Think what this could do for you by reducing the amount of clutter in your trading approach by going to one screen. You now may be able to break away from the confines of your home office and venture out to your deck on a nice day. Maybe you could live on the wild side and actually take a vacation and trade in the morning before everyone wakes up.

If after reading all of this you are still stuck on purchasing more than one monitor below are some good resources I was able to find on the web. I am not affiliated with any of these companies, so no hidden agenda.

You will notice that the Samsung monitors are the cheapest out of the links above, but they will require you to put forth the effort of setting up and configuring your own hardware. Just had to throw one more reason in there of why you really should hold off on buying more than one monitor.

For day traders, level 2 and time & sales are indispensable tools to gauge pricing to perform precision order executions. The pace and velocity of price updates coupled with tape reading can provide an edge for seasoned tactical traders seeking opportunistic liquidity pockets. When split second decision making and reactions are imperative, these two tools are a necessity for nimble and agile traders. Let’s take a deeper look into the mechanics and uses of these important components to a trader’s arsenal.

A level 2 screen provides the market depth of prices and available shares at each price level sorted by market participants including market makers, liquidity providers and electronic communications networks (ECNs). The pace of bid/ask price updates can often reflect the momentum in the underlying shares. However, it’s important to note that pricing changes are not indicative of actual executed trades, but what is available at the moment. This distinction is vital so as not to get knee jerked into chasing prices solely because of the fast pace of level 2 pricing updates. The level 2 screen can be deceptive since the true available liquidity is often hidden or partially displayed with reserve/iceberg orders. To anchor in the reality of what trades are actually being executed, it’s crucial to have a time & sales window accompany the level 2 screen.

While level 2 provides the pricing and availability of shares in a limit book format, the time & sales window reveals the actual trades that have been executed. The official recorded trades data is utilized to plot technical indicators on the charts. The time & sales window reveals the “truth” in terms of actual liquidity.

Both tools should be used simultaneously to derive a complete picture of pricing behavior, supply and demand and liquidity. It’s normal to attach the time & sales window to the level 2 screen. Here are the basic components of each:

Level 2 screensare limit books with available bid prices on the left and ask prices on the right. Each bid/ask includes the market participant (market maker or ECN) along with their price and displayed available size. They are organized by the best bid and best ask pricing at the top (which is the level 1 bid/ask) followed by each incrementally greater priced outside bid/ask. This enables traders to get a quick view of potentially available liquidity beyond the level 1 best bid/ask price.

Time & sales windowsdisplay the time stamp for each trade along with the price and order size executed. The price can also be color coded to reflect a sale on the bid (red) or buy on the ask (green). Sometimes block trades will be posted late in the afterhours along with numerous odd lot trades under 100-shares.

There is a very large distinction between level 2 and charts that traders must understand from the get-go. Level 2 illustrates the depth of market by displaying the bid and asks with sizes for multiple levels beyond the inside. The prices imply “intent” to trade but are not actual trades. These arenot actual tradesbut potential trades. There’s lots of gamesmanship involved to “trick” traders into impulsively reacting to the perceived appearance of big buying or selling. The charts should be prioritized as a true gauge of price trends, support/resistance levels, trading channels and patterns.

For active traders, level 2 provides an additional tool which is point-and-click order routing and execution. This applies to trading platforms with direct market access (DMA) brokers. The speed of execution is immediate along with the ability to mask order transparency with hidden orders and reserve/iceberg orders through ECN limit books. Most active day traders will need level 2 + time & sales for precision entries and exits. For some traders, the level 2 can be more of a distraction, especially if they have an affinity for impulse trades. Swing traders and longer-term investors will likely prefer to use conventional retail brokers if there is no priority for lightening fast fills with an emphasis on speed and liquidity.

Generally, mid and small caps and thinner liquidity stocks highly require level 2 and time & sales screens to discern true pricing and liquidity. Wide spreads can create a lot of slippage so the precision that comes with direct order routing and transparency control is paramount. Large cap stocks tend to provide so much liquidity that insights into price action can be muffled with the exception of large blocks being posted on time & sales. Always play the role of a third-party analyzing the battle between the bulls and the bears (supply and demand) and who is in charge at the moment.

When either the bids or asks are heavily stacked on level 2, pay attention to the true trade executions on time & sales. Many times, these stackedimbalancesresult in a climactic bottom or top as market participants are trying to shake the trees for the final hold outs. With time & sales, keep an eye out for large blocks and where they are priced (inside bid or ask). These blocks can be a sign that supply is diminishing. For example, a stock that has been selling off for the past hour prints several 100,000 share blocks on the inside bid on time & sales could indicate a heavy seller(s) have completed their sales. This is often accompanied by a jump in prices.

Level 2 displays “potential” orders, not actual executed orders. This is why time & sales is absolutely necessary when watching level 2. ECNs also allow forhidden ordersthat don’t show up on level 2 but do show trades executed on time & sales. Be aware of hidden orders when you see trades printing at prices between the bid/ask. Reserve or Iceberg orders display a small size on level 2 while hiding the real size. For example, a seller may be trying to sell 5,000 shares of $XYZ on the inside ask, but only displays 100 shares. The reason for this is to disguise transparency so as not to trigger more sellers to step in front and stifle the momentum. On the flipside, be aware of flashers/spoofers that will display a large inside bid or ask size to trigger panic on the other side only to cancel their orders quickly. Again, time & sales will show whether these tactics are effective.

Use the combination of level 2 and time & sales to spot price inflection points. Is there a certain price level, ECN or market maker that continually acts as a support or resistance? Does a specific market participant continually cap the upside or downside price momentum? If so, make sure to also confirm it on the charts with technical indicators that validate price resistance or support.When it comes to large displayed sizes on level 2, pay attention to the time & sales to verify if they are real. A large seller that actually absorbs trades on the ask or gets taken out may be a real sign of demand. Whereas a large seller that continuously pulls the ask price may be someone just trying to manipulate the perception of selling pressure. Alwaysanalyze the printson time & sales for the “truth” behind the level 2 pricing. What types of shares are being executed? Are they larger sizes or odd lots under 100 shares? Real demand or selling will absorb size and prove it on the time & sales. It’s prudent to include level 2 and time & sales in your arsenal of tools in conjunction with charts to round out a well balance trading methodology.

Every aspect of the light imaging system in Pro Display XDR is crucial to the overall quality of what you see onscreen. Each element builds on top of the last to create a display with unbelievable brightness and contrast.

Typical LCDs are edge-lit by a strip of white LEDs. The 2D backlighting system in Pro Display XDR is unlike any other. It uses a superbright array of 576 blue LEDs that allows for unmatched light control compared with white LEDs. Twelve controllers rapidly modulate each LED so that areas of the screen can be incredibly bright while other areas are incredibly dark. All of this produces an extraordinary contrast that’s the foundation for XDR.

For even greater control of light, each LED is treated with a reflective layer, a highly customized lens, and a geometrically optimized reflector that are all unique to Pro Display XDR. Through a pioneering design, light is reflected, mixed, and shaped between two layers to minimize blooming and provide uniform lighting.

Converting blue light to white is a difficult process that requires extremely precise color conversion. It’s why most display makers use white LEDs. Pro Display XDR accomplishes this conversion with an expertly designed color transformation sheet made of hundreds of layers that control the light spectrum passing through them.

Pro Display XDR extends exceptional image quality to the very edge. To ensure that LEDs along the sides of the display mix well with adjacent ones, a micro-lens array boosts light along the edges. This creates uniform color and brightness across the entire screen.

With a massive amount of processing power, the timing controller (TCON) chip utilizes an algorithm specifically created to analyze and reproduce images. It controls LEDs at over 10 times the refresh rate of the LCD itself, reducing latency and blooming. It’s capable of multiple refresh rates for amazingly smooth playback. Managing both the LED array and LCD pixels, the TCON precisely directs light and color to bring your work to life with stunning accuracy.

Resolution:2560×1440 | Refresh rate: 75 Hz with FreeSync | Ports: HDMI, DisplayPort in, DisplayPort out, USB-C | USB-C charging:65 W | USB hub:four USB 3.0 Type-A ports

The Asus ProArt Display PA278CV has a great-looking screen with good enough color accuracy for most people and all the ports you need to hook up desktop or laptop PCs. The PA278CV’s stand can tilt, swivel, and pivot the screen and raise and lower its height, its USB-C port can provide enough power to charge most 13-inch laptops, and it comes with a three-year warranty and a good dead-pixel policy. Its QHD resolution (2560×1440) means it isn’t as sharp as a 4K screen, but it’s also hundreds of dollars cheaper than comparable 4K monitors.

The MD271QP has a USB-C connection, making it easy to connect a modern laptop without the need for an HDMI cable or extra dongle. However, you’ll still need to plug in your laptop’s charging cable.

The MSI Modern MD271QP is a simple, streamlined 1440p monitor that’s perfect for laptop users. If you have a laptop with a USB-C port, a single cable will send the image to the monitor and slowly charge your laptop with 15 watts of power. However, you’ll still need to plug in a power cable as well to keep your laptop fully charged. The MD271QP lacks features we liked in the Asus ProArt PA278CV,including a built-in USB hub, granular color calibration controls, and blue-light filtering modes for reading. But if you don’t need to tinker with color settings or those extra USB connections, the MSI Modern MD271QP is a great monitor for $100 less than our top pick.

Resolution:3840×2160 | Refresh rate: 60 Hz with FreeSync | Ports: HDMI, DisplayPort in, USB-C in | USB-C charging:65 W | USB hub:two USB 3.0 Type-A ports

The Dell S2722QC is a 3840×2160 display that’s great for anyone who watches 4K content or casually edits photos or video. However, if most of your time is spent on general office work or browsing the internet, you don’t really need to spend the extra cash. The S2722QC has a USB-C port with 65 watts of charging, so it can power most laptops except higher-end devices like the Dell XPS 15-inch or the 16-inch MacBook Pros (which are picks in our guide to the best laptops for video and photo editing). For more powerful 4K displays, check out our guide for the best 4K monitors.

Resolution:2560×1440 | Refresh rate: 144 Hz with Nvidia G-Sync compatibility, up to 170 Hz overclocked | Ports: two HDMI in, DisplayPort in | USB-C charging:none | USB hub:two USB-A

The ASUS ROG Strix XG27AQ is a full-featured gaming monitor with HDR, a USB hub, and a robust menu system. The XG27AQ can reach a 170 Hz refresh rate, meaning the picture is updated 170 times per second, making motion in games look smoother and more realistic. We think this monitor is a nice balance between price and premium features like HDR, an overclockable refresh rate, a USB hub, good build quality, and a sturdy stand.

If you’re looking for a less expensive 24-inch monitor, we recommend the Asus VA24DCP, typically priced around $170. It also has a USB-C connection that can charge most laptops, but it lacks features like a fully adjustable stand, and it doesn’t have a USB hub or the ProArt’s great color accuracy.

The USB-C port on the Asus ProArt PA247CV makes it a fantastic 24-inch 1080p IPS display to use alongside a notebook PC. The 65 watts of charging over USB-C means it will charge most laptops, and the sturdy, adjustable stand means you can use the monitor in a variety of configurations. It’s fairly color accurate out of the box, with great contrast and especially nice reproduction of white and grays, so you shouldn’t notice weird tinges of color when staring deeply into your blank Google Doc page. It also has a USB hub that can add four USB ports to your laptop.

For less than $175, the Asus VA24DCP is a capable 24-inch 1080p IPS display that has full USB-C charging at 65 watts. It’s a great basic monitor for those who want something to hook up to their laptop or PC to browse the internet and get some office work done, as its colors look good for day-to-day use, and it has better contrast than many higher-cost monitors. For $100 less than our top pick, you’re giving up a better, more adjustable stand, a USB hub, and some color accuracy, but if those aren’t important to you, this is a nice monitor for a great price.

The Dell U2421E has a taller aspect ratio than our other picks, which means it offers extra vertical space that’s useful when scrolling through big spreadsheets or long web pages and documents.

The Dell UltraSharp U2421E is a 24-inch monitor with a 1920×1200-pixel resolution, rather than the typical 1920×1080. These extra 120 vertical pixels mean a little less scrolling in large documents or spreadsheets, and more room for your apps and games without taking up more space on a desk. The U2421E comes with a higher price than our 1080p picks, but it has incredibly accurate colors, a USB-C port with 90W of charging for high-powered ultrabooks and the MacBooks Pro, and a USB hub that includes an additional USB-C port.

Use a Stocks widget to check stocks at a glance on your iPhone Home Screen. You can choose the size of the Stocks widget and the amount of information the widget displays—choose one of the options to monitor several symbols, or the option to monitor the performance of a single symbol. See Add widgets on iPhone.

There’s an abundance of retail product display options for today’s store owners. Knowing what they are and when to use each type can impact your retail sales revenue.

In this article, we’ll take a look at what retail product displays are, how to display products in your store, and the most popular types of product displays.

The look of retail product displays relies heavily on your visual merchandising strategy. Generally, the first interaction customers have with your products in-store is via your displays.

If you have a brick-and-mortar store, retail product displays are a must. You or your visual merchandiser can arrange displays to showcase your products and increase sales.

It’s also a visual merchandiser’s responsibility to manage and maintain your retail product displays over time. Fixtures may break or become worn down.

Use Shopify’s analytics and reporting to make the right merchandising decisions at each of your store locations. Spot seasonal trends, see which products require promotion, measure your display"s impact on product sales, and more.

There’s an endless list of ways you can display products in your store. It depends on what types of products you have, who your customers are, and how creative you want to get.

Strategic placement of each retail product display can impact your sales. It’s key to keep your visual merchandising strategy in mind when choosing how to display your products.

Think outside the box.Creative signage like “Insta worthy” wall art can get the attention of your shoppers. It can encourage people to engage with your products (and share a picture on their Instagram feed).

Use cross merchandising.You can merchandise by color, product type, or theme. Cross merchandising complementary products on the same retail display is one way to use secondary product placement to increase sales.

Location, location, location.You can place displays that house new products and bestsellers in high-traffic areas. Smaller, impulse buy or add-on items can get displayed near the checkout counter.

Change displays on a weekly basis.Changing retail product displays on a regular basis keeps your retail store looking fresh. It can also help your regular customers discover new products with each visit.

Add decorations. Go above and beyond to improve the shopping experience by adding decorative items that suit your customer’s lifestyle. For example, if you sell yoga clothing and mats, add plants, candles, and lighting on or near your displays to set the mood.

Maintain your retail displays. It’s important to always keep retail product displays clean, spaced, and organized so customers can easily find (and buy) products without feeling overwhelmed.

Every retailer’s visual merchandising strategy is different. Take a look at other stores to see how they set up their displays. We don’t suggest copying directly, but pulling different elements from displays you like is a great way to get started.

Retail product displays can be broken down into three categories: standalone and point of purchase (POP) displays, store shelving displays, and clothing and furniture displays.

Trying to decide which layout is right for your store? Download these free templates to learn which types of layouts work best for different industries and draw inspiration for your own design.

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Clothing and furniture can be displayed using standalone POP displays and store shelving, but there are also retail product displays that are perfect for these types of products. Creating product displays for apparel and furniture is distinctly different from grocery store merchandising.

Racks are a good way to display clothing. They come in several configurations, including circular, multi-level, and with shelves. Garment racks also come in a range of materials like metal, wood, and plastic.

You can create a clothing display that showcases items grouped to create an outfit along with accessories. Or display home products that can be purchased together to complete a set.

Use mannequins to give shoppers a visual presentation of your products and how they go together. This is a great opportunity to promote add-on purchases and impulse buys.

Make a lasting impression by immersing your customers in the environment or experience where they’d use your products. The example above of an apartment setting is simple and cozy.

Both examples are simple, but follow a unifying theme that makes the overall effect powerful and persuasive. Immersive product displays pull people in and help them visualize using the products.

You don’t need to build something extravagant. Use themes and simple fixtures to display products and personalize the customer experience. Tell a story your customers relate to and they’ll be compelled to stop and take a look.

For example, a furniture store may have various material options for the same sofa. Shoppers can test the product by sitting on it, and alternative fabric swatches can be placed nearby for people to touch and feel.

A point-of-purchase display (POP) is an in-store display that is used to attract customers to a special offer or particular brand in your store. In some cases, the displays are made of cardboard and printed with advertisements. It’s more common to see printed POP displays in grocery or box stores.

Unlike wall shelving, a more permanent retail display fixture. You can change POP displays completely—from the display itself to the merchandise it holds.

Standalone displays are a type of POP display that stand independently of common aisle shelves. These displays are usually seen in the middle of large store aisles, also known as “action alleys.”

You can use standalone displays anywhere there is open space. They play a vital role in your visual merchandising strategy and require thoughtful design to make an impact.

Dump bins are stocked with small impulse buy items. Consider using bins when you need to show a lot of low-price merchandise quickly. Bins can be accessed from all sides and are easy to move throughout the store.

Freestanding displays are also simple to set up and can be made of cardboard or other materials. They are usually filled with larger items than dump bins and are more organized.

With a freestanding display, you can showcase products on hooks or shelves. They’re accessible from all sides and give you the opportunity to cross merchandise similar items.

Display cases are usually encased on all sides in glass, plastic, or Plexiglas. They are standalone displays, sometimes accessible from one side, sometimes from all around.

Customers usually can only access products in the case with the help of a store employee. These cases are used to securely display high-end merchandise.

You can also use these cases to entice shoppers with a beautiful product display and then store the products for purchase on a shelf or in a separate storage case nearby.

Window displays are found in the front window of a brick-and-mortar store. This is a way to make a first impression with your shoppers. Make sure your display showcases your store’s merchandise in a visually appealing way to draw customers in.

They can be used at your checkout counter to encourage customers to buy impulsively. Or you can place countertop displays throughout your boutique on tables or shelves to showcase small products and add-on accessories.

Retail shelving is fixed and sturdy and can display a variety of different goods. Shelving is the core of many grocery and big-box stores. However, they are also a great option for boutiques of all sizes.

Shelving helps to direct the flow of traffic and display items in an orderly fashion. It can be single-sided and placed along walls or double-sided to create aisles.

Think of these displays as little islands of merchandise in the sea of your store. They are freestanding and accessible from all sides. In some cases, they rotate.

A shelf stopper is signage that highlights an item on a retail shelf. The signage sticks out perpendicular to the shelves and gives the item increased brand recognition and stopping power.

A small pop-up display is called a sidekick or power wing. Like freestanding displays, they are an effective merchandising tool to increase basket size.

These displays set products apart from other items on the same shelf. You can use additional branding, trays, or other items that break the visual monotony of shelves.

The shelving on end caps is sturdy so that you can display heavier merchandise on them. Use them to highlight specials or new inventory and cross merchandise complementary products.

For example, if you’re selling perfume, you can use a glorifier to make each scent stand out from the shelf. Think of it as a podium for your products.

Developing your visual merchandising and retail product display strategy takes time, creativity, and testing. The results can mean the difference between great sell-through rates and dead stock that you need to markdown.

Deciding which retail displays are best for your boutique gives you a chance to roll up your sleeves and have fun. Use retail product displays to tell a story and help your customer discover new items.

Whether you use garment racks, display tables, or shelving, the return on investment makes spending time and money on retail product displays a no-brainer.

The effectiveness of retail product displays is not dependent on how flashy they are. Keep it simple. As long as you keep your visual merchandising strategy and your customers in mind, the right product displays can increase sales.

Use Shopify’s analytics and reporting to make the right merchandising decisions at each of your store locations. Spot seasonal trends, see which products require promotion, measure your promotions’ impact on product sales, and more.

A retail display is a physical structure or space used to promote and sell merchandise in a retail environment. Retail displays can be found in both physical stores and digital stores. They are typically used to showcase products in an appealing way, to attract customers and encourage them to make a purchase.

Product display is the way in which a product is presented to potential customers. This can include factors such as packaging, color schemes, and labeling.

After a long, hard day, you finally sit down to catch up on your favorite show. But when you hit the power button on your remote control, your TV screen stays black! You try pressing the remote’s power button again and again from every angle, but still, your TV has no picture. If this sounds familiar, you’ve likely fallen victim to one or more TV screen issues.

What causes a TV screen to go black? Software issues, loose connections, or backlight problems are usually behind black TV screens. Learn about each of these causes and get tips for troubleshooting them so you can get back to relaxing with your favorite TV shows, movies, and video games.

If your TV screen is black and there’s no sound, you’ll want to check for an LED light or a small indicator light that tells you the TV has power. If there is no power to the TV while it is plugged in, there may be an issue with the outlet or fuse box in your home. However, if the TV is on but the screen is black, the problem could lie with your TV’s software.

Unplug the TV from the wall, and, if possible, remove the power cord from the back of the TV to perform a soft reset. Wait 30 seconds, and plug the TV back into a working outlet to test it again. If you’re still having screen issues, you might want to bring in an expert — they’ll know how to fix your TV’s black screen.

If your TV screen goes black but the sound still works, the first thing to check is the input source to ensure it is turned on and operating correctly. This includes external devices like cable boxes, video game consoles, laptops, and streaming devices. Once you’re sure the input source is working properly and you have the right input settings, check the cable connections. In many instances where the TV screen is black but the audio works, poor cable connections could be the issue.

Whether you’re working with an HDMI cable, RCA (usually yellow, white, and red cables) set up, or another type of connection, you need to ensure the cables are seated properly and firmly into their connection ports. With a good connection, the cable shouldn’t feel loose or easily disconnect when pulled on or moved around. If all your cables have a snug fit but the problem persists, try connecting the device to another TV. If your TV screen is still blacked out, you may need new cables.

Some TV displays, such as LCD screens, use a backlight to illuminate the picture. If the backlight burns out or stops working, it will result in a blank TV screen.

To check your TV’s backlight, make sure your TV is on. Then, turn off the lights in the room and shine a flashlight on the screen. If you can see a picture with the flashlight, then your TV’s backlight is likely burnt out.

While you might be eager to learn how to fix a black-screen TV, a broken backlight does not come with an easy solution. The backlight will need to be replaced, and it’s best to get help from a professional with this task.

If repair costs are outside your budget or not worth it considering the age and condition of your TV, you may want to consider upgrading to a new smart TV. When you purchase a new TV from your local Rent-A-Center, you’ll enjoy free product service and repairs for the life of your agreement as part of our Worry-Free Guarantee.

You’ve run all the tests, checked all the ports, and ensured your TV has power, but your TV screen is still black! There could be a more complicated (and expensive) issue, so it might be time to ditch your old TV for an upgrade.

Rent-A-Center makes it easy to own a new TV, like an LG 65″ 4K UHD Smart TV. From OLED to QLED, we’ve got ultra high-definition TVs with picture quality so crisp, you’ll wonder why you didn’t upgrade sooner. Avoid the headache of your old TV, and shop your favorite TV brands online today. You can even get same-day delivery on qualifying purchases in select areas!