What screen should you use for Autodarts? TV, tablet, monitor or touchscreen

You need some way to see and control Autodarts, but you don’t need to buy a monitor from us. The screen is simply the interface between you and the system: it is where you start matches, pick players, watch the scores, see checkout suggestions, correct a mis-read dart, change game mode, use the training modes and manage your session.

So the useful question is not "which screen works?" — they all do. It is "which screen makes the most sense for the way I want to play?"

Best for: getting started as cheaply as possible. If there is already a laptop in the house, there is nothing wrong with using it. Put it on a table near the oche, connect your Autodarts system and you are playing. It is the cheapest way in, the keyboard and trackpad are built in, it is easy to troubleshoot, and it is perfect for proving your first setup works.

The drawback is that it makes a permanent installation feel temporary: a laptop on a table, a charger, USB leads, something taking up space beside the board. If you are building a dedicated darts room you will probably want something cleaner eventually.

Verdict: the best budget option if you already own one. We would not buy a laptop specifically as an Autodarts display unless you need the computer for other things too.

Best for: large rooms and spectators. A television looks brilliant with Autodarts. A big display is easy to read from the oche and comes into its own when several people are playing or watching, which is why it suits pubs, clubs and larger darts rooms so well. And you may already own one.

The problem is control. A TV gives you a big picture but no easy way to interact with Autodarts, so you still need a mouse, a keyboard, a wireless trackpad or a separate touch device somewhere. That is perfectly workable, but it is not the same as walking up to a screen and tapping what you want.

Verdict: an excellent display, particularly in pubs and bigger rooms. For the best of both, put a touchscreen beside the oche for control and show the match on the TV for everyone else.

Best for: small and minimalist setups. Tablets are thin, portable and already have a touchscreen, so they can work very well as part of the right setup — on a stand beside the board, or wall mounted.

A tablet is not usually a replacement for the computer running Autodarts, though. Depending on how your system is configured you will still need a PC or a Raspberry Pi doing the detection, and you take on charging, battery and network considerations that a permanently connected monitor does not have.

Verdict: a good option if portability and minimal size are what you care about most.

Best for: permanent installations on a budget. A standard HDMI monitor is one of the simplest ways to make an Autodarts setup look permanent. Pair a small computer with a wall-mounted monitor and it stops looking like a computer desk and starts looking like a dedicated darts system. Monitors are cheap, reliable, easy to wall mount, available in every size, and ideal with a mini PC.

You are back to the TV problem, though: how do you control it? A standard monitor means a mouse, trackpad or keyboard somewhere around the board. It works, but it is another device in what could otherwise be a very clean installation.

Verdict: one of the best low-cost choices if you do not mind a mouse or keyboard nearby.

Best for: a dedicated Autodarts setup. This is the one we prefer. A touchscreen combines the permanence of a PC monitor with the direct control of a tablet: instead of walking over to a mouse or opening a laptop, the display itself is the interface. Tap the screen. Start the match. Play darts. For a permanent setup it feels much closer to a purpose-built electronic darts machine.

The point is not that Autodarts needs a touchscreen — it does not. The point is that it removes equipment from the installation. A dedicated setup becomes dartboard, cameras, mini PC, touchscreen — rather than dartboard, cameras, computer, monitor, keyboard, mouse. That difference is most obvious when everything is wall mounted: one screen beside the board instead of computer peripherals scattered around the room.

We wanted a straightforward touchscreen for people building permanent Autodarts installations, so we sell one: an 18-inch HDMI touchscreen for £179.99, with free UK delivery. Pair it with our pre-configured mini PC, or any computer already running Autodarts, and you have a dedicated interface sitting beside the board.

No building your setup around a laptop. No reaching for a mouse between visits to the oche. No computer desk beside the board. Just a clean screen that is part of the darts setup. Cables are not included — you supply the HDMI lead and the USB lead for touch — and the product page says exactly what is in the box.

Here is the short version. There is no universally correct choice: if you have an old laptop, use it; if there is a huge TV above the board, use it. If all you want is Autodarts running for as little money as possible, you do not need a touchscreen. But if you are spending money on a permanent installation, we think a touchscreen is one of the upgrades you notice every single time you play.

Touchscreens are most useful when Autodarts is running from a mini PC. The computer can be tucked away discreetly around the board while the touchscreen becomes the only part of the system you actually touch. You get the convenience of a computer without a desktop or laptop taking over the room — which is exactly why we built our own Autodarts systems around compact hardware.

The end goal is simple: your darts setup should feel like a darts setup, not a computer workstation.

Four setups, four answers: