Widescreen: for and against

dtw · 2007-02-28 13:40:11

I can afford a new monitor! Hurrah!

I want a nice big one, 19" max though, 17" prolly better, but I dunno whether to go widescreen or not. I was wondering if people would share their opinions and any technical caveats where appropriate?

I sooooo look forward to the day when I can see more than a browser and a panel on my screen!

Cheers

zack · 2007-02-28 13:49:35

dtw wrote:

I sooooo look forward to the day when I can see more than a browser and a panel on my screen!

From that line I would say to go widescreen, whole purpose being its more useful to have more apps open at once not maximised. Widescreen gives you more horizontal real estate, go for 19" if you can afford it (if you play games and are looking for a good response time it'll be over £150 for a 19" widescreen mind you) if you don't play games too often 19" widescreen doesn't have much difference in price compared to a 17" (maybe £20-30 or so).

I see you are in London, you should try novatech (.co.uk) or eBay if you want to risk it, stay well away from places like PC World and Curries unless they have a good sale on.

I myself use a big clunky 24" CRT (£5 from ebay ) and a 19" widescreen that I got for £120.
I play my games on the CRT, when its not in use it is for Chats/Music etc while my widescreen is for watching movies, web browsing and everything else.

phrakture · 2007-02-28 15:50:13

Get a Dell!
http://accessories.us.dell.com/sna/prod … cs=19&l=en

These monitors are godlike. I have a 20 inch here at work.... a guy in the next office over has dual 24 inch ones.

One of the best monitors out there.... so yeah, go widescreen.

codemac · 2007-02-28 16:28:24

Definitely widescreen. You can always make the window skinnier. I've found that my eyes like going left to right more than up and down.

phrakture · 2007-02-28 18:33:39

The other argument for widescreen is that most Western languages "read" from top to bottom, implying that the up/down motion is natural. This is what makes a mouse scroll wheel so intuitive. Left/right motion, on the other hand, is not as natural... imagine reading a web page that needed l/r scrolling. You'd read to the end of the screen, scroll right, read, scroll right, read, then scroll all the way left and hope you can maintain what line you were on. Admittedly, new mice have l/r scrolling, but, for the reasons above, it's not as intuitive (maybe it is for western languages).

That said, the wider a display is, the easier it is to prevent the l/r scrolling from messing with your general "flow".

chaosgeisterchen · 2007-02-28 19:56:45

I have already ordered an LG display and will review it on the Arch forums once I have received it (the time span from order to delivery is unbelievably long with them...).

It's a 22" TFT, 1680x1050, 500 cd/m² typical luminance, 2ms latency and an unbelievable contrast ratio of 3000:1. Cost, in Austria: About 400€.

Last edited by chaosgeisterchen (2007-02-28 22:08:57)

cactus · 2007-02-28 20:10:38

I second the dell widescreen monitors.
They are by far the best product dell ships. I had one at my last job. Damned nice.

Stalwart · 2007-02-28 20:59:36

Samsung 205bw rules

proc · 2007-02-28 21:15:20

I have a 20" Dell monitor in the office in Paris and it is quite good, but I find the 20" HP LP2065 I have at home (in Italy) a bit cheaper and with a nicer image quality (better color uniformity and text readability).

My colleague has a 24" widescreen dell, but I must admit I prefer 4:3 monitors, since I'm a programmer/researcher and I need to read a lot of papers and write code. I prefer to see more lines of code on screen than to have more space on the sides. (But here I'm cheating since I have a dual monitor setup).

Ah if you can avoid TN film based monitors and go for a better kind of panel (see www.prad.de to check very detailed tech specs of monitors)

Edit for typos

Last edited by proc (2007-02-28 21:17:06)

crue0001 · 2007-02-28 21:37:45

I would definitely go widescreen. I own a 24" dell LCD widescreen and it is monstrous, but well worth it. A 19" widescreen would work great if your going for max usable workspace, since most people run out of horizontal space before they need more verticle space. Plus, these days a 19" LCD widescreen doesn't cost a whole lot anymore compared to a 17". So IMHO, I would go with the 19" widescreen.

skale · 2007-03-01 01:39:09

I don't like the big monitors, because I have to move my eyes around the screen way too much, whereas with my 17', I do not. I would go for resolution before size. Widescreen is cool, unless you fullscreen everything, then reading is a pain.

Acid7711 · 2007-03-01 05:43:26

I've never been a fan of the wide monitors. Duals > wide screens for the simple fact that you can easily separate multiple maximized windows. Works wonders for work. Reading material on left, writing on the right. I'd install a third, but I have to have a place for my amp

Sure you can argue that you can do dual wides, but I've still never liked the whole wide appeal. Except for movies in how it's meant simply because the majority of actual movies are shot in a 16:9 (1.78:1) aspect ratio, generally speaking of course.

In either case, if you're going to get a monitor, get a real monitor not some generic HP or Compaq thing that they sell for cheap when you buy a system. Go buy a real monitor from a real company. You can tell a huuuuuuge difference between a cheaply and a well made monitor no matter what kind it is. Sorry if I offend anyone with that.......

Last edited by Acid7711 (2007-03-01 05:47:53)

phrakture · 2007-03-01 07:00:07

skale wrote:

I don't like the big monitors, because I have to move my eyes around the screen way too much, whereas with my 17', I do not. I would go for resolution before size. Widescreen is cool, unless you fullscreen everything, then reading is a pain.

The Dells can rotate. I tried two 20" monitors rotated vertically for a bit. It was kinda cool, especially for web browsing.

dtw · 2007-03-01 11:56:31

Dell is well out I'm afraid. The prices in US are great but in the UK... Take the E228WFP 22-inch Widescreen Flat Panel Monitor: US - $296.00, UK - £246.99, that's $485! What exactly you get for the extra $200 I don't know but it sounds like a blatent rip-off to me. So, Dell is out on principle.

skale wrote:

I don't like the big monitors, because I have to move my eyes around the screen way too much, whereas with my 17', I do not.

What you use binoculars instead? Dude, 17 feet is a damn big monitor.

Thanks for the comments everyone! I have a friend who works for LG who might be able to get me a discount...

FUBAR · 2007-03-01 12:46:38

I've got a Dell 20,1" widescreen (2005FPW) and I love it. It's especially nice to watch movies on. A regular 4:3 screen shows more black than actual movie, this doesn't happen (as much) on widescreen monitors, although you'll still have some of the black bars.

My screen suffers from backlight bleeding though, it's worth to go out and see the screen you want in action. I don't notice any ghosting at all when playing games, but the backlight bleeding is very noticable. This only occurs when the screen near the top/bottom backlight is completely black, i.e. during movies.

dtw · 2007-03-04 20:41:51

OK. A bit more from me. I prolly can't afford a 20" WS unless I get lucky on ebay so I have to go with a 19", the ASUS VW192S seems to have had some good reviews and seems to have a good response time.

Based on my calculations, in terms of real screen area, a 19" WS is 150% the size of a 15" 4:3, so that's a pretty big increase on what I have now. However, my 15" can only display at 1024x768, and 19" WS goes to about 1440x900. This page on wikipedia seems to give a pretty clear indication of how that compares but I dunno what that is like in real usage/display terms. My Windows PC at work has a Dell 17" that I think displays at 1280×1024. The increased resolution provides much more working space over my 15" e.g. how much of an A4 page you can see at 100% in word (I dunno the technical terminology for this), however, I understand that this is 5:4 rather than 4:3. So, 50% screen space aside, what does 1440x900 translate to in 5:4/4:3 resolution terms?

If I want the sort of resolution associated with 17" or greater 5:4 monitors do I really need to go up to 20" 16:10?

Last edited by dtw (2007-03-04 20:43:52)

iBertus · 2007-03-04 22:11:18

I alway figure it by DPI and pixel numbers:
1440x900 (19"/17" WS native) is 1,296,000 pixels [19":89 DPI/17":100 DPI.]
1680x1050 (20" WS native) is 1,764,000 pixels. [20":100 DPI]
1280x1024 (17"/19" 5:4 native) is 1,310,720 pixels. [17":96DPI/19":86 DPI]
1024x768 (15" 4:3 native) is 786,432 pixels. [85 DPI]
1600x1200 (20" 4:3 native) is 1,920,000 [100 DPI]

So, it looks like you need 20" 1680x1050 to get more screen-estate than 19" 1280x1024. Always go for higher DPI at the same resolution as a general rule of thumb.

lilsirecho · 2007-03-05 00:02:08

DTW; Just acquired a new boxed 19" LCD display METRO model from local electronics store for $135. The screen is indeed "19 inches diag and the data is displayed on every square inch of the screen. Color is great and brightness outstanding..use dark glasses to watch!

Lontronics · 2007-03-05 09:46:16

I would recommend a wide screen with a high resolution.

Myself, I am using a Dell 17" laptop with a resolution of 1920x1200 pixels.
Although 17 inch is not really large, it is large enough for a laptop

But, about the resolution; even with 1920x1200 I switch between desktops because I do have too much applications open (browser, email, scripting, irc, music etc...). You can have a large screen, but with a low resolution you only get larget dots, not more information on your screen, what I think is the idea behind a larger screen

Jan

iBertus · 2007-03-05 12:17:33

Lontronics wrote:

You can have a large screen, but with a low resolution you only get larget dots, not more information on your screen, what I think is the idea behind a larger screen
Jan

This goes back to the DPI argument I made above. I would say at least 90 DPI is necessary to make good use of a larger display. Good god, Lontronics! Your display is ~130 DPI! I wish my 20" LCD had that sort of resolution.

Lontronics · 2007-03-05 12:23:49

Yeah, but you must have good eyes to get the complete benefit from it
The higher the DPI's, the smaller the fonts are.

I am lucky, my eyes are good enough
And yes, it is a great LCD....

Although a little off-topic;
For the people looking for such a laptop: Dell Inspiron 9400 or for example Toshiba Qosmio G30-134.

Jan

Last edited by Lontronics (2007-03-05 12:24:05)

Master One · 2007-03-08 09:18:09

phrakture wrote:

The Dells can rotate. I tried two 20" monitors rotated vertically for a bit. It was kinda cool, especially for web browsing.

How does this work with subpixel hinting? Because if you rotate the screen, you would also have to change RGB to vertical RGB (or the opposite, if you turn the screen the other way), or is there a way of doing this automatically? The idea is quite interesting though.

dtw · 2007-03-08 22:03:24

I bought a 20" Dell WS from yoyotech.co.uk today...it's v large....

phrakture · 2007-03-08 22:16:53

dtw wrote:

I bought a 20" Dell WS from yoyotech.co.uk today...it's v large....

Yay. As a present, I am typing this response on my 20" dell. 8)

Actually I have no choice, I'm at work.

dtw · 2007-03-08 22:35:31

Thanks for the recs, guys.

I consider this a present to self for new job...kinda feel like it is doing my fancy new system justice...15" at 1024x768 was just a bit insulting. The old monitor did have built in speakers though! So now I am soundless...

Arch Linux

#1 2007-02-28 13:40:11

Widescreen: for and against

#2 2007-02-28 13:49:35

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#3 2007-02-28 15:50:13

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#4 2007-02-28 16:28:24

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#5 2007-02-28 18:33:39

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#6 2007-02-28 19:56:45

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#7 2007-02-28 20:10:38

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#8 2007-02-28 20:59:36

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#9 2007-02-28 21:15:20

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#10 2007-02-28 21:37:45

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#11 2007-03-01 01:39:09

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#12 2007-03-01 05:43:26

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#13 2007-03-01 07:00:07

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#14 2007-03-01 11:56:31

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#15 2007-03-01 12:46:38

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#16 2007-03-04 20:41:51

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#17 2007-03-04 22:11:18

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#18 2007-03-05 00:02:08

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#19 2007-03-05 09:46:16

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#20 2007-03-05 12:17:33

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#21 2007-03-05 12:23:49

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#22 2007-03-08 09:18:09

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#23 2007-03-08 22:03:24

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#24 2007-03-08 22:16:53

Re: Widescreen: for and against

#25 2007-03-08 22:35:31

Re: Widescreen: for and against

Board footer