Gibson Guitar Pack @ Best Buy $99.99
Peripherals: Why widescreen? Someone please explain...
Why widescreen? Someone please explain...
by kjaggi - 6/14/08 9:42 AMOK, it's time for me to update pretty much everything and shopping around I realize that there are very few 4:3 monitors left on the market. You can't even filter for it on C|net. 
*Everything* is widescreen these days. I use my computers for work, surfing and a little video production (I'm no pro and I produce about half in 4:3 and half in 16:9 for various uses). I'm not a big gamer and if I want to watch a movie I do it on my TV (because that's what it's there for).
I'm thinking that the manufacturers are jumping on the latest catchphrase (widescreen!) and hoping that we consumers don't realize that we get less real estate on a 24" widescreen monitor than we do on a 24" 4:3. Do the math, you have less space in which to work. So they can give us less and charge us more for the "latest".
Should I just cave in and go widescreen?
Your choice.
by R. Proffitt
- 6/14/08 10:52 AM
In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggi
There are 4:3 displays still out for sale. What you may be looking at are stores and what they offer. Here I'm going with the new LCDs since my software must accommodate that.
Bob
I remember in my calculus class that...
by ahtoi - 6/15/08 11:17 AM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggimaximum area are obtain with a square, so why not built then in 4:4, hehe.
Now if you were to watch a wide screen video, you will get most use of the real estate with the wide screen and NOT the 4:3 one.
Manufacturer are simply building what most consumers want. Just my take on this.
Human viewing area is dumb bell shaped.
by R. Proffitt - 6/15/08 11:26 AM
In reply to: I remember in my calculus class that... by ahtoi
Well documented so the wide screen is the best for binocular humans.
"dumbbell-shaped region encompassing the macular area and optic nerve."
http://www.pubmedcentral.nih.gov/articlerender.fcgi?tool=pmcentrez&artid=1447588
Sorry but this is the reason for wide screens as it gives use the best use of display area when presenting to most humans.
I've had the same thoughts and problems
by Steven Haninger - 6/16/08 5:55 PM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggiThey've even made screens to rotate so you could view entire documents in "portrait" mode so widescreens seem unnatural to the many who don't use their PCs as entertainment stations. But, when you look around, that's what they are becoming. You can still buy a nice Viewsonic 21" in 4:3 but it's an arm and a leg compared to the 21" widescreen. Look around you and it seems everything is getting wider. Have you seen the new hospital wide bodied wheelchairs lately?
I have two options
by websquad - 6/20/08 7:13 PM In reply to: I've had the same thoughts and problems by Steven HaningerI have a matched pair of 19" 'standard' monitors (1280x1024) on my Windows XP/Pro machine, and one 22" 'wide' monitor (1680x1050) on my Ubuntu (Linux) machine. Frankly, I prefer the two 19" standard monitors. Having said that, if I watch a lot of full screen video, the 22" wide monitor would be a better choice. But for document creation, PhotoShop work, and other web development chores, I'll stick with the pair of 19" standard monitors.
Widescreen Is Great for Mult-Tasking Windows
by pmelluse - 6/20/08 8:00 PM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggiI resisted the upgrade to a wide-screen monitor for some time, for your very same reason -- I figured the actual visible area is smaller, and the manufacturers are fooling the masses. Well, the trick is to get a big enough wide-screen monitor so you can view two or more windows at the same time, split vertically on your screen. I would suggest minimum 22". I went with a 24", and, while just fine, I can see myself upgrading to a 28" or larger wide-screen down the road once the prices drop. I got my 24" wide-screen at Costco for $299 - a price hard to resist for such a display.
The size and aspect ratio helps tremendously when multitasking, web surfing, and other seemingly mundane computer-related activities. A perfect example for me is while playing on-line poker: I'll have a poker window open, usually waiting to play a hand. At the same time, I'll have at least one or two other windows open just to surf and kill time. One window might have YouTube going, another Yahoo Finance, etc., you get the idea, all while I keep my eye on the poker game. Yet another example may be while doing my home's finances, I'll have a few windows open of my various bank accounts, bill payment services, etc.
Hope this helps.
And the answer is.......
by Dango517 - 6/21/08 12:24 AM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggistatus. Unless, you have bad eye sight.
For me thou a $400.00 graphics card would hold more prestige then a $400.00 wide screen monitor.
http://www.evga.com/products/prodlist.asp
How about the $700.00 one, now that's impressive.
This thread untracked.
More pleasing, more work visible
by Thomj58 - 6/21/08 7:00 AM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggiI prefer to work with Excel spreadsheets on my widescreen versus my 4:3. I can see more of the spreadsheet at one time. I realize that by "zooming out" on the 4:3 I could achieve the same effect, but the appearance on the widescreen is easier to read somehow (sorry, not a scientific explanation). The down side is that I must wear my glasses while working on the widescreen as the type is smaller at a given font size setting (10 pt for example). Web browsing and word processing seem easier on the 4:3 as on the widescreen there is usually "dead" space.
Sorry for this non-technical post, but I'm sure screen designers would consider this a good focus group response.
Look at the machine that makes your LCD.
by R. Proffitt - 6/21/08 7:45 AM
In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggi
http://www.appliedmaterials.com/products/assets/brochures/fpd_en_0705.pdf
Look down the page and you see how big this thing is. To get production costs down you have to set this beast to make one size 365x7 and you betcha it will be in standard sizes.
Bob
reply
by awear2002 - 6/21/08 1:13 PM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggiSince we have two eyes which form a rectangle and not a square in the visual area around us(including monitors)-a biological reason
To widescreen, or not widescreen?
by Zeppo - 6/21/08 2:42 PM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggiWhile widescreen is a personal choice, there are more reasons to go widescreen than not.
My reason was I could open two applications and place them side-by-side so I could easily go back and forth working between the two, usually gathering information from a website browser page to add to my personal application. Also, I have some applications that simply allow much more information to be displayed when in full widescreen mode (Family Tree Maker 2008 is such a program). A widescreen monitor became a much better choice than purchasing two separate monitor to do the same task.
A widescreen monitor might be nice for viewing widescreen DVDs, too. For me, that was just a bonus. I can NEVER go back to a square monitor again, and using 2 monitors draws more power and uses much more space on the desktop, which I don't have.
The choice is yours, however. But I can't find a good reason not to go widescreen. Price perhaps?
"Widescreen"
by JOONA5 - 6/22/08 10:54 AM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggi99.9% of the widescreen monitors available for PC come with 16:10 aspect ratio so when watching standard widescreen video in 16:9 it leaves black barrs on top and bottom like in 4:3 monitor it would leave them in left and right.
I want my 4:3!
by Xandi - 6/23/08 7:23 AM In reply to: Why widescreen? Someone please explain... by kjaggiLook, for day-to-day office wpork the 4:3 screen is the best. Word, e-mail and Excel (my main applications) work best in 4:3 than widescreen. Today I have a dual-monitor configuration with two Viewsonics 21.3" 4:3 monitors and it is beautiful. I'm very productive in this setup. But it was hard finding the monitors, I had to resort to refurb and used units I got on eBay. Let's e-mail the manufacturers and pressure them to make bigger and better 4:3 monitors. Thx, Alex
Look at the post I provided on the machine that makes these.
by R. Proffitt - 6/23/08 7:33 AM
In reply to: I want my 4:3! by Xandi
It's a monster and costs many millions. If you want 4x3 then buy a lifetime supply today. It's not coming back.
Bob
| Forum legend: | |
 |
Locked thread |
 |
Moderator |
 |
CNET staff |
 |
Samsung staff |
 |
Norton Authorized Support team |
 |
AVG staff |
 |
Windows Outreach team |
 |
Dell staff |
 |
Intel staff |
