Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a widescreen or just
a normal LCD monitor?

I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any other
benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side of the screen?

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:26:39 +1300, ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:

> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a widescreen or just
> a normal LCD monitor?
>
> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any other
> benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side of the screen?

Why would you have a gap? Going widescreen depends on whether you can use
the extra space, really.

Steve

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

Steve wrote:
> On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:26:39 +1300, ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>
>> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a widescreen
>> or just a normal LCD monitor?
>>
>> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any
>> other benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side of
>> the screen?
>
> Why would you have a gap? Going widescreen depends on whether you can
> use the extra space, really.

So there wouldn't be a gap on each side if I was browsing the web or using
word or whatever?

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:

> Steve wrote:
>> On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:26:39 +1300, ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>
>>> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a widescreen
>>> or just a normal LCD monitor?
>>>
>>> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any
>>> other benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side of
>>> the screen?
>>
>> Why would you have a gap? Going widescreen depends on whether you can
>> use the extra space, really.
>
> So there wouldn't be a gap on each side if I was browsing the web or using
> word or whatever?

No. Your computer would use the full resolution. Unlike TV, computers aren't
limited to a 4x3 ratio.

Allistar.

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

Allistar wrote:
> ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>
>> Steve wrote:
>>> On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:26:39 +1300, ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>>
>>>> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a
>>>> widescreen
>>>> or just a normal LCD monitor?
>>>>
>>>> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any
>>>> other benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side
>>>> of
>>>> the screen?
>>>
>>> Why would you have a gap? Going widescreen depends on whether you
>>> can
>>> use the extra space, really.
>>
>> So there wouldn't be a gap on each side if I was browsing the web or
>> using word or whatever?
>
> No. Your computer would use the full resolution. Unlike TV, computers
> aren't limited to a 4x3 ratio.

Thanks, I didn't realise that. I imagine it would look a little odd, athough
I suppose you would get used to it after a while. But is this going to be of
any benefit is what I really want to know. Is having a widescreen monitor of
much use if you don't intend to use it to watch dvds ot television?

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
> Allistar wrote:
>> ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>
>>> Steve wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:26:39 +1300, ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a
>>>>> widescreen
>>>>> or just a normal LCD monitor?
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any
>>>>> other benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side
>>>>> of
>>>>> the screen?
>>>> Why would you have a gap? Going widescreen depends on whether you
>>>> can
>>>> use the extra space, really.
>>> So there wouldn't be a gap on each side if I was browsing the web or
>>> using word or whatever?
>> No. Your computer would use the full resolution. Unlike TV, computers
>> aren't limited to a 4x3 ratio.
>
> Thanks, I didn't realise that. I imagine it would look a little odd, athough
> I suppose you would get used to it after a while. But is this going to be of
> any benefit is what I really want to know. Is having a widescreen monitor of
> much use if you don't intend to use it to watch dvds ot television?
>

Are you kidding? Of course it is useful. I have a 2048x768 desktop
(which admittedly is wider than widescreen), but that allows me to have
Thunderbird and Firefox open beside each other, or to use graphics
programs with tools on one side and the image on the other.

I would hate to go back to a normal display, and I never watch movies or
DVDs on the system, either.

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:

> Allistar wrote:
>> ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>
>>> Steve wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:26:39 +1300, ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a
>>>>> widescreen
>>>>> or just a normal LCD monitor?
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any
>>>>> other benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side
>>>>> of
>>>>> the screen?
>>>>
>>>> Why would you have a gap? Going widescreen depends on whether you
>>>> can
>>>> use the extra space, really.
>>>
>>> So there wouldn't be a gap on each side if I was browsing the web or
>>> using word or whatever?
>>
>> No. Your computer would use the full resolution. Unlike TV, computers
>> aren't limited to a 4x3 ratio.
>
> Thanks, I didn't realise that. I imagine it would look a little odd,
> athough I suppose you would get used to it after a while. But is this
> going to be of any benefit is what I really want to know. Is having a
> widescreen monitor of much use if you don't intend to use it to watch dvds
> ot television?

More screen real estate is always better.

I currently have a triple monitor setup (2 17" LCD's and 1 17" CRT) which
gives me an effective resolution of 3840x1024. May seem gimmicky but I am
much more productive because of it.

I would personally prefer a two 17" LCDs than one 17" widescreen. I'm not
sure how the price compares though. Using two (or more) monitors is betten
(IMO) than a single wide monitor as when a window is maximised it is only
maximised into the window it occupies, not to the entire desktop space.

Allistar.

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a widescreen or just
> a normal LCD monitor?
>
> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any other
> benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side of the screen?

I would if the resolution was any good.

It seems that the only way to get good res on an lcd these days is to get a
widescreen one, and one good monitor is better then 2 pieces of crap at
1280x1024 in my experiance even tho the 2 monitors has a higher overall
resolution, You can position things where you want on a single monitor rather
then have a gap in the middle, also you can maximize things to the whole area
rather then just one or the other screen which is good when you need to view
lots of text like a whole landscape a4 page.

When I had widescreen I tended to stack the toolbars down the side rather then
the top since it means that you still get a decent view of the page in word.

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

"ERNEST THE SHEEP" <Ernest_the_Sheep@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:bdVFf.134888$vH5.1121958@news.xtra.co.nz...
> Allistar wrote:
>> ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>
>>> Steve wrote:
>>>> On Tue, 07 Feb 2006 16:26:39 +1300, ERNEST THE SHEEP wrote:
>>>>
>>>>> I'm thinking of getting a new computer. Should I go for a
>>>>> widescreen
>>>>> or just a normal LCD monitor?
>>>>>
>>>>> I don't intend to watch dvds or televison on it so are there any
>>>>> other benefits, or would I just have an annoying gap on each side
>>>>> of
>>>>> the screen?
>>>>
>>>> Why would you have a gap? Going widescreen depends on whether you
>>>> can
>>>> use the extra space, really.
>>>
>>> So there wouldn't be a gap on each side if I was browsing the web or
>>> using word or whatever?
>>
>> No. Your computer would use the full resolution. Unlike TV, computers
>> aren't limited to a 4x3 ratio.
>
> Thanks, I didn't realise that. I imagine it would look a little odd,
> athough I suppose you would get used to it after a while.

It doesn't look odd at all. Unlike 4:3 TV streched to fit into a 16:9
window and stretching the picture, on a computer, you run it at the native
resolution for the monitor which means you have more pixels horizontally and
can fit more stuff (i.e when reading documents, or the Internet the lines
are longer before it wraps).

The only oddness would be it you wanted to watch a 4:3 video in which case,
yes you would have the gaps on the side or you could choose to stretch it to
fill the screen if you wanted.


-KENT


-KENT

Re: Widescreen LCD monitor for computer?
 

Kent Smith wrote:

> The only oddness would be it you wanted to watch a 4:3 video in which case,
> yes you would have the gaps on the side or you could choose to stretch it to
> fill the screen if you wanted.

Most stuff you download is widescreen hdtv rips now anyway so its a perfect match ;)