Why are all LCD monitors now widescreen?

[Typhon]

It's just weird. For instance, going on sites like this one. All the posts here are all shifted to left and right side is all empty. Even some sites like YouTube, the site is centered. With 4:3, both left and right sides are fully used up when surfing the net.

That is because the screen is wide.

[+StevoFC MVC]

It's just weird. For instance, going on sites like this one. All the posts here are all shifted to left and right side is all empty. Even some sites like YouTube, the site is centered. With 4:3, both left and right sides are fully used up when surfing the net.

ok, well nothing is shifted to the left on neowin. it's centered. and if you don't like the white space on other sites then don't maximize the window. how hard is that to figure out?

I hate 4:3 for any type of display now.

[BGM]

Um...why, of course. I was just testing to see if you were paying attention and HOLY SH*T IT'S THE POPE!

*dash*

lol :D

[DaDude]

ok, well nothing is shifted to the left on neowin. it's centered. and if you don't like the white space on other sites then don't maximize the window. how hard is that to figure out?

I hate 4:3 for any type of display now.

But that's the point. In 4:3 monitors, you can maximize the window and no white spaces are there. It's hard to believe that I'm the only person standing on this earth that prefers 4:3. There's a reason why the first monitors were 4:3. It's because they're better. But for some reason, today people got the idea that wider is better, when in reality, it's not. I don't mind them selling widescreen monitors, but at least sell 4:3 as well to give people some option.

As for Neowin being centered. I'll check that out when I get home. I'm not using my home computer at the moment. Right now, I using a nice 4:3 monitor.

Edited July 14, 2008 by xraffle

[madd-hatter]

I can't see any logic in someone preferring 4:3 over 16:9.

I have an older 36" Sony CRT that I must reconfigure every time I change the video input source/channel. I lost the remote so I have to change it from it's native 4:3 to 16:9 manually with the menu buttons on the set.

I never hesitate to do it though... It just looks so much better. (Sharper even.)

[+Warwagon MVC]

24 inch Widscreen FTW

[Dave Diller]

Mine is 19" and I already want something smaller. 19" is just toooo huge. With TVs, yeah, bigger is better. But for computers, the smaller the better.

I must disagree - what is possibly bad about a large computer monitor? If things are too small, maximize the windows and/or increase text size ;) (or, more simply, decrease the resolution)

I personally prefer widescreen because, in Mozilla, I utilize the bookmark bar like crazy mad. On my 15.4" widescreen (laptop) it looks great, with my bookmarks spanning across pretty much the entire thing. On my extended monitor, a 19" 4:3 LCD, about a forth of these bookmarks are cut off on the maximum resolution. It makes it quite frustrating to try to get to those bookmarks quickly on my 4:3.

Movies are also made to be (roughly) 16:9 and I've heard that a 16:9 aspect ratio is more aesthetically pleasing than 4:3, just in general.

Additionally, I feel that I do indeed maximize my productivity, if even slightly. By being able to put two windows side-by-side I can more easily compare two different web pages, for example. Granted these are not wide, but it's still easier than trying to do that on a 4:3.

As if more convincing is needed, 4:3 is unable to support high definition (without boxing) - 16:9 is. It's also cheaper for LCD's to be manufactured in a 16:9 aspect ratio because of its smaller size, but CRT's are hardly ever widescreen because its cost is a function of how close it is to square - thus, a 4:3 aspect ratio (one closer to a square) is cheaper to manufacture.

[DaDude]

I must disagree - what is possibly bad about a large computer monitor? If things are too small, maximize the windows and/or increase text size ;) (or, more simply, decrease the resolution)

You know, I see your point. In fact, everyone should have a monitor of at least 52" or I'll laugh at their face. You know why? Because large monitors are in and small ones are out!!

[Dave Diller]

:p a 52" monitor might be overkill, but if you can sit at a comfortable distance from your desk and still see the whole thing easily, that's not too big ;) Thus, I'm very anxiously awaiting my 22" widescreen :)

[ViperAFK]

You know, I see your point. In fact, everyone should have a monitor of at least 52" or I'll laugh at their face. You know why? Because large monitors are in and small ones are out!!

lol. Yeah 52 inch would be way too big for me but there is nothing wrong with a nice 24' monitor :) space is good, but I am plently happy with the size of my 19 inch. Too small sucks, and too huge sucks... duh :p

[+Warwagon MVC]

You know, I see your point. In fact, everyone should have a monitor of at least 52" or I'll laugh at their face. You know why? Because large monitors are in and small ones are out!!

I will agree that a regular 19 inch monitor does seem bigger than a 19 inch widescreen one. I think bigger is better to a point. It also depends on the resolution you run the monitors at. A lot of my customers have 20 inch monitors that when set to the default resolution will give them a good amount of screen real estate (The amount of windows you can set side by side). Problem is they have the 20 inch monitors set to a resolution of 800 by 600 or 1024 by 768. Partly because most don't know how to change it, but the other half don't like the desktop so small. So only buy bigger monitors if you plan on using the native resolution. Same thing applies to by 42 inch TV. Sure everything is bigger on screen, but it runs at 1280 by 720 so my 24 inch windscreen that has a native resolution of 1920 by 1200 gives me more real estate.

[DaDude]

lol. Yeah 52 inch would be way too big for me but there is nothing wrong with a nice 24' monitor :) space is good, but I am plently happy with the size of my 19 inch. Too small sucks, and too huge sucks... duh :p

Exactly. That's the point I was trying to make. Because no matter what size TV or computer monitor I get, people always comment about how small it is.

[FizzyChickenBroth]

It's just weird. For instance, going on sites like this one. All the posts here are all shifted to left and right side is all empty. Even some sites like YouTube, the site is centered. With 4:3, both left and right sides are fully used up when surfing the net.

You're going to run into that problem regardless of screen aspect ratio. Even if I had a 4:3 display, it's still possible to get space on the sides. If I have a 24" 4:3 display, and the resolution is 2048x1536 or whatever it is, and the site is built for 1024x768, I'm gonna be seeing a whole lot of space on the sides.

[Berto]

The true reason behind widescreen monitors is to accommodate Windows Vista Sidebar. Everyone knows that!

[+Warwagon MVC]

The true reason behind widescreen monitors is to accommodate Windows Vista Sidebar. Everyone knows that!

Thats the first thing to get turned off. What a waste of space.

[Borbus]

For coding, widescreen is terrible. You end up with less vertical space and a massive excess of horizontal space. I'd rather have a widescreen turned 90 degrees for coding, actually.

[Monk69bl]

I have a "full" screen 19" and a 24" wide screen. Running 2x screens at the mo and I must tell you I tend to use the 24" more. On the 24" WS I can have 2 x browsers/apps side by side for comparison/copy and paste but I do find it a bit short and it feels like I needs to scroll down more. But for me I like it because I can have 2 x apps side by side and not have to toggle between tabs/apps.

[DaDude]

Thats the first thing to get turned off. What a waste of space.

Funny. When I first turned on my computer when I bought it, the sidebar popped up. I closed it and never came back anymore. I didn't have to turn anything off.

BTW, your signature caught my eye. Vista is full of issues. Ever since I got the computer, I had nothing but problems. I think I got everything resolved, but it's only a matter of time before another problem arises again.

[Wakers]

I currently have an Acer widescreen monitor (the first one I bought) and I could never ever go back to 4:3 now. I love it. 1440x900 is my favourite resolution, its not to big and not too small (on this monitor at least) :)

[BGM]

For coding, widescreen is terrible. You end up with less vertical space and a massive excess of horizontal space. I'd rather have a widescreen turned 90 degrees for coding, actually.

well get one that does just that?

i used to have a samsung panel that you could rotate, great for programming :)

[DaDude]

I currently have an Acer widescreen monitor (the first one I bought) and I could never ever go back to 4:3 now. I love it. 1440x900 is my favourite resolution, its not to big and not too small (on this monitor at least) :)

I wished I felt the same way. But even if I didn't want to go back to 4:3, I'll be forced to because we don't use widescreen monitors at my job. They're all 4:3.

[Borbus]

1440x900 is my favourite resolution

Your favourite? Is it your monitor's native resolution?

well get one that does just that?

i used to have a samsung panel that you could rotate, great for programming :)

Was it actually designed to have a good viewing angle in vertical position? A normal LCD monitor has poor vertical viewing angle compared to horizontal (because horizontal is more important). So obviously when turned these angles switch.

[DaDude]

Was it actually designed to have a good viewing angle in vertical position? A normal LCD monitor has poor vertical viewing angle compared to horizontal (because horizontal is more important). So obviously when turned these angles switch.

One thing I noticed about LCDs as opposed to CRTs is that LCDs strain my eyes more. The screen just seems sooo bright that it hurts my eyes after a while. I tried lowering the contrast and brightness, but it just makes the picture darker, dimmer, and takes away a lot of detail. I never had this problem with CRTs,

[Rudy]

well get one that does just that?

i used to have a samsung panel that you could rotate, great for programming :)

I have my Samsung monitor on a monitor arm so i can easily rotate it when I code :p

[Deletedforeverhaha]

1680x1050 and 1920x1200 for the win!