New Monitor

[TifaLockhart]

I've been using this old 15inch 4:3 ratio LCD monitor since it came as a package with my cpu and have been wanting to change one for ages.

Just wondering if i'm gonna use it for watching animation, would a 23inch WideScreen LCD monitor with a aspect ratio of 16:9 be better, 16:10 or would it be better at all.

Since i have never viewed animation with a widescreen before i have no idea if it would actually look better or just much more skewed. Whether i'll be getting a new monitor or not depends greatly on whether it will have any increase in utility towards my anime viewing and maybe to a lesser extent gaming.

Any information regarding what sort of resolutions recent animes have been releasing in and what sort of screen ratio would be optimal would help greatly, thank you in advance.

[newy]

Choose a 16:9 ratio. 16:10 is only good for office work. 16:9 suggests that a WS video looks bigger because there are no black bars above and beneath the video and in games you can see more on the sides compared to a 16:10. A 16:10 has theoretically more height information on top and at the bottom but games have always the same height information so you have no advantage with a 16:10.
I don't know if height information is the correct term. I just literally translated it.

I just read an article about that recently.

[kureshii]

Considering that with both 16:9 and 16:10 monitors you get the same number of pixels horizontally (e.g. 1920x1080 vs 1920x1200), I don't see how you can "see more on the sides" (sic) with a 16:9 compared to a 16:10. It is true that the display area of a monitor at 16:9 would be slightly wider (although also slightly shorter) than at 16:10 though, for the same diagonal length.

Widescreen anime is displayed at 16:9, so with a 16:10 monitor you will get black bars above and below the video, as mentioned by newy. A 16:9 monitor will display it without any black-bar padding. But for office work and other tasks you may find the extra vertical space quite helpful. It's down to a personal preference, really.

Someone else will have to provide the gaming perspective, since I haven't touched any games for 6 years... don't know if the display area is larger with a 16:10

[edit] Some screenshots of C&C3 at various aspect ratios. Different games may handle screen aspect ratios in a different manner, though.

[newy]

I'm no expert myself and I only translated what I remembered from the article and I'm pretty sure that important details are lost in translation.

[TifaLockhart]

would a non-widescreen anime look weird on a widescreen monitor? or would it just have larger black bars?

[newy]

With MPC it would have black bars

[billlanam]

With widescreen anime you quite often have different display heights (they add black bars to the encoded anime video when the height is smaller than the 16:9), so you will end up with black bars anyway, I rarely have a widescreen anime fill the screen exactly.  So if the 16:10 is cheaper or better value, get it.

[iindigo]

With widescreen anime you quite often have different display heights (they add black bars to the encoded anime video when the height is smaller than the 16:9), so you will end up with black bars anyway, I rarely have a widescreen anime fill the screen exactly.  So if the 16:10 is cheaper or better value, get it.

Really? I've had a 16:9 display for over a month now (27" iMac) and all the widescreen anime I've played back completely fills the screen. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw black-bar'd widescreen anime (aside from stuff on YouTube).

As for 16:9 vs. 16:10, my previous computer was 16:10 and I have to say I don't miss the extra 200 pixels or so of extra vertical space (2560x1400 vs. 2560x1600). It takes a little bit of adjusting, but it's really not bad. In fact, 16:10 displays feel a little odd now, and I find myself asking why they even make 4:3 displays anymore

[fohfoh]

If you're upgrading from 4:3 wouldn't either 16:9 or 16:10 seem like the knowledge of the gods? Either works, you probably wouldn't know a difference unless you compared the two side to side.

[lapa321]

Got a screenie of a 1080p movie to illustrate how thick the bars are when resized to fit

Original
1920x1080


1024x768


1280x1024


1680x1050
1440x900
1920x1200

[TifaLockhart]

i just got myself a samsung T260HD and i have to say... you dont realize how big 26inch is until u put it infront of ure table and use it as a monitor...

So far it is amazing to look at as well as watch animes in HD and Blu ray on, however, i feel a need to adjust to the 1920 X 1200 aspect ratio, how websites are now orientated, folders.
It feels like a whole new world to explore, seriously, its like i've been trained forever to look at a 4:3 ratio for as long as i knew and this seem like a revolution of sort.

I'm enjoying it while viewing shows and animations but i'll probably either get use to "how to surf the web and use the computer in 26inch screen or i'll probably use the old 15inch monitor while surfing and stuff.

Thanks for all the help guys.

[iindigo]

Congratulations on the upgrade! A word of warning, though. After using this beast for a week, you'll never want to use anything smaller (or standard ratio) again!

As for using the space well, assuming you're using Windows, DO NOT maximize all your windows, especially when it comes to surfing the web. It's the most monumental waste of screen space known to man to do that. Make use of all this newfound space to more efficiently multitask in ways you weren't able to before.

[Lucerin Red]

,

[kyanwan]

Eh - 16:10 isn't just for office work.   Are these micro-black-lines all that horrible?   Bleh.  

The 16:9's drive me insane - because they've got to be so goddamn huge in order to have a decent screensize.   16:10 is perfect for me, at least.   I like to put shit on my desk ... other than a monitor.  ( <- has been sporting huge ass monitors since the 90s - had a huge-ass 22" CRT back when CRTs were just about all you could have/afford - as in - didn't cost 5 digits. )

If it's only a TV - then sure - 16:9 ftw - but this is a computer monitor.   The narrowness of the vertical measurement on these 16:9s - just drives me nuts.   It cuts off images too much.   The 16:10 gives you a nice 10% more height - and it makes a visible difference for me ... at least.  

Consider you also want functionality out of your monitor - after all, your pc is still a pc (or Mac.).   You do ... do more than watching videos ... no?

With widescreen anime you quite often have different display heights (they add black bars to the encoded anime video when the height is smaller than the 16:9), so you will end up with black bars anyway, I rarely have a widescreen anime fill the screen exactly.  So if the 16:10 is cheaper or better value, get it.

Really? I've had a 16:9 display for over a month now (27" iMac) and all the widescreen anime I've played back completely fills the screen. In fact, I can't remember the last time I saw black-bar'd widescreen anime (aside from stuff on YouTube).

As for 16:9 vs. 16:10, my previous computer was 16:10 and I have to say I don't miss the extra 200 pixels or so of extra vertical space (2560x1400 vs. 2560x1600). It takes a little bit of adjusting, but it's really not bad. In fact, 16:10 displays feel a little odd now, and I find myself asking why they even make 4:3 displays anymore

I am reminded of it everyday.   I have a whole load of systems I use - some 4:3, some 16:10, and a 16:9. 

I hate the 16:9.

I keep switching between them - and am constantly reminded of how much the 16:9 annoys me.     Funny thing is - the 16:9 and 16:10 are both the same width ... so it's very noticeable to me. 

[Mag-X]

Personally, I prefer 16:9. It's better for watching anime/movies since it doesn't have the black bars on top and bottom. It's better for video games because there are less pixels for your video card to deal with (IE, higher frame rates).

[billlanam]

My apologies, I actually have a 16:10 monitor, my mistake, dumb of me.
Oh well, I'm not perfect yet, maybe tomorrow.

[Temuthril]

The black bars are really a minor issue, considering that the monitor borders are black too.