16:9 monitors?

Gozu

Banned
Jul 19, 2002
148
0
0
<FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: #fffff0">Are there any 16:9 monitors aside from the apple hd cinema display series? I'd love to get their 23" but I can't afford $2000. I watch a lot of DivX and DVD movies on my monitor and if it's possible to configure the monitor to play them without black bars, I definitely want a 16:9 monitor. Any suggestions?</FONT>
 

clicknext

Banned
Mar 27, 2002
3,884
0
0
For just movie watching, you could get a widescreen TV and dual output from your video card to both the normal monitor and TV. (If you have dual display)
 

JonnyBlaze

Diamond Member
May 24, 2001
3,114
1
0
ya know, most movies aint 16x9 so you will still have small black bars on a 16x9 monitor.

hdtv is 16x9

sony and samsung both make 16x9 monitors tho. check their websites.

JBlaze
 

Gozu

Banned
Jul 19, 2002
148
0
0
I don't really mind very small black bars. I hope sony and samsung are not the *only* ones that sell 16:9 monitors...
 

Gozu

Banned
Jul 19, 2002
148
0
0
Here are the 3 I found:

Samsung SyncMaster 172W pros: cute and pretty cheap ($600+). cons: too small (only 17")

Sony PREMIERPRO 23 Wide Flat Panel LCD pros: MY GOD LOOK AT THAT BEAUTIFUL THING! cons: too expensive ($2600)

Apple 20" Cinema Display : pros: it's all good baby! cons: $300 over my limit ($1300) , needs DVI adapter, no special drivers/utilities for windows

The more I look, the more I think I am looking for a 18-19" priced around $800-$1000

 

heartsurgeon

Diamond Member
Aug 18, 2001
4,260
0
0
you can get an SGI 1600 monitor, 16:9 monitor..looks great, crisp picture...you'lll need a special video card (usually sold as bundle)

ebay linky

new these monitors sold for >$2000
linky to "new"

used ..?500 maybe
 

Gozu

Banned
Jul 19, 2002
148
0
0
the viewsonic is $8000. way way way wayyyyyyyyy out of my league. And even if I had the money I wouldn't buy it.

the SGI 1600 monitor is only 17", like the samsung. If I wanted a 17" i would've picked the samsung. Less trouble that way.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
I thought about getting a 16:9 monitor, because I too use my monitor for movies, HDTV (fusion II hdtv tuner card) as well as games and whatnot...

I looked at the widescreen samsung and sony's... And then it hit me... Those monitors are the exact same as a regular 17" LCD... but with less height. It's a smaller screen!!! If you put a movie on the 172W and a 172t, the actual image would be the exact same size! You're just giving up screen space for no real reason.

ANyways, in pursuit of a larger image, I'm now trying to decide between a 191t, a 2001fp, or a 213t. I like the IQ of the Samsungs, but they're old panels, and subject to some ghosting. I've actually considered switching back to a CRT (GASP) to get a 22" for only $500........

VIAN is dancing a jig somewhere.
 

Gozu

Banned
Jul 19, 2002
148
0
0
Originally posted by: Nebor
I looked at the widescreen samsung and sony's... And then it hit me... Those monitors are the exact same as a regular 17" LCD... but with less height. It's a smaller screen!!! If you put a movie on the 172W and a 172t, the actual image would be the exact same size! You're just giving up screen space for no real reason.

a 17" monitor means the diagonal measures 17". if the height of a monitor is less, then the width must increase to keep the diagonal 17". It's basic geometry. by my calculations , a regular 17" screen (4:3) has a height of 10.2" and a width of 13.6" while a widescreen 17" (16:10 since that seems to be the norm with ws monitors) has a height of 9 and a width of 14.4".

The bottom line is, theoretically, a widescreen movie watched on a widescreen 17" monitor will be approximately 12% bigger than one watched on a regular monitor. It will also be the exact same size as one watched on aa regular 18" monitor.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
As I understand it, Widescreen 17" LCDs aren't even 17" at all. They are regular 17" LCDs with some height chopped off, and are in effect, not ANY wider, just shorter.
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
Alright then assuming you're right...

#1) What'd you ask me for?
#2) Is it worth giving up the screen space from all your other activities just to gain a little bit when watching wide screen content?

Anyways, I think I'm going to pick up a 213t in black tomorrow afternoon. This way, I get a bigger image for ALL applications. Also, at 18" wide, it's got 4" more movie space than a 172w, which, I might add, has been discontinued.

Alright, did some reading as I typed this out:
172X
172w

It appears the the 17" widescreen isn't any shorter than the regular 17" So in fact you just get MORE screen, not less.
172x: 14.2 x 14.3 x 7.6
172w: 17.0" x 14.6" x 8.5"
 

Gozu

Banned
Jul 19, 2002
148
0
0
Originally posted by: Nebor
It appears the the 17" widescreen isn't any shorter than the regular 17" So in fact you just get MORE screen, not less.
172x: 14.2 x 14.3 x 7.6
172w: 17.0" x 14.6" x 8.5"

No, you don't. lol. come on man! wake up! if you got more screen than a regular 17", it'd be labled 18 or 19" or whatever. The dimensions you were looking at are not the ones for the actual, viewable, full-of-pixels screen. They are for the monitor and they include the "frame". If you look at pictures of the two monitors, you'll see that the 172w has much bigger frames/borders than the 172x.

Trust my math, it is strong.

Anyways, It appears that there are no 18-19" ws monitors anyways. So I'm outta luck. I'll probably end up buying some ugly piece of crap like the dell fp2001 or something.

And you know what's worse? I could've gotten a brand new fp2001 for $150 + shipping. But they were all taken by the time I learned about them and then the seller went welding stuff in mexico (don't ask me, makes no sense to me either :p)
 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
Why buy the Dell 2001fp if you know it's crap? Go look at one in action, then compare it to another LCD... There's somethin' not quite right about that Dell LCD. Grainy maybe? Plus, who wants to put up with hearing, "Is your computer a Dell?" Anyways, it pushed me towards the Samsung 213t. Why not get it? Only $1050 at fry's right now...

BTW, $150 isn't so great for the 2001fp... You must not be subscribed to dell's coupons.
 

Accord99

Platinum Member
Jul 2, 2001
2,259
172
106
Originally posted by: Nebor

It appears the the 17" widescreen isn't any shorter than the regular 17" So in fact you just get MORE screen, not less.
172x: 14.2 x 14.3 x 7.6
172w: 17.0" x 14.6" x 8.5"
Think of a 17" widescreen as a cut-off 19" LCD, since they're almost identical in width. However, the 17" widescreen also has much less pixels than the typical 17" LCD, so you lose 25% of the total desktop space and a slightly smaller physical screen. And they usually cost more too.

 

Gozu

Banned
Jul 19, 2002
148
0
0
but they look SOOOOOOOOOOOOO COOOOOOOOOL!!! who cares about pixels when you can have coolness?

 

Nebor

Lifer
Jun 24, 2003
29,582
12
76
I found our perfect monitor Gozu.

Hot Deals....

Widescreen, 16ms, 23"... And all for about the same price as a Samsun 213t. What do you think? As someone considering a Samsung 213t, this is very appealing.