So what exactly are the benefits of a widescreen?

[Vcize]

Ok, I went to check out the x1000 in person today at circuit city, but it left me with more questions than answers...

I figured since it was widescreen, and since dvd's run widescreen, the bonus would be that the DVD would fill up the entire screen rather than having the 2 horizontal bars across the top and bottom. However, this wasn't the case, and the bars were still there, only thinner than on a normal screen. So what's the bonus? Is it just the resolution? It was the low-end screen, 1200x800 or whatever it is.

So, since games are best played scaled down 4:3 with vertical bars, and since it's widescreen the screen isn't as tall, so aren't you actually playing on a SMALLER screen than you would be if you didn't have widescreen?

Last question, anyone have pics of the middle resolution screen (1600x1200 or whatever it is). I did a search and could only find pics of the low resolution one and the high resolution one, but no pics of the middle resolution one. I ask because at circuit city and best buy they only had the low res one and some of the stuff was still pretty small and hard too read, wondering if the next step up would be too small.

If anyone could help me out ASAP please do, as that coupon expires Friday and I am VERY seriously considering picking one of these up before then.

 

[xizor]

can't say i've owned or watched a movie on a widescreen laptop...

Most movies are in a 1.85:1 ratio, so the closer your resolution gets to it, the less black you'll have. 1200x800 is a 1.5:1 ratio, but the screen also supports 1,680x1,050, and 1,920x1,200 which are both 1.6:1, even better. I believe you'll have those black bars no matter what until you can get a resolution that does 1.85:1 exactly.

 

[gaidin123]

I own a Fujitsu P5010D which has a 10.6" widescreen display. I see a few features of a widescreen that might be more appealing to some people than the standard 4:3 displays. First, they do match movie formats better so they don't get as squashed when you want them on a widescreen. Second, they do allow you toss 2 word docs or webpages side by side. This can be very useful for some people. Finally, you have a lot more choices of form factors if you allow for a widescreen display over a typical laptop/computer display. In my case, the 10.6" screen is pretty tiny, but if it was a standard screen it would have to be even smaller in order to fit with the rest of the computer.

Other than that, it's all about choice. I agree that games aren't really tailored to widescreen formats yet, and for some people they may prefer the more standard form factors. Though I can't see it as a bad thing that we have more choices and laptops to choose from now.

Gaidin

 

[kalster]

spaceee

i love the widescreen

u have so much more room

i have the inspiron 8500 by teh wya

 

[Tikerz]

From a productivity stand point, you can view 2 fullsize documents on one screen side by side. That's something you can't do a normal screen.