CRT Widescreen computer monitor?

[Dr. Ffreeze]

Hi All,

Do they make many (any) wide screen crt computer monitors? If so, do all games work fine at the 16:9 ratio? Any other issues?

Thankx,

 

[kyleb]

Widescreen PC monitors tend to be 16:10 or 16:9.6 opposed to TVs 16:9; and no, not all games support such aspect ratios. As for widescreen CRT monitors, the only one I know of is Sony's discontenued GDM-W900.

 

[Karma Police]

Widescreen PC monitors tend to be 16:10 or 16:9.6. opposed to TVs 16:9.6; and no, not all games support such aspect ratios. As for widescreen CRT monitors, the only one I know of is Sony's discontenued GDM-W900.

Whatcha doin' here?!

Back to the Hard place from whence you came!!
*sound of cracking whip*

BTW, you finished your preview yet? You only got 2 days left, you know.

 

[kyleb]

Heh, different kyle.

And wow did I make a massive typo with the aspect ratio of TVs, fixed now.

 

[Karma Police]

Heh, different kyle.

And wow did I make a massive typo with the aspect ratio of TVs, fixed now.

DOH!!!!!

 

[Guden Oden]

Do they make many (any) wide screen crt computer monitors?

Dumb question perhaps, but why do you want one?

CRTs are so inferior overall to LCDs it's silly; they're blurrier, heavier, wider, deeper, draw much more power etc etc. Besides, even if you could get a widescreen CRT, it would be more expensive too unless you buy second-hand perhaps, in which case who the hell knows what quality the picture will be.

Nothing beats the Dell FPW2405 widescreen LCD right now, it's uber. Just plain uber.

 

[mangrove]

CRTs are so inferior overall to LCDs it's silly; they're blurrier, heavier, wider, deeper, draw much more power etc etc.

They also have significantly better colour rendition, and an actual black point. Good for different things.

 

[Diplo]

What happens with games that don't support widescreen aspect ratio? I presume you run in a standard resolution with big black borders? Doesn't sound too good to me...

Oh, and the Dell FPW2405 is uber - at least, the price is uber

 

[Guden Oden]

The 2405 is cheaper than even a regular 24" CRT monitor would be, much less a widescreen 24".

 

[Diplo]

The 2405 is cheaper than even a regular 24" CRT monitor would be, much less a widescreen 24".

Yeah, but that is like saying a Lear Jet is cheaper than an AirBus. Most people can't afford (or justify) buying either

 

[kyleb]

What happens with games that don't support widescreen aspect ratio? I presume you run in a standard resolution with big black borders? Doesn't sound too good to me...

It sure beats streaching it though, and most newer games do support widescreen.

 

[Dr. Ffreeze]

Guden Oden,

21" CRTs start at $85 (used but good quality).
21" Sony Trinitron FD Flat Screen oem IBM P260 DVI+SVGA .24mm 1920x1440@75Hz Grade-B

CRTs are so inferior overall to LCDs it's silly; they're blurrier, heavier, wider, deeper, draw much more power etc etc.

Depends on what is important to you. I don't care about weight, width, depth, or power. I don't like native resolutions at all for games. Show me an $85 good quality 21" and I might be interested. =p

 

[swaaye]

FatWallet has Dell coupons almost weekly that can bring a Dell 2005FPW 20" to $450 and a 2405FPW to $850.

I like my 2005FPW but yeah the black point sucks. Colors look really good on it to my eyes, and the brightness is almost too much to be honest. You can not look at it in a darkish room without hurting your eyes! It made my 19" CRT look washed out, dark, and blurry. I was considering dual head until I put them side by side finally. And that was one of the best 19" CRTs I've seen over the last 5-6 years.

Rotating these widescreen behemoths to portrait mode makes for fantastic web browsing! I can set that up in about 2 seconds with ATI's drivers too. Just right click on the taskbar icon and go to rotation I believe. Then grab the screen and rotate it. The Dells rotate clockwise on their mounts.

Only disappointment for me was the inability to do picture-in-picture with DVI and VGA. I love the 4 extra USB ports right on the monitor, and I do use both VGA and DVI together for separate PCs.

Just don't play Doom3 on a LCD if you don't have to. The black point problem ruins the game a bit.

 

[mangrove]

Colors look really good on it to my eyes

Most TFT screens (=all I have ever seen) have a real problem with light pastel hues, cyan/blue/pink. They always look completely white. I am (among other things) a photographer, and I know how my pictures look on film, scanned and viewed on a quality CRT, or direct from digital on the same CRT and in print. TFT screens, however, just can't come close.

The black point is another big letdown, and that is a problem for all kinds of viewing except office work and surfing.

Don't get me wrong, TFT screens are generally very much nicer for daily computer use, but there are some areas where they still are inferior. Unfortunately, because I would really like to get rid of this ungodly 21" monster

 

[swaaye]

mangrove I know exactly what you are saying. The screens vary a lot too though. Though CRTs definitely seem to have some serious advantages.

The 2005FPW really surprised me though with its color. It's the best LCD I've personally ever seen. I'm sure there are better though. However, it blows away every laptop LCD I've ever seen, including my Dell Inspiron 9300 and previous eMachines 6805.

The black point is by far the most disappointing LCD problem for me though. Some games look really terrible on LCD's. However, the flip side is that some games REALLY look fantastic on this screen due to it great contrast and brightness, and fine LCD color.

 

[phenix]

Hmm. What is this black point problem? Is it that you just can't see anything in dark games for instance? What about movies?

 

[Frank]

Hmm. What is this black point problem? Is it that you just can't see anything in dark games for instance? What about movies?

It means, that black is really pitch black, and dark grey is actually dark grey, not black or light grey.

 

[Blazkowicz]

yes, for movies, the black letterboxes look terrible on LCDs.. LCDs are bad at displaying nothing

As black sucks, LCDs makers put more and more powerful backlights so that the contrast figure is inflated. I guess that's why I find CRTs easier on the eyes than LCDs

 

[mangrove]

Hmm. What is this black point problem? Is it that you just can't see anything in dark games for instance? What about movies?

Normal TFT screens have a fluorescent lamp illuminating the screen. As TFT can't block all the light, they will "glow black" even when they should emit no light at all.

New technology exists that illuminates the back with lots of LEDs, so that a part of the screen can be selectively lit, but I have never seen one of those screens so I can't comment on performance. LG's newest television sets use this technology.

 

[Nite_Hawk]

When LED backlights become prevalent it will really kill the last remaining problems that LCDs have. Even now I'd argue that on the newest displays the blackpoint/color reproduction isn't nearly as big of a deal as it used to be, but once LED backlights are used LCDs will have a blackpoint and contrast ratio better than any consumer grade CRT you can buy.

Nite_Hawk