747-400 screen resolutions and aspect ratios

[Scott434 12]

I have a notebook that is natively a wide screen (1440 x 900 (1.6 aspect ratio)). FS9 supports this as I have selected this resolution. I am running the PMDG 737 and have experienced a skewing of the instruments/panels. It really subtracts from the realism. Also, the FMC buttons (particularly the decimal point) need to be "clicked" lower in order to function.My question is, has PMDG addressed this resolution on the 747-400. It seems that it would be beneficial to take advantage of a larger horizontal dimension to include "more cockpit".

[Guest neil_b]

I wouldn't have thought they would seeing as thats more of a rare item to have :/

[Scott434 12]

I would have to agree that is is rare at this point in time however, the television market is moving this way for a reason (wide screen is definately in) and it will not be long before the PC market catches on.I find that the visuals of scenery and outside aircraft views are much more real and pleasing with a larger horizontal dimension. It does add a touch of additional realism having to "look" left and right. Comparing the external views of the 737 on a standard 1.3 and the wider 1.6 wide screen, the wide screen looks significantly better to me especially flying over mountain ranges and thru clouds. It is much more "panoramic" and is definately a significant improvement.I could not help thinking that the longer 747 would be even more impressive when viewed at a 1.6 aspect ratio given the incredible amount of detail that has gone into the 747 airframe.I was curious since under settings/disply/hardware, 1440x900 is an option, I tought that the panel designers would take advantage of the additional "pixel real-estate" since space has always been a constraint. Perhaps someone from PMDG might comment?Thanks, Scott

[vscimone 16]

PMDG panels are designed using a standard 4:3 ratio.Best,Vin ScimonePMDGwww.precisionmanuals.comhttp://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/devteam.jpg

[michal 44]

>FS9 supports this as I have selected this>resolution. Well, I am not sure that FS9 actually 'supports' it. You can select it, sure, but the proportions still look funny even with many original MSFS panels. For example in the default FS9 Cessna VC doesn't look good to me unless it is the normal 4:3. FS9 would support it fully if x/y proprtions were automatically adjusted with selection of a different aspect ratio - I don't think FS9 does it.Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Guest]

FS just displays what resolutions your monitor is capable of.

[Guest FattyBear]

Great, I just ordered an Inspiron 9300. I guess I'll have to consider returning it.

[Guest cathay]

Fs could show well panel made for 4:3 and 16: 9 ratio; it depends only on how the panel is designed: computer graphic generated or edited real photos.In the second case to redesign the images for different resolutions is an hard task,while it's well possible with the first thecniques.It's a pity that Pmdg dosen't support widescreen monitors: they are spreading a lot,with a lower price than only few months ago.

[michal 44]

>>It's a pity that Pmdg dosen't support widescreen monitors:>they are spreading a lot,with a lower price than only few>months ago.It is all ultimately market driven. Widescreens are still relatively rare among the simmers. But no doubt once this format becomes popular Microsoft and add-on developers will step up to the task. But I don't think it is that easy task even in your case (one).Michael J.WinXP-Home SP2,AMD64 3500+,Abit AV8,Radeon X800Pro,36GB Raptor,1GB PC3200,Audigy 2http://www.precisionmanuals.com/images/forum/747400.jpghttp://www.hifisim.com/images/asv_beta_member.jpg

[Scott434 12]

Alex, before you consider returning your 9300 ...I spent a good deal of time flying the PMDG 737NG on my HP wide screen. Here are some impressions. Without question, the wide screen format makes the external visuals a step up with the "increased horizon". For example, panning around airports, clouds views and outside views of the aircraft itself give more of spacial feeling. This adds to the realism factor.Here are some details:1024x763 equals a 1.3 aspect ratio or what is know as 4:31440x900 equals a 1.6 aspect ratio or 16:10True widescreen (I believe) is 16:9 which calcs to approx 1.8 aspect ratio.The current offering of "widescreen" notebooks are 1.6 (16:10) including the Dell Inspiron.What I found was that the panels/instruments are slightly compressed vertically. At first glance I was disappointed and I really did noticew the difference. But after flying for some time, I found that I did not notice this anymore (or at least it did not bother me). At the native 1440x900 resolution, the instruments were more readable and clearer.Do you remember when flat screen TVs came out and they looked curved at first. This is because our brains had adjusted what our eye was seeing. The old tube TVs were in fact very curved. Our brain compensated for the eye and made viewing the curved tube look straight. When we did see an actual flat screen, this compensation was still happening and it appeared that the flat screen was curved!Something similar happened after a few hours of flight in the 737. The instreuments looked fine and the effect of the 1.6 aspect ration was not noticable to me. (This is just my subjective opinion and might not hold for the more hard core simmer). I would think that with no other reference to immediately compare to, this eye/brain thing will cause the instrument panels to appear normal after time (or at least not cause a significant popping of the simulation bubble). All in all, the plus are greater than the minuses and for my personal tastes, I can live with it. Seeing as we likely use the notebook for other purposes and not only dedicated to flight sim, widescreen is definately a much better visual experience. Hope this might help you making your decision. Perhaps you might try it first and then return the Inspiron if you can't deal with the 1.6 apect ratio.Scott