Md-11 2D Widescreen monitor

[plowry 0]

I wish to upgrade my monitor to take advantage of the widescreen configuration and would apprciate any advice on what sizes work well at what resolution, and what downside in performance or otherwie there may be. With FSX - Vista 32 I run a two monitor FS system (QX 6600 2.4 GHz - 8800 GTS) and use only the 2D mode: 21 inch Samsung for the main panel and a 19 inch Acer to display the console and MCDU pop up windows (both run at 1280 X 1024). I am considering a Samsung 30 inch widescreen with a resolution of 2560 X 1600. I have room for the 32 inch but the resolution is much less (1366 X 768) which may be cause for concern. I don't know. I would like to know whether those with some experiene using the widesreen configuration consider one or other of these monitors would work well or whether I should be considering other alternatives. In short, how best can I maximize the widescreen feature in flying the MD-11?Peter Lowry

[eurowing 13]

hi Peter,over the last few days i have also been starting to think about upgrading to a big screen monitor. i never had the desire to do so until i was watching an fsx video on my living room tv (samsung lcd 1080p 46") a little while ago. i have a dedicated multi media pc hooked up to that tv which i also use for brief internet browsing. i was sitting there watching that video which was showing a cockpit view on final approach. i only thought WOOOOW! a big screen really gives you a much better sense of 'being there'.my current setup is a samsung 20.4" monitor (1600x1200) as primary screen and a smaller one (15" 1024x768) for the mcdu and system display. that works pretty well, but i can't forget what i saw in my living room! and how much better would it be to have the PFD, ND etc bigger (on top of the beautiful view). hmmmmm that really got me thinking...at first i was looking at a couple of 20-something inches widescreen monitors. i thought the 27" (or was it 28?) was a really nice size. but when i was browsing through a best buy ad i saw that they had a 32" 720p samsung lcd tv. i was thinking that this was an even better size. needless to say, the resolution is much lower than on a monitor. but the upside would be better performance of fsx? maybe?however, i am not entirely sure if 720p (up to 1366x768) would be a high enough resolution for a 32" screen used as a computer monitor. we have one computer at my work that is hooked up to a (non-brand) 32" 720p lcd screen. even with the native resolution of that tv the picture quality does not convince me at all. not near as sharp and crisp as my living room tv. despite the 14" size difference. so i guess that for pc use the tv should really be 1080p (1980x1080).well, today i was checking out tv's at the store. i must say, looking at 37" or even 40" hdtv's really got me thinking... :( that must be the perfect size. that would be like sitting in the MD-11! (by the way i am also a 2D panel driver). only problem is: now we are getting really close to the 1,000$ mark. that is ALOT of money for a monitor (i know, tv). on the other hand, looking back 15 years, isn't that what we paid for a regular (color) monitor back then? and not too long ago it would have been hard to imagine to ever use a shiny, piano finsih 40" flat screen as a monitor (well, i wouldn't have dared to imagine).there is just one thing i am not sure about. i have not been doing any research on this but i mean to remember that the aspect ratio on a widescreen monitor is not exactly the same as on an hdtv. is that true? if i am correct tv's are 16:9 and computer monitors are 16:10? that would mean, i am afraid, that the widescreen panel of the MD-11 might not exactly fit the hdtv. if the above ratios are correct the tv screen is a little wider than the one of the monitor. that means that the widescreen panel is actually not quite wide enough and would either have to be slightly stretched to fit the screen or not reach the edges of the screen. does anyone know? on second thought that might be a good thing, though. looking at the widescreen panel it seems that the system display does not completely fit on the screen. you can only see indications for engines 1 and 2. we all know that on the MD-11 it would be nice to be able to read all three engine indications. with the little bit of 'extra' screen this might actually fit if you undock it and move it accordingly, without hiding any part of the panel.maybe someone has more insight/experience on this.regards,

[2009 0]

Hi, i am very interested too in that subject.First question: how do you put some panels, (i mean only the panels without any additional view) on a second monitor?I was connecting 2 monitors, but i couldnt find a solution for that matter.To make it clear: on your main monitor, you have the cockpit in 2d, on the other monitor, lets say a smaller/ different one, you want to undock i.e. the MCDU or wahtever, how is that possible?Many thanks for your help!TOM

[eurowing 13]

Hi, i am very interested too in that subject.First question: how do you put some panels, (i mean only the panels without any additional view) on a second monitor?I was connecting 2 monitors, but i couldnt find a solution for that matter.To make it clear: on your main monitor, you have the cockpit in 2d, on the other monitor, lets say a smaller/ different one, you want to undock i.e. the MCDU or wahtever, how is that possible?Many thanks for your help!TOM

Tom,are you talking FSX or FS9?

[2009 0]

Tom,are you talking FSX or FS9?

Hi, FSX, WIN XP 32 Bit, SP 3.

[plowry 0]

I just undock the pop up windows (MCDU and two parts of the console) and move them to the second screen in windows mode (placing one part of the console over the other so I can switch between them) and then, when everything is set, I go to full screen mode. Peter.

[plowry 0]

I think you are right about the 16:10 ratio which means the Samsung 30 inch would be fine (2560 X 1600) but the 32 inch might leave a little to be desired in both resolution and fit. I am hoping some who are actually using larger widescreen monitors for the MD-11 might comment.Peter.

[eurowing 13]

Hi, FSX, WIN XP 32 Bit, SP 3.

Tom,as Peter says, undock them, move them over, go to full screen. that would apply to FS9. one of the advantages of FSX though is that you can even move panel items from one screen to the next while you are in full screen mode. that to me is a big improvement over FS9. so just click and drag them, it's as simple as that.regards,

[2009 0]

Tom,as Peter says, undock them, move them over, go to full screen. that would apply to FS9. one of the advantages of FSX though is that you can even move panel items from one screen to the next while you are in full screen mode. that to me is a big improvement over FS9. so just click and drag them, it's as simple as that.regards,

Hi, lets say you have a widesreen monitor for the 2d panel, a 2nd for the additional undocked panels. What would be your setup? I have an NVIDIA GC. What setting would you select? What do you mean by full sreen panel- the setting in the FSX, or is it a setting in properties in WIN XP?When i had 2 monitors connected (no widescreens!), the PMDG loadmanager did not offer widescreen as an option...Thanks!TOM

[eurowing 13]

What do you mean by full sreen panel-

uhm, dunno. did i say that? i said full screen mode which you can switch to by pressing ALT-ENTER. is that what you refer to? do you run FSX in windowed mode? i can not comment on the load manager since i have not tried the widescreen mode yet.

[Guest milesxander]

Hello PMDG MD11 MULTI MONITOR SIMMERS. HAS ANYONE BEEN ABLE TO UNDOCK THE 2D COPILOT MAIN PANEL AND MOVE IT TO THE SECOND MONITOR SO THAT YOU CAN HAVE BOTH CAPTAIN AND COPILOT 2D SCREENS OPEN AT THE SAME TIME. i SEEM TO ONLY BE ABLE TO HAVE ONE 2D MAIN PANEL ( CAPT OR F/O) ON ONE SCREEN AND ANY OR ALL THE OTHER PANELS AND VIEWS( OVERHEAD, PEDESTAL, FMC, SPOT PLANE, VC ETC) ON THE OTHER SGREEN, BUT NOT BOTH SIDES OF THE 2D MAIN COCKPIT AT THE SAME TIME. I USE 2 30 INCH MONITORS. EVERYTHING WORKS AND LOOKS GREAT BUT I WANT TO SEE A FULL 2D PANEL LEFT AND RIGHT SIDE WHICH I KNOW WILL BE AWASOME.

[Guest milesxander]

Tom,as Peter says, undock them, move them over, go to full screen. that would apply to FS9. one of the advantages of FSX though is that you can even move panel items from one screen to the next while you are in full screen mode. that to me is a big improvement over FS9. so just click and drag them, it's as simple as that.regards,