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Widescreen setup question

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I posted this on the PMDG forum but also thought someone in this forum might be able to help.I want to run PMDG 737 & 747 on my 46" Samsung LCD. At this point, I want to ensure full function of the panels and worry about aesthetics later. PMDG's website indicates the panels should be run in 4:3 aspect ratio to work properly.1) Is it possible to run these panels in 16:9 with full and normal functionality, and if so, 2) how do I make it happen? What issues should I expect to encounter?I have been reading about issues related to gauges not functioning properly in a 16:9 or 16:10 configuration, specifically the buttons on the CDU not corresponding (hit "8" and get a "0"?) All of the posts I have read indicate that the CDU needs to be resized. Does anyone have a detailed explanation on what specific changes should be made? Does anyone run the PMDG panels in 16:9 without any problems?Thanks for any help.

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I posted this on the PMDG forum but also thought someone in this forum might be able to help.I want to run PMDG 737 & 747 on my 46" Samsung LCD. At this point, I want to ensure full function of the panels and worry about aesthetics later. PMDG's website indicates the panels should be run in 4:3 aspect ratio to work properly.1) Is it possible to run these panels in 16:9 with full and normal functionality, and if so, 2) how do I make it happen? What issues should I expect to encounter?I have been reading about issues related to gauges not functioning properly in a 16:9 or 16:10 configuration, specifically the buttons on the CDU not corresponding (hit "8" and get a "0"?) All of the posts I have read indicate that the CDU needs to be resized. Does anyone have a detailed explanation on what specific changes should be made? Does anyone run the PMDG panels in 16:9 without any problems?Thanks for any help.
----------------------------I believe that gauges and particularly the CDU need to be 4:3 proportioned to work properly. That is very simple- just grab an edge with the mouse cursor and drag it back to the 4:3 ratio. You can do this for the whole panel or simply any popup such as the CDU. When you've got everything working nicely, save the flight. Next session that flight will reopen with the new proportions and you can then invoke GO TO etc, to further set up a new/different flight. You do NOT have to resize/reposition more than once initially!Unless you resize to 4:3 everything will look somewhat peculiar- and will likely be incorrectly functional to cursor input.When you drag the whole main panel (right edge) back to the left in resizing, you get some free, unused desktop. What better than to use this to add some popups to the main. Very handy and improves the appearance as well as functionality.Awhile back I did some experimenting to see what might be accomplished- here is what a wide screen could look like: Note the lower EICAS CRT display and SW Panel plus Misc SW Panel popups added on right side of main panel. Or you could add CDU or Throttle panel there if preferred. I think it quite improves functionality AND appearance.(Note the black areas are unused portions of my triple mons for this experiment. My Desktop colur is black with dark gray title bars/green lettering.)Here is an an experiment to see how a very large screen, such as your 46", might be used.In this, I have set up triple views for a wide 135

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Alex, thanks for the tips. The screen shots look pretty cool. I'll give it a try!Justin

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----------------------------Here is an an experiment to see how a very large screen, such as your 46", might be used.In this, I have set up triple views for a wide 135

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Alex,This may be a stupid question, but what three views did you open and combine to make the 135 degree view? I have never gotten the hang of that, either on one or multiple monitors.Thanks!
---------------------Kelly- these views are- Left Fwd, Fwd, Right Fwd. There are 8- 45

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---------------------Hope this encourages you to experiment a bit.Alex ReidPS- the only stupid questions are the ones that didn't get asked!!!
Alex,Thanks for the info. Just added a new widescreen to the mix and wanted to play a bit. Always had trouble with getting the forward left/right views to align to my satisfaction. Didn't think of the obvious solution to wrap the monitors around me... Time to try again!I appreciate your insight!

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Alex,Thanks for the info. Just added a new widescreen to the mix and wanted to play a bit. Always had trouble with getting the forward left/right views to align to my satisfaction. Didn't think of the obvious solution to wrap the monitors around me... Time to try again!I appreciate your insight!
---------------------Kelly- There are some neat adjustments in FS9 Panel Config to fully align and synch multiple views. With these settings you can set/reduce height of the secondary views to allow space below for popups- and still maintain horizon alignment- or have full screen view height as you wish. You can adjust view angle of the outer views to take into account the exact width of the bezels that separate the monitors. And you can twist the outer views to achieve a horizon that is straight and horizontal across all 3 mons.When you get these settings right, your eyes really see just a single very wide image- just like we do naturally in real life. (Unless we squint- that's what single monitor FS really simulates with its unrealistic 45

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Again, hope these notes encourage experimentation- and perhaps some discoveries you can share! Happy to answer questions.Alex Reid
Alex,Thanks for the further suggestions. The lack of a continuous horizon is one of the reasons that I have never quite gotten where I wanted to be. Seems we are up against some FS limitations on that one.On another note, your reorganization of cockpit panels and windows got me thinking on how to better take advantage of screen real estate. Made some changes to the PMDG 747 layout to my liking, but was disappointed to realize that even if you save the flight, any change in aircraft would revert it back. Since I didn't really want to have saved flights for each and every engine and paint variation, I was inspired to play with the panel.cfg to see if I could make those changes universal for that aircraft. After a few hours of trial and error (and some help from the MS Panels SDK), made changes using the "window_pos" and "window_size" parameters and now have a widescreen layout that loads everytime. Now I'm considering going back and working on the 737NG too! (PMDG MD-11 already has native support, and the good old LDS 767 has a mod already done.)Exciting to take advantage of the widescreen! Next steps are to follow your suggestions and start putting the multiple monitors to better use (rather than just keeping the FMC/MCDU...)Thanks again!

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