Widescreen monitors

[3Green 80]

I'm a 2D panel "nut" and I'm not going to get into the 2D or VC debate,,, but...I just bought a new widescreen for FS2004, and have created a custom resolution and I fly in Full screen mode with a 4:3 display. When you create a custom resolution, you end up with two black bars on each side of your 4:3 window on your widescreen when in full screen mode. If you have NVIDIA card, give it a try.Scroll down to the bottom of this thread for a updated procedure on how setup a custom resolution.http://forums1.avsim.net/index.php?showtopic=245280Maybe another option for some, but not many... (us stubborn old 2D guys will never change) LOLRJ

[edetroit 933]

Ed, as a long time admirer of your 2D work I'm surprised at your response to the current state of the industry.Drop by any electronics store and see if they even offer CRTs with 4:3 Ratio. The same is true of Television.The reality is that people want and prefer to use thinline Widescreen Monitors and Television Sets.To ignore or fight against that is a losing proposition. :(

Hello Ron, I have a very nice wide screen state of the art TV, the only 1920x 1080 15.4" laptop I have ever seen. I love them both.But equally for my flightsim I have a 21.5" 1600x1200 LCD. The perfect monitor for me. It's quality enables me to both develop for FS and fly.I tried buy another one but they (Viewsonic) have stopped making it. If I thought widescreen was better for 2D panels I would buy one....IMHO is it is not.I am not fighting against this so-called progress. If I was to buy another one now I would buy the 26" widescreen version which would give me the same height of screen but take up more deskspace. :( So yes I would start making widescreen 2D panels...... would they improve my flightsim experience?Not in any way shape or form. The monitor would simply take up more desk space........................... well there is the PT TU154M engineer's panel....it could be one screen...but that's it. :(But certainly today any freeware/payware panel developer now must make widescreen 2D panels. (way to go Eaglesoft)

[N400QW 205]

Hello Ron, I have a very nice wide screen state of the art TV, the only 1920x 1080 15.4" laptop I have ever seen. I love them both.But equally for my flightsim I have a 21.5" 1600x1200 LCD. The perfect monitor for me. It's quality enables me to both develop for FS and fly.I tried buy another one but they (Viewsonic) have stopped making it. If I thought widescreen was better for 2D panels I would buy one....IMHO is it is not.I am not fighting against this so-called progress. If I was to buy another one now I would buy the 26" widescreen version which would give me the same height of screen but take up more deskspace. :( So yes I would start making widescreen 2D panels...... would they improve my flightsim experience?Not in any way shape or form. The monitor would simply take up more desk space........................... well there is the PT TU154M engineer's panel....it could be one screen...but that's it. :( But certainly today any freeware/payware panel developer now must make widescreen 2D panels. (way to go Eaglesoft)

Sorry Ed, we tried the method posted above with black bars along the sides so came up with our own solution.By the way, we've also made a few 4:3 1600X1200 panels as you have and found them to work pretty well.Fact is, the WS Monitors are here to stay so we all must adapt. :(

[Epikk 62]

Do keep track of that project up to a month or so from now to see what improvements may be made in that area.

Oh YES!!! I will DO for sure! :( ------Oh, and about 2D panel ratios. Things are very simple for me. 1. I didn't buy a WS monitor because I wanted the new thing etc. as Ed suggest... It just happened to be a nice 22" monitor I could afford. 2. I REALLY HATE distorted 4:3 2D panels or black bars3. I won't sell my WS monitor nor buy another (4:3) monitor to fly with one add-on (when the BEST add-ons out there provide WS panels)4. So I DON'T buy from developers living in the past. Plain and simple.WS monitors are here to stay and I really think devs producing add-ons with 2D panels should also provide WS... PMDG, Eaglesoft, Leonardo, DreamFleet, PT and others have been providing them for year now...

[Epikk 62]

And yeah... Two examples of beautiful WS 2D panels. See how 4:3 panels look on my system : UGLY as hell. Maddog 2008PMDG MD-11No way I buy a payware aircraft with only 4:3 panels in 2009 believe me. :(

[Adrian West 6]

Guys, this discussion about the merits and demerits of widescreen and standard monitors, and about wasted space (or not) on widescreen 2D panels is all very interesting, but this thread has gone rather off topic. The fact of the matter is that widescreen monitors are here to stay. Thanks to the couple of guys who answered some of my questions. Yes, my standard 4:3 monitor does still work, but my new system will have a much more powerful graphics card than the old one, and my current monitor will not be able to support the full capabilities of the new card. I want a system that will ultimately be able to run FSX (although I'm not planning on changing from FS9 anytime soon), and whether I like it or not, a new system will come with a widescreen monitor. I have built my own system in the past, but this time I'm going for a pre-built off-the-shelf machine. So, to go back to my original question, if I want to fly the King Air with its widescreen 2D panel without any distortions, do I ideally need to find a 16:10 monitor; and do I need to run FS in 1680 x 1050 resolution (i.e. the resolution that the panel was designed for), or could I run it in different resolutions whilst maintaining the same ratio? And can anybody recommend a decent 20-22 inch 16:10 monitor?Thanks again.

[january 19]

---------. So, to go back to my original question, if I want to fly the King Air with its widescreen 2D panel without any distortions, do I ideally need to find a 16:10 monitor; and do I need to run FS in 1680 x 1050 resolution (i.e. the resolution that the panel was designed for), or could I run it in different resolutions whilst maintaining the same ratio? And can anybody recommend a decent 20-22 inch 16:10 monitor?Thanks again.

Adrian- check my post above in this thread- I don't think you will have any problem displaying a 16:10 image on a 16:9 monitor.I also see no problem in displaying a 4:3 2D panel on any widescreen. Just drag the right edge of the panel to the left until things are round again- then fill in the blank desktop space on the right with popups such CDU, throttle or whatever. Simple. Save the flight and you're good for go next session.Here is a screenie of an experiment to demonstrate this- note the panel pulled to the left. (Using a 4:3 mon to emulate a WS- that's why the black bar at bottom.) The desktop space gained, is used in this example, for EICAS SW Panel, Misc Sw Panel, Lower Eicas display.Using a WS mon improves a 4:3 panel!! I'd say keep making 4:3 panels!Alex ReidPMDG 744- A 4:3 Panel running on a WideScreen format with popups to fill the extra screen width. (Black areas are unused space on triple 4:3 monitors)