1. This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you are agreeing to our use of cookies. Learn More.

Displays Curved Monitors for Productivity

Discussion in 'Hardware' started by Gareth Halfacree, 31 Jul 2019.

  1. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,090
    Likes Received:
    6,639
    I'm not in the market for a new monitor right now, but assuming I saved up my pennies it might be nice to replace this old Philips with a broken power button.

    I like the idea of a curved monitor for the purposes of glare reduction - though, to be fair, my current matte-finish display is pretty good at that - but how the chuff do you use it for anything other than gaming? If I draw a straight line, it'll appear curved - does that not confuse?

    Interested to hear from anyone who uses a curved display for purposes other than entertainment, please and thank you!
     
    Arboreal likes this.
  2. 13eightyfour

    13eightyfour Formerly Titanium Angel

    Joined:
    9 Sep 2003
    Posts:
    3,454
    Likes Received:
    142
    I have a 34" curved LG in my office and alongside the MS office suite, I mainly use GIMP for image editing and CorelDraw for my laser files. When I first got the monitor it felt a little 'weird' but once I'd adjusted to it, it just feels normal. Staring at it now, straight horizontal lines do appear to have a curve but I don't notice at all when working.
     
    Gareth Halfacree likes this.
  3. suenstar

    suenstar Collector of Things

    Joined:
    13 Sep 2009
    Posts:
    2,521
    Likes Received:
    190
    I do a fair bit of drawing on my curved 34" screen, I also play a lot of online D&D where I'm drawing grids which tend to result in a lot of visible lines being on the screen. At first I did notice the lines weren't 100% straight, but largely the curve doesn't really cause that much issue with how I see the grids these days... the bit that really throws me through a loop is when I have my images stretched across both my curved screen and my flat one next to it, sometimes the transition of the lines between the two screens makes my eyes strain a bit.

    Unless you're purposefully staring at the lines to see if they're straight, your eyes should adjust enough to the screen for it to not be overly noticeable after a period of usage.
     
    Gareth Halfacree likes this.
  4. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

    Joined:
    14 Jan 2009
    Posts:
    3,909
    Likes Received:
    591
    Only if you don't have the screen tilted at yer face. When its facing you straight lines appear straight even if you're not at the geometric centre of curvature.

    Whether lines look curved is more psychovisual then hardware. A flat monitor of the same size and aspect ratio will have lines that 'look' curved as the edges will be further from you than the centre, but if you've just been looking at large flat objects with straight lines on (e.g. a wall) they'll look straight. Your visual system lies to you all the time in subtle ways. There are a billion and one different curved-to-flat projection coord systems and pretty much all can look flat or distorted depending on what exactly you are looking at at the time.
     
  5. sandys

    sandys Multimodder

    Joined:
    26 Mar 2006
    Posts:
    4,919
    Likes Received:
    725
    I do CAD on a curved 43 and curved 38, the larger the screen the less you notice the curve, it just looks flat, in fact when I first had a 40odd flat monitor it felt as though it curved backwards towards the wall behind itself which was a bit weird until I adjusted to it, I guess this happens because of the curve of the eye.

    But yeh, straight stuff is still straight.
     
    Gareth Halfacree likes this.
  6. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,090
    Likes Received:
    6,639
    Y'see, I wouldn't want anything too massive - my current display's a... 24"? 23"? 24", according to the email I just pulled up from 2011. (Blimey, 2011?) I'd maybe go up to... 27"? No larger, though, I don't reckon.
     
  7. sandys

    sandys Multimodder

    Joined:
    26 Mar 2006
    Posts:
    4,919
    Likes Received:
    725
    Can't imagine what the benefit of curved would be at that size, go bigger, hardly worth upgrading to a 27, with respect to reflections hard for me to comment my screens in general are positioned away from windows but my 43 is glossy and not great for general reflection, I can see office door etc, the 3818 has Dells matte AG coating and have no issue next to window except for full sun but then it's in my face and more of a problem for me than the screen which is no bother.
     
  8. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,090
    Likes Received:
    6,639
    I don't want to go bigger.
    Yeah, I wouldn't buy a glossy monitor. I learnt that lesson with the MacBook Air. Bloody useless in daylight, that thing. Go matte or go home, basically.
     
  9. sandys

    sandys Multimodder

    Joined:
    26 Mar 2006
    Posts:
    4,919
    Likes Received:
    725
    3818 is not too big, should fit on most desks though to me 3840x1600 feels a little limiting in y after full 4k for my software suite but it's a nice compact alternative to having dual screens.
     
  10. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,090
    Likes Received:
    6,639
    It's *way* too big, and also £1,200. That's a big nope from me.

    I was thinking more along the lines of this £250 Samsung.
     
  11. GeorgeStorm

    GeorgeStorm Aggressive PC Builder

    Joined:
    16 Dec 2008
    Posts:
    7,000
    Likes Received:
    548
    How comes you're thinking of a curved monitor at 27"?
     
  12. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,090
    Likes Received:
    6,639
    Literally no other reason. Of a morning, there's a bright patch of sunlight at the upper-left of my current screen. It's not terrible, 'cos it's anti-glare, but it's there. As I understand physics, a curved screen would reduce that patch to a thin stripe.
     
  13. GeorgeStorm

    GeorgeStorm Aggressive PC Builder

    Joined:
    16 Dec 2008
    Posts:
    7,000
    Likes Received:
    548
    Haha fair :D
     
  14. Sentinel-R1

    Sentinel-R1 Chaircrew

    Joined:
    13 Oct 2010
    Posts:
    2,379
    Likes Received:
    404
    Wouldn't a monitor shroud then be a better solution and for <£30?
     
  15. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,090
    Likes Received:
    6,639
    The light is coming from directly over my shoulder, so unless the shroud includes a fabric hood I can pop over my bonce-like... No.

    To clarify: I'm not thinking of upgrading my monitor just to reduce the glare. I'm thinking of upgrading my monitor 'cos my current monitor is eight years old, 1920x1200, 60Hz, has one of each of VGA and DVI-D inputs, and has a busted power button I "temporarily" repaired with Blu-tack about four years ago. I'm just thinking 'ere of whether its replacement should be curved or not.
     
    Sentinel-R1 likes this.
  16. Osgeld

    Osgeld Minimodder

    Joined:
    9 Jul 2019
    Posts:
    319
    Likes Received:
    100
    Hdmi to dvi adpaters / cables work fine you just loose audio and encryption so your bluray player might not like it
     
  17. The_Crapman

    The_Crapman World's worst stuntman. Lover of bit-tech

    Joined:
    5 Dec 2011
    Posts:
    7,654
    Likes Received:
    3,910
    "The audio can be carried over DVI to HDMI cable depending on the graphics card. For newer GPUs, you just need to set the HDMI audio device in the Windows Sound control panel."
     
  18. Osgeld

    Osgeld Minimodder

    Joined:
    9 Jul 2019
    Posts:
    319
    Likes Received:
    100
    Ya but almost no do monitor is going to do anything with it

    My point was if one of the main reasons is connectivity to newer graphics cards just buy a 5$ passive cable and be done
     
  19. Gareth Halfacree

    Gareth Halfacree WIIGII! Lover of bit-tech Administrator Super Moderator Moderator

    Joined:
    4 Dec 2007
    Posts:
    17,090
    Likes Received:
    6,639
    I can't speak for anyone else, but I'd like a spare HDMI input on my monitor. As it stands, the single digital input is used for my desktop and if I want to hook anything else into it - like a device I'm testing, for example - I have to faff around with digital-to-analogue converters that never work properly. Give me a spare HDMI, and life becomes so much easier.

    (Though, these days, I just use an HDMI capture card and display the device in a window on my desktop instead...)
     
  20. edzieba

    edzieba Virtual Realist

    Joined:
    14 Jan 2009
    Posts:
    3,909
    Likes Received:
    591
    spolsh, MLyons and Osgeld like this.

Share This Page