Dual-monitors

[Board of Command]

A friend just gave me his old computer yesterday, a really old one (486), and it came with an old 14" monitor. The computer I will take apart just for the hell of it, but the monitor I kept and set up as the secondary monitor on my computer.

It's running a pretty pitiful resolution (less than 800x600), so the only things it's good for are Photoshop and watching videos. Since the resolution sucks so much, I can play full screen videos on it without losing any quality. Right now, as I'm typing this, I'm watching Destiny, and the quality is awesome! Way better than it looks on my 19".

So why am I writing this thing? Because to those with single-monitor systems, I suggest you go to a garage sale or something and pick up a small $10 monitor and use it to watch videos, or in the case of this forum, anime. You'll be amazed at the quality you get. Of course, this excludes people with All-in-Wonder cards, as those already have a special video chip so you already get superb quality.

[Assertn]

ive been using dual monitor for over 2 years now.......and its seriously hard to go back to single monitor.....it feels so much more crowded now....
dual monitor is nice for anything ranging from media work to writing a research paper (having the word document fullscreen on one monitor and a web browser on another makes me wonder how i dealt with constant minimizing/maximizing in the past) to even spreading out your everyday tools (ie. Use your main monitor for web surfing and the secondary for aim and winamp)

Right now I have a dual monitor setup for my main pc, and a single monitor for my secondary pc.....but once i get the money, i plan to go dual video and will be able to go QUAD MONITOR [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img]

I already have 4 monitors, granted 2 of them are kinda crappy, but one was an old 20in that my dad's business was selling for $10 each and another i found in the campus trash (its a good investment to find out where your university throws out computer hardware. For liability reasons, they usually dont allow their hardware to be given to other people, however if they leave it outside in a big box somewhere, then im sure they cant expect someone to reach in and pull out a few parts [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-wink.gif[/img] I've been able to pick up a 17in CRT and a 60 gig WD drive, among various other things)

[Board of Command]

It's been only a day since I started using dual monitors. It'll take a little while to get used to after using single monitor for so many years. Video quality is the first thing I noticed. I loaded up Destiny this afternoon and the crisp fullscreen image blew me away.

[Assertn]

huh? Video quality isnt something that benefits from dual monitor o_O

is Destiny a game that runs on 2 screens? Those type of games usually arent that great unless you have 3 screens, since otherwise you'll have a gap running right down the middle of your view.

[stos289]

Yeah, dual monitors are pretty great. I actually use my TV as my second monitor for watching videos and anime. Its a pretty easy set-up too, just get an S-Video to S-Video cable and connect it from the TV to the computer. Then get a set of speakers that have a headphone jack connecter and plug it in to your computer and your done. The best part is that I can comfortably lay down on my bed and just watch anime without having to sit on a chair for long periods of time (it starts to get uncomfortable after a while). I suggest dual monitors for all, even if it just for watching videos like I do.

[Board of Command]

Originally posted by: AssertnFailure
huh? Video quality isnt something that benefits from dual monitor o_O

is Destiny a game that runs on 2 screens? Those type of games usually arent that great unless you have 3 screens, since otherwise you'll have a gap running right down the middle of your view.

Only reason video quality is great is because the monitor only supports very low resolutions (less than 8x6). The max resolution is about the resolution of a video file, so when playing fullscreen the video loses no quality. It's more of a benefit of having a small monitor than having dual monitors.

By Destiny I meant watching Seed Destiny

[darkshadow]

lol i can hook up another monitor+ my tv, so that would be a tripple setup [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-happy.gif[/img], and if you really have alot of monitors, just by a splitter, and presto, all get the same output

[kAi]

I use to use my TV as a secondary monitor of sorts, but since that fucked up, I haven't been able to, but it was only used for watching anime, movies, etc.

Need to get another monitor and TV anyway.

[complich8]

Pairing up identical very adjustable lcd's is definitely the way to go, IMO. I've used mismatched monitors, and while it works, you tend to just throw stuff you don't care about and would be better off minimizing onto the second. Not to mention the eyestrain if the monitors are of different quality.

Some apps are really designed for dual monitor, particularly stuff like Macromedia's Flash MX 2004 IDE. There's so many tools and things you've got to keep track of, it's absolutely miserable to try to do so on a single display worth of space. All my flash devs refuse to work on single monitor, ever since they got onto dual. One of them claims it's very nearly impossible, and having seen the tools, I believe her.

Programming on dual-monitor is great too. You can have your IDE/editor of choice open on one display, and have execution windows, api docs, project outlines, etc open on the other window. I see that setup getting used a lot. A lot of the java programmers at work use dual monitors and stick a fullscreened eclipse on one, and (depending on their preferences and needs) either a vnc session to a linux box or just a bunch of random cmd windows and a web browser on the other.

Office workers can have their word docs and pdf files open and running in one window, and keep outlook on top in another window for alerts and reminders and such. I can't think of a single user in my lab who prefers single monitor to dual, given the space to make it work.

But at home, I have a 2001fp. 1600x1200 native resolution, 20 inches of lcd goodness. I got rid of my 19 inch crt for it, and I very much like it better this way than the mismatched dual setup. Partly because it gives me actual desk space, which is freaking nice, I tell ya.

CRT's are on their way out, and for good reason.

[basey44]

Originally posted by: complich8
CRT's are on their way out, and for good reason.

booo. crt's are awesome, the way they take up ur whole desk, the way they hum, and especially the way they are just a simplified small shitty tv type thingy

*crys* wish i had dual lcd's

[darkshadow]

i really dont like lcd's. i REALLY dont, response times suck big time and picture quality is inferior, DOWN with lcd!!!!

[Assertn]

unless you spend alot of money, lcds generally have lower color accuracy than CRTs do.....
and that is very important when you're in the media business.

I prefer to have a CRT+LCD setup, where the CRT is the primary for doing the graphics work, and the LCD holds all the extra tools and such, like for photoshop, or the actionscript window for Flash.

I admit having the same type of screen for both would be ideal, but since i have so many monitors already, a couple hundred bucks could be better spent on other hardware

[Board of Command]

I hate LCDs. The picture quality isn't even close to CRT and you're always prone to get dead pixels, which means automatic RMA. Once I went to this guy's house and he uses a 15" LCD, and reading text off it is just brutal. Yes, they save a lot of space, but the amount of performance you sacrifice is too much for the desk room you gain. If I can fit a CRT on my desk, I'd wouldn't even consider LCD.

[DB_Hunter]

I use three monitors at work and its annoying... one monitor is good for me.

[darkshadow]

crt:
pro:
best image quality availabe, period.
highest refreshrates
ultra low response times (1-3ms)
last longer
price
no dead or empty pixel problems

cons
size
not all viewable ( 17" is mostly 15.5/16" viewable)
geometry errors
power consuming
biggest 1 i know is about 24" (monitor)

lcd:
pro
space saving
power saving
stylish
perfect geometry

cons
inferior image quality ( horseshit on lower res)
high response times (12-30ms)
price
dead and empty pixel probs
fragile [img]i/expressions/face-icon-small-tongue.gif[/img] lol

i would never choose lcd over crt

[Board of Command]

Originally posted by: darkshadow
highest refreshrates

The refresh rates work differently for LCD, so in the end they're about equivalent. LCDs are commonly around 60 Hz, which is about equivalent to CRT 85 Hz. But yes, geometry can be a pain in the ass with some CRTs. My dad got an old CRT from work and the geometry is literally unfixable.

[manx]

Originally posted by: darkshadow
crt:
pro:
best image quality availabe, period.
highest refreshrates
ultra low response times (1-3ms)
last longer
price
no dead or empty pixel problems

cons
size
not all viewable ( 17" is mostly 15.5/16" viewable)
geometry errors
power consuming
biggest 1 i know is about 24" (monitor)

lcd:
pro
space saving
power saving
stylish
perfect geometry

cons
inferior image quality ( horseshit on lower res)
high response times (12-30ms)
price
dead and empty pixel probs
fragile [img][/img] lol

i would never choose lcd over crt

response times on lcd <16ms = 60fps+ which is all you need with vsync on so its irrelevant is most cases aswell, even without vsync its near impossible to notice ghosting on a decent panel. IF not impossible, I've never even seen it on mine.

saying CRT last longer than an lcd is crap too, sorry to say, they last awhile and get shittier all the way, but an LCD maintains perfect geometry, and should last indefinately, as long as you are willing to replace the back lights which should last quite a few years. average length that companies say is 60,000 hours / 24 = 2500 days / 365 = 6.84931507 years of continuous use for an lcd under normal use, some even go as high as 80,000 hours. What CRT do you own that has perfect geometry after ~10 years?

dead pixels isnt really a problem either, just send it back for a replacement, most places have a policy of 3+ dead pixels = replacement. having 1 dead pixel without others is usually uncommon in my experiences.

what about no flicker, higher brightness, no magnetic interference

about the only downfall of lcds is color, and if you plan to work outside the native resolution.

oh ya, hi

[darkshadow]

higher brightness, no flicker?
im sry but my lg monitor has the best brightness on a monitor ive seen today, i havent seen an lcd which matches it
and @100hz flicker is non existent for the human eye, and lcd's dont even have proper blacks, because of their stupid brightness
btw i already said crt's dont have perfect geometry, but my mom still has an old 14" crt, 18 years old, and works perfectly so shut up, i do notice ghosting on 12ms, i dont however at 8ms, but 8 and 12ms are still not standard and are higher priced
also those stupid viewing angles on a lcd, and yes i know the HIGHER priced 1s have a larger angle, but its still there,

im buying a monitor 24"crt widescreen monitor for 800euro which does 1024x768@160hz and has a max reso of 2304 x 1440 (1600x1200@100hz)
tell me what lcd could ever offer me that kind of quality at those resolutions for that price?
lcd's are just stupid overpriced space savers nothing more

[Board of Command]

I don't think using 160hz is good for your eyes. I think, not too sure.

[manx]

Originally posted by: darkshadow
higher brightness, no flicker?
im sry but my lg monitor has the best brightness on a monitor ive seen today, i havent seen an lcd which matches it
and @100hz flicker is non existent for the human eye, and lcd's dont even have proper blacks, because of their stupid brightness
btw i already said crt's dont have perfect geometry, but my mom still has an old 14" crt, 18 years old, and works perfectly so shut up, i do notice ghosting on 12ms, i dont however at 8ms, but 8 and 12ms are still not standard and are higher priced
also those stupid viewing angles on a lcd, and yes i know the HIGHER priced 1s have a larger angle, but its still there,

im buying a monitor 24"crt widescreen monitor for 800euro which does 1024x768@160hz and has a max reso of 2304 x 1440 (1600x1200@100hz)
tell me what lcd could ever offer me that kind of quality at those resolutions for that price?
lcd's are just stupid overpriced space savers nothing more

Its undisputable that LCDs have a higher brightness this is a well know and proven fact.

I highly doubt you notice blurring on 12ms, I would challenge you to watch my LCD which is only 16ms and point out when you see blurring, even playing quake 2 at 400fps I never notice it, I cant even tell you one person that's ever noticed it using my computer. If you do notice it, it must be a subpar panel. I notice tearing a lot whithout vsync, but never blurring.

As for the resolutions I know LCDs that will give you 1600x1200, also ones that will give you 1024x768, and I'm sure you could get bigger ones. They do their job ok outside of native resolution, but like I said if you're that anal about stuff running in 1024, you either do a lot of work with old ass apps that cant go past that, or are blind and cant read icons at 1600.

When you buy an LCD you just have to be careful where the native resolution is. I mean a simple solution is just use everything at 1600, and it will look perfect.