Getting a new monitor, confused about ratios/res/etc

[Maniacal]

I currently have a nice LG LCD (1280x1024 native, but that looks too small on the desktop) 1024x768 17" 1400:1 monitor, which I have had for about 3 years. I like it and it works just fine, however it is my 20th birthday in 7 days and I have some extra money from my grandma and I got my tax return ^_^

What I'd like;
- A game of any age* to be playable on it without stretching (preferable if the comp can add bars on the sides).
- I do not mind bars on the sides, but I HATE top and bottom bars, so I would like to keep those to a minimum or none at all.
- Watch the occasional DVD movie/TV show without stupidly large (over an inch, and even then that's pressing my buttons) topnbot bars.
- Under $500 Canadian. Preferably less. On sale is nice too. Anyway to make it cheaper is appreciated.
- Will work with having my 17" as the 2ndary monitor.**

* I know more games now have widescreen support, but that does NOT help if the game is NOT recent!

** I have an 8800GT which can support 2 monitors. I don't really know how to set up two monitors though beyond just plugging them in. Although this is a secondary concern to getting a new monitor.

Suggestions of exact models are appreciated, but I especially want to know what to look for in a good monitor.

EDIT: Okay well I'll probably still end up with topnbot bars for movies, but I rarely watch those anyways so as long as they are small it's okay.

EDIT: Primaraly I order stuff off of www.ncix.com but as long as the shipping isn't much (or none at all, we have a Futureshop, Walmart, Londondrugs and several smaller stores locally), I don't care.

 

[Cutlass]

First of all, if you are watching a movie in the movie's original format, you get top and bottom bars unless you zoom it in and lose the stuff at the edges. Wide screen monitors are the same ratio as high def tvs, and that is not the ratio movies are made in. So you're stuck there. Nothing can be done. So get a wide screen LCD as the best you can do. I think Samsung offers the best bet for reliability, performance, and cost. Sony is sometimes considered the best of the best, but for a lot more money than Samsung. I'm sure others have had good experiences with other brands.

 

[Zelig]

You don't even need a monitor that has scaling options, your video card will do it for you. (Nvidia control panel > Display > Change flat panel scaling > Use NVIDIA scaling with fixed-aspect ratio)

There are both 16:9 and 16:10 widescreen monitors. 16:10 gives you a bit of extra vertical resolution, 16:9 gives you more area for widescreen movies/shows.

Most shows are straight 720p or 1080i, which will display on a 16:9 monitor with no letterboxing (black bars). Most movies are wider aspect ratio, so you'll get some amount of letterbox regardless.

TV LCDs have TV tuners for analog cable, while newer ones have QAM tuners for QAM digital. Although some monitors also have tuners built-in.

I recently purchased an LG W2442PA monitor to run as my secondary monitor. This one has built in (poor quality) speakers, and a 4:3 aspect ratio button, that you can press to "unstretch" 4:3 content that has been stretched across the entire monitor. I'm quite satisfied with it, although it has poor viewing angles typical of TN screens, if you want better viewing angles, you have to move up in price to PVA/MVA or IPS screens.

 

[Maniacal]

A button to get to 4:3 aspect sounds good.

I don't need nor want speakers in the monitor.

How well does the NVIDIA scaling really work?

What are PVA/MVA or IPS?

Also anyone can feel free to add more if they have anything else to say. I want more info!

 

[Zelig]

You don't have to worry about the speakers, you can't see them. (I actually never plugged them in, and am not even sure where they're located.)

The NVIDIA scaling works quite well. I have a 24" Dell as my gaming monitor, which has built-in scaling options, but I use the NVIDIA scaling instead, as some resolutions seem to confuse the monitor. (ie. 1280x800 detects as 1280x1024 input, so if I try to scale it with the monitor, it gets stretched).

This wiki link explains the differences between TN, MVA, PVA and IPS displays. If you're curious about how stuff actually looks, I've got the 24" Dell PVA sitting directly beside the 24" LG TN; I'm able to clone them, and take photos of stuff as comparison.

Also, barring starvation from lack of money, you will not regret getting a 24" monitor instead of a smaller one.

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Why have the 17" as a secondary? Use the 22", you can get a much better vertical resolution ( if you can rotate it, it will better match the vertical resolution of a newer monitor)

Zelig is right, 24" monitors are nice. I personally have a 22" though as that is all that would fit when I bought it. Thinking about maybe upgrading to a 24" and setting this one to the side as a secondary (Cause alt-tabbing from coding sucks)

As for TN, PVA and IPS differences -- make sure they actually matter to you. Some TN's do a pretty good job and if you're not into graphical work, they will be good enough for you. They also cost considerably less for close to ( percieved to you) performance. Now, if you do actually need one or care about their benefits, get one. No reason to cheap out, especially on a 500$ budget.

 

[Maniacal]

Why have the 17" as a secondary? Use the 22", you can get a much better vertical resolution ( if you can rotate it, it will better match the vertical resolution of a newer monitor)

That makes no sense. Why would I use my 17" for my main if I bought a 22" and used it as a secondary?

 

[Genocidicbunny]

Wait, I read it as though you have a 20" primary and a 17" secondary.
This is what happens when I dont get sleep.

Ignore that whole bit of my post.