Widescreen Gaming Forum

Another conversation/debate topic :P I am just full of them right now.

Im currently trying to stack up how a single very large display like what I have now (Westinghouse LVM37-W3) stacks up against the normal triple wide setup.

I have seen people argue in favor of both setups, but I do not think any of those people have had both to really fairly compare. So there were a couple of us with the 37" Westy, maybe one of us has moved onto triple wide and give there opinion?


Off the top of my head.

Single Large Display
Pros:
> Less Hardware Demand
> More Vertical Size/Res
> Better for any non TH2GO supported things
> Better for Movies
> Less Cost (Both on the monitor & the hardware)
> More inputs in my case since its a HDTV it works with my consoles
> No Bezels

Cons:
> Less total pixels (think desktop, video editing, photoshop)
> Probably less immersive but this I do not know for sure as my entire perifial vision is taken currently by sitting about 4' away from the 37"

Triple Wide Display
Pros:
> Increased FOV in games that support it
> Probably more immersive
> More pixels
> Loss of a single monitor is less damage than loss of a single large display

Cons:
> Cost
> Desk Space Demand
> Compatibility with games & setting it up
> Hardware Demand
> Bezel between screens


My list seems to be in favor of the single larger display but I only have a once sided opinion, and thus take it with a grain of salt.

Also most important of all is the use of the screen. For me currently a single large display is much better because its my everything screen. My Wii is hooked up to it, my Cable is hooked up to it, and it sits right next to my bed. So it does double duty as my computer monitor & TV.

Later in life I would probably use my HTPC as the everything computer hooked to the big screen and then have my own computer room for the big rig. For this setup I would have to buy a new monitor and thats when this discussion comes into play. I could buy another ultra big display or then go triple wide. I wont be watching movies anymore on that setup probably or playing console games on it and thus the playing field goes back to even.

Actually, as far as the resolution (IMHO this is the only true measure of screen space) is concerned a TH2G setup is about the same as a 30" monitor. On that basis it's still better cost wise.

With the hassles I've had with my 6 screen setup there are days I wish I'd just bought a 30". - Still - when the TH2G setup works it's great . 8)

Here is the evolution of my gaming rig display setup

~2006 1 17" Samsung 172X
Later that year 3 Samsung 17" + analog TH2G
~2008 Switched to 1 24" Samsung 245BW
May added a second 245BW
August added the 3rd
December added 4th
Currently back to 3 245BW

:lol:

Also have the 3 720p projector setup in the works too, but that a whole other can o' worms.

Yes thats actually a can of worms I was talking about opening too, a 3x projector setup.

Thats a different thing all together though. Plan was to use 720p projectors so pixel wise not a lot there.

Hoping by the time I do that if ever that ultra short throw 1080p projectors are cheap.

Yes thats actually a can of worms I was talking about opening too, a 3x projector setup.

Thats a different thing all together though. Plan was to use 720p projectors so pixel wise not a lot there.

Hoping by the time I do that if ever that ultra short throw 1080p projectors are cheap.

I currently use one of my 720p projectors for wall size throw. If you concentrate on it, the screen door effect is apparent, but with fluid action you're not exactly concentrating on any of that. It gets tuned out and you never realize it's there. Sorta like tuning out triplehead bezels over time. Honestly, I don't think many people would even realize the screen door issue unless you told them about it.

How about this:

Keep your fabulous Westy hooked up to your computer, and add a triplehead setup to it. Use the Westy for stuff that TH isn't good for like movies and games that don't support triplehead. But use the TH for things that you would rather use on TH.

Especially in the case of video editing, you could put the preview window on the Westy!

I've been wanting to do this for a while; I still have a free port on the main video card.

So 3 + 1 monitor? or use the Westy as the center monitor?

I would never do a triple wide setup without 3 identical size monitors personally.

I would need one heck of a desk to hold the Westy & 3 monitors :P

I see the idea is to have both, but it wont work for me. My computer right now is stuffed in the corner of my room on a little desk. There is so little room in here that I use my bed as my computer chair (works out nice, I can lay down and play lol) and the wife uses the computer too and loves the big screen. Also makes stuff so much easier to read.

Its going to be very awkward moving to a smaller more dense screen for awhile when I do make the change.

The wife already told me my monitor has to become the main TV in our house when we move... so I am going to have to get something new for the computer one way or another when that time comes.

I just need to decide if I want to stay with what I have now or move onto triple wide.

Single normal monitor is not an option :P once you go big you cant go back.

I had asked this opinion before I bought my three displays to use instead of my 30"

I was worried about not having the vertical resolution that I get on the 30".

For racing games I would say it is an improvement. I use 3x24" monitors though so I would guess some of this depends on what your 3x displays would be. I probably wouldnt be so impressed by 3x20".

For IL2 flight simming I think I would prefer the single large screen with track ir. Triple wide just doesnt seem to perform so well when you are panning both vertically and horizontally with trackir. I consider trackir a must with flight sims but not so much with racing and th2go.

I fixed up the desk space issue so it can be done with money or tools.

Not sure about more inputs for a single screen being a pro. I now have 3xcomponent, 3x hdmi and 3x dsub so I could use my left monitor for a ps3/xbox by just changing the input selector on one monitor and selecting a resolution on the computer to span the other two.

I consider a 30" still a normal monitor.

When I say big I mean 37"+ or so where it can take up your entire view like a triple wide does when your infront of it.

Of course the 30" monitors have a much higher res than my HDLCD, but that only matters for realestate matters like photoshop. Infact I have become accustom to the pixel density of the larger display and find it to be an advantage because I can see what I am doing in photoshop at the pixel level easier.

I have no screen door effect so the only really bad thing about lower res on a big screen is when it gets so big that you can pick out individual pixels or see that screen door effect. I do not have this so its just right. However moving about 8" closer to the screen and I can start to see this.

Surround Gaming as they call it is 2 part, One part vision, taking up your entire field of view with a screen.

The second part is the FOV increase.

I guess if you try to logically break down my comparison to the component level, they are equal in the vision part nearly, but you do not have the FOV increase aspect. So it becomes a question of just how important is that 2nd part?

I guess that question depends on the game mostly.

I went from a 42" WEsty 1080p to a 3x24" triplehead setup a few months ago

here's my input:

go with the Westy if:
- want alot of hookkups for like consoles/dvd players etc..
- u watch alot of movies
- don't have that much money
- don't have as fast hardware
- do alot of entertainment stuff

go with triplehead if:
- play alot of FPS, Driving,Flying type 3D games.
- do alot of productivity stuff/work
- are prepare to put in $$$ for the entrance fee to the juicy, immersive, awesome world of triplehead gaming.

in your case it seems u are better off sticking to your westy. since u want console hookups and movies.

Well, if I were to have both on my setup it would be like this

Please excuse my text, I have no tablet.

+1 for the awesome .jpg lol.

Yeah that could work, my concern would be if you tried to use the big HDLCD from the desk area you would have to look up too much causing a neck pain or just being odd to look up instead of forward.

Right now with it just sitting on the desk you have to look up to see the top of the screen pretty much. I mean its big. If I raised it up even 17" to be over the top of a small monitor it would be too high.

It would make for some killer "post your setup" thread pictures though!

If I was really going to do it I would just have a big half circle desk and have the big one on one side and the tripple on the other side and probably get a wireless keyboard/mouse and move them as needed.

But ultimately I would just use one or the other and learn to be happy with my choice. So thats why I am debating the odds & ends to help make that choice.

I am strongly passionate about the 3x projector setup because then I get both, but thats a very extreme setup and maybe a bit more than I bargained for if not setup right as you wont even see the side screens lol.

You know a good compromise would be a setup like what you have there but do this.

Have your 3x monitor setup, and instead of the big HDTV get a 1080P projector and just have a pull down screen mounted above and slightly infront of the monitors. Ceiling mount the projector and just pull down the screen and use the projector when you need some giant single screen in your face action.

With computers being used for more and more applications (games, movies, work, school, etc...) it is very hard to find a single solution. It comes down to personal preference and pocketbook. I have 2 projectors and toyed with the idea of getting 1 more for a TH2G projector setup for flight simming. When I started testing and saw the "screen door", I knew I needed higher resolution. Cost-wise, 19" monitors with TH2G gave a much clearer image and took alot less space vs projectors. I think it is even probably more immersive. I know your talking about large monitors and that would be the way I would go if I could afford 3 of them on TH2G. A single large monitor IMO, does not give the wrap-around effect that a TH2G setup provides, but if your not playing FPS, or sims then the single large is probably better. It's just what you're going to be using it for. I would probably never watch a movie at my computer regardless of TH2G or not, and could never go back to a single monitor setup after playing CS and FSX on TH2G.

Well, if I were to have both on my setup it would be like this

Please excuse my text, I have no tablet.

That basically is how I've ran my setup before, but instead of the large LCD TV over the triplhead I use a 720p projector. It works great imho. I was gaming on the triplehead and would be watching HDTV overhead from my cable box and other inputs. At the moment I have the projector mounted long throw on another wall in the room full wall size though instead of just over the desk. Both ways are great. I like the wall sized projection lately though. I don't think I've kept any of my old photos of that layout, but I have posted them to old threads on other forums about a year back. I can go dig around for a few pics I guess.

EDIT: Ah hah! I knew I had a thread someplace on it triplehead 17" waaaay back in January 2007:


Thread: http://www.widescreengamingforum.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=80001&highlight=#80001

I'm in a similar situation as you Vicious with a BenQ 37" 1080p LCD TV for a monitor ~ arms lenght from eyeball to screen.

My wife loves the TV (VGA input from her computer) to review digital photos, and like you, this TV is in our bedroom, foot of the bed so we can watch movies together all snug as a bug in a rug. :)

Our living room TV, old but good Sony 32" CRT, plays hosts mainly to guest nowadays.

Movies on my computer.

I was going to triple screen after thinking about passing the 37" to the wife, but for now, I'm holding out for QuadHD for the living room.

When that happens, I'm going balls out with a new computer to support it. QHD - 3840 x 2040 ~ 2x TH stacked on top of each other - would be more than good enough in a few years.

No bezels and hopefully, better display technology by then.

I play almost FPS exclusively , and arms lenght is pretty immersive so the 37 works for me. For driving, racing or flight sims, TH2G is definately superior.

Yeah the sims really do better with that added FOV, making it more like what you would see in real life out of your side vision.

But I like you play mostly FPS, and a few other titles that wont work well with TH. The 37" is a pleasure to work with in editing despite the fact the raw pixel count is lower, it just makes it easy on the eyes.

Mines actually at the side of the bed (my side) so I just turn over and sit on the edge of the bed, slide out the keyboard tray and I am in computer mode :P

Its looking like a few people had the same idea or already used the idea of a projector in conjunction with a TH2Go setup and that will probably be what I do.

Give the 37" to the living area, build my TH2Go setup and then integrate some kind of screen and a HD projector.

Though I wonder how good a HD projector is at the things the 37" is good for when it comes to detailed matters like photoshop, probably not too good and may be hard on the eyes sitting next to the screen area. So it will probably be downgraded to single screen game & movie work only.

Actually, I should take that back about waiting for QHD.

If I can find a way to REMOVE the bezel from 3 LCDs and make it near seamless, then I would probably jump all over TH2G right away.

Someone was working on such a project here last year, but the updates stopped so....

Its been done also there are ones that already have it gone likj the one Alienware has.

Not all QHD displays have thin bezels and they cost as of now $10,000 for the low end ones and $50,000 for the high end ones. They are targeted for stuff like medical work, and other things that can benefit from the really high resolution.

Of course an easy way to have no bezel is also projectors.

Let me see if I can track down that too expensive alienware monitor for you, its still tons cheaper than a QHD display.

http://www.engadget.com/2008/01/07/alienware-curved-display-rocks-crysis-at-2880-x-900/

Here is a NEC version:

http://www.bornrich.org/entry/nec-s-2880-x-900-curved-gaming-display-mimics-alienware/

I guess its only double wide? but you also will not need a Matrox TH2Go

Not sure if you can really find them for purchase easy, but it shows that its out there somewhere.

And then there is the guy who actually hacked off the monitor casing to reduce his bezel size. The thread is in here somewhere, long since lost amongst a sea of other threads. Basically he found that you can reduce the bezel size by a few millimeters but they will still be there.

I'd simply suggest waiting till OLED technology goes mainstream. Then you'll have a true curved display.