My Quest for a non-widescreen monitor

[Mr Burns]

I am continuing my quest by searching the net for a non-
widescreen (4:3) monitor,. My current widescreen (Asus, 21.5
inch, 1920x1080) has rubbish viewing angles and doesn't display
as nice as other screens I have used, many of them 4:3. The top
of the screen is too dark and the bottom is too bright and
glowy, to the point that it's difficult to read the taskbar.
Objects and text also appear too small for me at the 1080p
resolution at 21.5 inch, I can still read everything but I
prefer a larger size.

Widescreen is rubbish for web browsing, you end up with a
website the width of shopping receipt and the rest is blank
space at the edges, and on many sites such as YouTube and
Wikipedia the text is stretched which makes the lines of text
very loooooooooooooooooooooong and dfficlt to reead. I also
don't like having stuff in my periperhal vision likie you do on
a widescreen monitor, you have to look to the far edges of the
screen to click on start, select slides in powerpoint, close a
window etc.

Please do not suggest putting a widescreen in portrait as I've
already tried that and it feels too tall and narrow, it would
have to be a 4:3 monitor in portrait.

I'm also going to keep my widescreen monitor however just for
widescreen games and movies because that's all it's good for.

The screen has to be at least 19 inches BTW, and preferably at a
PPI between 80 and 95 (1600x1200 @ 20 inch isn't suitable as
it's 100 PPI and text and objects would be at a similar size as
they are on my current widescreen.)

So far I've found these screens on ebay at the following
resolutions:

1280x1024: http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/Monitors-Projectors-Accs-/162497/i.html?_from=R40&_clu=2&_fcid=3&_localstpos=BB8%208LW&_stpos=BB8%208LW&gbr=1&Max%252E%2520Resolution=1280%2520x%25201024&_dcat=80053&Screen%2520Size=19%2522%252D22%252E9%2522&_nkw=monitor&rt=nc&LH_FS=1&_trksid=p2045573.m1684

I've also managed to find two screens that are 20 inch @
1400x1050 resolution.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/sch/i.html?_odkw=monitors&_dcat=80053&Aspect%2520Ratio=4%253A3&_osacat=0&_from=R40&_trksid=p2045573.m570.l1313.TR0.TRC0.H0.X1400x1050+monitor.TRS0&_nkw=1400x1050+monitor&_sacat=0

Please Advise.

 

[gilbadon]

3:4 Ratio's are very outdated. I understand your problems. Each time a new resolution comes out, things appear to get smaller until windows adapts. However, 1080p now can be used with large icons and font. You simply need to adjust the windows settings.

As for the viewing angle, the new monitors do not have that issue. There are multiple LCD types. TN panels being the worst but cheapest often have the worst viewing angles but are actually quite good today (178 degrees). IPS has almost 180 degree viewing angle and better color but they are more expensive.

Another thing that will help you see is a larger monitor. You may think about just using a cheap TV as a monitor. A 32" 720P monitor/TV may be perfect for you.