Widescreen Monitor vs 4:3 - The Transition

[CRTGAMER]

Thanks for the responses. I'm glad I stuck with 4:3 when I moved up to a HD CRT. The 4:3 screen became even more critical for all the Arcade Compilations, games that have a taller then width image such as Pacman and various vertical Shmups.

Imagine this 4:3 image on a widescreen.

[AppleQueso]

Thanks for the responses. I'm glad I stuck with 4:3 when I moved up to a HD CRT. The 4:3 screen became even more critical for all the Arcade Compilations, games that have a taller then width image such as Pacman and various vertical Shmups.

Sorry, but I don't see exactly why 4:3 is 'critical' for pillarboxing shmups.

[CRTGAMER]

Thanks for the responses. I'm glad I stuck with 4:3 when I moved up to a HD CRT. The 4:3 screen became even more critical for all the Arcade Compilations, games that have a taller then width image such as Pacman and various vertical Shmups.

Sorry, but I don't see exactly why 4:3 is 'critical' for pillarboxing shmups.

It is just another point to consider when making a Monitor or HD purchase. On a widescreen, the pillars would take up more screen estate, resulting in an even smaller unstretched image. Again a personal choice and preference, taking into account the compromise of various types of game and movie screen layouts.

Some widescreen computer monitors actually rotate 90 degrees to accommodate data base applications. The side benefit is with emulators such as Mame that can rotate the arcade games with the monitor. The ideal HD would also incorporate the rotation for "vertical" Arcade games.

[AppleQueso]

Sorry, but I don't see exactly why 4:3 is 'critical' for pillarboxing shmups.

Its just another point to consider when making a Monitor or HD purchase. On a widescreen, the pillars would take up more screen estate, resulting in an even smaller unstretched image. Again a personal choice and preference, taking into account the compromise of various types of game and movie screen layouts.

Some widescreen computer monitors actually rotate 90 degrees to accommodate data base applications. The side benefit is with emulators such as Mame that can rotate the arcade games with the monitor. The ideal HD would also incorporate the rotation for "vertical" Arcade games.

If your widescreen tv is large enough to give you a satisfyingly-sized 4:3 image, it should be large enough for a satisfying 3:4 image as well. It's pillarboxing regardless, so yeah no real difference for me.

[jeffro11]

Stretching is... awful. Pillarboxing looks fine. As does the occasional letterboxing. If your black bars are taking up too much "real estate" don't cheap out on the size of TV next time.

But seriously, stretching an anamorphic image to a 4:3 ratio looks TERRIBLE. Any image stretched, skewed, or otherwise not in the format it was intended looks like shit. You cannot argue this point.

[RyaNtheSlayA]

Stretching is... awful. Pillarboxing looks fine. As does the occasional letterboxing. If your black bars are taking up too much "real estate" don't cheap out on the size of TV next time.

But seriously, stretching an anamorphic image to a 4:3 ratio looks TERRIBLE. Any image stretched, skewed, or otherwise not in the format it was intended looks like shit. You cannot argue this point.

Actually you can, because it's subjective.

Just because you think it looks like shit doesn't mean everybody does.

[jeffro11]

It's unnatural and our brains think something is wrong. It's like being at the movie theatre too close to the screen. It hurts.

[AppleQueso]

It's unnatural and our brains think something is wrong. It's like being at the movie theatre too close to the screen. It hurts.

That's because something is wrong: the image is stretched.

[fastbilly1]

I just bought a projector to cancel all this out. Sure I have pillarboxing on my shooters, but when the play screen is already four feet across, it doesnt really matter. And no, I am not going for a worldwide highscore, just a friendly one.

My personal belief is if you want a tv bigger than 32 inches, buy a projector. And now with LED and CRT projectors dropping in price, it can be more cost effective in the long run.

[Ivo]

It really bothers me when I see a stretched image.

I can not understand how someone prefers that over black bars. Most sets (particularly on TVs, but most flat monitors as well) have black frames around the image anyway (you know, just outside the screen). At least people look normal.

It is particularly terrible in stuff like news shows, where the anchor has been there for years and some people still appear to not be bothered that the faces are squashed.

I once changed the image on a tv set to have bars (incorrectly assuming that anyone would have it stretched because they don't know how to change the factory default or something) and the person didn't like the bars. I dutifully changed it back as even if I don't understand it, I respect it. But I can not understand the logic.

I think it is just to fill out the screen? Wow. Sorry it does not make sense to me.

As I say, outside the actual image there is other stuff anyway (often a black frame which must look pretty fashionable as pretty much every tv set has a black frame), so with black bars there is something outside the actual image as well, it just happens to be still inside the screen.

Ivo.