Posted: 7/28/2006 12:01:57 PM EDT
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A few weeks ago I asked about an LCD for my aunt. She needs large type and images, and just changing the fonts in the Microsoft Windows control panel isn't enough, she sets the resolution down to 800x600 on her regular 17" monitor and would want to do the same on a 19" LCD. So, I'm seeing these "widescreen" LCDs advertised like this one: Viewsonic VA1912WB www.newegg.com/Product/Product.asp?Item=N82E16824116373 Will this display a 960x600 image (to keep the aspect ratio consistent)? Or will it display an 800x600 image and screw up the aspetc ratio? Or does this depend on her computer's video card? I think the card (or Windows) gets the allowed resolution settings from the monitor, because I've tested her computer with my LCD monitor and with her current CRT, and Windows shows different lists of available resolutions depending on which monitor is plugged in. |
I have that monitor too! Great deal! I'm currently running 1440X900 I'm sure you could scale it down |
| When LCDs are not run at their native resolution, they will not look as good as a CRT! So if your monitor has a native resolution of 1280x768, run at that. If you "downscale" to 800x600, it will look like crap. Heavily pixelated. It is like buying a HDTV and playing a VCR on it. |
| LCDs are usually not the best choice for people with poor eyesight... other than just the native resolution issues with LCDs they are no where near as bright as a CTR. People with poor eyesight usual need more light to see as well as they can and a LCD is just not as bright as a CRT. |
There is only one way I have found to work around the 'Native Resolution' issue with LCDs for those who need bigger text. If you have an LCD with a Native Resolution of, say 1440x900, you can (provided it is a capable resolution for your Card and the Monitor) run at 720x450. This is half resolution in both axes. What that means is that where before it would light up a single pixel, it will now light up a square of 4 pixels in the LCD to make up one of the display pixels. This avoids most (not all) of the funkyness that happens when you run an LCD at anything other than Native Resolution. This will increase the apparent size of items by more than double, which usually takes care of usability and accessibility concerns. Combined with large font choices I have found it to fix most issues. You have to do a LOT of research on supported video modes on the LCD and the Video Card beforehand to make sure this will work with any particular proposed setup. CRTs are still much easier for this purpose. Futuristic |