OT - Monitor question

[jkneese]

I figure someone on this forum will have the answer. If not, can you point
me to a more appropriate forum.

My 19-inch CRT monitor is on it's last legs and I plan to replace it with a
24-inch flat panel. I currently use a resolution of 1024 x 768. The native
resolution on the flat panel is 1920 x 1080. This is going to make for
smaller icons, images and text. I have very poor eyesight (20/300) and don't
know if I can stand anything smaller than what I have. So, three questions:

1. Can a flatscreen LCD monitor's native resolution be lowered to get larger
items?
2. If yes, does this in any way damage the monitor?
3. If 1) yes and 2) no, does lowering the resolution cause a decrease in
legibility or image quality?

Thanks very much for any help.
Jay Kneese

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

I figure someone on this forum will have the answer. If not, can you point
me to a more appropriate forum.

My 19-inch CRT monitor is on it's last legs and I plan to replace it with a
24-inch flat panel. I currently use a resolution of 1024 x 768. The native
resolution on the flat panel is 1920 x 1080. This is going to make for
smaller icons, images and text. I have very poor eyesight (20/300) and don't
know if I can stand anything smaller than what I have. So, three questions:

1. Can a flatscreen LCD monitor's native resolution be lowered to get larger
items?

No. You don't have to use the native resolution, but you don't have to
use it. You can use a lower resolution.

2. If yes, does this in any way damage the monitor?

No.


3. If 1) yes and 2) no, does lowering the resolution cause a decrease in
legibility or image quality?

Yes.

Regardless of your eyesight, I recommend using the native resolution,
but making all the things on the desktop or in your applications
larger. For example, here's a Windows standard that works in many (but
not all) applications: hold down the Ctrl key and scroll the mouse
wheel. One way makes everything in that application smaller, the other
way bigger.

 

[Don Phillipson]

I figure someone on this forum will have the answer. If not, can you point
me to a more appropriate forum.

My 19-inch CRT monitor is on it's last legs and I plan to replace it with a
24-inch flat panel. I currently use a resolution of 1024 x 768. The native
resolution on the flat panel is 1920 x 1080. This is going to make for
smaller icons, images and text. I have very poor eyesight (20/300) and don't
know if I can stand anything smaller than what I have. So, three questions:

1. Can a flatscreen LCD monitor's native resolution be lowered to get larger
items?
2. If yes, does this in any way damage the monitor?
3. If 1) yes and 2) no, does lowering the resolution cause a decrease in
legibility or image quality?

Most monitor and video card (adapter) combinations enable together
10 to 20 different screen resolutions, among which the user can
choose. The main practical differece is that 1024 x 768 (my own
preference) is an aspect ratio of 1:1.333 while 1920 x 1080 (letterbox)
is an aspect ratio of 1:1.778: but you can choose either.

Regardless of your eyesight, I recommend using the native resolution,
but making all the things on the desktop or in your applications
larger. For example, here's a Windows standard that works in many (but
not all) applications: hold down the Ctrl key and scroll the mouse
wheel. One way makes everything in that application smaller, the other
way bigger.

This is worth knowing.

 

[Ken Blake, MVP]

Most monitor and video card (adapter) combinations enable together
10 to 20 different screen resolutions, among which the user can
choose. The main practical differece is that 1024 x 768 (my own
preference) is an aspect ratio of 1:1.333 while 1920 x 1080 (letterbox)
is an aspect ratio of 1:1.778: but you can choose either.

Yes, you *can* choose either, but there are two important points:

1. Using a resolution that does not have an aspect ratio that matches
that of the monitor will give you distortion of graphic images.

2. Using any resolution other than the one recommended by the monitor
manufacturer will give you a lower-quality image than you should have.

 

[jkneese]

Thanks for the help!

Jay Kneese