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Talk me out of a widescreen monitor

and ps - if you want to have a little more screen real estate then even you have now...albeit at the expense of tinier fonts...get switchResX and then you can add some custom resolutions that are a little bit higher then what Apple provides as the biggest resolution...without going all the way to full native.
 
I tried an ultra wide and did not like it. I mean, how many measures wide in your track are you working on in one pass? It’s much better to have that vertical space, as others have said, for less scrolling through the different instruments.

I have 2 27” and my dream setup would probably be 2 or 3 32” monitors.
 
.... maybe 'last' repetitive post on similar threads ..... :sleep: (2) Desktop PC DAW(s) both with dual monitors. Could never, ever go back to single monitor of any config.
Also run 3rd PC to 55" 4K display. experimented with Reaper and quickly bailed. Just me, and no way applies to any others.
(1) DAW - Dual 1920 x 1200 _ 24" / (1) DAW - Dual 1920 x 1280 _ 27". Either seems fine and use both daily.
 
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except it just occurred to me that you might even see a different system preferences then that one, there is more user friendly version...and that version definitely hides all the available resolutions from you, including full native. mine might look like this because I'm using SwitchResX, I can't remember now. Anyway google around you can find out how to get it to full native resolution, but seriously...you're not using it now.

I believe you hold the option key in MacOS display preferences to access all the possible resolutions, including the full 5K on an iMac.
 
yea here's a good description:


anyway the "more space" option at 3200x1800 is probably about as tiny as anyone would want to go on a 27" monitor IMHO. I can sometimes run my 32" at that resolution but generally prefer it closer to 3000xn
 
I tried an ultra wide and did not like it. I mean, how many measures wide in your track are you working on in one pass? It’s much better to have that vertical space, as others have said, for less scrolling through the different instruments.
The ultra wide setup lets you have the DAW (unmaximized) at roughly 2560x1440 with enough space for the plugin to always be open next to it (not everyone's workflow, but it is mine). I definitely agree that two monitors is better than one widescreen if you have the space though, but I'd take one 32" 3440x1440 over 2 24" 1920x1080, and 2 27" 2560x1440 won't fit in the space.

One thing to keep in mind with very tall displays (e.g. using a 4k TV as a primary monitor) is that they can be pretty bad for ergonomics: you should not be looking up very much, and that often puts a limit on how much vertical space you should have.
 
the nice thing about having a monitor with 140+ hardware PPI is that you have options to change the scaling at any moment depending on what you're doing.
 
Yea I don't like having only two monitors because then you're always looking to one side or the other, never straight ahead...bleh..I hate that. I do have one monitor to the side for stuff that doesn't need to be in front of me. Having three would be awesome with enough real estate, but also...if you want to run HiDPI with 3 larger monitors...then it will start to require a bigger GPU and resources to drive it.

I agree also about if the monitor is too tall, it hurts my neck much more then turning side to side...and I am going to take my next monitor even further and mount it on an arm as low as possible and even tilted back so that I kind of look down at it. I don't want it too tall for sure! But I don't think I like the 32:9 ultra-ultra-wide either because its just too much side to side..would rather have a separate monitor at that point. 21:9 in front of me though...that is the sweet spot...and I also love to put all kinds of other windows to the side of DAW window...

But also I feel like Nick was saying that I would rather have something on the wall behind my main monitor that is lower resolution but big and so I want a primary display that is not too high so that I can mount that one on the wall a bit lower and look right over the top of the primary display to see it. Honestly, one of those paired with my 16:9 32" would probably be fine, but someday...I still want 21:9 for my primary...
 
except it just occurred to me that you might even see a different system preferences then that one, there is more user friendly version...and that version definitely hides all the available resolutions from you, including full native. mine might look like this because I'm using SwitchResX, I can't remember now. Anyway google around you can find out how to get it to full native resolution, but seriously...you're not using it now.

Yes, I’m on a new OS with the reduced settings. From a google it seems the highest setting it displays by default is 3200x1800. Which would by 136ppi, and makes more sense with what you said.

If I didn’t need the logic real estate I would scale it more because it looks nicer and is easier to read, but it’s still usable as it is.
 
Plus 3200x1800 on an Apple 27" 5k monitor will look better then 3200x1800 on a 32" 4k monitor, even though the fonts will be tinier. I'm sure I would use 3200x1800 a lot more often on my 32" if it were a 5k one.
 
I find those wide monitors unsuitable.
Better get a proper 43" monitor (or two+ of them). Why? Because those wide models cheat you out of the vertical resolution which is vital to display a good amount of tracks in a DAW. With 4K that's 2160 pixels that you will want. And you will never want to go back from there again.
 
Wow I learned so much! I guess the answer is to buy TWO of the monitors in my OP and mount them on top of each other!

j/k! :elephant::rofl:
 
In case it helps. When I was on my old Mac DAW I was using an old Cinema display for many years. Now I am on a Dell windows DAW using a larger Dell business display. It's much worse. The old Cinema display was much better quality and easier on the eyes and eye strain. Who knows. Maybe I just have a cheap monitor and need to invest in a gaming grade monitor. I keep interrogating my son who is a gaming expert on this stuff.
 
Gaming is not necessarily the type of monitor you want. They are focused on fast frame rates over perfect sharpness, clarity and color. They also are focused on super wide and they dont care at all about hidpi. I would not reccomend a gamer focused monitor unless you are actually a gamer. If you’re willing to spend money get one that is making video editors and those involved with other visual arts such as photography or graphical design happy. They care a lot more about sharpness and color saturation, and these kinds of factors make a display much easier to spend lots of hours on. Some business displays have those attributes and some are meant to be inexpensive and just good enough barely for reading email.
 
Would be a splurge purchase. Samsung LS34J552 from Costco
You know how if you stare at your nose too long, you can go permanently cross-eyed? Wide screen monitors do the same thing when you try to watch both sides at the same time. It’s rather painful and a costly surgery to correct if you live in the U.S.

Hope this post helps with the GAS.
 
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