Quck Question about my notebooks screensize (1 Viewer)

[Robert Ringwald]

I'm currently about to buy a compaq notebook computer, and the available resolutions are as follows...

15.0" TFT XGA (1024 x 768)
15.4" WXGA Widescreen (1280x800)
15.4" WVA WSXGA+ (1680x1050)
15.4" WVA WUXGA (1920x1200)

If my math is correct, the bottom 3 are all widescreen screens, right? Only the 2nd one outright states it.

Also, can anyone tell me how much better the resolutions are? I am highly considering the 1920x1200 model, because it's not much more expensive.

Last, if I have a full-screen dvd, open matte, is there any kind of zoom feature I could use to crop the top and bottom during viewing? Thanks in advance.

 

[Tekara]

The "W" in the resolution states that it is a widescreen resolution. i.e. Wxga, Wsxga+, etc. The WVA states that it is designed for wide viewing angles.

Uhm, how much better the resolution is is already listed. . . I don't quite understand what scale your gauging them on. The 15.4" WUXGA will have a higher pixel density than the 15.4" WSXGA+ screen and so on down the line. at least I think that might be what your talking about.

Full screen DVDs tend not to have the bars, but if they do your DVD software should have a zoom option in it.

 

[Christ Reynolds]

but he said 'full screen open matte', which i believe is a 4x3 picture with a widescreen image 'in' it. so the actual image is full screen, but the image contains black bars at the top and bottom, creating a widescreen image. am i right about this? anyway, your software dvd player should have zoom options.

CJ

 

[Ken Chan]

No, that's letterboxing. What I think he's asking about is a way to "undo" the open matte, recropping the stuff that the director cut out originally (including possibly boom mics and dolly tracks). A DVD player might zoom to fill the widescreen, but almost all widescreen displays are 16:10, so it wouldn't cut out everything added to a 1.85:1 or 2.35:1 movie. You could zoom more, but that would crop the sides.

 

[Robert Ringwald]

Yeah, as long as I get close. The DVD isn't a movie that was Super 35, so it's not like I'm gonna have to chop off much. If I recall, it was matted to 1.85:1, which means cropping it until the sides meet the edge will probably be close enough. I finally plunked down a few bucks and got the first Child's Play on DVD, since it seems like MGM isn't going to release a region 1 widescreen version anytime soon...

At least the image isn't pan & scan, but still...

Also, I wanted the wide screen because I read it's handy for when you have multiple documents open, and I do that VERY often... so that'll definitely be a plus.

thanks for the help guys.

I went with the 1920x1200 one, it wasn't much more expensive, and I figured the increased resolution will probably be well worth the money.