Curved screen?

[Rob_Royale]

Although my PC is a laptop, I have a 23" monitor plugged into it and a wireless keyboard and mouse. We spotted a 27" inch Samsung curved monitor on sale at Costco today and was wondering if any of you are using a curved screen for writing. If so, what are the pros and cons, in your opinion?

 

[TheLobster]

If you use one, then even your flattest prose will inevitably gain twists and turns.

 

[alohadave]

If you get one, don't get a smooth/glossy screen. You'll see distorted reflections that shift every time you move your head.

 

[Djmac1031]

Usually in the debate over Flat VS Curves I'd go with curves. But in this case I think I'd make an exception.

 

[Erozetta]

Dunno about writing, but in video games it gives me the worst motion sickness ever.

First and only time I threw up from playing a video game that wasn't caused by a game induced migraine.

 

[Nynah]

Curved screens take some getting used to, especially if you've been used to dealing with only flatscreen monitors up until this point. Most will require you to find a "sweet spot" a certain distance away from the screen so that you have the most optimal viewing angle. When you find it, everything does look quite good since you have an expansive field of view that curves naturally along with your eye movements. However, if you fidget a lot and shift around in your seat (like I do), it's fairly easy to drift out of the sweet spot and have the images on the screen warp and disort at sub-optimal viewing angles. Then there are also motion sickness related concerns to consider, as Erozetta pointed out. If you are older and wear a certain level of prescription, your eyes may also not like having to deal with the curvature and could lead to headaches or motion sickness.

Younger folks tend to like curved monitors especially for video gaming; I don't know that it affords writers/coders/people who spend a lot of time looking at text on-screen any advantages. Personally I like my setup with two 27-inch monitors side by side. They're offset at a gentle angle right where they meet in the middle so it gives the illusion of them curving inward while still being flat.

 

[SinclairGroupLLP]

I’ve got one. Doesn’t make an ounce of difference in writing.

 

[ShelbyDawn57]

Although my PC is a laptop, I have a 23" monitor plugged into it and a wireless keyboard and mouse. We spotted a 27" inch Samsung curved monitor on sale at Costco today and was wondering if any of you are using a curved screen for writing. If so, what are the pros and cons, in your opinion?

I'm using two of them, side by side with my laptop as a third. I love them. They fit better in the space I have and the curve makes it easier for me to keep my focus. Of course, most of the time(8-5 workdays) I have all kinds of things up on different screens depending on what I'm working on. I don't know how I ever wrote software one one 14" green screen CRT back in the day.

 

[TarnishedPenny]

My eyes being what they are, I recently decided to get a much larger monitor. I wound up with a curved one and had but minimal difficulty adjusting.

 

[Rob_Royale]

I'm wearing bifocals. I hope that won't be an issue if I decide to get one.

 

[masterslave00]

It also depends on the level of curvature. I am using 32" LG that's just slightly curved and am very happy with it. My wife picked 32" Samsung which is much more curved, and she loves it. I hate it every time I had to do anything on her computer...

 

[StillStunned]

More important question: what's it like for watching porn?

 

[EmilyMiller]

Usually in the debate over Flat VS Curves I'd go with curves. But in this case I think I'd make an exception.

 

[SebastianHolt]

I use them and love them! Allows me to have way too many tabs/windows open! In the future, I plan to purchase Scrivener, so I can have Word on one monitor and Scrivener on the other.

Now I'm not a gamer, and I think gamers get the best bang for the buck. curved monitors were designed for gamers

 

[Djmac1031]

I'm in trouble again, aren't I...?

 

[EmilyMiller]

I'm in trouble again, aren't I...?

And don’t leave that corner until you are told to!

 

[Djmac1031]

And don’t leave that corner until you are told to!

Yes, my Mistress.

 

[EmilyMiller]

Yes, my Mistress.

Much better!

 

[jsmiam]

My votes/opinions are
- go straight to 32, skip 27, but see below
- Bifocals shouldn’t be a problem, but I’ll say that once you go “computer vision” you’ll never go wishin’ (that’s my pun entry). Computer vision glasses are single vision glasses, your prescription with half the magnification as your reading value. You’ll see the whole screen through far more of the lens, perfect for the medium distance that people sit at relative to computer screens. They come with a catch which is forgetting what glasses you have on and going out to drive or to the store with the wrong glasses on. If you get them online, they’re easily under $100 US. And get distance single vision glasses for golf too. Totally worth it!
- progressive wearers benefit even more from computer vision glasses when they have big monitors. I have a laptop plus a 24 plus a 32, and my neck hurts from craning to see the top of the 32 through the medium zone (edit: of progressives. Computer vision is all good)
- Curve vs flat - personal choice. If you stay at only 27 it probably doesn’t matter much in terms of head bobbing. The benefits of curved help more at 32.

 

[Rob_Royale]

My votes/opinions are
- go straight to 32, skip 27, but see below
- Bifocals shouldn’t be a problem, but I’ll say that once you go “computer vision” you’ll never go wishin’ (that’s my pun entry). Computer vision glasses are single vision glasses, your prescription with half the magnification as your reading value. You’ll see the whole screen through far more of the lens, perfect for the medium distance that people sit at relative to computer screens. They come with a catch which is forgetting what glasses you have on and going out to drive or to the store with the wrong glasses on. If you get them online, they’re easily under $100 US. And get distance single vision glasses for golf too. Totally worth it!
- progressive wearers benefit even more from computer vision glasses when they have big monitors. I have a laptop plus a 24 plus a 32, and my neck hurts from craning to see the top of the 32 through the medium zone.
- Curve vs flat - personal choice. If you stay at only 27 it probably doesn’t matter much in terms of head bobbing. The benefits of curved help more at 32.

Thanks.

 

[lovecraft68]

I'm legally blind in my left eye so a curved screen wouldn't work for me.

In work I have two monitors, and I feel like a pigeon the way my head's going side to side all day.

 

[SilkyVine]

I use two screens (my husbands older ones) my "main" one I guess is a larger (I think around 30 inch) curved screen and the other is a slightly smaller flatscreen.

I have 0 preference for either, I often switch up which one im writing on depending on how im seated and stuff.

I've never had issues like some people say regarding 'viewing angle' or whatever. If you like the curved one and it suits your needs/budget, in my opinion, it will be perfectly fine to write on.

 

[TiberiusPrime]

Curved screens are great for movie theaters with huge screens and TVs that are 80"+, not so sure about using it for a computer monitor...

 

[Abbafan]

I had an ultrawide screen that was curved. It was fine as long as you are sitting in it's sweet spot. I ended up going back to a standard one because I move around a little too much.

 

[Actingup]

I use a single Dell 34 inch curved screen, and it works well. I have screen glasses set for the right focal length for where that screen is on my desk. As always when buying something that you're going to be staring at for hours, sometimes productively, I'd advise to buy on quality and suitability first and then price.