2 People Are Speaking Their Mind

1. Steve Sherron Says:

   November 26th, 2008 at 4:58 pm

   I just noticed the change today. I think it’s great. I host most of my videos on Vimeo because I shoot in HD. I’m glad youtube is catching up and I will soon be using them more frequently. Thanks for this article giving the explanation.

2. Strogg PC Expert Says:

   January 9th, 2009 at 5:17 pm

   It’s about time, it’s much needed, and why not! There is absolutely no negative effect whatsoever, the 4:3 videos will be shown properly and in their full size, not stretched. There will just be a border to each side, some people may get the wrong idea and beleive some of the video is missing, however it is not.

   More and more people are using widescreen LCD’s, and more and more are streaming to their HDTV’s, but overall very very few do this. What matters? Many people are getting widescreen LCD monitors, now days they’re capable of impressive responce times, which was their only con in the past. They save space, their image quality is far superior, not just the sharpness and contrast ratios, but having far more desktop space, which is very valuable in many applications, not to mention vista users, who can use their windows sidebar with some useful gadgets and have so much real estate it’s great. However there is one major advantage CRT’s have over LCD’s, which really only matters when it comes to PC gaming. A LCD monitor must be run in i’ts native resolution, because the majority of LCD’s run at a resolution other than the native resolution will look fuzzy/blurry, this because a LCD monitor has a fixed number of pixels, and uses each and every one in it’s native resolution and as I’ve said, can produce incredibly imagine quality. However, a CRT can run several resolutions, the bigger, the more resolutions, and no matter what resolution, the imagine doesn’t get poor. Naturally the highest resolution looks best, because it’s sharpest. Many “Hardcore PC Gamers” use CRT’s, for this reason, and also color reproduction is very good compared to your average budget LCD display. But with LCD’s getting better and faster and cheaper, it’s not so uncommon to have a buddy show up at a lan party with a LCD, they’re much lighter, and TN panel LCD’s can have responce times so fast there’s no ghosting whatsoever, which was the problem a few years back. Soon CRT’s will be done with, there are really really great one’s out there, but the best aren’t even made anymore, and are hard to find, and extremely expensive. The catch with LCD’s, depending on the panel technology, is like this; Cheaper panels are usually 6 bit and use specialized methods are recreating as many colors as possible, most people can’t tell the difference, and gamers love them because they’re fast. While a graphics artist wouldn’t be ablet to use a cheaper LCD, particularly a TN panel, while very fast, they’re 6 bit and simply can’t recreate a perfect color across the entire screen.

   My favorte part of the widescreen LCD, is what most people enjoy, and that is being able to work in two or more windows at once, either multiple applications, or advanced applications, such as CAD apps, audio production appilcations, all these benefit hugely with widescreen. ***My point being, widescreen is the way of the future, not only for these reasons either, but Gaming and Movie watching. It’s never been an issue for me, nor anyone I’ve ever spoken to, what’s missing in the frame( whether it’s a game, or a movie/video), but seeing more to the side is very valuable. Seeing up won’t show much, down, obviously is pointless, likely you’re seeing the ground, but side to side, you’re seeing more of the scene that matters, characters, the setting; of a movie. In gaming, widescreen is priceless, you will see an enemy off to the side more often, seeing more of the game area, your teammates, and if you play racing simulators or flight simulators, having widescreen makes all the difference in the world.

   Okay, sorry I wrote out an essay, but “this” is why youtube has made the change, widescreen simply wins, there are no longer any cons, absolutely none. Less weight, mobility made easy, use less power, less parts, more recycleable, the list go’s on. If anyone reading this beleives there is, I’d love to hear, if I’ve missed something, DHRammstein@hotmail.com.

   In case anyone is wondering, and I’m sure thousands of people will at least have the thought cross their mind…why the 16:9 ratio when the majority of widescreen computer displays are 16:10?(I can’t stress enough the word “Majority”, virtually all, except your rare HD LCD Display seen on some notebooks, and very few desktop displays) The reason is simply that High Definition TV’s, and therefor High Definition video content/movies are 1080i / 1080p, both of which are 16:9, which equals a 1920×1080 resolution; where the similar 16:10 would be 1920×1200. Myslef I have no idea why one would be better than another, with 16:10 actually having more picture, slightly, vertically.

   P.S. For users that don’t know their aspect ratio, here are a few example screen resolutions for each, I’ll keep it to the most common.

   For starters, 4:3 ratio is 640×480 / 800×600 / 1024-768 / 1280×1024 / 1600×1200, these are the most common, with 1024/768 & 1280×1024 being number 1 by far, used by almost all CRT displays. CRT’s can get gigantic and have really high resolutions also, they’re just uncommon, because, well they’re huge, and very heavy, taking up all the space on even the nicest and roomiest desktops.

   16:9 Common Resolution. 1366 x 768, 1920×1080
   16:10 Common Resolution. 1440×900, 1680×1050*, 1920×1200

   Most common widescreen computer resolution, used on both 20″ and 22″ displays. Smaller displays use the 1440×900. The reason the resolution must climb with display size is to keep pixels small, to keep images sharp. For example, I own a 20″ Acer Display, @ 1680×1050, although I had the option to get a 22″ at the same price, different brand, but equal quality, equal contrast ratio, however, naturally, a smaller dislpay with the same resolution will have a better picture; smaller pixels.

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