LG launching its first 4K monitor in January with 31-inch ultra-widescreen panel

http://www.engadget.com/2013/12/17/lg-4k-ultra-widescreen-monitors/

 

Once again this illustrates how advances in hardware technologies typically have to wait for software to catch up. 64-bit computer hardware, for example, was around for years before 64-bit software (including HW drivers) became widely available.

Here we have a 4K monitor but very limited 4K content to illustrate 4K's superiority.

It will take a long time for these 4K ultra widescreen monitors to take off. I note the screen on that 31" LG, being 21:9, is aprox 28.35 x 12.15 inches tall. 28 wide is nice, but how close do you have to sit to a 12" tall display to received an "enjoyable" viewing experience?

You certainly cannot have it sitting across a room.

 

I don't think the 21:9 format will ever take off, at least to where it would be the standard. For that to happen, TV would have to adopt it, and I don't think it would work well for things like sports and the news. I believe it will remain a niche for those that just have to have their screens filled when watching Cinemascope movies.

As for that monitor, I wonder if the stretching will be an issue for using it on as movie set. The cameras are still 16:9; the pixels are not square. So if you were to output pixel-by-pixel, the result would be stretched (vertically) on that monitor. If I were a director, I wonder if seeing every pixel, albeit distorted, would be better than seeing fewer pixels but in the right ratio.

 

Yes there are several 21:9 monitors on the market today, and they do seem to be more of a niche product. I don't know how it would feel using one just doing daily stuff. They are said to be good for movies anyway