Ultrawide monitor: flat or curved screen?

So here I am in a bi-annual PC parts upgrade session.

I currently planning to ditch my 2 screen setup (1080p & 900p) for a single Ultrawide 34" 1440p monitor.

But I'm still not sure which one to get. Flat screen or curved screen?

The way I used to setup my dual screen was in an angle, thus when I turn my head viewing the other monitor it'll be a straight front view.

Naturally, I think curved screen will be the most suitable for my use. However the curved monitors are very expensive at the moment.

Plus a review on petapixel, the author was concerned about how the curved screen tends to give an illusion of distortion.

The flat screen version is significantly cheaper, but then again I'm a bit concerned when viewed the other half part of the monitor in an angle it'll mess the colour appearance.

Any experience from any fellow members about ultrawide monitors? Do you prefer curved or non curved?

Do you view your prints on a curved surface?

Higgs Boson wrote in post #17645499
Do you view your prints on a curved surface?

Well do you have any experience on photo editing on the curved monitor? Because that's what I'm asking.

no i don't because I think it's a gimmick.

For virtually the entire history of the CRT the curved screen was seen as a negative and engineers worked to make it flatter. Now that we have a great technology that gives us a flat screen and we want to go back to curved. Cracks me up.

No I don't use one, but saw a curved tv the other day and as expected the reflections were annoying. The curved surface might make the reflection occupy less space on the screen, but they were more intense.

Sad thing is, one of the best performing 34" ultra wides is a Dell, and unlike the LG and Samsung in the same price range, the Dell is only available in curved.

I''m sticking with my ancient AG CRT for now

I've not seen a curved monitor in person yet, I have to admit given that I don;t move around a lot when editing on a PC the curve seems more appropriate for a monitor vs. a TV where the curve is making it harder to see for all but one person in one seat.

That said, image editing people say it's just pain weird to work on that top rated curved Dell.

Left Handed Brisket wrote in post #17645583
For virtually the entire history of the CRT the curved screen was seen as a negative and engineers worked to make it flatter. Now that we have a great technology that gives us a flat screen and we want to go back to curved. Cracks me up.

CRT screen is convex, not concave like LCD screens now.

virsago_mk2 wrote in post #17645742
CRT screen is convex, not concave like LCD screens now.

Still curved


I've seen a couple of curved monitors, and did not get the point. They are aimed squarely at the consumer market, where the idea they might be better makes a great marketing tool.

For serious photography work, I would avoid them.

virsago_mk2 wrote in post #17645742
CRT screen is convex, not concave like LCD screens now.

You missed the point.

Curved screens have a few purposes as they maintain better field of view coverage as the edges don't shrink off into the distance as much, and pixels at the edges of the screen aren't viewed at an off-angle, which improves perceived uniformity, even though IPS displays exhibit good off-angle viewing - I have no idea if IPS glow is reduced from curvature, but it'd be very good if so.

CRT tubes had natural barrel distortion in all directions, while this is a horizontal curve with linear distribution, very apples and oranges if you ask me. If you think of it as two monitors side-by-side, you'd probably have them at an angle to each other anyway.

That said, I'm not sure if it's a thing that's appropriate for photography, like, will spectrophotometer fobs even stay level with the screen during calibration? I imagine placing something like a Spyder pro to the screen would leave a gap between it and the sensor.

I would sooner pick a screen based on test results from TFT Central than just "I want a curved monitor", but how does it perform in a dozen various metrics, including color accuracy and coverage?

Kolor-Pikker wrote in post #17645907
Curved screens have a few purposes as they maintain better field of view coverage as the edges don't shrink off into the distance as much, and pixels at the edges of the screen aren't viewed at an off-angle, which improves perceived uniformity, even though IPS displays exhibit good off-angle viewing - I have no idea if IPS glow is reduced from curvature, but it'd be very good if so.

CRT tubes had natural barrel distortion in all directions, while this is a horizontal curve with linear distribution, very apples and oranges if you ask me. If you think of it as two monitors side-by-side, you'd probably have them at an angle to each other anyway.

That said, I'm not sure if it's a thing that's appropriate for photography, like, will spectrophotometer fobs even stay level with the screen during calibration? I imagine placing something like a Spyder pro to the screen would leave a gap between it and the sensor.

I would sooner pick a screen based on test results from TFT Central than just "I want a curved monitor", but how does it perform in a dozen various metrics, including color accuracy and coverage?

This. The new curved displays help viewing angles; giving you a more even color/lighting presentation as you turn your head. If you're getting glare/etc on your screen to where a curve will make it *more* annoying; then I'd suggest blinds or moving your monitor (or move to a mat-display; though that tends to hurt color accuracy)

To be clear; this is mostly on 16x9 34" monitors; it might not make sense until you're sitting in front of one just how *wide* that really use for day-to-day desktop use. I personally do my editing on a 16x9 1440p LG um94 34" *flat* display. While I love it; i do somewhat wish I had waited to purchase until the curved displays were available as I do think it would make the experience better, I can definitely see variance in my display based on where I am sitting in front of it which a curve would most definitely help remedy.

I've not gotten a lot of time sitting in front of many ultra-wide monitors, curved or otherwise, but from what I have experienced I would say that the curve to the screen sure isn't a negative. I'm not yet completely sold on the ultra wide displays in general for productivity, and I think I will still stick with multiple 24" 16:10 screens for the time being as my main preferred setup.


However I have to say that an ultra-wide display with a quality 20-24" standard screen mounted above makes for a very tempting setup given Lightroom's current 2 monitor design focus. Ultra-wide gets the library/grid view, while single image focus goes up on the smaller screen.

Kolor-Pikker wrote in post #17645907
Curved screens have a few purposes ....

Video games, movies, etc. More immersive environment.

Not applicable to photo editing IMHO.

The TFT Central review of the Dell is very positive, and why I ruled out the LG and Samsung vs. the Dell, however, the TFT central review posted no opinion at all that was relevant to photo editing on a curved panel, where as a few other reviews of curved panels by people that do photo editing have seen the distortion created by the curve as a significant detraction.


My gut on this is steering me towards a new 27" in landscape to replace my old CRT paired with my current 24" Dell IPS which will remain in portrait as a much better solution.

CyberDyneSystems wrote in post #17646189
Video games, movies, etc. More immersive environment.

Not applicable to photo editing IMHO.

Which is the conclusion I came to as well if you read past the first sentence

My own monitor is the very plain looking NEC PA272, which really only does one thing very well, in that it produces an excellent image. If really wanted to buy a new monitor to compliment this one, it would probably be an NEC in 4K flavor or a "true" 4K display with a resolution of 4096x2160.

Going back the original question, if you really want an ultra-wide then do get the flat version, modern IPS panels are good enough for the edges of the screen from the center.

This is a win for marketers - selling gimmicks. Get a flat IPS screen.