Help me solve the mystery of curved monitors (long post)

[arky217]

I don't have any idea where this topic should be posted.
If not here, please move it to the appropriate area.

I presently have a 27", 1080p flat screen monitor.
I am considering buying a 32", 2k curved monitor as I want to have
2 or 3 apps visible at the same time and hopefully a better viewing experience.
Although I don't game, the consensus seems to be that as you go larger
in size, a curved monitor gives you a better viewing experience.

I have searched upteen sites to try to determine the proper curve (xxxxR) to get.
The curves seem to mostly range from 1800R (least curved) to 1000R (most curved).

There are even sites that calculate your optimum viewing distance based on the
monitor size, resolution, use (general vs gaming, etc.)

The viewing distance is wherein lies my problem.
I have astigmatism quite pronounced and I wear bifocals.
The bottom is for reading and ground for a focal length of 12 inches.
Anything closer or farther than 12" becomes blurry.

The top is ground for a focal length of infinity and anything closer than 6 feet becomes blurry.
Well, 12" is way to close to sit to my monitor, and at 6 feet, print is too small.

So, when I get new glasses, I always have a second pair made with a
focal length of 24"; it has always worked out fairly well.

So, my viewing distance can not be variable; it must stay at 24".
So the question is:
For a 32", 2k monitor, should I go with a 1000R curve, a 1800R curve or
something in between like a 1500R curve ?

The calculation sites say you should sit the same distance away as the curve radius.
Well, for 1800R, that would be 1800mm or about 70", which is way to far away for me.
And for 1000R, it would be 1000mm or about 39" which is still way to far for my
24" focal length computer glasses.

So, my gut feeling tells me that a 32", 2k, 1800R would be better than a 32", 2k flat screen at
24" viewing distance and that a 32", 2k, 1000R would be even much better than a 32", 2k
flat screen at the said 24" viewing distance.

But, having never used a curved monitor, what do I know ?
If you use a curved monitor, what is your opinion ?

[MikeR]

Not using a curved monitor myself, solved a similar problem (driving, face-to-face, screen use) with multifocals.
cons: Took almost a month to get used to them, and quite a bit more expensive
pro: one pair of glasses for all (most) usage

HTH

[MXRobo]

I was - and still am a little - hesitant to post because I don't have any experience with bifocals or curved monitors, but I'm curious about this comment:

There are even sites that calculate your optimum viewing distance based on the
monitor size, resolution, use (general vs gaming, etc.)

Are these recommendations for televisions and gaming, or computers up close? Is gaming considered as a relatively close computer?
These are generally rhetorical questions because this comment:

The calculation sites say you should sit the same distance away as the curve radius.

would mean that you should get a 609.6R curvature.
24 x 25.4 = 609.6R, check 39 x 25.4 = 990.6 ~ 1000R. FYI 25.4 is exact.
Obviously, that comment is logical as you'd want to sit (eyes/glasses) to be at the center of the circle/curved monitor and therefore the same distance away from the circle/curved monitor - assuming a simple curve.

Apparently they do make smaller radius monitors: https://redlib.catsarch.com/r/ultrawide ... _monitors/
But first, I'd probably minimally at least compare the difference between a small one (maybe 1000R) and a big(ger) one, e.g. 1800R.

And regarding:

I don't have any idea where this topic should be posted.
If not here, please move it to the appropriate area.

Maybe move it to another forum entirely- -

Seriously - - Good Luck!

[jj 5117]

Older eyes here.

If you had a big screen with a 24" radius with your head at 24", you would be rotating your head a lot.

Still, a 1000R will bring the edges of the screen closer to you, so it would probably help.
... And if screen time is a dedicated thing for you, you might ask for glasses that are dialed-in for your actual usage distance. ... IF you always sit at that same distance, etc, etc. Getting old is a beach.

[Eadwine Rose]

Well.. not in development.. Moving. Removing the enters mid-sentence will also help with the length of the post, there is no need to do them, the reading width will adjust itself.

[j2mcgreg]

I have a similar problem, extreme far sightedness. When I order new bifocals, I always take a laptop with me so that the focal length of the "reading lens" can be set to the distance from my eyes to the brand logo on the lower bezel of the laptop's screen. In your case, ask the ophthalmologist to test your eyes against any monitor because the curve in your new screen should make the measured focal length consistent.

[CharlesV]

@arky217 I have worked with quite a few people that have curved monitors and they really liked them. I have also had a few people that didnt - I am one of those :-)

I personally have found that multiple monitors if far better for me. I use four monitors, 3 are landscape and angled, and 1 is portrait on the end for documents and 'tall' data. I have found this to be THE best for my use, and since all of the landscape monitors are 32", I have loads of room and desktop.

As for vision, the best you can do is to have the monitor sitting even with your eyes and a comfortable distance away from you. I am near sighted and wear glasses - and all of my monitors are approx 40" away from me when I am sitting, and the landscape monitor tops are pretty much even with the top of my head. ( I have found this position and distance is the best to alleviate eye and neck strain.)

Another thing I advocate for are swing arms for monitors - while it might seem like not really required... you have no idea how nice it is to move the monitors around even slightly when you are adjusting and trying to find the perfect spot! I have two multiple monitor stands ( each with two monitor arms ) and I can adjust up, down, side to side, swivel up or down or side to side as well. Huge difference!!

[bambuko]

I also prefer three flat monitors
LH is portrait for documents, and file managers
CTR is landscape 2560x1820 for main CAD screen
RH is also landscape for all the auxilliary CAD panels and MX management
All three hand from swing arms fixed to the wall - would miss the flexibility they offer!
As for glasses I wear bifocals - with upper half set for screen distance, and lower half set for reading paper documents on the desk
with special reading glasses and magnifying loupe on hand when needed
I dont like long curved screens... YMMV

[Tovian]

I absolutely love my 32" curved Acer's. I've only had them 4+ months and what a difference they make! I previously had a pair of flat 24's and the difference is stunning.



I use a combination of mechanical switches (lower left corner of picture) to select either my "A" group KVM or my "B" group KVM (both KVM's are 4-port). The right "side" of my monitor configuration always displays the "A" group of computers, the current one being designated by keyboard commands to the "A" KVM switch. In this mode the second (left) monitor displays the 2nd logical monitor on my main business PC (as seen in the picture). I generally have 6 instances of Firefox running on it with each instance displaying in a 1/6 window. When I go to the other configuration the "A" group of computers stays on the right monitor and the left monitor switches to the "B" group of computers which is comprised of 3 "development/testing" machines plus a "hole" to connect a client computer when I'm doing a repair job. When I'm repairing computers I have all my research tools on the right monitor plus the client computer on the left monitor, and I can switch the mouse/keyboard with the two mechanical switches. It makes life a good deal easier.
* I thought about hanging the monitors on the wall but then I realized that if I move my workstation I have to move the wall, too.

(The right monitor in the picture is displaying a silly combo-photo just to cover my personal/proprietary desktop layout)

[rambo919]

The problem is unless you can actually test in person somehow you will never know.

Curved monitors work for some people and not others. One common problem other than how the viewing angles blur out at the edges is they can trigger motion sickness.

As for eye fatigue.... I still want to test this out myself so I don't know yet but my understanding is that you want a 32" 4k (and if you game at all a 4k/1080p dual-mode) with the scaling increased so that the text is bigger on the monitor as well as crisp. Avoid 1440p monitors because they do weird things with text because of how the pixels are arranged... but at the same time make sure that the pixel layout is actually conducive to text clarity.... this would be a fascinating rabbit hole if the testing was not so expensive. This combo of clear text and large presentation should help a lot with strain.

On the other hand because of the unparalleled sharpness many swear by 27" 4k monitors... while others can't adapt to what I assume is textual perfection.

Also your eyes probably could benefit from a refresh rate of 120-160 but again, have still to actually test this out myself.

Keep in mind that every time you fundamentally change your monitor your brain needs to re-learn how to most comfortably process the signals so it can take a few weeks of pain for the process to complete.